 Here Here Kristen Yeah Jill Andrew Yeah, yeah, yeah Jerry here See Libby made it So First order of business is public comment For those on the phone the way we do this is if you Hit the participant button at the bottom of your screen. There's a raise hand function There that is the best way to do it if you can't figure it that out You just kind of physically wave your hand the camera or that fails Kind of shout out and we'll put you Not Comments All right, we will move on to the Consent agenda Do I have a motion to I moved to approve the consent agenda with the additions of the new hire Paperwork we received today and the increase of a point to FTE in the high school English department Thank you Okay, any discussion I I have a question for Libby The on the warrants the accounts payable for 430 is is a bit larger than the one for 416 Do you know what the reason for that is? I don't I'm sorry grant warrants. I can text them and find out but They do frequently very yeah, maybe it's just that seeing two side-by-side Need to stand out. All right So etiquette the air day or iron there Hi, Emma Hi Kristen hi Joe hi Andrew yeah, Jerry hi Excellent I'm on this here. Oh Hi, Marta. Hi. Hi Great, thank you, and that's basically all I did was pull the comment consent agenda So now I'm gonna turn it over to Emma to introduce the school safety and police relations committee presentation. I just want to say in advance Really I can forward to this and thank you In advance to for the members for all the great work on this I know that this committee has spent an incredible amount of time giving this issue thought and consideration To hearing from you all so with that and I want to give a special shout out to Emma Really hard to chair to coordinate this so Emma take it away, please Yeah, I was gonna also start by just thanking everybody because we've been meeting since October I think everybody put in more time than they initially thought that it would take and We ended up meeting pretty much weekly for two-hour meetings and it was a heavy lift and and sort of emotional and stressful and Everyone who helped was incredible and so I want to Read off the names of the committee members that I believe are here tonight Zach Henningson, Edie D'Onofrio, Eliana Moorhead, Susan Koch, Amanda Payne, Jennifer Wall Howard, Jay Erickson, Joan Javier Duvall, William Alexander, Katherine Nenely, and Mia Moore So some people weren't able to make it tonight, but but most of us are here and one of the Strongest core values that we keep coming back to to ground ourselves is to student center student boys and On that note, I'm going to hand it over to the three student representatives of our team Zach, Edie, and Eliana And I believe I have screen share privileges. So I will share the presentation Hi, so well Emma's getting that started I'll just kick us off We are the school safety and public relations committee and we're presenting on the second half of our charge and Zach is going to elaborate on The halves of our charge right after me, but in short summary We've gone over some recommendations on what to do going forward and we've put together this presentation about it Zach so our first bit of The charge was to make a recommendation in regards to the school resource officer position And we presented that bit of our charge on February 13th And as you all probably know The board voted to remove the position. So this led us to the second part of our charge which Was to fill any possible gaps left by the absence of the SRO and deal with any concerns from the community And this is what we found And I'm gonna pass it By really focusing on the current policies we have and seeing where the gaps are and One of the larger gaps is that we don't actually have a conflict resolution policy So we'll talk about that later and along with analyzing current policies We talked with experts in restorative justice and trauma racial trauma informed practices and got a lot of good information from them And we also researched methods used in other schools that have gotten rid of their SRO as well So yeah, and all these recommendations are grounded in the core values that we presented at the previous meeting and We will jump into those right now Is the presentation looking okay to everybody? It looks good. Emma. This is Andrew. Um, I couldn't hear eliana very well I think maybe where the computer is positioned Yeah, she's a little soft for me too Do you want her to repeat what she said? No, I I think I think I got it, but um just for future reference. Yeah, okay. That is my cue um So as eliana said the work of the school safety and police relations committee has been guided by values and ideals that initially emerged from our extensive communications with the wider community Um, and we presented those same six core values. Um, the last time we presented this board Um, they are grounded in a shared sense of restorative justice empathy and compassion in the necessity of student agency and voice and in an understanding of plurality capable of adapting to a broad range of individual perspectives experiences and developmentally appropriate behaviors For this final presentation We have also articulated a number of both general goals and specific actions to undertake In order to further these same ideals and continue to foster a more inclusive educational environment So we now offer those same values as a vision for the future Which we hope and trust that the montpellier rocksbury school board will continue to uphold Thank you for your service to the wider community that we all represent in this work And in this moment to ensure that Quote our schools are carrying creative and equitable communities That empower all children to build on their talents and passions to grow into engaged citizens and lifelong learners So the first of the six core values grounding the work accomplished and the work to come is justice rooted in diversity equity and inclusion Um, the original value from last time We acknowledge the weight of history the realities of inherited privilege and the urgent need to actively embrace Racist practices in matters of equity and justice for all members of this community Moving forward Discipline and mediation must be grounded in the principles of diversity equity and inclusion Current policies and practices should be reexamined through an equity lens The use of trauma-informed practices and restorative justice should be upheld with consistent fidelity throughout the entire school community The second core value is compassion empathy and belief in each other We prioritize community and our relationships with each other We care for one another by seeking to understand each other's perspectives and by working through initial reactions to recognize each other's humanity We believe we each have important contributions to make to our community and we support each other in doing so To develop a culture of trust Educators learners and staff must show empathy for each other And the Montpelier-Roxbury public schools community must allow for student voices to be heard Students should have agency and decision-making and conflict resolution and their input honored respected and taken seriously shared leadership opportunities within systems will be explored and implemented in order to dismantle an authoritarian approach And our third core value is nonviolent communication built on strong relationships Nonviolent communication and restorative practices among educators learners and staff rely on strong healthy trusting relationships These relationships start with listening for understanding which leads respecting each other's differences and valuing each other's voice Regular evaluations will show Montpelier-Roxbury public schools level proficiencies in these areas At our first very first meeting together as a committee one of the students said something that has stuck with me She said that we spend a lot of energy putting people in boxes labeling people which can cause division Strong relationships and nonviolent communication break down the barriers we create to allow for healthy connections and unity We provided you with some tangible and practical actions our school community can take it has already taken to build strong relationships and encourage nonviolent communication such as encouraging supporting attending and participating in annual activities and events that provide excitement connection to celebrate community and still a spirit of generosity encouraging student staff and caregiver buy-in and participation Unifying the framework for the way all Montpelier-Roxbury public schools function when possible to provide scaffolding as students move from grade to grade and school to school becoming proficient and restorative justice practices by evaluating through feedback from participants and ensuring comfort and confidence and receiving and providing feedback and the middle school is already doing this through its equity alliance and an anonymous form that they've created Okay, um Fourth core value that we have is student voices Montpelier-Roxbury public school system is a student centered learning community Which values student voice and creates opportunities for their participation in decision making? um This includes and should continue to include perhaps further events coordinated by students and adjusted per student input student presence in the voice of the community Teaching students to use their voice so they understand they're a powerful stakeholder from a young age And understand and utilize the ability to voice their opinions disagree and discuss together and in the broader community And foster student understanding of their agency and their own safety Um our fifth core value is physical safety No student will have any fear of bodily harm punitive threats intimidation or retaliation from fellow students faculty or staff Students must be able to know they can enter school and be safe while there to know that they can share their experiences Knowledge and opinions with each other and teachers with confidence Can be themselves without apology can bring a complaint and work through conflict without worry of retaliation And can trust each other and the adults in their school The sixth core value um Is that system-wide standards and nuanced approaches recognize and support an individual's whole well-being The original text we set system-wide standards based on a broad range of individual perspectives and experiences We understand that individual experiences will affect how we approach meeting at standard We bring a holistic trauma informed approach to accountability And resolution of conflict in order to strengthen each individual and our community well-being For the future District-wide standards of conduct and conflict resolution will be based on an understanding of plurality Accommodating a broad range of individual perspectives experiences and developmentally appropriate behaviors Teachers administrators and school staff should have a variety of approaches and skills at their disposal, which we may Including trauma informed practices and an adequate understanding of neuro diversity Every member of the community should understand both their rights and their responsibilities within these standards of conduct Thank you will and kathryn and edie so i'm gonna Share what the committee has come up with as far as Policy recommendations for the board as we all know the board is responsible for setting district policy This is and policies are the avenue through which we set The expectations and standards for the district In our role as representatives of our community And that's the context for these recommendations. Um, we reviewed each of our policies that the board has set policies that we've set for ourselves as board members for the staff for students Through the lens of these values to see what might be missing And to see which policies we should prioritize for updating And one that we have identified that the district doesn't have and really could use as a conflict resolution policy We don't have anything that sets standards or a vision for what the district's approach is when someone doesn't meet The expect expectations for behavior And in the past this would or could have been called or referred to as a disciplinary policy Framing it as such anymore. It doesn't really reflect our community's values around safety and justice Or the approach that teachers and administrators are currently taking when it comes to addressing unexpected behavior and resolving conflicts And I just want to note gen while hollard the vice principal at Montpelier high school who Was part of the working group around policy review with me was very helpful in reframing this for us so I thank you for that gen And because the district doesn't no longer has a formal relationship with the police department It's see there isn't really any reason for an mou And instead it could be within this conflict resolution policy that we set the expectations for police involvement when it comes to conflicts on our campuses And that was the one Key policy that we saw as we don't have and we need And then as you can see here on the slide, there are about 10 or so policies that are as currently written could really benefit from being updated Through the lens of these values of our values around safety and justice