[Hearings on October 21, 2021.] [00:00:03] GOOD MORNING. THE MEETING IS NOW CONVENED. THE TIME IS 9:03 A.M. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT IN THE BOARD AUDITORIUM ARE TRUSTEE SUNG, TRUSTEE GUIDRY, TRUSTEE ALLEN, TRUSTEE CRUZ, AND TRUSTEE DEIGAARD. I WOULD LIKE TO ASK EVERYONE TO PLEASE SILENCE ALL CELL PHONES. WE HAVE NOW COME TO THE PORTION OF OUR MEETING WHERE WE HEAR FROM SPEAKERS TO SPECIFIC AGENDA ITEMS. HOWEVER, WE HAVE NO REGISTERED SPEAKERS TODAY. WE WILL NOW ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION UNDER CHAPTERS 551 OF TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE OPEN MEETINGS ACT SUBSECTION 551.004 .071 .072 .073 .074 .076 .082 .0821 .083 .084 .089 SHOULD BOARD FINAL ACTION VOTE OR DECISION ON ANY MATTER CONSIDERED IN THE CLOSED SESSION BE REQUIRED, SUCH FINAL ACTION, VOTE OR DECISION SHALL BE TAKEN AT THE OPEN MEETING COVERED BY THIS NOTICE UPON THE RECONVENING OF THIS PUBLIC MEETING OR AT SUBSEQUENT PUBLIC MEETING OF THE BOARD UPON NOTICE THEREOF. THE BOARD HAS ADJOURNED TO CLOSED SESSION AT 9:04 A.M. THANK YOU. THIS MEETING IS NOW RECONVENED. THE TIME IS 9:50 A.M. WE HAVE BEEN JOINED BY TRUSTEES HERNANDEZ, FLYNN VILASECA AND TRUSTEE SANTOS. WE WILL MOVE TO THE HEARINGS PORTION OF OUR MEETING. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MEETING IS TO CONSIDER THE DISPUTE FILED BY SHARON COLE-BRAXTON, FORMER SPECIAL EDUCATION DIRECTOR, SPECIAL EDUCATION. HEARINGS INVOLVING COMPLAINTS AGAINST DISTRICT EMPLOYEES ARE TO BE HELD IN CLOSED SESSION UNLESS THE EMPLOYEE WHO IS THE SUBJECT OF THE HEARING REQUESTS AN OPEN HEARING. IF BOTH PARTIES REQUEST AN OPEN HEARING DURING THIS HEARING, THE BOARD MAY GO INTO A CLOSED SESSION TO CONSULT WITH IT'S ATTORNEY UNDER THE TERMS OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTIONS 551.071. IF ANY BOARD MEMBER WISHES TO SEEK THE ADVICE OF COUNSEL, PLEASE MAKE THIS REQUEST KNOWN TO ME. FOR THE RECORD DEREK BAUMAN WITH FELDMAN & FELDMAN REPRESENTING SHARON COLE-BRAXTON IS PRESENT. VERETTA FRAZIER WITH WEST & ASSOCIATES AND DR. SHANNON VERRETT REPRESENTING THE ADMINISTRATION ARE PRESENT. ELNEITA HUTCHINS-TAYLOR HISD GENERAL COUNSEL, IS PRESENT. AND LISA MCBRIDE FROM THE FIRM OF THOMPSON AND HORTON LLP IS PRESENT TO ADVISE THE BOARD. TO PROVIDE THE MOST ACCURATE RECORD POSSIBLE OF THIS HEARING, A RECORDING OF THE PROCEEDING IS BEING MADE AND A COURT REPORTER IS PRESENT. PLEASE AVOID TALKING WHEN OTHERS ARE SPEAKING SO THE RECORDING WILL REFLECT THE PROCEEDINGS. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ASK THAT ALL THOSE PRESENT SILENCE YOUR CELL PHONES BEFORE WE PROCEED WITH THE MEETING. DO YOU WANT TO STAY IN OPEN OR DO YOU WANT TO GO INTO CLOSED CLOSED? WHY DON'T YOU ASK YOU WENT DIRECTLY TO THE BOARD WILL NOW ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION UNDER CHAPTER 551 OF TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE OPEN MEETINGS ACT SUBSECTION 004, .007 .072 .073 .074 .076 .082 .0821 .083 .084 AND .089 . SHOULD BOARD FINAL ACTION VOTE A DECISION ON ANY MATTER CONSIDERED IN THE CLOSED SESSION BE REQUIRED SUCH FINAL ACTION VOTE OR DECISION SHALL BE TAKEN AT THE OPEN MEETING COVERED BY THIS NOTICE UPON THE RECONVENING OF THIS PUBLIC MEETING OR THE SUBSEQUENT MEETING OF THE BOARD UPON NOTICE THEREOF. THE BOARD HAS ADJOURNED TO CLOSED SESSION AT 9:53. CAN WE HAVE THE DOORS CLOSED? THIS SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT IS NOW RECONVENED IN OPEN SESSION. THE TIME IS 12: 04 P.M.. DO I HAVE A MOTION? WE'RE STILL IN CLOSED. [00:05:16] JUST IN CASE I DIDN'T SAY IT? SCHOOL DISTRICT IS NOW RECONVENED IN OPEN SESSION. THE TIME IS 12:04 P.M.. DO I HAVE A MOTION? TRUSTEE SUNG. I MOVE THAT WE DETERMINED THAT WE HAVE STOPPED, LOOKED AND LISTENED AND THAT WE TAKE NO FURTHER ACTION ON THIS MATTER. IS THERE A DISCUSSION, A VOTE? SECOND. WE HAVE A MOTION BY TRUSTEE SUNG AND A SECOND BY TRUSTEE HERNANDEZ. TRUSTEE DEIGAARD. THANK YOU. I WOULD LIKE JUST FOR THE RECORD TO POINT OUT EXHIBIT G2. THAT NEITHER AND SORRY, I'M HAVING A LITTLE TROUBLE READING MY OWN HANDWRITING, BUT NEITHER THE LEVEL TWO HEARING OFFICER NOR THE EEO [INAUDIBLE] INVESTIGATOR FOUND THAT MR. VERRETT'S INTERACTION WITH MS. COLE-BRAXTON AROSE IN THE LEVEL ONE HEARING WAS BULLYING, RETALIATION OR DISCRIMINATION, BUT THEY DID FIND THAT HE VIOLATED BOARD POLICY DH LOCAL AS IT RELATES TO EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES RELATING TO COLLEAGUES AND SUPERVISORS WITH RESPECT, COURTESY AND IN A PROFESSIONAL MANNER. AND I'D LIKE TO ADD TO THIS MOTION JUST A COMMENT TO SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE THAT YOU PLEASE EXAMINE THE CULTURE AND CLIMATE OF EMPLOYEE RELATIONS IN THE SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AND ADDRESS ANY FINDINGS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. THANK YOU. TRUSTEE SUNG. I'D LIKE TO CONCUR WITH MY COLLEAGUE, TRUSTEE DEIGAARD, AND STATE, FOR THE RECORD, THAT I WHOLEHEARTEDLY BELIEVE THAT THE STANDARD OF EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOR LAID OUT IN DH LOCAL IS IMPORTANT, THAT WE SHOULD STRIVE TO UPHOLD THAT IN HISD AND ALSO THAT I WHOLEHEARTEDLY BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD UPHOLD ALL SPECIAL EDUCATION AND 504 LAWS. THANK YOU. SEEING NO OTHER TRUSTEES IN THE QUEUE. PLEASE VOTE. WE HAVE FIVE FOR TWO AGAINST AND ONE ABSTAINING. THE MOTION THAT WAS VOTED ON WAS TO MOVE THAT WE DETERMINED THAT WE HAVE STOPPED, LOOKED AND LISTENED AND THAT WE TAKE NO FURTHER ACTION ON THIS MATTER. A LETTER NOTIFYING BOTH PARTIES OF THE ACTION OF THE BOARD SHALL BE PREPARED AND SIGNED BY THE DIRECTOR OF BOARD SERVICES AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE. THIS HEARING IS CONCLUDED AT 12:08 P.M.. NOW FOR THE PROCEDURE FOR DISPUTE RESOLUTION HEARING, SCOTT ALLINSON. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MEETING IS TO CONSIDER THE DISPUTE FILED BY SCOTT ALLINSON, A FORMER [00:10:05] BUS DRIVER TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT FACILITIES MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS. HEARINGS INVOLVING COMPLAINTS AGAINST DISTRICT EMPLOYEES ARE TO BE HELD IN CLOSED SESSION UNLESS THE EMPLOYEE WHO IS THE SUBJECT OF THE HEARING, REQUESTS AN OPEN HEARING. IF BOTH PARTIES REQUESTED OPEN SESSION DURING THIS HEARING, THE BOARD MAY GO INTO CLOSED SESSION TO CONSULT WITH ITS ATTORNEY UNDER THE TERMS OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTIONS 551.071. IF ANY BOARD MEMBER WISHES TO SEEK THE ADVICE OF COUNSEL, PLEASE MAKE THIS REQUEST KNOWN TO ME. FOR THE RECORD. CECELIA EDWARDS WITH PEOPLE'S CHOICE ASSOCIATION REPRESENTING SCOTT ALLINSON IS PRESENT. FOR THE RECORD, RENE LEWIS WITH PEOPLE'S CHOICE ASSOCIATION IS REPRESENTING SCOTT ALLINSON AND ASSISTED BY CECELIA EDWARDS. MILES BRADSHAW WITH KBS LAW GROUP REPRESENTING THE ADMINISTRATION IS PRESENT. ELNEITA HUTCHINS-TAYLOR HISD GENERAL COUNSEL, IS PRESENT, AND LISA MCBRIDE FROM THE FIRM OF THOMPSON & HORTON LLP IS PRESENT TO ADVISE THE BOARD. WE WILL NOW ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION UNDER CHAPTER 551 OF TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE OPEN MEETINGS ACT SUBSECTION 004 .071 .072 .073 .074 .076 .082 .0821 .083 .084 AND .089 SHOULD BOARD FINAL ACTION VOTE ON DECISION ON ANY MATTER CONSIDERED IN THE CLOSED SESSION BE REQUIRED SUCH FINAL ACTION VOTE ON DECISION SHALL BE TAKEN AT THE OPEN MEETING COVERED BY THIS NOTICE UPON THE RECONVENING OF THIS PUBLIC MEETING OR AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING OF THE BOARD UPON NOTICE THEREOF. WOULD ALL PARTIES THAT ARE NOT A PART OF THE HEARING FOR SCOTT ALLINSON PLEASE LEAVE THE ROOM. THE BOARD HAS ADJOURNED TO CLOSED SESSION AT 12:11 P.M. ON OCTOBER 21, 2021. TO PROVIDE THE MOST ACCURATE RECORD POSSIBLE OF THIS HEARING, A RECORDING OF THE PROCEEDINGS IS BEING MADE AND A COURT REPORTER IS PRESENT. PLEASE AVOID TALKING WHEN OTHERS ARE SPEAKING, SO THE RECORDING WILL REFLECT THE PROCEEDINGS. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ASK THAT ALL THOSE PRESENT SILENCE YOUR CELL PHONES BEFORE WE PROCEED WITH THE MEETING. [INAUDIBLE] RECONVENE THE TIME IS 1:26 P.M. OUR CONSTRAINTS AGENDA ITEM WILL BE LED BY TRUSTEE DEIGAARD. THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT. SO THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING CONVERSATION THAT WAS REALLY STARTED AND MOSTLY FINISHED A YEAR AGO AS THE BOARD DEVELOPED THEIR NEXT GENERATION OF GOALS AND CONSTRAINTS. WE DID A LOT OF WORK WITH A FACILITATED CONVERSATION WITH A COUPLE OF CONSULTANTS TO LAND IN A PRETTY GOOD PLACE. THE BOARD DECIDES THE CONSTRAINTS THE ADMINISTRATION OWNS THE PROGRESS MEASURES AND THE TWO THAT ARE REMAINING TO BE FINALIZED AND CODIFIED IN AE LOCAL ARE CONSTRAINT PROGRESS MEASURE I THINK 5.2 AND JUST TO. ONE POINT TWO. OK, SO CONSTRAINT PROGRESS MEASURE. I'M PULLING IT UP IN POLICY. THEY WERE DRAFTED AND PRESENTED TO US AT THE SEPTEMBER 2ND BOARD MEETING THIS YEAR. SO [00:15:07] THE SUPERINTENDENT WILL NOT ALLOW THE DISTRICT TO OPERATE WITHOUT A SYSTEM TO RECRUIT /EMPLOYEE STRONG TEACHERS WHO MEET THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS NEEDING THE MOST SUPPORT. PROGRESS MEASURE 1.2 AS OF SEPTEMBER 2ND, SAID THE PERCENTAGE OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE STUDENTS SERVED BY STRONG TEACHERS WILL INCREASE THREE PERCENTAGE POINTS FROM FORTY NINE PERCENT DURING THE 2018 19 SCHOOL YEAR TO 52 PERCENT DURING THE 23 24 SCHOOL YEAR. THE OTHER PROGRESS MEASURE IS FOR CONSTRAINT FIVE, WHICH READS THE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL NOT ALLOW THE DISTRICT TO OPERATE WITHOUT SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASING QUALITY SEATS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, INCLUDING PRE-KINDERGARTEN THREE, PRE-KINDERGARTEN FOUR AND KINDERGARTEN. THE ONE THAT REMAINS TO BE FINALIZED IS CONSTRAINT PROGRESS MEASURE FIVE POINT ONE, WHICH AS OF SEPTEMBER 2ND WAS PROPOSED TO SAY THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS ENROLLED IN PRE-KINDERGARTEN FOR THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLD STUDENTS AND KINDERGARTEN WILL INCREASE SIX THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED SIXTY THREE STUDENTS FROM TWENTY FOUR THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND THIRTY SEVEN STUDENTS IN 2020-2021 TO THIRTY ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED STUDENTS IN 2023 2024. SO WE NEED TO BE FINALIZING OUR MONITORING CALENDAR, WHICH MEANS WE NEED TO FINALIZE THESE TWO ITEMS. THERE WERE LINGERING QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS BY BOARD