Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee - Regular Meeting

approve the committee meeting minutes. I hope everyone had an opportunity to review them. Can I have a motion to approve the minutes? All in favor? Aye. Thank you. We now move on to the floor, the agenda items, the seat items. May I have a motion? Move it. Second. Okay, great. Ms. Diaz?

Thank you, Madam Chair. C1 is request that the School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida approve the 2526 Educational Excellence School Advisory Council, ESAC, membership rosters.

Board members, any questions or comments? Thank you. Ms. Diaz, C2.

Thank you. Through the chair, C2 is request that the School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida approve the 2526 school improvement plans.

Board members, any questions or comments? Okay, Ms. Diaz, let's see C3 through C19, just a general introduction.

Yes, ma'am, through the chair. C3 through C19 are requests for school board approval and adoption of recommended instructional materials for grades, and each item has a different grade, so for grade K, ELA, for grade one, grade two, et cetera, for the 26-27 school year.

Thank you, Ms. Diaz. Board members, any comments or questions? Mr. Alonso?

Just to keep time going, can we have a presentation on each of these board items? I'm ready.

Oh, good job. Motion denied. Any other questions or comments from our board members?

Madam Chair? Madam Chair? Thank you. This is for the general counsel. Sir, when we do this at the board meeting, when we do the instructional materials and everything, I'd like to have clarity. I have to do each one individually, sir?

Yes, Madam Chair.

All right, so for the record, for the listening public, when I do them individually, it is a requirement. There is no option to put them all together for approval. Thank you, I appreciate that. Thank you, Madam Chair.

And while I know we are all in the interest of time, though, I do want to thank you and your department for all of the time that it took in getting all of these materials ready for our approval.

All right, C-100. Through the chair, C-100 is initial reading, proposed amendment of board policy 5410, student progression plan.

Board members, any comments, questions? Okay, that wraps up the C items. Motion to move the C items. Move it.

Second.

All in favor? Aye. Great. Motion to move the H items to the floor? Move it. Second. All in favor? Aye. Thank you. I now have item... H-12. I'm sorry, H-10. H-10. Board Member Espino, this is your item. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Colleagues, this is the second year in a row where I've brought Victims of Communism Week. This builds upon the state's Victims of Communism Day. I will say that Victims of Communism Day is November 7th. Last year, we specifically avoided that week because it was election week. This year, it's the following week because the week of that November 7th is Holocaust Remembrance Week, and essentially to avoid conflating. You can think of it as, at least in my proposal, November 7th sort of kicks it off. That continues on the following week. But it continues the conversation we were having that was sort of rolling out this with guidance from the state of teaching the horrors of communism so that future generations understand know that failed ideology. And considering how many of our residents, of our citizens, have come from countries, either they're exiles or have otherwise fled the horrors of communism, it's important that that continues to be instructed upon so that future generations don't lose the lessons that some of our families endured the hardest way possible. Thank you.

Madam Chair. Yes, thank you very much. And thank you, board member Espino. I brought this in May of 22, I believe it was. And it was imperative at that time and it is imperative now to continue with ensuring that students are well aware of what it means to live in a communist world. And what's important is that this is something that not only do we approve here at the board meeting, but that it's implemented. And I have to say, Board Member Alonso is the board member who always talks about, and I agree with him 100%, It's not just us bringing the item and it passing, but it is making sure that via our region superintendents, Dr. Lewis, who's the head of all of our schools, superintendent, that they're actually implemented. and that something is done in the school sites that is really meaningful to address the very issue that has been brought forth uh via this item by board member espino so that's the one thing that i do want to reiterate and again board member alonso says it all the time and i couldn't concur more so i hope that when we visit the schools during that time that we get to see really significant, we're not gonna tell anyone what to do, that's up to you or what you do, but something that's truly significant where the children are really being exposed to this. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you.

Board Member Alonso?

