[00:00:02]
HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT.
I'D LIKE TO INVITE OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EDUCATION TO THE PODIUM TO
[ *This meeting was joined in progress*]
[SPECIAL EDUCATION WORKSHOP]
GET US STARTED. MR. HOUSE, DO WE HAVE A COPY OF THE PRESENTATION? CAN WE GET THAT TO EMAILED TO US? THANK YOU. [INAUDIBLE] OH, IT'S ON SHAREPOINT.OKAY, AND FOR THE RECORD, LET IT BE KNOWN THAT TRUSTEE GUIDRY [INAUDIBLE] GOOD AFTERNOON, I'M CINDY HOPPMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES.
I APPRECIATE THE TIME TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK IN FRONT OF YOU.
THE FIRST I WANTED TO START OUT WITH THE VISION FOR OUR VISION FOR INCLUSIVE SERVICES THAT TO THE GREATEST EXTENT AS POSSIBLE, ALL STUDENTS CAN LEARN IN THE INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT.
AS LONG AS WE ARE GIVEN, WE GIVE THEM THE RESOURCES AND THE ABILITIES TO DO SO.
WANTED TO START WITH THE AIR COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM REVIEW, WHICH WAS DONE IN 2018.
THIS IS THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH DID A REPORT.
THIS IS A THIRD PARTY INDEPENDENT SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM REVIEW THAT WAS DONE.
IT TOOK TEN MONTHS IN DISTRICT TO USE THE AUDIT OF THE SERVICES.
THERE WERE EIGHT SPECIAL EDUCATION EXPERTS ON SITE TO CONDUCT THIS REVIEW, AND THEY USED FOCUS GROUPS, DATA ANALYSIS, SCHOOL OBSERVATION SURVEYS AND DID A RECORDS REVIEW.
THERE WERE FIVE MAIN AREAS THAT THEY WANTED TO RECOMMEND ON THIS VERY LONG AND THOROUGH REPORT.
ONE OF THEM WAS THE PROACTIVE AND PREVENTATIVE SERVICES FOR ALL STUDENTS.
THIS IS THE INTERVENTION BEFORE GETTING TO SPECIAL EDUCATION.
ONE OF THEM WAS TO SIMPLIFY THE PROCEDURES FOR STUDENTS TO BEGIN THE REFERRAL PROCESS IN IDENTIFYING STUDENTS THAT MAY HAVE DISABILITIES THAT ALL STUDENTS SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION, THE COMPREHENSIVE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FRAMEWORK, AND THEN THEY ALSO WANTED GREATER CENTRAL OVERSIGHT FROM SPECIAL EDUCATION OF THE BUDGET, STAFFING AND RESOURCES.
AS A RESULT OF THIS, THE DISTRICT CREATED A STRATEGIC FIVE YEAR PLAN.
ON THE STRATEGIC FIVE YEAR PLAN, THERE WERE THREE PRIMARY FOCUS AREAS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION.
ONE OF THEM WAS PROACTIVE AND TIMELY COMMUNICATION TO REBUILD TRUST WITH FAMILIES.
WE HAVE CREATED A DEPARTMENT AND AN ORGANIZATION TO ADDRESS ALL THREE OF THESE AREAS, AND JUST IN SUMMARY OF THOSE AREAS, IF WE PROVIDE THE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, WITH THE TIMELY EVALUATIONS, RESPONSIVE TEACHING AND PROACTIVE, RELIABLE FAMILY COMMUNICATION, THEN WE WILL IMPROVE THE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND COMPLIANCE MEASURES FOR STUDENTS RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES.
AS WE BREAK DOWN THESE THREE AREAS, THESE ARE SOME OF THE INITIATIVES THAT COME INTO PLAY ON THE SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN, THE RIGHT SIDE, YOU WILL SEE THOSE DIRECTORS WHO OVERSEE THESE DIFFERENT AREAS.
THIS IS HOW WE DID CHANGE THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT, WHICH HAPPENED DURING THIS LAST SUMMER AND HAS CARRIED OUT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
THE PROACTIVE AND TIMELY COMMUNICATION IS THROUGH MISS ARDELIA EIDELBERG'S DIRECTION AND THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE ARE MONTHLY PARENT TRAININGS THAT ARE LISTED ON OUR WEBSITE.
THERE'S BIANNUAL SPECIAL ED PARENT SUMMITS AND THE NEXT ONE COMING UP WILL BE APRIL 29TH, AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED THAT THIS WILL BE THE FIRST ONE THAT IS IN PERSON SINCE COVID.
SINCE THEN, IT'S BEEN VIRTUAL THERE.
THEY'RE ENTERED INTO A SYSTEM AND WE CAN PULL UP THAT DATA TO REVIEW HOW EFFECTIVE WE ARE AT THAT.
THE NEXT AREA OF INSTRUCTIONAL EXCELLENCE TO MEET STUDENT NEEDS.
WE HAVE TWO SCHOOL SITE DIRECTORS THAT THEY OVERSEE.
ONE OF THEM, NICOLE AYEN-METOYER, OVERSEES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND ALSO OUR SOAR CAMPUSES, WHICH IS OUR OUT OF DISTRICT PLACEMENTS, AND CANDACE LEWIS OVERSEES THE SECONDARY AND RISE CAMPUSES.
[00:05:03]
I'M GOING TO INTERRUPT YOU REALLY QUICKLY JUST TO ANNOUNCE THAT TRUSTEE SANTOS HAS JOINED US.THANK YOU. SO THROUGH THESE AREAS, HERE'S WHERE WE ARE LOOKING AT STRONG TEACHERS TO PROVIDE SPECIALIZED SERVICES AND CROSS DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION TO INCREASE ACADEMIC SKILLS.
MARY KAY KINNETT IS THE DIRECTOR THAT OVERSEES THIS.
WE HAVE IEP PROGRESS REPORTED EVERY SIX WEEKS.
WE HAVE IEPS SHOWING STANDARDS BASED GOALS, TIMELY INITIAL EVALUATIONS AND DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT EARLY CHILDHOOD TRANSITION IEPS BY THEIR THIRD BIRTHDAY.
TALKING ABOUT COMMUNICATION WITH FAMILIES.
WE REACH OUT VIA EMAIL TEXT ON OUR HISD WEBSITE.
OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION WEBSITE, AND VARIOUS WAYS TO TRY AND GET MORE PARTICIPATION IN THESE.
AS I SAID, THESE ARE CURRENTLY OFFERED THROUGH THE MONTHLY PARENT TRAININGS, WHICH IS BRAND NEW THIS SCHOOL YEAR AND THESE BI-ANNUAL SPECIAL ED PARENT SUMMITS. OUR PARENT PARTNER GROUP MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE ARE MEETINGS WHERE WE ELICIT IDEAS FROM OUR PARENTS, EITHER REGARDING WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO HEAR IN THESE TRAININGS AT THESE MEETINGS, OR MORE CLARITY THAT THEY NEED THAT WE CAN PROVIDE TO THEM, AND THESE MEETINGS ARE HELD VIRTUALLY. IT'S AT A LUNCH TIME ONCE A MONTH, WHICH IS WHAT THESE PARENTS HAD INDICATED THE BEST TIME FOR THEM TO MEET.
AS I INDICATED EARLIER, THAT THE RESPONSE THAT WE THE RESPONSE TIME THAT WE RESPOND TO PARENTS CONCERNS WE PUT INTO A SYSTEM AND WE ARE ABLE TO TRACK THAT.
THIS CAN COME TO THEM THROUGH EMAIL.
IT CAN COME TO THEM BY THROUGH PHONE.
A LOT OF TIMES THEY'LL CONTACT ME DIRECTLY BECAUSE THEY'LL FIND MY CONTACT INFORMATION.
I WILL MAKE SURE THAT GOES THROUGH THIS SITE WITH OUR PARENT LIAISONS SO THAT THEY CAN LOG THIS ENTRY AND THEN THE PARENT LIAISONS CONTACT THE APPROPRIATE SPECIAL EDUCATION ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF WHO CAN THEN WORK WITH THE SCHOOLS TO GET THEIR PROBLEM RESOLVED.
CAMPUS SUPPORTS COULD BE BECAUSE A PARENT INDICATES THAT THERE'S A NEED AND WE MAY NEED TO, AS A RESULT OF THAT, PROVIDE SOME SUPPORT TO THE STAFF OR THAT STAFF HAS REACHED OUT AND INDICATING A NEED OR THAT OUR ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF HAS GONE OUT AND THROUGH THEIR OBSERVATIONS, HAS INDICATED THAT EITHER A PARTICULAR STAFF MEMBER, THE WHOLE DEPARTMENT OR THE WHOLE SCHOOL MAY NEED SOME AREAS OF SUPPORT.
WE TRACK THAT THROUGH THIS, THE FOOTPRINTS AS WELL , AND ON THESE TEAMS THAT ARE AT THE SCHOOL SITES, IT'S AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS. THEY HAVE BEHAVIOR SPECIALIST, AUTISM, ITINERANT TEACHERS, TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SPECIALISTS AND A VARIETY OF PROGRAM SPECIALISTS WHO WERE FORMER TEACHERS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION TO TRY AND HELP THEM WITH THESE ISSUES.
THEY WORK AS A TEAM, SO EACH OF THEM ARE NOT NECESSARILY ASSIGNED TO SCHOOLS.
THEY ARE ASSIGNED TO EITHER THE ELEMENTARY TEAM OR THE SECONDARY TEAM, BUT THEY CERTAINLY REACH OUT TO EACH OTHER AND MEET WITH EACH OTHER ON A REGULAR BASIS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING THOSE CONCERNS.
THIS NEXT SLIDE IS JUST AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE INDICATORS THAT WE MEASURE THAT WE COLLECT DATA AND WE REPORT OUT TO THOSE SCHOOLS OFFICES, AND IN A COLLABORATION WITH THEM, WE ARE WORKING TOWARD THE COMPLIANCE OF
[00:10:03]
GETTING PARTICULARLY THIS PIECE IS PROGRESS REPORT MONITORING.EVERY TEACHER HAS TO LOOK AT EACH STUDENT ON THEIR CASELOAD AND EACH GOAL FOR THAT STUDENT, AND THEY HAVE TO FILL OUT WHERE THAT STUDENT IS WITH THAT GOAL, AND THEN THEY HAVE TO FINALIZE THAT, AND THAT GETS SENT WITH THE PARENT WITH THE REPORT CARD.
THIS HAS TO BE DONE AT A MINIMUM.
EACH TIME THE STUDENT RECEIVES A PROGRESS REPORT OR A REPORT CARD.
SO THIS IS IN ADDITION TO THOSE THOSE PROGRESS MEASURES.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR LAST YEAR, I THINK WE WERE AT A 0%, BUT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, DISTRICT TOTAL WAS 69%. WE'VE BEEN INCREASING VERY RAPIDLY EVER SINCE, AND LIKE I SAID, THIS IS ONE ONE OF THE DATA POINTS WE USE, QUITE A FEW THAT WE SHARE WITH THE SCHOOLS OFFICE TEAMS. OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION LEADERSHIP GOES TO THE SCHOOLS OFFICES MEETINGS EVERY SINGLE WEEK TO PRESENT DATA SUCH AS THIS TO THEM, TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT HOW WE CAN PARTNER WITH THEM, TO HELP SCHOOLS TO IMPROVE IN THESE AND A LOT OF TIMES WE'RE IDENTIFYING WHAT SCHOOLS ARE IN GREATER NEED, WHAT STAFF IS IN GREATER NEED SO THAT WE CAN RALLY THE TROOPS.
A LOT OF TIMES IT ALSO COULD BE IN VACANCIES AND THAT'S WHERE WE CAN SEE IT.
WANT TO START OUT WITH MULTI-TIERED SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT.
THIS WAS ON THE AIR REPORT THAT THIS NEEDED TO BE ADDRESSED, AND SINCE THEN IN HISD, THE INTERVENTIONS DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN CREATED TO PROVIDE SOME OF THOSE INTERVENTIONS FOR STUDENTS INSTEAD OF SOMETHING THAT I HAVE TERMED AS THE HIGHWAY TO SPECIAL ED.
