Board of Education · Regular Meeting · April 20, 2023

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Board of Education

April 20, 2023 · Full Transcript

All right good evening everyone good evening the Durham Public Schools.

Moment of silence we'll take that at this time.

Thank you the next item on our agenda is celebrations I'll pass it to Mr Sutter.

Thank you madam chair there we go celebrations it's the best day of the week and we have a lot of students here for us tonight to be recognized there are some times when the office of public affairs seems to require air traffic controller capabilities and this is no exception so the order today is going to include our Battle of the books winners our superintendent student advisory Council our students of the month and our spark recipients we have a lot of Battle of the books recipients here today and what we're going to do this is a message for the folks outside is our our students from the Battle of the books will come down this aisle our parents if they want to come into the room can go against the far wall and we will take group pictures at the end of the recognitions and then we'll move on to the student the student advisory Council so with our Battle of the books recipients I turn it over to Heidi Perez.

Thank you chip good evening board members superintendent mubenga staff and community members I want to thank you for sharing this time in space with us you know reading can spark creativity and passion in all DPS Learners and so tonight we have some Sparks with us the North Carolina Battle of the books is a reading engagement program of the North Carolina School library media Association students at participating schools read books from a list established by the state Battle of the books committee and then compete in quiz Bowl style tournaments to test their knowledge of these books here in Durham Public Schools we Empower all schools to participate in this literacy enrichment Opportunity by providing fees books transportation and District coordination support for all elementary middle and high schools that choose to participate tonight we celebrate our DPS District Battle of the books winners who will participate in Regional and state competitions over the next few weeks so our first Champion team is Easley Elementary School they place first in our district competition and they'll.

Will compete in the region 3 competition on April 29th correct our coaches are Caroline Hartley and Tracy Keeler student participants are Olivia Borges Cole Coltrane Cox Kaylee Edwards Sam ilu Gavin Farber Lindsey Gardner Cooper hensarik Maylin Merwin Chase Reynolds Brennan Sewell Sylvia Smith Hannah Upchurch Naomi gunzel and Rosie sweet. Oh. Foreign our Middle School District Champions are Lakewood Montessori Middle School they will compete in the region 3 competition right here in Durham at the mini fort Brown Staff Development Center this Saturday coaches our coaches Cara Watson and the student competitors are Nola Eisner Lila Goldstein Jane gray Isabel Halpern Isabella hossi Lucy Heary Thea Milly Eliza Porter.

Lena Tonkin Maggie Phillips and Lily rentar.

Our high school Champions are Durham School of the Arts they actually won the Region 3 competition yesterday so they will compete. They will compete in the State High School Battle of the books competition right here in Durham at the mini fort Brown Staff Development Center on April 29th the coaches are Kim Gugino Hannah Murphy the student competitors are Emma Bush will coward Maxwell Gua Elizabeth kremling Eloise litzow Ian Moran Layla nyblock Avenel O'Keefe Caitlin Ryan Roland sappigow and Keb sales. Thank you.

And we have our elementary students up front for the group for the group picture.

Right do we have space for our board members as well Tony. Can we or they can stand up the day I see either way Tony you have two rows of the machines four members coming into the building.

Hey.

Congratulations to our elementary winners yep our elementary students and their families can can exit and we'll make room for our middle school students and their families.

And finally our high school winners.

Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen we have one more group photo experience ahead of us we also have a number of important students who help provide Dr mabingo with guidance as he works on behalf of our board and Community to provide strong schools and that is the super superintendent's student advisory Council here to present them as Deputy superintendent Dr Nakia Hardy. Thank you Mr setters amazing talented innovative dynamic change agents pioneers these are just a few of the words that come to mind when I think about the students that serve this year on the superintendent student advisory Council tonight it is my pleasure to introduce these amazing young people to our board and to recognize them for their dedication and service this year these members met quarterly with Dr marbinga to provide valuable input on issues facing our students and our community they served as advisors to the superintendent and administration on a wide range of topics challenges and issues some of them including providing input to our strategic plan which is on.

Our agenda this evening learning about Federal nutrition guidelines for school nutrition services an overview as well as input on the 18 million McKenzie Scott Grant donation the board approved funding which includes this request that High School clubs receive funding for activities to provide service to their school and the broader community input on growing together and our secondary programs a discussion and sharing specific information and they provided us guidance on how we can support our school communities regarding mental health Stress Management coping mechanisms vaping as well as additional supports that our children need our students were honest forthright and very clear in what could be done to make DPS the best that it can be for each and every student we are grateful to each member of the council which represented each of our high schools in the district we want to thank our high school principals some of which are out in the hall for sending and recommending such outstanding young people to represent their schools we want to thank their.

Parents their families and Caregivers for sharing their most precious gift with us here in Durham Public Schools and for raising such talented outstanding students at this time it is my pleasure to introduce the members of the superintendent's advisory Council I do want to note all of them could not be with us today because they are doing what they do best they are serving in our community they are giving back to DPS so unfortunately all of them cannot be here I also want to share that they received each of them did receive their t-shirt they're wearing them tonight they look so good for their picture as a response to an appreciation of their service we want them to have that as a Memento as they move forward all right are we ready Dahlia cooling from City of Medicine.

From Durham School of Technology Charles King Joshua Corby and Erica Ziegler. From Hillside High School Alicia Davis and Justin Sims. From Jordan High School Grady Dupree Isaac and Caroline sangerby. From Middle College High School Hannah Hummel.

From Southern High School on when. And from school from Creative Studies Abigail hedgepath. And I would also like to thank Dr Deborah Pittman our assistant superintendent for specialized services in her office for coordinating our events as well.

Thank you.

Yourself.

It's my understanding and belief that at least one of the students that you just saw you're about to see again we are now wonder we are now up to the wonderful monthly student of the month presentation where we introduce to you students who distinguish themselves in scholarship leadership and service and perseverance we have two rep representing two recipients tonight and our first comes from Hillside High School and I call on Dr Logan.

