Regular Meeting

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[7] Nancy Thomas: United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We have just returned from closed session where we had a conference with labor negotiator regarding unrepresented employee, and we discussed public employment Discipline dismissal release. No action was taken. Next, I would call for approval of the agenda. Member Rodriguez moves. I'll second. Member Nguyen seconds. Please vote. Five ayes, thank you. Next, we move on to student reports. Superintendent?

[84] SPEAKER_53: Yes.

[86] SPEAKER_37: At this time, I'd like to invite the students from Newark Junior High up to provide their report. Just you? All right, welcome.

[96] SPEAKER_46: So hi, I'm Tad Calabada, the ASB president at Newark Junior High School. So multiple important things are happening at NJHS. We are almost done with our special project for Teacher Appreciation Day. In addition, we will be organizing the 8th grade farewell dance shortly. So Josh and I just today, we attended a League of Leaders conference, and we learned about many leadership projects that we could potentially implement into our school, along with gaining new leadership tips. So today, we also just ended our polls at 6 o'clock for 8th and 9th grade office positions. Josh and I ran for vice president and president. So thank you for your time, and have a good night.

[137] Nancy Thomas: Thank you. Good night.

[142] SPEAKER_37: I did have a question. You should come back to the podium. When will you know? Did you run if you won for office or not?

[148] SPEAKER_46: Hopefully tomorrow, because we did it on a Google form. So we should see the results.

[152] SPEAKER_37: OK, just curious. Thank you. Next from McGregor campus, I'd like to invite Brenda Garcia, I think. Did I get it right? From McGregor campus. Brenda. We'll come back if maybe she stepped out for a minute. Newark Memorial High School.

[174] SPEAKER_50: Sierra. Let's see. So first off, prom took place on April 14 at the Bentley Reserve in San Francisco. This year's prom was a huge hit. It was a night full of dancing and raiding the taco bar and Dippin' Dots. We had three different photo booths, including one that created a flip book of you and your date or your friends. So that one was really cool. It was overall super fun, and it was great having a bit of a smaller venue compared to last year. So it encouraged a lot more students to dance for a longer amount of time. Band and Choir had a very successful festival this year. Congratulations to the Lyrical Ladies, Advanced Band, and Choraleers for returning from Chicago Musical Festival with three gold ratings, along with the sweepstakes trophy for total program, which was the highest cumulative score for a school with more than two groups in the festival. There were more music groups from Newark, Indiana, Mississippi, and the Dominican Republic. And the judges were from Notre Dame and Columbia Universities, among others. So they represented us nationally, and it was really cool for them to come back with so many awards. On Sunday, May 6, from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Commons and in the theater, NMHS will feature the artwork and performances from students in ceramics, art media, arts, painting, photography, MCA, video, theater, band, and choir. There will be an awards ceremony from 4 to 4.30 p.m. to celebrate the artistic accomplishments of your students. Bring family and enjoy the arts displays, performances, and kid-friendly activities such as bubble making and face painting. There will be demonstrations on the pottery wheel and delicious refreshments prepared by our culinary students for sale. We invite anyone and everyone and I hope to see you there. These upcoming next two weeks, APU testing will be taking place for all of our students who registered. So everyone has been studying really, really hard and trying to squeeze in as much prep time as possible before testing begins. I know a lot of people are cramming. I am, and I'm not getting any sleep. It's great. The annual League of Leaders, or LOL, conference took place today. for our leadership students at Irvington High School. I didn't personally attend since I've previously gone twice already. But from what I've heard, it ran very smoothly and our ASB leadership students shared all of our leadership, how we run leadership at our school and all the activities that we do and how we execute it. I've already been in contact with all the incoming ASB presidents for next school year, for all the other schools. And we're planning to start something really new and innovative for all of our districts. So we'll see what happens there. And Sienna Bergart, if she's sitting in the front row, she's wearing the t-shirt that they all wore at the conference today. All of them had our own colors for our schools, so it really showed who is from what school and really, yeah. Okay, moving on to the Senior Student Athlete College Night. It will be our fourth annual Senior Student Athlete College Night on Wednesday, May 16th. This will be at 630 in the Commons to celebrate our student athletes that committed to participate in college athletics. And we would like to thank, they would like to thank all the people that helped them get there along the way, coaches and families. We will also be distributing the Scholar Athlete T-shirts this next week for almost 60, 70% of our athletes that are all scholar athletes with a 3.6 GPA or higher. Athletics will also possibly be taking some student athletes to a college and career fair hosted by the Oakland A's on May 9th for any students who are interested in playing sports professionally, if it is approved on the agenda tonight, so we will see. And our biathlon, our third annual run, swim, run biathlon will be taking place on May 31st after school. Students or parents or teachers are invited to take place in this biathlon, and you can register online on the Google form, and it's on tinyurl and nmhsbiathlon2018. The MVAL championships will also be taking place this upcoming weekend. For many sports, swimming will be taking place on both Friday and Saturday, along with track and field. in order to qualify for NCS. And we have many really good athletes this year in both sports. So we'll see how they're going there. Additionally, Newark Wrestling Club is taking place currently twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays for all ages. And just last week, four of our girl wrestlers, Ariana Pereira, Ezra Vavao, Emily Patnode, and myself competed at Freestyle State and qualified within the top three for cadets and juniors to compete at nationals as Team California. in Fargo, North Dakota this upcoming July. So that was cool. Shout out to Haley Nelson. She is a senior this year. She has already been named MVP in both volleyball and basketball this year and is the first student athlete in several years to earn 12 varsity blocks. She also has a 3.8 GPA and I believe she has a full ride for college. Also, London Lombana is also a varsity soccer player who was just awarded a NCS Foundation scholarship of $1,000. And a little shout out to our rocketry team who is here, and we'll be talking about them more tonight and all the amazing things that they have done this year. And yeah, we have a lot going on these past few weeks and upcoming weeks. And yeah. Wow.

[525] SPEAKER_37: Thank you. Is there any student representative from McGregor campus, Bridgepoint? OK. Hearing none, we'll move forward. Would you like me to move to school spotlight? Please. At this time, we're going to move to school spotlight, Lincoln Elementary. I'd like Principal Ehrlich to step forward and guide us through.

[555] SPEAKER_15: Good evening, board president, board members, Superintendent Sanchez, member of cabinet, our Lincoln School community. My name is Angela Ehrlich, principal at Lincoln Elementary School. And I thank you for the opportunity to spotlight Lincoln. And it is with great honor and pride that I present to you our school, Lincoln Elementary, home of the Leopards. Newark's best kept secret, that's Lincoln Elementary School. We were recently recognized by Facebook group as the East Bay's top elementary school. And sometimes our students are going to be rewarded with the entire school staff receiving donuts for our recognition as East Bay's top elementary school. Our mission statement, which is in line with the district, is, in the quest for excellence, the mission of Lincoln School is to promote the love of learning, to create a caring, nurturing environment where everyone is empowered to develop intellectually, physically, aesthetically, and emotionally in a challenging, child-centered environment. To talk about our demographics, I would like to start with Lincoln as a high-performing Title I school, which serves students from transitional kindergarten to sixth grade. Our enrollment is roughly about 400 students. We are 51% free and reduced lunch, and those are our statistics. Ethnically, we are 55.7 Hispanic, white 15.8, and Asian 8.1, 6.7, and African American 4.1. Now, some of our achievements are due to the commitment of our staff and parents to student success, and they are. Lincoln was recognized in the past three years as an honor roll school. We received $25,000 technology grant from Google, which increased our computer student ratio by one, sorry, increased our computer student ratio by one to one, We also received a three-year Kaiser Permanente grant, which trained teachers on transformative life skills, which is implemented in the classroom and used as a brain break during instruction. Now, TLS is used to help students going through trauma remain calm and focused through deep breathing exercises. And also, Lincoln is the brainchild for our Health and Resource Fair, which is now a district initiative. with over 42 agencies involved, and in its fourth year of serving the Newark community. And this year, this Friday, is being held at Music Elementary School, and I would like to invite everyone to attend the health and resource fair. Now I would like to invite a tremendous young lady who's going to sing our Lincoln Leopard School song.

[766] SPEAKER_51: My name is Lizzie Stacy, and I'll be singing our school song. We are the leopards, the high-achieving leopards. Everywhere we go, people want to know who we are. So we tell them, Lincoln Elementary!