WE WANT TO INTERVENE WITH STUDENTS WHERE THEY ARE AT.
WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO IDENTIFY STUDENTS WHO MAY NEED SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION, BUT FIRST WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO INTERVENE WITH THEM AND PROVIDE THEM THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE WAY TO PROVIDE THE SUPPORT FOR THEM, AND SOME OF THEM, ONCE THEY GET THAT SUPPORT IN THOSE GENERAL ED SETTINGS, THEY'RE ABLE TO MAKE GAINS, GET WHAT THEY NEED WITHOUT HAVING TO GO TOWARD SPECIAL EDUCATION, BUT IN SOME CASES THEY GET THAT INTERVENTION.
THAT INTERVENTION ISN'T ENOUGH.
THEY GO TO THE NEXT TIER OF INTERVENTION.
IF THAT'S NOT ENOUGH, THEN THEY LOOK TOWARD IF THEY NEED SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION, AND THEN ON THIS SLIDE, I'M SORRY, I JUMPED AHEAD ON THIS SLIDE. IT TALKS ABOUT TIER ONE IS YOUR UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING.
ONE THING THAT I HAVE NOTICED IS THE MORE THIS IS UTILIZED, ESPECIALLY IN GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSES, THE MORE IT LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD FOR ALL, AND IT HELPS ALL STUDENTS, NO MATTER WHAT THEIR STRUGGLES, TO BE A BIT MORE SUCCESSFUL SO THAT WE MIGHT NOT NEED MORE INTENSIVE INTERVENTION, BUT WE'RE ALWAYS HERE WHEN THEY DO NEED MORE INTERVENTION.
THE HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS I JUST WANT TO ADDRESS QUICKLY, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH MTSS OR SPECIAL EDUCATION, WE ARE PARTNERING WITH THE CURRICULUM AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IN PROVIDING TRAINING.
SO NOT ONLY ARE TRAININGS BEING PROVIDED FOR GENERAL ED TEACHERS, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE THAT THE SCHOOLS UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS ALSO FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN THE AREAS OF RESOURCE AND CO-TEACHING, BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE TEACHERS THAT ARE TEACHING SUBJECT AREAS THAT ARE BUILT ON THOSE GENERAL ED TEKS, AND IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO KNOW THAT CURRICULUM BEFORE THEY NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO INTERVENE WITH A STUDENT. SO THEY'RE GETTING PROVIDED THOSE THAT TRAINING, AS WELL AS THE SUPPORTS FROM THE SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, PROGRAM SPECIALISTS AND THE ADMINISTRATION FOR US TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THOSE GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM, EUREKA, CARNEGIE, AMPLIFY, AND COMING UP NEXT NEXT YEAR, I-READY SO THAT WE HAVE A GREAT UNDERSTANDING OF THAT, AND WE'RE GIVING OUR STUDENTS THAT HIGH QUALITY LEARNING.
TIER TWO, WE HAVE CLASSROOM INTERVENTIONS, AND THEN ALSO AND AGAIN, THIS ISN'T SPECIAL ED, THIS IS OUTSIDE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, BUT THAT'S THE CLASSROOM INTERVENTIONS AS WELL AS SOME OTHER INTERVENTIONS THAT MIGHT BE TRIED FOR STUDENTS
[00:15:04]
AND THEN IF THOSE ARE NOT SUCCESSFUL, THEN THE TEAMS MAY MEET AND THEY MAY DECIDE THAT REFERRAL FOR ELIGIBILITY, SPECIAL EDUCATION IS WHAT'S NEEDED, AND THEN WE WILL CERTAINLY ASSESS THEM TO SEE IF THAT'S WHERE THE LEVEL OF SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED.IN THE AREAS OF BEHAVIOR SUPPORT.
YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THE BEHAVIOR IS WHAT GETS IN THE WAY OF LEARNING, AND SOMETIMES THAT CAN BE DUE TO AN ACADEMIC DEFICIT OR IT CAN BE DUE TO ANOTHER TYPE OF CHALLENGE THAT THE STUDENT IS GOING THROUGH.
WE HAVE ONGOING BEHAVIOR CHALLENGES THAT REQUIRE OUR ALIGNMENT OF OUR CENTRAL AND CAMPUS RESOURCES.
WHAT WE'VE NOTICED IN AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL IS THAT WE NEED TO BRING IT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE THAT THE SCHOOLS USE WHEN THERE ARE BEHAVIORAL CHALLENGES.
WHAT SUPPORTS ARE THEY PROVIDING? HOW ARE THEY INTERVENING? JUST LIKE THE INTERVENTIONS FOR ACADEMIC, WE ALSO HAVE TO LOOK AT THOSE INTERVENTIONS FOR BEHAVIOR AND LOOK AT THOSE ANTECEDENTS.
IS IT ANYTHING THAT THE STAFF IS DOING.
IS IT ANYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING IN THEIR SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT THAT MIGHT BE CAUSING THOSE THAT WE CAN CHANGE? REALLY, WHEN IT COMES TO BEHAVIOR SUPPORTS, WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IS IT'S NOT SO MUCH CHANGING THE STUDENT AS IT IS CHANGING THE ADULT.
IT'S THE ADULT CHANGING THE ADULT EITHER HOW WE'RE APPROACHING OR HOW WE'RE OUR ENVIRONMENT IS SET UP OR CHANGING THE ADULT, HOW WE RESPOND TO WHAT THAT BEHAVIOR IS AND IN WE HAVE CREATED A CROSS DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION TO CREATE SYSTEMS AND PROCEDURES AND TRAINING RELATED TO BEHAVIOR AND DISCIPLINE.
WE'RE MEETING EVERY OTHER WEEK, AND THESE ARE ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING DEPARTMENT, THE INTERVENTIONS OFFICE, THE SPECIAL EDUCATION, WRAPAROUND SERVICES, COUNSELING, RESEARCH ACCOUNTABILITY, AND THE SCHOOLS' OFFICES TO CREATE THOSE PROCEDURES THAT WILL START AT THAT CAMPUS LEVEL AS WELL AS TO NOT REPLICATE SOME OF THE SUPPORTS THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN PROVIDED BY THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS.
WE ARE COMING AT THIS WITH, YOU KNOW, A STUDENT IS MULTIFACETED AND THERE'S DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS HERE AT THE DISTRICT, SO THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS ARE THE ONES THAT NEED TO GET TOGETHER AND TALK SO THAT WE CAN ADDRESS THOSE THOSE STUDENTS VARIOUS NEEDS, AND BY THE WAY, THIS TEAM THAT I WAS SPEAKING OF, THIS IS ALSO ADDRESSING OUR DISPROPORTIONALITY.
IT'S IN EFFORTS TO ADDRESS THAT DISPROPORTIONALITY THAT WE'VE SEEN ON THE RDA STRATEGIC PLANS, AND I REPORT THAT TO TEA ON THEIR SITE.
WE HAVE A WEEKLY, ONGOING CURRICULUM TRAININGS AND COLLABORATION.
I MENTIONED THAT BEFORE THAT WE ARE ALSO CREATING EMBEDDED SUPPORTS WITHIN OUR NEW HIGH QUALITY CURRICULUM MODULES AND THAT IS WHERE THE CURRICULUM DEPARTMENT HAS ASKED ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, MULTILINGUAL, JUST TO NAME A FEW, BUT TO COME IN WITH SOME STRATEGIES THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL AND THEN NOT ONLY ARE WE HELPING THE CURRICULUM DEPARTMENT TO HELP THEM TO ANSWER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS, WHEN TEACHERS HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW DO I CHANGE LEARNING FOR THIS SPECIFIC ISSUE, BUT ALSO TO HELP OUR TEAMS TO UNDERSTAND, START WITH THE CURRICULUM AND THEN IMPLEMENT WHAT INTERVENTIONS ARE NEEDED FOR THOSE SPECIFIC STUDENTS BASED ON THEIR SPECIFIC NEEDS.
WHAT WE FIND IS A LOT OF TIMES THE STRATEGIES THAT ARE NEEDED ARE VERY SIMILAR, WHETHER THEY'RE BECAUSE OF A MULTILINGUAL SITUATION OR A, YOU KNOW, A STUDENT IS AT RISK OR A STUDENT HAS SPECIAL EDUCATION ELIGIBILITY.
WE ARE CURRENTLY, IN FACT, TODAY, AS WE ARE SPEAKING TODAY, WE HAVE A GRANT WHERE WE ARE PARTNERING WITH A COMPANY TO BRING IN SOME MORE CO-TEACHING TRAINING AND INCLUSIVE PRACTICES TRAINING FOR OUR TEACHERS AND THAT WE'RE PLANNING
[00:20:09]
TO LAUNCH DURING THE SUMMER, WHICH WOULD START WITH OUR DISTRICT STAFF.THE PHASE-IN PLAN STARTS WITH SCHOOLS THAT IMPLEMENTED THE NEW HQIM CURRICULUM THIS SCHOOL YEAR TO BEGIN TRAINING WITH CO-TEACHING NEXT SCHOOL YEAR, AND CONTINUES THAT APPROACH THROUGH THE NEXT FOUR YEARS WITH SCHOOLS LEARNING THE NEW CURRICULUM YEAR ONE AND LEARNING CO-TEACH PRACTICES YEAR TWO , AND THAT WAS SO THAT SCHOOLS ARE NOT BOGGED DOWN WITH HAVING TO LEARN TOO MANY INITIATIVES , AND THEN I MENTIONED THIS EARLY ON.
I APOLOGIZE FOR MY REPEATING MYSELF, BUT WE DO HAVE FOCUSED TIME WITH SCHOOL LEADERS.
ONE OF THEM IS GOING TO WEEKLY SCHOOLS OFFICE LEADERSHIP MEETINGS.
I ALSO PRESENT AT EVERY MONTHLY PRINCIPALS MEETING I'M ON THE AGENDA AND PRESENT SOME INFORMATION TO THEM SO THAT THEY CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR TEACHERS, DEPARTMENT CHAIRS, ETCETERA ARE BEING TOLD.
THIS WAS A THERE WERE THREE SESSIONS THAT WERE REQUIRED THAT WERE THE VIRTUAL SESSIONS, PLUS THREE MORE LEGAL SESSIONS THAT WERE REQUIRED AND SIX ASYNCHRONOUS MODULE TRAININGS THAT WERE INCLUDED, AND I'M AT THE END OF MY PRESENTATION.
I SPOKE QUICKLY, SO I ALLOWED SOME TIME FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME? THANK YOU.
WE ARE NOW READY FOR COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM TRUSTEES.
I BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN HIT THE MY COMPUTER BUTTON IN ORDER TO GET IN THE QUEUE.
WE WILL DO TWO ROUNDS OF TWO MINUTES.
IF AN ADDITIONAL ROUND IS DESIRED.
THAT CAN BE DONE WITH A MOTION, SECOND AND BOARD VOTE.
I HAVE THREE PEOPLE IN THE QUEUE.
SO YOU WILL GO RIGHT AFTER TRUSTEE WADE.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
SO A FEW QUESTIONS ON PAGE FOUR.
THESE ARE THE FIVE MAIN AIR RECOMMENDATIONS.
HOW ARE YOU MONITORING AND MEASURING IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS? SO LET ME GO TO.
SO THE PROACTIVE AND PREVENTATIVE SERVICES FOR ALL STUDENTS.
THAT'S THROUGH THE INTERVENTIONS DEPARTMENT.
I WILL TRY AND SPEAK ON IT BECAUSE I DO PARTICIPATE IN THE WEEKLY COHORTS OF MTSS, AND WHAT WE'RE DOING AT A DISTRICT SITE IS WE'VE GOT MULTI DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE ARE IN PLACE.
SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR REFERRAL AND IDENTIFICATION.
THIS IS ONE OF THE NOT ONE OF BUT THESE ARE DATA POINTS THAT WE COLLECT AND DISSEMINATE REPORTS OUT TO SCHOOL STAFF REGARDING STUDENTS THAT NEED TO BE EVALUATED.