Great evening it is indeed a pleasure to be here this evening to introduce a stellar student here at Hillside High School there's so many things that I can say about this young lady I this is the first time I've had to bring a resume just based on a lot of the things that she's been able to accomplish Alicia Davis is a senior at Hillside High School who is currently in our International Baccalaureate program Alicia has currently she currently has a 4.6 grade point average on a five-point scale this is ranked number three in her class currently since her ninth grade year she has earned all A's in all of her classes and I imagine that will be the case when she gets to graduation on June 12th so we're really pleased about her work in that area and again having all A's these are the A's that pay is how I like to describe it because her work ethic is such that she has earned for herself opportunities that abound at the Collegiate level I.

Think she was adamant when I asked her about her Ambitions After High School she was adamant that she wasn't going to go to UNC at Chapel Hill because that's where her mother went and Miss Davis is over here as well as Mr Davis her grandfather Alicia has the option she's created options for herself in such a way where she has a full ride to Harvard University Duke University and so she's undecided about what she wants to do in terms of which school she wants to go to she has been a member of the chick Tech organization where she received the chick Tech gold participation award for completing 50 hours of stem service with that organization she has participated in the Duke University pre-college graphic design and visual appeal award that's the award that she earned for most thought-provoking digital media she's a member of new Alpha Theta math Honor Society she's also a member of the National Honor Society the science National Honor Society the W.E.B Du Bois National Honor Society just to list a.

Few she is the embodiment of our school's core values of responsibility work ethic teamwork and respect she has been consistently herself since I've known her and this is largely because I've had the pleasure of knowing her before she was even born her mom was a senior at Hillside High School when I became an assistant principal here in Durham Public Schools and she was one of the persons that graciously embraced me when I came to Durham public school so Miss Davis I appreciate that and thank you for making my job all the easier and so ladies ladies and gentlemen without further Ado again miss Alicia Davis.

Probably and thank you all so much for this honor I just wanted to thank my mom and my grandfather and my grandmother because it wouldn't be possible without my family and the hillside community and Dr Logan and superintendent because you've been so supportive throughout the year and I really appreciate everybody that acknowledged me for this honor thank you so much don't go too far so I have to hand you things okay. So this is a certificate that you will hold next to the superintendent he will shake your hand you will both smile beautifully he will take a picture it'll be lovely and then we have some more things for you this is a spark pen which we provide to all of our students of the month and all of the individuals associated with Durham Public Schools who distinguish themselves as leaders that is you I hope that you will wear this with pride and when you go to Harvard or if you have to do sorry I'm a bitter UNC alumnus.

If they ask what this pin is all about I hope you tell them and I hope you'll show how proud you are of Durham and where you came from and from The Raven Family Foundation we also have a certificate of appreciation and a 250 dollar scholarship gift and we have also from our friends at triangle e-cycling a laptop computer for you we're proud of you thank you for being our student of the month so I'm going to put this all. Access and.

Thank you.

And we have one more student of the month tonight and for that for CE Jordan High School I turn things over to Susan Taylor. Good evening on behalf of Jordan High School I present Ava Kinghorn JHS class of 2024 as our DPS student of the month Ava as shared by her nominator represents the academic Excellence Jordan is known for she maintains a rigorous course schedule earns High grades takes multiple advanced placement courses and exceeds faculty expectations with all of her work Ava is on the path to graduate with the AP Capstone diploma she participates in multiple honor societies and is at the top of her graduating class in addition to spending time volunteering for our school and outside organizations Ava is active in a variety of clubs and demonstrates leadership on the track and cross-country team Ava consistently soars due to her work exit growth mindset and Natural Curiosity Mr McDonald social studies teacher in advanced placement chair states that Ava wants to know the why when it comes to.

Content she listens to understand and seeks additional information because she wants a deeper understanding Ava thank you for choosing Jordan and congratulations on being our DPS student of the month. Thank you so much for this honor I'm deeply appreciative. Again stop me if you've heard this before but we have a certificate for you we also have a laptop computer for you from triangle e-cycling a scholarship gift from The Raven Family Foundation and a spark pin for you that we hope that you will wear with pride in honor of Durham Durham County Durham public schools and Jordan high school thank you so much Ava congratulations.

We have one more spark spark recipient tonight and this is a very special one that spark recipient was actually surprised with the full with her full award at South the at Southwest Elementary School several days ago but we wanted to present her here at the board meeting tonight and that is dps's assistant principal of the Year Tory Flores. She has been at Southwest Elementary School for 12 years she was a reading recovery teacher she came here to a central office position as a K-5 literacy specialist but missed the children and has been an important vital part of Southwest Elementary since then she makes her students and their families feel seen and is always placing relationships at the heart of everything she does she says if I want a child to love to read I can't just tell them to do that I have to build that relationship with them I have to find what interests them and I have to find as many things that they're doing right.

As the one thing I need them to do a little bit differently or a little bit better the next time she hopes that when students and staff leave Southwest that they are better for having had the experience and can choose joy and keep a positive mindset in any Endeavor of their lives to stay afloat we depend on our assistant principles far more than anybody knows it is the principal who is the the CEO of the school and the public face it is the assistant principle or principles who take that to take that ex their experience their relationships with the students with the staff and help empower the principal to do their best work their leaders in their own right and Tori Flores this year is our best of the best thank you for everything you do for the students at Southwest and for being here tonight.

This is your smart pin please wear it with pride and if you'd like to say a few words before the photo we'd love it I am just honored to be recognized it's not why I do this job you know I come to school every day for my families and for my students and to be recognized in this way is just an honor and I appreciate that more than you know Durham has been a big part of my life I've been working for Durham public schools for 23 years in a variety of different ways I've chosen Durham for many reasons I even chose to bring my son with me to Southwest Elementary School and I would make those choices again so it has been a special part of my life and I am honored to be a part of Durham Public Schools thank you for this recognition.

