Mar 18 2026
Board Meeting

▼Full Transcript Below

1.Public Comment
⏯ 19:02 - 1:04:13

Aziza Rajab (McKean student): Presented a poem titled "Don’t Close Our Doors," expressing the emotional connection students have to McKean High School and the fear of losing their school identity.

Morgan Dukes (Mckean staff member/alumni): Questioned the level of community engagement and urged the Board to pause the plan

Traci Dobrowolski (McKean parent): Opposed the conversion, citing the success of the special needs population at McKean and the potential negative impact on seniors 

Najma Landis (Board member): Thanked the Board for allowing her to serve and vowed to listen to community in her full term.

David Hogan (McKean staff, reading for a student): Concerned with transportation time, the loss of established relationships, and the sense of unfairness in targeting McKean over other high schools.

Lindsay Williams (McKean staff, reading for student): Compared attendance statistics between McKean and AIHS, citing McKean's strong community should be preserved.  

Beth Wile (McKean staff): Supported the vision of an Innovation Center but formally requested a phased transition. 

Shaun Orr (McKean parent): Expressed concerns about transportation, and impact the change would have on his son's mental health in his senior year. 

Adrien Fields (Red Clay Para Association): Questioned the status of Meadowood's future including students' medical and therapy needs. 

Karen James (McKean parent): Cited concerns over the high cost of adding ADA compliance at AIHS, potential transportation-related safety risks, and the negative impact of travel time on students' legal IEP requirements.

Andrea Arena (McKean parent): Opposed the Innovation Center plan due to a lack of budgetary transparency and a documented plan of action; noted that the Meadowood and autism programs were not included in the original decision-making process.

Melissa Wile (McKean staff, reading for students): Shared "soapbox stories" from McKean students expressing fear that the transition will destroy school culture, sever teacher-student bonds, and disrupt students' mental stability.

Jessica Kradjel (McKean staff): Requested an extension of the 2027 transition timeline, arguing that the current pace is "needlessly urgent" and risks cutting corners.

Mike Cole (parent): Described McKean’s special education program as irreplaceable and argued that dismantling this specific team would be unethical.

Gianna Howard (HB student): appealed to the Board on behalf of a peer to consider the student impact of moving Meadowood out of McKean.

Jenny Howard (parent): Expressed solidarity with the Meadowood families and teachers; urged the Board to support a motion to pause the plan and provide a full accounting. 

Brenda Steffon (Friends of AI): Requested specific details on why McKean was selected, called for information on transportation and retrofitting costs.

2. Superintendent Report
    ⏯ 1:08:52 - 1:23:10

• McKean Student Representative Ryan Reamer showcased the McKean's diverse successes during her presentation. 

• Superintendent Dorrell Green announced a new pilot program at Dickinson and AIHS, Workforce:Skills and Experience Seminar.

• Superintendent Dorrell Green shared slides on Mid Year Academic Achievement Board Workshop

3. Board Presentation
    ⏯ 1:28:36 - 2:15:12

• Mark Pruitt presented an update on the Reimagining Secondary Education plan followed by questions by the board members.

4. Items submitted by the Board
   ⏯ 2:45:10 

• Board Member Najma Landis submitted a resolution to pause the McKean Innovation Center plan for a vote next month.

19:02 Aziza Rajab: Don't Close Our Doors by Aziza Rajab. Have you ever thought of your own present or past hoping that the memories would last? Memories will only be left in McKean. My oldest age registered will only reach 16. Only because we have the longest sheet. Laughter will echo the empty halls bittersweet. Where future’s extended and lessons took place far more precious than any database. We are the artists, thinkers with futures bright. The vets and builders shine in the light. Each classroom holds a whisper sharp and clear of dreams that some may leave in drear. To shut these doors to dull our ambition will only cause us to start a petition. Having us end our graduation queue dims the hopes of McKean and our crew. We stand as one, a voice that will not cease. For this is our school, our home, and our peace. Let wisdom guide, let vision see worth of our routine, of every student and every staff member in McKean. Don't let our announcements end with our doors closed. This is the place where our big dreams get recomposed. So open your ears as the district hears anything but our voices. Keep these doors open so we have our own choices. Thank you.  

20:52 Morgan Dukes: Hello. Morgan Dukes. I'm a current McKean staff member and alumni. School Boards exist for a very specific purpose: local governance, to ensure that our schools remain responsive to community values, student needs, and the laws that guide public education. In other words, School Board members serve as the bridge between the school system and the community that it serves. And that matters because public schools do not belong to a committee. They do not belong to an administration and they don't even belong to a board. They belong to the community. They belong to the families who entrust you with their children every single day. They belong to the students whose futures are shaped inside those walls. And they belong to the taxpayers that fund them, the educators who serve them, and the neighborhoods that rally around them. Because of that, when decisions are made about schools, about programming, structures, closures, or redesigns, the people most affected deserve more than an update after the fact. They deserve a voice in the process. Community engagement is not a procedural step to check off. It's not a survey with low participation. It's not three minutes at a microphone once plans are already in motion. Meaningful engagement requires early involvement, clear information, honest dialogue, and the willingness to adjust course when concerns are raised. So, I want to ask a direct and respectful question tonight. As individual board members, what have you done to engage with the community that you represent to determine their thoughts, feelings, and concerns related to the McCain Innovation Center initiative so that you're informed and able to speak on their behalf? Have you spoken with the families that will be affected? Have you met with the students whose opportunities may change? Have you listened to the educators who will be responsible for implementing these decisions at union coffee opportunities or meetings offered with school staff? This is not about resisting change, but durable change is built with a community, not delivered to it. That's why I urge you to recommit to authentic engagement and transparent communication. Charge the district with pausing this plan and re-engage the community through structured surveys. Well publicized town halls and direct outreach to families and staff give stakeholders the opportunity to fully understand the proposal and provide informed feedback. That feedback can inform the district's future plans and ensure that whatever direction is taken reflects the priorities and concerns of the communities it serves. If our school truly belongs to the community, then the community has to have a real seat at the table before decisions are finalized, not after. Thank you.

24:06 Tracy Dobrowolski: Hello, my name is Tracy Dobrowolski and I'm speaking on behalf of my son Braden who is a sophomore at McKean. He has autism as well as an intellectual disability and anxiety. He is in a setting B with a shared para. We picked McKean because of the high special needs population. Braden is thriving at McKean and has made friends and plays sports through their unified sports program. We oppose the Innovation Center for some key reasons. Pulling kids out specifically during their senior year and having them make new friends and acclimate to a new building. Busing kids during the day for a career path is more time on a bus as far as safety and on the road and wasting more academic time. Collectively, we all worry about the kids' mental health. Yet getting kids to change schools and start new, especially as seniors, fosters more anxiety. Unified sports and best buddies are amazing at McKean. And why change it? Mrs. Schnicker is working hard to be inclusive and be a place where our kids can be social and have fun. Braden has been stressed about this since hearing about it. He actually heard about teachers talking about it. It was never talked to us about it or talked to anyone else. Please think about the kids that are already thriving at McKean and won't be yet able to graduate from there. Why are we making McKean who was already successful change? We have kids that don't always fit in, but at McKean, they do. Please don't take that away. Braden wants to graduate a Highlander.  

26:07 Najma Landis: Hello everyone. I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for allowing me to serve for a full term as my seat was unopposed in the recent nomination process. So I vow to continue to listen to voices of my community, our Red Clay community, and I hope that that communication continues in the coming weeks. Thank you.  