MEMBERS, AND SO TODAY IN AS TIME EFFICIENT MANNER, AS WE POSSIBLY CAN, IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE ADMINISTRATION, NAMELY THE SUPERINTENDENT, TO SEEK ANY CLARIFICATION FROM THE BOARD ON THOSE TWO CONSTRAINTS AS THEY FINALIZE THESE TWO PROGRESS MEASURES. AND FOR US AS TRUSTEES TO SHARE WITH THE ADMINISTRATION ANY REMAINING QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS WE MAY HAVE ABOUT THE CURRENT PROPOSED LANGUAGE IN THOSE TWO CONSTRAINT PROGRESS MEASURES. AND THEN THE ADMINISTRATION WILL MAKE ANY FURTHER REFINEMENTS TO THOSE IF NECESSARY AND BRING THEM TO US FOR A FINAL VOTE IN AE LOCAL AT THE DECEMBER BOARD MEETING. SO I'M GOING TO START WITH ASKING YOU MR. HOUSE, DO YOU OR YOUR ADMINISTRATION HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR TRUSTEES ABOUT THOSE TWO CONSTRAINTS FOR CLARIFICATION TO HELP YOU WITH THOSE PROGRESS MEASURES? THANK YOU, TRUSTEE DEIGAARD. THE CONSTRAINTS ARE VERY, VERY CLEAR IN REFERENCE TO KIND OF WHAT THE EXPECTATION WHAT THE NEED IS, AND WE'VE ALREADY STARTED MOVING TOWARDS PARTICULAR GOALS TO TO FOCUS ON THESE RESTRAINTS. THAT'S A PART OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WILL BE COMING TO YOU. SO I FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE WITH WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE'RE HEADING WOULD LIKE FOR ANY STAFF SYLVIA AND DR. MATNEY, IF YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL INSIGHT THAT YOU'D LIKE TO PROVIDE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE, BUT I'M VERY CLEAR THE CONSTRAINTS ARE VERY CLEAR AND I FEEL COMFORTABLE. THANK YOU. SO GOOD AFTERNOON, TRUSTEES, SO THE PROGRESS MEASURES THAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU ARE ALIGNED TO THE CONSTRAINTS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED BY YOU GUYS LIKE YOU GUYS HAVE HAVE STATED THE GOALS, THE CONSTRAINTS ARE CREATED, THEY BELONG TO YOU GUYS. YOU GUYS IDENTIFY AND DISCUSS WHAT EXACTLY YOU WANT US TO FOCUS ON. HOW WE MEASURE, IF WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS TOWARDS THAT IS IN THE PROGRESS MEASURES. AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT, BASED ON DATA AND LESS OF RESEARCH, HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THE PIECES TO GET US TO THOSE GOALS. THE OTHER PIECE THAT I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS THAT JUST BECAUSE A DATA PIECE DOESN'T MAKE IT IN THE PROGRESS MEASURING PIECE DOESN'T MEAN WE DON'T TRACK THAT INTERNALLY. DOESN'T MEAN THAT DOESN'T GET DISCUSSED BY OUR CHIEF OF SCHOOLS, BY SPECIAL EDUCATION, BY HR, DEPENDING ON THE DEPARTMENT. BUT WE ALSO MONITOR LOTS OF OTHER PIECES OF DATA, INCLUDING BILINGUAL, INCLUDING DUAL LANGUAGE, INCLUDING ALL OF THESE OTHER PIECES. BUT WHAT'S ACTUALLY CAPTURED IN THE PROGRESS MEASURE ARE THOSE TWO PIECES. WE'RE GOING TO INCREASE PRE-K FOR 5.1 BY THIS NUMBER BASED ON WHAT CAPACITY WISE WE CAN ACTUALLY REALISTICALLY STRETCH TO. AND THEN THE DATA THAT WE HAVE LOOKED AT FOR ESL VERSUS BILINGUAL TEACHERS ALSO TELLING US THAT WE NEED TO CODIFY AND PROGRESS MONITOR ESL TEACHERS. BUT PLEASE KNOW THAT WE ALSO LOOK AT ALL OF OUR OTHER TEACHERS AS WELL. [00:20:02] OUR SPECIAL ED CERTIFIED TEACHERS OUR BILINGUAL CERTIFIED TEACHERS. WE ALSO LOOK AT ALL THOSE OTHER DATA. SO THE DATA PIECES, YOU JUST DON'T HAVE THEM HERE. AND DOCTOR, I'M GOING TO NOW PASS IT TO DR. [INAUDIBLE]. HI, GOOD AFTERNOON. SO TO JUST JUMP OFF OF WHAT [INAUDIBLE] WAS SAYING, I THINK THAT A COUPLE OF I THINK WE'RE VERY CLEAR ON THE REQUEST FROM THE TRUSTEES BASED ON CONVERSATION ABOUT 5.1, JUST HAVING THAT NUMBER BEING LARGER. AND OF COURSE, THAT'S CONTINGENT ON SO MANY PIECES. YOU KNOW, WE WANT THAT NUMBER LARGER AS WELL. BUT DUE TO SPACE AND JUST OUR CURRENT REALITY OF CLASSROOM TYPE AND SPACE, THAT'S HOW WE CAME TO THAT NUMBER. SO OF COURSE, WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN WITH TALKING ABOUT THAT FOCUS ON PRE-K AND INCREASING THOSE NUMBERS, I THINK THAT WE CAN HAVE A PATH FORWARD IN THE NEXT ITERATION OF THESE. BUT YOU KNOW, WE MONITOR THOSE PRE-K NUMBERS. THAT'S THE FIRST NUMBER I LOOK AT EVERY DAY WHEN THOSE ENROLLMENT NUMBERS COME IN. SO THAT I THINK THAT WE'RE CLEAR ON THAT PIECE. I THINK WE STILL HAVE SOME QUESTIONS AROUND CONSTRAINT PROGRESS MEASURE 1.2, BUT I DON'T KNOW TRUSTEE DEIGAARD IF YOU WANT TO TAKE IT ONE AT A TIME OR IF YOU WANT ME TO KIND OF PIGGYBACK OFF OF BOTH. LET'S DO ONE. PERFECT. IF THAT'S OKAY WITH Y'ALL. SORRY, IF THAT'S OK WITH YOU ALL, LET'S DO ONE AT A TIME. SO LET'S START WITH [INAUDIBLE] 1.2 JUST CHECKING. OK, I DIDN'T SEE DR. ALLEN I'M LIKE, DO WE STILL HAVE A QUORUM? OK, LET'S START WITH ONE POINT TWO. AND IF YOU KNOW AGAIN, FOR SAKE OF TIME, LET'S JUST GO AROUND, YOU KNOW, TWO MINUTES PER TRUSTEE, DR. ALLEN, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO RUN THE QUEUE BECAUSE I CAN'T SEE IT, OBVIOUSLY. AND YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE ANY REMAINING QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THAT PROGRESS, MEASURE COLLEAGUES TO SHARE THAT WITH THE ADMINISTRATION AND IDEALLY GET ANY QUESTIONS ANSWERED AT THIS TIME THAT THEY CAN ANSWER. OK, I WAS TRYING TO FIND MY CHECKS OPTION. ALLEN, IF YOU WOULD WATCH, YOU KNOW, CALL ON WHO IS CHIMING INTO THE QUEUE, PLEASE. TRUSTEE SUNG. THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT, THANK YOU, SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE, TRUSTEE DEIGAARD, FOR YOUR FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS. SO REVIEWING THE LONE STAR GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK. IF YOU LOOK AT THE PAGE IN THAT FRAMEWORK PAGE 19, WHICH DISCUSSES CONSTRAINT PROGRESS MEASURES, THE SUPERINTENDENT OWNS THE CONSTRAINT, PROGRESS, MEASURED DEVELOPMENT PROCESS WHILE WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE BOARD. AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THIS CONVERSATION TODAY IS WE'RE WORKING COLLABORATIVELY ON IT, BUT YOU DO OWN AND DRIVE THIS PROCESS. AS A TRUSTEE WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR IS FOR CONSTRAINT PROGRESS MEASURES THAT ARE ALIGNED TO THE CONSTRAINT AS DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY, SHOULD BE PREDICTIVE AS HOW WE MEASURE IT, LIKE [INAUDIBLE] SAID. BUT IT SHOULD ALSO BE A CHALLENGE TO THE ORGANIZATION. AND SO THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING ON BEFORE I'M COMFORTABLE VOTING TO APPROVE THESE CONSTRAINT PROGRESS MEASURES FOR BOTH OF THEM, ONE POINT TWO AND FIVE POINT ONE. I WANT TO SEE THAT THEY'RE A CHALLENGE TO THE ORGANIZATION. AND THE LAST TIME WE DISCUSSED THIS JUST TO REFRESH EVERYBODY'S MEMORY, THE REASON WHY WE ASKED YOU TO TAKE THIS BACK ONE MORE TIME AND COME BACK TO US IS BECAUSE AND THIS IS REALLY TRUSTEE HERNANDEZ DRIVING THIS. FOR 1.2 FOR OUR ESL STUDENTS, INCREASING TO FIFTY TWO PERCENT WHEN THE DISTRICT AVERAGE IS WELL ABOVE THAT MEANS THAT AFTER WE'VE ACHIEVED THIS FIVE YEAR GOAL OUR ENGLISH LEARNERS ARE STILL GOING TO BE BEHIND, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE DISTRICT IS AS A WHOLE TODAY, AND THAT JUST DIDN'T SIT RIGHT WITH US AS A STRETCH GOAL. SIMILARLY, FOR KINDERGARTEN, I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS GOAL IS BASED ON GETTING US BACK BASICALLY TO WHERE WE WERE PRE-COVID. BUT AS A FIVE YEAR GOAL REALLY STRETCHING US TO THINKING ABOUT WHAT CAN WE DO TO SERVE THE YOUNG CHILDREN OF HOUSTON, THE KIDS THAT ARE BEING BORN TODAY, RIGHT IN THE PRE-K CLASSROOMS? [INAUDIBLE] OUT, IT JUST DIDN'T SIT AS A GOOD STRETCH GOAL, SO THAT'S WHERE I'M COMING FROM AND I'M LOOKING TO HEAR FROM YOU. HAVE YOU GONE BACK AND THAT'S WHAT YOU PROMISED TO DO. THE LAST TIME WE DISCUSSED THIS WAS TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE DATA AND REALLY THINK THROUGH THE STRATEGIC PIECE, LIKE, WHERE COULD WE BE IF WE REALLY STRETCHED AND PUT RESOURCES BEHIND THESE? THANK YOU. AND YES, WE DID GO BACK AND TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AFTER THIS ITEM WAS PULLED. [00:25:02] AND I'D BE GLAD TO HAVE DR. MATNEY TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE ASSESSMENT LOOKED LIKE AFTER GOING BACK AND HOW WE GOT TO THE DETERMINATION OF WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW? ABSOLUTELY. SO WE DID SPECIFICALLY AROUND ONE POINT TWO GO BACK AND REEXAMINE OUR DATA POOL AROUND EACH OF THE STUDENT GROUPS. AND BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE HEARD THAT THERE THERE WERE TWO DIFFERENT QUESTIONS. ONE WAS UNDERSTANDING THAT THE ORIGINAL CONSTRAINT THAT WE BROUGHT TO YOU SAID BILINGUAL AND THAT WE DID CHANGE THAT TO ESL IN A REACTION OF THE DATA POINTS THAT WE HAD SEEN. SO WE JUST CONFIRMED THAT ESL IS THE LOWEST STUDENT GROUP. AND SO THAT IS IT IS GOING TO BE A STRETCH TO TAKE THE LOWEST AND BRING THEM UP LEVEL SET. AND THEN THE OTHER THING, AS YOU MENTIONED, TRUSTEE SUNG, IS THAT WE WE DID HEAR THAT, YOU KNOW, IS THAT TARGET REALLY HIGH ENOUGH? YOU KNOW, WHEN THE ALL STUDENT GROUP IS SITTING AT 55, IS IT ENOUGH TO SAY THAT ESL IS GOING TO COME IN UNDER WHAT THE ALL STUDENT GROUP IS? AND I THINK IN REACTION TO THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT IS OUR ESL POPULATION IS SO LARGE AND INCREASING EVERY DAY AND THAT THAT IS GOING TO FEED INTO THAT AVERAGE AS WELL. WE WANT TO INCREASE THE ALL STUDENT GROUP AS WELL, BUT WE WANT TO REALLY FOCUS ON WHEN WE LOOK AT THE CONSTRAINT ITSELF WHO MEET THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS NEEDING THE MOST SUPPORT THAT IS THAT ESL GROUP. AND SO WE WERE SOLID IN STILL PUSHING FORWARD THE ESL PIECE, MAKING SURE THAT'S IT. BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT WHY WE HAVE THAT THREE PERCENT GROWTH, SIGNIFICANT CHANGES HAVE TO HAPPEN IN HOW WE MASTER SCHEDULE, IN HOW WE, YOU KNOW, WE HEAR ALL THE TIME ABOUT MASTER SCHEDULING AROUND BAND OR FOOTBALL OR WE HAVE TO MASTER SCHEDULE AROUND THESE TWO GROUPS 1.1 AND ONE POINT TWO THAT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME. AND WHEN OUR TIMELINE IS THE 23 24 SCHOOL YEAR WE HAVE TO LOOK AT, DO WE NEED CHANGES IN OUR SYSTEM, IN OUR ACTUAL PHYSICAL, CIS SYSTEM, ON MASTER SCHEDULING AND THAT PIECE, IT ALSO IS GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME IN LOOKING AT WHERE STUDENTS COME IN AS ESL AND GETTING TEACHERS WHO ARE MEETING THOSE NEEDS. YOU KNOW, WHEN WE ARE IN A CURRENT NATIONAL TEACHER SHORTAGE, THE BASE DATA PIECE OF THIS DATA SET IS TEACHERS WITH PROVEN SUCCESS. BUT AS WE'RE BRINGING IN NEW TEACHERS EVERY DAY BECAUSE WE'VE GOT TEACHERS WHO ARE RETIRING, RESIGNING, OUR DENOMINATOR IS GOING TO WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAVE FEWER ARE DENOMINATOR IS GOING TO STAY THE SAME BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF TEACHERS, BUT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE PROVEN WITH SUCCESS. SO WE'RE FIGHTING THAT UPHILL BATTLE AS WELL IN THAT IT'S NOT THAT THEY'RE NOT BEING SUCCESSFUL, THEY JUST DON'T HAVE PROVEN SUCCESS YET. SO IT'S A FUNCTION OF THAT AS WELL. AND I THINK THAT TO FURTHER EXPAND ON WHAT DR. MATNEY MENTIONED AS WELL. AND SHE DID SAY THIS, BUT I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT THAT'S WORTH SOME ADDITIONAL EMPHASIS. WE HAVE A GROWING NUMBER OF ESL STUDENTS THAT ARE COMING INTO ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, IN THE IN THE LAST YEAR WITH A NUMBER OF REFUGEE STUDENTS THAT CONTINUE TO COME INTO THE SCHOOL. SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A LARGER PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS TO CONTINUE TO GROW IN HISD ON TOP OF THE THE ISSUES IN TERMS OF TEACHER QUALITY TEACHER EXPERIENCE AS WELL. SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY I'M COMFORTABLE WITH WHERE WE ARE HERE IN THIS PARTICULAR CONSTRAINT. TRUSTEE CRUZ. THANK YOU. DR. MATNEY, I'M GOING TO ASK FOR A PIECE OF DATA THAT I KNOW YOU WON'T HAVE RIGHT NOW, BUT I'M CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE SAY ENGLISH IS A SECOND LANGUAGE AND THEN I'M LOOKING AT THE PRESENTATION YOU GAVE US ON SEPTEMBER 2ND, THE CPM POINT ONE POINT ONE AND ONE POINT TWO METHODOLOGIES. AND IT SAID DEVELOPED WITH STUDENT LENS FOCUS, SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT OF CORE FOUNDATION TEACHERS MUST BE STRONG. SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE STUDENTS, YOU'RE MEASURING THEIR CORE FOUNDATION TEACHERS IN THIS CONSTRAINT PROGRESS MEASURE. THAT'S CORRECT. THAT'S CORRECT. OK. SO MY QUESTION IS. SO, LIKE ESL STUDENTS ARE BUCKETED, RIGHT, YOU'VE GOT LIKE THE BEGINNING OF ESL AND THEN SO THEY'RE STILL TAKING CORE FOUNDATION CLASSES, SO EVERYBODY'S TAKING CORE FOUNDATION CLASSES, RIGHT? NO MATTER WHAT LEVEL OF ENGLISH YOU ARE. OK. SO MY CONCERN WITH THIS CPM IS ESSENTIALLY LIKE IT'S THE SAME ONE POINT ONE IS GOING [00:30:09] UP THREE PERCENTAGE POINTS, ONE POINT TWO IS GOING UP THREE PERCENTAGE POINTS. AND I FEEL LIKE OTHER CPMS ARE THE SAME AND KIND OF LIKE OUR GOALS WERE ALL EIGHT, YOU KNOW, SO IT'S IT'S HARD FOR ME TO SEE WHERE, LIKE TRULY THE DATA IS BEHIND THIS. I KNOW YOU'VE SHARED IT JUST KIND OF A SIDE NOTE. I THINK THE NEW TERM IS EMERGENT BILINGUAL STUDENT IS THAT CORRECT INSTEAD OF ESL IN TERMS OF LIKE THE STATE LEGISLATURE? WELL, SO THE EMERGENT BILINGUAL IS THE FORMER TERM IS ENGLISH LEARNER. SO THAT'S THE LARGER UMBRELLA. ESL IS STILL THE PROGRAM ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE. SO ELS ARE IN A PROGRAM OF EITHER BILINGUAL OR ESL. BUT IT'S THE SAME GROUP OF STUDENTS. CORRECT. OK. I'M JUST CONCERNED, ESPECIALLY IF THIS GROUP IS GROWING, THAT WE'RE ON LIKE A FIVE YEAR GOAL IS ONLY THREE PERCENTAGE POINTS. AND I KNOW THAT, YES, IT TAKES TIME TO CHANGE SYSTEMS, ET CETERA. BUT THESE ARE OUR MOST VULNERABLE STUDENTS. I THINK IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE WE FIGURE OUT HOW TO HAVE. I MEAN, WE'RE BASICALLY SAYING ONLY HALF OF THEM ARE GOING TO HAVE STRONG TEACHERS. THAT'S IT'S JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME. TRUSTEE DEIGAARD. THANK YOU. SO AS I LISTEN TO MY COLLEAGUES AND I LISTEN TO YOU ALL ABOUT THIS, WE REALLY PAUSE FOR A SECOND. THIS THREE PERCENTAGE POINTS IS OVER TWO SCHOOL YEARS THAT ARE ABLE TO BE IMPACTED BY OUR NEW SUPERINTENDENT AND HIS STRATEGIC PLAN. RIGHT. I MEAN, IT DOES TAKE TIME FOR SYSTEMS TO GET IN PLACE. AND SO I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS ON THIS. ONE IS, AGAIN, WHAT ARE THE REASONS THAT WE LOOKED AT THESE AT THE 18 19 SCHOOL YEAR FOR OUR BASELINES? YOU KNOW, HAD TO DO WITH HOW WE WERE APPROACHING OUR GOALS. AND HOUSE BILL THREE ALSO WERE THE YEAR THAT WE HAD THE MOST RECENT DATA WHEN WE WERE CREATING ALL OF THESE. AND I DON'T KNOW, ESPECIALLY SINCE ONE POINT THREE USES 19 20 AS A BASELINE. IF THERE IS A VALUE IN CONSIDERING MOVING THE BASELINE YEAR, LIKE IF YOU KNOW, I'M PRESUMING IF WE WERE AT 49 PERCENT IN 18 19, WHERE ARE WE AT TODAY? ARE WE AT FORTY NINE PERCENT STILL TODAY. LAST YEAR WE ARE. SO FOR THE 19 20 SCHOOL YEAR, WE WERE AT 49 PERCENT. SO USING THAT AS A BASELINE AND PUSHING THIS OUT, THEN FIVE YEARS OF WHERE WOULD YOU EXPECT TO BE, NOT TWO YEARS LATER, BUT ACTUALLY FIVE YEARS LATER. YOU KNOW, IN TWO YEARS, IT MIGHT BE 52 PERCENT. BUT FOR ONCE THOSE SYSTEMS ARE IN PLACE, ONE MIGHT EXPECT SOME MORE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH AFTER THAT. RIGHT? I DON'T KNOW. DR. MATNEY. YEAH, I THINK I THINK THAT THAT'S VERY REASONABLE, AND WHEN I LOOK AT THE ESL DATA, WE WERE 49 IN 18 19 FORTY NINE IN 19 20 FORTY NINE AGAIN LAST YEAR. SO YOU'RE RIGHT, WE HAVE NOT MADE THAT MOVEMENT AND IT WOULD BE EXPECTED THAT IT TAKES A YEAR OR TWO TO GET SOME SYSTEMS IN PLACE. IT TAKES A YEAR OR TWO TO PUT PROCEDURES IN PLACE TO RETAIN THOSE STRONG ESL TEACHERS IN ALL THE VARIOUS WAYS THAT OUR TALENT DEPARTMENT KNOWS HOW TO DO IT. AND THEN YOU GET THAT MOMENTUM. OK. AGAIN, ADMINISTRATION OWNS THE PROGRESS MEASURE, AND BUT I'M WONDERING IF LOOKING AT A MORE CURRENT BASELINE AND THEN A TARGET THAT IS FURTHER OUT MIGHT GIVE MORE CONFIDENCE TO US THAT IT ISN'T JUST A COUPLE OF YEARS AND A SMALL PERCENTAGE THAT IT'S GOING TO LIKE. I THINK WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO SEE IS WHAT IS IT DOING BEYOND THIS OR IS IT JUST PLATEAUING THERE, RIGHT? TRUSTEE HERNANDEZ. SO I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION. SO YOUR RECOMMENDATION IS NOT TO CHANGE ANYTHING. DR. MATNEY. THE DATA DEFINITELY SUPPORTS ESL. I THINK IF WE INCREASE THAT NUMBER OF FORTY NINE LOOKING AT OUR TARGET DATE OF THE 2024 SCHOOL YEAR, I THINK THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO REALLY EXAMINE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN A [00:35:04] DECENTRALIZED SYSTEM, IN A SYSTEM WHERE TEACHERS ARE LEAVING AND WE'RE BRINGING ON NEW TEACHERS. SO SOME OF THIS IS JUST HOW THE FORMULA WORKS. IF YOU'RE A NEW TEACHER, THAT'S REALLY STRONG, YOU'RE JUST NOT INCLUDED IN THIS BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE EVIDENCE. SO I THINK THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO MAKE SOME PRETTY DRAMATIC RAPID CHANGES VERY QUICKLY IN ORDER TO REALISTICALLY HAVE THAT NUMBER INCREASE. YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT MY RECOMMENDATION THAT WE INCREASE IT WITH A DEADLINE OF THE 2024 SCHOOL YEAR. BUT IS IT REALISTIC TO INCREASE THAT UP TO 60? IF WE SAY WE'RE GOING TO HOLD ON TO THIS CONSTRAINT THE NEXT GO AROUND AND WE WANT TO SEE THAT GO FROM 49 TO 60 THE NEXT TIME OR FROM 50 TO 60 THE NEXT TIME. I THINK THAT'S SUPER REALISTIC. AND AT THE SAME TIME, WE'RE EXAMINING A NEW TEACHER APPRAISAL SYSTEM THAT'S GOING TO IMPACT THIS MEASURE AS WELL. I PERSONALLY AM ALL FOR DRAMATIC AND RAPID CHANGES IF IT MAKES A POSITIVE OUTCOME FOR STUDENTS. IF STUDENTS AREN'T LEARNING DRAMATIC AND RAPID CHANGES, I'M ALL FOR IT. I MEAN. IS IT POSSIBLE TO ADD THE BILINGUAL TO THIS AS WELL, THE PERCENTAGE OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE ESL STUDENTS AND BILINGUAL STUDENTS, JUST I MEAN, YOU SAID THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE DOING IT IN GENERAL JUST SO THAT WE KNOW THAT THE INFORMATION'S ACTUALLY BROUGHT TO THE BOARD? YES. SO WHAT OUR PLAN IS RIGHT NOW IS TO HAVE BILINGUAL AS SUPPORT DATA, BUT BILINGUAL IS ACTUALLY OUR HIGHEST PERCENTAGE POPULATION, WHICH IS EXCITING SO WE COULD COMBINE THEM TOGETHER. I THINK THAT ONE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE OF COMBINING THEM TOGETHER IS THAT THE BILINGUAL GROUP COULD ACTUALLY BE INCREASING, WHEREAS ESL IS DECREASING, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE EVERYBODY'S INCREASING. SO I DON'T WANT TO DILUTE THE STRUGGLE THAT WE'RE HAVING RIGHT NOW IN OUR ESL DATA SETS. BUT IT'S POSSIBLE. ANOTHER COMMENT THAT I HAVE IS I KNOW THAT SOME YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS A HISD EMPLOYEE, THERE WAS A BIG PUSH TO HAVE TEACHERS BECOME ESL CERTIFIED. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S GOING ON IN THE DISTRICT RIGHT NOW SO THAT PUSH FOR THE ESL CERTIFICATION, WHICH IS JUST A TEST, RIGHT, AND NOTHING TO SUPPORT THAT ON THE BACK END, YOU KNOW, YEARLY OR EVEN QUARTERLY IS CONCERNING TO ME. I GET TO BE COMPLETELY TRUTHFUL I DON'T KNOW WHAT HISD IS DOING TO SUPPORT THOSE TEACHERS WHO DO HAVE AN ESL CERTIFICATION BECAUSE THEY TOOK A TEST AND WHAT WE'RE DOING TO SUPPORT THE TEACHERS AFTER THEY TAKE THAT TEST AND PASS IT. SO IT'S VERY EASY TO BECOME ESL CERTIFIED. BUT WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS FOR THE DISTRICT TO SUPPORT THOSE TEACHERS TO SUPPORT STUDENTS? WHEN YOU SAY SUPPORT, DO YOU MEAN TO INCENTIVIZE THEM? NO. I MEAN, YES, ALSO INCENTIVIZING TEACHERS TO NOT ONLY TAKE THE TEST, BUT TO IMPLEMENT THOSE STRATEGIES. AND YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THAT H.R. HAS A PARTICULAR STRATEGY IN PLACE IN REFERENCE TO MARKETING, AS WELL AS PUSHING THE ENVELOPE AROUND, MAKING SURE MORE TEACHERS ARE CERTIFIED. BUT AGAIN, THAT'S ANOTHER AREA WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT BRINGING OUR NEW CHIEF HR PERSON IN. WE'LL START THAT PROCESS NEXT WEEK, EXCITED WHO'S IN THE QUEUE AS WELL TO POTENTIALLY COME IN. SO WE WILL BE PUSHING TO ENSURE THAT THIS CONSTRAINT, THIS PROGRESS MEASURES IS SUPPORTED THROUGH THOSE PRACTICES IN TALENT. [INAUDIBLE]. YES, MA'AM. SO AS FAR AS SUPPORT INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT FOR OUR ESL TEACHERS, YOU'RE RIGHT THAT THERE'S THAT, YOU KNOW, A CERTIFICATION TEST. BUT IN OUR CURRICULUM, THERE ARE ESL BEST PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES THAT ARE IDENTIFIED. THAT NOT JUST OUR ESL CERTIFIED TEACHERS CAN USE, BUT ANY TEACHER CAN USE. BUT DEFINITELY THE EMPHASIS IS ON OUR ESL TEACHERS BECAUSE THEY ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE ESL STUDENTS IN THEIR CLASSROOMS. SO THERE IS A LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR ESL TEACHERS AFTER THE TEST, WHICH IS BUILT IN OUR CURRICULUM. WE NEED TO DO A MUCH BETTER JOB OF EMPHASIZING AND MONITORING THAT THOSE STRATEGIES AND BEST PRACTICES AND ACTIVITIES ARE TRULY BEING IMPLEMENTED IN OUR CLASSROOM, SO WE CAN DEFINITELY IMPROVE THERE. [00:40:01] BUT THERE ARE SOME SUPPORT PIECES ALREADY WITH PD. WE ALSO HAVE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR AND I KNOW THIS IS NOT ENOUGH, BUT IT'S A START. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, CERTAIN SPECIFIC TEACHERS OR GROUPS OF SUPPORT STAFF THAT WORK DIRECTLY WITH OUR STUDENTS HAVE SPECIALIZED TRAINING FOR THEM. SO WE DO HAVE EITHER A DAY OR TWO. I THINK WE WE CUT BACK A LITTLE BIT TO ALLOW THE SCHOOL TO DO MORE LOCALIZED PD AT THEIR CAMPUS. BUT WE DO HAVE A SPECIALIZED DAY FOR ESL TEACHERS TO GET VERY SPECIFIC CONTENT SUPPORT, MPD AND RESOURCES. BUT WE CAN ALWAYS DO BETTER. THOSE ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE FOR NOW. TRUSTEE SANTOS THANK YOU, AND I'M GOING TO ASK FOR YOUR PATIENCE ON THIS. YOU CANNOT FIRE YOUR WAY TO EXCELLENT AN ORGANIZATION. THIS BIG CANNOT BUY OUR WAY TO EXCELLENCE. AND THAT IS WHY THAT MERIT BASED PAY REALLY IS ESPECIALLY HARMFUL TO TO TEACHERS, ESL TEACHERS. BUT YOU CAN GROW YOUR ORGANIZATION TO EXCELLENCE. SO THAT'S THE PROFESSION OF ELEMENT IS A START. HOWEVER, WE HAVE IN THE PAST, HIZ HAS BEEN PUNITIVE IN THOSE MEASURES. SO HEAR ME OUT HERE. IN 2019, WE PASSED A POLICY WHERE WE GAVE ESL TEACHERS A STIPEND SO THAT THEY CAN STAY. BUT TRUSTEE HERNANDEZ IS ABSOLUTELY A 3000 PERCENT CORRECT. WHEN I WAS AN ESL TEACHER, I DIDN'T HAVE RESOURCES. I WAS CREATED ON MY OWN. I NEVER HAD A PLC THAT WAS LET LET ME JUST PLAN FOR ALL OF MY DIFFERENT PREPS. NEVER HAD PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND EVEN IF IT WAS, IT WAS NOT DIFFERENTIATED. SO A 10 YEAR VETERAN TEACHER AND A FIRST YEAR ESL TEACHER, I MEAN, I KNEW HOW TO TEACH. I JUST WAS LEARNING THE SUBJECT MATTER AT THAT POINT. HOW TO TEACH THAT? SO DR. MATNEY, HOW MANY TEACHERS WERE RETIRED IN THE STATE OF TEXAS IN THE LAST TWO YEARS? DO YOU HAVE THAT NUMBER? I DO NOT. IT'S GOING TO BE A ROUGH ROAD HERE. BE PATIENT WITH ME HERE. OK, SO HOW MANY TEACHERS RETIRED IN HISD THE LAST TWO YEARS? WE CAN GET YOU THAT INFORMATION FROM FROM HR. WE DON'T. OK, SO WHAT'S THE AVERAGE AGE OF TEACHERS IN HISD? I CAN TELL YOU WHAT IT IS FOR ADMINISTRATORS. NOT SURE WHAT IT IS FOR TEACHERS. OKAY. WHAT IS THE AVERAGE AGE OF EXPERIENCED ESL CERTIFIED TEACHERS THAT WE HAVE IN HISD? WE CAN AGAIN GET THAT INSIGHT. WE DON'T HAVE. I'M DRIVING A POINT HERE. OK, I'M DRIVING A POINT HERE. HOW MANY? HOW MANY ESL CERTIFIED TEACHERS DO WE HAVE? OK. HOLD ON, HOLD ON, HOLD ON. OK, SO IS ELL REQUIRED, IS THERE A CERTIFICATION REQUIRED TO TEACH ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS VERSUS ESL? [INAUDIBLE] IT DEPENDS ON WHAT PROGRAM THEY'RE IN. SO IF THEY'RE AN ENGLISH LEARNER, THAT'S AN ESL, THEY HAVE TO BE ESL CERTIFIED BILINGUAL, THEY HAVE TO BE BILINGUAL CERTIFIED. OK, SO WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A SUBJECT THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE BASIC NUMBERS ON HOW MANY ELL STUDENTS, HOW MANY ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS, STUDENTS DO WE HAVE HOW MANY OF THOSE ARE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, HOW MANY. I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PERCENTAGES HERE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE ACTUAL NUMBERS RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. SO WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE GOALS AND CONSTRAINTS AROUND STUFF THAT WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT. AND TO TRUSTEES [INAUDIBLE] POINT MOVE? GIVE ME 10 MORE SECONDS, PLEASE. SO COULD A WAY OF ATTRACTING PROFESSIONALS BECAUSE YOU SAY IT'S NOT OK, IT'S NOT OK THAT OUR MOST VULNERABLE POPULATION DOESN'T HAVE A QUALITY TEACHER IN FRONT OF THEM BUT HOW CAN YOU GET QUALITY IF WE THERE'S A NATIONAL TEACHER SHORTAGE? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? SO THE ONLY WAY THAT MY BRAIN IS THINKING IF I WERE A STILL A PROFESSIONAL IN THE WORLD BECAUSE BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I WAS A BUSINESS TO BUSINESS SALES REP BEFORE I EVEN ENTERED TEACHING FOR 10 YEARS. BUT COULD A WAY OF ATTRACTING WHAT THE REST OF THE BEST OF THE WORLD SOCIETY VIEWS AS PROFESSIONALS BE THAT WE OFFER COMPETITIVE PROFESSIONAL PAY? AND AGAIN, WE CANNOT SAY A QUALITY TEACHER IS A QUALITY TEACHER AND BACK TO DR. MATNEY'S POINT LIKE THAT NUMBER ISN'T THERE BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T GAUGED THEM ON THAT. SO IF WE BROUGHT PEOPLE IN, I MEAN, [INAUDIBLE] IS THE HIGHEST PAID SCHOOL DISTRICT IN HARRIS COUNTY, AND THEY START AT $60000. WE'RE NEVER GOING TO ATTRACT TEACHERS IF WE DON'T, WE CAN'T PAY THEM LIKE THAT. I MEAN, JUST STARTING. BUT ANYWAY, I JUST I'M JUST GOING TO KEEP REMINDING YOU WE ALL WANT QUALITY, BUT YOU ALL DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR THEM. TRUSTEE CRUZ. DR. ALLEN, I THINK YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO DIDN'T ASK ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS. DO YOU HAVE ANY? NO. DO ANY OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE THE FUNCTION OF THIS CONVERSATION IS TO ASK QUESTIONS, GET CLARITY WITH THE ADMINISTRATION. [00:45:03] THEY HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW. THEY HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO ACHIEVE THE CONSTRAINT. WE DECIDED TO CONSTRAINT THIS IS HOW THEY'RE GOING TO DEMONSTRATE TO US THAT THEY'VE DONE THIS. SO ARE THERE ANY REMAINING QUESTIONS FOR MY COLLEAGUES? TRUSTEE SUNG, SORRY, [INAUDIBLE] WELL, ROUND TWO, BUT SHE CAME IN FIRST. I THINK HE WANTED TO RESPOND. SO I WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO WHEN YOU WHEN YOU SAID MAKING SURE AND I THINK ALIEF HAD CONVERSATION WITH ALIEF SPRING, THEY'RE ALL STRUGGLING. WE'RE ALL STRUGGLING. BUT YOU SAID SOMETHING EARLIER THAT I'D BE INTERESTED TO KNOW WHERE THE BOARD IS ON IN TERMS OF KNOWING THAT EQUITY IS A IS A MAJOR ISSUE IN EQUITY. FROM A TALENT STANDPOINT, IT'S A WHOLE DIFFERENT CONVERSATION AS WELL. WE KNOW WE HAVE SOME EXTREMELY TALENTED TEACHERS, BUT SOMETIMES GETTING THOSE TEACHERS TO OUR MOST VULNERABLE STUDENTS TAKE SOMETHING INTERNALLY DIFFERENT. AND I HEARD YOU SAY MERIT AND, YOU KNOW, BEING AGAINST THE IDEA OF MERIT. BUT I THINK SOMETIMES IF YOU DON'T, IF YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO CRACK THAT WHIP TO ENSURE THAT ALL TEACHERS ARE IN A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN PAY THEM ALL AT A A FAIR FAIR WAGE OR A COMPETITIVE WAGE, SOMETIMES INTERNALLY YOU HAVE TO LOOK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX TO AND THAT'S JUST JUST MY IDEA. BUT I'D BE INTERESTED TO KNOW WHERE THE BOARD IS AT THE RIGHT TIME. IT'S KIND OF OUTSIDE OF THIS CONVERSATION, BUT I'M GLAD. YEAH, I'D LOVE TO JUST THROW OUT THERE THAT WE'VE TRIED MERIT BASED PAY AND FAILED MISERABLY IN HISD. AND I WAS A BENEFICIARY OF THAT MERIT BASED PAY. NINETY EIGHT PERCENT PASSING ON STAAR. I BENEFITED FROM THAT MERIT BASED PAY. BUT I WILL LET YOU KNOW THAT MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES WHO WORKED JUST AS HARD AS HARD OR HARDER THAN I DID DIDN'T. SO THAT'S THAT'S WHY I'M GOING. I'M GOING TO JUST LET YOU KNOW THAT WE LOST, I THINK, $68 MILLION DOING THAT. SO. BUT I APPRECIATE THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, I JUST THINK THAT LIKE THERE'S A NATIONAL TEACHER SHORTAGE LIKE DR MATNEY SAID, WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO POOL FROM OTHER TEACHERS. SO WE WANT LIKE AND THAT'S THE REASON WHY YOU ARE SO APPEALING TO ME. MR. HOUSE, YOU SAID WE WERE GOING TO GROW OUR OWN. WE HAVE FIFTY FOUR THOUSAND SO A PART OF IT WAS. I'M GOING TO BE QUIET. BUT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO BRINGING IN OPPORTUNITY CULTURE LIKE I LIKE I SHARED WITH YOU ALL THAT THAT WILL BE A PART OF THE STRATEGIC WORK MOVING FORWARD. SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT IT. WE'RE HAVING CONVERSATIONS ALREADY HAVE ALREADY MOVED INTO KIND OF A PLANNING PHASE IN REFERENCE TO WHAT IT WILL LOOK LIKE. SO MORE TO COME AROUND TWO. TRUSTEE CRUZ. OK. SO STRONG TEACHER BY DEFINITION FROM THE ADMINISTRATION IS BASED ON TADS CORRECT. OK. AND SO IF A TEACHER COMES FROM ANOTHER DISTRICT ARE WE USING, THEY ARE NOT EVALUATED ON THIS? THAT'S CORRECT, THEY'RE NOT IN THE NUMERATOR FOR THIS. SO THERE'S BECAUSE FROM WHAT I'M HEARING, YOU'LL SAY, IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S KIND OF PART OF THE PROBLEM, RIGHT? LIKE FIRST YEAR TEACHERS COULD BE STRONG, BUT WE DON'T KNOW. OR A TEACHER THAT COMES OUT OF THE DISTRICT, LIKE WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THOSE TEACHERS THAT ARE TEACHING ESL STUDENTS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? AND IS THERE ANOTHER METRIC THAT COULD BE USED? HAVE YOU ALL CONSIDERED THAT? I GUESS MORE IS MORE THE QUESTION. SO I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME. WE DID LOOK AT ALL THAT DATA AND AND THE PROBLEM IS WE CURRENTLY DO NOT COLLECT AND STORE APPRAISAL RATINGS FROM TEACHERS THAT ARE TRANSFERRING IN. SO IT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, A PRINCIPAL LOOKS AT TO CONSIDER. BUT WE DON'T HAVE A DISTRICT LEVEL MECHANISM FOR STORING THE VARIOUS DIFFERENT APPRAISALS THAT ARE OUT THERE, NOR HAVE WE WANTED TO KIND OF DOVE INTO WHAT IS EQUIVALENT FOR EFFECTIVE OF WHAT WE'RE SAYING ON TADS, WHICH IS OURS VERSUS 10 OTHER APPRAISAL RATINGS. YOU KNOW, WE COULD GET AN ESL TEACHER FROM NEW YORK. WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THEIR APPRAISAL. WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT TO PASS JUDGMENT AND ASSIGN INCORRECTLY. TRUSTEE SUNG. FOLLOW UP ON A COUPLE OF MY COLLEAGUE'S COMMENTS. TRUSTEE SANTOS MENTIONED ALIEF AND THEIR TEACHER PAY. I'D ALSO LIKE TO POINT OUT THEY'VE GOT A STRONG TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND SYSTEM AS WELL. SO I THINK THAT'S A KEY FACTOR THERE. [00:50:02] TRUSTEE DEIGAARD ASKED ABOUT THE BASELINE. I'M SURPRISED. WHY ARE WE? I ASSUME THE REASON WHY WE USED 18 19 DATA IN CONSTRAINT PROGRESS MEASURES 1.1 AND 1.2 IS BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF STAAR TESTING AND 2020 AFFECTING THE BASELINE. BUT APPARENTLY WE DO HAVE TEACHER EVALUATION DATA IN 2019 2020. SO IN THOSE YEARS IT ROLLED OVER, WHICH IS IN LARGE PART WHY WE DIDN'T SEE A LOT OF GROWTH. BUT IT'S ALSO ABOUT NUMBERS OF SO I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. A TEACHER DID NOT TEACH ESL STUDENTS IN 18-19, BUT DID IN 19-20. THEIR RATING IS ROLLING OVER TO 19-20 AND THEN THEIR STUDENTS ARE ASSIGNED IN 19-20. AND SO BECAUSE BECAUSE THIS IS WE, WE START WITH THE STUDENT HERE. SO I APPRECIATE HOW THE FORMULA WORKS. I REMEMBER IT. SO YOUR RECOMMENDATION IS TO USE AN 18-19 BASELINE SILL OR? DO YOU THINK THAT WE COULD USE A 19-20 BASELINE? WE COULD LOOK AT 19-20, IT WAS ALSO 49 PERCENT, THOUGH, SO IT'S THE SAME AND IT WAS THE SAME IN 2021, 49 PERCENT. OK. I MEAN, TO ME, THE THE BENEFIT OF USING A MORE RECENT BASELINE, IF IT'S AVAILABLE IS THAT IT JUST MAKES THIS WHOLE GOAL MORE CURRENT. YOU KNOW, A FIVE YEAR GOAL OR YOU'RE STARTING FROM A RECENT SCHOOL YEAR RATHER THAN WE'RE HALFWAY THROUGH THE FIVE YEARS MAKES MORE SENSE. BUT IF YOU HAVE A COMPELLING REASON FOR USING THE 18-19 DATA, THEN I THAT I RESPECT THAT AS WELL, SOME OF IT MIGHT BE ALSO SEMANTICS BECAUSE THEY'RE FIVE YEARS. SO WITH LONE STAR GOVERNANCE, WE HAVE TO SHOW THAT WE LOOKED AT IT A FEW YEARS BEFORE, AND SO IT HAS TO LOOK LIKE IT'S FIVE YEARS INSTEAD OF US SAYING IT'S THIS IS THE 2021, BUT WE'RE ONLY GOING THROUGH 2024. THAT'S THAT'S ON PAPER. DOES IT LOOK LIKE FIVE YEARS? WE KNOW WHAT THIS CONVERSATION LOOKED LIKE, BUT SOMEBODY A YEAR FROM NOW PULLING THAT DOWN IS GOING TO SAY, THAT DOESN'T MEET IT. SO SOME OF IT IS, AND BECAUSE THE NUMBERS ARE THE SAME. OK. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. TRUSTEE SANTOS. I'M GOING TO HOP ON ZOOM, DR. ALLEN, I AM OFFICIALLY A PUMPKIN, THANK YOU. TRUSTEE DEIGAARD. YES. SO TRUSTEE SANTOS, IF YOU WANTED FOR THE SAKE OF THIS CONVERSATION REALLY QUICK, JOT DOWN YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRE-K CONSTRAINT. I'M HAPPY TO ASK THOSE FOR YOU WHEN WE GET TO IT NEXT. TEXT THEM TO ME. OK, SO WHAT I'M HEARING ON? ON 1.2, THIS IS A FOLLOW UP TO TRUSTEE CRUZ QUESTION. I'M HEARING THAT THERE IS A YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT IT AS WELL A RETENTION ISSUE INTO THIS AS WELL. RIGHT. SO WE MIGHT HAVE MORE TEACHERS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED OR THEY'RE NOT IDENTIFIED, BUT IF WE HAD THE RIGHT MECHANISM TO IDENTIFY THEM, WE ACTUALLY COULD HAVE WAY MORE OF OUR TEACHERS THAN 49 PERCENT RIGHT NOW OR FIFTY TWO PERCENT IN A COUPLE OF YEARS, WHICH WHAT IT SAYS TO ME IS THIS IF YOU FIX THAT LEVER OF CHANGE, IF YOU FIX THAT SYSTEM, THIS JUMPS BY A LOT, CONCEIVABLY. IS THAT A CORRECT PRESUMPTION? DR. MATNEY. IT COULD POTENTIALLY IF WE HAD, YOU KNOW, IF WE KNOW THAT THE MAJORITY OF OUR TEACHERS COMING IN ARE EXPERIENCED VERSUS OUR NEW, THEN HAVING A MECHANISM TO COLLECT AND ASSESS OTHER APPRAISAL INSTRUMENTS COULD ACTUALLY INCREASE THIS METRIC. SO LET ME TAKE THIS A STEP FURTHER THAT IF YOU WERE TO SET A MORE AMBITIOUS TARGET, IT WOULD OSTENSIBLY DRIVE THE ORGANIZATION TO MORE STRIDENTLY PURSUE NEW HIRES BEING MORE EFFECTIVE BY SOME METRIC THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT, THAT JUST MAY NOT BE OUR SYSTEM, RIGHT? AND TO PUT THE RIGHT SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO RETAIN THOSE NEW TEACHERS THAT THEN UNDER OUR OWN SYSTEM ARE IDENTIFIED AS HIGHLY EFFECTIVE, WOULD THOSE BE CORRECT ASSUMPTIONS? SO I MEAN, WE SHOULD BE AIMING TO DO THAT ANYWAY. PERIOD. CORRECT. WHICH IS, I THINK, GETTING BACK TO THE ORIGINAL CONCERN ABOUT THIS ONLY BEING THREE PERCENTAGE POINTS, THAT IT'S KIND OF THIS CONVERSATION TO ME JUST REALLY REINFORCED THE [00:55:01] ARGUMENT OVER THE CONCERN THAT THAT THIS PERCENTAGE IS TOO LOW. ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM MY COLLEAGUES ABOUT DR ALLEN, SORRY, YOU SHOULD BE CALLING YOURSELF. TRUSTEE HERNANDEZ. THANK YOU. SO I DID ASK FOR THIS DATA. SO THERE ARE CURRENTLY OR THE NUMBERS THAT I GOT ARE ONE THOUSAND SIXTY SIX ESL TEACHERS IN THE DISTRICT. TRUSTEE SUNG. LET ME KNOW THAT THERE'S ELEVEN THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED TWENTY ONE TEACHERS, RIGHT? SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LESS THAN 10 PERCENT OF OUR TEACHERS BECAUSE THIS CONSTRAINT AT ABOUT ONE THOUSAND SIXTY SIX TEACHERS THAT ARE ESL CERTIFIED. NOT ALL OF THEM ARE TEACHING A CORE FOUNDATION. CORRECT. RIGHT. I'M READING THAT CORRECTLY. THAT'S CORRECT, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT CORE FOUNDATION SUBJECTS FOR THE STUDENTS. OK. BUT YOU'RE CORRECT, YOU'RE CORRECT. SO ARE WE LOOKING AT ABOUT A THOUSAND TEACHERS OR? A MUCH BIGGER NUMBER OF TEACHERS, BECAUSE JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE TEACHING ESL STUDENTS DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY ARE ESL CERTIFIED. CORRECT. EXCEPT WITH THIS ONE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE ESL STUDENTS SERVED BY STRONG TEACHERS, REGARDLESS OF IF THEY ARE AN ESL CERTIFIED TEACHER. OK. CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME WHY SCHEDULING IS PROBLEMATIC IN THIS, BECAUSE I'M FAILING TO UNDERSTAND THAT MY SELF. YEAH, SURE, SO. SO IF I'VE GOT IF I HAVE THREE SUPERSTAR ALGEBRA ONE TEACHERS, FOR EXAMPLE, AND THEY THEY ALL TEACH ALGEBRA ONE FIRST PERIOD, BUT NOT SECOND. THEY TEACH GEOMETRY OR ALGEBRA TWO OR WHATEVER ALL THE OTHER PERIODS I NEED AS A SCHEDULER TO SCHEDULE MY STUDENTS WHO NEED THE STRONGEST TEACHERS IN THOSE FIRST PERIOD CLASSES AND AND NOT WORRY ABOUT THE THE ELECTIVES FIRST, FOR EXAMPLE. SO I NEED TO SCHEDULE THAT AND MAKE SURE THEY'RE LOOKING AT THOSE STUDENTS IN THOSE CLASSES. THAT'S THAT SOMETIMES DOESN'T HAPPEN. SOMETIMES IT DOES. I'M JUST GOING TO INTERRUPT REALLY QUICKLY. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY. CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHY SOMEONE WOULD NOT PRIORITIZE THE EDUCATION OF STUDENTS OVER THE [INAUDIBLE] OF STUDENTS? AND I UNDERSTAND IT'S ALL EDUCATION, BUT CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND THAT? AND IS THERE SOMETHING THAT IS ABLE TO BE DONE ABOUT THAT ON THE BOARD LEVEL OR AT THE SUPERINTENDENT LEVEL? I DON'T UNDERSTAND. CAN YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER? DR. MATNEY GO AHEAD. YEAH. SO I THINK THAT THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. I THINK THAT JUST MAKING SURE THAT OUR PRIORITY IS LOOKING AT OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, ISSUING THESE, LOOKING AT THE CONSTRAINTS AND THE GOALS AND HOW THEY INTERFACE WITH CAMPUS PRACTICE IS CRITICAL. AND YOU KNOW, THE BOARD SETTING THESE THIS AS A CONSTRAINT AND LOOKING AT THESE PROGRAMS MEASURES SETS THE EXAMPLE OF THEY DO NEED TO BE PRIORITIZED. AND I KNOW AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING WHEN WE DISCUSSED THIS, WE SPOKE ABOUT THE NEW TEACHER APPRAISAL SYSTEM THAT'S GOING TO BE COMING IN AND AT THAT TIME, AT THAT TIME, WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW IT WOULD AFFECT. DOES THIS CONSTRAIN PROGRESS MEASURE DO WE HAVE ANY UPDATE ON THAT? DO WE HAVE ANY UPDATE ON HOW THAT TRANSITION WOULD WORK IN REFERENCE TO THE APPRAISAL SYSTEM? SYLVIA, YOU WANT TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT KIND OF WHERE WE ARE WITH THE APPRAISAL SYSTEM AND THE PHASED IN APPROACH THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO. HOW IT WOULD WORK IN TERMS OF LIKE COMBINING WITH THE DATA THAT WE HAVE NOW TO THE NEW DATA, DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YES. SO IF I HEAR, LET ME MAKE SURE I REPHRASE YOUR QUESTION TO MAKE SURE I'M ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION. YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW THE CURRENT DATA THAT WE HAVE ON TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS WILL TRANSLATE ONCE WE MOVE TO A NEW TEACHER APPRAISAL SYSTEM? CORRECT? CORRECT. SO THERE WILL BE A TRANSITION PHASE WHERE RESEARCH AND ACCOUNTABILITY [01:00:06] WILL LOOK AT THE DATA AND SEE WHERE THERE IS THAT, THAT MATCH OR THAT ALIGNMENT. BUT THE GOAL IS ONCE AFTER THIS SCHOOL YEAR. SO THIS SCHOOL YEAR WE'RE SPENDING WE'RE ALREADY STARTED PUTTING IT OUT THERE SLOWLY. THE FIRST STEP WAS MR. HOUSE INFORMING THE BOARD FIRST ABOUT THE NEED FOR A CHANGE AND THE FACT THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE CHANGING. THE NEXT PHASE IS ENGAGING OUR TEACHERS AND OUR TEACHER UNION WITH IT. I DO KNOW THAT EITHER THERE WAS A MEETING ALREADY WITH THEM OR THERE'S ONE SCHEDULE WITH HFT. I THINK IT'S COMING UP NEXT WEEK TO ALSO START EXPLAINING THE PROCESS. THE RATIONALE. THE WHY? HOW WILL IT WILL? WHAT WE THINK WILL POSITIVELY IMPACT OUR STUDENTS AND OUR DISTRICT. BUT HAVING THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEM AND THEN HAVING SMALLER GROUPS WITH TEACHERS TO HELP TEACHERS BE THE AMBASSADORS OF WHY WE NEED THIS CHANGE RIGHT AND UNDERSTANDING BESIDES THE AMBASSADORSHIP IS REALLY HELPING OUR TEACHERS HAVE THAT INFORMATION OF WHY THE CHANGE IS NEEDED, GETTING AS MANY TEACHERS TO UNDERSTAND THAT PIECE. SO WE'RE STILL IN THAT PHASE RIGHT NOW WHERE WE'RE SHARING INFORMATION AND GETTING FEEDBACK LIKE WITH ANY CHANGE THAT WILL ALWAYS BE PEOPLE THAT. AND I WANT. I'M ONE MYSELF, SO I CAN I CAN SPEAK TO IT. THERE'S ALWAYS THAT LITTLE BIT OF UNCERTAINTY. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? IS THIS REALLY GOING TO BE BETTER? SO WE NEED TO ALLEVIATE SOME OF THOSE CONCERNS FIRST. PROBABLY SECOND SEMESTER IS WHEN WE'RE GOING TO BE PUSHING LIKE, THIS IS WHAT IT WILL LOOK LIKE AND THIS IS WHEN IT WILL TAKE PLACE. SO RIGHT NOW, IT'S A LOT OF JUST DISCUSSION AND INFORMATION SHARING FIRST. OKAY, THANK YOU. AND I WANT TO ECHO WHAT TRUSTEE DEIGAARD SAID THAT THIS CONVERSATION FOR ME HAS ALSO CEMENTED THE FACT THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A STRONGER CONSTRAINT PROGRESS MEASURE. THANK YOU. TRUSTEE FLYNN VILASECA, THANK YOU. I THINK THAT FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, I APPRECIATE THE BACKGROUND AND SORT OF WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH THE TRANSITION TO THE NEW TO THE NEW EVALUATION SYSTEM. SO IT'S HELPFUL. BUT I THINK FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS, WE'RE CURIOUS BECAUSE WE'VE SEEN IN THE PAST IF THERE'S A MIGRATION OR A TRANSITION, A CHANGE FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT WEEK, WE SAW IT WITH CCMR, RIGHT, THAT THE STANDARDS CHANGED, THE STATE EXPECTATION CHANGED. AND SO WE HAD TO RECALIBRATE WHAT OUR BENCHMARK WAS AND WHERE WE WERE GOING. SO ARE WE GOING TO BE EXPECTING THE SAME HERE? ALL RIGHT. IN REFERENCE TO THE TO THE ACTUAL PROGRESS, THE PROGRESS MEASURE INCREASING BEFORE WE GET TO THE FIVE YEAR MARK. IS THAT TRUE OR IF WE'RE CITING 2018-2019 SCHOOL YEAR AS THE BASELINE RIGHT YEAR. NOW WE'RE ALREADY TWO YEARS FROM THAT. THERE'LL BE A COUPLE OF YEARS LEFT, IT SEEMS, OR MAYBE ONE TO TWO SCHOOL YEARS LEFT WHERE WE'LL HAVE THE NEW SYSTEM IN PLACE. DOES THAT MEAN THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE RESETTING THAT BENCHMARK WHEN WE MAKE THAT TRANSITION? HADN'T REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT THAT, QUITE FRANKLY. DR. MATNEY ANY INSIGHTS YOU WANT TO PROVIDE? WE HAVE WE'VE THOUGHT, WE'VE THOUGHT, WE THOUGHT ABOUT WAYS TO ACTUALLY LOOK AT IF IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO RUN THEM SIDE BY SIDE. OBVIOUSLY, THE TEACHERS AREN'T GOING TO GET APPRAISED IN BOTH BUT TEACHERS THAT WERE APPRAISED IN EACH OF THEM ONE YEAR OVER THE OTHER. IF IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO RUN TOGETHER, KIND OF AS A COMPARISON, AS WE TRANSITION, BUT IT'S HIGHLY POSSIBLE THAT IF THEY DON'T CORRELATE TOGETHER, THAT THAT WE ARE GOING TO NEED TO BRING THIS BACK A LOCAL BACK WITH NEW NUMBERS USING A NEW SYSTEM. OK, SO JUST KNOWING THAT THAT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT THAT WE MIGHT EXPECT TO SEE BASED ON WHETHER OR NOT THE NEW SYSTEM IS JUST WHAT CHANGES WE'RE GOING TO BE SEEING BASED ON THE PERFORMANCE ON THE NEW RUBRIC THAT'S GOING TO BE UTILIZED SO THAT THERE COULD BE A POSSIBILITY. OK. THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. SEEING NO OTHER NAMES IN THE QUEUE, WE'RE READY TO MOVE TO THE [INAUDIBLE]. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. SO MOVING ON TO CONSTRAINT PROGRESS MEASURE 5.1 AROUND PRE-K COLLEAGUES, IF YOU HAVE ANY. WELL, WE'VE ALREADY HAD THE CONVERSATION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THE ADMINISTRATION HAS NEEDS ANY CLARITY FROM US, RIGHT? SO MOVING ON TO OUR COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS THAT ARE REMAINING FOR YOU THAT'S NOT UNDER MY CONTROL? COULD Y'ALL THANK YOU. REMAINING ABOUT THIS PROGRESS MEASURE AS THE ADMINISTRATION MAKES A FINAL RECOMMENDATION. [01:05:05] TRUSTEE HERNANDEZ. SO IN 19-20, WE HAD THIRTY ONE THOUSAND SEVENTY SIX PRE KK STUDENTS. OH YEAH. THERE WERE. OH, OK. GO GO. UP TO THIRTY ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED, SO WE'RE GROWING LESS THAN 500 STUDENTS. I UNDERSTAND THAT THAT THIS YEAR WE HAVE LESS STUDENTS IN PRE-KK, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT I HAVE THE ANSWER OF HOW MANY SEATS WE ACTUALLY HAVE IN THE DISTRICT. DO WE HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT? DR. MATNEY. NO, NOT AT THIS TIME. SO CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW GROWING LESS THAN 500 STUDENTS IN PRE-K AND K WITH EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, RIGHT? WE I THINK I HAVE DEFINITELY EXPRESSED MY STRONG SUPPORT FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION. AND SO I'M TRYING TO SEE I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THIS IS A CHALLENGING GOAL FOR THE ORGANIZATION WHEN WE'RE GROWING LESS THAN 500 STUDENTS FROM WHERE WE WERE PRE-PANDEMIC. WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE IN A PANDEMIC FOREVER. DR. MATNEY ANY ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS YOU'D LIKE TO PROVIDE HERE. NO. AS WE TALKED ABOUT PREVIOUSLY, I BELIEVE IT WAS IN SEPTEMBER, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WITH THIS ARE JUST THE LEGAL SPECS FOR THE CLASSROOMS. AND SO REALLY HAVING THOSE FACILITIES BUILT FROM SCRATCH OR RETROFITTED TO INCLUDE, FOR EXAMPLE, BATHROOMS IN EACH OF THE THE ROOMS THEMSELVES. SO THERE IS SOME OF THAT. I DEFINITELY HEAR YOU AND HAVE GONE BACK AND EXAMINED THIS MULTIPLE TIMES WITH WITH THAT IDEA OF EVEN BEFORE THE 19-20 BEFORE THE PANDEMIC WHERE WE WERE. AND AND THAT'S I THINK THE PANDEMIC IS A HUGE IS A HUGE PIECE OF THIS AS WELL. IN THE 19-20S SCHOOL YEAR WHEN WE WERE AT THIRTY ONE THOUSAND SEVENTY SIX STUDENTS WHERE WE HAVE FULL CAPACITY AT THAT POINT. FOR PRE-K AND K, YOU KNOW, I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION. I DON'T HAVE THAT ANSWER RIGHT NOW. [INAUDIBLE] I THINK THAT THIS IS LIKE I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE I'M SAYING THE SAME INFORMATION AGAIN. I'M NOT SURE THAT THIS IS A CHALLENGING GOAL TO THE ORGANIZATION IF WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO HAVE AN ENROLLMENT GO UP, YOU KNOW. I THINK THAT THAT HAVING PROVIDING A SPACE FOR STUDENTS IN PRE-K THREE AND PRE-K FOUR AND KINDERGARTEN AND THE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO TO MAKE SURE THAT STUDENTS ARE IN THE DISTRICT AT THAT TIME. I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THE INFORMATION OF HOW MANY PRE-K SEATS WE ACTUALLY HAVE AVAILABLE BECAUSE IF WE'RE AT ABOUT THIRTY ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED, THEN I UNDERSTAND WE CAN'T GROW THAT MUCH, RIGHT? I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S THERE'S A LOT OF LEGAL. THANK YOU. TRUSTEE CRUZ, THANK YOU. OK, SO DR. MATNEY, I HEARD YOU SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, IT WAS KIND OF BASED ON CAPACITY, RIGHT? LOOKING AT THE DATA, LOOKING AT HOW MANY SEATS, AND I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION IN FRONT OF YOU. AND I DEFINITELY EXPRESSED THIS WHEN WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION IN SEPTEMBER IS WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT BESIDES, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE HAVE OBVIOUSLY CERTAIN CAPACITY IN OUR BUILDINGS, BUT WHAT ARE WE DOING TO LOOK BEYOND THAT CAPACITY, RIGHT? IN TERMS OF PARTNERSHIPS, WHETHER IT'S 1882, WHETHER IT'S IN DISTRICT, WE ENDED A 20 YEAR CONTRACT WITH A PRE-K PROVIDER. I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 500 STUDENTS. SO I JUST I THINK WE KNOW THE NEED IS THERE. WE KNOW THAT WE IF WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT OUR CAPACITY, WE KNOW THAT WE CANNOT SERVE ALL OF THE STUDENTS THAT QUALIFY FOR PRE-K. HERC HAS DONE ALL THOSE NUMBERS. THEY'VE GIVEN US THAT. SO WHAT ARE WE DOING AS AN ORGANIZATION TO LOOK BEYOND OUR WALLS TO PARTNER WITH THE MILLIONS OF ENTITIES THAT EXIST IN THIS CITY TO ENSURE THAT EVERY SINGLE STUDENT? I MEAN, OUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT, YOU KNOW, DR. MATNEY, THAT YOU GAVE LAST YEAR, IT SAID DISPARITIES IN STUDENT OUTCOMES CAN BE OBSERVED AT THE START OF FORMAL SCHOOLING. FOR MANY STUDENTS, THIS SUGGESTS THE DISPARITIES OBSERVED IN LATER STUDENTS EDUCATIONAL CAREERS, FROM GRADE RETENTION TO DROPOUT RATES TO ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT CAN BE TRACED BACK TO EARLY CHILDHOOD. WE, I DON'T THINK ANY OF US DON'T BELIEVE THAT RIGHT? SO WHAT ARE WE DOING TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE TURNED OVER EVERY SINGLE ROCK IN THIS CITY TO [01:10:05] MAKE SURE THAT EVERY SINGLE STUDENT HAS ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY PRE-K? SO WE'VE I THINK WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES THAT THE THAT WE SHARED, I THINK LAST BOARD MEETING ABOUT SOME OF THE THE WAYS WE'RE REACHING OUT TO PRE-K SPECIFICALLY, BUT I DEFINITELY HEAR YOU WITH SOME OF THOSE PARTNERSHIPS, SOME OF THOSE PIECES, WE HAVE SEVERAL HEAD START PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE PARTNERING WITH THOSE ORGANIZATIONS TO HELP SERVE OUR KIDS IN THOSE WAYS. AND I THINK THAT WE NEED TO GET A LITTLE CREATIVE AS WELL WITH HOW WE LOOK AT OUR TUITION BASED PRE-K. SO KNOWING THAT WE BRING THOSE STUDENTS IN THAT DON'T QUALIFY BUT BUT WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR PRE-K PROGRAMS SO THEY'RE TUITION BASED AND AND ENSURING THAT WE KEEP THOSE STUDENTS AS WELL, THAT'S BEEN A CHALLENGE. AND SO I THINK THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO LOOK DIFFERENTLY. OK, THANK YOU, AND I LIKE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE TUITION BASE BECAUSE I KNOW THE CUT OFF, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT MAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE TO NOT QUALIFY FOR FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH AND THEN YOU'RE CUT OFF, BUT YOU CAN'T AFFORD PRIVATE PRE-K. SO THAT IS ALSO REALLY CRITICAL AS WELL. THANK YOU. TRUSTEE SUNG. SO I THINK IT WAS ACTUALLY AUGUST WHEN WE DISCUSSED THIS, BECAUSE IN THE AUGUST Q&A IS WHERE WE HAVE THAT PRIOR KINDERGARTEN DATA AND KIND OF A DISCUSSION OF WHERE THE SIX THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED SIXTY THREE GROWTH NUMBER WAS ARRIVED AT. SO WHAT NEW HAVE HAVE YOU LOOKED AT? WHAT NEW INFORMATION, WHAT NEW STRATEGIES HAVE YOU LOOKED AT SINCE OUR AUGUST CONVERSATION? YEAH, SO REALLY BEING BEING PART OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING CONVERSATIONS, MAKING SURE THAT THE TRUSTEES VOICE IS REALLY HEARD IN THOSE HAVING OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD DIRECTOR AT THOSE SEATS TO PLAN FORWARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, KNOWING THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S HIGH PRIORITY WANTING TO ENSURE OUR HIGH QUALITY INCREASING THE SEATS, INCREASING, MAKING SURE THAT IT'S HIGH QUALITY FOR THIS POPULATION OF STUDENTS BUILDING THAT INTO THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS CRITICAL TO MAKE SURE IT'S A PIECE OF THE FABRIC OF OF OUR MOVEMENT GOING FORWARD. THE PART OF THAT TRUSTEE SUNG IS IS REALLY CROSS-FUNCTIONALLY BRINGING EVERYBODY TO THE TABLE. SOMETIMES IT'S IF JUST THE EARLY CHILDHOOD DEPARTMENT IS THINKING ABOUT WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE, BUT THEY'RE NOT COMMUNICATING WITH THE OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT AND NOT COMMUNICATING WITH THE TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT, NOT COMMUNICATING WITH. SO WE'VE GOT A CROSS-FUNCTIONAL GROUP THAT IS COMING TO A COMMON COMMON GOAL AROUND WHERE WE'RE GOING AS AN ORGANIZATION. AND AS DR. MATNEY SAID, WE'VE BROUGHT THIS GROUP TOGETHER. WE'RE GETTING READY TO GO INTO MEETING NUMBER FIVE TO CONTINUE THESE CONVERSATIONS. YES, MEETING NUMBER FIVE, WHICH IS TOMORROW. IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH. I'M SO GLAD TO HEAR YOU DISCUSS A CROSS-FUNCTIONAL GROUP BECAUSE WHAT I REMEMBER IN AUGUST IS THIS THIS TARGET WAS ARRIVED AT BY LOOKING AT OUR EXISTING BUILDINGS AND WHAT WE COULD FIT. AND SO I KNOW SINCE THEN YOU'VE GIVEN MORE THOUGHT TO A POTENTIAL BOND COMING NEXT YEAR. I IMAGINE THAT THERE'S SHORT OF CONSTRUCTING NEW FACILITIES. THERE'S ALSO OTHER, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOMETIMES RENTED FACILITIES OR PARTNERED AS TRUSTEE CRUZ HAS MENTIONED WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, TO OFFER PROGRAMS IN HISD. SO. SO FOLLOWING THESE CROSS-FUNCTIONAL DISCUSSIONS AND A MORE ROBUST CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT'S POSSIBLE, HOW IS YOUR RECOMMENDATION CHANGED FOR THIS PROGRESS MEASURE? DR. MATNEY. YEAH, THAT'S SO. SO WHEN WE LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE THE TOP OUT AND IT GOES BACK TO TRUSTEE HERNANDEZ THIS QUESTION ABOUT ABOUT WERE WE AT FULL CAPACITY BACK THEN? SO SO LOOKING AT ARE THERE CLASSROOMS THAT WE CAN FLIP? ARE THERE CLASSROOMS THAT THAT WE CAN LOOK AT DIFFERENTLY? AND AND HONESTLY, IT'S IT WHEN, YOU KNOW, IN A DECENTRALIZED SETTING, WHEN A PRINCIPAL