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I. PRELIMINARY

Prince called the April 5, 2011, meeting to order at 6:01 p.m.

Roll Call

The following members were present:

Amy Prince, president Mary W. Lewis, vice president Jane Barber, secretary Peter Cukale, treasurer Jeanette Carmany, director JulieMarie Shepherd, director

The following member was present via phone:

Matthew Cook, director Also meeting with the Board of Education were:

John L. Barry, superintendent of schools

Tony Van Gytenbeek, deputy superintendent Barbara Cooper, chief equity and engagement officer

Casey Wardynski, chief financial officer Kari Allen, chief personnel officer William Stuart, chief academic officer

Anthony Sturges, chief operating officer Tonia Norman, assistant to Board of Education Pledge of Allegiance/Welcome to Visitors

Barber led the Board and audience in the pledge to the flag. She then welcomed visitors to the meeting.

Approval of Agenda

Prince moved and Lewis seconded to amend the April 5 agenda as follows:

move Martin Whalen and Carroll Duran from the list of Nonrenewal of Teachers for the 2010-11contract year and include both on the list of resignations for licensed personnel as requested by Human Resources.

Roll Call: Barber, Carmany, Cook, Cukale, Lewis, Prince, Shepherd #8165 Approved on a vote of 7-0

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the regular meeting of the Board of Education held on March 15, 2011, were approved as written.

Student Photo Exhibit Michelle Mack, dean of students at William Smith, and Katie Taft, part-time art

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teacher contracted through the community partnership with the Downtown Aurora Visual Arts (DAVA), highlighted slides of student artwork at William Smith. Taft shared that student artwork is on display at DAVA as part of the exhibit entitled “Photo ID.”

Superintendent’s Celebrations

Barry shared that the Colorado Department of Education recognized seven APS schools with Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Awards, which honor the top eight percent of public schools with the highest rates of student academic growth. Congratulations to the following schools and principals for this great achievement:

Aurora Frontier K-8 Principal Starla Sieveke-Pearson; Aurora Quest K-8 Principal Valerie Garcia; Lotus School for Excellence Principal Adnan Doyuran; Montview Math & Health Sciences Elementary School Principal Michelle Barone;

Side Creek Elementary School Principal Suzanne Morris-Sherer; Tollgate Elementary School Principal Laurie Godwin; Yale Elementary School Principal Nancy Klinedinst; and Aurora Academy Charter School Principal Stephen Garretson

The APS Board of Education and I are extremely proud of your successes. Thank you for all that you’ve invested in our students.

Congratulations to Aurora Quest K-8. In addition to earning the Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Awards, Quest has also earned the John Irwin School of Excellence Award from the Colorado Department of Education. This award recognizes schools with student achievement that is in the top eight percent in the entire state. Receiving both awards in the same year is truly extraordinary. It means that even though Quest consistently ranks as one of the top schools in the state, according to state tests, Quest students are still improving their scores. The APS Board of Education and I commend Quest staff and students for all of their hard work and dedication. We wish you all continued success.

Opportunity for Audience

Sabrina Wright has served as an APS volunteer for nine years; the entire time that her oldest son has attended school in APS. She recently became aware of the possibility of a special education program at Aurora Quest K-8 and wanted to get additional information. Valerie Garcia, principal of Aurora Quest, provided some information; afterwards a staff member approached her and requested that she attend a meeting along with district and school staff.

Wright, along with two other parents, went to the meeting, but was informed that it was for staff members only and asked to leave. She planned to comply and requested business cards from district staff members present at the meeting in order to get additional information. She shared that the two parents who went to the meeting with her received no trespassing letters from the district. She had not been home to confirm if she had received one.

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Wright did not want to speak for the other parents who went to the meeting with her, but explained that she left when requested to do so and did nothing inappropriate. Staff members who were present at the meeting wanted parents to attend; the school administration and district did not.

Wright shared that Aurora Quest is a school that had more than 10,000 volunteer hours last year. She is a member of the PTA and is at Aurora Quest all of the time. Superintendent Barry is all about transparency, which leaves me to wonder where is the transparency. Garcia’s e-mail response to me when I informed her that I would be attending this meeting was that “when a decision is made, the Communications Department will relay it to the community.” This tells me that parents will not be involved in the decision making. I am very upset about that, but I am more upset that this type of action was taken. Vicki Weseman, student achievement director, and Dr. Barbara Cooper, chief equity and engagement officer, were both privy to this and copied on the letter. Weseman was extremely rude at the meeting and refused to give me a business card.

Griselda Landa-Posas, sophomore at Hinkley, spoke about her education in general, adding that you guys are all about our education.

Students are constantly being told that what is important is our success, our education, and that is why you are all here. You are doing it for us, not for yourselves. If this is true, why are we rarely asked about things that are going on around our school? You guys are always saying, “You guys are most important to us and you guys matters to us.” You guys say it so often, but there are people who do not say it often, but mean it more. Teachers like Mr. Bergen and Mr. Clark do not have to tell us daily that they care about our education because their actions clearly show it. Sometimes actions speak louder than words.

Yesterday, we had a protest and it was a peaceful assembly. As far as I know, we have freedom of speech. All of a sudden, they started making a big deal out of us standing up for our rights. I read on the Hinkley website that they wanted us to leave our school prepared for the world and apply what we learned to our environment. When we tried to do that, they stopped us. Several students did a sit-in and were told that they would be suspended even though they were not yelling or being disruptive. We did not just go out and do this for no reason. We tried talking, but were not listened to; we are never listened to. You guys seem to think that we are immature and do not know what we are talking about. We tried talking to the principal and were ignored. This is our school and our education.

They called our parents and said that we would be suspended. I don’t know why because we did not do anything wrong. They suspected that our teachers were the ones who involved us and it was their fault. What are they trying to say? Do they think we are stupid and can’t come up with something ourselves? We can’t stand up for our own rights? We are brainwashed by people and told what to do? We do not have brain, thoughts, feelings, or emotions? We can’t do something by ourselves and decide that this is not right and we want to change it? We were personally involved and wanted to do something about it. Now our teachers are being blamed and they had nothing to do with it. Thanks for listening to what we have to say and I hope you take it into consideration.

Andrew (AJ) Retland, junior at Hinkley, shared that this protest had been planned for a couple of months. It started as a discussion in a classroom, specifically Mr.

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Bergen’s classroom, because that was the first teacher who we learned about being unfairly let go. We conducted an investigation to find out what is going on with our good teachers who we feel inspire us and create the perfect image for learning as far as making it fun, enjoyable, and excitable. They give us the information we need in a new creative way that has not been introduced to us before. They also make the learning environment a stable place to learn. Their students are under control, focused, and nine times out of 10, you do not see a classroom that has almost 100 percent participation in what’s going on. I have been in a lot of these classrooms because I currently have some of these teachers or had them in previous years. A lot of these teachers are in full control of their students as far as willingness to participate or stepping out of their comfort zone to address an educational issue in which people tend to shy away from.