Foreign.

Members of the board that concludes celebrations for the night thank you Mr sudderath and to all the folks who participated in our celebrations it was such a great opportunity to have our boardroom filled with all the great things we love about our Public Schools so thank you all the next item in our agenda is the superintendent's update I'm gonna pass it to Dr mopinga Madam chair board members it's good to be here this evening less than a week after one of our most successful job fairs in DPS history we had prospective teachers and staff arriving at Hillside High School went up until the end of the job fair and I want to emphasize the words and staff this was our most successful effort to include operational and administrative job opportunities as well as teaching opportunities I am proud of Human Resources Department for putting on such a great recruitment event but also for the massive Outreach this year in going to universities around the country and also recruiting outside the country to live no stone.

Unturned we keep repeating that this is a Statewide and National hiring crisis for teachers and staff but we have to compete for every outstanding candidate as well as retaining the outstanding teachers and employees that we have in DPS that stands to District leadership as well since I arrived in Durham Public Schools I've been pleased with the continuity with I've had for years in my cabinet and Senior leadership that's being said two of my cabinets are moving on to New Challenges Dr Monk and Mr Sardis I would have more to say about both of them at a future meeting they are still with us and fulfilling the responsibilities but I did want to let you know that the positions are posted and we are conducting it through thought search for the successes unexpected changes bring an opportunity for plane change and we are in a continuous Improvement business enduring Public Schools we build on past success for great success tomorrow our board and cabinet will take part in the afternoon of training regarding our.

Lgbtqia plus community I want to thank the board for taking up this responsibility to ensure that we are serving all our students and staff equitability and respectfully these are difficult times for the lgbtqtqia plus community and we have to address its concerns because it's not a separate community it is a community we are wondering Public Schools board members I look forward to seeing you at the mini Center tomorrow finally I want to note that we are nearing to the end of this Academic Year we are looking for a strong finish we we gain a lot of Grants last year after the academic and social emotional losses that came with the pandemic lockdown but our students and families are looking for even more growth and progress and so am I as we are heading into a time of intense remediation and acceleration preparation for assessment and preparation for graduation please know that our schools are going to be even more focused on the reason Durham Public School exists academic Excellence that enable our.

Students to succeed in life so I asked for our community's support for our students and schools as our teachers and principals make the men think the main thing thank you madam chair that concludes my remotes thank you Dr mabinga the next item on our agenda is the agenda review and approval.

Move approval of the agenda as presented second it's been moved by Ms buyers seconded by Miss Chavez there any other discussion all those in favor say aye aye any opposed please use the same sign it passes unanimously the next item on our agenda is the Board of Education monthly meeting minutes from March 23 2023. Second it's been moved by Mr Rogers seconded by Ms Byer any other discussion all those in favor say aye aye any opposed please use the same sign passes unanimously the next item on our agenda is general public comments before we get started I'll do a quick review of the rules please state your name and if you are speaking for organization please state your name and the name of the organization you are speaking for second speakers are asked to present their comments in a specified time we have about 20 something speakers signed up tonight so we're going to ask you to do two minutes when the yellow light comes on you'll have one minute left to wind up your.

Remarks when the red light comes on it will beep which indicates your time is up complaints about named staffs students or parents should not be voiced in Open session however we are very interested in hearing your concerns with regard to public education safety of students and the operations of the school system finally board members will listen carefully and will consider your comments but we do not engage in a discussion with our speakers our first speaker will be Wanda Boone Dr Wanda Boone followed by Kayla scales McKay.

Good evening and thank you so much I'm Dr Wanda Boone my organization is together for resilient youth I'm a member of DPS Shack health and safety committee Board of Education member appointee I should say I am chair of the health and safety committee for the Durham committee on the Affairs of black people and I'm also the chair of the North Carolina State Health Improvement Project ACES and resilience so holding young people solely responsible for you can fill in the blank is like holding fish responsible for dying in a polluted string every child needs at least one adult that is irrationally crazy about him or her the issue of violence and gun violence is a problem for our whole Community this is a multiple level challenge that will take our individual strengths to Client Solutions if it's in the streets if it's in the schools if it's in the Community of Faith if it's in law enforcement if it's in local government if it's in community-based organizations if it's at.

Home as a parent foster parent or as a resident we should support each other and join our unique gifts together to form a safety net for our Treasurer our youth so I commit together for resilient youth to be a partner in all efforts to stem the violence Ubuntu let's go forward and do this together thank you thank you Dr Boone Kayla scales McCoy I'm sorry Kayla and Kenya Myers will be next. Good evening board my name is Kayla scales McCoy and I am a student at Durham School of the Arts as a student who has been affected by gun violence I would like to speak on the proposal for a day of remembrance we have lost the lives of many teens in Durham and their memory deserves to be honored I commend DPS and the City and County of Durham for proposing the idea of a day of remembrance however everyone Grieves differently in doing a district-wide announcement saying the names of the lives that were lost in a moment of.

Silence could be triggering for students I watched the previous work session and saw how one board member got offended by what another board members said now put yourself in our shoes if a student laughs or says a rude comment during the moment of silence someone who is affected by gun violence might speak up like the board member did creating more violence another issue is when grief counselors come to the schools they are only there for a week nobody can process their grief in five days I was traumatized by gun violence at the age of six I am 15 and still struggle with processing my grief and Trauma wanting to make a change is an amazing idea like with the memorial at the bull because it is optional but requiring students to do a moment of silence across all schools is opening up an opportunity for more violence the bottom line is DPS does not have sufficient funding or resources to manage the potential increase in trauma and mental health issues this day of.

Remembrance could cause thank you thank you next up Kenya Myers and I apologize anyone if I mispronounce your names followed by Linda Kersey.