26:55 David Hogan: Good evening to the Board. I'm reading on behalf of a McKean student. Protect McKean. Imagine being sent to a country where you don't know anybody. That's what it feels like to switch schools from McKean to a different high school. Today, I'm talking to you about McKean High School and why it should not shut down. McKean High School located in Delaware is about to get shut down because the Red Clay Consolidated School District wants to change McKean High School into an Innovation Center. Every student who goes to McKean is very sad and disappointed at how the school has to shut down. As a McKean scholar, I have heard many stories and talks about how McKean is a really good school and that it shouldn't get shut down. I am a McKean student and everyone else who goes to McKean will be greatly affected by the switch. All McKean students and teachers would have to switch to either AI High School or Dickinson High School where all McKean staff and students would rather stay at McKean. McKean as a whole has developed a strong foundation in terms of learning and in relationships between students. Why would McKean get shut down instead of any other school in Red Clay? And how did they decide which school gets shut down? And why was McKean chosen? These are all questions that McKean students, staff, and parents are asking, but they're not getting the answers. It's just a pure waste of time to switch schools since students will be on the bus for hours on end, and the expenses are not just worth it. Every school in Red Clay is getting better over time. And this goes especially for McKean because McKean overtime has had fewer fights and more students keep showing up to school. So it doesn't make sense for McKean out of the three high schools to get shut down. If McKean wasn't getting shut down anymore, there would be three high schools in Red Clay that every student would go to each one that was happy and staff especially also would be happy. Cost of certain stuff would be lower and students would be able to learn effectively and efficiently without having to waste time going on a certain bus for hours and wasting time. If you and your parents do not want McKean High School to shut down, you should sign the petition to keep McKean High School alive and you should be vocal about why McKean should not get shut down and stay open. You should also tell how you feel about the school shutting down on the internet. To summarize, McKean High School should not shut down because it is very important to a lot of people, including students, teachers, and parents. Therefore, shutting the school down is not reasonable. McKean as a school should continue to develop and help kids learn new subjects. Thank you.

30:10 Lindsay Williams: I'm Ms. Williams. I am a staff member of Thomas McKean High School and I am reading a statement written by McKean student Moses Goldborn. My name is Moses Goldborn and today my topic and issue is McKean closing down and the aftermath of it closing down. Thomas McKean is closing down because they want to turn it into an Innovation Center for future purposes. Also, McKean closing down is going to cause a lot of problems for students, teachers, and those who work there. For example, students moving schools can be catastrophic for them.They can lose their friends and the other people they have friendships with. Also, sources online state that students that transfer to high school while in the middle of it, school can cause disruption in their academic performance and can cause potential behavioral issues. Also, instead of closing down McKean just like that, you can look at the status of other schools. For example, AI DuPont would be a school to look for at for stats and compare them. One good comparison would be attendance. If you compare both attendances from schools, you would see that Thomas McKean has a higher attendance stat than AI DuPont. When I first transferred to school for the first time, it wasn't very comfortable. I had to get used to the environment and other stuff, but not everyone is used to that. When someone transfers school, suddenly it's not very healthy because not everyone is used to being in a new environment all of a sudden. And this rapid change can cause mental and physical problems for them. If Red Clay Schools wants to rethink their decisions about closing McKean down, it would be good because the students and staff of the school would have a better peace of mind. Also, if they can find an alternative route, that would be good. Also, for example, shutting AI DuPont down and transferring their kids to John Dickinson and McKean High School because overall AI DuPont has the least attendance and it would be better for them to transfer instead of good attendance school transfer students getting transferred. A special action that we could do is to create a voting poll for everyone to vote and decide what action comes next instead of just picking a school at random. Thomas McKean is a really good school with a welcoming community. Also, McKean offers a lot of career pathways that the other schools don't offer in their career pathways. McKean offers a lot of after school clubs and sports for students and some of the after school clubs and sports are not at other schools and this can affect the children if they love doing a specific sport and love to be in a specific club. Thomas McKean has built a great environment for their students and it would be unfair to them if that just gets taken away from them just like that without a complete overview of the consequences of it being taken away from them. Also, it is not fair that Thomas McKean is facing the consequences for attendance issues with the other schools. Thank you very much.

33:33 Beth Wile: Good evening, members of the board. My name is Beth Wile and I'm a teacher at Thomas McKean High School. I want to begin by saying that I support the vision of creating an Innovation Center that provides students with meaningful career pathways and industry certifications. Expanding opportunities for students to be prepared for both college and workforce is an important goal and I appreciate the district's efforts to expand opportunities for our students. My concern is not with the vision, but with the timeline for implementation. Transforming a traditional high school into a district Innovation Center serving multiple schools is a complex transition. It requires coordination of transportation, scheduling, facilities, staffing. When changes of this scale move too quickly, schools often spend the first several years solving logistical challenges instead of focusing fully on student success. We currently have a strong career CTE program and we look forward to expanding those programs into a district-wide Innovation Center. It's an exciting opportunity, but it requires careful planning to ensure that systems are fully developed before implementation. Research has shown that large school design efforts are most successful when implemented through phase transitions rather than immediate restructuring such as grade level phase-in and begin with a freshman and a pilot pathway then years two through four expand on them. Grandfathering current students complete existing programs. The innovation model begins within new cohorts. Pilot pathways we can launch new programs that are being discussed. Traditional courses remain temporarily while labs and facilities are completed. We do need some work to our building for these new programs to start. We also need a new roof to the board, just so you know. A phased approach allows time to ensure transportation and scheduling are aligned. Prepare teachers for new certifications and programs. Ensure facilities and labs are ready for students. Without these systems in place first, students may face barriers such as lost instructional time or limited access to programs. For these reasons, I respectfully encourage the board to consider pausing the current timeline and implementing a phase transition plan that allows these critical components to be addressed before full implementation. The vision of the Innovation Center is exciting. Its success will not depend on how quickly we open it, but on how thoughtfully we build it. Thank you for your time and your commitment to our students.  

36:55 Shaun Orr: My name is Shaun Orr, representing my wife and I. My wife and I have spoken previously about how converting McKean into an Innovation Center would impact students, specifically students with special needs. We discussed concerns with midday transportation and how that could cause undue stress and anxiety for students who already struggle with transitions and the resulting loss of instructional time. We talked about the obvious inequities present by shutting down one successful high school by leaving two application-only magnet schools not only untouched but also vying for the opportunities presented by the proposed Innovation Center despite their already abundant and specialized resources. McKean is more than a brick and mortar building. It is a culture that has been built over years of collaboration between the community, Red Clay Consolidated School District and students. A culture built on equity, inclusion, and compassion. What my wife and I haven't spoke about is how this proposed plan impacts our child, currently a sophomore at McKean. This plan would occur during his senior year, a year that is supposed to be celebrated with his classmates over the last four years. Instead, if this proposed plan moves forward, he and many other students will need to pick a school to attend, learn how to assimilate into a new school culture, and attain a diploma from a school that he spent only one quarter of his high school career. He struggles with meeting people. This change may force him to revert and return back into his shell. The trust and comfort that took years to establish will be taken away. If Red Clay is committed to this proposal, consider alternative plans such as a graduated transition that allows students to finish their high school careers at their school of origin and allowing teachers and staff to give greater input in any proposal. One successful school should not be pillaged to save another school. Thank you.

39:25 Adrien Fields: Good evening, Adrien Fields from Thomas McKean, Red Clay Para Association vice president. My understanding is that the current plan doesn't include the uniqueness of the Meadowood student. So my question is what will the confirmed status of the Meadowood program and its students who attend McKean High become? Will this population be able to remain in an equipped supportive environment that includes all their medical issues minus the rigor of daily additional travel that deducts from classroom time that includes moving all their therapies and medical issues in travel. Thank you.

Dorrell Green: You might want to do that now.