[797] SPEAKER_15: So to highlight why we are the best-kept secret in Newark, Lincoln is a school where our innovative staff strives to create and maintain a learning environment that enables every student the opportunity to reach their highest potential academically, socially, and behaviorally. We challenge our students with strong and rigorous academic program, technology integrated curriculum, and offer differentiation of instruction at all grade level as we prepare them for the 21st century skills needed to be successful in our forever changing world. Our goal at Lincoln is to have all students aim for their highest potential, and our motto is soar through excellence. And this year, we're looking at our 2017-18 school goal. As we continuously improve our instructional strategies to meet the demands of Common Core, these are items that we have in place at Lincoln. We have introduced PBIS, Tier 1, RTI, which stands for response to intervention, Tier 1, and we're piloting Tier 2. The teacher collaboration has been engraved in calendars. We have also introduced the SVMI Math. STEAM, we're planning school-wide art integration. We're focusing on attendance and a huge emphasis on parent engagement. Now, I'd like to talk about PBIS, which stands for Positive Behavior Intervention and Support. Now the purpose of PBIS is to make our school more effective and equitable in a learning environment by reinforcing positive behavior. Now the rules, expectations for all zones in the school, the classroom, the playground, the cafeteria, drop off, pick up, the office, and a system of recognizing good behavior as well as documenting behavior which needs to be corrected are standardized amongst our staff and our students are trained in these expectations. Positive behavior are reinforced by students receiving the Leaping Leopards, as you can see on that. It's a weekly drawing held on Mondays. Twelve students are selected during our morning announcements. In addition, the students compete to win the Golden Spatula during lunchtime. Once a month, the class that has received the most golden spatula by showing responsible, safe, and respectful behavior, they receive a prize and they're selected for a special dining experience on a fancy table, as you can see. Next, I would like to introduce to you Ms. Wendy Stacey, our reading specialist, who has helped spearhead our RTI program, and she will talk about our Intervention English Language Arts program at Lincoln Elementary School.

[984] SPEAKER_11: Hello board, thank you for having me. So Ms. Ehrlich asked me to speak about this and I thought I'd bring my binder for you to see the work that we've done this year. It's been a tremendous effort and I think there's more to grow in this, but we are really working hard to make this work. So if you have any more questions, you'll have to ask me later. So we are committed to support each child's individual needs and have adopted the RTI philosophy of our students versus my students. So we're really trying to look at the individual child and look at their assessment data and give them specifically what they need in a flexible way. So that means that We want to give quality, purposeful intervention that will best support that individual child. So sometimes that means creating a small group within the classroom where we do little pull-out groups. That would be our tier one interventions. But for other students, they might need a little extra. So we are creating groups from different classrooms with the same intervention needs. and we rotate those students for targeted intervention in cycles that are about four to eight weeks long. And in more extreme cases, we are creating longer term groups and those children are receiving intensive interventions from specialists. And kids move in and out of these groups based on their particular needs and based on reassessing. In order to do that, we've had to coordinate our schedules to protect our core instruction, reading, writing, math, and English language development. We're doing our best to make sure that kids are not being pulled from the interventions during their core instruction, which would cause further deficit in their knowledge or skills. So we've had to try to coordinate when our core subjects are being taught to allow for those special flexible groupings as well. Teachers are collaborating to determine what those interventions can be within their grade levels, and also to develop common formative assessments, which target prerequisite skills, as well as understanding new concepts. So those are generally quick tests that we can analyze quickly and try and figure out which groups to put the kids in. And of course, we're spending a lot of that collaborative time planning, documenting, and then delivering those interventions. At the end of that cycle, we reassess the kids and try to determine what else they might need. Did it go? Nope. Nope. Uh-oh. Ah, I pushed the wrong one. I'm sorry. Technology is important. OK, so speaking about our teacher collaboration, staff and collaboration meetings are times used to coordinate with each other. We've used it to analyze student data, align curriculum with grade level partners, create common informative assessments, plan and document Tier 1 and Tier 2 RTI interventions, standardize behavioral expectations and teach SVMI strategies. Teachers also develop common core lesson units and discuss and share best practices. Okay, so this one right here. When we're looking at the iReady ELA data, you can see pretty clearly the fall assessment, the red triangle shows students who are far below, and then the tier two are below, and then in the yellow bar, and then the green are students who were on grade level. You can see with our spring assessment that we've had pretty great growth there, so we now have 21% growth in Tier 1, so that's that on or above grade level, the green area. We've had 11% decline in Tier 2, which is the one level below grade level, and a 10% decline from students with an at-risk of Tier 3, so that's two or more levels below grade level. So we've had a pretty big growth in that area. So systems we're using to improve ELA, We all have reader's workshop and writer's workshop. We are also using accelerated grammar. We have daily five strategies in the lower grades. Each teacher has about six focus students that they really primarily try and follow. We're using RTI strategies, so we're using the data from DRAs, iReady, and CFAs to analyze and determine student needs and the RTI Tier 1 and Tier 2 model of targeted reading instruction by classroom teachers, reading specialists, ELD teacher, and bilingual aides. In addition to these programs, teachers are focused on ensuring rigor in student talks and tasks. We're trying to make sure we're using the 50-50 rule for speaking. So 50% teachers speaking, 50% students speaking. We require students to speak in complete sentences. And there's an emphasis on academic vocabulary. And now Ms. Ehrlich will come back and talk to you about math.

[1333] SPEAKER_37: If I could interrupt for a second. Would you raise your hand? We have a translation for Spanish, just in case. I forgot to mention that earlier. I apologize. Continue.

[1357] SPEAKER_15: So these data is our iReadyMath data, and you can see the difference between the fall assessment and the spring assessment. Look at the green area. In the fall assessment, there was a 31% growth in Tier 1, and those are students on above grade level. So we had showed a 31% increase. And at 22%, you look at the yellow, declined into Tier 2. That's because most of the kids in Tier 2 moved up to Tier 1 from the fall to the spring assessment. And then a 9% decline from students at risk from Tier 3. That's two or more levels below grade levels and the red zone. So you can see the difference between our fall and our spring assessment. So what do we do in math? Along with the Eureka Math program, our school was one of the first to embank on Silicon Valley math initiatives. which are mathematical practices promoting critical analysis and thinking. And our Lincoln teachers received training and implemented number talk strategies such as picture talk, dot talk, true false, mental math, which one doesn't belong, today's number, and what's my number. Now these strategies allow students to mentally solve math problems and to verbalize their understanding of math concepts taught. We also have some of our teachers administer the performance task MAS assessment in addition to the exit ticket to help guide their math instruction. Our teachers are committed to weekly use of iReadyMath and to supplement our math program with Khan Academy, Zurn, 10 Max, and Board Math in the lower grade. We also use the RTI analysis of student data by looking at the exit tickets and I-Ready to determine a student's need. And we also target math instruction, the classroom teacher, the intervention teacher, and the bilingual aids, all chip in to help target instruction in math. Our next focus is STEAM. So beginning of 2018-19 school year, Lincoln will expose students to 21st century skills with an emphasis on creativity through art. So this year was our planning phase. We are bringing back FAME, which stands for Fine Arts Mini Experiences. And we are focusing on incorporating great level art standards into the curriculum. And we are working in collaboration with the high school students to offer after school art enrichment classes and activities. And we're looking at local artisans in Newark to participate in our STEAM program. So this is our first leg of STEAM. And we all know that attendance is key to every child's success. So this is one area we're also focusing on. And students with perfect attendance are recognized at the end of each trimester with a certificate of perfect attendance. I used to see the students, they're so excited to receive these certificates. Not only that, we also do have an attendance trophy, which goes around to students or class that has attained the highest perfect attendance. And in this, for the month of March, Mrs. Young's kindergarten class won the attendance trophy for the month of March. We also offer one TK class. And this wonderful program provides early learning experiences and foundation that helps our students develop skills necessary for kindergarten and their entire school career. Caring Community Reading Buddies. This is a very important program that's been at Lincoln Elementary School. Now the upper grade students pair up with the lower grade as their reading buddies, and this provides confidence and leadership skills for the upper grade, as well as develop the love of reading for both students. Lincoln offers a plethora of school activities where students can participate. As you can see, we offer Young Authors Night, We offer a sixth grade coding class and computer class. We have an enormous, incredible Lincoln Choir, a gardening club, chess club, our transformative life skills, and so on and so forth. So kids are actively engaged after school in numerous activities as we believe that kids who participate in extracurricular activities do very well in school. And here is our Lincoln Leopard Choir. This year, we had 97 students participate in this parent-run choir. They are incredible. And later on in my presentation, you get to hear sample one of their songs. We also offer the taqui trots, which is a Lincoln tradition. Kids run for turkey, potatoes, and canned yams. And this year we hosted the Read Across America, Dr. Seuss. Here's a picture of our sixth grade coding class and also computer class. The computer class we opened on Fridays for students who do not have access to internet at home or computer. This allows them to participate and use some of the programs that we offer. And also our sixth grade coding classes offered on Wednesdays after school. In addition to that, you could tell our upper grade students use the Google Classroom as their tool for classwork and their presentation. So it's not uncommon for students who are tech savvy to have all their assignments and all their work in a Google Classroom, which the students generate and they use from one grade level to the other grade level. Now we talked about the importance of parent engagement. Our school cannot be successful without high participation of parents. And we know that collaborative effort of school and home together makes a difference in the life of a child. So parents are a very, very integral part of Lincoln. They offer their support throughout the campus. They regularly volunteer in our classrooms, as well as organize and participate in special school events. You know, when schools and family and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school. They like school more, and they achieve academic success. So expanding parent engagement efforts to assist parents in supporting their students' learning in school is very vital for us at Lincoln. Also, parents have tons of activities that they can participate in, ranging from PALS, which stands for Parent and Lincoln Staff, to our ELAC, to School Site Council, to all tons of fundraisers, Peloton, Walkathon. So there are a plethora of activities that parents can equally participate in, and that's what makes Lincoln a very unique place. If parents are empowered with knowledge and how to help their children, our students would benefit tremendously. So we offer parents reading night to teach parents reading strategies to assist their children at home. And as you can tell, we have quite a few parents and students attending at the same time. Our ELAC parents are very, very active. So our ELAC PALS parents, they help fundraise through the sale of tacos to purchase some of the badly needed items at school. Bottom line, the collaborative effort of school and home together makes Lincoln the best kept secret in Newark. I do have, let's see if this works. Well, unfortunately, I was going to have you guys listen to a sample of a beautiful Lincoln Choir performing. But that, going back to technology, it's saying request for access. But anyway. So this is why we're all here. And I am proud and honored to be the principal of this great school. And I would like to use this time to acknowledge the members of our community, teachers, parents, and students who have taken the time tonight to support Lincoln Spotlight. Can you Lincolnites, lepers, could you stand up and be recognized? Thank you so much. So thank you so much, and we are inviting you to our open house, which is May 10th from 6 o'clock to 8 p.m. Thank you for the opportunity.