On good evening school board members my name is Kenya Myers I'm a Durham County resident and proud mother of two daughters my oldest matriculated through Durham Public Schools attending Pearson Town Rogers Herrin graduated from JD Clement Early College in 2012 with 47 college graduates my baby girl is why I'm here this evening she is currently a 10th grader at Durham School of Technology she will end this school year hopefully with an a average in 15 college credits Lord I felt the need to remind you tonight two things that parents have options and to ask you to move during School of Technology to our own independent space when my 10th grader began her schooling we were concerned about curriculum rigor at our assigned Base Elementary Durham public school so we made the decision to pay tuition and have her attend a private school for grades K-5 we had the same concerns for grades six through eight and so we again sent her to private school when it was time to search for.

High schools I was told by the office of school assignment in 2020 that the new that the then new Tech High School would have a name change and be relocated out of its current space so it was added to my list I can assure you that had she not received a lot of receipts she would not be enrolled in Durham Public Schools because I as as a parent I have options all DPS parents have options and there's actually proposed legislation to give more parents options by giving vouchers to parents now without any income restrictions think about that more parents are going to be able to access private schools our school name has been changed but I need for you board to do what you said that you would do which is move our school to our own independent location expeditiously please before the next school year begins to not move us we deny our students the equity the school system promises right now Durham School of Technology is the only specialty.

School without our own space see a man has their own space Early College middle middle college and reside on campus have their own independent building I do want to say lastly I realize I'm overtime but our students actually doing the the spring break last week our students were not able to access the library for an entire week because the Librarians rightly so were on vacation but our students were in school so I would just like to ask you in please move us do not use budget limitations provide our students with the same equity and resources that all the specialty school students have I'm sorry to cut you off thank you Miss Myers if you do have additional comments and you want to share them with the board because the time is shorter tonight you can email the board or if you have a written copy you can leave it here with our boarding assistant who's raising her hand in the back and we'll make sure that gets to everyone the board's email.

Address is b o e at dpsnc.net go ahead on all right we'll make sure we read it because we know that we the time is a little shorter tonight all right next is Lydia Kirk Kirksey and again at least correct me on your names you all and a Wilson Kaya Wilson.

All right I know we think there's some additional students in the hallway we got a couple seats that have opened up in the boardroom if you all want to come in good evening given the topic that the next few presenters will be discussing today we thought it would be right to warn that there will be mentions of sexual assault unhealthy relationships and other topics associated with gender-based violence I'm student a I'm 16 years old a junior at Jordan high school and I would like to talk about the prolonged process of making a sexual assault Report with DPS Title IX six girls including myself on the Jordan cross country team were sexually assaulted by our male teammate multiple times over 210 days ago cross-country practice started in August 2022 this was the first time we met the perpetrator through the month of September the perpetrator touched our asses during drills and played it off as an accidental touch when walking by us in line this was happening multiple times a day to multiple girls September.

22nd 2022 was the day we realized we had all been violated sexually by the perpetrator day Zero the next day we reported to our coaches who took immediate action and telling them principal and that day a Title IX administrator had us record our written statements she told us it would take six weeks to find an investigator day one day 66 November 28 2022 Witnesses and complainants received letters requesting an interview conducted by the equity coordinator cross country season had ended at this point day 77 December 9th 2022 exactly 11 weeks after the day we reported interviews were held we were told that we would be updated throughout the process winter track had already begun all complainants as well as the perpetrator participated in Winter Trek day 145 February February 15 2023 I sent an email to the person who interviewed us requesting an update no email response the investigation report is also dated February 15th the postmarked date of the envelope is dated February 21st 2023 151 days on day 153 February.

23 2023 I received the letter the others received their letter in the days following I'm the next speaker. March 3rd was the deadline written in the letter for us to review to email a review or written response this contradicts the you are provided 10 business days to review written in the letter over the next few days parents of the girls called the number written in the letter to call with any questions and email them wondering if we could have longer to process the information no response Spring Track starts on March 3rd a few others and I sent emails we spent quite some time on and ended with please respond to this email as soon as possible confirming you've received it no response March 13th 10 days later my dad emailed the DPS Chief of Staff asking for his response day 171 March 14th day 172 I was copied on the DPS chief of staff's email requesting a meeting with the Case Investigator and the lead Title IX coordinator on the email I sent it took.

An adult speaking up for something to happen April 14th one month since the last time we heard anything back yet we still see the perpetrator at practices and at school it's been 29 weeks and today April 20th 2023 it is day 210. how many more days will it take we need a more timely process the way that the system currently is it wears the complainants who are victims of sexual harassment out so they dropped the case this is not due process nor is it fair I understand that our state school system is underfunded and that the need of our students is greater than resources given by the state however Durham Public Schools Prides itself on a commitment to equity holistic education and student empowerment until DPS steps up to create systems with timely processes that include the complainants actively protects students helps victims of sexual assault heal from their trauma and prevents further cases DPS is failing its commitment to its students thank you for waiting for me to finish.

My five-minute speech we've waited for 60 480 times the duration of my speech and we still continue to wait.

Thank you students for your bravery and sharing your story tonight or sharing that story tonight I'm going to ask our administrators to follow up with you all they're heading into the hallway now to make sure we can follow up all right next is Katie Martin and Sophia Rhett rich hello I will be talking about the same situation that student a talked about I'm student B I'm 17 years old a junior at Jordan and I will be talking about the inadequacy of the no contact policy DPS put into place attempting to respond to the sexual assault report that six girls on the cross country team reported over 210 days ago the purpose of a no contact order is to ensure an identified party complain it or responded has no contact directly or indirectly with another identified party following a report of prohibited conduct however these are different from restraining orders as the school was in charge of creating the terms rather than governmental policies we as complainants were never shown the terms and contract.