CURRENTLY WE HAVE ZERO IN THE QUEUE.
STUDENTS THAT HAVE BEEN EVALUATED AND ARE AWAITING AN ARD MEETING.
THE TIME FRAME THAT IT TAKES FOR THE TESTING PROCEDURE THAT HAPPENS.
USING THAT AS AN EXAMPLE, DO YOU HAVE A TARGET OF THE TURNAROUND TIME WON'T EXCEED X NUMBER OF DAYS AND WE'RE AT THIS PERCENTAGE THAT ARE WITHIN THAT AND THIS PERCENTAGE THAT AREN'T WITHIN THAT
[00:25:02]
SO THAT YOU HAVE A WAY OF MEASURING IF YOU'RE ACTUALLY ATTAINING THE OBJECTIVES YOU'VE SET FORTH? YES. SO WE GO BY WHAT THE LAW REQUIRES ON THAT TURNAROUND, AND SO WHERE WE ARE NOT MEETING IT 100% OF THE TIME, WE ARE NOT COMPLETELY IN COMPLIANCE IS THOSE INITIAL ARDS.THERE'S A 30-DAY TIMEFRAME FROM THE TIME YOU FINISH THE EVALUATION TO THE TIME THAT THE IEP MEETING NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE AND THE ARD MEETINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS SCHEDULED IN A TIMELY FASHION TO DO THIS.
SOMETIMES IT IS WE DO TRACK THE NUMBER OF REFERRALS THAT WE GET AND THEN OF COURSE, WE ALSO TRACK THE ONES THAT DO NOT QUALIFY VERSUS THE ONES THAT QUALIFY, AND SOMETIMES SCHOOLS WILL REFER A WHOLE LOT AT ONE TIME AND IT MAKES IT VERY HARD FOR THEM TO HAVE THE MEETINGS.
REGARDLESS, THAT DOES PUT US OUT OF COMPLIANCE.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO HELP THEM WITH SOME STRATEGIES TO GET THEM TO BE A BIT MORE SUCCESSFUL , BUT IF YOU WERE TO MEASURE, AGAIN, USING THIS AS ONE AS AN EXAMPLE, IF YOU WERE TO MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS, LIKE I'M HEARING THAT THE OBJECTIVE IS 100%, WHEN ARE YOU TRYING TO ATTAIN 100% AND IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT YOUR PROGRESS, IS IT GOING LIKE THIS OR IS IT GOING LIKE THIS? ON THE INITIALS, IT'S REALLY AN UP AND DOWN AND WE HAVE I WOULD LOVE TO SAY THAT IT'S INCREASING, BUT I THINK IT'S MORE OF AN UP AND DOWN, AND SO WE HAVE TRIED TO WE HAVE STARTED TO TALK ABOUT WHAT'S CAUSING THAT AND GETTING DOWN TO THE ROOT CAUSE OF IT TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT THAT , AND, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY VACANCIES DON'T HELP THE SITUATION WITH DIAGNOSTICIANS, BUT WE'RE GETTING THE REPORTS DONE.
IT'S REALLY GETTING TO THAT MEETING.
SO WE'RE WORKING ON THOSE PROCEDURES.
THE OTHER ONES, BUT DO YOU HAVE A TARGET, AGAIN, USING THIS PARTICULAR ONE AS AN EXAMPLE, DO YOU HAVE A TARGET DATE FOR BEING AT 100%? OUR TARGET DATE IS ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, RIGHT AWAY BECAUSE WE'RE ALWAYS HAPPY WHEN IT IMPROVES, BUT THERE'S REALLY NO ROOM FOR LESS THAN THAT, 100%.
SO I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND I'M NOT TRYING TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT.
I'M TRYING TO USE THIS AS AN EXAMPLE OF TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WE HAVE ALL THESE INITIATIVES AND EXPECTATIONS, BUT HOW ARE WE ACTUALLY QUANTIFYING AND SETTING TARGET DATES AND GETTING EVERYBODY TO KNOW BY THIS POINT, THIS IS WHERE WE WANT TO BE.
THESE ARE THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE ON TRACK TO MEET THAT EXPECTATION YOU ALL HAVE AND THESE ARE THE ONES THAT AREN'T AND THEN DRILL DOWN TO THAT ROOT CAUSE, AND SO THAT'S REALLY WHAT I'M, YOU KNOW, IN THAT QUESTION, AND THEN MY NEXT QUESTION WAS ABOUT THE NEXT PAGE. YOU KNOW, THESE THREE PRIMARY FOCUS AREAS, YOU KNOW, SAME QUESTION, MR. SUPERINTENDENT, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE YOU MEASURING, YOU KNOW, THIS IS YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
HOW ARE YOU ALL MEASURING THAT THESE THINGS ARE ACTUALLY HAPPENING? I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE TRIED TO FOCUS ON IS WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH BOTH OF THE SPED CONSERVATORS.
THEY'VE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH US AND PROVIDING WEEKLY, SOMETIMES EVEN MORE THAN WEEKLY FEEDBACK IN TERMS OF HOW WE ARE ACCOMPLISHING THESE SPECIFIC GOALS AND REALLY DEVELOPING EXACTLY WHAT IT IS TO SEE OURSELVES GET BETTER OVER THE COURSE OF TIME.
I THINK SOME OF THAT HAS BEEN REFLECTIVE IN SOME OF THE DATA THAT WE'VE EVEN SHARED AT THIS DAIS ALSO, BUT WE'VE WORKED IN STRONG CONJUNCTION WITH WITH THEM, AND OF COURSE, OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HAS ONLY BEEN HERE LESS THAN, WHAT IS IT, EIGHT MONTHS--SINCE SEPTEMBER. OKAY, YEAH.
SO WE'RE REALLY REFINING SOME OF THE SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES TO ENSURE THAT.
OKAY, SO HOW WILL YOU BE WHAT IS IT GOING TO HOW ARE YOU GOING TO KNOW, SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE, WHEN THESE FIVE MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED? I THINK YOU TALKED ABOUT THE GRADUAL INCLINE.
IT'S ABOUT THE GRADUAL INCLINE IN TERMS OF THE DATA AND MAKING SURE THAT WE CONTINUOUSLY SEE ALL OF THESE THINGS ACCOMPLISHED AND MAKING CERTAIN THAT THE DATA CONTINUES TO GROW, AND WE DON'T HAVE THE UPS AND DOWNS AND DIPS AND VALLEYS THAT WE SOMETIMES DO SEE, AND WHAT'S THE DEADLINE FOR THAT TO BE FOR THESE TO BE ACHIEVED? TRUSTEE GUIDRY. THANK YOU.
[00:30:05]
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS REPORT.SO I'M INTERESTED IN THE PARENT PARTNERING AND THE PARENT BIANNUAL SPED.
I THINK IT'S ON THIS ONE IS A NUMBER BUT THE COMMITMENT LEADERS.
SO HOW OFTEN DO HOW WHEN DID THE BIANNUAL SPED MEETINGS PARENT SUMMIT START? THE SPECIAL ED SO THE SUMMITS, THERE'S ONE IN THE FALL AND ONE IN THE SPRING.
RIGHT. I GET THE BIANNUAL, BUT HOW LONG HAS THAT BEEN GOING ON? LET'S SEE. IT DID GO ON.
IT WAS PRIOR COVID THAT IT HAS GONE ON.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT HAS CONTINUED TO GO ON, AND LIKE I SAID, PRIOR TO COVID, IT WAS IN PERSON.
SO THAT WAS A BIT MORE INTERACTIVE.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN AROUND? THE SUMMIT HAS BEEN AROUND.
WHAT CAME INTO WHAT WAS ADDED IS THE MONTHLY PARENT TRAININGS, AND THE PARENT RESPONSE SYSTEM THAT WE TRACK AND THEN THIS PARENT PARTNER GROUP MEETINGS.
SO THE MONTHLY PARENT TRAININGS, WHAT IS THE PARENT TURNOUT? HOW MANY PARENTS ARE TURNING OUT FOR THESE MEETINGS? IT DEPENDS ON WHICH ONES.
SOME OF THEM ARE MORE RELEVANT THAN OTHERS, JUST GENERALLY DEPENDING ON, I WOULD SAY PROBABLY AROUND 20.
20 PARENTS, AND IS IT FOR THE ENTIRETY OF HISD OR IS IT JUST FOR WHERE ARE THESE MEETINGS AND HOW ARE THE PARENTS BEING GIVEN INFORMATION? I'M SORRY, HOW ARE THE PARENTS BEING GIVEN INFORMATION TO KNOW ABOUT THE MEETINGS AND ALL OF THAT? UP UNTIL RECENTLY, THEY'VE BEEN VIRTUAL.
I THINK SHE SHARED THAT WE HAD OUR FIRST IN-PERSON, AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO WANT TO SHARE THERE? YEAH, AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE I'M NOT TALKING INTO TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO THERE'S TRAININGS AND THEN THERE'S MEETINGS, AND I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE TRAININGS.
THERE'S PROBABLY AROUND AN AVERAGE OF 20.
SOMETIMES THEY'RE ABOUT EARLY CHILDHOOD, SO IT'D BE MORE APPROPRIATE FOR PARENTS OF THAT.
THERE ARE SEVEN THAT TEND TO COME PARENTS ADVOCATES THAT COME ON A REGULAR BASIS.
WE REACH OUT TO GET MORE INVOLVEMENT AND THOSE ARE VIRTUAL.
SO HE'S TRYING TO CHANGE HIS SCHEDULE SO HE CAN PUSH INTO THOSE AND ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS, AND AGAIN, HOW ARE THE PARENTS ARE YOU SENDING OUT EMAILS, NOTICES IN THE BOOK BAGS, BOOK PACKS OF THE CHILDREN? HOW ARE THE PARENTS BEING INFORMED ABOUT THESE MEETINGS AND THESE OPPORTUNITIES? IT'S EMAIL.
THERE ARE TEXT OR PHONE MESSAGES THAT MAY GO OUT.
I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S TEXT OR PHONE.
IT'S ON THE SPECIAL EDUCATION WEBSITE AND THEN SCHOOLS ARE AWARE OF THEM.
ON SLIDE 13, YOU TALK ABOUT THE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN? FIRST OF ALL, WHAT IS DISPROPORTIONALITY? YOU MENTIONED THAT.
I DIDN'T GO INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
DISPROPORTIONALITY IS THAT IN THIS REPORT, IT WAS FOUND THAT IN SPECIAL EDUCATION THAT THERE'S A DISPROPORTIONATE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO ARE BLACK AND ESPECIALLY MALE--MOSTLY THE MALES--THAT ARE SUSPENDED.
SO SUSPENDED OUT OF SCHOOL MORE OF THE TIME.
[00:35:07]
WHY WE ARE FORMING THIS MULTI COLLABORATIVE TEAM TO DETERMINE HOW CAN WE REDUCE THIS RISK RATIO THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE DISTRICT.THE OTHER ISSUE OF THAT COMES UNDER THIS BEHAVIOR THAT'S PART OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATION REPORT WAS STUDENTS THAT ARE BEING SUSPENDED OVER TEN DAYS WHEN A STUDENT IS IDENTIFIED AS SPECIAL EDUCATION.
A SCHOOL ONLY HAS TEN DAYS THAT STUDENT CAN BE SUSPENDED WITHOUT SERVICES, AND AFTER THAT THEY NEED MORE, AND WHAT WAS IDENTIFIED IN THIS REPORT WAS THAT THEY WERE BEING SUSPENDED FOR LONGER PERIODS OF TIME.
WHEN WE DRILLED DOWN, WE WERE FINDING SOME OF THAT ROOT CAUSE IS IN THE DOCUMENTATION OF STUDENTS IF THEY'RE BEING THEIR PARENT IS BEING CALLED TO BRING THEM HOME.