[1952] SPEAKER_37: Hold on, there might be questions from the board, comments.

[1956] Ray Rodriguez: We have the best tech person in the world here, Larry. I was hoping that you would like to give us a hug. Can you do that?

[1965] SPEAKER_43: OK.

[1968] Nancy Thomas: In the meantime, maybe we can pan and show folks at home the Lincoln back wall here, showing student work.

[2002] SPEAKER_41: th th

[2033] SPEAKER_15: So ready? So here is our... Yes.

[2042] SPEAKER_41: Okay. ♪ Hakuna Matata, Hakuna Matata ♪ ♪ Hakuna Matata, for the ones you're wondering ♪ ♪ Hakuna Matata, it goes hand in hand ♪ ♪ Keeps no hurry for the rest of your day ♪ ♪ It's our problem free philosophy ♪ ♪ Hakuna Matata, Hakuna Matata ♪

[2101] Nancy Thomas: Thank you very much. That was wonderful. Any comments from the board?

[2111] SPEAKER_35: So I did want to note, I was particularly impressed by the significant growth in terms of the iReadyMath. And I would ask on our end, in terms of the district, to analyze some of the best practices there so we can figure out if this is something that we can share with other sites or figure out, because this is the type of growth, or it was based off of the slides we were showing, there was a significant amount of growth, which means that you're doing all the right things.

[2148] Ray Rodriguez: I remember when Ms. Hughes left, transferred over to Kennedy Elementary, and then you ended up losing Tammy. When you came in, she just continued everything, and you brought on your own people, and it's been great. At some point, it wasn't too long ago that Lincoln was the smallest school in the district, and now it's probably close to the largest. And you've been there throughout that whole process, and you've done very well. And I appreciate the leadership that you've given to the Lincoln community. You know, my heart's, you know, I've had kids go everywhere, but my granddaughter, Ariana, was there for the seven years from kindergarten to throughout, and Lincoln's always been a special place. And thank you for continuing the successes that Lincoln's had over the years.

[2206] Nancy Thomas: Thank you much. Thank you. I wanted to say that I'm extremely impressed with the breadth of enrichment activities, the breadth of your parent involvement at school. And I mean, it almost made me dizzy to read everything that you've done this year. So congratulations. And I think, you know, you're really educating the whole child. And your academics are up and to the right. But all these other things make a real community. Thank you very much.

[2237] SPEAKER_15: Thank you.

[2245] SPEAKER_37: Should I continue? superintendent report. I've got a group that needs to go to school tomorrow so I'm going to change the sequence. I'd like to invite the Newark Memorial High School rocketry team to the podium. And the sponsors and the sponsors and volunteers. Mr. Hacker. I thought I saw Mr. Liang back there somewhere. I know he's involved. Don't try to hide. Share with us what you guys are up to and where you're going. I think that's probably better than me talking about it.

[2285] SPEAKER_30: Who wants to share?

[2290] Nancy Thomas: Could you go to the podium so folks in TV land can hear you? Thank you.

[2295] SPEAKER_30: So I'll start again. We're Newark Memorial Rocketry. This club has been going on since when Michelin first founded in 2007. And it's kind of shaped our lives. Most of us started it in our freshman or sophomore year. And now a lot of us are in our senior year, but we're still continuing it. One of our students is a freshman, so the legacy is going to keep going. One of them is a junior. And we have sophomores and other younger members who are also part of the club. This year, we qualified for the national competition, one of only two or three barrier schools to do so. I checked this morning. which is a pretty big accomplishment for us. And it's something we've been doing for many years strong. The last five years of the last, the last five seasons, or five seasons out of the last six years, we've qualified for that national competition. And I think in 2007, they actually went to, they actually went to the national competition and won there. Right. So since then, we've grown a lot, obviously, in members, in diversity, and just in potential promise and pride. Like, we're super, super proud of where we are now. And we're going to represent Newark Memorial and the entire Bay Area in Washington, DC, from May 9th to May 14th of this year.

[2374] SPEAKER_37: Congratulations. Anyone else want to say anything? Or I'd like one of you to introduce your volunteers, mentors, sponsors.

[2393] SPEAKER_31: Yeah, definitely. I would like to give huge thanks to Mr. Hacker, Mr. Stone, and Mr. Liang. And Mr. Taylor is not here today, but he's definitely been, all four of them have been huge influences on our season. This was a transition year. As you guys know, Mr. Liang is no longer a teacher at the district, so we were not able to rely on him as much. So we brought in a new advisor, Mr. Hacker. He's been great. He's been always there for whatever we needed, whatever we asked of him, he was there to supply it. Mr. Stone, always on his own time, he would come in to our launches with no real incentive to do so. And he would give us advice, share his expertise, and really give us everything that we needed. Same thing with Mr. Taylor. And Mr. Liang also, whenever he has time, he comes by, he helps us out. And it's not just in the rocketry aspect, obviously. Management that goes into this as well. A lot of organization, when you're running a club with five teams, there's a lot of parts to order. There's a lot of little knickknacks to figure out. And they're the ones who always make sure that we are where we need to be. For the most part, they've always done a very good job of making sure that it's mostly student run. You know, we are responsible for managing our own teams, getting everything that needs to be done. But they're the ones who keep us in check. If we're falling behind on something, they'll make sure that we know. They'll make sure that we know what needs to be done so that we can actually do it. So without them, our organization would definitely not be as strong as it is today.

[2494] SPEAKER_37: Thank you. Any board comments or questions?

[2503] SPEAKER_30: Before we hear from you, I just I couldn't go away without saying a few words about the teachers who Avi didn't just mention. Because there's so many individuals that helped us through this process that we might not even name today. Principal Huerta, Ms. Matsumoto, Ms. Jada, Ms. Torkelson, and so many other individuals. Assistant Superintendent Salinas, Superintendent Sanchez, the board who approved and is sponsoring partially our trip this year, which didn't happen last year. All of these people that we have to give thanks to, and will always be giving thanks to, who have made this possible for us.

[2538] Nancy Thomas: Thank you. Ms.

[2544] SPEAKER_43: Crocker? You said that you have a full budget for your trip, is that correct? You don't need any more money? That's marvelous. I remember the first year. So that's marvelous. Congratulations. It's nice to see the community supporting your hard work, and good luck to you in your finals.

[2571] Nancy Thomas: Mr. Preciado.

[2574] SPEAKER_35: I just had a question. So you mentioned five teams. I'm curious, is that organized based on a specific competition, or is that just how you organize yourself?

[2581] SPEAKER_41: I'm not sure how that works.

[2588] SPEAKER_31: Yes, so we're part of the Team America Rocketry Challenge. And basically, you can submit teams of up to 10 members in that competition. And we like to keep it around seven. So we had around 35 members at the start of the year. So that was enough to form five teams. Now, a school can only send three teams to nationals each year. But we believe that having more teams and having a diversity of designs gives us a better chance of making it. which I largely attribute to our recent successes.

[2618] Nancy Thomas: Thank you. Mr. Rodriguez.