As you all know, the protest took place during school hours. It did move outside because we felt that was best for our rights as far as not infringing on the school’s rights and moving it to a public forum. We also kept it outside so we would not disrupt the learning environment, but we wanted to make sure that we raised awareness in the streets. Some of us took our protest to the Colfax corner to raise awareness and asked drivers to honk for good and quality teachers.

We feel that some of the teachers who are being let go are not the teachers that should be let go. We feel that the way that they were determined to be let go are not just means. We are asking you to reconsider and to let you know that we did a protest as a public statement and are willing to fight for these teachers because that is how strongly we feel about them. We are inspired by what they have created as far as the learning environment, and in that inspiration, we have decided to make it known as public as we can about what is going on.

Marcelo Gonzalez, parent, commented that these students are fighting for their education and deserve the best teachers. He shared that schools outside Hinkley’s neighborhood have everything and questioned why the best teachers were being removed. He noted that these kids are strong and have a right to protest, adding that this is the United States, not Cuba.

Gonzalez is proud of the kids for defending their education and supports them. He has two kids who attend Hinkley and they are both hard workers.

Emma Goos, senior at Hinkley, asked to clear a misinterpretation or room for misinterpretation regarding a comment made by Andrew Retland in which he shared that the protest originated in Mr. Bergen’s classroom.

Goos shared that what he meant was that when it was made public that Mr. Bergen was being let go, the students were inspired and took it upon themselves to protest. The punishment for both the students and the teachers who supposedly instigated this protest was incredibly drastic because the students were simply expressing their opinion, like many of us said, the freedom of speech and the freedom of opinion. The teachers who have been punished severely, not necessarily for their support of the protest or the students ditching class, but for their support of students voicing their opinion and being able to speak out against it. I do not think that they should be punished for that. This was the only miscommunication that I wanted to make clear.

II. BOARD WORKSHOP

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Kevin Riebau, director of instructional technology; Jay Vean, technology specialist; Chris EarthTree, technology specialist; Aaron Berkhold, specialist; Rachel Erikson; technology specialist; Barbara Wager, technology specialist; and Donn Martin, specialist, provided an overview/demonstration of instructional technology to assist APS students and accelerate learning and achievement in district classrooms.

Riebau shared that work of the Instructional Technology Department is driven by VISTA 2015, unified school improvement plans, and the International Society of Technology and Education, National Educational Technology Standards for Students. Board members were provided information related to 21st century instructional standards.

Vean highlighted a demonstration of classroom instruction in which clickers/response systems are used by students to allow everyone to have a voice and to help teachers determine overall learning and understanding. The Board and leadership participated in an exercise that highlighted responses to questions utilizing the clickers. Stuart commented that Shepherd shared that CU students purchased clickers for use in large college classroom settings. Prince shared that many classes at CCA require students to purchase clickers.

Berthold noted that the district’s goal is to graduate every student with the choice to attend college without remediation. He shared that information received by the Board outlines principles of Education 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0, and aligns key terms including critical thinking, collaboration, and technology skills. He reviewed examples of instructional work highlighting education principles as well as how multiple media tools such as Facebook are used to connect students to daily learning.

Vaughn Elementary teacher Robyn Sands and second grade students Lisbeth Moreno, Shania Minter, Daniela Zamarippa, Jasmine Hernandez and Cristina Carillo, were linked to the boardroom via a virtual classroom and demonstrated how technology is used as a teaching tool in a classroom setting to engage student learning. Second graders did math problems designed by Sands at stations throughout the classroom utilizing an interactive whiteboard. Reibau shared that this technology could be expanded to a wide-use learning opportunity such as incorporation into the district pathway program at sites that do not have pathway programs. Stuart recently participated in a professional learning opportunity in which staff at three different schools participated in training.

Aurora Central High School teacher Cari Roberts showed how teleconferencing is used with high school aged patients at Children’s Hospital. Patients at Children’s Hospital connect with Aurora Central students to discuss reading, writing and other learning opportunities. Roberts highlighted an example of a moodle site which students and patients utilize after school or use to correspond with her after hours. Roberts uses journals to provide one-on-one connections and learning opportunities with individual students. Google Apps is also used to provide opportunities for students to share, review and revise documents as needed. Roberts encouraged the Board to stop by her classroom and see how technology is used to increase student learning opportunities.

Randy Wood, online learning coordinator, oversees APS online high school. APS online high school is another choice opportunity for district students. Students who attend make a positive choice to attend and enrollment throughout the state has increased by 20 percent. In January 2011, 50 students were

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enrolled in APS online high school. Currently, 150 students are enrolled in the program and it is expected to increase to 250 students next fall. Students have completed 1,300 courses since January; 40 courses were completed by one student. Approximately 12 students will be graduating in May and several students are close to completing requirements. Each student is provided a Netbook computer with a Verizon card to access the Internet and work on coursework throughout the day or evening. Classroom tools, including an interactive whiteboard and visualizers, are used in the classroom as students are expected to come in twice weekly to work with instructors individually or in small or large groups. We recently received a federal endowment from the NCC, Learning On-The-Go Grant, which will be used to expand and provide more access to the online program.

Riebau encouraged the Board to visit classrooms or contact him regarding additional instructional technology opportunities. He shared that APS wants to be the district of choice and options for student learning and achievement.

Cukale asked about interactive classrooms capabilities with students throughout the United States and world. Riebau shared that one critical 21st century goal is making global connections and collaborate, communicate, and do joint projects with students from all cultures. He shared that these types of capabilities and connections are being reviewed.

Cukale asked about how student social skills would be affected with increased technology opportunities and capabilities. Riebau believes that students are being disserved by removing opportunities to socialize in a live environment. The APS online high school is a hybrid/mixed model in that students work online most of the time, but are expected to come in twice a week to interact with peers and instructors.

Cukale asked how plagiarism is being monitored online. Riebau shared that plagiarism and cyber-bullying is monitored through education. We educate both students and teachers, and have implemented i-SAFE, which is curriculum that teachers use in a virtual environment. We also have a number of tools in place, including filtering websites.

Shepherd asked about opportunities for parents to receive training or classes to support student learning at home. Riebau reviewed an example at Boston in which students took their lessons home on iPods to review with their parents. Some sites have opened their computer labs so parents can take classes and trainings to support student learning. Various opportunities and sites are available to support parents.

Lewis asked how many students use phones to access information. Riebau was unsure of the exact number, but shared that teachers are utilizing text messaging to keep students and parents informed. Students who have phones with data plans can access information more readily.

Lewis asked if APS students could access the link with kids at Children’s Hospital on a daily basis. Roberts tries to link with Children’s Hospital daily, but shared that it is dependent on the number of patient appointments.

Riebau thanked the Board for providing an opportunity to highlight instructional technology in the district.