IS THAT BEING DOCUMENTED? IF THEY ARE BEING CALLED AND THEY'RE BEING SUSPENDED IS THAT BEING DOCUMENTED? SO AGAIN, IT GOES BACK TO THAT WIDER ISSUE OF THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE DOCUMENTATION EXCUSE ME, IN THE SCHOOL AND THEN IN SPECIAL EDUCATION, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WHAT IS WE NEED A PROCEDURE FOR THE DISTRICT SO THAT IN SPECIAL EDUCATION WE CAN INSERT IN, AND WHEN YOU GET TO THIS STEP, HERE'S WHAT YOU DO FOR SPECIAL ED, BECAUSE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION, IT'S FOR ALL BUT SPECIAL EDUCATION IS IN ADDITION TO.
YES, THANK YOU, AND MYRNA, THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION.
THAT WAS GOING TO BE ONE OF MY QUESTIONS AS WELL, SO I APPRECIATE IT.
I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT THE RISE CAMPUS THAT.
SLIDE TEN PROGRESS MONITORING.
SO THE DASHBOARD ON THE DASHBOARD.
I'M SORRY. I SEE THE RISE CAMPUS 11% ON THIS DASHBOARD, AVAILABLE STAFF AND PROGRESS TRACKING, AND SO IT SEEMS TO ME THAT 11% IS A FAIR AMOUNT RELATIVE TO SOME OF THE OTHER LIKE THE TOTAL HIGH SCHOOL OFFICES, AND I REALIZE THAT WE'RE TARGETING THOSE CAMPUSES THAT I UNDERSTAND, BUT IT'S A REALLY SMALL AREA OR SMALL PERCENTAGE OF SCHOOLS RELATIVE TO THE WHOLE OF THE DISTRICT, AND I JUST WANTED TO SEE IF THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS EXTRA IN THAT RISE FOCUS THAT WAS DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHER CAMPUSES AROUND.
WELL, THE RISE TEAM IS COMPRISED OF INDIVIDUALS WHO WANT TO WORK WITH THAT POPULATION, AND THEY ARE THEY ARE VERY I DON'T WANT TO SAY OUR OTHERS ARE NOT QUICK TO RESPOND, BUT THEY UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE COMPLEXITIES IN SOME OF THOSE RISE SCHOOLS, AND AS YOU SAID, WHEN YOU LOOK AT RISE SCHOOLS, IT'S A MUCH SMALLER PERCENTAGE COMPARED TO THE OTHERS AND YOU SEE THE AMOUNT OF SUPPORT THAT THEY GET.
SPECIAL EDUCATION DISTRICT SUPPORTS ARE ON THOSE CAMPUSES ALMOST 100% OF THEIR DUTY DAY INTERVENING WITH WHETHER IT'S HELPING ADMINISTRATION WORK WITH WHAT THEY NEED TO HELPING WITH VACANCIES THAT ARE THERE, THE DIFFERENT ISSUES THAT THEY DEAL WITH ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS.
IT JUST KIND OF A HIGHER NEED BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE AREAS THAT THOSE SCHOOLS ARE IN.
OKAY, AND THEN TO THIS POINT, SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE, SO IS IT DO YOU FEEL LIKE IT'S FOCUSED, THE PARTICULAR TEACHERS THAT ARE THERE THAT WANTED TO GO? DO YOU THINK? WHAT ARE THE INCENTIVE PACKAGES TO THE RISE CAMPUS THAT ARE DRAWING THOSE TEACHERS THAT ARE SO DESIRING TO BE THERE? IS THERE SOME INCENTIVE PACKAGE? THERE'S A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS.
I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE HEARD US TALK ABOUT OPPORTUNITY, CULTURE AND SOME OF THE WORK THAT INCENTIVIZES, AND THEN YOU HAVE SOME TEACHERS THAT LOVE TO BE IN THAT ENVIRONMENT THAT HAVE CERTAIN CHALLENGES, BUT WE'VE TRIED TO BE VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH OPPORTUNITY, CULTURE AND MAKING CERTAIN THAT WE HAVE THE HIGHEST PEDAGOGICAL FOCUSED, YOU KNOW, TEACHERS THAT HAVE THE ABILITY.
[00:40:05]
WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS IS THAT IT'S IMPORTANT IF WE'RE LEARNING FROM THE CHILDREN OR THE SEEING THE RESULTS OF THESE INTERVENTIONS ON THE CHILDREN, THEN THE STAFF THAT'S INCLUDED IN THAT PROCESS, THE RISE CAMPUS, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO BOLSTER THOSE EXPERIENCES THAT THEY CAN LEND TO THE OTHER STAFF AROUND THE ENTIRE DISTRICT TO BECOME LEADERS? YOU SEE WHERE I'M GOING WITH THAT? AND THAT'S A PART OF WHAT OPPORTUNITY CULTURE IS.IT ALLOWS FOR YOUR YOUR HIGHEST FLIERS TO BE AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHERS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
CYNTHIA, AND SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE.
MY FIRST QUESTION IS TO SLIDE 11.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE INDICATORS BEHIND THE ACCELERATED PERCENTAGES AS WE GO FROM YEAR TO YEAR? I'M SORRY, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE INDICATORS TOWARD WHAT? FOR THE ACCELERATED PERCENTAGES, WHEN YOU START FROM CYCLE ONE TO THE CYCLE ALL THE WAY TO THE RIGHT.
I THINK IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE AND THE BOARD THAT REALLY EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE ON, YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T JUST A SPECIAL EDUCATION THING.
THESE ARE YOUR STUDENTS AND THIS IS PROGRESS FOR YOUR STUDENTS, AND WE TRIED TO GO AT IT.
AS YOU KNOW, YOU REQUIRE SCHOOLS, YOU REQUIRE YOUR TEACHERS TO PROVIDE A REPORT CARD.
THIS PROCESS SHOULD BE THE SAME.
SO REALLY HELPING PRINCIPALS TO THINK THAT WAY IN THAT WHAT PROCEDURE DO I USE FOR REPORT CARDS AND COULD I MAYBE IMPLEMENT THAT SAME PROCEDURE TO ENSURE MY STAFF ARE COMPLETING THESE PROGRESS MONITORING REPORTS AND THEN WE ALSO STARTED THIS YEAR SOMETHING THAT'S CALLED PROGRESS TRACK, AND THAT'S WHERE WE TRAINED PRINCIPALS AND SPECIAL ED STAFF ON EVERY WEEK TO INPUT AT LEAST ONE DATA POINT PER GOAL FOR EACH STUDENT INTO PROGRESS TRACK, THEREBY BY THE END OF THREE WEEKS FOR THE PROGRESS REPORT PERIOD, THEY WOULD HAVE THREE DATA POINTS TO SAY WHETHER THAT GOAL WAS INCREASING, DECREASING OR MAINTAINING AND THEN BY THE END OF THE SIX WEEK GRADING PERIOD, THEY'D HAVE AT LEAST SIX POINTS, AND THEN IN PROGRESS MONITORING, IF THEY HAD DONE THAT, THEY CAN JUST TAKE THAT INFORMATION STRAIGHT FROM PROGRESS TRACK, PUT IT OVER TO PROGRESS MONITORING, AND THEN IT'S NOT SUCH AN ARDUOUS TASK.
THANK YOU. SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE, AND SLIDE 12, WHEN WE DEAL WITH THOSE TIERS, AS WE GO FROM TIER TO TIER: ONE, TWO AND THREE, WHEN WE'RE DEALING WITH THE SUBJECT OF PLACEMENT AND WHEN STUDENTS ARE PUT FROM TIER.
TO TIER, IS THERE ANY STRUCTURE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OR DETAILS AS THEY GO FROM TIER TO TIER? AND ALSO, IS IT STANDARD ACROSS THE DISTRICT? SO WHEN IT COMES TO MTSS, THE INTERVENTIONS IN TIER ONE, THEY ARE COLLECTING AND IT'S ACTUALLY IN THE SAME IEP PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, AND THEY COLLECT THAT DATA REGARDING HOW STUDENTS ARE RESPONDING TO FIRST THE CLASSROOM INTERVENTIONS AND THEN THEY HAVE THEIR AIT TEAM THAT MEETS TO DISCUSS WHAT THE SUCCESSES ARE OR IF SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S NEEDED AND THEN THEY CAN LOOK AT IN TIER TWO WHERE THOSE STUDENTS ARE.
THAT ALSO HELPS US IF THE STUDENT DOES GO TOWARD BEING REFERRED FOR EVALUATION IN SPECIAL EDUCATION, WE CAN SEE THOSE DATA POINTS THAT THEY HAVE BEEN TRIED AND THEY HAVE NOT PERHAPS NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE LOOKING AT THEM FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION.
SO IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A STUDENT COULD COME IN AT TIER TWO OR TIER THREE, IS THAT CORRECT? ABSOLUTELY, YES.
THE NEXT QUESTION DEALS WITH SLIDE 13.
[00:45:07]
AND THEN ALSO, IS IT A STANDARD PRACTICE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HISD TEAM COMMUNITY? SO I CAN JUST SAY THIS IS WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON.I ASKED THOSE VERY SAME QUESTIONS WHEN I LANDED AT HISD IS WHAT DO WE DO FOR ALL STUDENTS? BECAUSE SPECIAL ED STUDENTS ARE ALL STUDENTS AND WHAT HAPPENS FOR ALL STUDENTS? AND IS THERE A FORM AND WHO DO THEY CONTACT? AND THAT'S ANOTHER REASON WHY WE BROUGHT THESE TEAMS TOGETHER TO SEE WHERE ARE WE REPLICATING SOME EFFORTS AND WHERE ARE SOME EFFORTS BEING MISSED SO WE COULD REALLY HAMMER OUT THAT PROCESS.
SO IT WASN'T DIFFERENT FROM SCHOOL TO SCHOOL, WHICH SOMETIMES IT SEEMS THAT WAY.
IT'S DIFFERENT FROM SCHOOL TO SCHOOL, BUT YET THE SUPPORTS AT THE DISTRICT ARE THE SAME.
SO WE REALLY NEED TO GET THAT PROCEDURE IN PLACE AND HAMMERED DOWN SO ALL SCHOOLS KNOW WHAT THE NEXT STEPS ARE, WHO'S RESPONDING TO THAT AND WHERE THEY GO FROM THERE.
I'M SO HAPPY THAT YOU ARE ALSO THINKING ALONG THE SAME LINE.
WHEN YOU MENTION THE CO-TEACHERS.
WHO ARE THOSE CO TEACHERS? ARE THEY CERTIFIED AND DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE DETAILS ON THOSE CO-TEACHERS YOU TALKED ABOUT EARLIER? SURE, CO-TEACHERS IS WHEN YOU HAVE A STUDENT WHO NEEDS SERVICES WITHIN GENERAL EDUCATION AND SO THEY HAVE THEIR GENERAL ED TEACHER OF RECORD WHO HAS TO BE HIGHLY QUALIFIED IN THAT AREA.
THE IDEAL IS TO PAIR THEM WITH A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER WHO IS ALSO HIGHLY QUALIFIED, BUT WE DON'T ALWAYS FIND THAT OTHER TEACHER THAT'S HIGHLY QUALIFIED , BUT THEN THOSE TWO TEACHERS AND I FEEL THE KEY IN THIS IS IN PLANNING THAT MASTER SCHEDULE TO ENSURE THAT THOSE TEACHERS HAVE TIME TO COLLABORATE AND PLAN SO THAT THEY ARE DECIDING HOW WHAT SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION THAT STUDENT NEEDS, WHICH A LOT OF TIMES IS HELPFUL FOR ALL STUDENTS, AND THEN THE PLANNING IS COHESIVE AND THEN THEY THE WAY THEY CARRY IT OUT, THAT THE SPECIAL ED TEACHER IS NOT JUST A HIGHLY PAID AIDE IN THE CLASS, BUT THEY ARE ALSO AN EQUAL TEACHER IN THERE WHO CAN HELP WITH THE INSTRUCTION FOR ALL.
IT REALLY BENEFITS EVERYONE IN THE CLASS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. I'LL GIVE IT BACK TO MY COLLEAGUES.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU. SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION BECAUSE I ASKED THE SAME QUESTION [CHUCKLING] WHEN I WAS PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE THAT? AND WHEN I WAS MEETING, THERE'S ACTUALLY A TOOL THAT HISD USES AND THAT TOOL, AND I CAN'T TELL YOU THE EXACT NUMBERS OF HOW MUCH THEY BRING IN ON WHAT, BUT IT IT TAKES THEIR HIGHLY QUALIFIED STATUS AND THEIR CERTIFICATIONS.