[2622] Ray Rodriguez: A couple of you were met with Superintendent Sanchez and I when we met with the high school leadership. And I'm so excited about what's going on in your lives and where you're going. And the Rocketry Club, as you've already stated, has all the history. And we're very proud, not only the whole community is, on what you've done and what we hope you guys are going to do in the future. What I wanted to ask is, if you're going to have local demonstrations or practices, if you could invite us so we can see it. I'd love to go to one of your, what do you call it? And when anybody asks you if you need money, I don't care if you already have money, you always say, I need more. Anyway, thank you. And for the sponsors and the teachers that keep our kids involved and engaged, really appreciate it.

[2684] Nancy Thomas: And I'd like to say that it's great, the adult support that you've got. But I have to believe, Mr. Liang, that you This is a legacy of yours and you must be mighty proud tonight. Anyway, congratulations. Mr. Preciado wants to say something.

[2708] SPEAKER_35: So on that note, Member Rodriguez, the team can invite, you guys can have an idea of sponsor a launch and then anybody who attends those launches will have to donate a voluntary fee in order to

[2723] SPEAKER_33: support those efforts. So that's a way that you can support.

[2729] Nancy Thomas: And those launches cost money because you have to buy the rockets.

[2734] SPEAKER_37: Thank you. Any more questions? Thank you again to the sponsors and mentors and congratulations to the students. Nice work. And you don't have to wait around anymore. But was there one more thing you wanted to share?

[2753] SPEAKER_30: If AUD wants to sponsor a launch, we're launching on Saturday and Sunday, right before we compete at the national competition.

[2759] SPEAKER_58: So you're all invited. And you guys are launching behind Ohlone?

[2763] SPEAKER_30: Behind Ohlone. OK. The second field behind Ohlone. At 8 AM in the morning. So any time from 8 AM to 11 AM.

[2773] SPEAKER_43: You have another one scheduled. That's not going to work for me. All right, here we go.

[2782] SPEAKER_37: Thank you guys. It's okay to exit if you want. We know you have school tomorrow. Next item I would like Dr. Wendy Castaneda-Leal to step forward to the podium. I just wanted to introduce to the board and to the community our new principal of Schilling Elementary, Dr. Wendy Castaneda-Leal who is joining us for next year but has been meeting people today and happened to be out here in the area but just wanted to welcome you to Newark Unified School District and I don't know if you wanted to say a few words but you have the floor for a minute.

[2834] SPEAKER_29: Sure, thank you. Again, I'm Dr. Wendy Castaneda-Leal. I am going to be moving from South Dakota, but originally from Newark City. So it's really warm over here, really. So I'm really excited just here for the week and just looking at some places to where we can transition. And then I'll be heading back and making my move in June to start the school year. So everybody's been really welcoming. And teachers have been great, and the parents. So you guys have a wonderful school district. And I didn't know the East Bay was going to be so great, but it is. I'm ready for my tan. Welcome. So thank you guys all for giving me such a warm welcome. And I look forward to working officially for next school year. Thank you. Thank you.

[2891] SPEAKER_37: Next, I wanted to give a brief update. I'm going to ask President Thomas to help me with a brief update about the Architecture Advisory Council. And we had a meeting earlier today. And President Thomas?

[2903] Nancy Thomas: Yes. We spoke about the importance of the process that we are going to be going through for the next year. And we reviewed the five organizations, the five architectural firms that submitted proposals with a real careful eye to have them show us the process they use for engaging the community. Because as we go forward, we've heard loud and clear from the community that you want to be involved. You want to have a say in what your school looks like and what our district looks like in terms of the facilities as we move forward. And so to that effort, we are going to be interviewing two firms and really drilling down into how they are going to help us engage our parents, our students, our community in giving us direction and priorities for our facilities for the next five to 10 years, to 15 years. Do you want to add something?

[2968] SPEAKER_37: No, I think that's it. I think we're really, the only thing I would add underlining the importance of community process and really looking for a track history of someone who's going to do a thorough job of that. We know our needs are many and we need to make sure that we've had the final version be something that is no surprises to anyone in the community. So that's it. Thank you. Next I'd like to update you on the STEAM resolution which is here but is actually coming up later in the agenda for a vote. We did incorporate the feedback from members of the board as well as the teachers who had some ideas into this version. So when we read that later we'll have a final chance for any final edits or tweaks or maybe even approval with amendments. But it's looking much better and thanks to some input we got from teachers I think it made a big difference. Just wanted you to know that's in there and we'll be talking about it later in the meeting today. And my last update item, the Siembra, they had something they had to attend to. I'm going to reschedule them for May 15. So they'll be coming back later to talk more in depth about Siembra program. And that was just a way for parents and students to help make sure they keep their own students on track and are aware of how they're doing in school. So we'll report on that more thoroughly on May 15. We plan to bring that back. So I have to make an adjustment there. That concludes my report at this time.

[3063] Nancy Thomas: Thank you. So next we move on to public comment on non-agenda items, and we have several individuals that would like to approach us. We do not respond on non-agenda items, but we appreciate all the input we get from the public. So first, Nicole Isend.

[3092] Nicole Izant: Hello? Oh, I'm sorry. I was just going to talk about two things. Do I only talk about the non-agenda items now, and then the other agenda items? No. OK. Just kidding. So start my timer? Yeah. So I'm, my, well, it's fine. It's right there. All right. So I just wanted to do a quick call out here about parent engagement and parent involvement. We heard the wonderful presentation from the Lincoln principal about how important parents are to the community. I'm on our PTC for Birch Grove Intermediate and Primary. I'm the secretary. And we have parents that have been involved for a long time, but we're always looking for new parents to come. And we really hope that they can engage. And we're going to actually have elections for a new board for RPTC May 9th. So please, parents in the audience, please show up and become involved. And I also wanted to kind of segue that into the LCAP group. I also participate in the LCAP, I think it's an advisory board, as one of the parents from BGI. And I wanted to say that we had a meeting on, I think it was April 26th, and it was really low attendance. I think there was one. grandparent from Lincoln, myself, and a few other parents, people from the district, and the teacher groups came. But I think that the LCAP advisory board is one of the places, I think that's where the funding came for the rocketry and other groups. It's an area where parents can provide a lot of input and insight. And I wish that the board and the district could promote those meetings a little bit better. I know a lot of our parent groups have Facebook pages and other things. And if we could get a heads up ahead of time, we could repost to our different social media groups. As you can see, some of us are counting flyers. We could do flyers. We want to help you because we want parents to be more engaged. So especially since the LCAP does deal with money and does provide good, good feedback for you all, If you could figure out a way to work with us, your parent leaders, ahead of the game so that we can get parents to you to attend those meetings, that would be really appreciated. So just wanted to provide that feedback. And also, thank you to some of our board members who were at our fundraiser last night at Panera. And we have another one coming up at Ma Pizza at the end of the month. And please show up for our May 9th PTC board meeting at Birch Grove, because we need more board members. Thank you.

[3247] Nancy Thomas: Thank you. Next, Sam Matsumoto.

[3250] SPEAKER_20: Hi, I'm Sam Matsumoto. I'm a visual art teacher at Newark Memorial High School. Sarah took one of the things I was going to say, so thank you for mentioning the Fine Arts Fair. I just wanted to mention that again on Sunday, so I hope to see some of you there. All the visual and performing arts at Newark Memorial High School will be represented, as well as some visual artwork from the junior high school. We started that last year, and now Ms. Chavez is going to bring even more work. I also just, unfortunately she's not here tonight, but I did want to thank Ms. Salinas and Mr. Witten for attending the WASC visiting committee report at Newark Memorial High School. It was really nice to see representatives from the district office there and I hope that their report is shared with you as it really validated a lot of the hard work that both Newark Memorial administration and staff has been doing, as well as, of course, our areas of improvement. And that's all. Really brief tonight. Thank you. Thank you.

[3319] Nancy Thomas: Natalia Sanchez. Go.

[3331] SPEAKER_52: Hi, my name is Natalia Sanchez, and I am a junior at Newark Memorial High School, and I am the Puente Club President. I was also enrolled in the Puente class for my first two years in high school. The Puente Project is a national award-winning program that has helped improve the college-going rates of tens of thousands of Californians. The Puente's mission is to increase the number of educationally disadvantaged students who enroll in four-year colleges and universities, earn college degrees, and return to the community as mentors and leaders to future generations. There is the Puente class, which I was enrolled in for the first two years, and staying with the same student and the teacher for the same two years has helped me not only build strong connections with the students and teacher, but also help students open up to liking to present and public speak. The Puente class has not only helped me grow as a person, but also to help me open up as a leader. Thanks to the Puente class, I have challenged myself to run as class of 2019 treasurer and attend a program that has called CLILP, Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Program. And thanks to my friend, the teacher, Ms. Bullock, and Ms. Torres, I attended that program, and they helped me write my essays for the program. Thank you.

[3406] Nancy Thomas: Thank you very much. Davis Kim. Thank you.