Um, every single one of the ones on this list would really benefit from Um, sort of up at the top an overarching policy statement that brings in the the community's values And articulates the learning environment that this policy is meant to support Um, and then I'm not going to go through because we have our The the like a full text of of policy recommendations and more details on every single one that is from this slide so available to all the board members and available on our website I'm not going to go through every single one of these with the the details that we found I just wanted to pull out the the school board expectations one to sort of as an example um And to note that one of the key lessons that we've learned in this process that is reflected in our values as Will Catherine and edi just named Is that safety is really built on relationships trust and open communication So while it might seem like a policy that we've written for board members to set expectations for board members Doesn't you know fully like link up with or is connected to Safety in our schools We really feel that it's important for the board to be leading by example In how we communicate with each other and with the community To help set that foundation for what safety can be built on I'm ready for the next slide of some things we ask the board to consider when Either writing a new policy or or updating the ones that we've offered me updating First off, we really encourage the board to use these values around safety and justice as sort of a north star and that and see our policies as Essentially how we live out that vision And we especially encourage the board to challenge ourselves To go further on centering student voice and student perspectives in our policies and our procedures Because the students and their success are the reason that we that we exist The another consideration and thing that we found in reviewing our policies is that we can really be Best articulating the learning environment that we aspire to by using positive language and framing in our policies Again, I want to give a little credit to gen while Howard for noting this a lot of our policies If not all of them views may not shall not cannot as more of the dominant frame And we feel we'd be better setting the tone and truly putting these values into action with Positive language that focuses on opportunities for doing well and the support that we provide each other for getting there Of course, this doesn't mean that the may nots will be eliminated entirely because some things, you know policies do need to name what is unacceptable But it's our recommendation to lean more into the positive visioning and language in writing our policies Um, the next thing to for the board to consider is that policy is where accountability lives in our district And this includes in the gathering the review and the analysis of any data That would support measuring progress toward compliance with the policy So we really encourage policy language that seeks out data that we need in order to make sure we're making progress And directs the board to draw learnings from it Um, another thing to consider is that the the district administrators update the school handbooks every summer And while our policy sets the vision and the high level district wide expectations It's building leadership then, you know looks to those when um thinking about what what procedures ought to be in handbooks So that's an important thing for the board to keep in mind when updating policy And then we also really want to encourage that when that review process happens We use the value of um student voice and student centering so that In reviewing and updating handbooks. They are as inclusive of staff and student voice as possible. Um And uh that that you know to employ different ways of of making that happen um The the next thing to consider is um that you know, we learn through this process that each of our schools is engaging in restorative justice practices that are appropriate for where the students are at developmentally And that all of it is a real work in progress And and that you know really in the best sense of that phrase And so we encourage that to maintain that progress and momentum Each school include goals for the A restorative justice practice work within their continuous improvement plans and their annual goals Um, this is something that possibly the district conflict resolution policy could support Um support that and support there being some continuity as students move from one school to another Really leaning into that sixth core value of setting system-wide standards Plus a nuanced approach based on where individuals are at And then lastly not necessarily a consideration when writing or updating any policy, but it came to our attention and you know, we realized through this process that most Most of our community is not familiar with district policies And so we're we're just kind of tossing out the question of how can the board do better At communicating them and using our policies to support this vision of a support of an equitable learning community And really engaging our community in in being a part of that Okay, so this next slide Zach and I are going to present some recommendations for budget recommendations And get the slides sort of hard to read. I think the print's a little small But these recommendations are grounded in our core values and in our district's diversity and equity and inclusion policy So the first budget recommendation that we have actually the idea came to us from liby bone steel and we talked about it As a committee and then also addressed this idea of a community liaison position with the school social workers and we are recommending that the That the district hire one to two social workers to provide targeted and dedicated support to our students and families who are really struggling with truancy and so the community's liaison position would be solely dedicated to that We have a number of Families that are struggling with truancy that could really use A person that could really do intensive family work and wrap around those families to help get them to school and the idea behind this the funding would come from the ESSER monies that are coming for recovery covet recovery and it would be a two-year grant funded position and Our recommendation is to really Collect data so that after two years we can see how effective it has been as a position And if it has shown to be effective then we can use that data to help fund that continuing into the future And oh and there's a document linked at the bottom. I'm not going to go into details, but in that document we have um Put down more details of what what should be included in that position Um We didn't write up an actual job description, but there's a lot of bulleted points that we think should be included Um for your your reference Zach, I'll pass it to you Um, I also want to highlight trainings um for all professionals and staff within Um, Montpelier Roxbury public schools. So custodians cafeteria workers like everyone possible We would like to prioritize um restorative practices trauma informed practices resiliency conflict resolution resolution and diversity equity and inclusion trainings. Um, We want to we also want to recognize that there are a lot of um restorative practice trainings that are being taken Um by teachers and staff as a whole But we wanted to really Make sure that that is highlighted everyone like even bus drivers um, so just the wide range of people there um, and we also would like to um formalize a relationship with the community justice center Um, and this could even be part of what the community liaison Um position does um, we do know that there's a fee for help for the community justice center's help with specific conflict resolution cases Um, but we would recommend that you set aside funding For these fees on an unneeded basis and I'm gonna pass it to Emma Sorry, just trying to find my mute button while I'm sharing the screen. Can you still see the presentation? um, so as the board knows, um Our district is going to have an incredible opportunity Over the next couple of years to make one-time investments As part of the elementary and secondary school emergency relief funding ESSER One of the focus areas defined by the agency of education was social emotional health mental health and well-being of our students This has been the underlying theme of all of our all of the work of this committee And is the foundation for every recommendation that has been made tonight Ensuring that our students feel safe in their schools Is ensuring their social emotional health mental health and well-being We recommend that the administration and board carefully consider the work of this committee And the recommendations that we have made when allocating the elementary and secondary school emergency relief funds We believe that there are many opportunities to make progress on these recommendations that align with the ESSER funding So Wait, can you all hear me now? Yes, a lot. Okay, awesome So Susan and I will be presenting this slide um, and I'll just start it so As a way to keep the broader Montpillar-Roxford community involved and engage in this process The committee plans to take these initial steps to share our work with the broader community Yeah, so we decided that it would be really important to keep the community informed about our work And so we thought we were invited to do a district podcast episode And I I think probably you're all aware but they're really fun to listen to so I highly encourage you if you hadn't had a chance to listen to some of those podcasts And so we'll share, you know a lot of the information that's shared in this presentation. We'll share that in a podcast We we plan to have them to have at least one media commentary that Run in a local paper. Hopefully a couple. We even are hoping to enlist Mary Mello's help She's done some lovely articles in the bridge And then we're also working on a one pager a web-based one pager Which could also be printed which just kind of outlines the process we went through This year as a committee because what we learned is that the community Needs information about the work of the board in order to feel invested and to understand and to feel heard And so we recommend that the board Continue this dialogue and outreach to the community and we we really want to Encourage you when it's possible to run a process to solicit community participation In decision making we found that collecting information from all the stakeholders To learn about our community's core values was one of the most important things we did as a group And so when the board has an opportunity it may make the process take a little bit longer But not that much longer We really want you to reach out the other thing that we think is really important is to utilize the district communications avenues When you're doing updates new policies or we're just to keep people informed of the work of the board So we thought we'd start by modeling some of the ways that we're going to try to reach out to the community And it might help the board as it moves on to to use some of those avenues to Yeah, I would totally agree. I feel like The real meat of the committee's work was just hearing from the community and realizing the importance of How the the community needs to to hear from the district in terms of policy But the district really needs to hear from the community as well in terms of knowing the experiences of everyone that's directly interacting with the policy um just to make them as equitable as possible And yeah, just kind of what Mia was saying earlier just that safety is built on communication And for me, I feel like that's what my biggest takeaway was being on this committee just all that transparency and As much as possible. So Yeah, this committee was just like a really good model for what that Um interaction can look like because we were kind of a liaison between the broader community and the district So yeah, if you ever want to use that again, it's a very good idea Um, so at the end We just wanted to thank you all once again for hearing us out and remind you of our core values that we determined best represent our community um As we begin and end with them and did last time too We just thought it was a fitting bookend and thank you for your time Great. Thank you. That was um Absolutely fantastic great work um I'm sure the board has a lot of questions. So let's open up the questions and just, uh This is Ray's hand function and Uh, yeah, we can the committee can kind of choose to pick whoever they want to to answer it. So For questions, I just want to just I think just go around and say Thank you so so much for all the investment of your time for listening to the community. I just don't Can't stress enough how grateful I am for all of your work and your heart and your brains and your hands and all of you So thank you Andrew Yeah, I want to I want to second what amanda said. This is this is so so helpful. Um Really when we when we put this together The idea that we would just Remove the sRO position for me personally. I just didn't think it was enough I thought that you know, it was almost like from my perspective And I I don't mean to offend anybody when I say this but from my perspective it