Of this order or signed off on them and continue to see and run past the Salter every single day at practice at practices even as hard as we would try to stay away from him we would all still have to pass by him during Laps on the track it was either that or slower running and ruin our practice time I would dread going to practice because of this indirect contact with the assaulter but I held out hope that the Title IX policy and District would help us time went on and all that change was that we received weird looks from our teammates who inevitably heard what had happened the assaulter would stare at us now instead of touch us I still felt sick to my stomach having to see him every single day at practice and continued to feel sick since the assaulters stayed on the team all through the cross country season I tried to do winter track but yet again I felt the perpetrator's eyes.

On me this was too much for me to go through another season and I switched to play lacrosse during the Spring rather than face another track season with an assaulter I also know I'm not the only one who is traumatized seeing him at practices this affects many of the girls on the team those who have been sexualized by him and those who know how he's been to us both feel uncomfortable on our own team if this happens in class our schedules would get changed and there would be no connections to the assaulter however in sports all they did was make him stand farther away from us which incited stairs and I will be seeding my time to her on the other hand if there is a gun threat the school takes immediate action and goes into lockdown because guns cause harm and are dangerous and if there is a physical fist fight students are immediately dealt with and removed from campus but in our case according to DPS policy if there is a sexual assault.

Report it will take months to address if it even gets addressed why why are these three scenarios not all seen as violence harm and worth addressing why is it okay for some accused of assaulting a student sexually to continue walking around campus but not someone accused of physically assaulting a student we need to expand our understanding of harm to include all the ways our students are being harmed and use policies DPS has to support students fully sexual violence is still violence and deserves the same level of urgency attention and care we have a solution we're asking for regarding no contact policies since we are restorative justice District we need to make sure we have a restorative justice no contact order we need to make sure everybody is comfortable with the terms we need to make a paper form of a no contact policy and require parties involved to sign them and be held accountable yeah you still have time I would just like to add I had a different case last year of a.

Person who sexually and physically assaulted me at school and even though he got suspended for 10 days I still have to see them in the Halls every day and he's in the musical at Jordan so I can't go to the musical without feeling very triggered and I just I don't feel like it's fair that I should be having to see his face every day because it keeps I just keep reliving that trauma and I can't get away from it and yesterday I saw a girl who was talking to him and today I had to send a message to her just to warn her that he's a really bad person and yeah thank you thank you thank you.

Next we have Esther schmiddle and Annabelle Masonic.

Sorry give me a second to pull up my speech I'm sorry it's okay take your time all right I'm gonna have to go pretty fast I'm sorry what would feel like an ideal school I'm student C I'm sorry what would an ideal School System look like where all students felt safe from things like sexual violence in a school system that makes everyone feel safe we need to focus more on students needs to be respected school systems around the country could offer students more resources in order to feel protected in their learning learning environments one example recommended by the cdc's what works in school school toolkit is a more complete informal health education right now many Health classes are missing any conversation on healthy versus unhealthy relationships sexual harassment sexual assault consent or and or boundaries ensuring these conversations are in every health class in DPS that reduce sexual violence and Aid in the fair treatment of those who are victims of sexual crimes the CDC has resources on what a comprehensive sex health and sex.

Education should include and they have research proving it helps reduce all forms of violence and other negative outcomes like substance abuse we also should all be taught how to respond when a friend or peer comes forward with an experience of sexual assault adult also need to be taught how to respond appropriately this must be in every health class as well since it makes a healthy school in a healthy Community not only do we need to do this education for the students enrolled in our schools it also needs to be extended to the teachers and teachers were required to have knowledge regarding how to teach consent in their classes and what signs May constitute harassment or assault it would be easier for teachers to uphold policies and recognize instances instances occurring inside of classrooms halls and other areas within schools with this education for teachers we can address how sexual perpetrators receive consequences and how we can give them repercussions for their doings rather than turning a blind eye to these.

Superior issues we can also use restorative justice to make sure students who come forward with claims feel safe supported and valued which makes them feel more connected to their school accountability in a school district teaches all students that they are responsible for their actions and they cannot get away with harming each other overall we are here tonight we here tonight want schools where we feel safe supported and recognized in our struggles I'd like to see my time to student C yes with these issues and we want action to be taken against the perpetrators when reporting to adults the process should be made easier and less intimidating every student should know where to report and how to report to do this we must receive education on what our rights regarding the reporters were reporting process are and what reporting entails looking at the cases detailed in the earlier speeches we were not given information in a timely manner an ideal in an ideal School District investigating reports of sexual violence.

It has to have the same urgency as investigating investigating reports of other forms of violence like fighting also reporting sexual violence takes a lot of courage and being left in silence during the process is totally unfair an ideal school district has advocates for students involved in the process to answer questions and connect them to Mental Health Resources right now our counselors are overworked and have higher case loads than they should an ideal School District would spend money on non-police supports like more therapists and restorative justice counselors to make change through understanding rather than through punishment and violence in your packets be a more resources for you on what makes an ideal school district and are happy to help to be a part of student feedback and how to make it happen there should be packets that will pass out but thank you.

You can come on up. Good evening to Dr mamenga and the members of the board You can call me student D I am a freshman at Jordan High School and today me and the other three speakers represent Jordan high school's club for students against sexual harassment or sash based on the experience the experiences of the previous three speakers you can see that this is not an issue to be taken lightly and we would like to request the Educators be put through training that students be given lessons on healthy relationships in their health classes and that more resources should overall be provided to enrich the learning environments of DPS students what if there was a way to reduce suicidal ideation in schools to reduce prescription drug use to lower the number of STD diagnoses to increase the likelihood of students graduating high school and college and most importantly to reduce violence in schools the Center for Disease Control released a study called what works in schools that reports that these ideals can be.

Reached when schools are safe and supportive environments but how do we make schools safer and more supportive the study lists five ways to improve School outcomes and I would like to go over these plans with you now the first and second points are as follows quote providing professional development for teachers including those who teach sexual health education or on classroom classroom management techniques unquote and quote providing professional development for all School staff on policies and practices that support all youth including lgbtq youth unquote every single adult in my building should know what to do when a student reports an incident of sexual assault every single adult in my building should know what to do in the case of a lockdown every single adult in my building should know what to do when their students come to them for help helping students feel more comfortable in schools starts with helping staff become more equipped and to handle problems the third idea is quote implementing school-based positive Youth Development programs including mentorship or service.