[3419] SPEAKER_58: I'm Davis Kim. I'm currently a junior at North Memorial High School, and I'm a Puente representative. And I came here to express how important Puente is to our school and our community because I've heard that there may be some changes next year regarding Puente about our counselors being one of them being reduced and also our And also the Puente English class is being eliminated. And I just want to express how important it is. Puente is one of the few clubs that reach beyond the typical club, which is just a fundraiser and maybe volunteer work. It allows students with a common goal to interact with each other. And that goal would be to go to a four-year college right out of high school. This class, the two-year class where the students are kept in with the same teacher and the same students for the freshman and sophomore years, also helps them to research and be informed about more opportunities about college and the future. And also, Puente students also have a specific counselor for them, which provides more one-to-one talks with them to be more informed about about opportunities on applications and actually college life itself. And also the field trips are pretty important because it gives them, it gives students more of an accurate representation of how college life will be. And I think that's about it.

[3522] Nancy Thomas: Thank you. Sienna Burgart.

[3534] SPEAKER_53: So just to conclude what we're all here for Puente class, my name is Sienna Burgart and I'm also a student representative for Puente. We are proud to represent Newark Memorial. We are a socio and economically diverse campus that is inclusive to all students. The Puente club is one of the only examples, or sorry, one of the many examples that we have. a club that anyone can join and be motivated to make college a priority. The English class, I argue, is a necessity. We have an amazing teacher who is dedicated, amazing counselors who never turn us down, and amazing students who are willing to come to this class and learn more. I enrolled also as a freshman and continued on to sophomore year with Ms. Bork as my teacher. This is labeled an English class, but it is much more. We actually have a sense of family in this class. We not only study books such as Animal Farm, but more diverse books, Latin-based books, such as Rain of Gold, Enrique's Journey, Suitsuit, etc. This not only expands our reading comprehension, but also allows us to engage in cultural books with authors that we wouldn't be shown in regular English classes. I think this is really important for many students, especially the Latin students at our school, that really motivates us to make college a priority. And I think that Newark Memorial, since having placed Puente, has really shown that. So thank you for your time. Thank you.

[3625] Nancy Thomas: Celine Navarro.

[3634] SPEAKER_08: Hello. Good night. Hello, everybody, tonight. My name is Selena Barres and I'm here tonight to learn something new. I attend last board meeting on April 17th. I heard a lot of our teachers from Chile. I stay until the end and I never heard answer from any questions. We have received a notice that some of our teachers will be moved to another school next year. One of this position is the ELD interaction. This is an important part of Shilling. Our students need help beyond their classrooms, teachers. Now we're, now here's one of their, now there is one not there. As parents from Shilling, we want to know the reason why. We don't want our teacher to be moved from Shilling or school needs that is already struggling as it is. We want to learn, I want, what we want to learn is what were steps to get this issue addressed. at the next board meeting in the agenda item.

[3702] Nancy Thomas: Thank you. We don't comment on non-agenda items, but Mr. Sanchez, would you be willing to reach out? Absolutely. Thank you. There's another form filled out, but there's no name on it. Is there anyone else that would like to speak to non-agenda items? OK.

[3729] SPEAKER_28: I'll put my name on it. I'm Angela Silvera. I'm a Lincoln parent and PALS president. I come tonight because I came two or three meetings ago asking about the logistics of the volunteer policy. As Mrs. Ehrlich spoke tonight, she says that parent engagement is very important at Lincoln, and I wholeheartedly agree. Our attendance at our meetings has pretty much tripled in the last two years. Every meeting, we have at least 15, if not up to 20 parents attending, which is fantastic for an elementary parent group, as I'm hearing. But with that, these parents want to volunteer. And I haven't heard the logistics yet for the volunteer policy. And our meeting is next week, and it's our last meeting of the year. And so I came tonight because I was concerned that I don't have information and that parents who wanna start day one volunteering don't have that. I'm also, because I heard other people doing it, I'll promote our fundraisers as well. We're gonna have a Baskin Robbins fundraiser on June 2nd, so if you like ice cream, come on out. And then on June 9th, if you adults are wine drinkers, we are having a wine night at Total Wine for a fundraiser for $25. You just need to come and bring $25. You can bring friends. It's for everyone. So thank you. Thank you.

[3832] SPEAKER_37: We'll reach out to you tomorrow.

[3835] Nancy Thomas: OK. Next, we move on to old business. 11.1 is board policy administrative regulation 1330 and the use of school facilities. This is our second reading. Is there any board member that wishes to discuss this? If not, I would entertain a motion to approve. Motion to approve. Motion to approve by Mr. Rodriguez. I'll second. Second by Mr. Nguyen. Please vote. Six ayes. Thank you. 13.2 is board policy, joint use agreements. This also is a second reading. Seeing no one wishing to address this, do I have a motion? I move to accept. Ms. Crocker moves. I'll second. Mr. Preciado seconds. Please vote. Six ayes, thank you. Board Policy 11.5 is Board Policy 1700, Relations Between Industry and the Schools. This is the second reading. Oh, I'm sorry. We're on 11.3. Board Policy 1400, Relations Between Other Government Agencies and the Schools. Second reading.

[3944] SPEAKER_43: I move acceptance.

[3947] Nancy Thomas: Ms. Crocker moves acceptance.

[3948] Ray Rodriguez: Second.

[3949] Nancy Thomas: Mr. Rodriguez seconds. Please vote. Six ayes. Thank you. 11.4, board policy 1431 waivers. This is the second reading. I would entertain a motion. So moved. Mr. Wynn moves.

[3980] SPEAKER_43: Second.

[3981] Nancy Thomas: Ms. Crocker seconds. Please vote. Six ayes. Thank you. 11.4, board policy 1431, waivers. Second reading. We're on 11.5. 11.5, I thought so. Board policy 1700, relations between industry and the schools.

[4003] SPEAKER_43: Second reading.

[4005] Nancy Thomas: Entertain a motion. Mr. Rodriguez moves. I'll second. Ms. Crocker seconds. Please vote. Would the student member like to vote? Oh, OK. Six ayes. Thank you. 11.6, board policy AR3311 on bids, second reading. May I have a motion?

[4058] Aiden Hill: So moved.

[4059] Nancy Thomas: Mr. Nguyen moves. Yes. Mr. Rodriguez seconds. Please vote. Oh, I'm sorry. Let's wait.

[4071] SPEAKER_35: Mr. Richardson here. So I was just curious, because it mentions lease-leasebacks, so I want to kind of understand How it's related to, I know we're going to be addressing lease-leaseback specifically next, but how does bids, will that affect 11.8?

[4094] SPEAKER_37: We can table it until he is here. He was ill this evening. That would be fine if we table it until next meeting.

[4100] Nancy Thomas: Would it be all right if we if we table that one and the other three so that he can address them next time? That's fine, yeah.

[4112] SPEAKER_37: Yeah. 11.6, 7, and 8.

[4115] Nancy Thomas: Is 11.10 also in that same grouping, or would that be something else?

[4121] Elisa Martinez: That's the technology.

[4124] Ray Rodriguez: OK, so. I'll take back my second.

[4127] Nancy Thomas: OK, we're tabling those four items. 6, 7, 8, and 9. 6, 7, 8, and 9. Now 11.10, AR 3311.4, Procurement of Technological Equipment. This is the second reading.

[4139] Ray Rodriguez: There was a motion and a second.

[4145] SPEAKER_43: I don't know if you cleared the vote or not. Yeah.

[4148] Nancy Thomas: All cleared. OK. So the maker of the motion was?

[4158] SPEAKER_43: It was Tom.

[4161] Nancy Thomas: Tom, would you repeal your? OK. Tom is repealing his motion. And Mr. Rodriguez, did you second it? Yes. And you're repealing the second. OK. Those four items are tabled.

[4174] SPEAKER_37: 11.6, 7, 8, 9 are tabled.

[4177] Nancy Thomas: So 11.10 is Administrative Regulation 3311.4, Procurement of Technological Equipment. I would entertain a motion.

[4188] Diego Torres: So moved.

[4188] Nancy Thomas: Second. Mr. Nguyen moves. Mr. Rodriguez seconds. Please vote. Six ayes. Thank you. Next, we move on to new business, 12.1, resolution 2104, STEAM education policy. Ms. Bloom, would you like to address us?

[4218] SPEAKER_48: Hi. I'm Rachel Bloom. I'm the SRT at BGP and Graham. And I want to say thank you to Mr. Sanchez. The SRTs came and spoke at the last meeting about the resolution and some ideas we had to change and to add. And so like the very next day, we were contacted to give our feedback. And so we appreciate it a lot. And thank you very much for that.

[4241] Nancy Thomas: Thank you. Thank you. So Mr. Sanchez, would you like to introduce this?

[4252] SPEAKER_35: Yes, let me. Do we need to move and second? Or do we need to have maybe move and second and then have a discussion? Right. OK, so I'll move to approve.

[4263] Nancy Thomas: Preciado moves.