DECIDES, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GOING TO OFFER PRE-K ANYMORE, THEN THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAUSES OUR NUMBERS TO GO DOWN. AND SO WE, YOU KNOW, IN LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN KIND OF LEVERAGE FROM THE PROGRAM STANDPOINT THAT MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THE VALUE THAT, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE HELP SUPPORT THOSE PROGRAMS ARE ALL THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, INCREASING THIS MEANS THAT THAT WE MAY HAVE TO SHIFT TO PROVIDING PORTABLE BUILDINGS FOR OTHER GRADE [01:15:06] LEVELS SO THAT PRE-K CAN BE IN CERTAIN CLASSROOMS. SO THAT'S ALL ALSO PART OF THAT FACILITIES AUDIT THAT THAT'S BEING LOOKED AT WITH WHAT OUR SPACE LOOKS LIKE. AND SO WE'RE WE'RE KEEPING OUR PULSE ON THAT AUDIT AND THOSE AUDIT FINDINGS AS WELL. SO ALL OF THESE CROSS-FUNCTIONAL CONVERSATIONS TO DATE HAVE NOT YIELDED A RECOMMENDATION TO INCREASE THIS NUMBER AT THIS POINT. IS THAT WHAT I'M HEARING? NOT YET. NOT. AS FAR AS THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS, NOT YET. MIGHT THEY, AT SOME POINT IN THE NEAR FUTURE, LEAD TO A RECOMMENDATION FOR A MORE AMBITIOUS TARGET FOR THIS PROGRESS MEASURE? IT'S POSSIBLE WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO THAT PARTICULAR POINT YET BECAUSE THIS IS ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE IN TERMS OF A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE GOING INTO OUR STRATEGIC STRATEGIC WORK AND OUR STRATEGIC MULTIYEAR STRATEGIC PLAN. BUT IT COULD IT COULD LEAD TO THAT. WHEN WHEN MIGHT THAT BE AS AS INDICATED? WE'VE GOT TO GET TO A POINT SHARED WITH YOU GUYS LAST WEEK, A SNAPSHOT OF OUR STRATEGIC CALENDAR. AND SO WE'VE GOT TO GET TO A PARTICULAR POINT WHERE WE FORMALIZE AND GET CLOSER TO COMPLETING THAT. BEFORE I GIVE YOU A DIRECT ANSWER AROUND WHETHER IT'S GOING TO CHANGE OR NOT. SO I WOULD REFER YOU BACK TO THAT CALENDAR. WE'RE GOING TO STAY FOCUSED IN MEETING THOSE BENCHMARKS DEADLINES ON THE CALENDAR SO WE CAN BRING YOU A STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WOULD INCLUDE, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL MODIFICATIONS AND ITEMS LIKE THIS AS WELL. OK, SO I'M VISUALIZING THAT TIMELINES IS SOMETHING LIKE FEBRUARY, AND I'M THE REASON I'M PUSHING ON THE TIMELINE IS BECAUSE TRUSTEE DEIGAARD OPENED THIS CONVERSATION, SAYING WE HAVE A MONITORING CALENDAR THAT WE NEED TO FINALIZE FOR THIS YEAR. AND I THINK WHEN WE DISCUSS THIS IN AUGUST, WE WERE THINKING WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DISCUSS UPDATED PROGRESS MEASURES AROUND THIS TIME FRAME OCTOBER NOVEMBER. BUT NOW WHAT I'M HEARING A FEW MORE MONTHS TO GET THERE. IS THAT RIGHT? IT'S POSSIBLE. OK, OK, THANK YOU. [INAUDIBLE] SO THE OTHER, I THINK, METRIC TO LOOK AT WHEN WE'RE HAVING THIS DISCUSSION IS DEFINITELY ACCESSIBILITY. WHERE IS THAT NEEDED? AND I THINK NOBODY HERE DISAGREES THAT EARLY CHILDHOOD IS IS NEEDED 100 PERCENT. BUT THE OTHER PART TO CONSIDER, I THINK, IS THESE GRADES ARE NOT REQUIRED BY LAW. SO WE RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF INFORMATION SHARING. I DON'T WANT TO CALL IT EDUCATION, BUT INFORMATION SHARING WITH OUR PARENTS TO ALLOW US TO RECEIVE THEIR CHILDREN AND EDUCATE THEIR CHILDREN BECAUSE THESE GRADES ARE NOT REQUIRED. SO I KNOW I THINK TRUSTEE HERNANDEZ, AS YOU KNOW, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED AT THE BOARD LEVEL? AT THE SUPERINTENDENT LEVEL? IS IT ADMINISTRATION, IS IT PRINCIPAL, IS IT TEACHER. ONE THING THAT I THINK TRUSTEES CAN HELP US WITH IS HELP CHANGE LEGISLATION. AND MR. HOUSE HAS ALREADY PUT IT OUT THERE ALREADY THAT PRE-K, PRE-K, THREE PRE-K FOR KINDERGARTEN LIKE IT SHOULDN'T, WE SHOULD LOOK AT A POSSIBILITY OF CHANGING LEGISLATION AND MAKE SOME OF THESE GRADES REQUIRED TO BUILD THAT FOUNDATION. BECAUSE THE OTHER PART BESIDES FINDING THE FACILITIES, FINDING THE RIGHT CLASSROOMS, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE RETROFITTED CORRECTLY FOR OUR EARLY EARLY BABIES IS GETTING OUR CHILDREN TO COME BACK TO SCHOOL. SO TRUSTEE SUNG, YOU ASKED, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAVE WE CHANGED WITH THIS? ONE OF THE BIG PUSHES THIS THIS SUMMER WAS OUR DREAM BIG CAMPAIGN THAT REALLY TARGETED OUR YOUNG BABIES TO COME BACK TO SCHOOL OR TO COME BACK FOR THE FIRST TIME TO SCHOOL. WE'RE SEEING WE'RE REAPING SOME BENEFITS OF THAT, BUT PART OF IT AGAIN IS WE COULD HAVE WE COULD INCREASE SEATS TEN THOUSAND FOLD, ALTHOUGH DON'T QUOTE ME ON THAT, NOT TEN THOUSAND FOLD, WE COULD INCREASE SEATS, WE COULD DOUBLE THAT AMOUNT. BUT IF OUR PARENTS DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT EARLY CHILDHOOD IS CRUCIAL, IT'S IMPORTANT AND THERE'S HESITANCY FROM SOME OF THEM TO TO ENROLL THEIR CHILDREN IN OUR SCHOOLS. WE HAVE TO ADDRESS THAT AS WELL. SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT SIDE AS WELL AS INFORMING OUR PARENTS AND SHOWING THEM OUR SCHOOLS ARE SAFE, OUR SCHOOLS WANT, THE EARLIER WE GET THEM, THE BETTER. BUT WE'RE ALSO MAKING SURE THAT THAT'S BEING ADDRESSED AS WELL. [01:20:03] AND THEN I DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT GETS DOESN'T GET LOST. DR. MATNEY MENTIONED ONE OF THE OBSTACLES BECAUSE THE QUESTION CAME UP ALSO, WHY WOULD THE NUMBERS NOT LOOK AS HEALTHY? AT THIS POINT, PRINCIPALS DO CHOOSE WHICH GRADES THEY'RE GOING TO MAINTAIN. SO IF WE ONLY ASSIGN TWO CLASSROOMS TO BE PRE-K CLASSROOMS, THEN WE ONLY HAVE, YOU KNOW, 20 TO 44 STUDENTS. TWENTY TWO STUDENTS IN EACH CLASSROOM, LET'S SAY. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ALSO NEED TO STRONGLY LOOK AT AND SEE IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO DECIDE DIFFERENTLY? I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER CONVERSATION AROUND WHAT ELEMENTS OF DECENTRALIZATION THAT YOU KNOW, WE WILL. I DON'T, QUITE FRANKLY, REVERSE OR FOCUS ON TO DO DIFFERENTLY. THAT IS ONE OF THE ELEMENTS THAT WE NEED TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT BECAUSE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CAPACITY AND SEATS RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, A PRINCIPAL HAS THE ABILITY TO CONTROL THE CAPACITY OF THE SEATS THAT THEY WANT, YOU KNOW, SMALLER CLASS SIZES AT THIRD GRADE VERSUS THE IDEA OF A PRE-K OR KINDERGARTEN KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOM. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE TAKING A CLOSE LOOK AT AS WELL TO SOMEHOW DRAW DRAW THAT LINE TO ENSURE THAT THE SEATS THAT ARE MOST NEEDED AND THE MOST HIGH NEED SCHOOLS THAT WE HAVE THOSE THOSE SEATS AVAILABLE AS WELL. SO IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE TAKING A CLOSE LOOK AT. TRUSTEE DEIGAARD, OK, I'VE BEEN MY SHEETS OF PAPER, KEEP EXPANDING OVER HERE, SO THIS TO ME IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND CRITICAL THINGS AND GAME CHANGING THINGS THAT WE CAN DO AS AN ORGANIZATION. AND I'M VERY PROUD OF THE FACT THAT WE THAT THIS IS ONE OF OUR CONSTRAINTS. WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT HAVING A GOAL AROUND IT, BUT IT WOUND UP AS A CONSTRAINT. THE REASON I PREFACED OUR CONVERSATION WITH, YOU KNOW, ARE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS FROM THE ADMINISTRATION IS BECAUSE THERE'S A DISCONNECT TO ME BETWEEN QUALITY SEATS AND ENROLLMENT AND MAYBE NOT A DISCONNECT. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, THAT WHAT THAT INTERPRETATION IS OF QUALITY SEATS. AS A BOARD MEMBER WHO APPROVED THIS TO ME, SEAT WAS HOW MANY HOW MANY CHAIRS THERE ARE IN THE DISTRICT FOR CHILDREN TO FILL. MY STRUGGLE WITH THIS PROGRESS MEASURE IS IT'S ABOUT INCREASING ENROLLMENT INTO SEATS THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE EMPTY AND THAT SHOULD BE PART OF THIS. THIS ABSOLUTELY SHOULD BE PART OF THIS. BUT THERE IS A SECOND BUCKET OF KIDS WHO WANT A SEAT AND THE SEAT DOESN'T EXIST. AND THERE'S A THIRD BUCKET OF KIDS WHO ARE ENROLLED IN SEATS OUTSIDE OF HISD THAT ARE THERE, THAT ARE THAT ARE WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES. BUT THEY ARE GOING TO ANOTHER CAMPUS, FOR EXAMPLE. THEY'RE GOING TO A CHARTER SCHOOL BECAUSE THERE'S SPACE THERE FOR THEM AND THEN THEY DON'T COME BACK TO US IN KINDERGARTEN. AND THERE'S ALSO, YOU KNOW, YOU BRING UP THE LEGISLATION. I DON'T THINK WE WAIT FOR THE LEGISLATION TO TO DO THIS. I THINK WE LEAD ON IT IN OUR COMMUNITY AND GET OUT OF OUR OWN SILO ON THIS AND REQUEST FOR MORE TIME SINCE I NEED TO LEAVE IN ABOUT. OK. SO I'M GETTING TO MY QUESTIONS ON THIS. SO WE CANNOT BE SILOED IN THIS CONVERSATION. THERE ARE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT CAN WORK WITH US ON THIS, AND SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO BE PROBLEMATIC WITH THE LEGISLATURE IS GOING TO BE THE SAME THING THAT'S BEEN PROBLEMATIC IN THE PAST OF ALL OF OUR THREE YEAR OLDS AND FOUR YEAR OLDS WHO ARE CURRENTLY IN IN PRIVATE BASED SETTINGS, CHURCHES, THOSE KINDS OF SPACES THAT SERVE BABIES THROUGH FOUR YEAR OLDS. AND IF YOU TAKE OUT ALL THE THREE YEAR OLDS AND FOUR YEAR OLDS OR EVEN ALL THE FOUR YEAR OLDS, THEY CAN NO LONGER SUSTAIN AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE, AFFORDABLE CHILD CARE FOR THE BABIES. AND SO ONE OF THE BUCKETS THAT I THINK FROM A HOLISTIC APPROACH FOR CHILDREN THAT WE CAN AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERING IS HOW DO WE PARTNER WITH EXISTING ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE ALREADY SERVING CHILDREN BUT MAYBE NEED HELP IN IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF WHAT, HOW [01:25:01] THEY'RE SERVING THEIR CHILDREN? THAT BECOMES A HIGH QUALITY SEAT FOR AN HISD KID, IT'S JUST NOT IN OUR BUILDING, BUT IT'S UNDER UNDER OUR UMBRELLA TO MAKE SURE THAT THE QUALITY IS THERE. THE RATIOS, THE TEACHER QUALITY TRAINING, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. THE QUESTIONS I HAVE AND I'M GOING TO LEAVE THEM WITH YOU ALL AND HOPEFULLY HEAR THE ANSWER BEFORE I HAVE TO RUN ARE HOW ARE WE USING OUR DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY WITH THE BOND TO KNOW HOW MANY? WE'VE GOT A BABY IS ABOUT TO BE AN HISD BABY IN FIVE YEARS OVER THERE, RIGHT? THIS IS ANOTHER PROGRESS MEASURE WHERE THE BASELINE DOESN'T HAVE TO BE LAST YEAR, RIGHT, IT CAN BE ACTUALLY THE BASELINE IS THIS YEAR, NO BASELINE IS STILL LAST YEAR DOESN'T. WE'VE GOT A BASELINE FOR THIS YEAR, DON'T WE? WE KNOW HOW MANY, HOW MANY KIDDOS ARE RIGHT. SO WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE IN FIVE YEARS? YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T STARTED THIS, WE HAVEN'T STARTED MONITORING IT. I DON'T KNOW WHY WE COULDN'T HAVE THIS