Learning programs or connecting students to these types of programs in their community Durham should fund positions for service learning coordinators and mentorship coordinators to expand on such programs that we already have locally such as the Durham crisis response Center nccu but Duke programs and the Durham crisis response Center the CCU Duke and the Durham lgbtq Youth Center the school system cannot keep asking their teachers to go above and beyond to enrich their students learning environments especially when they're being overworked and underpaid the fourth point is quote establishing and enhancing student-led clubs that support lgbtq youth unquote the Jordan chapter of the stash Club was only founded by a student at Jordan this year and we are unaware of any other chapters in Durham or even in North Carolina while gay straight alliances or Spectrum clubs are becoming more and more common in North Carolina not every DPS school has an organization to Aid and assist lgbtq students and therefore not all the EPS students are being supported the fifth point is quote sharing.

Information and resources with parents or other primary caregivers about positive parenting practices including how to talk with adolescents especially about sex unquote while doing research for this presentation on a school computer I came across an article from restlessnetwork.com called how sex ed in the U.S perpetuates rape culture deposited that sex education in schools directly causes rates of rape and sexual assault to drop but it was blocked by DPS as being part of the pornography category sex education should not be censored under the basis of being pornographic while I completely understand that real pornography should not be available on a school device it is unacceptable that an article promoting sex positive sex education and showing positive effects of this education is being redacted all Health classes should be open learning environments where students feel comfortable talking about healthy relationships and learning the rules of consent I learned about STDs in my health class but not about sex and the tone surrounding the lessons were always negative my friend Aster only learned.

About eating disorders in their health class and sex education was never even brought up and if we aren't being taught that no means no and that maybe isn't yes then what are victim victims of sexual assault supposed to do when they don't have the resources to speak up other members of Jordan club and I want to make a difference but to make our student their schools better environments we need the help of not just the school board but the whole Durham Community this isn't just a problem with Jordan it's not a problem with Durham Public Schools it's probably all over the world and I don't know some of the kids that came here with me today but we felt the need to join together all right but we found we formed a sense of community due to the lack of protection that we've been given in society and most of us don't enjoy public speaking but we support each other and our stories have pushed us to be to be here.

In front of you today thank you for your time attention. Good evening and thank you all for considering their stories it took a lot of courage to come up here and I'm really proud of my students I'll start this speech and if I don't finish it I'll send it to you on an email sexual harassment is not an issue unique to Durham Public Schools nor unique to any specific School within DPS it's a nationwide epidemic and there's so much data supporting that however this form of Oppression intersects with racism classism ableism and more and while we strive as a district to provide a school system countering oppression we must keep in mind the impacts of sexual harassment and assault all these goals I have a series of statistics about lgbtq lgbtq youth homeless Youth and youth of color and the rates of sexual violence that they experience but I'm going to give you all a packet because I'm a teacher so you'll get that while this issue is not specific to.

DPS it is nonetheless impacting our students Health their safety our school cultures and our school's outcomes across studies observing the impacts of sexual assault in universities sexual assault was associated with more academic problems including lower grade point average dropping out and self-regulated learning problems while there's limited research on the impact of sexual assault and academics in K-12 schools we can safely say it's negative and not contributing to the environment we strive for at DPS as we continue to grow and improve our district we have a chance to become a model school system in terms of combating sexual harassment and assault and the answers are out there on how to do it there's no shortage of solutions but funding positions within DPS to address the issue is the next step creating funding for more Title IX coordinators who are not just working on investigating reports but who are proactively educating all of our students creating funding for classes within DPS on things like women's studies and gender studies ensuring Comprehensive Health education.

Working with community centers like Durham grape crisis center and CCU and Duke's women's centers creating funding for more restorative practices coordinators instead of continuing to fund positions that promote the use of forced violence or coercion to control Behavior thank you so much thank you you can drop the packet on the end and then we'll make sure it gets to everyone and to the students who came tonight thank you we do not respond to public comment but I do want to say thank you I hope they're still in the hallway and can hear us it takes courage it takes bravery to come and Advocate on behalf of the other students in your building and so I appreciate y'all for coming to share that tonight know that we hear you we hear you the next speaker is going to be Karen Alderman and then Andreas Rivera rosarik will be following Karen and please correct me you all I'm trying to read handwriting up here I'm not very good at it not a chair we did it we're.

In a chart hi I'm Karin Haldeman I'm a mom I'm a DPS parent and I'm a gun violence prevention activist I sit on the board of North Carolinians against gun violence and I was the co-chair of the city's first racial Equity task force and I hearing these stories I wasn't prepared to hear all of these stories today but it was weaving in very well with this idea of preventing gun violence it has been an excruciating couple of months in Durham it's been an excruciating couple of days in our country and we're all feeling it I'm feeling it I was in a zoom call today and I thought I don't I don't I don't feel I don't feel good when people ask me how I'm doing this is it has been intense and our students are also feeling that intensity I'm actually here to support the students who are coming in with a petition to ask for more mental health days and for better Mental Health Resources at schools I'm at this group online on.

Twitter reached out help them with the petition I never met them before in my life I just met them downstairs I am so impressed I am so impressed with the young people who came up and told their story just now Empower that word really holds meaning really holds meaning when I see these students come up and tell their stories the number one risk factor for someone perpetrating violence and that includes gun violence is previous History of Violence so what these young women are saying tonight also relates to gun violence and its trajectory how are we stopping it how are we mitigating it how are we preventing it we are very reactive to the end product which is tragedy but their violence is something that happens well before that in our words our deeds and our actions so I hope that you listen to I know you're listening to all the students I'm here to support them I'm here to partner with you I'm still pushing for some safe storage programming a firearm safe.