IT ALSO TAKES INTO THEIR THEIR EVALUATION AND WHERE THEY LANDED ON THAT EVALUATION, AND IT'S A COMBINATION OF THOSE THINGS TO IDENTIFY IF IT IS A HOW HIGH QUALITY IS THAT OF A TEACHER BECAUSE I THOUGHT THE SAME THING. HOW CAN YOU MEASURE HIGH QUALITY? OKAY, SO THAT'S HELPFUL.
I'M ALSO WONDERING WHAT PERCENTAGE OF OUR STUDENTS ARE IN INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS OR WHAT PERCENTAGE OF OUR SPECIAL ED STUDENTS, I SHOULD SAY.
DO WE KNOW IN INCLUSIVE AND I WAS JUST LOOKING AT THAT TODAY.
GOSH, I HATE TO TELL YOU, [INAUDIBLE] IT'S APPROXIMATELY 63% THAT ARE IN INCLUSIVE SETTINGS.
A MAJORITY OF THEM IS IN SECONDARY.
WHEN THIS REPORT CAME OUT, IT ACTUALLY WAS MORE THAN WHAT THE STATE AND NATION HAD IN INCLUSIVE SETTINGS, BUT SIGNIFICANTLY LESS IN RESOURCE THAN WHAT THE STATE AND NATION HAD AND IT AND THEN IN THE SELF-CONTAINED IT WAS SIMILAR.
SO WHILE WE'RE NOT SAYING AND THEY WEREN'T SAYING THAT THOSE INCLUSIVE STUDENTS SHOULD BE BACK IN RESOURCE, THERE SHOULD BE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THAT FULL CONTINUUM OF SERVICES SO THAT OUR COMMITTEES CAN PLACE THEM WHEREVER THOSE STUDENTS NEED TO GO.
[00:50:10]
THAT HIGHLY WHERE TEACHERS HAVE TO BE LICENSED IN THAT CONTENT AREA.SO THAT'S JUST RECENTLY BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY SCHOOL HAS THAT FULL CONTINUUM OF SERVICES, AT LEAST GENERAL ED THROUGH CO-TEACHING AND RESOURCE, AND THEN THE DISTRICT PROGRAMS ARE AT SELECT SCHOOLS AND WHEN YOU SAY RESOURCE, YOU MEAN LIKE NOT THE GENERAL CLASSROOM.
SO THERE'S GENERAL EDUCATION, CONSULT SERVICES AND THEN CO-TEACHING IS IN THE GENERAL ED SETTING, BUT SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION THAT'S NEEDED AND THEN RESOURCE IS PULLED INTO ANOTHER SETTING.
SO IT CAN BE FOR A MAJORITY OF THE DAY OR IT COULD BE JUST FOR CERTAIN POINTS OF THE DAY.
CERTAINLY WE START WITH THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE AND THEN ADD ON WHAT'S ABSOLUTELY NEEDED, AND DO YOU FEEL LIKE IT SOUNDS LIKE AND LET ME MAKE SURE I HEARD CORRECTLY, THAT STUDENTS THAT ARE IN INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS OR EVEN COULD BE IN RESOURCE, BUT THEY MAY NOT BE GETTING THE FULL SERVICES THAT THEY NEED IN EITHER OF THOSE SETTINGS OR THERE'S CONCERN WITH THAT.
I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD.
WHAT I WAS CONCERNED WHEN I LOOKED AT THIS REPORT THAT NOTED THAT YOU NEED TO HAVE A FULL CONTINUUM OF SERVICES, THAT THE NUMBER OF RESOURCE--AND THIS IS AROUND THE DISTRICT, OKAY--THAT RESOURCE WAS ACTUALLY LOWER THE RESOURCE SERVICES.
SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THESE CAMPUSES ARE OFFERING RESOURCE SERVICES, NOT BECAUSE I WANT ANYBODY TO MOVE INTO THEM BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE MORE RESTRICTIVE. I WANT IT TO BE THERE FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO NEED THAT LEVEL OF SERVICE, AND IT COULD BE MAYBE THEY'RE IN THE SELF-CONTAINED, BUT THEY NEED MORE OF THE RESOURCE AND IT'S TOO BIG OF A JUMP FROM SELF-CONTAINED TO THE CO-TEACH CLASS.
OKAY, AND WHAT YOU'RE SHARING IN THIS REPORT, IS IT BOTH THE AIR AND THE SPED STRATEGIES, OR IS THIS JUST THE AIR FINDINGS? SO THE AIR REPORT IS REALLY WHAT COMES FROM THE SPECIAL ED STRATEGIES.
WE DO GET OUR RDA WAS A DISPROPORTIONALITY PIECE AND THAT'S SEPARATE FROM AIR BUT WHAT I'M TALKING TO IS THIS AIR REPORT.
OKAY, AND IN THE DATA THAT WE'VE BEEN MONITORING AS A BOARD, WE'VE DEFINITELY SEEN AN UPWARD TICK IN THE OUTCOMES OF OUR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, AND I'M CURIOUS, WHAT IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO YOU THINK HAS MADE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE? I MEAN, THERE'S A MILLION DIFFERENT STRATEGIES, RIGHT, THAT YOU'RE ALL WORKING ON, BUT WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE IS WORKING AND WHAT CAN BE SCALED NOT JUST FOR SPECIAL ED STUDENTS BUT ACROSS THE DISTRICT? BECAUSE I LOVE THAT YOU KEEP SAYING SPECIAL ED STUDENTS ARE ALL OF OUR STUDENTS, RIGHT? ALL STUDENTS ARE SPECIAL ED STUDENTS.
YEAH, AND I THINK THAT ALWAYS COMES DOWN TO GETTING THOSE WHO WORK DIRECTLY WITH OUR STUDENTS, BE IT TEACHERS, AIDES, PRINCIPALS, ANYBODY WHO WORKS GETTING MATERIALS IN THEIR HANDS THAT THEY NEED AND GETTING THEM THE TRAINING THAT THEY NEED, AND THAT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE MORE THE MOST IMPACTFUL, WHETHER YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT STUDENTS WHO NEED INTERVENTION, STUDENTS WHO NEED ACCELERATION OR STUDENTS WHO NEED, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THOSE MORE INTENSIVE SERVICES GET THEM.
WHEN I HEARD, HEY, WE'VE GOT MONEY TO SPEND AND IT HAS TO BE SPENT BY THIS TIME, I STARTED CALLING COMPANIES TO SAY, LET'S GET CURRICULUM, LET'S GET MATERIALS. WE NEED TO GET THEM IN HANDS OF STUDENTS.
THANK YOU, AND THEN I THINK I STILL HAVE A COUPLE MINUTES OR A COUPLE SECONDS, AND THEN I'M ASSUMING THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO GET UPDATED KIND OF ON THE PROGRESS OF THIS MR. HOUSE. I KNOW WE HAD DISCUSSED A LITTLE BIT.
THANK YOU, PRESIDENT HERNANDEZ, SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE AND MS. WHAT WAS YOUR NAME AGAIN? HOPPMAN.
MISS HOPPMAN. ADEQUATE STAFFING OF SPECIAL ED PERSONNEL.
[00:55:01]
IN OUR AIR REPORT, WE ASKED THAT WE HIRE MORE SPED PERSONNEL.WHAT PERCENTAGE OF SPED PERSONNEL HAVE WE INCREASED BY YEARS SINCE 2018 TO NOW? WHAT PERCENTAGE? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. I DON'T KNOW THE PERCENTAGE.
WE COULDN'T EVEN FIND THE HUMAN BEINGS FOR THEM TO FILL IT.
EXCUSE ME. I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY.
SO HOW MANY LSSPS DO WE CURRENTLY HAVE IN HISD? THE TOTAL NUMBER OF LSSPS, I DON'T HAVE THAT AT MY READY.
COLLABORATION BETWEEN GENERAL EDUCATION AND SPECIAL EDUCATORS, AND BY THE WAY, COLLEAGUES, I ASKED WITH THE PERMISSION OF PRESIDENT HERNANDEZ, IF LISA COULD RESEND OUR AD HOC, SPECIAL ED AD HOC RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE REPORT TO THE BOARD SO YOU ALL KNOW WHERE I'M AT.
SO COLLABORATION BETWEEN GENERAL EDUCATORS AND SPECIAL EDUCATORS.
HOW DO YOU HOLD CO-TEACHERS JUST AS ACCOUNTABLE AS TEACHERS OF RECORD? WELL, CO-TEACHERS ARE BOTH YOUR GENERAL EDUCATOR AS WELL AS THE SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER.
SO SOMETIMES THAT SPECIAL EDUCATION IS THE TEACHER OF RECORD.
I'M SORRY, THE GENERAL EDUCATION IS THE TEACHER OF RECORD.
THE SPECIAL EDUCATION IS THEIR CASE MANAGER IN MANY CASES.
SO HOW DO YOU HOLD THEM BOTH ACCOUNTABLE? TYPICALLY WHAT YOU HAVE IS YOU'VE GOT THAT CO TEACHER THAT'S ENSURING THAT THE IEP IS UNDERSTOOD IN THE CLASSROOM.
THEY'RE GATHERING INFORMATION AND DATA.
THE CO-TEACHER. THE SPECIAL ED CO-TEACHER WON'T BE THE TEACHER OF RECORD.
THE GENERAL ED TEACHER WILL ALWAYS BE THE TEACHER.
SO I APPRECIATED YOUR SLIDE PAGE EIGHT AND SLIDE EIGHT AND SLIDE NINE.
SO CAN YOU GIVE ME THE EXAMPLE OF A PROCESS THAT YOU OFFER, PLEASE, IN PARTICULAR THE IDENTIFICATION PROCESS ALSO IN REGARDS TO PEOPLE THAT SPEAK ANY LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH. SO CAN YOU WALK ME TO THAT THROUGH THAT PROCESS, THE IDENTIFICATION PROCESS, PLEASE? THE PROCESS IN THEIR INITIAL? [INAUDIBLE] YEAH, THEY ARE EVALUATED IN THEIR HOME LANGUAGE TO RULE OUT THE POSSIBILITY OF THERE BEING A LANGUAGE DEFICIT BECAUSE OF THEIR LANGUAGE OF ORIGIN VERSUS THEIR LANGUAGE.
I KNOW, BUT HOW DO I IDENTIFY A STUDENT? SO A STUDENT WALKS IN.
A PARENT DOESN'T KNOW THAT THEIR SPED CHILD HAS A LEARNING LEARNING DIFFERENCE.
WHERE IS THAT? OR IF A PARENT REQUESTS LIKE MY CHILD IS DOING X, Y, AND Z, CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH HOW THAT HOW THEY CAN ASK FOR HELP? WELL, IT DEPENDS ON WHO THE PARENT IS ASKING.
LIKE, WHO IS THE PARENT ASKING? THEY COULD BE ASKING THE FRONT OFFICE PERSONNEL TO THE PRINCIPAL, TO THE TEACHER.
OKAY, SO IF THEY'RE ASKING SCHOOL PERSONNEL, THEN THE SCHOOL PERSONNEL THEN HOLD THAT INITIAL TIER ONE MEETING TO DETERMINE WHAT IS THE CONCERN, WHAT DATA DO WE HAVE ON THIS STUDENT? WHERE ARE WE SEEING THE DEFICITS SO THAT THEY CAN INTERVENE? ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.
HOW ARE WRAPAROUND SPECIALISTS UTILIZED WITH SPED? WELL, WRAPAROUND SERVICES AREN'T NECESSARILY SPECIAL EDUCATION, BUT THEY ARE PART OF THE WHOLE CHILD.
SO WRAPAROUND SERVICES PROVIDE SERVICES ON CAMPUS, AND IT IS IT IS MY OPINION AND MY UNDERSTANDING.