Vic Leonard: Ok. Excuse me one second. We need to make a motion to extend the public comment. Do I have a motion to - 

Najma Landis: Najma Landis, I move that we extend public comment so that everyone who signed up has had a chance to speak. 

Devon Hynson: Second, Devon Hynson.

Vic Leonard: Thank you. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. Sorry. Sorry. 

Najma Landis: It’s alright. Thank you for doing that. 

41:05 Karen James: Good evening, distinguished board members. My name is Karen James and I am the mother of Natalie, a sophomore in the Meadowood special education program based at McKean High School. My husband and I are both concerned about the intended move of Meadowood students and staff to AI High School in the fall of 2027. Given the lack of planning for the special needs challenges when this decision was made, we urge you to consider allowing the Meadowood program to remain in McKean if and when it becomes an Innovation Center. For those who may not be aware, the Meadowood program serves those Red Clay students with the most severe intellectual disabilities, those who require constant supervision from teachers, paras, occupational, physical, speech therapists and behavior intervention specialists. These are students like my daughter who is 15 years old chronologically but is only 15 months old developmentally. She has a rare genetic syndrome and cannot walk or talk nor do most anything on her own. She wears a diaper and cannot feed herself or communicate effectively. She has not truly achieved academic skills at any level. Her IEP is 45 pages long. Natalie and students like her will be much better served if Meadowood remains at McKean versus AI based on three things. A sufficient budget, safety concerns, and equal access. It will cost the district and perhaps ultimately taxpayers thousands and thousands of dollars to make AI High School compliant with the American with Disabilities Act, including installing ramps, upgrading the elevator and stairlift as well as creating an accessible bathroom and ensuring there are adequate turning radiuses throughout the building for all mobility equipment. The safety and liability risks are high considering what may happen when the Meadowood students, many of whom have behavioral challenges, are bused back and forth from AI to the new Innovation Center in order to pursue a career path of their choice, giving them equal access like their general education peers. Keep in mind if the Meadowood students are not allowed to attend the Innovation Center once they are based at AI that would essentially become a form of discrimination against the special ed population. In addition, the transportation when this busing occurs will consume many unproductive hours during the week, hours that should be spent in the classroom. If too much time is spent in transport, it will jeopardize students being able to meet their IEPs, which are legal documents.

We encourage you to tour a Meadowood classroom at McKean so you can see for yourself the provisions already in place to meet the high level of need the Meadowood students have, including taking particular notice of the physical accommodations that are available at McKean that simply do not exist at AI.

Lastly, if you find the budget and the plans for this move do not realistically meet the needs of the Meadowood program, we hope you will urge the administration to keep Meadowood intact at McKean, at least until such time all the above compliance and program supports can be secured. Then we can be assured that the Meadowood students' IEPs are fulfilled and that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.

44:38 Andrea Arena: Good evening, distinguished Red Clay board members. I'm speaking to you as both a concerned member of the community and a mother of a nonverbal child with disabilities that currently attends the Meadowood program within Red Clay. He's being very patient in the back of this auditorium. If you are not already aware, as Karen pointed out, the Meadowood program is a specialized program in Red Clay that serves students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in kindergarten through age 22. Both the Meadowood program and the autism program are housed within McKean High School. I stand before you as a member of the public at large to communicate that we are not in agreement with the Innovation Center idea due to there being no plan of action, no budget, and no public transparency regarding the inevitable increased taxes and costs to every single family in this district. The Innovation Center idea was voted upon with nothing in place, no tangible plan nor a proposed budget. The cart before the horse scenario to a T.

In addition, students, parents, and community members were misled when the Board stated they would allow discussion and community participation regarding the Innovation Center, but instead voted quickly before giving the public appropriate opportunity to learn more, voice our concerns, and be a part of the actual decision. With no plan or budget to date, the taxpayers, we the people will indeed be paying for this Innovation Center idea to include but not limited to bus transportation during the school day to and from the Innovation Center. Additional insurance costs to cover all of that busing. Over 67 hours of missed educational instruction per student due to that busing. An additional nurse on staff to accompany medically complex students from the Meadowwood program to and from their feeder school on the buses. Additional safety issues that will require specialized training and the list goes on. To further the point, special education, specifically the Meadowood program and the autism program were never considered in any part of this decision from the very beginning. There was no one from Red Clay on the original committee to ensure that this fragile community be considered. More importantly, there are still no concrete plans for both the autism program and Meadowood program currently housed within McKean High School in regard to the Innovation Center idea. McKean and its students and staff should not be collateral damage in an attempt to revive a struggling school with the Innovation Center idea. It makes no sense logically or fiduciarily. In summary, we are requesting the Board votes to stop. Reverse the Innovation Center idea due to the following reasons: There's no plan of action. There's no budget. There's been little to no public transparency throughout this process. And there's been no public transparency regarding the inevitable increased taxes and costs that will be incurred by us. We're looking for the members of the Board to make the decision to stop the Innovation Center idea. And we're looking to you, the members of the Board. We voted for you, each and every member of you. And you're responsible for making decisions on our the public's best interest. We thank you for your immediate action. 

48:06 Melissa Wile: I'm one of the school psychologists at McKean. As a school psychologist, I tried to be a voice for students who may be not able to come up to this microphone. In this instance, a group of students was asked to write a soapbox story in their civics class about  McKean Innovation Center. I'm going to read snippets of some of their work. Josini Seda wrote, "The halls of Thomas McKean hold more than lockers and classrooms. They hold years of memories and traditions and opportunities that have helped many generations of students. Turning the school into an Innovation Center wouldn't simply change the building's purpose. It would remove a vital institution that contributes a lot to our community. McKean became a haven for its students thanks to its welcoming environment and culture as well as the opportunities the school offers. McKean will greatly be affected by this change. But this year's ninth and tenth graders and the first year students next year will be affected the most because after they have settled in and gotten comfortable at the school, they will have to go through the process all over again at a different school. The culture at our school is what makes people want to come here, not just the classes or teachers. Jacqueline Guadama Lopez wrote, "The school district is trying to change McKean, and we need to make an impact to show them how important it is they don't make that change. One reason why I believe this change should not be made is the large effect this action will have on the students. Students that have to switch schools could get thrown off and start to do bad education wise and some will not be able to make good relationships with completely different people. Imagine you already understand hallways, understand what you're doing in class, and understand the teachers’ teaching ways, but out of nowhere you're forced to restart all those understandings. Imagine how inconvenient and stressful that could be for you. I have great bonds with teachers. surprisingly because I'm a very introverted person and have trouble speaking out and not losing focus, but it's mostly due to how friendly and welcoming the teachers are. Another reason I enjoy going to school is because of the career paths. I've always wanted to work with either children or animals, and at McKean, I'm able to figure out which one I enjoy better and which one fits me personally. I hope that the school board doesn't go forward with this change and us students don't have to go through even more stress than we already have. And lastly, Aiden Russell wrote, "Though it may seem like nothing but a simple replacement, this change to our school poses various threats to the mental stability of students. Friendships and social interactions may be a valuable coping mechanism for students under stress. I can say so because it's helped me from time to time, which is why I believe these bonds are so important. What the school board is trying to pass threatens us with the possibility of tearing those bonds. Having to make students pick between their social bonds and their education seems cruel. Red Clay plans to take such drastic action without giving us a say and is leaving us with insufficient information to put our trust in. We need more answers that will reassure us that the threat it poses to students and staff is not of concern. We must show them that we do not want this change and that we want to save McKean. Thank you.