[4264] Ray Rodriguez: I'll second.

[4265] Nancy Thomas: Go ahead. I'll second. Ms. Crocker seconds. OK, discussion? Well, we have Mr. Preciado. That was from the last time. Oh, that was from the last time. Sorry.

[4279] SPEAKER_37: I'd like to introduce.

[4281] SPEAKER_38: I had a request to speak on this. Yes. So at the last meeting, there was a change that I requested. going to be changed, but it hasn't been changed on the resolution for first thing. Okay. If we're looking at the third paragraph, this work needs to be connected to collaborative partnerships within the city of Newark, partnerships with Ohlone College, University of California, Berkeley and other colleges, universities as well as businesses and technology industry. What I had asked at the last meeting was if we can incorporate other entities, government entities, into that collaborative as well, such as... Alameda County Office of Ed, or CDE, or any other agencies.

[4327] SPEAKER_37: Governmental agencies.

[4331] Nancy Thomas: The City of Newark? It is with this. Right.

[4334] SPEAKER_43: Other governmental agencies, a partnership?

[4342] SPEAKER_38: Would someone read that last? It may need to be a little more broad, because what if it's a foundation or a, you know, I think it probably needs to go beyond governmental agencies, in case there's a foundation or a donor group that wants to work with us with the STEAM education, right?

[4360] SPEAKER_43: So you're talking about business, too?

[4362] SPEAKER_35: It already says business and the technology industry. So it would say, in addition to governmental entities, non-profit entities and any other entity that- Where's the non-profit? Did you add the non-profit?

[4376] SPEAKER_38: No, I'm saying that you would add it.

[4379] Nancy Thomas: So we are adding non-profit entities, governmental entities. So those two additions to that last sentence on the third whereas.

[4395] Nicole Pierce-Davis: OK.

[4398] Nancy Thomas: OK, that the motion had been made by? Me. And you will accept that? Yes. Amendment. And the second was Ms. Crocker, and she accepts that amendment. I had a question. OK, Mr. Preciado.

[4411] SPEAKER_35: So I just had a question. Maybe this is just the Stanford-Cal rivalry. But last time, Stanford was specifically noted, and it was taken off and replaced for Berkeley. Is that?

[4425] SPEAKER_37: I think we should add Stanford.

[4428] SPEAKER_43: Berkeley, comma.

[4429] SPEAKER_35: Full disclosure, I'm an alum of both.

[4432] Nancy Thomas: I'm an alum of Stanford. Now, who took that out?

[4438] SPEAKER_38: You know, frankly, I think that last part of that paragraph is problematic. Why do we have to have it? Why can't we just end it at that our young people need for success in college and careers and just omit the rest and not have to deal with having to offend someone or entity and whatnot?

[4457] Nancy Thomas: Thank you. I'm fine with that. Those that helped you draft it, would they have a problem with that, do you think?

[4468] SPEAKER_37: They would. Saying a yes from the science teachers I think. We've had a long partnership, correct me if I'm wrong Rachel, with Bayside and that's been a big foundational piece and that's been the connection to Berkeley, is that correct?

[4486] SPEAKER_49: And then they will be. Okay. Okay. Are you taking back Stanford having to be listed? I would like to see Stanford listed.

[4510] Nancy Thomas: A predecessor to Bayside was the hands-on science program that Hewlett-Packard had that I was involved with.

[4516] SPEAKER_38: I'd like to add St. Mary's then.

[4518] SPEAKER_33: How about Santa Clara while I'm at it?

[4521] SPEAKER_38: I mean, I guess they're listed under other universities, but I mean, it's a board resolution. I hate to preclude anyone.

[4528] SPEAKER_37: I have maybe an interim proposal. The sentence could read, this work needs to be connected to collaborative partnership within the Bay Area. No, too narrow. Within the world.

[4547] Ray Rodriguez: Too broad.

[4550] Nancy Thomas: I'll send my request that Stanford be in there if someone else mentions it. We have had a special relationship with Berkeley over the years with Bayside.

[4568] SPEAKER_43: I'm okay with that. Okay, so as it's written with the inclusion of the governmental agencies.

[4573] Nancy Thomas: And non-profits.

[4573] SPEAKER_43: And non-profits. Okay.

[4575] Nancy Thomas: Okay. With that, please vote. Mr. Sanchez. Oh, Mr. Sanchez.

[4581] SPEAKER_35: Do you want to read it? Do you have any context?

[4584] SPEAKER_37: I think it really is just a framework under which we'll begin to create more of a district identity. I think this is largely recognizing a lot of the work that's already occurred. Next generation science standards is really critical, and I think especially the way that science is a natural place for interdisciplinary lessons to occur, but it's more than that. It's a way for us to begin to use applied academics in lots of areas. And I think as far as the comment about partnerships, it's not limited to anyone. Those are some that we have, but it's not limited to those. I think we're going to work with whoever will work with us who's willing to help our kids. And help our district move forward, so I think it's a great start And I think it says something about who we are as a district, so that's all I wanted to say.

[4633] Nancy Thomas: Thank you Six ayes, thank you It's quite long. Do you think we should?

[4663] SPEAKER_37: I think let us get one more final, final, and then we'll read it at that night when we get the language just right. OK. It's approved, but we're going to let us clean up the language one more time and make those edits.

[4679] Nancy Thomas: 12.2, exterior lighting projects at elementary schools.

[4686] SPEAKER_43: I have a question. What is the source of funding for this?

[4691] SPEAKER_08: Prop 39.

[4693] SPEAKER_43: Pardon me? Prop 39.

[4694] Nancy Thomas: Prop 39. OK. Thank you. Those are a nice list of projects that we have going. Prop 39 has been very helpful in our district. I was just at the McGregor site and saw all the new lighting there, the LED lighting. And that's energy efficient and bright. I love to see it. So I'll move to approve. Member Preciado moved to approve. Member Rodriguez seconds. Please vote.

[4729] SPEAKER_38: Actually, can I speak to this?

[4731] Nancy Thomas: Oh, certainly.

[4733] SPEAKER_38: I'm sorry. Maybe this is a Mr. Beatrice question, but are we, so I see a lot of quotes from multiple vendors or looks like two vendors. Are we approving these quotes and how is this being processed, so to speak? Because if in totality it exceeds the bid requirements, but at singular pieces it doesn't, would we have to approve these one at a time?

[4767] Ray Rodriguez: We're approving the whole project.

[4774] SPEAKER_35: You mean in terms of the process, like, does it need to go out to bid?

[4777] SPEAKER_38: Correct.

[4781] Ray Rodriguez: Wouldn't it be under the threshold?

[4785] SPEAKER_37: It's been already approved within Prop 39. It's my understanding. But I don't have Brian to ask right now. I could find out.

[4793] SPEAKER_38: I just want to make sure we're compliant with bidding laws and whatnot.

[4801] SPEAKER_35: I'm wondering in terms of timeline, because I don't want I understand the concern. I just don't want to lose out on Prop 39 funds because I know that's on a schedule that I would not want to lose free resource or resources that's not coming from the district to improve the district if that meant that by holding off.

[4823] SPEAKER_37: I'm texting Brian.

[4824] SPEAKER_43: Actually, the Rexall is just for materials and the Smith & Sons is labor. So they're doing two different things. So we're improving all of them.

[4832] SPEAKER_51: Smith & Sons is the electrician.

[4834] SPEAKER_43: Right. Right. So it's the labor from one source and it's the materials from another. So there's no conflicting.

[4841] SPEAKER_38: Well, if we're approving this as one item and we're combining all the labor costs from Smith & Sons into one package, it may exceed the amount that's required for a formal bidding.

[4853] Nancy Thomas: What is that amount?

[4854] SPEAKER_38: I don't have it off the top of my head. I want to say it's $15,000 for labor, though. It's over $50,000. $15,000 is the limit for labor. I believe it's $25,000 for materials. But don't hold me to that, please.

[4871] SPEAKER_43: We just voted on the policy on that. We just voted earlier. It had the restrictions.

[4877] SPEAKER_38: We didn't vote on that.

[4879] Nancy Thomas: The bidding.

[4881] SPEAKER_38: We put that on hold. I'm trying to get it through right now. Matt, it's a great project. Don't get me wrong. I have no issues, no qualms with it. But I just want to make sure that we're compliant.

[4893] Nancy Thomas: Given that there's a question, is this time sensitive? Could we just bring this with the other board policies that were brought forward earlier?

[4905] SPEAKER_35: That's my question. I want to know if it is.

[4907] SPEAKER_37: Can we table it, right?

[4909] SPEAKER_35: But if we, because my concern is if we table it and we lose out on these resources, that are provided by the state that aren't provided by the district is not.

[4925] Ray Rodriguez: You also have different quotes from different schools. Each one is different. Each one is different, so I wouldn't exceed.