Storage of firearms I was here in July asking for that I hope that that's something that comes true too again but I have hope and that's why I'm here today so thank you thank you Andreas followed by Matthew barahana.

Good afternoon my name is Andreas Rivera Rosario I am 17 years old and I am a student at Durham School of Technology I am speaking on behalf of students for mental health we have two goals we are asking the school board to make the five State granted remote learning days into mental health days and to also provide students more Mental Health Resources while they're in school the reason why I'm doing this is because as I was a kid I was taught to leave things better how I found it and now I believe as I'm a senior in high school before I leave to college for DPS to be a better place after I leave mental health is something that has been on a rapid decline especially since the pandemic students including myself have to worry about things that a student should not have to worry about the normal stress of high school life school homework part-time jobs preparing for college and becoming an adult now on top of that has the threat of gun.

Violence or another disruption like covid piled on top of it having just five days to rest relax and catch up with work they need could help a lot research research shows that 44 of students feel hopeless sad for weeks on end at a time and as a student I could say that a lot of this is caused by stress. A national survey said that 74 percent of parents think that a mental holiday would benefit their child and 12 States already allow students to take mental days off I'd like to close off by saying that mental health is a issue and a crisis and having five days built into the calendar can help us solve this Mental Health crisis thank you for your time thank you next we have Matthew come on up and then followed by Abby Corliss.

Hello my name is hello my name is Matthew barahona I am 17 years old I am a junior and attend Durham School of Technology I'm speaking on behalf of the Durham public school students for mental health we have two goals we are asking the school board to make the five-state granted Days by the state those were more learning days into mental health days and also to provide students with more Mental Health Resources while they are at school it's a shame that I go to school and I don't know if I'm in a safe environment or not school has turned from being a joyful and fun place to learn new things at to be in a stressful and dangerous place to be at nowadays I personally want to see a change in schools and have more attention focus on us the students because after all it is our education and our future after the shootings and lockdowns in February we started noticing that students mental health wasn't in the.

Right place and we saw that many schools don't have many Mental Health Resources and their students are struggling that's when we decided to come together and unite as a class and create a group purely focused on the mental health or Durham public school students we go by the name DPS students or mental health this group came together after two Hillside students were shot right next to our campus we started seeing many students and their mental health wasn't at the right place at the right time and we decided to make surveys to to the community and release them to see what their opinions were on gun violence our environment and our schools in general our group decided to focus purely on this because the mental health aspect because this is what students struggle on most whether they are dealing with gun violence or not thank you so much for your time this is Matthew Barona from the DPS students from Mental Health thank you Matthew next we have Abby Corliss followed by Isaiah Palmer.

Hello my name is Abby Corless and I'm a sophomore at Durham School of Technology I am also speaking of on behalf of DPS students for mental health like the previous speaker said we have two goals we are asking the school board to make the five Stan State granted remote learning days into mental health days and we're asking you to provide students with more Mental Health Resources while they're in school the reason I am here today is because I'm frustrated with the lack of consideration for students mental health I like many students in the DPS district am struggling with the daily pressure and the stress caused by schoolwork and the tragic events that have been happening in and around our schools we need more support to deal with this and we are asking for your help because of the positive survey results we received which another student will comment on more in depth we decided to create a petition to illustrate the support for our cause our entire class helped distribute the petition by.

Sending out emails asking students from our school and other schools to sign and going out in public to get signatures so far we've gathered over thirteen hundred signatures and more still being recorded the majority of those responses came from students at high schools around the district but we also got support from many parents Educators and concerned Durham residents this shows the Durham community and the schools in the DPS District are in favor of getting better Mental Health Resources for students and using the mental health days that we have from the state to help students perform better in school and succeed at their goals whether they be academic or personal thank you for your time.

Following Isaiah will be Ayan Robinson.

Good evening my name is Isaiah Palmer I'm 17 years old and I'm currently attend Durham School of Technology I'm speaking on behalf of DPS students for mental health we have two goals we are asking the students we are asking the school board to make the five State granted remote learning days until mental health days it also provides students more Mental Health Resources while they're in school the reason I am here is because as a student I see and I witness what my peers go through and I want to tell you it doesn't look like they can be strong for so for so long the day after the shooting I was a little scared of how DPS schools were just sweeping incidents like this under the rug and just saying well it wasn't you so just go back and do your work and don't speak about it I don't want these things to be normalized my main focus today is about Mental Health Resources our Mental Health Resources have not been doing as a as.

Good of his job they should be especially after Kobe for one they're not well advertised in our school systems and what I mean by that is that most students only know about the one guidance counselor assigned to us we don't know how we don't know who the social worker is who the school psychologist is since we started this we've been told that we have a therapist on our campus sometimes not a single person in the group had ever even heard of them this is a major problem when we don't know who these people are students should be told this soon as they step foot on campus thank you for your time.

Go ahead okay good evening my name is Tayon Robinson I am a 16 year old Junior attending Durham School of Technology I'm speaking on behalf of DPS students for mental health we have two main goals we are asking the school board to make the five State granted remote learning days into mental health days and also provide students with more Mental Health Resources while they are in school I'm here because Suez I am here because mental health is a big problem in a society suicide is the second leading cause of death in the world for those aged 15 to 24 years of age this is something I want to change I want to be the difference mental health matters I want to I want to talk about the survey one of the first pieces of advice we got when starting our group was that we needed to see how the rest of the community felt about mental health and safety in schools so we created a survey with three questions should we have mental health days.

Should we have more Mental Health Resources and should we start defunding sros and fund counselors instead after our survey we got 650 responses from students parents and concerned during residents it was clear that students teachers and Durham residents wanted meant more mental health days and more Mental Health Resources so we focused on those two as our goals after completing the survey we created a petition to support the wants and needs of the community it gained a lot of support with people behind us getting us 13 100 plus signatures and still counting to this day this is seen as a need in the community something must change we have to be the difference thank you.