51:23 Jessica Kradjel: Hi everyone. My name is Jessica Kradjel and I am also a school psychologist at McKean High School where I've worked for the last 10 years. I'm speaking tonight on behalf of Red Clay's high school students whose school experiences and educational programming will be significantly disrupted by the high-speed timeline of the Innovation Center transition. The timeline to dissolve all three comprehensive Red Clay high schools and turn them into two comprehensive high schools and the Innovation Center seems needlessly urgent and quick. There are many details still to work out related to every aspect of school life. The master schedules and offered classes, schoolwide expectations, academic and behavior supports, special education, athletics and clubs, transportation, CTE pathways, not just for the Innovation Center, but also for the two comprehensive high schools that will have to make changes to create these new school communities. In all of these details, I worry that the experiences, needs, and concerns of the students themselves are taking a backseat to our district's plans. I love working with high schoolers. The final four years of school are incredibly impactful in shaping who our students become. Our Red Clay teenagers on the brink of independence, grown-up responsibilities, and adult decision-making deserve our best plans for the Innovation Center transition. I urge us to consider extending the timeline for the Innovation Center so that all aspects of this change can be fully thought out and thoroughly planned. To meet the current launch date of fall 2027, I fear that corners will need to be cut, details will be missed, and plans will be incomplete. If the transition is challenging, it's our Red Clay teenagers who will struggle through that chaos. As a school district, our students should always be our first and most important priority. We owe it to them to take our time so that all of the Innovation Center committees can create strong, meaningful, and organized programming for our students. I believe that more time is required to adequately meet that goal. Thank you.

54:43 Mike Cole: Good evening Members of the Board. My name is Mike Cole and I'm here on behalf of my daughter, Molly, and for that matter, all the special education students that go to McKean. Tonight, I want to speak about what makes McKean's special education program not just important, but irreplaceable. Special education at McKean is far more than compliance with federal law or just checking boxes on an IEP. It is woven into the culture of the school. It has been forged through years of hard work, dedication, and a unified vision into a truly exceptional program. McKean is the home of Best Buddies and is the Unified sports hub of the district. It is home to events like Special Olympics, Rock Your Socks, Spread the Word Day, and the incredible Bake and Brew program recently featured on Channel 6 News broadcast to the entire Philadelphia market. McKean students benefit from resource level language classes, functional math and reading classes and community-based learning experiences with business partners developed over many years. McKean also houses the STEP program and provides strong transition support to prepare students for life after high school. All unique to McKean. So all of the these initiatives exist because McKean has a team of teachers, administrators, paras,  counselors, and staff that are all aligned and deeply committed to the mission. A team that has been built and trained over many years to be collaborative, supportive, and effective. The people, these people are McKean's greatest asset. And once dismantled, this team cannot simply be recreated at two different schools. If these programs could easily exist anywhere, we would already see them thriving at AI and Dickinson. And we do not. My daughter Molly is a testament to what this environment makes possible. She has grown academically, socially, and emotionally. She belongs and she is accepted. She has friends across both special and general education. And her experiences have shaped her confidence, her community, and her future. Inclusion at McKean is real and it is working. To transition McKean into an Innovation Center is to erase the best special education program in Newcastle County. And as a parent, I believe doing so would be irresponsible and unethical. So I urge you, do not dismantle what is working. Protect this community. protect the culture and the extraordinary program. Our most vulnerable students deserve nothing less. Thank you.  

1:01:16 Gianna Howard: Hi, my name is Gianna and I'm in 7th grade at HB. I'm also a member of Best Buddies and Unified Champions at HB. I'm here because of Danny, a student in the Meadowood program at McKean High School. He's also here with us tonight in the back. I met Danny last year through the Best Buddies program. Sometimes when Danny saw me at school, he'd say hi. One morning, we got dropped off at the same time and we walked into school together. Danny and I had played games together at Best Buddies. I don't see him anymore, but I've thought about him since I heard about the Meadowood students because they are going to be moved because of the Innovation Center. Danny knows his teachers. He knows the hallways. He knows the faces around him every day. For a lot of kids, starting over is hard. For Danny, it can mean losing everything that makes schools feel safe. His mom and other Meadowood parents are here tonight because they're worried and their voices should be heard. I'm in 7th grade, but I know that when a decision affects someone's life, you should think about them first. Please think about Danny and stop the high school plan now. Thank you. 

1:02:52 Jenny Howard: Good evening, President Leonard, Dr.Green, and members of the Red Clay School Board. My name is Jenny Howard. I stood at this podium many times on behalf of Red Clay students and families, and tonight I'm running for a seat on this Board. I'm stepping forward not only as a former Red Clay teacher and student advocate, but as a committed member of this community. I believe in transparency, accountability, and success for every student. But tonight, I'm here first and foremost to stand with the parents, teachers, and students who are speaking out against this plan. Meadowood serves some of our most vulnerable students, children with profound disabilities who depend on this district to see them, protect them, and prioritize them. Displacing that program is not Innovation. It's a choice, and this community deserves a full accounting of that choice before any vote is taken. I urge this board to support Board Member Landis' motion tonight. Take the time, ask the hard questions, and listen to the families in this room. To the Meadowwood families here tonight and the Red Clay teachers and students, I hear you and I stand with you. Thank you for your time.  

1:04:13 Brenda Steffon: Hi there. Thank you for giving me the time to speak today. I am a parent in the Red Clay School District. I'm a 1988 alumni of an AI DuPont High School and I'm also a board member on the Friends of AI, a group, a community that was founded by our late band director Mr. Paul Parets in order to have some accountability for keeping public secondary schools alive,  healthy and well filled. So I bring tonight, after having many conversations, we're a very active board in discussing with various board members here. We ask questions, we poll the community and we have questions that we would like to see if the Board would address tonight. One is can you go into detail in order to have transparency with the community at large on why McKean High School was chosen as the Innovation Center and what were your reasoning for doing that? We'd also like to highlight that there is a sensitivity with the Meadowood program and that should be greatly had communication with the families involved in the logistics of moving that population and having that deep dive with that community because it seems like there's a lot of medical needs, transportation needs and that needs to be a very thoughtful conversation. And then as well as for the communities that might be merging with the different high schools, there is definitely going to need to be an access point for students to have a space to express their emotions and to have a space on how they can feel a part of a new organization. Historically, Delaware is a state that runs on “where did you go to high school?” as one of the top meeting questions. And I find this really really triggering at this point because we are here showing up for the community at large. Regardless if you went to AI, McKean or Dickinson, we are here supporting the aspect of secondary comprehensive public education as a fiduciary duty not only as a committee but also as participants and taxpayers. So the last question I have is in regards to the financial metrics of this. I know that in March, can you say when we will have that information on the logistics of the cost of transportation on any retrofitting that needs to happen? How can we ensure that as taxpayers? What is going to be our burden? I appreciate your time. Thank you so much.  

⏯1:28:36 Mark Pruitt: Good evening, President Leonard, board members, Dr. Green. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to provide an update on the Reimagining Secondary Education initiative. As you know, in the fall of 2024, this school board charged us with coming up with a recommendation to the board at the November 2024 meeting, which outlined a plan and gave a timeline for us to come up with attendance zone changes and programming changes. Our recommendation was presented in November. It is worth noting that that plan as submitted was to launch the programming in 2028. The board amended that recommendation and condensed that one year to the launch of 2027.

We then formed a committee, met with that committee from January 2025 through June 2025, came up with a recommendation from the committee, that 19-person public committee, gave that to the school board in July. The board voted to move forward with the plan, which allowed us from July of this summer through today—and we're still not finished—with coming up with a plan and executing that plan to launch these changes in August of 2027.

In addition to that, the board formed a district committee, a school board committee. We had our first meeting, which was pushed back a little bit by a snowstorm. So, we met on February 5th, just over a month ago. The agenda at that meeting was to come up with some meeting norms for the committee, what the board's charge was of the committee, a bit of history as to how we got here, a review of Dr. Green's district team and topics that the district had been working on.