seemed like A very reasonable proposal at the outset. I didn't um I didn't think it was a heavy lift, but what I did think was a heavy lift was figuring out What did we want the the future of Social justice in our schools to look like and I think you guys have put in place some really Really strong recommendations Based on a lot of clearly very powerful community input and I think There's there's so much in here that's going to be so valuable for us in terms of the approach that we take For everything from policy making to communicating with the community To figuring out how this factors into Future budget decisions. It's just very very comprehensive and You guys did an extraordinary job. So I just want to thank you Um the the one question That I have is the formalized relationship with the community justice center. Are we thinking I I know there's a Montpelier community justice center And my understanding is it's part of a larger network That's uh, I think it's under the department of corrections if i'm not mistaken So I was just kind of curious To better understand that particular Recommendation I that was the one thing I wasn't certain about So, um, we could let liby's start with what I know that there already is some relationship with the community justice center And the district so the district uses their services For conflict resolution already Um, and then there's also liby. Do you want to speak to that piece of it? There's not much more to say to that piece of it. Our our relationship with them is to to when there's significant Legal offenses that the community justice center works with kids and families to keep them on a jail or keep it off their record Yeah From my understanding when I met with them was that we don't have a direct relationship As in June of last year It was that the police will refer the cases to the restorative justice center So has that changed since June of last summer? No, we have our SRO was our connection So right that's the that's the reason why that recommendation came to light was because the school resource officer was our bridge and was the person primarily responsible for referring cases um from the district to the community justice center And in our conversations with the community justice center, we found that Um, you know in not not in all cases Is it necessary to have a referral from the police that you could work directly with the community justice center? So it's more about just strengthening that relationship and exploring what the future of that relationship could be in the absence of a school resource officer Um, but I don't want to get into into details because they would only be sort of like the imagination of the committee members And different conversations we've had I think that would really be up to the administration And the community justice center to decide how that looks moving forward But they're certainly eager to strengthen the relationship. And I think um You know, it seems like the district Would be open to that as well. I know it looks like amanda that you yeah, I was going to point that That's what she's trying to answer I can just add to the fact that we We do invite like the community justice center when we have Act 264 meetings when we're trying to do some wraparound services for students and They they have been pulled into help with some truancy in the past. It's very rare But just to let you know that they have been involved, but definitely just peripherally in the past And could you elaborate you you noticed a meeting and you used a buzzword that not all people know Yeah, it's it's a meeting. Um That we pulled together for students who are really struggling and we want to bring together as many resources around the table to brainstorm how best to help the student Great. Thanks for clarifying. Um Jill Thank you. Um, I just again wanted to say thank you very much That doesn't really seem to cut it honestly, you know, reading the news and seeing what happens in our country every day to have the level of depth and thoughtfulness and maturity and Actionable items that you guys just presented to us. I feel like The united states needs to see this presentation right now. Um, I say that with sincerity and and Deep gratitude to all of you for all that work. I can only imagine how much work went into that Um, and I also like I said, I really appreciate the actionable items. I'm really, um Happy to hear about the idea of the community liaison position I appreciate that there was an acknowledgement that by making the change that we were all Talking about that we were going to be leaving a gap that needed to be addressed in a in a manner that can still serve the students and families And the educators that needed that so I think that actually sounded like a pretty Great and actionable item and I was happy to hear that you had consulted with our superintendent about that because that's really helpful As far as being part of the bigger picture I don't know much about the community justice center. So I too would be interested in learning more about that But yeah, I just um just really appreciate the depth of your recommendations the policy recommendations the actionable items and the and the um even proposed solutions from any budgetary concerns there might be I'm just really honored to have had that moment to watch that presentation and for our community is so indebted to all of you for All that you did all over all these months to provide that information. So thank you very much Uh christin Hi, thank you. Yeah at the risk of being redundant. I just want to um convey what a massive Undertaking that this appears to be this seems to be the result of work that would maybe span a year or two And the fact that you all accomplish this in a matter of months and that it's just so comprehensive is um, I'm just incredibly impressed by And it also seems to reflect just a um a really important and timely paradigm shift It sounds like we're just really changing lenses here and uh, you know the kind of the policy review That you all have You know set before us also seems just very comprehensive and it seems you've framed our work very clearly and very strongly And um, and I just want to appreciate the presence of the students here and commend your commitment to this process and your involvement and I hope it's just been a really Deeply value-adding process, you know for you and moving forward and knowing that you are So important, you know to these processes and that your voice truly truly matters. So Um, let's see. I want to appreciate both Susan and uh, I think it's Eliana. Eliana. I'm sorry if I'm mispronouncing, but just I'm new to the board. I'm I'm I come from Roxbury and I'm really beginning to understand just my role in terms of community engagement. So hearing that from you all Just feels important in terms of setting my own rudder and my role as a board member and then I did want to um I did want to ask a question about the um The added role because it also seemed like that would have like a budgetary implication in terms of the community liaison And I don't know how much we can go into it but just in terms of the the truancy and Like what that looks like in terms of trending over time if we've been seeing more of that like during during covid times and You had mentioned that certain kind of data might be looked at and collected To see how successful That position was able to be in terms of wrapping around those families and like I'm sure there are risk factors that contribute to True and see and how that would correspond to like the data that would be looked at and collected to see if that was Would be successful Or if that person could be successful and then you know, if this was going to be a short term funded position Like what then you know, what kind of is part of that position in terms of seeing that that work could be carried forward to Support those families, but thank you all so much for your work. It's so impressive and I'm grateful. Thank you Oh, I think it was an actual question there though um I think I'm going to hand it to liby to answer the question because I have to give Full credit to liby for she was the one that came to me and I and said, hey, I think this seems like A perfect fit for the work of the committee You're about to be making these recommendations and you've been working so hard for so long and it seems like this is a great You know great timing. So when the esser funds were announced liby saw that as an opportunity to potentially Fund a position that would help with the work of the of the committee and what we were about to recommend But in terms of potential data collection and and that I'm going to pass that over to liby So every year we have some students who just don't want to come to school for whatever reason Um, and it's not all to do with trauma. It's it's either usually the big ones are anxiety for trauma Um, and when a kid doesn't want to come to school That's like big red flashing lights for for people like me because that's what kids should be doing right so um, so that's We are always very concerned with a kid who just who decides not to come to school and And it puts a lot of stress on our system that we have currently and so the idea with the community liaison position was to add to um, ideally our mental health staff guidance counselors and social workers But to have a very small caseload Of kids and it would be the kids that really struggle to come to school so that they can be That person can be the liaison between mental health services can go pick the kid up if they need a ride Take them to mental health services can do all of the things that Our current social workers or guidance counselors who are who are busy Can't do As far as this year in turn and truancy our numbers are no different than they are any other year We have some students that we can't Get to engage and that's but that's typical every year Right now, so there's no difference, but the idea of data collection on this would be I mean ideally this person would work themselves out of a job However, I don't think that that's possible Because we always have new kids and trouble comes up and kids need support And so I think there's always going to be the small caseload of kids And so we would take data to see how this support for this family has worked And this very intensive support has worked And then share with the board Have some drivers as to or have some goals as to what could be accomplished and then You know, I would imagine in three years time that we would come to you To say this this position met its goals and meaning to be meeting these goals And so we'd like to put in our local budget or not, you know But that would be a conversation for later on down the road Yeah, and I'll just say that the committee wanted to leave that opening for the board to consider the position like Potentially the SR funding would it has it has to be short term You know over the next couple of years, I believe and so potentially this is about Creating a pilot program that can and then we can sort of assess Assess the efficacy of that program and then continue to fund it potentially thank you Alanda Yeah, uh in that vein so questions around What other supports do we need To support students beyond truancy We always Look at truancy as like the a but there are others so many support systems that we can be building So deep is that something that came out? Um, I have three questions. So should I give them all at the same time? They're different topics. So Maybe I'll just throw that one in there Um, and then leave me mention something about, you know, truancy is not just about Anxiety is about anxiety and trauma that not necessarily trauma. So what other things can we do to support students? That just have anxiety Um, I just remember of cases where there is bullying and harassment involved in not wanting to come to school Um, so like yeah, what are the broader support systems that we can have? Beyond the punitive systems that we have around truancy and expulsions and our Our own way of framing that kids need to be in school. So just um Those are questions that is one question And then should I yeah, and then I have two more so Okay, let's start with the first. Um, I was supposed to take that maybe by liby I think I'm on this posing that to the committee All right, I'll jump in I'll give it a go. Um, because what I think our work showed us is that the community liaison officer Um, the idea of that role was to to address a lot of the things you talked about Amanda and in the in the slide on the bottom are more details about the The qualifications for that role or the expectations for that role So I don't think that the committee is at all, you know In a position to recommend exactly how to handle that But I do think we've talked a number of times We've talked about using positive language and keeping around the community core values in mind and The things that me have brought up in addressing policy could also pertain to The way that things are handled with that role. So does that answer your question to some extent? I mean, yeah, and I'm thinking more broadly what outside of that what other support systems are students needing Is it after school programs? Is it, you know, that when you think when we're thinking of safety and we're thinking of being an inclusive