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III. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS

Aurora Expeditionary Learning Academy (AXL) Contract Renewal Legal Counsel Kathleen Hostetler presented information in regard to the Aurora Expeditionary Learning Academy (AXL) contract renewal application. The Board was provided a copy of the application in advance of the meeting. The current contract will be extended for one year. A new contract will be provided by June 30, 2012. This item will return for action on May 3, 2011. Acceptance of NCLB Consolidated Program Funds and Assurances Director of Grants and Partnership Development Paul Coleman shared that each year the Board is asked to accept No Child Left Behind (NCLB) funds, and appoint Chief Financial Officer Casey Wardynski as the authorized representative and fiscal agent to conduct implementation related to the planning, operation and evaluation of the grant program under NCLB. This item will return for approval on May 3, 2011. Drawdown of Federal EduJobs Money Coleman shared that APS has been awarded a federal EduJobs grant in the amount of $7,331,692 for the 2010-11 school year to retain or save jobs at district schools. The Board is required to accept and authorize expenditures for the EduJobs fund for the 2010-11 school year. Coleman requested that this item be moved to the consent agenda for action in order to expend funds in the next two weeks. State Fiscal Stabilization Funds Coleman noted that State Fiscal Stabilization drawdown fund requirements were similar to requirements included in the drawdown of the federal EduJobs grant. Wardynski requested that both items be move to the consent agenda for action in order to drawdown and expend funds through journal transactions. Prince moved and Lewis seconded to move the following items to the consent agenda for action:

Drawdown of Federal EduJobs Money

State Fiscal Stabilization Funds Roll Call: Barber, Carmany, Cook, Cukale, Lewis, Prince, Shepherd #8166 Approved on a vote of 7-0

IV. CONSENT AGENDA

Prince moved and Cook seconded to adopt the amended consent agenda as presented and approve the following items:

Personnel

Drawdown of Federal EduJobs Money

State Fiscal Stabilization Funds

Instructional Materials Adoption

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State Representative Rhonda Fields thanked the Board for their service to APS. What you do and the decisions that you make are not easy. Fields cares about education, students, the community and the types of decisions that are being made. The students and faculty at Hinkley should be extremely proud. I have had the opportunity to tour Hinkley, and have talked to the principal and met some of the teachers. I am proud of the work being done at Hinkley. I think that students’ minds are shaped by teachers. When you have students who are critically thinking about what is going on in their school and want to take a proactive measure to protest or voice their opinion about teachers and budget, it is a good thing. I represent the state of Colorado. At one point, we were looking at trying to make a $350 million cut to K-12 education. Today, there is a proposal to reduce that down to a $250 million cut to K-12 education. When I hear that, it makes me want to protest. It makes me want to sit down and have a conversation about why we are taking these drastic measures to cut the future, which is our kids. I can relate to the decision that these young people have made in reference to wanting to support their teachers and their learning. This should be celebrated. Fields’ position at the state is to not tolerate a $250 million cut to K-12 education, adding that we cannot continue to cut to solve the problem. We need to have meaningful dialogue and discussion about what we should do moving forward. The student protest was just one way for these young people, families and the community to say that we cannot tolerate having these cuts impact the classroom and teachers. This is just a way for them to cry out to the administration as a way to be heard. I am here for the students and their families and am proud that they didn’t decide to drop out of school, but elected to engage the administration and have a dialogue about how to go about this. These students are saying that they care about their fellow students, teachers and their school. I want to make sure that they continue to have a say at the table because their voice is important. Prince reminded the audience that public comments are limited to three minutes. She shared that the Board cannot carry on a conversation with speakers as we are unaware of the nature of your comments. She commented that we talk about trust and transparency, but there are things that Board members are not allowed to say whether it is morally right or prohibited by law. She emphasized that the Board shares what is appropriate, and hopes all understand that the Board is listening to comments and take each into consideration before making a decision. Rosa Landa, parent, has six children at various levels in APS and is worried about their education. She understands budget cuts but questioned why quality education for students was being cut. She shared that problems at Hinkley are a clear example that children are fighting for a real education, a quality education. She noted that Superintendent Barry shared that cuts would be minimal at school sites a few days ago. She understands that there is limited funding, but questioned why the focus was on teachers who have an intellectual capacity in terms of education for our students and asked that the focus be on the quality of the education that is being rendered for our children. Landa volunteers at several schools and expressed surprise that the majority of teachers who supposedly earned more are the ones being cut. She questioned if quantity rather than quality of education was being considered as this is what these teachers provide to our students. She shared that there are teachers who give additional time to find ways to help students understand was is being taught

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and other teachers who do not. She asked that the Board consider the education of our students and consider the future and quality of education in the United States. Ave Marie Stone shared that she is the wife of Daniel Stone, one of the teachers being recommended for non-renewal at Hinkley. Stone shared that her husband is a licensed educator and feels deeply about kids. She has mixed feelings about him continuing to teach at Hinkley, adding that in his long and successful career as a teacher he has never had such a poor experience with an administration. She has seen the joy of teaching being robbed from him. He has taught for 19 years and has never been non-renewed. In his first two years at Hinkley, he received good, positive evaluations. In his third year, which is when teachers become tenure, he was suddenly targeted aggressively for elimination. She does not believe that this was a coincidence or based on any valid criteria related to instructional quality or budget. She believes that he was given poor evaluations by his administrators to mask political and personal motivations to get rid of him. Stone is also a teacher. She personally reviewed his evaluations and looked at lesson plans designed to increase improvement in areas of concern on his evaluation. She shared that when administrators did evaluations and look at the progress those efforts were ignored or new issues were raised out of the blue. Stone was a founding teacher at the Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts in Thornton, which was highlighted in President Obama’s campaign. She shared that APS seems to have similar values because of its expeditionary schools. She commented that studies by respected institutions of educational reform state that students are able to identify effective teaching when they experience it. They may not be able to articulate the exact instructional methods being used, but they are aware when they have a good teacher. This correlates with other measures of student success including standardized test scores. Stone noted that when motivated and dedicated students like the ones present tonight tell you that this is a good teacher, they are learning and what they are doing in the classroom is effective, it should not be ignored and taken into serious consideration. She shared that the most important factor in the success of students, especially economically and socially disadvantaged students like many of the students at Hinkley, is relationships. Students who have developed relationships with teachers have taken the time to do this and value those relationships. Removing these teachers for whatever reason betrays the students and destroys the continuity and stability that they rely on. Stone asked that the Board think about the teachers who touched their lives, inspired and challenged them. These are the kind of teachers who you are proposing to throw away and I think that is a travesty for Hinkley High School. Daniel Stone shared that he teaches Spanish at Hinkley, adding that this is the second time that he has addressed the Board. Three years ago, he came to a Board meeting with students to start a Spanish National Honor Society, which has been very successful. Stone teaches because that is who he is. He was twice offered a position as an international salesman, but turned both down because he wanted to be in the classroom with kids. He is very proud of his students, stating that his class is full of thespians, doctors, lawyers, educators and many more professions. Each day