YEAR AS A BASELINE WITH A MUCH MORE AMBITIOUS TARGET THAT PUSHES OUR ORGANIZATION TO THINK ABOUT ALL OF THE DIFFERENT BUCKETS. SO, YOU KNOW, IS THAT PART OF OUR DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY? HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE IN AREAS WHERE WE HAVE CAPACITY THAT AREN'T IN SEATS AND HOW MANY WANT SEATS IN AREAS WITHOUT CAPACITY? THANK YOU FOR GRANTING ME EXTRA TIME. ABSOLUTELY. YES, IT WILL BE AND IS PART OF OUR DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY. DR. MATNEY, ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO PROVIDE IN TERMS OF INSIGHT BEFORE TRUSTEE DEIGAARD HEADS OUT? YEAH, SO SO IT IS. IT'S EXCITING THAT THAT PASS OUT WAS PART OF THE ORIGINAL FACILITIES AUDIT IN DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY AND IN Y'ALL LAST MONTH. THIS MONTH, I GUESS APPROVED TO EXTEND THAT BECAUSE THAT IS IN USING ESSER FUNDS TO PARTNER WITH THEM FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS TO BRING US OUT OF THIS PANDEMIC. THEY ARE A WEALTH OF INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE GROWTH IS HAPPENING, WHERE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE TURNING OVER, WHERE BIRTH RATES ARE IN ALL OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. AND SO WE ARE TAKING THAT DATA TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST FROM A BOND ASPECT OF A POTENTIAL BOND ASPECT, BUT IN ENROLLMENT AND HELPING PRINCIPALS KNOW THIS IS WHY YOU SEE A DECLINE. SO LET'S LOOK AT HOW WE CAN BOLSTER THESE PROGRAMS THERE. SO ABSOLUTELY, IT'S GOING TO BE THE PULSE POINT OF OUR DATA THAT WE USE. AND I'M I'VE WORKED WITH THEM IN OTHER ARENAS AND I'M SUPER EXCITED THAT THEY'RE WORKING WITH US IN HISD. TRUSTEE FLYNN VILASECA. I JUST WANT TO GO OVER EVERYTHING THAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE EXPRESSED SO FAR. THIS IS IT INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW FOR THE FUTURE OF MAKING SURE THAT WE MEET OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD GOALS THAT ARE EARLY LITERACY AND EARLY MATH GOALS THAT ARE PART OF HB THREE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE ADOPTED AS A DISTRICT. I MEAN, IF THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT, THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE THESE BOARD GOALS THAT ARE IN PLACE, THAT'S PART OF HB THREE REQUIREMENTS AND IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO MEET THOSE GOALS AND THEN AN EFFECTIVE WAY DOES REQUIRE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND OFFERING THAT IN-HOUSE RIGHT, WHETHER OR NOT KIDS ARE REQUIRED TO COME TO OUR SCHOOLS AT AGE SEVEN. YOU KNOW, WE GOT TO GET THEM IN EARLY. WE GOT TO GET THEM EXPOSED TO LITERATURE, TO WORDS, TO OTHER STUDENTS AND GET THEM READY TO ROCK AND ROLL. SO I'M HONESTLY I WOULD PUSH OUR ORGANIZATION TO RECONSIDER THE NUMBER OF SEATS ALSO, BUT THEY'LL ALSO ADD SOMETHING THAT DOES TALK ABOUT THE QUALITY AS WELL. I THINK WHAT TRUSTEE DEIGAARD WAS SAYING AS FAR AS IF WE, YOU KNOW, HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TO PARTNER WITH ORGANIZATIONS OR NONPROFITS, IF WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY INSIGHT FOR THE MOMENT, BECAUSE EVEN IF A BOND'S PASSED, IT MIGHT TAKE A COUPLE OF YEARS OR LONGER TO ACTUALLY GET THE THE SEATS, THE ACTUAL SPACE READY TO GO. SO I WOULD PUSH US TO RECONSIDER THIS TO INCREASE THAT NUMBER, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE KNOW THAT OUR ENROLLMENT DECLINE THAT'S DOWN. THE IMPACT HAS BEEN PREDOMINANTLY IN THIS AREA. WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH WITH FAMILIES TO COME BACK, I THINK IS IS PART OF THE EDUCATIONAL EFFORT. BUT WE'RE AN EDUCATIONAL ENTITY AND I THINK IT'S JUST ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH FAMILIES. WE KNOW THAT 1500 PEOPLE ARE MOVING TO TEXAS ON A DAILY BASIS AND MOST OF THEM ARE COMING TO URBAN AREAS. AND MOST OF THE PEOPLE I READ THE OTHER DAY THAT ARE MOVING IN FROM CALIFORNIA ARE COMING TO HOUSTON AND AGAIN WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH ENTITIES THAT ARE RECEIVING FAMILIES, HELPING WITH THE TRANSITION, EDUCATING THEM AND WHAT OPPORTUNITIES THERE ARE TO ENROLL IN [01:30:03] THE DISTRICT AND MAKING THAT EASIER FOR THEM AS A TRANSITION. SO QUALITY [INAUDIBLE] FOCUS ON QUALITY, INCREASING THAT THAT GOAL OR MAKING IT MORE RIGOROUS. AND WHAT ELSE? OH, I ALSO DO WANT TO SAY THAT CHILDREN AT RISK DOES HAVE AN ARTICLE AND HAS DONE RESEARCH ON CHILD CARE DESERTS AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT RESEARCH AS WE'RE MAKING OUR CONSIDERATIONS AS WELL. THANK YOU. WE ARE GOING ON TO ROUND TWO. TRUSTEE CRUZ. THANK YOU. OK, SO IT SOUNDS LIKE IF WE JUST FOCUS ON OUR CAPACITY THAT WE ARE NOT GOING TO MEET THE NEEDS, LIKE I REFERRED TO KERC STUDY ALL THE TIME BUT THEY DID SUCH A GOOD JOB OF ALL THIS RESEARCH. THEY SAID A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO HISD PRE-K WITHIN THEIR ZONE OR WITHIN A MILE OF WHERE THEY LIVE. AND THEY ALSO SAID STUDENTS WHO ARE ENGLISH LEARNERS HAVE LESS THAN OR EQUAL ACCESS TO PRE-K PROGRAMS AS THEIR NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE PEERS. SO AGAIN, I JUST REALLY WANT TO REITERATE WE HAVE TO GO BEYOND OUR BUILDINGS OR WE'RE NEVER GOING TO MEET THE NEEDS OF NOT JUST EVERY STUDENT, BUT DEFINITELY OUR MOST VULNERABLE STUDENTS. AND I CAN'T REMEMBER THE ROBERTS RULES TO ASK A QUESTION OF MY COLLEAGUE. WHAT IS IT? WHAT WOULD I NEED TO SAY? YOU'RE KIND OF IN A IN A WORKSHOP. SO YOU REALLY. YEAH. SO TRUSTEE FLYNN VILASECA ARE YOU SUGGESTING AN ADDITIONAL CONSTRAINT PROGRESS MEASURE AROUND QUALITY? IS THAT WHAT I HEARD YOU SAY? OK, DEFINITELY WANT TO ECHO THAT TOO, BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE CONSTRAINT PROGRESS MEASURE FIVE POINT ONE COULD GET US TO QUALITY AND FIVE POINT TWO INSINUATES QUALITY. BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A STRONGER METRIC. SO A 5.3 IS MY ECHO TRUSTEE FLYNN VILASECA. TRUSTEE SUNG CHUCK, I'M COMING UP ON THE SCHOOL PICK UP TIME, SO LET ME MAKE MY FINAL REMARKS. IT'S HARD FOR ME TO SQUARE THE THE CONCERNS ABOUT FAMILY INTEREST WITH THE DESPERATION THAT FAMILIES FEEL AROUND CHILD CARE, AND THAT'S WHETHER IT'S FOR FREE OR FOR PAID, I MEAN, PARENTS ARE SCRAMBLING. I DON'T KNOW ANY FAMILY WITH YOUNG KIDS THAT ISN'T SCRAMBLING FOR CHILDCARE THAT'S EDUCATIONAL ENRICHING I.E. QUALITY PRE-K AND KINDER. I MEAN, PEOPLE LINE UP IN FOR THESE, LIKE EARLY TO GET INTO, YOU KNOW, WHAT SEATS WE HAVE AVAILABLE IN SOME NEIGHBORHOODS. SO CLEARLY THERE'S UNMET NEED. AND THEN I'M HEARING FROM PARENTS IS TUITION BASED PRE-K PART OF THIS? BECAUSE THERE'S STRONG INTEREST FROM PARENTS WHO HAVE THE MEANS TO PAY FOR PRE-K TO HAVE MORE OPTIONS, QUALITY OPTIONS FOR PRE-K. SO WHAT'S THE THINKING ABOUT THAT. I KNOW THAT THERE'S TIMING WITH WHICH LIKE WE'VE MADE IT. OUR CURRENT SYSTEM FOR ADMITTING FAMILIES TO TUITION BASED PRE-K IS SUCH THAT FAMILIES DON'T FIND OUT IF THEY HAVE A SEAT UNTIL PRETTY LATE AND THEY FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE, AND THEN THEREFORE THEY'LL GO ELSEWHERE. BUT IF WE REVISIT THOSE SYSTEMS, I THINK THAT THERE'S DEMAND FOR PARTICIPATION THERE. I KNOW THAT PRINCIPALS ALSO HAVE DEADLINES THEY HAVE TO MAKE AROUND CHOOSING THE HIGHER OR NOT HIGHER AND THE UNCERTAINTIES AROUND HAVING TUITION SEATS CAN MAKE THEM DISINCLINED TO TO HAVE THOSE. BUT ARE WE REVISITING THE WAY ALL THOSE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS INTERACT FOR PRINCIPALS, FOR FAMILIES. BECAUSE THAT COULD ALSO AFFECT OUR ABILITY TO GROW IN THIS AREA. SO THAT WAS A QUESTION AROUND HOW DOES TUITION PRE-K SEATS FIT IN. SO TUITION BASED IS INCLUDED IN THESE NUMBERS AS WELL. AND I DO KNOW THAT THERE ARE CONVERSATIONS AROUND JUST THE WHOLE SCHOOL CHOICE PIECE ALTOGETHER. AND SO THIS YOUR POINT IS VERY WELL NOTED AROUND THIS BEING A PIECE UNDER CONSIDERATION. IN ADDITION, I JUST I'M JUST CONVINCED THAT IF WE THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX A LITTLE BIT HERE, THERE'S MORE WE CAN DO IN THIS AREA. OK, THANK YOU. TRUSTEE HERNANDEZ. THANK YOU. GOING WITH THE SAME [INAUDIBLE] ABOUT TUITION BASED PRE-K. I KNOW I'VE RECEIVED EMAILS BEFORE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE THRESHOLD OF WHERE THAT WHERE YOU [01:35:05] HAVE TO PAY TUITION AND WHERE THAT IS. AND AS A BOARD MEMBER WHO APPROVES THE BUDGET, YOU KNOW, IF A FAMILY WHO'S AT THAT BORDERLINE, YOU KNOW, WE MAY NOT NECESSARILY DECIDE WHAT THAT LINE IS, RIGHT? WHAT THAT CUTOFF IS. BUT AS A BOARD MEMBER WHO APPROVES A BUDGET, I'M OK WITH HAVING SOME FUNDS THERE TO HELP FAMILIES OUT. I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT WOULD ACTUALLY LOOK, BUT THAT'S JUST MY JUST WANTING TO GET THAT OUT THERE FOR THE NEXT BUDGET. AND THEN I KNOW THAT I DID A BOARD REFERRAL AROUND WHICH SCHOOL HAD THE LONGEST WAIT LIST FOR PRE-K. I THINK THAT WAS A [INAUDIBLE] FOR ALL, AND IT WAS GUARDIAN OAKS MONTESSORI TO ME THAT TELLS ME THERE'S A BIG WANT FOR MORE MONTESSORI SCHOOLS IN GENERAL IN HISD. I HEAR ALL THE TIME, RIGHT? THERE'S A REASON. I MEAN, I THINK IT'S LIKE A HUNDRED PLUS WAIT LIST. HOW MANY CLASSROOMS IS THAT OF PRE-K STUDENTS? YES, THEY MIGHT GO TO ANOTHER CLASSROOM, BUT YOU KNOW. THE COMMUNITY IS TELLING US THEY LIKE MONTESSORI, THEY WANT MONTESSORI. WHAT ARE WE AS AN ORGANIZATION DOING TO FULFILL THOSE DEMANDS OF WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS? THAT'S ALL. TRUSTEE FLYNN VILASECA, OK. AND JUST ONE MORE COMMENT TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF WHAT TRUSTEE HERNANDEZ WAS SAYING AT TASA TASB, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIT IN ON A ON A SESSION. IT WAS LED BY DALLAS ISD. THEY HAVE A CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER THAT OVERSEES STRATEGIC ENROLLMENT. THEY HAVE A DEPARTMENT THAT'S ON STRATEGIC ENROLLMENT. IT WAS INCREDIBLY INTERESTING, AND THEY ALSO IDENTIFIED THE NEED FOR INCREASED MONTESSORI ACROSS THE DISTRICT, AND THEY'RE PLACING THEM AND BUILDING THEM OUT IN VERY STRATEGIC PLACES ACROSS THE DISTRICT TO HELP MEET THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY, INCREASE ENROLLMENT AND AGAIN, LIKE IT'S WE'D LOVE TO SEE MORE OF THAT HAPPENING HERE IN HISD HONESTLY, I DON'T WANT TO ASSUME THAT WE'RE NOT DOING THAT, BUT I COULD GIVE YOU THE CONTACT INFORMATION OF THAT PERSON. IT WAS INCREDIBLY COMPELLING. OKAY, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. WITH NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO DISCUSS, THIS MEETING OF THE BOARD IS ADJOURNED. THE TIME IS 2:50 P.M. ON OCTOBER 21ST, 2021. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.