We took a look at internal workgroups that had started at that point, took a look at the district's action planning overview document, came up with a meeting calendar and topics of focus for each meeting, and gave public comment both at the beginning of the meeting and at the end of the meeting.

Then showed the committee the cabinet steering committee and the planning areas. You see a list of the buckets of planning areas that we thought were important. We formed those in September of '25, the steering committee lead at the district office and those committees which we felt warranted a workgroup made up of various stakeholder groups.

We then showed the committee our action planning document. That is a summary of our planning document. The first two slides you're going to see are the work that we've done to date. A couple of items maybe worth mentioning here is Dr. Bond and her team got started right away with work in transitioning. She's met with the International Baccalaureate regional team so that we had a smooth transition to that program. Another listed done so far is our partnership with the University of Delaware to work on having accurate partial and attendance zone information for when we present attendance zone changes.

We spent the month of October providing presentations to impacted schools. Came up with written communication plans. Emma emailed first all of our staff in the school district of the changes. Followed that up the next week with a letter to all of our families of the changes. Followed that up the next week with a letter letting those families know if they were going to participate in the choice process, understanding that parents may want to make choices based on having that information before the choice window. So that was some of the communication we did early on.

Also, we engaged with RCEA to begin creating a memorandum of understanding on any staffing changes and transfers that would occur based on the plan, with the goal of hopefully having it completed in June of this year.

We launched a website in December, established working groups, had collaboration as you see regarding finance, facilities, and student services regarding the Meadowood transition to be successful, and then also shared a couple of slides regarding upcoming information, and that would be the cadence of those meetings, what we've done since the last meeting, and what we're going to do moving forward.

Oh, back slide. There you go. We came up with, of all of those planning areas, you see the introductory meeting originally scheduled for January 27th and the rescheduled date of February 5th. As I showed you, the agenda consisted of an introduction and an overview. The March meeting will focus on the planning areas of communication—Dr. Celestin and her team will present student services, Dr. Celestin and her team will present—I'm sorry, communications, Miss Mobley. The next two, Dr. Celestin, and attendance zones and school choice will be Mr. Snyder and myself, and then so on and so forth. The May 28th, sort of a district operations flavor, August and October. And then this committee is charged with continuing through September of '27. And so we will just start those updates again with the December '26 meeting.

A couple of items worth mentioning. Workgroup meetings thus far, the six meetings that we've outlined, the McKean Innovation Center has a workgroup which includes 21 members, mostly members of the McKean High School staff. We met on the 21st and the 24th. We have our next meeting I believe in the middle of April. The Meadowood transition team has met twice, so on and so forth. Student services is to support students, particularly vulnerable populations of students, students with disabilities, 504 students and such, with their transition if they're transitioning from one program to another.

The student life team, I'm facilitating that committee with the AI duPont athletic director Mr. Hidalgo to look at all activities and athletic programs and how we could have a successful transition of those programs, particularly for those students who are having a grade-band cohort. You know, I'm a 10th grader at McKean and now I'm going to go to AI High School, to make sure that we have all of the clubs—that group again made up mostly of McKean teachers, but also some AI and Dickinson folks—to make sure we have all of the clubs stood up at Dickinson and AI High School and all of the athletic programs stood up that currently exist at McKean.

Professional learning team, Dr. Bond—I'm sorry I missed her, my team as well—professional learning focusing on making sure the Skyline staff is trained in International Baccalaureate pedagogical strategies, as well as professional learning for building a staff culture, understanding that in a year and a half from now, even a staff like AI will be made up of half AI duPont High School staff, half McKean High School staff, right? And how can you spend the time building essentially a new professional culture in that building? She's begun to meet with that team.

And then late May, Dr. Corey Heacock is bringing together a team which will deal with master scheduling, building a master schedule which has two schools flowing into one school at times—their timing, their scheduling, their calendars, and all that sort of work. She's got RCEA members, primarily counselors, that are interested in helping her with that transition.

I already spoke of the MOU with RCEA. When we have that finalized, our goal is to transition to the paraprofessionals.

Attendance zone changes: We are finalizing a presentation for this board in April. Obviously, we would have to change attendance zones and have that work done and communicate those changes prior to November 1st of next year so people could make accurate choice decisions based on what their new attendance zone is.

The work that we've done really was already outlined by the board, but we were to look at strong and balanced enrollment across schools, that we were to align high school boundaries to K-8 attendance zones when possible, and consider geography and the Neighborhood Schools Act when possible.

We've also had the opportunity to engage with students over the past couple of months. We have our Superintendent Dr. Green—of which I attend with him—the Superintendent Student Advisory Committee and also our new Student Voice Advisory, which is really great, whether it's about the Innovation Center or the changes or any other topic, to see those student leaders growing in their communication dialogue and how they engage in change. Next slide.

We've just invited a group of people, leaders from our business community, to what we're calling an advisory committee to help us with program development, partnership opportunities, and alignment with regional workforce needs with the Innovation Center. That group, we've spent a lot of the last three months—Dr. Green, myself, others on the team—reaching out, getting a leader from post-secondary education partners in the state of Delaware, the College Board, research ed organizations, and key industries, particularly those where we're adding new programs of study for career and technical education at the Innovation Center. So, we're very excited to partner with FMC, Christiana, GFP, and CDW.

I'd like to take a moment to sort of reset here regarding, you know, we certainly have spent a lot of our efforts and we certainly field a lot of questions about program changes, right? The move from McKean High School to an Innovation Center, the MYP program moving from Dickinson to Skyline, the Meadowood program moving from McKean to AI High School, and those are all very important, very touchy subjects. I mean, I've worked at two of those three I just mentioned and am really proud to have done so. And so, they are proud and talented organizations that do great work.

It is particularly difficult, and I think you have to concede any student that is in the middle of a grade band that's making that change is the most difficult thing that I deal with each and every day when I deal with a concerned parent, a concerned teacher about the concern of a student that's gone three years and one or two, and two are going to go at my two in one, whatever that combination is. You know, I understand that having worked in secondary schools my entire career.

But it is, I think, important to back up and take a look at the big picture here, because those program shifts, right—actually picking up a program and resetting it in a different location—is only part of the issue here. The committee work that we worked on last year really came up with key findings that high school attendance zones were last updated in 2002, and that has resulted in no straight-line feeders and fragmented school communities. Okay, if we have about 130 students in 8th grade at AI Middle School, they're going to take off and go to three different high schools, right? McKean High School is going to pull students from all of our middle schools, right? There is no sense of a vertical feeder pattern and community building. We did a great job with changes in 2015 in my opinion through K through 8, but with 9 through 12 being from many years ago, it's resulted in a very fragmented system.

We also know that we have enrolled the same number of high school students in our district, give or take a hundred, for over 20 years. Okay, we have underenrolled schools because we've gone—that's high school students and the same number of middle school students over that time. We have gone from five to seven high schools and six to eight middle school programs during that time. That is why we have underenrolled schools.

We also, through a UD Center for Applied Demography and Survey Research study, know that Red Clay, as well as the rest of New Castle County, is going to see a reduction in enrollment over the next 30 years, with Red Clay estimated to go from 15,000 to 12,000 because of the growth below the canal, your Delawarean, Appoquinimink, and south.

From that work of the committee, from those findings, the committee, in addition to the program changes, came up with core principles to create an alignment of attendance zones, create straight-line feeder patterns that align high school attendance zones with existing middle school attendance zones, create balanced enrollment to distribute students equitably across the home high schools we were going to use, and have them have strong and sustainable enrollment, which in turn would create program equity, ensure that all students, regardless of high school, have access to high-quality academic and extracurricular programs.