[4932] SPEAKER_35: So I mean, the other approach, if you could do this at this point, would be to vote on each of them individually.

[4938] Abbey Keirns: Yeah.

[4939] SPEAKER_35: But my understanding is we would have to suspend the rules to agendize each specific item and then vote each item.

[4953] SPEAKER_43: I'm fine with that. There's one point in, I'm just looking for it now, where it's stated that we would not divide something into pieces to make sure that it was below the bid.

[4967] SPEAKER_38: That's called a bid splitting.

[4969] SPEAKER_43: We can't do that. So this is, so I think that the point is whether what the total is. I'm just looking to see.

[4976] SPEAKER_35: The frustrating part is, if this isn't appropriate, then why is it being brought to us as if it were? Which is the fundamental question.

[4985] SPEAKER_38: It may be. We just want to make sure that it is.

[4987] Nancy Thomas: Yeah, right. I know.

[4989] SPEAKER_37: I'm not getting a response yet. We can table it until we have an answer.

[4993] SPEAKER_43: And actually, the source of the funds is another piece of it.

[4996] Nancy Thomas: To those of you that voted to move and second this, would you be okay with tabling it until... I'm sorry.

[5008] SPEAKER_35: Yeah, I'll rescind it, but I really want to express my frustration that if this, the fact that we're having this conversation of whether or not, like, this is not acceptable and... We'll have to have a special meeting, if it's time-sensitive, later on this week. Yeah, but I mean, as a process piece, we shouldn't have to be wasting time assessing whether or not something is appropriate because It should be presented to us in an appropriate manner.

[5035] SPEAKER_37: I believe it is. My understanding is this is the balance of what's left in our Prop 39 money. But I'm not absolutely certain, and I can't answer without Brian here. And he's not feeling well tonight, so I wish I had a faster answer. He might respond before the end of the meeting. If he does, we maybe can bring it back, but I don't know.

[5053] Nancy Thomas: Well, I'd recommend we bring it back. Is that OK?

[5056] SPEAKER_43: OK. And with the thing that if it's time sensitive. Yeah, we meet right away.

[5063] Nancy Thomas: If it's time sensitive, we can call a special meeting.

[5066] SPEAKER_37: OK.

[5066] Nancy Thomas: OK. So next, we have 12.3, donations report. I would entertain a motion to accept.

[5078] SPEAKER_43: I'll move to approve. Mr. L's second.

[5088] Nancy Thomas: Please vote. Mr. Nguyen. Six ayes, thank you. Donation, we had $1,600 for Newark Junior High School, split among six teachers, and that was from Richard and Susan Steele. Then we had a donation for $800 for Graham from Melissa Gutierrez-Helwell for a field trip for Mr. Matthew King's class. And that was for $800, I think I said. So thank you to all who are supporting our schools. Next, superintendent, we have employee organizations. Do you want to? Sure. We have someone from NTA and NEWMA. Do we have anyone from NEWMA that wishes to speak? Okay. So next we move on to personnel report 14.1 and 14.2 and 14.3. We'll take these individually. 14.1. Mr. Preciado moves. I'll second. Ms. Crockford seconds. Please vote. Five ayes. Thank you. Next, 14.2, bus driver job description. Move to approve. I'll second. Mr. Rodriguez moves to approve. Mr. Preciado seconds. Please vote. Five ayes. Thank you.

[5207] SPEAKER_35: Can you highlight this as a win, Mr. Sanchez, in terms of recruiting?

[5211] Nancy Thomas: Yeah. Congratulations. Recruiting a bus driver has been very, very difficult. We're still trying. And we're still trying. OK. OK, we have 14.3. We have several individuals that wish to address us on this. Michelle Padilla.

[5240] Richelle Piechowski: Hi, everybody.

[5248] SPEAKER_19: Hello, my name is Michelle Padilla. I am the parent teacher club president for the Birch Grove sites for the last three years and have two children that attend Birch Grove, one in each site. I had the pleasure of serving on the interview panel for the principal position at BGP along with teachers and other staff members. Our current interim principal, a homegrown member of the Newark community, was undoubtedly the preferred choice. He has the perfect temperament for BGP age group and is a wonderful male role model for our impressionable youth. As you can see by the sea of black behind me, the filling is shared by many. Birch Grove has gone through a turbulent couple of years with the merge of Bunker and Milani, which I wholeheartedly supported. Has the person or deciding committee taken into account that there have been six principals in seven years between these sites? Mrs. Waters is doing a great job. Mr. Wasser, who many of us are familiar with from his other district positions, is the right fit for our school. I am disturbed and upset and would like an explanation as to why the board and or Superintendent Sanchez have selected a different candidate, putting aside the feedback from those of us who know, understand, live the needs of our kids and the Birch Grove community. A fundamental to a healthy school board, in my opinion, is one that listens to its community members. I am requesting that you revisit this decision. That's it. Thank you. You guys can't respond right now. Is that part of the? Yes.

[5364] Nancy Thomas: OK. Ms. Nicole Isend.

[5380] Nicole Izant: Thank you, Michelle. Thank you, Michelle, for. saying so eloquently what I think a lot of the parents here feel. My daughter, fortunately, has moved on to BGI and hasn't had to go through multiple principals. We have Catherine here, who has been wonderful this year. And I'm hoping she will be here for the next three years until my daughter goes to the junior high. I just wanted to share kind of like a personal testimony about working with Mr. Wasser. I'm the PTC secretary, and I have as some people in the room may know, sort of a strong character. And Mr. Wasser has been just a wonderful source of information, sharing what's going on at the school. And he meets all of my challenges directly, but also diplomatically. And I think his just sense of school spirit, his just wonderful approach to dealing with all types of people in the community, me especially, is something that is not found in every candidate and every person. And I had hoped to work with him and the next school year. And it's unfortunate if we don't see him there. I do know that our principal that we had at Bunker was well-loved by the students. And I know that for the kids, having continuity, having people that they can look up to, and not having a different face in leadership every year is important to kids. So in the spirit of continuity, And having a, as Michelle mentioned, a homegrown leader, someone who went to Newark Elementary Schools, Newark Junior High, Newark High School, Newark Memorial, it's really important to put those people high in our community because they do bring a sense of continuity for our children. So, thanks.

[5487] Nancy Thomas: Thank you. Shabnab Butler.

[5502] SPEAKER_54: Hello, my name is Shauna Butler, and I currently have three children in the Newark Unified School District. I have one at Newark Memorial, one at Birch Grove Intermediate, and one at Birch Grove Primary. I'm concerned and confused about Principal Wasser not getting the position as principal at Birch Grove Primary. I would like to know why he wasn't chosen. Did you guys take the feedback from the staff that works with him on a daily basis? Because we see all the support back here. From what I've seen as a parent and as a PTC board member, he has been wonderful. Our merger between both schools was not an easy one, but Principal Wasser and Principal Ingham-Watters did a great job ironing out the kinks. So with that recent change finally mellowing out, now we will be now dealing with another challenge. And no offense, but what if the next principal doesn't work out? Between Bunker and Milani, how many principals have these children have in the last several years? It's concerning to me as a parent. I've always loved the saying, if it's not broke, don't fix it. I'm disappointed in the decision, and it's a huge loss for our school. Thank you.

[5590] Nancy Thomas: I would entertain a motion. I'll move. Mr. Persiado moves. I'll second. Ms. Crocker seconds. Please hold.

[5628] SPEAKER_35: Four ayes and one abstention.

[5648] SPEAKER_37: So I'd like to invite Vincente Ditto to the podium please. You are now officially the new principal of BGP. I'd like to welcome you to the podium, and to share a little bit about your background, and I want to introduce you to the board, if you want to say a few words.

[5668] SPEAKER_09: Thank you. Good evening, Madam President, members of the board, and executive cabinet, parents, and teachers of Birch Grove Primary. It sounds like we have, I have some really big shoes to wear, and I have little feet, so I'm going to work really hard to do that. I was born and raised here. I was born in Fremont, raised in San Jose and Santa Cruz, moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where I got my teaching credential, and then started teaching in inner city schools. I wanted to make more of an impact for more kids, so I went into leadership. And I have been leading at K-8 and K-5 schools for the last five years. I look forward to coming into a TK2 campus. I'm very excited by what I have heard, the passion of the staff and teachers, and the amazing things that I've seen from your school spotlight tonight at Lincoln, as well as the things I've heard, discussion through the board, and your student representatives. And I'm very excited to join the team. It sounds like there's some healing that has to happen, but I'm pleased to know that I am very dedicated And I will work hard to fulfill the needs of the students of Birch Grove Primary and all of Newark School District. Thank you. Thank you. Welcome.