[01:00:06]
SERVICES. WHAT I CAN SAY, THOUGH, IS IF THERE ARE, SAY, SPECIAL ED STUDENTS WHO DO NEED COUNSELING ON THEIR SERVICES, THEN THOSE COUNSELORS, AS PART OF WRAPAROUND THEN WOULD SERVE THEM BASED ON WHAT THEY NEED.I GUESS I'M CURIOUS, TOO, BECAUSE IT'S INCLUDED IN THE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN, THE WRAPAROUND SERVICES, AND SO THAT'S WHY I WAS WONDERING HOW THEY ARE UTILIZED IN THIS SPED PLAN AND IF THEY WHATEVER, HOWEVER THEY'RE UTILIZED, IF THOSE RESOURCES ARE SHARED FROM SCHOOL, FROM CAMPUS TO CAMPUS TO CAMPUS, AS IT RELATES TO ALL OF OUR CHILDREN, BUT ESPECIALLY FOR OUR OUR SPED CHILDREN, BECAUSE THERE MAY BE RESOURCES THAT CAN BE UTILIZED ONE PLACE AND IS NOT UTILIZED SOMEWHERE ELSE.
WE TRACK THEM THROUGH THROUGH A SYSTEM WIDE COMPUTER DATABASE THAT WE HAVE CALLED [INAUDIBLE].
SO REGARDLESS OF WHAT SCHOOL THE CHILD ATTENDS, ONCE WE'VE PROVIDED SUPPORTS FOR A CHILD IN TERMS OF WRAPAROUND, IT'S LOGGED INTO THE [INAUDIBLE] SYSTEM AND YOU KNOW, SCHOOL A CAN PULL IT UP.
IF THAT CHILD MOVES TO SCHOOL B, WE CAN PULL IT UP, LOOK AT WHAT THOSE RESOURCES ARE AND SUPPORTS ARE, AND IF NEEDED, WE CAN SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH THE ARTS TEAM AS THEY DETERMINE WHAT SOME OF THE ACADEMIC AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORTS MIGHT NEED TO BE IN TERMS OF SERVICE AND PROVIDING, AND JUST NOTE TOO, I'VE BEEN ASKING FOR THREE YEARS ABOUT THAT HIGH QUALITY.
I ALWAYS SAY IT'S OBJECTIVE AND HOW IT'S UTILIZED.
ARE ALL SPED CLASSROOM STAFFED AND ARE THEY STAFFED WITH THE TEACHER AND AN ASSISTANT TEACHER IN THOSE SPED CLASSROOMS? YEAH, I CAN ADDRESS THAT.
SO THEY'RE ALL GIVEN THE PC IN ORDER TO STAFF THEM, BUT I CANNOT SAY THEY'RE STAFFED BECAUSE WE DO HAVE VACANCIES DEPENDING ON THE LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT STUDENTS NEED IN THAT CLASSROOM WOULD DEPEND ON THE ADULT STUDENT RATIO.
SO IN SOME OF THEM IT'S A TEACHER AND IT MIGHT BE ONE TEACHER'S ASSISTANT, IT MIGHT BE TWO TEACHER'S ASSISTANT, IT MIGHT BE LIKE IN RESOURCE, IT'S TYPICALLY JUST THE TEACHER DEPENDING ON THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS THEY HAVE IN THERE.
SO WHERE THERE ARE TWO ASSISTANTS, THEN IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ONE TO BE UTILIZED WHERE THERE NONE? I MEAN, CAN YOU SWAP THEM OUT? I'M JUST CURIOUS BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE THEY WOULD HAVE NEED TO HAVE THAT ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PER CLASSROOMS IF THEY'RE ONLY ONE PERSON IN THAT CLASSROOM.
YEAH, AND IF THERE'S TWO IN A CLASSROOM, IT'S BECAUSE OF THE NEED OF THE STUDENTS THAT ARE IN THERE, BUT WE HAVE ALSO, YOU KNOW, APPROACHED STAFF ABOUT LOOK, WE HAVE NOBODY HERE AND WE HAVE, YOU KNOW FULL YOU GUYS ARE FULL HERE.
FULL HERE IS GREAT, BUT WE NEED THE NEED HERE OR WE'VE TAKEN SCHOOLS WHERE WE'VE SAID, LOOK, WE DON'T HAVE A TEACHER OVER HERE, BUT WE HAVE ENOUGH TEACHER AND TAS OVER HERE.
SO WE ARE GOING TO MOVE A TEACHER POSITION HERE AND PROVIDE THIS SCHOOL WITH ANOTHER TA.
WE'VE TRIED TO GET AS CREATIVE AS POSSIBLE WITH THE LIMITED NUMBER OF THE INCREASED NUMBER OF VACANCIES OR THE LIMITED NUMBER OF STAFF THAT COME TO WORK. WELL, AND OF COURSE, IT'S VACANCIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, IT'S NOT JUST HERE.
YES, ABSOLUTELY. SO WITH THAT IN MIND, ARE THERE SPECIAL IS THERE SPECIAL CREDENTIALS NEEDED FOR THESE SPED CLASSROOMS? OF COURSE, ABSOLUTELY.
THE HIGH QUALITY CURRICULUM MODELS THAT YOU MENTIONED, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? THE HIGH QUALITY CURRICULUM MODELS.
SO THEY'RE RESEARCH BASED CURRICULUM SUCH AS THE, EUREKA CARNEGIE, AMPLIFY.
THAT'S THE GENERAL EDUCATION, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT'S WHERE WE START FOR MOST OF OUR KIDS, NOT FOR THE KIDS THAT ARE ON THE LOWER LEVEL TEKS, BUT FOR MOST OF OUR KIDS.
THAT'S WHERE WE START AND MAKE SURE THAT OUR TEACHERS.
SO WHEN I SAY OUR TEACHERS, LET ME JUST SAY SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS ARE TRAINED IN THOSE AREAS BECAUSE 85% OF THE STUDENTS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION ARE ON THE GENERAL ED TEKS AND THEY NEED THAT GENERAL ED CURRICULUM.
TEACHERS CAN CERTAINLY USE ANOTHER CURRICULUM TO SUPPLEMENT OR TREAT IT A DIFFERENT WAY.
[01:05:07]
IMPLANT SOMETHING ELSE, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT WAS THE SAME GENERAL ED STANDARDS.SO WHEN YOU SAY USE ANOTHER CURRICULUM, WHAT OTHER CURRICULUM IS AVAILABLE? [INAUDIBLE] IT DEPENDS ON THE SUBJECT.
SO WE'LL LOOK AT WHAT GENERAL ED HAS AND SEE IF THERE'S SOMETHING APPROPRIATE WITH THAT IN SPECIAL ED OR IF THERE'S OTHER CURRICULUM THAT'S APPROPRIATE FOR THEM. WE HAVE CURRICULUM THAT'S SPECIFIC FOR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING, TEACH TOWN, RETHINK ED YOU KNOW, IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHAT IS NEEDED, AND THEN WE GET THAT MATERIAL AND SUPPLY THAT MATERIAL.
THANK YOU. I WILL GO NEXT SINCE I DON'T SEE ANYBODY ELSE IN THE QUEUE FOR ROUND ONE.
CLOSE ENOUGH. [CHUCKLING] IT'S OKAY, IT'S OKAY, SORRY ABOUT THAT.
I WAS A TEACHER, A BILINGUAL TEACHER IN HISD, AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I SAW WAS THAT BILINGUAL STUDENTS WERE NOT SERVICED BECAUSE THE SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER WAS NOT BILINGUAL AS WELL, AND SO IT HAPPENED AT MULTIPLE SCHOOLS THAT I WAS A TEACHER AT.
SO I HEAR THAT YOU'RE ORDERING CURRICULUM, ONE, IS THAT IN SPANISH AND TWO, WHAT SUPPORTS ARE THERE HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED SINCE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO THAT WHERE STUDENTS WERE NOT BEING SERVICED JUST BECAUSE THE RESOURCE TEACHER WAS NOT BILINGUAL AS WELL.
RIGHT, AND THAT CAN MAKE IT SO DIFFICULT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEN YOU THROW IN ANOTHER SKILL THAT THEY HAVE, AND IT'S GREAT WHEN WE GET THOSE UNICORNS THAT DO HAVE THOSE SKILLS, AND THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN JUST ELL SERVICES.
YOU'RE TALKING ACTUAL BILINGUAL SERVICES THAT CAN BE IT CAN BE EVEN HARDER.
SO WHEN I SAY IS THAT CURRICULUM PROVIDED IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE, NOT NECESSARILY IN THE SCHOOLS THAT HAVE THAT BILINGUAL CURRICULUM, THAT'S WHY WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR OUR TEACHERS THAT SUPPORT ARE ABLE TO SUPPORT THEY'RE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE CURRICULUM THAT THOSE SCHOOLS HAVE AND NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, THIS CURRICULUM THAT'S OVER HERE.
THAT SCHOOL HAS THE CURRICULUM THAT'S FOR BILINGUAL STUDENTS THEN THEY NEED THAT CURRICULUM.
WHAT I WILL SAY IS OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE MULTILINGUAL DEPARTMENT, SONYA MONREAL, IS HEAVY ON MAKING SURE WE'RE ALL COMING TOGETHER FOR STUDENTS AND FOR THE WHOLE STUDENT BUT WHAT I CAN'T TELL YOU IS THAT MOUNTAINS HAVE BEEN MOVED BECAUSE, ONE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE BEFORE, JUST WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME, AND HONESTLY, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH HAS BEEN PUT IN PLACE FOR THAT.
I THINK THAT'S DEFINITELY AN AREA OF GROWTH FOR HISD AND THE SPECIAL ED DEPARTMENT, BECAUSE I DO FEEL LIKE STUDENTS ARE BEING LEFT BEHIND IN THAT AREA. WE ALSO KNOW THAT A LOT OF OUR SPECIAL ED, I DON'T KNOW YOU CALL THEM CASE MANAGERS.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO CALL THEM SOMETHING ELSE.
THEY ARE OVERWHELMED BY THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAT THEY HAVE AND APPLICATIONS NOT APPLICATIONS, BUT IEPS THAT THEY HAVE TO INITIATE AND COORDINATE WITH.
WHAT IS BEING DONE TO HELP THAT DISPROPORTIONALITY OUT? I DON'T--I SHOULDN'T SAY THAT.
SO WHERE THERE'S DISPROPORTIONALITY IN CASELOADS WOULD BE AT SCHOOLS, WHERE THERE ARE VACANCIES.
SO THAT'S THE HARDEST PIECE IS WHEN THERE'S VACANCIES.
WE DO HAVE THE DISTRICT PERSONNEL, THE PROGRAM SPECIALISTS, WE'VE GOT SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS, WE'VE GOT OTHERS THAT GO IN TO TRY AND HELP WITH THAT OR TO BE A THOUGHT PARTNER WITH THE PRINCIPAL TO FIGURE OUT HOW CAN WE DO
[01:10:08]
THAT AT SCHOOLS WHERE THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR MAYBE DOESN'T HAVE A CLASS THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR CAN HELP IN THOSE DUTIES AND TYPICALLY DOES BUT WE'VE GOT PROGRAM SPECIALISTS AND SOMETIMES SENIOR MANAGERS THAT KIND OF HELP IN THOSE AREAS.YEAH, I FEEL LIKE THAT'S SOMETHING HISD CAN ALSO IMPROVE UPON.
WHAT KIND OF CURRICULUM IS I-READY? SO I-READY IS NOT ONLY TAKING THE PLACE OF RENAISSANCE AS AN ASSESSMENT, BUT IT IS ALSO A READING CURRICULUM, AND IT'S ONLINE MOSTLY THERE'S SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS THAT ARE NOT NECESSARILY ONLINE, BUT IT'S ONLINE AND IT'S STUDENT PACED.
SO AS THE STUDENTS ARE LEARNING, IT'S ABLE TO CATER TO THEM, BUT THE BEST THING ABOUT IT IS IT CREATES REPORTS FOR TEACHERS THAT SHOWS TEACHERS EXACTLY WHERE THOSE STUDENTS ARE ON ANY PARTICULAR AREA.