Okay. From that, we believe we would have equitable outcomes, including expanded career programming for all students. Right now, if you go to one of our schools, you may have 10 or 11 career programs to choose from. Another, the same thing. Broader range of elective offerings, additional AP and dual enrollment courses because we've got enough students to offer the section, increased athletic programs including junior varsity programs and not having to cancel high school sports teams, and comprehensive extracurricular and co-curricular activities.

We are Delaware's largest school district. You see schools that either have or have had enrollment issues, underenrolled schools over the years. The current enrollment of those schools are listed. Five-column enrollment is the current enrollment in those schools. Okay. The middle column is a comparison of that enrollment to all of the attendance zone schools in that grade band in the state of Delaware. Okay. So, what that means is Alexis I. duPont High School is the smallest attendance zone comprehensive high school in the state of Delaware. McKean High School is the eighth smallest, and Dickinson is the fifth smallest.

It is more pronounced at the middle school level. Alexis I. duPont High School is 33 of 34 in enrollment when trying to pick up comprehensive programming. Skyline is 34 of 34, and Stanton is 30 of 34.

Okay. You know, if you look, probably we could have come up with an average number of comprehensive attendance zone middle schools or high schools much larger than that across the state, as well as regionally and across the nation. The final column shows you the high mark of enrollment of those schools and the year they were at the high mark of enrollment.

Questions?

⏯1:46:23 Dorrell Green: No, I don't obviously. I think it would be negligent of me to sit here as the superintendent and just not express that we were given a charge.

Um and then given that charge and and hearing from community that a lot of what we probably just shared isn't widely known amongst our community because we often are siloed. Um, I have the enviable and sometimes unenviable task of being able to see things from that larger perspective. And no different than choice window just closed. And typically the experience has always been individual schools get kind of spotlighted and held up at the expense of our other schools, and our community being the Red Clay Consolidated School District has to get to a point where the numbers we have to confront them to some end and not and look at what the change is going to be. So regardless of what the next charge that the board gives us, I'm and as I sit in this seat as well as the team will be committed to to working through that charge, probably doing a better job of educating our community as a whole as to where we do have those bright spots and McKean in terms of the Innovation Center was one because it's centrally located, but two because of the anchor CTE pathways that are currently there. I just last week had to file a waiver at DIAA to allow students from one of our high schools who only had nine baseball players to have to participate at another high school.

We won't be able to offer field hockey at one of our schools. We have limited band participation at a lot of our schools. So this is the reality that we confront as a district and and willing to work with whomever, whenever, wherever that the board chooses in terms of giving us that charge to to be able to understand that we are at a tipping point just as a district. And I know many said, well, why don't we wait for Redding?

If we wait for Redding, Red Clay no longer exists. if Redding's plan, which has now been delayed to 2027 comes to fruition where it's just one New Castle County school district.

So, Red Clay, as we know it won't just be reimagining secondary education. We're probably going to have the Chase Center full of of families wondering why Red Clay no longer exists because, in essence, it's merging all of New Castle County into one school district is Redding's plan.

We can ill afford to wait for Redding to figure that out. So as the board deliberates, as you get the feedback from the community and you give us our next charge, again, we unfortunately have to look at the context of sum of all the parts and understanding that it unfortunately is tearing at specific stakeholder groups within our community. And that is where the sleepless nights come from, knowing that this change inevitably is going to impact someone more than others, whether you look at it positively or negatively. 

But we do have something as a district that we have to confront just in terms of our enrollment because historically what we've done is we'll isolate a problem within the district, address that issue not realizing that 5 10 15 years down the road we've created three other problems. So in 2015 when the district was confronted with an issue at Skyline when the feeder pattern changed and Dickinson had low enrollment we in essence put a middle year's IB program in there that now is preventing Dickinson from growing and expanding and we now see Skyline which has historically served anywhere from 700 to 750 children for close to 50 years and at their high mark were at 880 are now serving 385 students. So that's where, so whether we phase things in, whether we rethink what we're doing around secondary schools, however we do it, we're going to have to eventually do something. 

And again, if if we need to regroup, however the board charges us to do so, um again, we stand at the ready and this isn't to, you know, our timeline was different than what the board ultimately initiated to vote on. The advisory to bring other folks in who are subject at matter experts in this will probably do our community some good because there are examples and places where where this is working and it has worked. But I'm hearing from the community that we got to do that with the care, diligence, and and forthrightness to ensure that although they may disagree, they have a better understanding as to why the change needs to happen and who it's happening for. So that includes my remarks and obviously I'll let the board ask any questions of myself or Mr. Pruitt relative to the presentation that you just heard or the update that you just heard.

⏯1:52:04 Najma Landis: I have some questions. 

I have some questions. First, we heard a lot of testimony today and we the board has received emails from Meadowood families that are impacted by this change. What is the plan moving forward with how we're going to engage that group regarding the transition? What are the plans for tours? Uh I know that there was a tour that or walkthrough that was done 12/19/25 according to the—

Okay. So is there a plan to do that for families of Meadowood um that are students that are impacted?

⏯1:52:48 Mark Pruitt: Yep. I could say that that they've met twice as a workgroup. They've got parents on that workgroup. I joined that that committee one time for the first 45 minutes. So I'm not you know they're giving us presentation at the next district committee and you know I wouldn't want to speak I don't have all of their plans yet. I do know Dr. Celestin, Ms. Kathy Mattix, the principal, teachers parents are working on that plan you know for the transition of the program.

⏯1:53:23 Najma Landis: I have a couple more. Sorry, just going to slam them all at you. So regarding communications about the transition, what communications have gone out to middle school students and families that are currently feedered to McKean, regarding what school they'll be attending.

⏯1:53:44 Mark Pruitt: Sure. We sent out communications on November 1st to all students about the changes and then followed up, sent that again a week later where it was tailored to help them in making decisions during the choice season, right? The choice season, I think it would be October 31st was the first date, November 6, November, somewhere like that. And so the first was a broad communication to all of our families. 

The second communication was tailored from the choice office to say please keep in mind as you if you're choosing to participate in school choice or not, right? Like you know that that these changes are occurring and that should help you with your family. So those two communications went out in emailed letter or as our communication as our communication office sends them. 

⏯1:54:39 Dorrell Green: So, Ms. Landis, and I will, and again, and this is in full transparency because we are talking about lives being impacted. I think one of my lessons learned is not everyone is also not tied to our district communication and people receive information in various different ways in various different platforms and languages and and well again yeah and languages. Um, and so that reflection and it was actually meeting with the superintendent student advisory council because a lot of neighboring students actually didn't know a lot of the details until Ryan platformed. And so that was, you know, a learning curve when we talk about student voice. 

So, you know, again, this isn't we're laying out a plan where we feel we've gotten it all right. there there have been blind spots that we've continued to reflect on. I think the other challenge too is the the new feeder patterns with the Center for Demography hasn't been so it's it would be hard to tell the 130 current eighth graders for example at AI where they would be going if we didn't actually have that level of detail to to be able to lay out. So again in full transparency around the communication especially how prevalent social media is a lot of people get their information in a lot of different ways and not always through district channels.

⏯1:56:05 Mark Pruitt: Yeah. Our next our next benchmark of communication is waiting for attendance zone changes because when we start to talk about changes to someone's programming they're going to go okay well I don't go here well where do I go and our answer cannot be I don't know right it could be or we're going to be you know so the answer is we have to get attendance zone changes to approved and then say yeah these are the changes and this if you don't participate in school choice would be your new attendance zone.