community of love that is reinforcement reinforcing, you know Programs that can support so that these things don't happen. What are those programs in those support systems that maybe you Were thinking that maybe we're lacking that didn't make it to the recommendations or that were there and I just didn't see it So it's after school program. Is it, you know, is it more instructors is it more I think what ended up coming up through the committee is that we have pretty good systems in place it's just about refocusing the lens of those systems into you know, using the diversity equity inclusion policy and the six core values to sort of refocus the lens and so we did we did end up talking a lot about And making some recommendations around system-wide professional development Resiliency trauma informed practices those types of things Restorative justice So it's sort of like improving the systems that we have to sort of shift gears towards the recommendations of this of this committee We didn't get into sort of the granular level of, you know, what are all the potential possibilities um, because what we what we felt is we were sort of making like broader recommendations about here here are the values of the community And here are some very specific things, but in general we feel like there's work. There's work to be done so I don't know, um You know, I think liby could probably speak to what is currently in place and then You know, it's I think it's up to us to use our imagination and the district the board and the district to use our imagination with the recommendations that the committee made of how to improve those current systems Thanks, Emma. Um So the the other question I have around the MOU with the police, um It seems to me that we still need an MOU with the police My understanding is that there are From from the past conversations in the board It was that there is still a need for some type of relationship with the police um that in that You know outside of not having this the presence in the school is still a relationship with the school and That so it seems so I am wondering about why The recommendation of just not needing an MOU at all and that just just leaving it out That's the question that I have I think I'm going to pass that one to Mia. Do you feel good about that one? Um, I I mean I can give it a go I do want to quickly I want to quickly just say I know that some of the committee members Were expecting to leave after the presentation. So I just wanted to say thank you to all of you If you have to step away, that's totally fine. If you want to stay to help answer questions You're more than welcome to do that too. But for those of you that need to step off. Thank you so much Yeah, I guess the um what we came to the realization of is that the what what would benefit the district the most is um the Are the standards or expectations or guidelines for When it makes sense to involve the police And that we can handle with our own policies and procedures And that it but it doesn't need to be something that both us and the police department signed that that given the What we Engaged with the police on now It's more about like us getting our own ducks in a row to say here's where we Do need to involve the police and also here's where we don't where maybe you thought you did before or when we had an SRO was A little bit easier to call the SRO here are those situations where These are the other ways you would handle that so we would we would lay that out in policy and then procedures on our own end That that was our thinking there And also the handbook was a big topic of conversation within the committee The handbook spends quite a bit of time here and there. I forget Jen did the math on it, but um About how many times it referenced when and how to police become involved And so those are the those are the areas where we feel we need to focus on is We can write it into policy into the conflict resolution policy We can write it into other specific policies And then we can also write it into the handbook But that because the formal relationship where we contracted with the police is now over We didn't feel like it was appropriate any longer to have a memorandum of understanding Thank you. I'm not gonna I'll save the rest and so to give other people more question Mia Um, I was actually going to make a motion around the policy recommendations I feel like this is kind of an easy one But it does feel like it's it's important to do kind of as we did a few meetings ago with the net zero one just to like Just ensure that it's in the record that I move that we Ask the we direct the the policy committee to take up the recommendations of the school safety and police relations committee around policy Yeah, do you have a second? I'll second I would like the process before we do that Because I His hand up and christine had his hand around questions And and so like I feel it's a little pretty mature if we don't have the voice of those that really wanted to ask a question about the presentation Yeah, so we can probably You guys agree to table your motion Sure Yeah um Andrew Thanks. Sorry. I've been eating dinner. I've been in front of a computer since like seven this morning. Um I was just hoping that, you know, there's been a lot of talk about the handbook and the role that the handbook plays Um, what is the handbook? What handbook are we talking about? You know, I I don't think um I think those who have been working on this are pretty close to This document, but I don't think others are quite as familiar including myself Um, I can take this again I don't know if anyone else wants to if anyone else wants to jump in But um, so there's the district has a handbook that um has a section for each school and it's sort of It outlines all sorts of things but a lot of a lot of the handbook is sort of spent on A nod to some of our policies bully bullying harassment and hazing dress code those types of things are in there The handbook used to traditionally be printed up and distributed to parents and caregivers um And I don't know when the shift happened. Um, where it kind of went fully online I think they might have some copies at the office if you are proactive and go ask for one Libby can answer that A few years ago We can print them up for you We're trying to be environmentally conscious and that prints so much paper. Yeah, so they kind of went uh paper-free And now it lives online and you can go to it and I think I think the sense that I'm getting is that the community tends to interact with that document more than our board policy page It's a slightly more user friendly. It's um written Directly to the three different schools. So if you're uh student Sorry four schools if you're if your student is You know having an issue at one of their schools you can kind of go in and the policy um so There was a few things where the language was sort of a mismatch with the values of that the committee identified um And I think even you know gen when gen was going through We we talked earlier in the presentation about sort of the emphasis on positive language And sort of stepping back from some of that more negative language And so that that was something we identified In the handbook as well Does that answer your question? We could link it. That's oh it being linked Thank you susan All right, etiquette. Thanks, Jim. Um So my question um involves about our is about the The current or the previous I guess before Before we started talking about the the change in approach and and Viewing this whole thing from a different lens SRO was was performing certain duties um, and then I I see the incredible work that's gone in to to outline how we're going to move forward and and the the policy that you know the recommendations of putting what to put in policies and and how to approach and that's you know I felt that's that's um awesome to to see all these things um I I just I just uh was wondering uh that That the the idea is that we since now the SRO wouldn't be there We would adopt this different approach and and we would You know, whatever the needs of the district that are the kids are uh, we'll we'll meet them by following these things um, so I'm assuming that committee uh Looked at what duties the SRO was performing where were the gaps and and and You know got the input from the community and then came up with the recommendations so I was just wondering were there any cases or edge cases where Some of the stuff is going to be yeah, as I was doing that and then Uh, we will continue the district will continue to utilize the police department to handle those cases and then clearly the other things uh that we would achieve by doing restorative justice and and the community liaison and what were there any edge cases where um There was a little bit of confusion whether that should uh fall into the preview of police department and or the other um The other approach that we're going to take and I was just wondering whether there is any confusion about I don't know where This would fall. There is no clear definition of what we would do what we should do in this particular situation So we did spend quite a bit of time, especially in the first part of our charge um sort of analyzing the role of the current the current use of the SRO um and I think you know, I don't want to speak for the whole committee because we didn't we didn't like do it the way that you Discuss were like we took all of the job functions and then we like made sure that they're going to still be able to be covered Um, we did sort of do like a higher level There were a couple of things that rose to the surface as areas of concern and the first um thing that rose to the surface was home visits and and truancy So I think the community liaison position will help with that like highest level of concern um and You know, I I think ultimately it didn't feel like the purview of this committee To get into that level of detail of you know, here's when you know when this happens This is what's going to happen when this happens Then this is going to happen if there's vandalism then you will call the police if there's a break-in Then you will call the police if there's drugs, then you won't call the police You know, we didn't get into that level of detail around when um Libby or other administrators will be able to You know, utilize the police force and and not um I think that we're making more of a value statement here around what we want to see moving forward And we've eliminated the board has eliminated the sRO position And now we're putting it into the hands of the administration and the board to Get into that level of detail, you know So if you want if the board wants to write policy that would be more explicit about when and when not To be for the administrators to be allowed to involve police Then that would be up to the board And then I'm sure I know that Libby has already been working hard with the Montpelier police department to Establish what the relationship between the district and the police department looks like moving forward in the absence of the sRO so Does that answer your question? Yeah. Yeah, it does it does so so the the policies Some of the some of these would would be addressed by the policy, but the bulk of it would be um on administration to to kind of come up with the approach of what what Who's services to utilize? right Yeah, I mean Does does anyone else want to contribute to the answer to this? I'm trying to Okay, will or um I just want to mention that um some of our recommendations. Um Are not just designed to address the the now absence of the sRO Um, but also you mentioned um in your question. Um, I think you call them edge cases or Um situations where it wasn't necessarily clear Um Whether or not the sRO should be involved whether or not the police should be involved What the procedures or outcomes would be? Um, and that lack of clarity um Is not new To now the absence of the position something we noticed a great deal of in in the many different kinds of anecdotes That we learned from the community There was for whatever reason a lack of consistency um and transparency in terms of Who would be involved when? and Would would what agencies would the criminal justice would the community justice center be involved? um There was not a lot of consistency or transparency Between the schools and even within the schools And so part of our recommendation that this um That policies should be consistently applied and there should be a clear threshold Of when the police would be involved and when not um, that would be That doesn't just address, um the new situation of a post sRO district um, it also addresses um Some of the problems we saw in anecdotes of years past Armada, um, yeah, so I so I I'm just I I think for the board that like for me in the board The mo is still a very important conversation to have um, and You end the relationship with the police and how that goes because I um You know, I just like see the this description still leaves a lot of holes for me as to this Which brings me back to last year where it's like we don't know when even if we create policies There's still this ample open space for this for Not having clear rules or or clear guidelines of when and and is now um And also that relationship with the community Just the center and like how that that isn't so I