Thank you so much, Madam Chair, and thank you, Board Member Espino, for bringing this very important item. As Madam Chair said, Rojas, It's so important that we remind our students of the atrocities of communism and what it can do to a community, what it can do to a country, what it can do to an island. I just want to add on, and I mean, Board Member Blanco sits with me at the College Board of Trustees where we just recently opened up the Freedom Tower. I already have several of my high schools that have requested to do field trips to the Freedom Tower. And I think it's a really immersive experience. And I know that some of our board members have already experienced it and walked through it. So this might be a great opportunity for us to look at how we can also support other high schools throughout the district, and then we can work out the middle schools. But I think visiting these experiences that are built here, and we have a couple other museums within our county that are commemorating the struggles of communism, and it goes beyond Cuba. We have the Venezuelan, we have the Nicaraguan, the Nicaraguan community. that have all suffered through communism, and I think it's important that we educate our students on it. So as we kick off this week, as Board Member Spino said, let's not make it about one day. Let's make it as a start of an educational journey, and hopefully we can incorporate some of these museum visits that should be at no cost to our students in being able to visit these sites throughout our community. But thank you so much for the item and for continuously bringing it to light together with our state.

And just as a small token of information, as board member Alonzo mentioned, there are other museums in the area that are eager to have students come through. So this would definitely be a great opportunity to have that. All right, can I get a motion for co-sponsorships? Second. All right, motion to move the item as amended to the board? Second. Thank you. All in favor? Aye. Thank you. All right, let's bring item H10, fostering civil discourse. Vice Chair Colucci, this is your item.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair and colleagues. I just brought this item forth given in light of the circumstances in our country and the direction it's been going for a long time. Unfortunately, we are at a pinnacle where people within the same families don't even want to sit down at the table and they get so divisive over different topics. And I think as an American society, we have been created on the foundation of civil discourse. And I want to thank my colleagues on the board because I really feel that we do engage in civil discourse. We agree without being disagreeable. We can disagree without being disrespectful or disagreeable. And I want to share a story very, very briefly of a friendship that pops out in my mind between Justice Scalia and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. two completely ideologically opposite philosophies. However, their friendship was very, very deep to the point that they would go on vacation together with their families, they would go to the opera together, have dinner together, but they never let their differences on the bench affect their friendship? And one time while they were performing, they actually performed at the opera, Justice Scalia said, what's not to like about her except her interpretation of the law? And she often felt that humor, that being able to disagree with humor, with civility, with respect is essential in our society. for our civilization, for our American way, because when I look at all of us, yes, we have different views, we have different opinions, but at the end of the day, we are all Americans. And I'll take it a step further. We're all children of God. Their friendship was rooted in a love for the law and a shared belief in the importance of the Constitution, even though they interpreted it differently. They often disagreed sharply in court opinions, but they never let their differences become personal. And that's what we're seeing a lot of in today's day and age. Outside the courtroom, like I said, they bonded over shared interests, travel, opera. family. And Ginsburg often said that Scalia made her a better writer, pushing her to refine her arguments in dissent. In return, Scalia respected her intellect and clarity. Their relationship was a powerful example of how civility, humor, and respect can bridge even the widest ideological differences. Their friendship remains a timeless reminder that disagreement does not have to mean discord, that civil discourse is not only possible, but essential in democracy. And that's why I bring this item forth today, to get to the why. Why are we at this point where we cannot discuss things, all of us, civilly, in general? And I think as educators, we have to get to the root of this problem. I think part of the problem is the technology, because everybody hides behind a screen to voice their opinions. They don't do it face to face. However, We need to start implementing strategies to get our children to talk. And it doesn't have to be about controversial issues. It can be within the curriculum. It could be about texts they're reading. It could be about theories and hypothesis that they're making in science. It could be across the whole curriculum. They could engage in think-pair-share, they could engage in Socratic circles, they could engage in fishbowl activities where the teacher is facilitating and encouraging discussion, discourse. It's essential. We have to get back to that because that is what sustains our democracy and that is the source of our freedom. So on that note, I just want to read the recommend because this item is pretty straightforward. There are safeguards in place to make sure that discussions are guided around the curriculum, that they're guided around age appropriateness, that teachers use evidence-based best practices, for structured discussion, leading to civil discourse that teachers can implement in any classroom setting, whether it be science, whether it be interpretation of a piece of art, whether it be in math, how to solve, get the answer to a problem. Again, always going back to evidence and facts, not relying on personal attacks and emotions. Explore the feasibility of implementing these strategies with parameters and safeguards that align with Florida's best standards, approved curricula and age-appropriate instructional practices. If deemed appropriate, consider applying these strategies across multiple subject areas including think-pair-share, Socratic seminar, philosophical chairs, and the fishbowl method. Explore the feasibility of creating opportunities for professional development for teachers across all disciplines. So we shouldn't just have this in social studies or in civics. It should be across all disciplines that these strategies can be implemented. And the only way to implement them is if the teachers have the appropriate training and modeling for that. And that would be through professional development. and provide a presentation with the recommendations on December 10th 2025 at the academics innovation evaluation and technology committee meeting, and that is the item my colleagues, I hope to have your support, thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Vice Chair koluchi board members any comments or questions.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and Vice Chair Colucci, this is an amazing, amazing board item at the perfect time. We're going through very tumultuous times in this world today, and sadly, in half a second, somebody will just, if you're parked and your light is red, and it takes you one second longer Once it changes to green, to move, somebody's already very upset with you. You know, people have zero patience. They do not have, right now, the discourse that we feel would be acceptable. to have in meetings and different scenarios that we get to witness on a daily basis. Children at schools, again, are confronted with many different situations where instead of being able to have a civil conversation and discourse to take place in lieu of that, They end up getting into fights and situations that should not occur. Teachers are the key players. They are the ones that have to make a difference in teaching these children how to deal with, sadly, situations that arise on a daily basis. I love the example you gave of the two Supreme Court justices that couldn't have been more on opposite ends as far as their ideology was concerned, but their friendship surpassed all of that. And they were able to have a civil discourse without being disrespectful and so I think that this item is probably my favorite one right now out of everything we've had because we need to start now the time is now and this is something that I think will really make a big difference in a positive way for our children our teachers and everyone that we represent so at the appropriate time Madam Chair I would like to co-sponsor this item thank you Thank you, Madam Chair. Board Member Alonzo, you're recognized.

