Aug 24, 2023

Nine community member presents

Pulled 10.1 Student Matters Settlement agreement due to change in opposing counsel

Item 3. No comment on consent calendar

Item 4.1. Every year in August agenda we discuss consolidated application Spring release (Mrs. Megan Battle)

Item 4.2 Temporary increase of daily rate of “certificated” substitutes. Superintendent Mueller: “I trust the community has had opportunity to review Item 4.2, 4.3, 4.4” (knowing that only 72 hours are provided for community to review). Passed.

Item 4.3 Temporary increase of daily rate for classified substitutes.

Trustee Cavanaugh: It it hard to find people interested in being substitutes or is it related to pay? Both per Salamanca.

Then Trustee Youngblood motioned to pull 4.3 as presented and that motion passed.

Item 4.4 Extend temporary increase of daily rates for classified substitutes. Passed.

Item 5.1 Union Boss. “Students are at the center of everything we do.” “We are in this together.” 22 teachers departed last year!! 19 new ones this year! (Editor: Is this normal turnover? and why did 22 teachers leave CUSD?).

Item 5.2 Student comments. October 6 is Homecoming.

Item 5.3 Learning Department Report. SDCOE (Prospect Studios San Francisco trained SDCOE) presented “Portrait of a Graduate Overview”. (Editor: Why is SDCOE presenting “CUSD Strategic Visioning Process?” No Local Control because no local ownership). Engage stakeholders so that district can prepare students for future and set North Star. Process: Enrollment, Strategic Visioning, Strategic Planning, Implementation year 1, 2, and 3.

Community stakeholders: Communities of Faith, Business Leaders/Leadership, Higher Education, School Service Agencies, and Policy Makers.

They already got started with Core team “Guiding Coalition” ? Highlighted need for representation and participation from community: students and adults.. This is to make “real change”, “not an initiative”.

Trustee Sandie: Asked about Community of faith? (Editor note: Not sure why, nor did he say anything but “ok”).

Trustee Cavanaugh: Asked about how do you get community participation (Editor note: Sounded like she did not know about it).

Trustee Cavanaugh admitted “Public comment should come first, sorry”

Superintendent wants the Portrait of a Graduate and 150,000 data points

Then for Item 5.4: Learning Department Mrs. Megan Battle is called to podium

A member of public asked for public comment and was told by Trustee Cavanaugh after Dr. Battle’s comment. (Editor’s note: President, when is public comment before the agenda item or after the item?)

CUSD has partnered with another external organization, NCUST for an Equity and Excellence Report. NCUST has learned that teaching and learning matters, culture matters, systems matter, and leadership matter.

Dr. Battle admitted that they did data collection, classroom visits, focus group interviews, internal observations, and data analysis for “celebrations and final recommendations.”

Looked at three areas: 1. Effective Instruction: Effective instruction that results in students engaging in efforts to learn and master content; 2. Access to Challenging Curricula: Ensure that all demographic groups of students (including students whose first language was not English, students who were performing two or three years below their grade level, and students with learning disabilities) had access to challenging currcula balanced (with rich opportunities to engage in the visual and performing arts, world languages, technology, and other non-tested subjects; and 3. Positive transformational culture: Provides the foundation for equitable and excellent learning outcomes – healthy learning environments where administrators, teachers, staff members, and families treated one another as partners in the education of their students and transformational culture if students, teachers, support personnel, and administrators are always focused on improving.

Eight indicators used to evaluate classes. Green exemplary evidence, Yellow: slight evidence, and Red: no or contrary evidence.

50 page report summarized by one slide with 8 areas: Lots of celebrating.

What are we doing? Celebrating and growing.

Met with principals in June and guided instructional areas and will have them look at teacher and student behaviors, and room environment while focused on an indicator each month.

Dr. Battle: ” One important note: not a new initiative”, “focused on good and making good better”, “aligned to leap and lap, it is really celebrating and growing what we are doing in the teaching and learning arena.”

Community input. NCUST mission is to help urban, low-performing school districts why is CUSD is using? Also, the output is based on demographics performing but no report out on the demographic results. Is equity focus problematic? California Department of Education recommends adoption of new Equity Math Framework. I urge caution in using equity in a high-performing schools like CUSD it may have negative effect. Will report be made available? Another community member also questioned wisdom of Equity audit: How are public funds being spent…you just spent $20,000 on an audit for Diversity Inclusion Equity initiatives. Spend money on tutors and science instruction, only 59% met or exceeded CASSP science standards.

Trustee Comment (no questions) on NCUST or LCAP update

Trustee Youngblood: “Comment regarding concept of equity and survey; appreciates results of survey and as a district we should focus on each child where they are and focus on bringing them all up, as a general rule, anything that seeks to divide us is not a good thing, so the focus should be bring any demographic group up and not reversing that for anyone.”

Trustee Antrim: “Applauds Trustee Youngblood, I have not heard a better definition of equity”. We are concerned about red sections in chart, what is ensuring culturing , socially, and personable responsive teaching mean?

Dr. Battle: “Purpose to have snapshot of students and a snapshot in time, there are other variables that may have skewed or impacted the audit. Indicator 4: and the demographic data is available online. The rubric was not broken down by demographics. While celebrating student subgroups, we are above state averages, we want to project students higher. The definition of equity is publicly available as well.

Item 5.5. Human Resources Update. Organic recycling and Blue recycling in accordance with state laws is occurring at CUSD. Results of water testing link is available or hidden in agenda package.

Trustee Youngblood and Antrim: Excited about recycling efforts; Students actively engaged in recycling and happy about it! (Editor: not sure students care nor does it relate to grades)

Superintendent comments…Safety Audit Reviewed

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