so I so for me It's clear that it's a conversation I would like to continue to have as the board and I appreciate all the feedback Is the police department interested in having an mo you with us? Because an mo you takes two parties. Yeah I could I can speak to that j erickson isn't here. He wasn't able to make it tonight because there's a city council meeting he was our um Rep from the city council on the committee and he had a couple of conversations with chief peat um I don't know that he would necessarily characterize it as not interested, but he did say that Chief peat's feedback was that it seemed unnecessary So I I mean seems like the door would still be open But that was the position that he reported back from his conversations with chief peat Yeah, I think it's also worth mentioning that that The board does not enter into mo use The administration does so So the district were to have an mo you as a police it wouldn't be a direct We also did float the idea of having a police relations policy But in the end we landed on a conflict resolution policy and we felt that within the conflict resolution policy and the procedure that that police relations Peace could be covered And to some degree the you know I mean we're essentially citizens of of the city of moffilliers. So um you know There are certain jurisdictions the police are going to have whether we we want it or not So, uh, I think we need to be mindful that that the police The police are in some instances going to be the deciders of when Andrew Yeah, so this kind of ties into what mia was um The action mia was proposing before and i'm not My memory is a little foggy of exactly what mia was proposing. So mia um You're definitely gonna have to propose this again, but from from my perspective in terms of So I haven't seen this policy recommendations document until you just mentioned these recommendations I was like, oh, did I miss something and I I gathered the 5000 foot? I heard the 5000 foot Message and really appreciated what I heard But I have literally not taken a look at this document until now and I did not have we received this um This presentation this morning. I did not have an opportunity all day to see this presentation. So I I I just for the first time I'm taking this all in really appreciate it very positive I have very positive response to it really appreciate the work But I just see, you know, what am I you just mentioned that this conflict resolution policy This is where the vision for the district's relationship with this department to live makes a lot of sense to me um, my general thought is whatever whatever kind of action we take if we um You know refer this these recommendations to the policy committee All all for the policy committee taking this up and considering it But I just want to put it out there in terms of taking any formal action tonight um There there's a lot of substance here and I think that's wonderful But I as an individual board member would like at least until the next board meeting To review that substance and understand that substance substance before taking any kind of action other than like referring it to a committee Uh, that would take action on it. I just don't feel comfortable having not I haven't read this these recommendations taking any super formal action on them right now So I just wanted to put that out there Also That makes sense Andrew and I I was um Going to say that the the the motion that I made was very top level to refer these recommendations Direct the policy committee to take up these recommendations essentially to review them And it's in the policy committee's hands to decide What to do with them take, you know, take the recommendations Apply them do the research to update the policies in any such way that either follow the recommendations or don't Yeah, it was a very top level motion that that I made I I appreciate that I can totally support that I just wanted those in attendance to understand Where I am and I have I imagine I don't know that a number of other board members probably haven't really, uh gotten into the substance Of this as deeply as we might over the course of the next several weeks Reviewing these materials because there's a lot here and clearly a lot of great work went into that So thank you again Yeah, and I also want to just Add and and I think you know having having the policy to the ability for the recommendations and the great next step um A lot of these policies are heavily heavily Both structured around and constrained by state and federal law You know, for instance, the hazing harassing and pulling pulling policy Is very strongly governed by state and federal law And there are things that have to be in there and things that cannot be in there You know our our policy on firearms, which is three quarters of a page Is governed by four federal laws and two state laws. So So we're gonna have to this this work on some of these policies is going to have to be done Probably with the district lawyer and our hands may be tied to a pretty Pretty high degree Amanda, did you have another question? I have a recommendation and and I just Again, when I just thank you all for All of your work. I know it's late. I want to because I I know How much work you did I do want to make sure that we all at the board Really spend some time reading it before it goes to any any committee But um, and I think that so like what I want to suggest is that I would like to propose that in order to honor the work of the committee That we will that the board receives these recommendations That we will table them for the next four meeting where we can have us a board a full discussion of what we see And then what commit to this committee that we will in a quarterly basis at least Really report back to you what are pro and to the community what our progress is And what we're doing I I just I want to honor your work And I want to make sure it doesn't sit on the side and that our time constraints and the multiple Loves that we have for many topics in our district that are not Contra so like I would like to Make some sort of motion that we're taking this recommendation saying that in a quarterly basis We will give an update report on what we're doing to uphold the recommendations of the of the of the board And that and now I just left the motion and just say that then we will read all of it Very technically for the next four meeting when we have a full discussion As to what's coming up for each of the individuals performance I don't know what I said, but it's all what I meant to say I I think I think you basically said that we should absorb this and and um talk about it at the At the next meeting which I think is our retreat. So I might have to be meeting after that I also think it might be worth um And I'll talk to somebody about how to do this cheaply um Getting our district attorneys involved so they can help us at the onset add up with some of these policies saying, you know, for instance You know, this is a policy you have discretion with this is a policy you don't Here are some areas you could you could add values to You can't go here because I think that might save us a lot of Work of putting some really good ideas that we'd love to see That we may or may not be able to do Because again, I think some of the core policies to this Some are very heavy very heavily regulated and I know that you know Again, I mean hazing harassment and bullying comes up as a prime example of a policy that probably if if the committee could sit down and and make additions to and And change Probably one of the things that a lot of people had in mind, but it might be one of those things where We might we might have have narrow room to operate so I think getting the sense of that would be helpful And there might be some some policies where we have more room amanda You know lawyers, right? Like I don't think we go to the lawyers the first step We go to the lawyers the third step like because lawyers are lawyers lawyers are always going to tell you know I'm married to a lawyer. I work for a lawyer And as an organizer what I have learned is that you do your natural organic thing first that your brain can flow You don't have to do all the work before you get to the law because I think that it does impede some of the work Um, and and I think that we can learn from other districts that are looking Similarly as some of these policies that have are in these recommendations that are that, you know So I think that we don't have to be here right here in this box I think I think this is an opportunity of growth This is an opportunity of dreaming and being able to really put our hearts and brains into what's good for our kids And so I think that uh putting already Like a tap on what we can and cannot do really limits Uh, the beauty of what this work is giving us. So I think that um Again, like I think it's it's important to not be like here Like we might not be able to do all of this after you work all this month And I know that's not what you're trying to say, but I just want to be more positive That yes, there are possibilities and that and that we should be able to strive for those possibilities um And like to really dream of what our school district can be in terms of safety because this is what this work is all about So again, like I just Move that we table this for next school board meeting and I want us to commit just like we committed to the The student group that came a month ago that we commit to this group that we will make sure that we are taking these recommendations That we will give an update You know on a quarterly basis of how our district is doing moving towards the recommendations and the ones that you honor all your work And so that's that's what I Yeah, I know duly noted and I know lawyers definitely can get get in the way and I wasn't suggesting we put a cap on our creativity, but um But knowing knowing where to direct it can also be helpful. Uh, Andrew Thanks. Thanks both Jim and Amanda. I I just want to add to that. Um that discourse just briefly which is It is true that there might be some things that we might not be able to do or certain policies that might need to be worded a certain way to Be consistent with state and federal law, but I also see and I you know, just have just through listening and just briefly scanning this After me as like after me as proposal before I was like, oh my god, I should brush up on this before voting. Um Is I do think that there will be a lot in here that we can do And I think that there's a lot here that we can work with and I think that there this This serves as an asset for the policy committee And there's also some really important recommendations That you've made with regard to how we conduct our business that I also think are super valuable so, um I think I I I think this serves as just a monumental benefit to us and I I do think there is a lot that we can do with this. So, um Thank thank you again Yeah, I I agree with all of that Emma Yeah, I'm I'm totally fine with with tabling and maybe they're you know, I was wondering at the outset of this I wasn't sure if there was a motion to be had tonight You know, I think that the work of the committee was was really Authentic and deep and beautiful and it started way back in May when the just schools initiatives folks and others Came to the board and vocalized um A mismatch of community values with the practices of our district And you know, it was an opportunity for us to look inward as a board and as a district And we've done that and you know, I I see the recommendations of the committee tonight as a starting point And a call to action of you know a refocusing on what are our community values And how do we want to? Create a vision like amanda said a let's dream here Let's dream together about what the future of the district could look like what the future of safety and Contra conflict resolution and justice And discipline, you know could look like to be more in line with the values of this community and so I see this as a starting point and You know the the conversations that we've had as a committee since October They were sometimes a little emotional and sometimes a little political and sometimes we disagreed But ultimately at the at the end of the process I think that we've laid out some some pretty important Values that if you look at if you look at our best practices Through those lens our best practices of of justice and Conflict resolution and restorative practices in the district through the lens of those values I think you'll see there's a lot of work to be done, you know and Something that came up when liby reported out on the diversity equity and inclusion policy Months ago That I felt that sat with me and felt poignant at the time and still does Resonate is um is that the work is never done, you know, it's like this is a continuum We're not going to rubber stamp something and make a motion tonight and then be finished You know, we have a lot of work ahead of us and it may never end because we're lifelong learners and we want to continually improve so um I will respect any decision to table and and sit with the information and think about how it might um affect different aspects of all of our various best practices both at the board and district level Great. Thanks. I'm a variable foot um so It sounds like we want to