Thank you so much, Madam Chair, and thank you to the maker of the item. I think it's an incredible item and something that we really have to work on with our students and even with adults. I was in D.C. just a few weeks ago with the Florida School Board Association, and there were school board members in the capital, and we had two staffers come in to talk to us, and one was from a Democratic congressman, and the other one was from a Republican congressman. congressman, and they were there talking and they were sharing about how they worked together. And there was another board member from another board that said, you guys talk to each other? But on TV, it looks like you hate each other and like, how could they work together? And they were like, oh, that's just theater. That's just the way TV portrays it. But we all work together here every day. And I think this board is one of the best boards to even show that as well, right? We might have different political views, but 99% of the time we're all aligned on what we vote on because it's what's for the best of our children. So I think anything that we can do to really open up the eyes of our students, even of our teachers, to the fact that we can all agree to disagree is so important. One of the areas that I've seen in our high schools and middle schools that we can help with this, and to your point, I always kinda like to look at how do we implement these, are through speech and debate teams. And for so long, that was such an incredible program that so many schools were running. Through the chair, I'd like to know of staff, Do all of our high schools and middle schools have a speech and debate team and promote it, or is it up to the school and the coaches? And if not, how do we support that and bring that back? Because I think that could be a great way, a great avenue to kind of really focus in on that and allow students to be able to debate while still walking away as friends at the end of the day.

Through the chair, not necessarily every single school, but most have some sort of Either they have a debate team or they participate in mock trial or project citizen or different types of activities that allow them to exercise that. But, of course, we can always encourage more participation.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Ms. Alonzo, I've been thinking about that for a while. In the former district that I was at, debate was big, huge, and very much supported through an investment, because it requires supplements. We're gonna take a look at that, because maybe this is the time to really expand and see what we can do. It's always about funding, but I think maybe this is the real moment to catapult this to a really important place. Let's just see how we fund it and how we mold it, but I'm glad you said that, because It's not only because of the time, but because of the value and the power of students being able to debate. And some of these debate teams, when you see them in action, they are phenomenal. It's amazing what they can do. So let's see what we can do academically to expand and enhance debate here in MDCPS. Thank you, Madam Chair.

You're welcome.

Board Member Santos?