All right following him we have Ayana McKeever followed by Raquel Scott.

My name is Ayana makira I am 17 years old and a junior at down School of Technology I am speaking on behalf of DPS students for mental health we have two goals as we said by the last people we are asking the school board to make the five State granted remote learning days into mental health days and also provide more students like with more Mental Health Resources in their schools but the reason this matters to me is because I am a high school student I am still a child and going through tragic events and having to come back the next day and being forced to do work and just forget about things that happen it's something I don't want to get used to in my opinion I think it's time to snap into reality and realize that traumatic events aren't going to stop so we need to do we need to step forth and do something before it happens not only is it traumatizing and effective to my mental.

Health like all students I have my personal events going on and that's not making it better and for schools is supposed to be a safe place it doesn't feel like thank you for your time thank you come on up Raquel followed by Joshua Rand and Kiara Ross will be following Joshua. Good evening my name is Raquel Scott I am 17 years old and I attend North school and Technology I am speaking on the behalf of DPS students for mental health we have two goals we are asking the school board to make the five State granted remote learning days until mental health days and also provide students as well health Mental Health Resources while they're in school here's why I'm doing this these shootings on that area are rising dramatically and once these shootings happen people start worrying about if they're safe or if they're family or friend that is being shot worrying about that can heavily impact on that person's mental health I'm here to talk about why we should have these mental health days.

Students and teachers have a lot going on their personal lives and for them to be worrying about school can be stressful and that's where the mental health mental health days come in the district have five remote days that they use for weather but when those when we don't use those days those days are wasted so those days will still be count as a school day students will complete an assignment for attendance but that day will be more dedicated to that princess mental health thank you for your time.

Good evening my name is Joshua Rand and I'm 16. I also attend the school of Durham School Technology I am speaking on behalf of DPS students for mental health we have two goals we are asking the school board to make the five State granted remote learning days into mental health days and also provide students more Mental Health Resources while they're in school I am here today because things going on with students in their mental health and the tragic losses our schools have is so frustrating and we we have to keep going through the same things over and over so I want to help make change for our schools so the students can have better conditions and our mental health is good I'm I am suffering mentally and my friends are awesome I'm just asking for y'all's hope thank you for your time.

Good evening my name is Kiera I'm a 16 year old student that attends Durham School of Technology I'm speaking on behalf of DPS students from mental health we have two goals we we are asking the school board to make the five State granted remote learning days into mental health days and also provide students more Mental Health Resources while they are in school one thing I'm always told is that I'm a student first I should feel safe like I can speak my mind and be able to feel at ease and less stress all buy all of these things coming my way but I don't it's unfortunate to know not only students but also teachers and parents feel this way after all I have an obligation to come to this place every day nothing has changed despite years of discussion on this topic in fact things are actively becoming worse after a few months of discussion me and my team really grasp the fact that we really don't know what our Mental Health.

Resources are and if we do have them they're either Unknown by the students or there isn't enough to get the job done we've had plenty of speakers come in explaining multiple resources inside our school and they were shocked by us completely not knowing what they were and these are just the resources inside of our school alone so imagine all of the DPS students struggling and not even knowing that the help is available to them all in all even if we can't get more resources please help us make sure that the ones that are available are actively known and effective for our school system our school community be it a student a teacher or a parent and be provided to help to help us strive thank you Laura's our pain is the last speaker that signed up but I do want to just make sure if there's anyone else that had something to share they have an opportunity.

Laura sartan. On it.

Miss our team before you says I just want to say something because I think the students are still in the hallway and may be getting ready to leave but I just I want to again say thank you students for coming and sharing your voices y'all my brain is in so many different places thinking of ideas of how we support our students tonight so I just want to say thank you all to the DPS mental students for mental health I'm sorry there you go miss our tan hi everyone my name is Dr Lauren Sartain I am a DPS parent of two children at our neighborhood Title One Elementary School but first I just wanted to say How brave all the students who came and talked tonight are I'm incredibly incredibly proud of those young people and also incredibly sad that they're here having to advocate for these things and so well I'll be looking to see how the district follows up with them I'm here tonight to continue to push for increased transparency around.

District policy making priority setting and the budgeting process our public schools in Durham are hanging on by a thread I see the Educators in our school building getting pulled to sub when teachers are out they're working as reading interventionists on top of their actual positions they're staying after school with kids whose parents couldn't secure child care or pick them up by 2 15. and they are doing all this extra work without being compensated DPS educators are exhausted tonight DPS is presenting their next strategic plan for your consideration we need to think about this plan as a contract between the district parents students and their Educators the goals are worthy we should have high expectations but the district has not shown how resources will be increased if we keep following the same old plan this one looks very similar to the last one we won't see any changes unless more resources are allocated to schools hey I'll say you not vote on the plan until DPS shows you and the public how.

They plan to accomplish their goals we need resources but when I look at The District's budget proposal what I see is position cuts coming School staff allocations are tied to student enrollment and the district is projecting enrollment declines in many schools without any public information about how these Productions are made projections aren't just numbers they represent School budgets teachers jobs and students learning the projected enrollment declines also ignore the important pact the dps's neighborhood schools enroll students throughout the entire school year our school now serves 40 students more than they did at the beginning of the year and we suffered position cuts this year our kindergarten classes are large and they don't have dedicated Ias we have a school we are school that serves approximately 80 English Learners with one El position allocated to our school these working conditions are going to continue to push Educators out and they're harmful to children I'm asking for more transparency around budgeting and ask you to consider or consider holding schools harmless clients thank you thank you.

Right that concludes our public comments right the next item on our agenda is our consent items we have several items that have been presented to the board in advance of this meeting tonight sport members.

Board of Education · Regular Meeting · April 20, 2023

▸Call to Order7:04

▸Moment of Silence7:35

▸Approval of Agenda41:10

▸Consent Agenda1:30:45

▸Closed Session3:41:38

▸Adjournment5:13:12