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he gets to teach kids Spanish, communicate and learn from them. He shared that the one rule in his classroom is respect; they respect him and he respects them. He requested that the Board think about the teachers they had in elementary, middle, high school and college. Did you want to throw them away? Stone feels that the teachers who are being non-renewed at Hinkley are those teachers. They inspire and listen. I hope you will consider keeping their jobs as well as mine. Tom Bergen, teacher at Hinkley, asked that data and letters from students and staff be provided to the Board. Bergen discussed the non-emotional part of why he wants to teach and why he is being non-renewed. During his first year at Hinkley, he was asked to teach Latin American history, a brand new course without any curriculum, textbooks or preparation. Throughout the course of the year, he received commendations on how well he did it. He also shared that writing examples from his civics students were used as examples for the entire district. During his second year, he taught five courses, and his US history students earned 100 percent proficiency on the interim assessment. He received a commendation from Superintendent Barry. His civics students also performed far and above any other students in the school. During his third year, he taught US history again and students are currently studying the civil rights movement. This year, he was recognized as a leader and became a department chair. He was asked to be the PLT leader for the professional learning team to help raise test scores in US history. Bergen created a Facebook page about his classroom in which kids debate history at the college level. He shared that it is not a threat to anyone’s power to reverse a decision, adding that the Supreme Court does it 81 percent of the time. He asked the Board to consider the facts in front of them. He has also written the Board a letter in detail in response to his non-renewal recommendation. He sincerely hopes that the Board listens to the students, parents and his colleagues. He concluded that there is only one person at Hinkley who does not want him there and hopes that the Board listens to the 99.9 percent of the rest.

Kathy Krieger, sophomore at Hinkley, shared that during her eighth grade year, Superintendent Barry came to her school and shared that his job was to make sure that their education was properly bestowed on them. These teachers have changed my life. I recently found out that my mom has breast cancer and Mr. Bergen supported me through the entire thing. Teachers like that should be at Hinkley, not the teachers who do not care about their students’ personal life and what they have accomplished. We love our teachers, and the ones that we love are the ones that they want to get rid of, not for budget cuts or professionalism. These teachers are so professional and use learning in a way that no one else can. Hinkley High School is who we are because these teachers make us believe that we can become lawyers, doctors and educators because they provide that knowledge. Without them, we would not have the strength because they put it in us. We have the power. Like Mr. Bergen said, we are learning about the civil rights movement. We are telling you how we feel because there are other people telling you how we are supposed to feel. Mrs. Stone shared that students know a good teacher when they have one. These teachers are good teachers. They are the ones that care and say what needs to be said to get work done. I hope you reconsider this. Bobbi-Jo Tilley, junior at Hinkley, shared that teachers are being cut or their

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contracts aren’t being renewed because of supposed budget cuts. We understand that there are budget cuts, but we have seen things such as tardy carts and TVs that none of us even use. We’re getting five new mats that cost over $2,000 a piece. Why don’t we put this money toward things like our education? And you’re firing teachers that are unprofessional? If teachers can get the job done, and show performance on grades and test scores, I don’t think these teachers should be fired because you say they are unprofessional.

Our gym and art teachers are being fired. Our principal base cuts on classes that don’t have many students. We are only allowed to take five classes since we’re juniors and seniors. Sophomores and freshman are only allowed to take six classes. If you need a class, you won’t be able to take the class that you want. But you’re going to fire teachers that do a good job, support kids that hate school completely and are coming to school just to see that teacher. You’re going to fire them?

Our teachers should be fired based on whether or not their performance is good, and whether students like and learn from them. We have teachers who refuse to help students, and we’re firing teachers that spend hours and hours after school, before school, during their planning periods and lunch period to help students. We get that certain things have to be taken out because of budget cuts, but let’s take out things that we don’t need. We have Promethean boards in classrooms that don’t get used. All we need is a projector, the old school projector, a screen or a whiteboard. That’s all we need. We don’t need these high priced things. Earlier this evening, they were talking about video teleconferencing. We don’t need that. What are we going to use it for – to talk to somebody in China? It would be amazing for a foreign language class, but why do we need to talk to somebody in China in a math class. Thank you for listening to us.

Brian Clark, teacher at Hinkley, shared that we are not being rehired because of budget issues as all of our positions will be refilled. We are not being rehired because of performance issues, but because of disagreements with the administration, which is extremely unfortunate. The kids love us and we love the kids. We are here for the kids, passionate about what we do, and want to fight for our jobs. We do not want to leave this community. It is a travesty that we are not being rehired because of minor disagreements with an administrator. Clark is a first-year teacher in the district and was given five separate preps this year, which was more than any other first-year English teacher in his department. He also started two weeks into the school year, adding that he was never trained in any of his classes except for one and had no curriculum written for two full classes. He shared that he has worked hard, and the only item that showed a concern on his evaluation as far as district standards was for planning. Clark emphasized that all of the teachers present tonight are incredible teachers, and love what they do. We are here for these kids and want to see them learn and grow as people. Evelin Preciado, sophomore at Hinkley, shared that students are here on their own time, without obligation, to speak about what matters most, which is trying to save our valuable teachers. We are fighting for our future, future of students, and the future of our teachers and their goals to continue to enrich our knowledge as young adults. I am disappointed because the school administration excuses this choice by replying that it was based on their performance as other students have mentioned. They

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tell us it’s budget cuts. But, it is really because they are unprofessional in the classroom and I don’t disagree with that. I think that within our classroom, the way that they teach is customized to the way that we learn. We have different learners in the classroom, including visual, hands-on, and audio, and our teachers are willing to do all three. Even if they have to stay before school, after school or during their planning to figure out what helps us learn better. It’s really ironic how they are cutting our teachers months before they reach tenure. I don’t understand that. I am also aware that when the excuse of performance is used, teachers can no longer obtain a job in the Aurora Public School district for five years. That is ridiculous. The false accusations would undermine their record. We cannot continue with cuts within our classroom because this will create an imbalance in the school as a whole. Cutting our teachers who have been with us these couple of years will leave the school with a lot of yearning souls. Students who have the capability to do more than they think they can. You cannot cut the teachers who have helped us grow as individuals; you cannot take this away from us. It will leave us with no more challenges, no more obstacles, and no more chances to create strenuous goals with the materials that they assign to us. They challenge us by adding additional work to the skeletal methods that the administration wants them to follow. They teach us through their procedures to understand the environment of societies; socially, politically, emotionally and mentally. I can honestly say that they’ve changed our ways of thinking and I can now observe everything through the techniques that they use to help us discover the absolute picture of a situation. Today, our teachers were suspended. The administration believes that it was not the students who organized us, as a whole, to protest and come here to share what we had to say. Today, I feel like there was a pause, a gap in our education. Without our teachers, it feels like there was no point in coming to school. It was a black and white environment. We speak for ourselves, with open minds, and without the influence of teachers, the administration, or those directly tied to this decision. We, as individual students, and I come together, motivated by our own thoughts and our own minds to rise up from below and finally take action for a situation that has been abused and taken advantage of in a capitalistic way. Alejandro Majalca, sophomore at Hinkley, was surprised about the possibility of some Hinkley teachers being fired. I know that I have not had them for a long time, but I know what great teachers Hinkley would be losing. They teach us in ways that make the material understandable and they make it interesting for us to participate in school. They have helped us strive. Pedro Ramos, sophomore and Aurora LIGHTS student, asked the Board if they had ever had a teacher who had a class that they were excited to go to and were actually passionate about learning. I have personally, along with other classes, but most importantly, Mr. Bergen’s US history, civics, and geography classes. I was enrolled in his class during my freshman year, two years basically. At first, I, along with my fellow students, asked “what did we get ourselves into?” Long informative essays and major readings; yeah, he was all about the big things. We all came to learn that was part of our education along with many characteristics of Mr. Bergen. He might be young, but he has impacted the lives of many students and teachers in ways you could only get if you knew him. When we first got our essay project for the quarter, we were like “what is this,” but we came to learn that we were well-prepared for what was coming. He said that these essays were equivalent to something that you would do in college and