Thank you, Board Member Colucci, for the item. I know that I recently had a conversation with Ms. Ortiz-Diaz about sort of, obviously, these topics and strategies that you've shared in your item, many of, well, none of them really are like standards, and so they're not obviously embedded in our everyday curriculum. And so I was asking, well, what other mechanisms do we use to instill this? You know, I know we're very limited and for different reasons have been very strict about standards based, you know, instruction for good reason. But I was asking, well, where else do students learn how to do this? And of course, You will always have incredible teachers, and more if they get the right professional development, who will always be able to foster that dialogue in an objective manner in their classrooms. And those teachers obviously create incredible critical thinkers that go out in the world and can engage in respectful dialogue on important issues that should be debated. We all improve when we get to debate and learn from each other. And Miss Diaz did mention debate as one of the places, and we have a prime example of what debate can do in Associate Justice Gitanji Brown-Jackson, who credits her debate teacher at Palmetto Senior High and and her debate team for having started to put her on that course I mean what a powerful example from our Alumni Hall of Fame and there are many others but but that point on debate is so critical I know over the years some of my schools have participated there's different kind of debate sort of leaks but one of them is incubate debate and And there are teams in my district who have participated. I've had the pleasure of being a judge. And it is so powerful to watch these students, first of all, many times have to take on and make an argument that they may actually disagree with, but really have to put themselves in the shoes of someone else. It is powerful stuff. And of course, for them to learn logic and how to form an argument and how to truly discern is so important so I'm glad to hear you say that Mr. Superintendent and you're right funding was the issue because one of my student fellows reached out because her club almost didn't go to competition because they didn't have money for a bus and that's how I got involved in all this and so please count me in for supporting if it's through debate you know consider the many leagues including incubate debate It's really great work and really will help accomplish the goals that you've set out here, Board Member Colucci.

Thank you. Ms. Santos, any other board members have some comments? Wait, I had some comments. I do have some comments. I know we're trying to move this along quickly, and I never thought I would start this off with a conversation on speech and debate, but as I was listening, I was on my speech and debate team at my school, and one of the things, and it alludes to what Board Member Santos just brought up, is I always liked a certain either pro or con for a topic, and when I had, it was random, right, what you presented. But the value in that is learning perspective, learning the other side, learning to understand the other side. I love the idea of getting something so we can have speech and debate in all of our schools. My only concern with a focus on that when it comes to this item is you're only working with certain students. They're not all going to be in speech and debate, and I think that loses the scope of this item. I was recently asked to write a reflection on what it means to be a woman of character. And as I read this item, I think this is what we're talking about. And I feel like, and I don't mean everybody, right? But as a whole, as a society, we have lost our humanity. And I think that's what this item is about. We need to instill in our children in the future, not just of this country, of this world, what it means to appreciate each and every individual, no matter what differences you may have with that person. And that is my greatest fear in what we are losing with this younger generation. They are growing up in a society where the value of a life is lost on them. And so I think this is the heart of this item, and I really would love to see anything we can do in order to incorporate this. I love that you... you know we're not making it obvious right it's just like in every single subject area can our students just talk about like what do you think the answer is what do you think the answer is can you support your answer can you and just be able to have comfortable conversations and I again I'm not going to generalize but I've been in schools long enough to know that sometimes not always what makes this the most difficult is the person that's standing in front of that room And so while I want to encourage this, we need to make sure that we have the professional development, the observation, the classroom observations to ensure that the proper modeling is taking place. I absolutely love when this happens. There's one teacher in particular at my school, and the students will come in and say, you know this person, right? You're friends with them? Tell me, they're Republican, right? And I'm like, I don't know what they are. And they're like, well, based on what they said, they must be. And then the next week, when the lesson shifts, they come back and they say, I was wrong. They're Democrat. And then they come back and they're like, I don't know what they are. And that, to me, is an ideal teacher, where the student has no idea. Every side is being presented. And so I want to encourage this, but if we're going to do this, I think there needs to be just a lot of professional development, cautious classroom observations. And when I started off by saying this, I was asked to write something about character. When I talked about what's important for me to character, emotions can sometimes... stray us from our character. And we live in a time now where we get very emotional about certain things. And that's natural. That's part of who we are, part of being a human being. And so sometimes we may falter, but just before we get to like, again, if we're gonna argue about science and math question, we're good. When we get into some of the other topics and we're going to encourage some of this civil discourse, I just want to reiterate that. I want to make sure, and you highlighted that, the professional development and ensure that that person that is doing this is the correct model for our students.