absorb this great work, uh, and um I think put it on the agenda for our next regular board meeting Which is May 4th It's the 5th jim may 5th. May 5th. Okay. Um And and then kind of see where we're at. Um, but you've given us again. This is incredible work Uh, super thankful very very important work. Um I really um pretty blown away by it with the time investment and uh, I think the ability to to to Reach out to the community and actually that's One thing that that I'd love to figure more about from producing the board most of all but also from all of you just um, you know the measures you employed to really get community input and work the board for you uh to do that on a more regular basis And uh and just the thoughtfulness and the thinking outside the box You know and by getting the lawyers involved at the top you don't need to put a damper on it But um, I think part of you know part of our job is going to be finding where where where we can can best incorporate these um, and uh, where we uh You know where we're we're otherwise constrained so we can best focus our our efforts and turn these these ideas into Uh to implement implementable um actions So any other any other thoughts or comments before we Uh turn to uh policy monitoring All right. I said, well, thank you everyone. We really really appreciate Uh your hard hard work. Uh, this is Uh, definitely one of the most work-intensive and I think dedicated committees. I've I've seen Um in like several years on the board So, uh, I really appreciate the the work you've done and the the opportunity given to the district to step forward on these issues So, thank you um Policy monitoring, uh, we've got two up a d12 prevention of employee harassment and Hey, hey jim. Yep. I see on the agenda. There's also the climate survey and retreat planning Oh, yes, you're right. Um Okay, thank you for noticing that uh um, okay, so let's do uh Climate survey and liby, do you want to give the background? I know this I know this is something we have That is part of our our contract. I think the last time we did it was two years ago um Yeah, it's probably it's part of the contract. Um that the board is to give a Climate survey each year. I can remember two years ago And I don't mean to sell sell the board out in any way, but I was good I was asked to find a climate survey rather late in the game and I sent one out Um to educators like in the last week of school and just had to find one Um, the survey that you see right now is not mine. I did not create it in any way to performance from pbis Um, and and did the trick for that year Um, but we don't have one set the board does not have a climate Climate survey set that it's sent home ever or sent to sorry staff every year uh, jill Thank you. I I just keep thinking about how strange a time we're still sort of in and Maybe starting to get out of and and where we're at with the school year and and covet And as a stay employee, you know, we just took a climate survey and and it's fascinating results about some of the positives in our case um, I'm just trying to figure out how How you design a climate survey that? useful beyond just sort of measuring or capturing any Lessons learned from this past year because it's just been such a unique year I just don't know. I don't you know, I think I don't think asking the same sort of climate, you know, how's your work life balance kind of stuff um But I think it would be fascinating as like a data geek. I actually really do want to hear I think it is really interesting from the students and the staff perspective. I'd love to do some sort of a You know how this year go um And how can we are there any lessons that we've learned? It's just this is not a normal year to take a climate survey in a way that could be measurable against a past climate survey For example, so I'm not really offering any helpful thoughts other than You know, it might have to be a different kind of a climate survey this year uh, yeah Yeah, I was thinking we had I think it was the last meeting we were in we were talking about using the climate survey as a To gather information that we might be able to use in the retreat So I I I definitely hear what you're saying Jill and I wonder if Because one of our objectives at the retreat is to be setting goals as a for us as the board That information actually for where teachers are at right now would really help inform goals that we'd want To be thinking about and maybe setting for The the board than how we can be supporting our educators for the coming year Um, so I I am excited about I was glad to see this on the agenda for today And I'm excited about the idea of getting this out in time to get the data back for um for the the retreat happening in May um, and then I Think I mean, I think one of the purposes for it to be a just up for discussion is Um, I brought some ideas for things that we could add into the survey Um, so I just wanted to toss them out there for consideration and I don't know I feel like it might be hard. Anyway, I'll say them out loud But it might be hard to kind of keep track of them So I don't know how to like get it written down so people can look at them to absorb them and think about them Maybe I can email everybody on the board or something but um, the one is that I know Libby you've mentioned that it's been challenging to um figure out how to collect demographic data, but I wonder if maybe within a broader survey, um If including even if they were optional questions around identity and demographics, um, if this is the the Container within which we could do that. Um I saw from our from ues actually going home or going to students will be a climate survey for students Which I wholeheartedly support and I saw that there were demographic questions in there So it felt like mirroring that with the climate survey the teachers seemed, um, like Um, totally almost necessary to do so that we can can see where people are at um in, you know Potentially based on, um, their identities and how that impacts the the the climate for them in within the schools That was one thing I wanted to offer to add Um, the second or the the next are just a few other questions. I think we could include that would be um Also very useful around some of the some of the things we just learned from the committee One being asking teachers to rate, you know, how They feel they're able to collaborate with other teachers and other staff at their schools Like what's the collaborative environment getting beyond like feeling the how they fit in but what's the collaborative environment? um, are they able to contribute to determining the Um, continuous improvement plan and annual school goals like do teachers and other staff have a role to play in that? The uh, and then how do other decisions throughout the year relate to the continuous improvement plan? um, and And then any questions around I had a couple ideas and questions around how teachers Experience the school and and community engagement um, and also Feedback from the teachers around how restorative practices are are used. Um, so I know that's not the best way to absorb all that information But this is also kind of my jam. So I had I was put a lot of some thinking into What else we could include in this survey? Before coming into the meeting No, good suggestions. Um, amanda Yeah, I echo me. Yes, and I know that um With ues There this is the second year that there will be a climate survey for families. Um Which the site council just edited Uh, a few days ago Um, and and this is the second year. So that kind of like the continuation And I and I so I think it's echoing those questions, but also kind of focusing to on Different practices that maybe work this year that were new due to the pandemic Uh, that people really love that what they would, you know, that they like what are the things that worked This year that weren't present before because of the so basically redoing this and like adding some of the covet specific questions Um, and and like changes and how they like they felt we know that everybody felt really supported by Libby and like the the principles and whatnot, but like really go deep To around I know there were some, you know, instructional changes that happened co-instructors in some classes that were Um, so all of that that, you know, maybe some things that will tell us more When we're thinking of yeah, and so Um, I I do also wonder if An optional demographic piece just like we are doing With the other climate surveys for families Will work and and it could be just a section um, and and so I guess I guess we have the potential to be able to draft our own Survey and just take some of those p of You know pbis questions, but really have an opportunity to create our own since the board Was unable to create it last year And me as their job and is my job, maybe we can do it and like send it out But put together a survey I think if you two ought to take take it on that would be fantastic The union has been quite clear to not ask those demographic questions I'm just going to put that out there. It doesn't matter if you ask it or if I ask it The union has been quite clear about that Um, so the board would risk Uh, whatever kind of grievance would come to you Um, around that we talked again yesterday at the equity team meeting about how we could get that information and we have some Questions going out to our licensing people and to try to get it that way because that's where I have a hunch That information is housed at the agency of education So we're hoping to get that information in other ways, but the union has been quite clear about not asking those questions So just want to put that out there. It's your survey and you can try to ask those questions, but They've been very clear about that I If if Well, I just wanted to note that Emma does have her hand up. I mean, it's probably maybe it's about something other than this But oh, I didn't It's a different topic. So let's stand. It's it's about this my my general thought is having Negotiated with the teachers union for the past three years um When liby has advised me not to do certain things and I've done them it has not turned out well and um What I think if first of all, I think we should see if this avenue she's exploring would work um You know and the fact that are I I I wrote a chairlift with the president of our local teachers union recently and she was very thankful for The board and the support of the board over the course of the past year And if this is something that the union has articulated to liby they really are not Interested in right now. I feel like this taking this approach would be pretty disrespectful um What I do think we could potentially do if what liby's looking into doesn't work is We could have some kind of negotiation with them about this a discussion rather About this to better understand the situation rather than, you know, just putting it out there um, and then it's not It you know liby you can tell me what you think, you know, I don't want us to be stepping on your toes, but um If it's if the request really is coming from the board So I almost wonder if we should at some point maybe have a meeting with some of their folks to discuss Um, why we're interested in this information and how we think it can help Uh, their membership as well They could it could be a simple letter. Um I mean, I I work with the NEA very closely and this is something that they're very passionate about So, I know we have like three unions. So there might be a different union that we're talking about but like I know I know that Versifying the teacher workforce is something that is really important for them, too Um, so yeah, like a letter to the union said, this is why like we're just asking For a conversation and this is why it's and this is why we're sticking this information Part of the vision Of the board it will be just nice to know That sounds like a good Oh, sorry, yeah I was just gonna say that's helpful context indra. I appreciate that and and liby I also appreciate you getting creative about figuring out Being able to get a at least a baseline understanding of what the demographics are within our workforce And it feels like if it is if we don't have these questions inserted in this survey then we are missing An opportunity to see like how does someone who holds a different identity than I have Experience the climate within the school um That so if if what liby if what you're pursuing does work then yes We'll get that baseline understanding But it won't be linked up with the answers within this survey Which to me feels like a missed opportunity But I I also understand the certainly as a new board member that there's a lot that I Don't know about the dynamic between The union and the district and the union and the administration and I also can see The you know the great work that you have done to build up that relationship And so hearing that feedback from Andrew is very helpful And it makes me think like if there was some way for us to Again not step on your toes, but to work to try and get an understanding of where they're coming from and also Help them see where what we're trying to do by asking this information I I would I would Really appreciate that opportunity Just because it really feels like a missed opportunity to not have Be able to see what How any one person Is experiencing