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I have now improved my writing skills but how I learn. He goes beyond the box to teach his students, not just giving us worksheets and telling us how to do them. He explains ideas that I would never ever think about. You should see our hard essays, projects, interim assessments and many other classroom activities. The motto for Hinkley is “world class.” Is it really “world class” when you get rid of “world class” teachers? Mr. Bergen, along with many other favorable teachers at Hinkley, are extraordinary and have improved our lives. Are you really supporting education by taking away these teachers? Does the higher power of administration really value student education at our school? Scarlet Jimenez, sophomore at Hinkley, has a 4.47 GPA and is the sophomore class president. She shared that the following is her own opinion and thoughts, and on her own accord. It has not been influenced by an adult, teacher or otherwise. The termination of Mr. Thomas Bergen will only damage the instruction of students at Hinkley. We are already feeling the budget cuts in the classroom and our school cannot afford to lose a valuable teacher like him. Students, along with parent support, have already proven what this man means to our education through petitions, meetings, phone calls, letters and emails. He is an MYP IB history teacher who expects the best from his students and pushes us to success. He is admired and cherished at Hinkley. I can assure you that any one of his students, past or present, would be willing to vouch for him and the impact that he has had on our lives. His class and its environment is one that gives students a new perspective on history and life itself and prepares us for higher level classes in all subject areas. It worries me that incoming freshmen and sophomores will be deprived of having Mr. Bergen as a teacher and deprived of the learning experience that his classroom gives. I ask that the Board look at the evidence of his capability as a teacher and to put the education of the students first. After all, today’s students are tomorrow’s future. Thank you. Monica Alvarenga, sophomore at Hinkley, is in the MYP program and will be in the IB Program next year. I have come to this meeting for the same reason that many of us have attended. We have tried to communicate with our school many times, including a petition which got more than 600 signatures, and a student-organized protest. The protest was blamed on teachers and they were suspended; my sincerest apologies to the teachers who are suspended. According to our count, the protest had about 200 students. There are many variations as to why we’re here, but the bottom line is that we want to fight for quality teachers who are being fired. The news and publicity indicates that we are fighting for “our favorite teachers,” but that’s not exactly true. I want to emphasize that these are not only our favorite teachers; these are teachers that don’t just cram textbooks in our heads or make us study and memorize things that we will soon forget. They help us learn, push us beyond our comfort zone when we get stuck, and let us apply new knowledge to things in everyday life. Isn’t that what education is about? Well, these are the same teachers that Hinkley administrators are trying to fire. These teachers not only help us learn; they are involved school-wise. Doesn’t firing these teachers defeat the whole purpose of building a world class? We need to keep these teachers in our schools; not only for me and my fellow students, but for the next generation to come. This is why so many students are uninvolved as individuals. As unorganized as we are, as you guys may know, we came together and are taking a stand and fighting for

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this. Doesn’t that say anything? Kelly Bohrer, sophomore at Hinkley, shared that most our teachers were non-renewed today and suspended. When I went to class today, I didn’t feel like doing any work because I knew that our teachers were not there. They are there for us and love us. They love teaching and are here to help us. I’ve been struggling through school since ninth grade. Whenever I need help, I go see Mr. Bergen or Mr. Clark and spend an hour after school each day with them until I bring my grade up to where I like it. As you guys might be able to tell, my voice is also gone because yesterday I was protesting to help keep my teachers. Alyssa Robinson, sophomore Hinkley student, shared that if you are a teacher and you can bring students to tears because you are going to leave a school, you can obviously see that it is going to hurt the school. I really hope that you would reconsider. I was going to try to count how many students were at the protest yesterday, yelling their brains out. I lost my voice and when I woke up this morning, I could not even say hi to my grandmother. You can tell when a student is dedicated to keeping their teacher’s job when they are outside from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., feet hurting, starving because you can’t get back on campus to eat lunch, head hurting and back hurting. I actually have a bit of a pain in my bicep from fist pumping too much. I hope that you see that these students are dedicated to their teachers as much as these teachers are dedicated to their students. Whether it was a teacher that particularly understood their educational needs, every teacher has touched their lives. They have gotten many of us through school, and at times, were the only reason some students even came to class. However, Aurora Public Schools has shown that these things don’t matter. They are teaching our youth profits over pride, and that is not okay. This is the same youth that we expect to one day run our country better than the previous generation that has destroyed the environment. Adults have only themselves to blame for what our children become. The administration’s greed, I don’t mean to insult you, but I have heard about the conference room. Yesterday, there were 20 to 30 students who handed their IDs over knowing that they would be suspended. These are Aurora LIGHTS, IB, AP and Honors students who know that a suspension on their record will hurt them. Commonly described as Hinkley hoodlums, these kids stood outside yesterday, protesting for the teachers who they love. I am expecting and somewhat know that these teachers love us too. It would be a detriment, not only to Hinkley, but to APS as well. Leandra Broabic, freshmen at Hinkley, does not have any of the teachers who are up for suspension, but is very upset that she will not have them next year. I have met Mr. Bergen once and I saw the relationship that he has with his students. He has given them opportunities to express the way they learn. It upsets me that students are brought to tears because they love their teacher so much. I know what it feels like to lose teachers and I know what they are going through. I’m here for APS students and parents who supported us. I’m here for education. We are not allowed to exercise our rights to assemble peacefully and state our opinions. Granted, our assembly was slightly disruptive, but the passion and dedication of the students and parents was there. We are not only fighting for our education, but for our rights as Americans as well. It outrages me that a parent was told that her daughter loses her civil liberties as soon as she walks into Hinkley’s doors. Regardless if this is a view of the district or not, a staff member who would state that should not be hired to work in an environment with children. Quality teachers, like the few being let go, are what gives us the tools to succeed in our future and the motivation to learn. We want to be able to