SO THEN THE TEACHERS CAN DEVELOP WHAT LESSONS ARE MOST APPROPRIATE FOR EACH OF THOSE STUDENTS BASED ON WHERE THEY'RE AT AND WHERE THEY'RE GROWING AND WHERE THEIR NEEDS? IS THERE A SPANISH VERSION OR DIFFERENT LANGUAGE VERSION OF I-READY? GOOD QUESTION. I DON'T KNOW.
YEAH. SEE, SO I WISH SONYA WAS HERE.
SHE COULD ANSWER ALL THESE QUESTIONS.
I RECOGNIZE YOU'VE ONLY BEEN HERE FOR EIGHT MONTHS.
YOU'RE DOING REALLY WELL. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. REMIND ME AGAIN WHEN WE'RE THESE FIVE MAIN AIR RECOMMENDATIONS MADE.
WHEN WERE THEY MADE? IT WAS IN 2018.
OKAY, SO FOR MR. HOUSE OR MS. HOPPMAN, FOR EACH OF THESE FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS, WHAT IS THE ANTICIPATED.
DATE WHEN THEY WILL BE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE COMPLETE.
LET ME REFRAME. MR. HOUSE WHAT IS YOUR EXPECTATION FOR WHEN THESE FIVE THINGS WILL BE COMPLETE? I THINK, LIKE SHE SHARED, WE DON'T HAVE A PARTICULAR DROP DEAD DATE.
OUR GOAL IS TO PROGRESSIVELY MOVE THROUGH THESE AND ACCOMPLISH AS MUCH AS WE CAN AS QUICK AS WE CAN, BUT THERE HASN'T BEEN A DATE SET FOR EACH ONE OF THESE IN TERMS OF ACCOMPLISHING THEM ON X DATE.
SO IT COULD BE THIS YEAR, NEXT YEAR, FIVE YEARS FROM NOW, TEN YEARS FROM NOW.
IT'S BEEN IT'S ABOUT THE PROGRESSION JUST CONTINUING TO GET BETTER THE INCLINE.
WHAT WHAT WILL SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION LOOK LIKE FOR EACH OF THESE FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS? HOW WILL YOU KNOW THAT THEY'RE COMPLETE? IT GOES DOWN TO THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL, AND I'LL LET HER SHARE SOME INSIGHT ON THE INDIVIDUAL IEP AND THEN MAKING SURE THAT STUDENTS ACCOMPLISH THE GOALS THAT ARE SET OUT FOR IN THEIR PARTICULAR MEETINGS, THEIR PARTICULAR IEPS SPECIFICALLY.
SO YOU'RE MEASURING THIS IN OUR CONSTRAINT.
I FORGET WHICH NUMBER ON IEP PROGRESS.
SURE. I THINK THAT'S A PART OF IT.
ABSOLUTELY. WHERE ARE WE? WHERE DID WE START ON EACH OF THE FIVE OF THESE? WHERE ARE WE IN THE TRAJECTORY FOR EACH FIVE OF THESE AS MEASURED BY YOUR TARGET GOAL? FOR EACH OF THESE FIVE, YOU WANT TO SHARE SOME INSIGHT IN GOING BACK TO YOUR DATE? I THINK IT'S HARD TO SAY A DATE BECAUSE SOME OF THESE WORDS ARE SO SUBJECTIVE.
YOU KNOW, SIMPLIFY PROCEDURES WILL SIMPLIFY BASED ON WHO THINKS IT'S SIMPLE ENOUGH AND WHO, AND I THINK WE'VE MADE GREAT GAINS, AND WHEN I SAY WE, I AM HISD WHETHER IT HAPPENED TEN YEARS AGO OR NOT.
SO I THINK WE HAVE MADE GREAT GAINS IN REALLY IN IN ALL OF THESE, BUT WE CONTINUE AND HAVE ROOM TO MAKE MORE GAINS. MAYBE I'LL REFRAME THIS IN.
HOW ARE YOU MEASURING SUCCESS IN STUDENT OUTCOMES? ARE YOU JUST USING GOAL FOUR? ARE YOU USING OUR IEP CONSTRAINT? HOW HOW IS THIS ACTUALLY SHOWING UP TO KNOW THAT IT'S HAVING LIKE WHAT'S THE DESIRED IMPACT AND HOW DO YOU KNOW IT'S MAKING THE DESIRED IMPACT?
[01:15:05]
BECAUSE ALL I'M HEARING ARE INPUTS.I MEAN, WE COULD DO OKAY, THE REPORT HERE, THE REPORT HERE AND SEE OUR TINY STEPS BUT EVEN THOSE REPORTS THAT SHOW COMPLIANCE IS LIKE A CLICK OF A BUTTON, AND WHAT WE DO IS THEN WE DIG INTO, GREAT, WE'RE AT 95%, BUT WHAT'S THE QUALITY NOW OF THAT PROGRESS MONITORING? BECAUSE THE BUTTON SAYS WE ARE GOOD, BUT IF WE DIG DEEPER, ARE WE GOOD? AND WHAT'S THE QUALITY OF THAT? SO WE CONTINUE TO DIG DEEPER AND LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, IT SOUNDS TRITE, BUT EACH STUDENT BECAUSE WHEN WE RUN INTO IT, WE'RE LIKE, OH MY GOODNESS, WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THIS STUDENT? YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING ON WITH OTHER STUDENTS? AND YOU COULD SAY, YOU KNOW, REDUCED PERHAPS REDUCED COMPLAINTS OR REDUCED CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANS OR WHAT'S ON THE CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANS ARE GOING TO BE REDUCED IN THE END.
YOU COULD SAY [INAUDIBLE] SO I THINK WHAT I'M HEARING IN THIS IS THAT YOU DON'T HAVE YOU HAVEN'T BEEN PRESCRIBED ANY ADMINISTRATIVE KPIS AROUND THIS OR AM I DO YOU SO MAYBE THAT'S A BETTER QUESTION FOR YOU, SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE, DO YOU, AS SUPERINTENDENT, HAVE ANY ADMINISTRATIVE KPIS FOR SPECIAL ED IN THESE AREAS? NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF, UNLESS THE DEPARTMENT HAS MOVED FORWARD TO REALLY GRAPPLE WITH THIS ISSUE BEYOND WHAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US.
IT'S WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON.
WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE WHOLE DISTRICT AND PUTTING TOGETHER THOSE LONG TERM OUTCOMES AND THEN THE SHORT TERM SO THAT WE CAN SEE THAT WE'RE MOVING ALONG.
THANK YOU, PRESIDENT HERNANDEZ.
WHAT PROGRESS, IF ANY, HAVE YOU MADE TO TIE PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITY INTO THE SPECIAL ED ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PRINCIPALS? HOW HAVE WE TIED SPECIAL EDUCATION FROM AN ACCOUNTABILITY STANDPOINT TO PRINCIPALS? WHEN YOU GRADE YOUR PRINCIPALS, HOW ARE YOU HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION? I THINK A PART OF THE EVALUATION, WELL, IT'S A PART OF IT.
IF WE KNOW THAT WE'VE HAD MAJOR FAILURES IN REFERENCE TO SPECIAL EDUCATION, IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE LOOK AT IN TOTALITY AS WE LOOK AT THE EVALUATION OF OUR PRINCIPALS.
I CAN'T GIVE YOU A PARTICULAR PERCENTAGE.
SO THERE'S A CHECK BOX FOR WALKTHROUGHS, OBSERVATIONS, THE AMOUNT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION.
IS THERE A RUBRIC FOR THAT? WE CAN PROVIDE YOU WITH EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE.
I CAN'T TELL YOU ON THE DAIS NOW EXACTLY WHAT THE EVALUATION LOOKS LIKE AND HOW MANY PIECES OR PERCENTAGES OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, BUT BE GLAD TO HAVE THAT HAVE THAT PROVIDED AT SOME POINT.
OKAY, THANK YOU, AND MS. HOPPMAN, YOU TALKED ABOUT ON PAGE 13, ON MAKING GAINS.
INTERVENTIONS AREN'T A ONE TIME THING, ESPECIALLY FOR A CHILD WITH THAT.
OKAY, SO YOU HAVE THESE MAKE GAINS, SO YOU'VE MADE THESE GAINS WHEN YOU HAVE CHILDREN ON THE SPECTRUM AND THEY HAVE A COMORBIDITY OF ADHD, BUT THEY'RE ALSO GIFTED AND TALENTED. WHAT EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL TRAININGS ARE TEACHERS RECEIVING IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT, TO GIVE IN CLASS SUPPORT WITH THESE STUDENTS WITH SPECIALIZED DIFFERENT NEEDS? WE DO HAVE SPECIALISTS IN THOSE AREAS THAT GO TO THAT TRAINING AS WELL.
WE'VE GOT AUTISM, ITINERANT TEACHERS.
WE HAVE OUR WE HAVE BEHAVIOR BEHAVIOR TECHS, I THINK THEY'RE CALLED, AND THEN SO THOSE ARE, YOU KNOW, IS THE BEHAVIOR DUE TO AUTISM AND MAYBE SOME OF THOSE SENSORY ISSUES.
WE HAVE AUTISM TEAMS THAT CAN HELP.
LET ME PAUSE REALLY QUICKLY. SO IN THE AIR REPORT, IT TALKED ABOUT THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND YOU SPOKE A LOT ABOUT CHANGING THE ADULT IS SO CHANGING THE ADULT MEANS GIVING THEM THE NECESSARY TOOLS, RESOURCES AND EDUCATION ON HOW TO HANDLE BEHAVIORAL, EMOTIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT.
[01:20:02]
IEPS. Y'ALL ARE BEING REALLY LOUD, AND SO WITH THAT, LIKE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR THAT SPECIFIC TYPE OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT? THERE'S PRESCRIPTIVE TRAININGS AND THAT'S WHERE IT'S IDENTIFIED AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL, EITHER BY A SPECIAL EDUCATION STAFF OR BY THE TEACHER OR DEPARTMENT THAT THEY SUBMIT IT THROUGH THE SPECIAL ED DEPARTMENT, SAY, HEY, WE NEED IT BASED ON THIS STUDENT AND THIS STUDENT'S NEED OR BASED ON THIS CLASSROOM AND I'M HAVING TROUBLE WITH THIS CLASSROOM OR IT COULD BE THE WHOLE DEPARTMENT.SO IF IT IS A STUDENT, IT IS A CLASSROOM THAT HAS A LOT OF STUDENTS WITH A CERTAIN ELIGIBILITY, AND THAT'S WHERE THE TEACHER IS, IS HAVING ISSUES. THEN WE HAVE PRESCRIPTIVE TRAINING WHERE OUR TRAINERS GO OUT AND TRAIN THAT ONE TEACHER OR THAT GROUP OF TEACHERS OR THAT.
GENERAL EDUCATION IS SPECIAL EDUCATION.
SO EVERY TEACHER KNOWING HOW TO IDENTIFY CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS OR TRAITS WITH STUDENTS.
THAT'S THE TYPE OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT THEY NEED.
THEY NEED TO BE TRAINED. EVERY TEACHER NEEDS TO BE TRAINED ACCORDINGLY.
SO I HOPE WE HAVE ROUND THREE BECAUSE I HAVE LOTS MORE QUESTIONS.
TRUSTEE BLUEFORD-DANIELS I SEE THAT YOU HAVE A MOTION TO GO TO CLOSED SESSION.
IS IT A LEGAL QUESTION? IT WILL BE.
[ADJOURN TO CLOSED OR EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER SECTIONS 551.004, 551.071, 551.072, 551.073, 551.074, 551.076, 551.082, 551.0821, 551.083, 551.084, AND 551.089 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE FOR THE PURPOSES LISTED IN THIS NOTICE]
ACT. SUBSECTION 551.004, 551.071, 551.072, 551.073, 551.074, 551.076, 551.082, 551.0821, 551.083 AND 551.084, 551.089.SHOULD BOARD FINAL ACTION, VOTE OR DECISION ON ANY MATTER CONSIDERED IN CLOSED SESSION BE REQUIRED.
SUCH FINAL ACTION, VOTE OR DECISION SHALL BE TAKEN AT THE OPEN MEETING COVERED BY THIS NOTICE.