You want superintendent or you want to comment before? If you are okay with it, I just want to comment. Go ahead. And that's the intent of the item. If you look at it, there are safeguards in place. This is not a free for all. This is not just discuss whatever you want. This is starting, and I've walked into classrooms where they're doing junior grade books. and they're looking and they're reading a text and the teacher's posing a question and the student's saying, well, I disagree with so and so because on page five, Paragraph three, the character said this. So this is not to get into, and the heart of the item, yes, I think speech and debate is great and everything, but that's not what this item is about. It is about strategies to start instilling in our students to discuss things in a civil manner on things that they are doing anyway, they're discussing the text, they have to create a hypothesis when they are, so they might say, you know, that hypothesis I don't think is gonna work because based on inertia. So those are the types of things that this item is set out, that's the intent behind the item, and also the, and I know that some teachers do use these strategies, but we tend to lock it into literature, we tend to lock it into social studies, and this is meant to be, you know, this can be utilized across the board. These are strategies, if you're familiar with them, and I don't want to go into each strategy, but I'll leave that to the academics team, but those are the strategies, and this is just to create the habit. to create the habit of listening, coming up with evidence, making your decision, and ultimately what this is about is seeking truth. And that's what we need to do, seek what is good, what is true. And the only way you can do that is with discussion and with evidence. and backing up your evidence. So I do agree with you on that, Madam Chair, that speech and debate is not the full, it is a part of this, I do agree, but it's not the essence of the item. So I hope that clears that up for you. Thank you. That was clear, Mr. Superintendent.

Well, I was going to make that clarification also, Madam Chair, Ms. Colucci. The debate conversation just came out as a result of Mr. Alonso, but that is not the response, and that is not what this calls for, okay? Because this impacts a much broader picture, so I just want to make sure that debate and speech is not a response to this board item. I just wanted to clarify that, okay? Thank you.

Yeah, and just to clarify, I'm full support of the item. I was just bringing up that importance of ensuring that our teachers get the appropriate professional development to ensure that these strategies are implemented correctly. All right, motion for co-sponsorships? All in favor? Aye. Motion to move board item as amended.

Move it. A second? A second.

Can I get a second? A second. Thank you. All right, we'll move over to item H13. This is Dr. All in favor. I'm sorry, all in favor? Aye. Thank you. All right, we'll move on to item H13. This is Dr. Bendross-Mendingo's item. that the School Board of Miami-Dade County endorsed November 17th through the 23rd as Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week throughout Miami-Dade County Public Schools. I'm pretty sure she has brought this item forward for as long as I've been here, and I'm sure many years before that. I think it's obviously an important item, and as we've mentioned before, along with some kind of recognition, we would hope that there's something taking place in the school. Any other board member would like to make a comment? Cosponsorship. Okay, cosponsorship. I move it. Second. All in favor? Aye. Moved to the board meeting as amended. Second. All in favor? Aye. Thank you. All right, moving on to new business. We have a staff follow-up. H4, developing district-wide guidance on the use of artificial intelligence. Memo was sent to the board. Any questions, comments?

I just wanna, first of all, thank staff for all the work that they've been putting on this. As we know and we discussed when this first item came about, We're in a world that is changing by the second, not even by the minute and by the hour and by the day on just the amount of change that we're seeing and advancements that we're seeing when it comes to artificial intelligence. And I think our district is doing an incredible job together with our state in really trying to stay ahead of the curve as much as possible. I think these resources that our offices of academics have put together in innovation really help our teachers. and get a better understanding and I think in reading through it, this is not the end all of it. This is just the beginning of it where we will continue to be able to provide our teachers with up-to-date resources and I love the idea of the little cards that they're gonna be able to get and that it's gonna be kind of like on a weekly basis that they'll be able to receive this because it's a lot to consume. It's a lot that's changing around our teachers and we ask a lot of our teachers so to just come in and expect them to know everything from one day to another would be something that we shouldn't expect in any way, but I think this is a great way in which we can do it in a way that is smart, but yet protective of what it is that they're being exposed to and making sure that they have all the information there. So thank you to our staff for really working on this, and I look forward to seeing the continuation of this as we build on more and more around the world of AI and protecting our students, but yet not holding them back from the world of innovation. Thank you.

All right, any others? Board Member Santos? Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, yes, so much to the team behind this. They are producing things rapidly and getting things off the ground very, very rapidly, and I really appreciate that, to be responsive to what this moment calls of all of us, I feel like every day I'm trying to learn something new. related to AI and certainly it helped that I got to, I don't know if staff knew, but I signed up for the institute and was able to take some courses, which were really helpful. So I'm probably in the feedback in there, which is actually my question. There's so much going on. It's amazing. I mean, if you read this memo, there's... So many great initiatives that are taking place. How are we, I know, like I said, I answered some surveys when I did those courses. How are we collecting that feedback and assessing effectiveness of these different efforts? I know at some point there was discussion of having a third party and a... an educational entity also help come in and evaluate a university partner, our programs and to see what's working, what's not. So can you please expand on that a little bit?