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go to school and know that we are getting what we need to excel, including good teachers and an administration that is behind us. Let’s not be hypocrites. For example, when the school tells us not to use much paper, but they then send our schedules on full pieces of paper. Our slogan states “Flight Above the Rest,” but we cannot fly above the rest if we are repressed or punished. The slogan on the wall behind states “Graduate Every Student With The Choice to Attend College Without Remediation.” If students do not pass high school, how are they supposed to get to college? We need teachers who will give us the attention we require and teachers who speak to us rather than at us. In order to obtain the proper education, we need support from quality teachers. Regina Barley, is a parent and former APS graduate. Her daughter, Alyssa Robinson, is in the IB Program and is a student of Mr. Bergen. Barley hopes that the Board will not let these quality educators leave. They are helping our children make a difference in their future and lives. Our children are our future and will decide our medical care some day as senior citizens. By keeping the teachers in our classrooms, I feel that our children will better themselves in society as doctors, lawyers and educators for their own children. It is your choice who our children will be with the educators we have right now. Barley is not just here for Mr. Bergen, adding that she met him and he is an awesome teacher. My daughter is more comfortable in his class than in any other educator’s class that she has been in. I hope you make a good decision and decide to keep him. It affects me because I see what my daughter goes through when she comes home from school. Her grades are good and she will be inducted into the National Honor Society on Monday. From a personal standpoint, my daughter lost her father four years ago. She is doing so well now and I don’t want her to lose this. Mr. Bergen is a good teacher and I hope you decide to keep him. Jacqueline Nevarez, sophomore at Hinkely, expressed concerns about the valuable teachers who are being laid off at Hinkley. Hundreds of students, including myself, find these teachers to be some of the most inspiring, dedicated and contributing teachers at Hinkley. They constantly motivate the student body and do their jobs as professionally as possible. This issue was conducted by doing a petition in which we gathered about 600 signatures and presented it to the principal and other administrators at Hinkley. We were told that there would be no further discussion about it. Letters were also sent to the Board as well. Students believe that the protest and the actions that we took were necessary since nothing else that we had done was considered. The grand majority of us who are against these decisions are part of your distinguished IB Program and Aurora LIGHTS Health Sciences Program. You do not see us doing things like this ever, but it shows the immense importance of the issue to us. I would also like to say that no teacher forced us to conduct any activities. The students of Hinkley High School request to have all teachers back and resume their responsibilities. Mr. John Barry, you want us to learn – right? Then, we need our teachers for that. Kasydi Valentine, sophomore at Hinkley, shared that Mr. Bergen is one of her favorite teachers and has been there for me. Mr. Bergen pushes us each day in class to do better. I do not know what your version of unprofessional is, but in my opinion he is professional each day in class. The only aspect that I think changes is that each day he brings fun to his

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class and we want to be there. I know that he was suspended today and when I went to class no one wanted to do any work. We thought that we would have a packet or something when we went to his class. Kids refused to do anything because of what happened to him and literally wanted to walk out of class. We ended up watching a movie, but no one wanted to be there because Mr. Bergen wasn’t there. I know Mr. Bergen personally, but Mr. Clark, Mr. Stone and the other teachers have a passion for what they are teaching. I have friends in Mr. Stone and Mr. Clark’s class. My friend looks forward to Mr. Stone’s class every day. She has trouble at home, and Mr. Stone has helped her through it. I know that by firing Mr. Bergen and letting these teachers go you will affect us and our future. Mr. Bergen makes us want to be at school and by letting him go, you are letting go of one of our reasons to be at school I have other teachers who make me go to class and all we do is take notes. We do not want to go to their class anymore. In Mr. Bergen’s class, we have projects, we have fun, we watch movies about the subject, and we talk about what is going on. I am in his MYP IB history class and we relate things that happened 70 years ago to things that are happening today. We see how we can change what is going on and by doing that, he is teaching us how to create a better future for not only us, but for generations to come. I really think that you guys should change your minds about letting him go. Val Oliva, parent, shared that her son is a sophomore at Hinkley and was in Mr. Bergen’s MYP IB civics and geography class last year. She shared that her son is stronger in math and sciences, but loved Mr. Bergen’s class and would come home and share his experience. I do not know how a teacher can go from being an excellent performer to a poor performer in a school year. I feel that these teachers were targeted. I do not know for what reason, but it was not for their performance. Oliva currently has a daughter who attends Aurora Quest and will be going to Hinkley in three years. She is now rethinking about enrolling her at Hinkley because she is not happy with the current situation. Renee Pens, junior at Hinkley, shared that we, the student body at Hinkley, gathered for a peaceful assembly yesterday. We stood outside for eight hours, sunburned faces before you, to beg you to save our teachers. I have never had Mr. Bergen, Mr. Stone or Mr. Clark, but I feel cheated because I see the love that the students have for them and I wish that I had had the privilege to sit in their class. Ms. Tschetter and Mr. Hunt are two P.E. teachers who I had this year. Ms. Tschetter actually got me to run, and if you can get Renee to run, you have made an impact in my life. I hated gym and now look forward to it each day. I decided to join cross country next year because of her. She was there when I needed her as more than a teacher. When I needed a shoulder to cry on and motivation each day, she was there. Mr. Hunt makes the class fun and makes the day go by a lot easier. I do not dread going to his class and actually enjoy it. You are cutting teachers who make Hinkley a school that should be tops, number one in the district because of its teachers. Every single teacher who is on the cut list, just so happens to be the best Hinkley has to offer. It we had not come together yesterday, I don’t think Hinkley would have ever been positively heard on the news. We’re also portrayed negatively, but Hinkley is world class because we have teachers who teach because they want to, not because they have to. I want you to overlook every teacher on that list and listen to us. We are not doing and repeating this to be a broken record; we are doing it because these teachers deserve to teach. Not every teacher has that privilege, but these teachers do.

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Linda Barrera, student at Hinkey, shared that it is unfair that you are letting good teachers go. I have been at Hinkley for two years and thought that my writing would never improve. This year, I have a great ELD teacher, Ms. Duran, and she has taught me great English. My writing has improved a lot because of her. I feel that you are making a big mistake by firing her and these other teachers. I feel that you guys are spending money on unnecessary things. I think that education is an important thing for us and for our future. I have a little sister and want her to grow up in a great environment and have a great education with all of these great teachers. I think you are making a big mistake and they should be renewed. Marta Aviles, junior at Hinkley, has been open enrolled at Hinkley since the ninth grade. I would like to point out that since my freshman year, the only teachers that have changed my life are here tonight. Whether they are on the line or not, they are the only ones that I will remember. They are the ones that actually push me to do stuff. Last year I went through a lot and Mr. Bergen’s room actually became a haven for me as it has for a lot of students. Ms. Tschetter and Mr. Hunt, teachers who are getting fired, don’t only impact Hinkley they impact the community around them. Mr. Hunt has a charity where he provides dinners and Christmas toys to kids. I would also like to point out that the teachers who were suspended, were suspended for unjust reasons. They had nothing to do with the protest. Five people, students at Hinkley, started this protest and it grew. Students who had never talked to or seen each other, stood together across the street from Hinkley because cops were preventing us from going back into school. Students inside the school who probably never shot us a second glance were cheering for us for taking a stand. Hinkley has pushed us around long enough; our administration has implemented rules that don’t even make sense. They take away things that are important to us. I personally put my open enrollment on the line, I put my IB diploma on the line, and I put my prom on the line. I never got into trouble before and I put a suspension on my record just for these teachers and to prove that these teachers are more than what the administration is making them seem to be. They don’t deserve to be fired when their performance has always been above and beyond. I was in Mr. Bergen’s class last year, and I promise you nobody in his class loved him at first. We all hated him because he made us do so much work, but it paid off. He is somebody that you learn to love because he doesn’t tell you “oh no, you can’t. “ This year, I have a lot of teachers that have told me I can’t make it anywhere in life just because they don’t want to be teachers. I have a teacher that doesn’t want to go back, but has tenure and can ride it out. I also have a teacher who will not help when asked and will not stay after school. I am an IB student and a gymnast, and do not have all the time that everybody else does. I’m about to go to college and I feel that Mr. Bergen and Ms. Elliot are the only people that have actually prepared me for those courses. The people who were suspended, did not get suspended for the right reason. They were suspended because they took us food because they knew we had been out there since 7:00 a.m. I was at the sit-in at 7:40 a.m. when there were only twenty people, and I willingly handed over my ID knowing how much trouble I was going to be in. I just want you guys to know that our administration is not who we are; the students are who we are. I think we proved that we can stand together for the greater cause.