the climate within the schools Which we know Just in general it does you know our identities do shape that so I just want to be clear. It's not me who's telling you not to do this It's the union who's telling you not to do this I I I want to get this information. We're working to get this information, but it's not me who's not who's not wanting this information um, and I'd also Rely on our policies To understand the communication structure between board and Teachers directly and when that's appropriate and when it is not I would just make sure that you rely on your policies to do that Yes, it sounds like we should Approach this delicately and make sure that we are I mean it sounds like looking at our policies in terms of how we engage the union and trying to make an ask within those policies To figure that out And I don't know whether that's a simple letter or a meeting or or what but It does you can make sense to try to find a way to communicate I love that don just turned on his camera. I was waiting for you don Yeah Is it okay? I just have one Thing to say is I'm I'm here actually on behalf of the union. I'm the vice president of the union and I'm Just listening in and one of the things that I would say a lot has come up tonight and about the survey and if you could Put it into a paragraph Exactly what you're hoping for or asking for and then you email that to me. I'd be happy to Send out some feelers to folks and see if we can't get a group of people who would you know be willing to address this Question and have that discussion So that to me would be very helpful Just a really clear statement of purpose And then I'd be happy to deliver that in my capacity and talk to folks about this We're having discussions on lots of different things and this could be another one where we See if we can come up with a solution that satisfies both parties Thank you Donna. It's super helpful Appreciate that. Thank you I'd be willing to write that Yeah, that'd be great and just Libby it's my email is just dont at mpsbt.org and if you can get that to me Uh, as soon as possible, I'll get to work on that Yeah, and I'm on it. Can you make sure you coordinate with um, probably Andrew or Jill or someone from the Negotiations committee on that email just so they can make sure it's kind of consistently past correspondent And and just to be fair too, um It sounds like Libby has gotten a clear message And I'll just poke around and see exactly why that message has been so clear and where that's originated and And kind of do some homework on that as well Thank you. Thank you everyone. Thank you. It's done. Thank you very much um Emma you've had your kind of for a while So this is a shifting of gears, but um, I I like the like art scales that are being used because it helps like A quick analysis of data once the survey results start coming in I was wondering if we might want to add like a neutral Answer in the lake art scale that um is offered. There's four options, and I was wondering if we wanted to um Potentially include a fifth option that was like more neutral and not, you know, neither agree or disagree Um, and I also thought it could be interesting to offer a couple of open-ended questions towards the end um, maybe something like You know one if you could do one thing to improve school climate. What would it be or You know um Something like that. Is there is there one current practice that you believe contributes positively to school climate? What would it be? Some, you know, just to generate some more open-ended qualitative answers If I could make a suggestion I might suggest that the members of the teacher negotiation team Who are the board members who have the authority to work directly with the teachers? Through their negotiations committee stance Get in touch with the negotiations team of the teachers To ask them exactly what this was a teacher asking to the contract is my understanding To ask them directly what what kind of climates or what was the intent to this part of the contract? And what we're we're all as a district looking to gather from this because the teachers look for it too Since I got feedback from the last survey um So I would if I could I would recommend to the board that the board members who have a direct link to the teachers already through the negotiations process And since this is contractual um Open up that line of communication I hesitate to have uh the board in general interacting with the teachers in general Because that's breaking a lot of policies. So I I would recommend going through the negotiations committee here I'm happy to reach out to to chris On this and if you want to if you want to send me any Any follow-up emails on this i'm happy to do that So just like suggestions of added questions email those to you well, I think I think the the question well I I think I think the 5 000 foot level of question that I just heard was you know, what what what would be helpful for the Do you want to repeat what you just said again? I want to make sure that I didn't misunderstand you Well, like maybe two open-ended questions to get at sort of their dream come true addition to the school climate, you know, if there was something that we could do to improve school climate What would it be? And then if there's something that They feel needs to be improved when it comes to you know, like sort of getting at both angles Like what do you think we're doing well in terms of school climate? And what do you think could be improved in terms of school climate? I don't know exactly how to word it and I think liby's Suggestion is a good one, which is involving the teachers in this process and doing it through the negotiations um team since it is a in the contract and what I heard from you liby is reaching out And I would reach out to chris because he's he's the point. He's been the point on this for the past number of years Is um, you know, what what did they have in mind? What what would they view as as being helpful? Through the survey what types of questions and Was this so I'm sorry. I don't really understand it says at the top of the survey that the survey was created by pbis was So did the did our our teachers union provided this survey as what they would like to use Oh, okay I didn't inherit a survey that had been used in the past Don's been here more than I have so don you may be able to shed some light on this that I can't But I didn't inherit a survey. So So that was just one it had to be done quickly and so I just found one Got that from I'm not connected to it in any way shape or form Okay, and contractually when it You're contractually we are contractually obligated to conduct a climate survey Yes, and but there's no further sort of Details about what the survey needs to have in it Right, right However, I I know because I got feedback about that survey the last time that there are The there is an intent behind it that that the teachers union wants to know a lot of information too And they want to know very specific information So don I don't want to ask you to talk. I'm trying very hard not to ask you to talk half of the union but No, I we've actually discussed this in in recent meetings the climate survey and there's been a discussion about Where the survey comes from because there are lots of surveys already out there and I think what Andrew said about Contacting the negotiations team both chris and joe carol Who are very knowledgeable about this and I'm just wondering also again. This is something I don't want to speak for the association without doing some homework on this But it seems it sounds like a co-created survey That includes both information from you know what the board wants to find out and what teachers need Would serve in our best interest and it sounds like a co-created survey or at least an instrument that we could all agree with Would make things a lot more palatable when those you know when those results come back and I would highly suggest that you know that That goes out to our negotiation team. I that idea sounded very good To go through the negotiation team because they're the ones who Have that familiarity and I would also say that if this happens, you know within the next two weeks I think that would be awesome We have our next executive board meeting is may 11th And then we also have a full membership meeting tentatively scheduled for may 13th and so You know just begin at least beginning this process if not finding that tool would be very helpful It sounds like for everyone involved really Really appreciate it Don This has been a very confusing 10 minutes So I just want a clarification There is a concern that we as teachers That levy has right like you want to make sure that we're in our lane So I and that we are not Falling of our policies Then there so that the paragraph that I was going to send on is better if Chris if Andrew sends it so that we limit our relationship with the union Like all of the other board members So just trying to clarify that and then And that the survey that me and I were going to work on will now be done by Andrew and who else is Gary With the teachers committed so that We are all in our lanes I think what it just comes down to amanda is you know, we we um Work together to establish a legal framework and contractual framework That our our teachers operate within and we deal with And the union is is a very formalized structure as well and they have Designees who work with us on these types of issues And we have good relationships with those individuals and and What don what I interpreted don suggesting is you and levy's suggesting is hey You've gotten avenue to work on this Use that existing structure. So If you and Mia want to put together a paragraph and send it to me In the next day or so I can reach out to Chris and joe who represent the union in negotiations And include that as a piece of the request for input from them And they'll work with their union representatives and and don Um to figure out, you know, what what message they want to send us on that's what they're okay with what they're not okay with You know, I don't know exactly what their Um deliberations look like. Um, but I I know that they're generally very well considered. So don Do you want to add anything to that? No, and amanda what I would be doing is just after this meeting, I'll just be notifying You know the folks on the board. That's what I'm here to do is to notify them that there's going to be A communication from the board to our negotiations committee regarding the climate survey and that that's something that The negotiations team will bring to the executive board so we can get that ball rolling Thank you so much I I really appreciate it as a new board member that has never been in negotiations or understand the Relationships with the union. This is very enlightening and helpful for me to like move forward and like how we work in our district So I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. I'm sorry for jumping in christina. No, it's okay I just had a question about the the timeline. Um, I see that this is like an annual It sounds like contractual requirement and it also sounds like it this This might need some more time in terms of arriving at something that feels both comprehensive and collaborative So that we could kind of take the opportunity to Work, you know with the union and so that everybody's kind of getting the information that would be, you know So that it's just optimized So is there a timeline that can allow for sort of an optimal Kind of survey creation process or is this something that I think I heard that it wanted to be done possibly before A retreat and or if it has to be annual, is there like an actual deadline For us to get this done It's in the contract that it has to be done yearly. Yeah It has not been done yet I I think it's a great idea to get a survey together that we can use you could use yearly You know so that you can compare it between years and it's not just fine It's something off the internet, but it's something that everybody really values and gets information off um I was just curious is yeah, yeah, it goes really good at you now. Thanks. I was just curious It sounds like the one actionable item from the contract is to get the survey out Is there any other action item for the board? What to do with the survey Act on it. It's just basically just have a survey and the results um, are they sent out obviously the administration collects them The board gets to look at the survey survey results. Anybody else like the do they go back to the union? I think I can't remember from two years ago. It seems like it was about 15 years ago at this point, but Um, I know that we talked the board talked about the survey results in the retreat That was part of the data Collection that I shared um, and we had a good long conversation about there and I'm pretty positive. I sent it out to the The union as well, but I could be right it seems so Yeah, I was just trying to understand the intent behind this I mean if the union wanted us to have that survey out Wondering if they wanted the results for their internal analysis or whatever. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah The union will use the results absolutely Okay. Yeah, um Yeah, no, I do think we have we did sure it would be um Are those old hands or or new hands old hands? Uh so Mine's mostly new mine Mine's mostly new. I just wanted to go like a little bit further on the clarification because that that amanda was seeking I That that was very helpful for me as well, but I just wanted to Say a lot what I think is happening next is that um, it's essentially a um a We're opening up the process to co-create a survey together with The with a team from the from the union and that it'll be our negotiations team our teachers negotiations team that will hold that process Yes, and so any Any ideas we have or whatever should go to the board negotiations team Ideas requests, whatever. Yeah, so the the communications will be through the negotiations team um which is Jerry Andrew and Jill Yeah, but we would have to have a public meeting. Um, and this can really this what I'm thinking So here's what I'm thinking what I'm thinking is Mia and amanda since this is your jam I think you guys should step up and draft A survey that you think would be really good. It's not a quorum of our board. It's not a quorum of a committee I think you too can work on that Before you get started on that though If you can send me a statement amanda that you were talking about on the demographics piece um, you know why why What we're seeking to collect why it would be helpful how we think it can be beneficial to both uh Teachers the board the administration I think that would be really helpful and I think if you could send that tomorrow that would be ideal And then I'll aim to engage Chris and joe Then we don't need to have a public meeting because I'm just acting um As an individual board member and I I've done this with with chris before to sign The the contract I can engage with chris and joe and say hey, you know We'd love input from you guys explain that you too. Mia and amanda are working on this and the board will be involved um, and also raise the demographics Uh issue with them as well. Does that sound like? Yeah, I just I just want to put a clarification. I just want to make sure that um, yeah Yeah, you know, me and amanda are working to kind of put this together that the The communication gets funneled through the negotiations Um, yeah, and it's clear that the channel of communication with the union is through the negotiations today um, so we're not in a situation where we've got, you know Multiple board members reaching out to the union and you know kind of confuse the thousands sure sure Yeah, and then I'm it's it's you know, it's nice to hear that the union is also Already thinking about this. It feels like we're all we're all starting with A good jumping off point. Um, it does sound to me like going through this process might mean that we don't have the Data from the survey in time for the board retreat just because it you know I imagine a few iterations of the survey and then the time to fill it out But I so i'm just putting that out there as we might just have to be okay with that Maybe we should Different different board meeting doesn't have to be out there. Yeah, we could have a different board meeting on it. Yeah Yep Yeah, the idea was to help us frame our our board retreat like thinking big picture so but Yeah, we can get it by the board retreat. That might be good. But remember we've got Board retreat. I think the first meeting is going to be the fifth or sixth Oh, we've got spring break coming up. It's already mid april um Yeah, might might might be uh, let's say dance All right, anything anything more on this? I think we've got got a plan Okay, it brings us to the board retreat uh Thanks to me and a couple others for suggesting Uh some facilitators. Uh, I've reached out to three um One has rejected one is considering uh, one is is Welling and andrew and I talked to him this evening um The one who's furthest along is um I actually was recommended by both mia and Player wheeler take it that right? uh But it's also I just wanted to disclose A member of the community and has relations as a friend with several board members including myself Which is nathan suitor in his organization bill It would be very willing to do it And has put together a draft proposal but also understand that the board has reservations about the fact that he is an active community member So I just wanted to run that by the board again You know no promises have been made and talking to uh Another one I can reach out to more but if anyone has concerns about nathan um Let me know just so we can can do them the justice if not Pursuing it further, but I I I think nathan nathan would be good. I think he does a He's well respected and um, I think he's uh able to To separate his his community hat from I would support nathan as well I think he's very professional and thoughtful and I think he would do it awesome job All right, excellent. Uh, well, we'll continue talking to nathan and tell him that you have to build out his proposal I hope I can get Another one or two And then I'm also working with jill sending out in the next couple of days a um Summary of kind of the conversations I had just to give people something to chew on And then I think what what we'll do Uh, we also put together some questions. It would be good for folks to answer in anticipation of the retreat I think before sending those out, I'm going to see what The facilitator the facilitator might want to You know add to those or You know tweak down and then kind of be the one who may be sent to that and collect so So those documents will be coming around soon and then I actually think we have to we have three gates on the calendar as whole Um Which if I recall uh fifth six and 13 um Do those dates still work for everyone and do folks have a preference of which two of those Uh work and don't work I might have missed it, but I think it's just the sixth and the 13th On my counter Yeah, okay. I still got to I still got to put on like two to five, right? Yeah, two to five five. Yep. All right. I have the fifth sitting on my under two and As our regularly scheduled meetings, so that's why we didn't maybe maybe um I have all the administrators coming on the fifth to do the continuous improvement plans Just a way I which I can change but they're planning on that for the for the board Just put out there. I think probably for Andrew's benefit more than one else I I'm getting my second shot on the fifth and my first shot hitting pretty hard the second day uh So and you you may have elevated vice chair duties On that first day of retreat if I'm sitting there with a bag of my hair, but um I'll be looking to somebody else on the roberts rules because I'm Very forgetful when it comes to rob to mr. Robert's rules I'll I'll I'll drop my copy your mailbox. Um All right, excellent. Anything else on on board or do planning? All right, Jim, you you asked the question, but I didn't think I answered nor anybody else around the dates and I'm still looking on my calendar Um, so I I'm not sure what I was looking at. I just tried to find out what you were talking about So I thought we had A hold on three days, but apparently we don't we just have a hold on two days to six So the first the first part will be the sixth and the second part will be the 13th um from two to five For some reason I have the fifth as a extra hold too, but I don't know why that ended up my calendar, so I was My calendar was mistaken. So it's the sixth and 13 Two days in the retreat and then we have a regular All right, uh policy monitoring which I jumped to too quickly earlier and me account me on I see we have the the d12 prevention of employee harassment and do six substitute teachers Um, and we need to approve both of them. Um, so Uh, why don't we have a motion to approve them enough discussion unless people Do not want to make a motion to approve Or motion to accept I move that we accept the two policy monitoring reports I'll second it second Our discussion I haven't sorry. I have a discussion Just the question because uh the policy committee didn't look at this because we put the policy committee on hold until um Until after the retreat And and so I'm I'm wondering about the process I have The process here is um A liby is Is reporting compliance with the current policies Which were, you know duly duly approved by Both the policy committee and the board a while ago. So we're not revisiting the policies or re-endorsing the policies We're just liby's just reporting on compliance with the current And I just have one comment the on their d2 prevention of employee harassment policies the contacts are all About 80 percent out of date I'm sure you've noticed But we can we can update that at some point Any other asterisk there to say that the policy committee needs to update that language and gives My suggestion is to write it general. So you don't have to do it every time there's a turnover Yep, okay So something that we had discussed I think amanda is touching on in the policy committee before ryan left We had discussed starting to get on to a schedule with liby's compliance reports So that you know the week before she was reporting compliance on a policy that we would take a A moment during our meeting prior to that to sort of Touch base with the policy again and read it through and and see if we felt like it needed any updating Just to have it side by side with her Compliance reports It's also my understanding. I mean you might want to check in with vsba or somebody on the policy committee I I believe that the boards Have to redo the policies every three years Um, and so you'd be up to like next year would be a very busy year and redoing all the policies because they're all done at the same time When the merger happened But but we probably want to check on that because you want to We'll have to make you have a calendar does exist of when different policies expire And I think you're absolutely right that there's a wave of um Renewing policies that needs to happen Yeah, there's a wave Yeah, and then later Ryan and um Bridget had created some sort of calendar that I saw at one point. So I'm sure we could reach out to Ryan for that again Yeah, and we might want to revisit. Um Yeah, I've been one of the interesting things I noticed in the SRO policy Uh, review, which is which is very true was how things are were all written in kind of the negative um And that's actually a vestige of our policy governance days So that is how policy going over from the policies that's supposed to be written and this like weird negative language And we actually we redid the policies actually took a lot of that language out. Um But you're right. We found it awkward at the time Uh, we've digressed a little. Um Any further discussion on the approval of the the two policy reports? I'm gonna be the stone in people's shoes and I I You know adopting things that are not finalized for me. It's bad practice So if like there's change in language, can we put it on hold until we fix it and then vote on it? This is just the policy monitoring report. This isn't the policy But but but we're saying that there needs to be some changes in there so That's in liby's report. So liby is just reporting to the board You know, here's where our district currently stands on this policy. So that's her compliance report And sometimes she reports compliance and then other times she'll report non-compliance And then she'll make some notes So those are notes for us to sort of as the policy committee to look at her notes and then And then take action after that But right right now. We're just talking about liby's report of compliance on the on the current policy Yeah, and basically by not approving her report. We're saying we disagree with that either she reported compliance And we think we're a non-compliance But you've reported with compliance with some notes about well, you know some things we need to be updated and we say No, we don't think they need to be updated. So us not taking action is basically saying liby's But we disagree with it other comments. Otherwise, I'll start with a vote anagut. Hi Uh, Emma. Hi Mia Amanda Hi Andrew Jill our Kristen. Hi Jerry Hi I mean with everyone the Andrews Andrews cats ready for him to be done. Andrew, why do you reckon why she do adjourn? I move that we adjourn Wait, Jill Jill has her hand up. Hold on. Oh, sorry. Sorry, Jill I'm so sorry Great, I'm not sure when the appropriate time in the agenda was I just want to let you folks know that tomorrow is the first of the Central Vermont career center board meetings that I'm I'm our representative on So I'm thinking in so there's basically two meetings a month for the next couple months So maybe on the agenda once a month. I can just give you guys a quick update at some point At the happy two. That's all. Thank you so much. Jill. Perfect. Yeah, thank you Jill, I'm going to send you the board agenda Like if you don't have it, I'll just get it to the top of your your inbox So you can just add a note for board discussion or board learning focus in there for me So I remember when we're making the agendas. Awesome. Thanks Great. Um, can we adjourn the meeting for the evening? I let's count that as a second on Andrews Motion uh agate Hi Amanda Hi Jill Hi Andrew Jerry and Kristen I Great. We'll have a wonderful spring break. And me and me. I'm sorry. Yeah I vote to adjourn Yes, um Have a wonderful spring break everyone and uh, we'll See you soon. Thanks. Enjoy everybody. Good night. Take care