Sure, through the chair. So we've been, I'm very loud. So we've been collecting feedback at the end of every single session that, I'm still too loud according to my boss. We've been collecting feedback at the end of every single session, and our team uses that to reflect. And so if you've taken part in the Institute multiple times, which a lot of people have, you'll see that the courses have even changed as the years have gone by, because we take that feedback, we reflect on our practice, we determine whether or not certain courses need to be tweaked, and then we move forward. And then, of course, the ultimate feedback, right? It's the symposium that, you know, our chief academic officer can attest to is, as a graduate of the institute, it's a full immersion, full day of feedback, right? That's all it is. It's teachers coming together and providing that feedback to one another and to our team so that we can just continue to give meaningful professional learning to the teachers. With regards to the university, yes, we've partnered very, very strongly with the University of Florida when it comes to AI. Also, as part of the AI task force that we're all working together with, right? And so we have an upcoming research project that we're working on with Google and University of Florida to gauge basically what it is teachers and students are doing with AI. We want to know what topics they're looking at, what is it that they're looking for help with, what is it teachers are using it mostly for. So that research study is currently in planning phases right now. We're working with ARDA as well to get that up and running.

wonderful i am thrilled uh to the chair to hear that that is exactly you know constantly bring it up these research practice partnerships with our university partners are fantastic and i can't wait to hear the result of that um so thank you for this comprehensive item and again thanks board member alonso for always keeping us up to date on ai all right thank you any other more any other questions

All right, staff, go ahead, Madam Chair.

It's not a question, it's just a comment. I just want to take this opportunity to thank Mateo for all of his expertise and sharing with us all of the latest state-of-the-art information that is coming out so rapidly we can barely keep up with it. And especially thank you because this is gonna be the main topic that I'm gonna be addressing at my town hall meeting, which is coming up very, very soon. And I'm looking forward to the presentation that you're going to be making. I think the parents are gonna be very appreciative as well because this is something that everybody is, not just the students are learning, but all of us at this time are trying to keep up with all of the latest. in this arena. So thank you very much, and thank you to Ms. Diaz as well. It's teamwork that makes it work, right? And of course, under the leadership of our illustrious superintendent of schools, Dr. Jose Aldudrez, who's also very interested in AI. So thank you very much, of course.

All right, the next staff follow-up from September 2025, H10, the Comprehensive Review and Evaluation of Targeted Curriculum and Instructional Resources for ELLs. Do we have any questions or comments from that?

Board Member Santos? Thank you. Through the Chair, Ms. Diaz, I know we asked some questions, and thank you for the very thorough overview, such an important topic. And you shared that the data reflected here on the proficiency of our ELLs does not include ESOL level fives. Because like me, an ESOL level five is someone who tested out, but we're ESOL for life, as we like to say. And so I want to say, one, congratulations. These are tremendous gains over time. And that doesn't just happen, especially on the math proficiency and subjects. We know that many students may not have the language yet, but are brilliant and have so much to show. being able to get them comfortable and as they're learning English, continue to teach them in the content area. So that's really exciting and just want to highlight and thank you all for the work you're doing to make that possible. And then too, I did have a question. So we've shared the number around about 80,000 ELs or ELLs in the district. Does that number include the level fives or is it only level one through fours?

Through the chair, only level ones through fours. Once they're fives, they're technically exited. We continue monitoring them in post-program, but they are not considered ESOL students anymore.

Thank you. And through the chair, that also means that our Title III supports that we get from the federal government also only go for our levels one through four students, correct?

Correct. One through four, through the chair, I apologize. One through fours are still in the program, fives are exited.

Okay, thank you so much and congratulations on this great work and I know we've got a long way to go and your team will get us there.

All right, we all received an ETO update from Dr. Tri-Diggs. Anyone have any questions or comments? Madam Chair.

Yes, thank you very much. And where is Dr. Diggs? Okay. Thank you for all the hard work and the dedication and commitment. I would like to ask a question related to the D schools and also to the C schools. If you may, is it all right at this point to have her come up or if not, someone else can answer?

I can answer or she's coming up as well.