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Charlotte Knox, parent, shared that she is here to support her daughter, Bobby-Jo Tilley. Knox is a former student at Hinkley. She shared her child risked everything that she has worked for as she is in a dual credit program to stand behind teachers that she cares about or doesn’t even know because she believes these teachers are the best for her school. She is fighting for something that she truly believes in. Knox shared that her personal experience at Hinkley as a student was disappointing. She is now disappointed as a parent because they are choosing to get rid of teachers who need to stay and keep teachers who need to go. She shared that her daughter has complained about a teacher for three years that provides work, but does not offer any help. If you have a teacher like that in your high school, why bother having a high school at all. You are getting rid of teachers who are willing to help students do whatever it takes to be successful in life and attend college without remediation. Knox knows of a former student who attended a district school and failed because his teachers did not believe in him. He is currently struggling in his life. She has two more children in APS and concurs with comments mentioned earlier by a parent in that she is unsure if she wants them to attend school in the district and have teachers who do not care about their education and only care about a paycheck because they have tenure. She shared the importance of understanding how the children feel and to continue to support and stand behind them. Adrian Nava, sophomore at Hinkley, understands that there are budget cuts and everything revolves around the economy right now. I don’t understand why some of the most innovative and thoughtful teachers are being let go. Their Facebook pages are so much better than the presentation that was presented earlier this evening because we’re all on Facebook 24/7. For him to put up discussions and homework assignments for everyone to discuss, comment on and be part of are great ideas. We interact with each other that way, learn that way and can relate to other students and teachers. When the administration threatened us with suspension and told us we would have to come up with excuses or reasons for why we have a suspension on our record because of yesterday, made me think that we are fighting for our education. All of us are IB and Aurora LIGHTS students and we had to come down here and fight for what we want. We want an education, and it’s not fair that we have to come down here and demand it. Like the State Representative (Rhonda Fields) said, everyone should be proud of what we did because we stood up for what we believe in, we didn’t drop out, and we fought back because we want an education. My theater teacher told me that once you have knowledge you can never go back to ignorance. Mr. Bergen, Mr. Stone, and Mr. Clark gave me that knowledge. With them being gone, we won’t get that knowledge anymore. I feel that it is unfair that they are being let go because they’re in that leap for tenure. I also feel that this “unprofessionalism” that they are talking about is just an excuse. If our administration cared about us they would be with us right now. There are teachers in this room who are tenured and they are standing next to us. But, I don’t see Ms. Haberer and I don’t see Mr. Willis here.

Georgina Tenorio, sophomore at Hinkley, shared that she did not have Mr. Stone at the beginning of the year. I was in a normal Spanish class and I didn’t really know what I was getting into. To be honest, I didn’t really communicate in

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Spanish at home. I am ashamed to say that I talk to my parents in English so they encouraged me to take Spanish. When I found out that I was being placed in MYP Spanish with Mr. Stone, I really thought that I wasn’t going to make it. I thought that I was just going to die because I wasn’t really that fluent in Spanish. As I went to his class, I started having so much fun. He made Spanish so easy. I actually loved it and started talking Spanish at home with my parents. When I found out that he was suspended today class wasn’t even fun. We watched a movie in Spanish, but without him it was not normal. It was different and you could feel the emptiness. Mr. Bergen’s class is awesome and fun. I purposely walk my friends to class just because I like visiting his class. He is really fun to talk to and I wish that I had taken his class because he seems like an awesome guy. You are letting two good teachers go and more teachers behind us. It’s not fair. Adults have always told us to speak up for what we think is right. We’re doing that now, but you’re ignoring us. We stood up for what we believe in and we’re still standing up for what we believe in. Because of these teachers, we have all done good. We are not bad kids even though it might seem like we are because of what happened yesterday. You guys need to reconsider that. These are good teachers and you shouldn’t let them go. Because of Mr. Stone, “Hora habla espanol.” Marjorie Martinez, parent and APS volunteer, shared that she is a supportive mom, but corrects her children when they are wrong. She shared that her daughter is an excellent student, but was lazy and unorganized until she attended Mr. Bergen’s class. He was able to help her with organization and influenced her to read. She used to make fun of me for watching the history channel, but is now watching it with me thanks to Mr. Bergen. Martinez shared that Mr. Bergen may not have conventional methods of teaching, but that is what makes him unique and special, and is what makes all of these teachers special. She also shared that Ms. Tschetter is also amazing. She is aware that her daughter is a gymnast and encourages her to practice and has developed different warm up exercises for her. Her daughter has various medical conditions and was in severe treatment last year. She always made sure to let me know that we had to go in early as she did not want to miss Mr. Bergen’s class. For my daughter to say that, it was shocking. I have never seen her so motivated as she has been since going to Mr. Bergen’s, Ms. Tschetter’s and Mr. Hunt’s classes. Martinez shared that if there must be budget cuts, take out the electric signs in front of the school. The school does not need to look pretty. It just needs books, which they do not have thanks to budget cuts, and quality teachers. I have tried to meet with my daughter’s English teacher multiple times, adding that he has no people skills or time to speak to parents. He has been on Facebook every time that I have attended parent/teacher conferences. She remembers when she first came to the United States from Germany and the impact that her teachers had on her. Lenaya Simmons, sophomore at Hinkley, noted that all three teachers who spoke tonight were suspended. She was not able to go to her classes today and enjoy them because they were suspended for unfair reasons. Mr. Clark, Mr. Stone and Mr. Bergen are all amazing teachers. I have never had one moment where I ever looked and thought “Why am I here?” “Why do I let these teachers teach me?” “They’re no good?” Mr. Clark makes fun of me a lot, but he is one of the best English teachers that I have ever had. I go to his class

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each day and look forward to it because it is fun. Mr. Stone, I don’t know Spanish, but I’m doing pretty good. He’s taught me so much and I have just succeeded in his class. Mr. Bergen, I hate History. But everything that I have ever learned in his class I have shared with my mom or grandpa, who was very good at History before he passed away. To hear that these teachers may not be at Hinkley next year is terrible. I may not have them next year, but incoming freshmen and sophomores might need these teachers. I have experienced it and know for a fact that these teachers can do anything. They can motivate any student to do what they want, be what they want, and do their very best. Without these teachers, students are going to be missing out on so much good English, good Spanish, and good history lessons. I think that it is sad that future students will not be able to experience what I have and what many other students here today have experienced. I believe that we should reconsider who we cut, why we cut, and things that we are cutting. Like many students have previously commented about the budget, there are a lot of unnecessary things that we can get rid of rather than quality teachers who provide quality education and help motivate students. It’s not about teaching; it’s about what they make their students believe and how they make their students feel. I believe that those teachers present tonight have done so much for me and so much for all of these students. I think that we really need to reconsider their position at Hinkley High School.