[5756] Nancy Thomas: Next, we move on to items under 15. 15.1 is the CSCA work calendar. 15.2, the monthly business transaction reports. 15.3, curricular, non-curricular field trip for music sixth grade class to Santa Clara. 15.4, non-curricular field trip for Lincoln leadership students to Fremont. 15.5, curricular, non-curricular overnight out-of-state field trip for Newark Memorial High School rocketry to Virginia. 15.6, non-curricular field trip for Newark Memorial High School athletics to Oakland, and 15.7, happens after. So I would entertain a motion for 15.1 to 15.6, unless there's someone that would like to pull any item. 15.7. No. You said 15.6. 15.6. 15.7 is board comments. OK. Thank you.

[5816] SPEAKER_35: So I had a question for 15.1. I don't know if I should just pull it or just ask the question, because it's not.

[5822] Nancy Thomas: Pull it. Why don't you pull it and we'll vote on it separately. I would entertain a motion to vote on 15.2 through 15.5. I mean 15.6, excuse me. So moved. Mr. Rodriguez moves. Second. Mr. Preciado seconds. Please vote. Six ayes, thank you. 15.1, Mr. Preciado.

[5854] SPEAKER_35: Yes, my question was just in terms of this process. This is based off of the calendar, the academic calendar. Is it just that we have to vote? Like, for the CSCA schedule, it's different than the NTA, which is different than the academic?

[5870] SPEAKER_09: It's based on the days of work. You've got your 10 month or 10 and a half.

[5875] Cindy Parks: Their calendar runs different. So their calendar, you have a 12 month employer, and there's a custodial staff, so their calendar

[5883] SPEAKER_35: And the basis of this is the fact that the 2018-2019 calendar or school year will roll over because of what occurred in terms of the... Correct.

[5894] Chery Villa: And so CSC met and they put their calendar together and they are moving forward.

[5899] Nancy Thomas: Okay, perfect. Thank you. And an object to approve? Mr. Briseado moves to approve 15.1. I'll second. Ms. Crocker seconds. Please vote. Five ayes. A student did, okay. Especially since you're talking about some broccatry and other high school things, you chose not to vote? Oh, okay. Thank you. Five ayes. Okay, next we move on to Board of Education Committee Reports, Announcements, Requests, Debrief, and Discussion. Mr. Nguyen.

[5947] SPEAKER_38: Couple things. First, I attended the Audit Committee meeting last week and with the external auditors that were in town. And so everything was great. There wasn't any findings or material findings that they could see. And so we're looking at thus far a good clean audit. I do like to speak on my vote earlier on 14.3 and the reason why I abstained from that vote. I think it's out of respect for both Mr. Wasser and the newly appointed principal. I think I'm withholding my vote pending greater clarity for Mr. Wasser moving forward. Thank you.

[5990] Nancy Thomas: Mr. Rodriguez.

[5991] Ray Rodriguez: Thank you, President Thomas. I attended the Special Ed Ball. That's a partnership between Fremont, Newark, or Newark first, Newark, Fremont, and New Haven, Union City. And my daughter Tiffany, who's the special ed teacher for the adult kids over in Fremont Unified, and her friends and her cohorts decided to put this on years ago. It's sponsored by the SELPA, which is, again, the partnership between the three districts. And it's over at the Union City Community Center, or Senior Center, by Logan High School. And it's donated by the city of Union City. And it was well attended. All the special ed kids there, they invited junior high and high school kids. And it's great. They dance starting from about 6 o'clock, 536 until about 10. And they had a super good time. And it's just so wonderful to go to that and see. Most special ed children or students feel uncomfortable going to the regular ball for the general ed kids. So having a special ed ball is a good way for them to come out and enjoy themselves. On that same note, we're having a Special Olympics this Friday at Logan High School, Superintendent, right? I think it's Friday at Logan, May the 4th. Let me look. I think you're right. Go check. This started a few years ago where we decided as a, you know, the special ed teachers and community members from the Tri-Cities decided that we would have our own Special Olympics. And we have it at Newark for basketball and then we have it at American High School for soccer. And this one is over at Logan for track and field.

[6127] SPEAKER_37: I have that information for you. Starting at 8.30 until about 2 o'clock, roughly, Special Olympics track and field at Logan High School.

[6142] Ray Rodriguez: And again, if you are free during that time, I'd love to have you come by. It's a great event, and the kids have a lot of fun. And they do it like the regular Olympics, where they take the torch and they go around and all that stuff. And it's really wonderful to see. So that's all I have. Thank you.

[6164] SPEAKER_43: I had the opportunity to visit both the high school and Bridgepoint with their opening WASC meeting. I was delighted to see the quality of the people that were coming and looking at the programs. If it's used correctly, it's a great way to take a look at your school from eyes that are not there every day. And so you get a different look at what's happening. And I think that the schools were well prepared. And I'm looking forward to see what the final reports are in both cases. Also, Saturday night I had a chance to go see Beauty and the Beast at the high school. It was delightful. It was just delightful. There was a lot of children in the audience. And they did a wonderful job. The voices, I think, speaks well for our music program as well as our drama program. It was an evening well spent. And we have some quality things happening in the drama department. Excuse me. Thank you, that's it.

[6226] SPEAKER_35: So I got a chance to go to, as was noted, the BGP Ice Cream Social and fundraiser. That was a lot of fun. I also got an opportunity to bring the whole family to the Kennedy Art Show. And I wanted to thank Anne Williams and Laura Reese, the Kennedy Elementary Art Coordinators, And because of the annual art show fundraiser, they were able to raise over $3,500 to their art program to buy art supplies for their program. So it was great to participate and bring the whole family, all three little ones. I was able to go briefly to Avanzando right before it started because I was an assistant soccer coach, so I couldn't attend the whole time. But I wanted to say congratulations to all the Avanzando winners. I know several board members were there to show support for the whole event. And I'm proud to have really participated as a co-founder of Avanzando, let's see, almost eight years ago now. Also wanted to recognize that today is May Day, International Workers Day. So I almost didn't make it because I was out marching for workers' rights, but I was able to beat the traffic.

[6314] Ray Rodriguez: I think for the Mayo weekend.

[6317] SPEAKER_35: No. And I would ask that maybe for next year, because International Workers' Day already passed, as a way to recognize International Workers' Day, that we could bring it back as a resolution to bring that back for next year. It's every May 1st for International Workers' Day. The last piece that I have is for kind of budget review and update. I know we just went over and we approved in terms of the numbers. But if there's a way for us to have Mr. Richards give a presentation, I believe that in line with the May revise, that's probably going to be coming. OK, perfect. But I just wanted to express that. And that's all I have. Thank you.

[6365] Nancy Thomas: I almost feel like I can say ditto. I attended the Kennedy Art Show, and kudos to all the parents, volunteers, and the coordinators. It's a wonderful show. I attended Beauty and the Beast. Our drama team at the high school has done a fantastic job. I, too, attended the WASC intake meetings at the high school and McGregor. And I was able to participate with Mr. Rodriguez, And actually, a lot of staff that were there to be honored and to present honors to our students. It was a wonderful time. And I had the distinct honor to give a $1,000 award from Rotary to one of our students. Unfortunately, Ms. Matsumoto, I'm going to miss the art show at the high school this weekend because I'm going to be out of town. Is there any way to? see some of the work ahead of time stopping in? It's going to start on Saturday, but it's not going to be fully. Oh, OK. Well, I know the work that our students do is amazing. Glad that you're bringing the junior high into it. And congratulations in advance. Mr. Sanchez.

[6446] SPEAKER_37: Thank you. President Thomas, members of the board, ladies and gentlemen, I want to let you know that I also attended the high school WASC debrief and I think that while we will be sharing the reports with you in this Friday update, so you have them well in advance, we hope to have both, not just the high school but also alternative high school included in Friday's update for you. So just know that's coming. I think I'm going to reach out to see if we can recognize those choral winners that were announced earlier and so we'll follow up with that and see how we can maybe even get a song out of them at a board meeting. We had a great meeting. Member Thomas and I met with students at the junior high school and just had a great conversation about what they would like to see changes and it was a great conversation because this particular group of kids is getting ready to head to the high school. So we want to make sure we keep them in the student leadership kind of grouping and really see what they can carry through that school over four years. But that was really a remarkable experience for us to talk to them and just very in tune students of Ensando as well. Ditto. I won't expand on that. That was great. I think that the last thing is I did go to the SELPA meeting and the SELPA Director is retiring so the actual position that oversees the shared part of SELPA Is going to be posted and we're looking for someone to work that kind of as a part-time position Which in some ways is good because it's not really dedicated to one of the districts and then also an add-on as SELPA So that's the position that's going to be posted as separate from the Fremont special ed director Which is a little bit of a change. I know Ray's been involved with this for a long time But that was really the biggest item from that meeting and we definitely congratulate the Fremont Special Ed Director on her retirement. But they're going to be going forward a little bit differently and I think that actually will serve all of us a little better. And that concludes my concluding comments.

[6581] Nancy Thomas: Anything else? Well, with that, meeting is adjourned.

No minutes available.