⏯1:56:38 Najma Landis: But in what has gone out, it has been clear that it's not going to be here. Yeah. For the entire duration like your four years of high school, correct? Like at McKean. 

⏯1:56:50 Mark Pruitt: Correct. Yes. 

⏯1:56:52 Beth Twardus: Can you go over your question of or your timeline for when the attendance zones would be done? Did you mention? In June?

⏯1:57:01 Mark Pruitt: I think we are make we are giving a presentation in April. Normally it would be a presentation in April, a vote the following month. Certainly consideration could be given to do we want to give more time to engage the community about those changes right that it's you know this what neighborhoods are going to basically comes down to what neighborhoods are going to Dickinson or AI and in some cases there are some students who would go from Dickinson to AI but we could obviously grandfather that small group of students.

⏯1:57:38 Dorrell Green: What I will say is recommending to the board in terms of once we get from the Center of Demography the whatever the proposed feeder patterns, new feeder patterns are based on the existing charge that we put that out as proposed. Allow the board to get feedback, allow the community to weigh in and then obviously the board would have to take a formal vote on if you would are going to adopt those new feeder patterns.

⏯1:58:11 Beth Twardus: Do we have a timeline on when we're supposed to get that data? 

⏯1:58:14 Dorrell Green: I know we got some preliminary data. We sent it back and we should be—

⏯1:58:19 Mark Pruitt: We have 95% of it. We're waiting on one adjustment sort of a mapping slide that we're going to get and then we could start to finalize our presentation for April.

⏯1:58:30 Najma Landis: I have another one. Sorry. So as in terms of the workgroup meetings so far. So, it's just the student life and the master scheduling and logistics that haven't met yet. All other workgroups have met. 

⏯1:58:47 Mark Pruitt: Both of yours have met? Yes, they've all met.

⏯1:58:50 Najma Landis:  All right. 

⏯1:58:52 Mark Pruitt: And the student life is meeting next week and then by design the logistics and master scheduling will have one meeting in May. That's mostly work to be that would be done on this timeline September through March of next year. 

⏯1:59:06 Najma Landis: So, if the timeline were to change, there could be adjustments to that, too. Or...

⏯1:59:12 Mark Pruitt: Well, there would be if the timeline changed, there'd be adjustments to everything.

⏯1:59:16 Najma Landis: Looking at the action steps that you shared, the screenshots of each department and their actions and the the times that they were aimed to be completed. I noted that there were a few that were still marked in progress or didn't begin that have dates that have passed. So what is the plan to—

⏯1:59:39 Mark Pruitt: Right that was those were slides from the February 5th committee work. So at the beginning of the presentation I was giving you some slides as to what the board committee saw and I just showed you the slides that they saw. They've been updated now.

⏯1:59:57 Najma Landis: Okay. So they have been updated.

⏯1:59:59 Mark Pruitt: That's not to say that something is not behind. A couple of them are not behind schedule, but that was that was a snapshot on actually a snapshot going back to the original schedule of the meeting when it snowed. So it was a snapshot on January 26, something like that.

⏯2:00:16 Najma Landis: Okay. 

⏯2:00:20 Susan Sander: I'd just like to add that the amount of work this has taken and taken place so far is um for me mind boggling. So, I'd like to thank all of the district administration and staff who put all their time and effort into this. Um, you spent a lot of hours on this and it shows.

⏯2:00:38 Beth Twardus: Well, I actually have a question that goes along with that. Did you have does that like directly correlates to that? Because I agree with you, Susan, because I'm looking at the time that's already been spent and I'm looking at the steering committee lead names and these are all names that in our district have full-time responsibilities. So my question is is do you have a sense from the cabinet level from this group's level that are they able to still be maintaining their daily responsibilities while also taking on these responsibilities?

⏯2:01:12 Mark Pruitt: I'm fine. I'm going to let, Mark Pruitt's fine. I'm going to let Dr. Green respond.

⏯2:01:16 Dorrell Green: I would I would say they're proverbial ducks on the pond where they going to make it look like they can. This is a it's it's a lot of work, right? So folks are are paddling to address future deal with current. I would again say that was one of the reasons why the recommendation between a board committee and an advisory to allow subject matter experts to help some of the load. Not that we aren't consulting and working with partners and different folks. Again, this is both the internal and external. So, of course, they're going to say it's their job. They're going to do it. But it it's it it's a lot of work and it's a lot of angst, I think, on our community as a whole because we're looking at major first order change within our district.

⏯2:02:09 Vic Leonard: I have a few questions, just comments with the groups we met with from the schools. The three major things that I heard were communication and transparency, which you addressed, I believe. Job security and the effect of the Meadowood program how that would be affected. So job security I see you here have on a on here that no reduction in staff as a result of this plan.

⏯2:02:36 Mark Pruitt: Yeah and I would agree with you the biggest concern we've gotten we've got a draft out to RCEA. We're hoping that they say, "Hey, here are some recommendations. We're ready to meet a second time so we can further, that I can assure you we we can be assurance just based on attrition and retirement each year that no one is going to lose their job because we're not re we're not losing units, right? We're simply moving staff around." Okay? So, not only is no one going to lose their job, our goal is to have, you know, we're not trying to pull a fast one. So, our goal is to get high school English teachers into high school English positions, high school math, you know, and so on and so forth. Uh, you know, that that that's what we hope, right? We hope that that there's some buy in, teachers stay, they pick up, you know, the great work they've been doing and continuing to doing to do it. and what will be a new school culture, a school staff culture. But no, no one's going to there'll be no reduction based on—

⏯2:03:45 Dorrell Green: It's not our intent to, but obviously we know we're in a a labor market where someone may choose right that this isn't the change that they want to endure and you know so that that's part of our conversations as well as we we work through this process.

⏯2:04:00 Vic Leonard: And the other was was the AI and the Meadowood program being fitted for some of those Meadowood students.

⏯2:04:09 Mark Pruitt: Sure, we've met the obviously that subwork groups met that has parents on it, but I've been a part of meetings with finance, Dr. Ammann, Mr. Michalski from facilities, Dr. Green has been in a couple of those meetings to, you know, make some adjustment to capital funding. It's not my department so I don't want to speak to that, but uh you know to make sure that we are have new bathrooms set up for the Meadowood program day one make sure they have access beyond I mean the building is ADA compliant but it's not to our it's not to Red Clay standards and there's some work that we need to do in that regard.

⏯2:04:51 Vic Leonard: And the last was the finances. I know Dr. I haven't talked to her or not, but is there going to be a large financial burden from this transition? Has that been determined or including the busing?

⏯2:05:11 Mark Pruitt: I will use incorrect terminology. You know, I get I get Yeah, I'm a social studies teacher. 

⏯2:05:20 Ted Ammann: I wasn't sure if you wanted me to come up or not. There there's really two pieces to this that we've been looking at. One is costs related to change, one-time costs. Mr. Pruitt mentioned some examples at AI High of things that we would have to do to bring that building up to our what we would expect to see for the Meadowood program. And those are things that are going to be covered under major cap, excuse me, and we're scheduled to be done um like for instance, the elevator upgrade was already scheduled to be done at AI through major cap. Then the second bucket of costs that we're looking at and we'll talk in more detail at May based on the current schedule. The second piece would be more ongoing costs once we make that transition. And so we're starting to look at that now and that involves DOE because a lot of our funding is formula driven and as Mr. Pruitt said, we're moving teachers around. We're moving students around but it's the same number of students and teachers. So for the most part that will just be moving to different schools. I know that's a very quick answer. Certainly in May we will have—

⏯2:06:18 Vic Leonard: How about the buses? The busing any additional cost for that or—

⏯2:06:20 Ted Ammann: There will certainly there will certainly be costs based on the midday transportation. What we're looking at now is there also will possibly or even likely be savings in the AM and PM transportation. You've certainly heard from parents that say we see buses drive all over the district with no students on them. Slight exaggeration, there are students on them, but certainly based on our attendance zones, they are not the most efficiently routed buses just based on the way the students are spread out. So, what Ms. Shahan's looking at now, and she just today, as a matter of fact, got a file from University of Delaware with some of those actual rough ideas, assuming the attendance zones are changed the way we're looking, what that would look like. So, I can't tell you right now whether it's a complete wash. There will certainly be costs related to that midday transportation. How much of that is offset by savings and AM and PM is something we're looking at now. Certainly by May we will have a a first first run of that. Thank you.