Whichever you all prefer. So the question for me is I read everything you submitted and it's great and I love the fact that the teachers, the principals are getting together and you're all having many different professional learning activities for them which appear to be very interesting and very positive based on what I read on your document. That's great. But I want to focus on, first of all, D schools, because I have a D school in my district. And so you all know I'm very, very interested in knowing what are we doing now that we have now gone into the first month and a half. A school has gone by. We're going into October at this point. So what professional development are we doing with not only the principals, but what are we doing with the teachers at the schools? Through the chair, I believe the superintendent, I guess, wants to respond. Dr. Doudras?

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Ms. Rojas, what we're trying to do is with each of the schools requires like a customized plan. And so I don't want to generalize. So I would rather try Diggs or Ms. Diaz to meet with you. In particular, the school that you're relating to has a lot of ELL. So what we're trying to do is have individual conversations with the board members in the school because we are targeting, every school is different. There are support structures in place, coaches that they differ. So if you wouldn't mind if we could have an individual conversation with you about the school, we would really appreciate it. I think it should be done on a regular basis so you get updates.

I'm glad, through the chair, I'm very happy to hear that you're gonna do that. I'm asking because I never have had that opportunity before, so I ask here, but that's even better for me because I have many questions that I would like to follow up on with reference to the monitoring and everything else, not only the professional development portion, But how are we monitoring and how are we progressing? What are we doing with the parents? It's a plethora of different questions. So I'm fine. It's okay. And that will also then be addressed for the C schools through the chair? C schools that in a blink of an eye could become a D school if they don't get the assistance that they need?

Yes. We can provide individual attention and some support in terms of what we're doing there.

with the C schools as well. Individually is through the chair. Okay, thank you very much, sir. That's all that I need to know on that. And my next question is not for Ms. Diggs, but it is for Ms. Diaz. Human trafficking curriculum. We've had a conversation. I would like to request that in writing I receive something related to what we are doing with human trafficking and the curriculum or whatever offering we're providing in reference to that scenario through the chair. Ms. Diaz?

Yes, through the chair, we can provide that. And also, it is a required topic of instruction. It's not a separate and whole comprehensive curriculum. It's just some resources that we provide to our students. But I can provide you with detail regarding that. And then also this year, there's a new component for professional development to teachers on human trafficking, and I'm sure Dr. Baggles can also share on that.

All right. Thank you very much. That's all that I have. Thank you.

I'll look forward to receiving that.

Thank you.

And just as a follow-up, we continue to have the presentations from Taking Back the Girls when it comes to human trafficking?

Through the chair, yes. I don't know that we've had one yet, but we continue to work with the presenter, yes. All right. Thank you.

Any other new business, Madam Chair?

I apologize, I forgot. There's one more thing I wanted to share with all of you. I had the opportunity to attend the Achievement Gap Advisory Committee. That was held yesterday. And they are doing an absolutely exceptional job. I want to thank Dr. Gallin because it was because of his board item that this committee came to fruition. All of you have representatives that were there, not necessarily all were present yesterday, but we all do have representatives that attend. And they really submitted a very detailed and comprehensive report on where they are as far as the committee recommendations are concerned. And I'm sure that you will be getting that information, but there are five areas specifically that are very important for you all to follow up on, board members. I'm sure that you're going to be very pleased when you get that. But I did want to let everyone know that that committee is working tirelessly to help us, again, addressing the issue of the gap, which we know is a priority for us to have to deal with. Thank you. Thank you.

Did you want to respond to that, Mr. Superintendent? Go ahead.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to share with you, Ms. Rojas, because I'm really proud of the work. And I need to repeat this again. In every one of our subgroups, our grade level or above proficiency has increased in every single one of our subgroups. And that is part of the achievement gap as well. So the fact that they're growing grade level or above is an important component. I know you received a memo several months ago. I just wanted to validate it again. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Okay, Board Member Colucci, you had something you wanted to bring up?

Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I want to just bring up something that I want to follow up on. The phonics books. What is the status of the phonics books? Because on September 3rd at committee, I was told that the company would have the invoice. Once they received them, they could ship them in 24 to 48 hours. Through the chair, follow-up. The books as of the 17th had not even been ordered through the chair. I understand I had a conversation, but this is my expectation because we're dealing with instructional time. The books were not received until the sixth week of school. I don't know if all of them have been delivered yet through the chair. Through the chair, they have.

All schools have received them. Okay. Okay.