THE BOARD HAS ADJOURNED TO CLOSED SESSION AT 7:54 P.M.
THIS MEETING IS NOW RECONVENED.
THE TIME IS 10:17 P.M, AND WE WILL CONTINUE OUR SPECIAL ED DISCUSSION AND REPORTS AT A LATER DATE, AND WE WILL CONTINUE PROGRESS MONITORING THE SPECIAL ED AUDIT REPORTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR DURING OUR PROGRESS, OUR MONTHLY PROGRESS MONITORING.
WE NEED SOME TECHNOLOGY HELP AT THE MOMENT.
SOME TECHNOLOGY HELP RIGHT OVER THERE.
[CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON MATTERS DISCUSSED IN CLOSED OR EXECUTIVE SESSION]
MAY I HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVED. [INAUDIBLE] PRESIDENT HERNANDEZ AM I ON THE SCREEN? YES, I DO SEE YOU AS A MOVER.DO YOU HAVE FIVE GOLD STARS, PLEASE? I MOVE THAT THE BOARD APPROVE THE MID-YEAR EVALUATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT AS PRESENTED IN CLOSED SESSION, EFFECTIVE MARCH 28TH, 2023.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? I SAW IT, BUT IT DISAPPEARED ON ME.
OKAY, WE HAVE A SECOND BY TRUSTEE WADE.
PLEASE VOTE, AND I WILL WAIT FROM A FOR A THUMBS UP FROM MR.
[01:25:02]
KINCADE, WHO IS NOW MANAGING THE NEW SYSTEM.[INAUDIBLE] OKAY, VOTING IS NOW CLOSING.
ZERO OPPOSED. ZERO ABSTENTIONS.
DO I HAVE ANY OTHER MOTIONS FROM CLOSED SESSION? TRUSTEE ALLEN.
YES. I MOVE THAT THE BOARD AUTHORIZE ITS SPECIAL COUNSEL TO FILE AN APPEAL TO THE STATE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF EDUCATION'S MARCH 15TH, 2023 DECISION TO APPOINT A BOARD OF MANAGERS AND SUPERINTENDENT. I HAVE A MOTION BY TRUSTEE ALLEN AND A SECOND BY TRUSTEE SANTOS.
DISCUSSION. TRUSTEE BAKER IS IN THE QUEUE.
YES. THE OLD WISE MAN SAID THAT STUDENT OUTCOMES WILL NOT CHANGE UNLESS ADULT BEHAVIOR CHANGE, AND [INAUDIBLE], IN MY OPINION, IS A WASTE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS AND ALSO CAUSE INSTABILITY TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
I AM VEHEMENTLY AGAINST FILING A [INAUDIBLE] APPEAL WHEN WE SEE THAT THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL, AND SO I AM DISAPPOINTED, AND WHOEVER WILL VOTE FOR THIS [INAUDIBLE] BECAUSE WE ALREADY KNOW THAT THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL AND THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY INTERVENTION IS NEEDED AND IS NECESSARY.
[INAUDIBLE] 30 YEARS OF COLOSSAL FAILURE OF PREVIOUS LEADERSHIP AND EVEN CURRENT LEADERSHIP TO OUR STUDENTS IN THE HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND SO I DIGRESS.
I FEEL THAT WE SHOULD NOT EVEN CONSIDER FILING AN APPEAL AT THIS POINT AT THIS LATE HOUR.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. TRUSTEE GUIDRY.
EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE DONE AND I BELIEVE EVERYTHING THAT WE AS THIS BOARD HAS DONE HAS BEEN FOR THE OUTCOME OF STUDENTS.
WE HAVE WORKED EXTREMELY HARD TOGETHER AND THE ONE THING I DO KNOW IS THAT WHEN IT WAS TIME TO GIVE UP THE LEGAL FIGHT BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE A LEGAL BASIS TO CONTINUE, I WAS ON BOARD WITH THAT.
HE SET THESE TERMS. THEY ARE IN WRITING.
THEY ARE IN A LETTER TO US, AND I THINK IF THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO MAKE OUR LAST APPEAL TO HIM BASED ON WHERE THE BOARD AND THIS DISTRICT IS RIGHT NOW, I THINK WE SHOULD IN FACT, TAKE THIS APPEAL.
WHETHER OR NOT THE OUTCOME THAT'S GOING TO BE ON THE COMMISSIONER, BUT AT LEAST WE AS A BOARD HAVE DONE EVERYTHING WE POSSIBLY CAN IF WE BELIEVE IN THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE BY THIS BOARD OVER THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF, PRETTY MUCH BECAUSE THAT'S ALL WE'VE HAD TOGETHER.
IF WE BELIEVE IN OUR WORK, THEN WE SHOULD GIVE IT ONE LAST APPEAL.
IT DOESN'T HARM ANYTHING IF IT'S GOING TO BEGIN IF THE TEA IS GOING TO COME IN ON JUNE 1ST, THEY'RE GOING TO COME IN ON JUNE 1ST ANYWAY. SO I DON'T SEE WHY WE WOULD NOT TAKE ONE LAST APPEAL THAT IS GIVEN BY THE COMMISSIONER HIMSELF.
I HEARD THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE.
I HAVE BEEN TO THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND MY POSITION AS A TRUSTEE IS TO LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE AND I THINK THAT SINCE THIS IS NOT A MUST, THAT THE COMMISSIONER SHOULD DO, WE SHOULD ALWAYS LET EVERYONE KNOW AND BE TRANSPARENT THAT THIS IS NOT A MUST ON THE PART OF THE COMMISSIONER.
WE CAN APPEAL AND THE COMMISSIONER CAN DECIDE.
[01:30:05]
THIS IS NOT A MUST.TRUSTEE SANTOS THANK YOU, PRESIDENT HERNANDEZ SO THIS HOSTILE STATE TAKEOVER DISENFRANCHIZES ENTIRE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR DISTRICTS THAT ARE PROPERTY RICH ARE PREDOMINANTLY WEALTHY COMMUNITIES.
YET A DISTRICT MADE UP OF LOW SOCIOECONOMIC, BLACK AND BROWN STUDENTS.
WE SCORED A B AND TEA STILL WANTS US TO TAKE OVER US TO YOUR CARDS ARE SHOWING.
WHAT'S YOUR GOAL, TEA? WHAT'S YOUR MISSION, TEA? TEA, WHAT ARE YOUR VALUES? IT'S CERTAINLY NOT OUR KIDS.
WHAT ARE THE ACADEMIC STANDARDS? I CAN GUARANTEE YOU HISD WOULD HAVE MET THEM IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO MOVE THE GOALPOST.
THANK YOU. TRUSTEE BLUEFORD-DANIELS.
TEA HAS BEEN THE HOUSE THE CENTRAL LOCATION OF ALL STAAR DATA.
SO WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO CONTINUOUSLY SUPPORT OR TO SUPPORT THESE LOW ACADEMICALLY ACHIEVING SCHOOLS PRIMARILY ALL OF WHICH ARE IN DISTRICT TWO.
I DON'T DISAGREE WITH 1842 AND CONTINUED IN SAYING THAT CONTINUED FAILING SCHOOLS SHOULD NOT CONTINUE OVER AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME, ESPECIALLY FIVE YEARS AND SO THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS A CHARGE FOR THE PREVIOUS BOARD AND THE CURRENT BOARD.
WE'RE MAKING THE IMPROVEMENTS NORTH FOREST EXPERIENCED A TEA TAKEOVER AND MONEY FOR STUDENTS WAS NOT PROVIDED TO HISD ALONG WITH THOSE STUDENTS.
WE HAVE SHOWN A MAJOR IMPROVEMENT IN DISTRICT TWO, AND IF THIS BOARD ARE ANY FUTURE INDIVIDUALS CONCENTRATE THEIR EFFORTS ON IMPROVING THE STUDENT OUTCOMES AND GET OUT OF THE BUSINESS OF THE BICKERING AND THE POLITICAL BACK AND FORTH REGARDING ADULTS AND CONCENTRATE ON OUR STUDENTS.
WE WOULD NOT BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION TODAY.
THANK YOU. THE DISTRICT'S TOP PRIORITY IS AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE STUDENT OUTCOMES.
AT THIS TIME, WHETHER WE FILE A [INAUDIBLE] APPEAL OR NOT, WE KNOW THAT THE OUTCOME WILL NOT CHANGE.
I AM COMMITTED TO OUR STUDENTS AND FIRMLY BELIEVE IN DEMOCRACY AND THE ELECTED BOARD AT THIS TIME.
IT IS TIME TO CREATE A SMOOTH TRANSITION FOR THE SAKE OF ALL HISD STUDENTS, STAFF AND FAMILIES.
I HOPE THAT TEA HAS A CLEAR AND TRANSPARENT PROCESS THAT IS ANNOUNCED SO THAT THE TRANSITION IS COMMUNICATED TO THE COMMUNITY AND THE DISTRICT IN ORDER TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS, A SMOOTH TRANSITION IS NECESSARY.
TRUSTEE ALLEN. I DO WANT TO SAY THAT THIS FIGHT IS NOT OVER.
WE SHOULD FILE THIS APPEAL AND GIVE THE COMMISSIONER THE CHOICE THAT HE NEEDS TO PROVE THAT HE CAN DO WHAT'S BEST FOR THE STUDENTS.
PLEASE VOTE. OH, TRUSTEE CRUZ.
I WANT TO THANK OUR LEGAL COUNSEL THAT HAS WORKED REALLY HARD ON THIS CASE AND I DON'T AGREE WITH SPENDING RESOURCES ON A FIGHT THAT WILL CONCLUDE IN THE SAME.
SO I THAT'S ALL I NEED TO SAY.
TRUSTEE GUIDRY. FIRST OF ALL, I DON'T AGREE WITH DISCUSSING LEGAL ON THE DAIS, BUT THIS IS A DECISION FOR THE BOARD.
THIS IS A DECISION FOR THE BOARD.
WE ALL UNDERSTAND A POSSIBLE OUTCOME, BUT IF WE DON'T TRY, WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT COULD BE BROUGHT BEFORE THE COMMISSIONER THAT COULD POTENTIALLY CHANGE HIS MIND IF WE DON'T TRY.
[01:35:06]
TRUSTEE BAKER.LET ME JUST RESTATE THAT THIS IS A WASTE OF TIME.
THIS IS A WASTE OF TAXPAYER MONEY.
[INAUDIBLE] WILL NOT GET US NOWHERE.
WE HAVE BEEN A COLOSSAL FAILURE TO OUR STUDENTS FOR OVER 30 YEARS, AND IT'S TIME THAT WE HAVE ONE SLIVER OF HOPE, AND THE ONLY SLIVER OF HOPE IS LETTING THE TEA MAKE THEIR TRANSITION AND NOT TAKE OVER, BUT INTERVENE FOR OUR LITTLE ONES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
WELL, WITH THE CONTINUATION OF MY TIME, I'VE BEEN FIGHTING ALL ALONG.
I'VE HAD THESE JARS LOCATED IN THE FRONT OF MY DAIS FOR OVER--IN FRONT OF MY SEAT FOR OVER A YEAR, AND APPARENTLY SOME OF THE PEOPLE HAVE CHOSEN TO IGNORE THE DEFICIENCY IN CLOSING THAT GAP THAT WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONCENTRATING ON.
SO I WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, ALL MY LIFE I'VE HAD TO FIGHT, AND BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THIS TRUSTEE HAS BEEN FIGHTING DILIGENTLY FOR IMPROVEMENTS FOR ALL THE WRONGS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS.
SO OBVIOUSLY I WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT.
I DON'T SEE ANYBODY ELSE IN THE QUEUE.
TRUSTEE ALLEN, CAN YOU RESTATE YOUR MOTION? I MOVE THAT THE BOARD AUTHORIZE THE SPECIAL COUNSEL TO FILE AN APPEAL TO THE STATE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION'S MARCH 15TH, 2023, DECISION TO APPOINT A BOARD OF MANAGERS AND SUPERINTENDENT.
CAN WE SEE THE VOTE ON THE SCREEN AGAIN?
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.