February 12, 2020

Summary of the Board of Education Meeting on February 12, 2020

The February 12 meeting of the Board of Education began with the following announcements out of Closed Session

  • Felicia Quarles-Treadwell, principal at Gaston Middle School, will transfer to Director, Human Resources and Labor Relations

Next, Andrea Ortega, a parent that has had a positive impact at Del Mar Elementary School, led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Next, Najee Jamison, Vincent Graves, and Delilah Pineda ASB representatives from JE Young High School, shared the continued growth that is taking place at their school. They have added new courses to their schedule including Chemistry, Physics, Statistics, Race and Social Justice and after school tutorial. Students also shared that at the end of the second quarter, the number of credits earned was more than any other quarter in JE Young history at 12,596 credits. They honored more than 130 students who earned Honor Roll or High Honor Roll Status with an award ceremony on January 27. New clubs on campus include Minecraft, Show Choir, and Photo Video bringing the total of clubs to 11. Students shared that last year was placed on CSI status due to graduation rate, with training they look at their practices, attendance patterns, enrollment, and credit production, to make necessary changes and this year they are no longer on CSI status.

Students from Cooper Academy were present and spoke about what they love about being a student at their school.

Next, the board recognized High School Athletic Teams/ Athletes for the 2019/20 School Year – Fall Season

  • Fresno High School Girls Cross Country Team – Division 4 State Qualifiers. Head Coach – Jesus Campos

Next, the board recognized All-State Musicians

  • Isley Parada, a junior trumpet player from Sunnyside High School, will perform as a member of the High School Symphonic Band
  • Xavion Torres, a seventh-grade student at Computech Middle School, will be playing viola in the Junior High School Orchestra. 

Both ensembles will be featured at California State Music Educator Conference in Fresno.

Next, Superintendent Nelson provided a brief report to the Board of Education including:

  • Highlighting that students across the district are celebrating African American History Month. Celebrations started las week with Gaston’s 6th Annual Black History Month program at the historic Warnor’s Theater. Special recognition to the Edison region BSU and students, Lisa Nichols and all the team for putting on another amazing show celebrating our African American community.
  • Next, Superintendent shared that last week the district celebrated its annual Excellence in Education awards banquet at Hoover’s High School’s event center. Congratulations to the 46 finalist that were honored, especially to our five winners this year;
    • Annette Montague, Classified Employee of the Year
    • Benjamin Akioyame, High School Educator of the Year
    • Christine Felder, Middle School Educator of the Year
    • Ivette Jauregui, Elementary School Educator of the Year
    • Rebecca Wheeler, Administrator of the Year

Make sure you congratulate our winners and finalists when you see them-, they are rock stars!

  • Superintendent shared that all households should have received their March 3 ballots and we want to remind you how important is to vote. Voter will be making several important local decisions, including our district’s school facilities bond measure, Measure M. This past week you should have received your February issue of our district newspaper, Building Futures, which has all the information you need to make an informed decision on Measure M. More than two-thirds of our schools were built before 1970, and Measure M will generate local funding to modernizations and improvements to continue providing a quality learning environment for our students and teachers. You can find the Measure M Fact Sheet and Project List on our district’s website homepage.  
  • Next, Superintendent Nelson congratulated Sunnyside High School for receiving CollegeBoard’s Advanced Placement Female Diversity Award in Computer Science Principles. Out of 20,000 institutions offering AP courses, Sunnyside is recognized as just one of 639 to receive this award. Great job to our Sunnyside teams who are working hard to engage more young women in Computer Science, preparing them for in-demand, high-paying jobs after graduation.
  • Superintendent recognized teams and school sites for a fantastic Federal Program Monitoring review over the last couple of weeks. The two-week onsite visit resulted in zero school findings, zero compensatory education findings, and juts nine program area findings – all of which we plan to have resolved or planned with CDE well before the 45-day timeframe required. At the exit meeting, the lead reviewer commented that the quality of work provided by the team resulted in, “one of the best reviews completed during his 19 years of service.”
  • Superintendent Nelson acknowledged that this week we opened our Climate and Culture surveys. Fresno Unified is surveying parents, staff, and students in grades 4-12 on a range of school climate and culture indicators that have been found to impact student achievement. Paper-to-pen versions of the parent Climate and Culture survey will  be sent home with students on the week of February 10. The parent survey is an opportunity for you to tell us about your experience with your child’s school. Your opinions are important to us and will allow us to better support your children. We ask that surveys be submitted by Friday, February 28th.
  • Superintendent asked to remind students that the Fresno Unified Scholarship Fund is currently receiving applications. The application can be found on our website and all applications must be submitted with letters of recommendation and transcripts by Friday, February 28. Students can apply online or can talk to their high school counselor for more information.
  • Superintendent shared that there are still three more opportunities to join our LCAP community meetings. The next LCAP meeting is Fresno High on February 13, Roosevelt on February 19, and ending at Sunnyside on February 20.
  • Superintendent ended his remarks with a video highlighting our 2020 elementary spelling bee. Congratulations to our winners that will head on to the Fresno County Spell-Off on March 17

Next, the Board of Education took the following action on the below consent agenda items:

  • Approved Personnel List
  • Adopted Findings of Fact and Recommendations of the District Administrative Board
  • Approved Minutes from Prior Meeting
  • Approved Provisional Internship Permits
  • Approved Use of Individual Piggyback Contract
  • Approved Agreement with Erahm Christopher for Student Voice Active Listener Training
  • Approved Proposed Revisions for Board Policy

BP 1312.3 Uniform Complaint Procedures

  • Ratified Change Orders for the Projects Listed Below

Bid 19-36, Fresno High School Locker Room and Weight Room HVAC Improvements

Bid 19-41, Wawona K-8 School Classroom and Restroom Additions

  • Ratified Purchase Orders from November 1, 2019 through November 30, 2019, and Zero Dollar Contracts – Primary Report 
  • Ratified Purchase Orders from November 1, 2019 through November 30, 2019 Supplemental Report (Trustees Mills and Jonasson Rosas abstained pursuant board Bylaw 9270)

Next, the Board of Education discussed and took action on the below conference/discussion agenda items:

  • Discussed and Approved the Endeavor Charter School Petition
  • Public Discussion of the California School Employees Association, Chapter 125 2020-2021 initial proposal to the Fresno Unified School District
  • Discussed and Adopted of the Fresno Unified School District 2020-2021 Initial Proposal to the California School Employees Association, Chapter 125
  • Public Discussion of the California School Employees Association. Chapter 143, Food Service 2020-2021 initial proposal to the Fresno Unified School District
  • Discussed and Adopted of the Fresno Unified School District 2020-2021 Initial Proposal to the California School Employees Association, Chapter 143, Food Service 
  • Presented and Discussed Updates on the Local Control and Accountability Plan Stakeholder Outreach

Next, the Board of Education received the following Information and Reports:

  • Received Proposed Revisions for Board Policy
  • BP 5030 Student Wellness
  • BP 6142.8 Comprehensive Health Education
  • Received Draft Fresno Unified School District Superintendent Goals for 2020/21

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Education is Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at the Fresno Unified Education Center, located at 2309 Tulare Street in Fresno. Complete minutes and agendas are available online at https://go.fresnou.org/board

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