I understand that there were some funding issues at the beginning. However, the quote was created on August 26th. The first school that I received that got them was on September 22nd. Six weeks of instruction were lost in the shuffle because of bureaucracy. There's no other ways about it. In my expectation as a board member, is that materials, instructional materials need to be there as soon as school opens in the hands of the students on the first day of school. And I'm not gonna rehash the past, but I know that this is not the first time it happened because in the past with math books, there was a certain issue, the same thing. I expect as a board member for our teachers and our students to have what they need So I just want to put that on the record that it is incumbent upon this district to have the materials in hand day one. That means accelerated reader. That means whatever it is that is going to help our students achieve because ultimately that is the mission of our schools. So that is what I wanted to say. I don't want to belabor the point, but I do have an issue with that on the 3rd of September, I asked for those books. I was told that 24 to 48 hours, as soon as the invoice was received, they would be shipped. The invoice was not received by the vendor until the 17th of September. So I just want to clarify and I know that we're gonna move forward, and I do not want this to be an issue. For me, this is a priority. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you.

Board Member Alonso?

I was just gonna ask, because I had a similar situation a couple years ago, and it was regarding the math books, but I was made aware that there was a digital form that teachers could use in those situations. And not that it's an excuse for this, Board Member Colucci, I think it's inexcusable and we should have the material there, but always as a backup, I think it's important to have that. Do all of our books come in a digital format that our teachers have access to and not being an excuse, but when we do have these, because I understand that when it was the math books, the problem that we had was that the approval of the books and the scheduling and things happen, I know. So just as a backup plan for our teachers, not that this is a scapegoat to not have to order the books and have them there on time, but because we know things come up and we already have laptops issued out to all of our teachers and our students have laptops as well. Many of our schools do all of our books come in a digital format and not just this phonics, but all of them.

Through the chair. So all of our core instructional materials have a digital format. So that would be the core instruction, math, science, social studies. Math was like three years ago. There were some challenges with shipping, as I think I've shared before. We purchased all of our core materials. They come from the Florida School Book Depository. Everybody buys from the same place. So there were some glitches that year. Since then, we've had the science adoption, the social studies adoption, all have arrived with no problem. All our ELA and mathematics consumables have been arriving without any issue for the last few years, and we've had them on time. This particular item is a supplemental that I don't disagree with you, Ms. Colucci. We would love to have all of the materials in place on the very first day of school, but I just want to have the opportunity be able to say that our core text, our wonders text is very highly rated and very strong in foundational reading elements. So the students and the teachers were not lacking in core and they were not lacking in intervention. This is a supplemental to tier one instruction. Again, I agree it's a good one and it's important for them to have it from the first day, but they did have the core and Intervention instructional materials from the first day these were delayed in arriving much longer than we would have liked a hundred percent agree Thank You miss Diaz any other board members any other new business

Board Member Santos. Thank you, this was actually for the ETO update, so thank you, Dr. Diggs, for sticking around. I wanted to get an update on, we've had discussions before around students' folders, their intervention folders, and whether teachers must have them printed and physically available for walkthroughs, or if they can have digital files that then their coaches can come and support them with, but they don't have to physically have them printed and ready for someone to intervene. Can you tell us where that currently stands?

Yes, ma'am, through the chair. As it relates to student files, teachers are requested to have those files available. Again, it's not additional work, but it's work that students have completed throughout the course of the year that they share with the transformation coaches and our content experts.

Thank you, and through the chair, obviously the students are mostly doing that work on paper, so that makes sense that they would have files where they're compiled, but as far as any additional work that teachers might have to do to have the certain format or the certain printed physically files, I think there's a lot of especially younger teachers that are creating digital files, which can easily be on a shared drive in a Google Classroom that their coaches can easily have access to. And so I really would love for us to continue exploring ways to integrate the tools that they're using in their classroom so that they don't have to, by all means, if someone chooses to have them printed and that's how they work best, they should totally be able to do that. But there's tools now where if a teacher chooses to have a more digital classroom or organization for themselves, they should be able to do that and not have this additional burden.

Yes, ma'am, through the chair. We are extremely flexible. So when we have teachers that have electronic files, we work with the teacher to ensure that we are able to access those particular files. Again, it's a work in progress. It's not perfect. We can continue to improve and continue to work together. Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other board members, new business? Looking as if we've exhausted all items for this committee meeting, can I have a motion to adjourn? All in favor? Aye. Thank you. We'll give just enough time to get the appropriate staff and we'll start the next committee meeting.

Personnel. Yeah, personnel.