⏯2:07:22 Devon Hynson: What, Ted, what would make you believe that there's going to be some savings when you guys haven't really worked out the numbers?

⏯2:07:30 Ted Ammann: And that's why I I didn't commit to those savings, but we Mark and I met with Kelly about a month ago and started looking at some of the just because if you have students that are more comp more routed to the same school, a bus right now might be able to pick up students and take them to Dickinson and it was previously two different buses. One bus going to Dickinson, one bus going to McKean, one bus going to three buses. So there's some efficiencies in routing when you look at bringing those buses to two schools instead of three.

⏯2:08:02 Devon Hynson: Did you calculate for because I think that initially they mentioned 10 minutes to get off a bus and transition onto another bus and they found that that's not nearly enough time. So that's going to increase the number of hours. So I'm trying to figure out how you guys are calculating what those costs are going to be if you're not even calculating the time.

⏯2:08:22 Ted Ammann: Right and we will have that in May, the actual cost and a scenario of showing that. But as I said, midday certainly is a cost that we don't have now. We aren't doing midday transportation to the scale. And now what we're looking at is the AM and PM runs to two high schools instead of three and what that impact would be.

⏯2:08:39 Devon Hynson: So I guess my challenge is that you use the word savings and it doesn't even sound like you know if it would be savings or cost increase. So to use that word, I'm just trying to understand what was the purpose of that word being loaded into that comment.

⏯2:08:55 Ted Ammann: My point in that was that I know for sure and have said that there will be costs related to the midday transportation. What I don't know yet is whether there will be savings or what those savings will be based on the AM transportation of going to two home high schools rather than to three.

⏯2:09:14 Devon Hynson: I guess the other thing is that we keep saying that because here's my challenge, right? Like I just think it's unconscionable to put families in a position where they have to track us down to get information, right? I'm not saying that that's anybody's necessarily their fault, right? But I believe that it's important that like we're saying things like we had a meeting and the people—

⏯2:09:45 Beth Twardus: Mr. Hynson, sorry don't want to cut off the microphone.

⏯2:09:45 Dorrell Green: Can you speak into the mic?

⏯2:09:48 Devon Hynson: People gave information and that information was not addressed. They were also told that they couldn't tour AI high school. They were also told that the person that was in charge of that committee was just put in charge of that committee. So what I'm saying is there's so many like there's so many contradictions that it makes it very difficult for the community to believe that this is going to go forward and it's going to be implemented with any level of fidelity. And it's just unfair to me. And I'm telling ya'll I didn't, I never supported it. I did not, as somebody is sitting on the stage I did not vote for it to begin with. Right. And I I just believe that like the superintendent said, it is our responsibility because we are the ones evidently that gave them the charge to do something. We're the ones that accept accepted in my opinion what is a hairbrained idea. At least the way that it's being communicated and articulated.

There's really there's no evidence of anything. There's no budget. There's no, like everything that they say is antithetical to good educational practices. Like we're saying that, you know, programming or enrollment drives programming, but that's not the way it works, right? Programming drives enrollment. You bring a program and then you attract the student base to go with that program. And so I understand, I get it that we have to do something, but I'm just I think that we should think this out a little bit more. I think that we should take on the burden of reaching out to the community. And yes, I appreciate you guys taking your time, but I want everybody to understand that you get paid for that time and you guys get paid handsomely from our tax dollars. So that's a commitment that we're going to ask you guys to make, right? Like put this plan together, make sure that we're reaching out to the communities. We're the same way and for all of us up here, the same way that we ran for office and we went to their doors, we can go to their doors with this information. 

We have to take on some of the burden of making sure that the community understands exactly what's going on. But I think a part of this was we didn't even know it was going on. I'm going to be honest with you. You know what I'm saying? That's why I didn't vote for it. So, I just think that once again, you guys have to be, you have to be eager to make sure that you're reaching out to families, you're having those conversations, and you're not just dismissing their concerns because you guys are you keep saying things like, "Well, they just don't understand it." No, they understand it. And the more they understand it, the more that they they don't like it. Like everybody that I've talked to, there's been no stakeholder group that I've talked to that they like this plan. So the goal is you got to get out there and you you got to either sell it to them or we got to revise the plan and do something else.

⏯2:12:46 Beth Twardus: Sorry, I know we're going to have other board discussion in a little bit. So I just have another question about the presentation, and then I don't know if any of our board members that are online have questions to follow up as well. So you mentioned about the professional learning time for the building for the administrator to bring the Dickinson and McKean staff together when it got to that time. Is there anything right now, or have you heard from administrators or teachers about needing professional development, PL, or just guidance on how to be interacting and answering the questions as the students are asking them?

⏯2:13:27 Mark Pruitt: No, but that is certainly something we can do.

⏯2:13:29 Beth Twardus: So, other than the information that's been sent out from the district and the website that was launched in December, that's really where the teachers and administrators are going for their information right now.

⏯2:13:40 Mark Pruitt: We've had principals ask, "Can our staff talk about this?" Like, this has been public and approved by the school board since July. Of course, they can talk to students about it. And since the principals have asked that question back in October and November, I haven't heard anything else about that. I did have a meeting with some teachers, some folks that are here in early January about a plan to engage with students assembly-style in May. And we've got that plan. We've got another pre-meeting for that in April with Ms. Dukes and a couple folks from McKean.

⏯2:14:23 Vic Leonard: Is that it? Any discussion?

⏯2:14:25 Najma Landis: I do have a question, I'm sorry. Just about the advisory group launch. Can I ask? Okay. So the list of companies that you had listed on the slideshow, these are all confirmed to participate?

⏯2:14:46 Mark Pruitt: Yes.

⏯2:14:46 Najma Landis: Okay, so not just invited, they have confirmed their—

⏯2:14:47 Mark Pruitt: They haven't confirmed whether they are attending the first meeting yet, but they confirmed their participation on the advisory group. Generally.

⏯2:15:05 Vic Leonard: That it?

⏯2:15:06 Susan Sander: Thank you.

⏯2:15:07 Vic Leonard: Thank you, Mr. Pruitt.  

⏯ 2:45:10 

Najma Landis:  So I have submitted a resolution to direct the board at the next BOE meeting in April to re-examine our implementation date for the McKean Innovation Center. I've met with several staff across the district, secondary schools across the district, and heard a lot of their stories, their concerns, their anxiety that they're hearing from their students and families and community. Um, so I put together this item in hopes to provide some clarity moving forward with the plan and hopefully to get more engagement and buy-in in the process so that we can all find a way to reimagine secondary education where everyone feels like their voices are being heard. Thank you.  

📁Student Rep - McKean High School update

📁Strategic Plan KPI Updates Winter 2026

📁Board Workshop : Mid Year Academic Achievement

📁Board Presentation - Reimagining Secondary Education Updates

🌐Attendance Zone Restructuring & Review Committee Webpage

📁Attendance Zone Restructuring & Review Committee Rolling Slides