Jennifer Ruiz, sophomore at Hinkley, shared that when she feels stared at it makes her think about her little sister and her problems focusing. It’s is hard to know how I actually feel, and sometimes I do not have anyone to talk to since my mom’s been out of the country. The teachers present tonight are the only ones that are going to help me get through this quarter. They are the only ones that are going to tell me that I will get through it. I talked to my tennis coach today and she also said that it would be OK. She did not make me feel like I was carrying a weight or a load. They actually make me feel like there are people who I can lean toward on. I worry about my grades and education. My little sister is seven years old and gets these packets with so much work in it. I sometimes ask her to explain the work, but she says no. She has problems focusing, but at the same time, why do they give her so much work. I know that she leans on me. I feel like my little sister because I’m the one that leans on my teachers. Without them it is so hard. It is hard to focus when there are so many things going on around you and the only thing that you can think of is that you will have their class tomorrow and can speak to them then. Knowing that I can do this not only for my mom, but for my little sister means so much to me. I think it’s important to not only think about the criteria and books, but also how teachers make you feel and understand everything. They balance everything, including personal issues and school issues and know how to control both. They make us feel stable and secure. They know me better than my friends. My principal does not know me; she knows me by the number on my ID. How do you think we feel? There are gates around the school; it’s like a prison. After school they try to move us out. But when that day comes for them to get money for students, they text us and tell us to come to school. The only teachers that care are right here. Why aren’t the rest here? Why isn’t the principal here? It’s unfair. I think that if so many people want to talk to you about the issues and give you statistics about what’s going on, you should give us more than three minutes. You should really get to know things before speaking to the principals or the people who think they know. But in reality, like we all said, we’re the students. They might lead, but the only people that they’re really leading are the teachers. The teachers lead in a way that

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works for us, and like they said, it’s just amazing how we all came together. You guys see and hear us crying, but we don’t care because we are explaining to you how much we care about our teachers. I just love these teachers and even though I’m going through so much, they are here for me and help me every single day. Prince asked for the number of students, staff, and community members in the audience in support of the teachers to raise their hands. Van Gytenbeek counted 35 supporters. Carol Duran, teacher at Hinkley, shared that she is being recommended for non-renewal. This is her sixth year of teaching, and entered the field of education with the specific intent of closing the achievement gap, which is an initiative of APS. Duran was not planning to speak tonight, but shared that remaining quiet would have been an injustice to what has occurred at Hinkley. She shared that she has been an outstanding leader at Hinkley for three years and co-instructed the new teacher academy, mentored student teachers, chaired the building council committee, and served on the restorative justice committee and PBIS committee. A month ago, she initiated adult ESL classes at Hinkley and co-wrote a grant for the class. In February, she was informed that she was in danger of being non-renewed. She is not speaking tonight to have the Board reverse the decision, but wanted to let the Board know about the quality educators at Hinkley and the injustices that are happening. The teachers who are present tonight as well as I are all outstanding educators. If we are going to speak about closing the achievement gap and doing what is best for at-risk kids and kids of color, these are the exact types of teachers we should be keeping. Brenna Isaacs, president of the Aurora Education Association, thanked the Board for providing time to speak. In this country, we talk a lot about wanting to have a quality education for all students and that is being upheld by the president, secretary of education and voices across the country. We talk about wanting the very best teachers to educate students and to be sure that all students, regardless of their income or color of their skin or race have the opportunity for a quality education. In order to do that we know that we need teachers who empower students, engage them and encourage them to see that education offers them a different route and a different path in life and that they can have what they want and need to be successful. I don’t think that you would have seen this number of high school students speaking to you from the heart tonight if they did not know that the teachers who are sitting behind me and who I have had the pleasure of representing do just that. They bring their passion and their commitment to class every day and they do what’s necessary to engage these students and help them understand that there is a bigger and a better world out there for them, and if they stay in school and do the work that is necessary that the world will be waiting for them with open arms and will encourage them to be successful. We have something wrong in our system that says that based on the determination of one individual that teachers can be told that they are not a fit for a school. This is not about a budget issue because these positions will be refilled. And yes, we know that we have a budget crisis going on, not only in the state and school districts, but that is

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not what this is about. This is about probationary teachers who are being told that they’re being non-renewed and about the students. All of these students who are sitting here and the ones who have already spoken have said that these teachers are making a difference for them and that’s what we want. Yet we are ushering them out the door. We lament the fact that probationary teachers are leaving this profession within the span of five years, but we don’t talk about the teachers who we help leave because we say that when they get to year three it’s time for them to go. We don’t want to keep you. I hope that you are thrilled by the students who came tonight. I think that we should applaud them all because they were remarkable. I think that what they said needs to be taken into consideration. This is their future and this is their life that we’re talking about. I hope that the Board will take into consideration the words that were spoken tonight. Barber plans to vote no because of the students, Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chávez and so many other people who have stood up for their rights and for good people. I admire every single one of these students and teachers who had the courage to come forward and speak to the Board because it was not easy. Shepherd shared that the Hinkley students make her proud to be a Hinkley graduate. Roll Call: Barber, Carmany, Cook, Cukale, Lewis, Prince, Shepherd #8166 The consent agenda was not approved on a vote of 5-2. Barber, Carmany, Cukale, Lewis and Shepherd voted against approval of the consent agenda. Cook and Prince voted to approve the consent agenda. Lewis moved and Prince seconded to recess into executive session to gather legal advice on personnel issues related to the consent agenda. Prince reconvened the meeting of the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education from the executive session based on legal advice at 10:21 p.m.

Prince moved and Lewis seconded to approve the new consent agenda based on the agenda previously posted and approve the following items:

Division of Finance: IV-D-1, Drawdown of Federal EduJobs Money

Division of Finance: IV-D-2, State Fiscal Stabilization Funds

Division of Instructional Services: IV-F-1, Instructional Materials Adoption Roll Call: Barber, Carmany, Cook, Cukale, Lewis, Prince, Shepherd #8167 Approved on a vote of 7-0. Prince shared that the Board has requested that Leadership Team gather information concerning the remaining consent agenda items that have been previously posted.

V. CONCLUDING ITEMS

Next meeting date

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The next meeting of the Board of Education will be held on May 3, 2011, at 6:00 p.m. in the Dr. Edward and Mrs. Patricia Lord Boardroom at Educational Services Center 4.

Adjournment

The regular meeting of the Board of Education adjourned at 10:29 p.m.

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President

ATTEST _________________________ Secretary