For this is connections filling in for seven dots.

And I'm Gino Fanelli.

Much like our previous, our.

Today's connection was made Tuesday night when the Rochester City School Board elected two new members to the board, Karim McCullough and Heather Feinman, and reelected current school board president Camille Simmons.

But.

And Fineman will replace James Patterson and Cynthia Elliott on the board.

Patterson failed to get enough signatures to appear on the ballot, and Elliott declined to run for reelection.

So to discuss the status of the school board and what the future has in store, it, I'm joined by Camille Simmons.

Camille, thanks for being here.

Thank you so much.

Cream McCullough.

Thanks for being here.

Thank you.

And, Heather.

Fine.

I thank you for being here.

Thank you.

So to start off here, I want to give you all a chance to really lay out your platform of what you think the district where we're at right now with the district, what you think needs to be done, how we can improve educational outcomes in the city.

And I want to give you all a chance to just kind of lay that out.

So, Camille, I'll start with you, you know, attorney serving as the school board president.

I mean, what do you see of the future here?

Yeah.

You know, I think it requires one vision, one mind, one vision.

We need a unified school community.

And when I say school district or community, I'm talking about all prongs, all hands on deck.

This is not something the school district within itself can solve in this bubble.

We really have to become an outward reaching platform, reaching our parents, reaching our students, the greater part of the community.

And it has to come from the board all the way through the entire system, that that's what is required.

And we need to have an understanding around those priorities.

When I look at the school district in the state we're in, I recognize our children need us to focus on them, be it their social, emotional, mental health status, where they are, what they're dealing with day to day.

We cannot afford to not give that the attention it deserves and also recognize how that impacts their learning.

And so when we look at their learning, we these are not new scores.

We know that our children are not reading at grade level.

And there's great promotion happening.

So we have to really take this full, community wide support and approach to changing the school district and the narrative cream.

Well, what made you run?

And, you know, what are your some of your hopes of what you can accomplish on the school board?

What made me run was, I had someone see my work and say, hey, I think you be good for this.

And it took me a minute and I said, you know what?

Maybe she's right.

And and what made me run was the fact that I have been in education for over 20 years, and I haven't seen Rochester do what it our be what it was when I was a student.

And I would like to see that.

And I would like to see a community that understands education and its purpose and its goals, and what it means for our children and our future when they're learners that want and enjoy to learn.

And so that individuals saw the work that I was doing with my parents and my students and said this would be something good for you and Heather, what made you run?

And, you know, what are some of the key things that you want to do other than your time in the school board?

So I've said it a million times.

I'm a lived experience parent.

I have three more kids in the district.

I had four already leave the district or hopefully soon graduate, but didn't graduate and I see what happens at the schools.

I see what's happening in multiple schools and multiple levels and what was happening in the district.

And I really, really wanted to find solutions.

And that's why I'm running.

I'm running for the kids, and I'm running for the parents who felt they didn't have a voice.

And I want one of the things that I think the board is missing is that powerful voice of the parents and the kids.

I think it'll be great to rely on all of the other people who have the experience at Christmas, and the experience I, Camille, has, and knowing the city, it's important, but I think that bringing us all together as a community means we have to have somebody who's really invested in the community, and that is in the community.

Yeah, that's what I bring.

I love that you say that because, you know, when we talk about lived experience, you know, being a graduate of Wilson Magnet High School, having grown up in the 19th Ward and Rochester, from the root or to the to the right, and then having my son go through this district, I'm a lived experience parent who went through watching some of the same things.

You probably had to do navigating the system and working in the schools.

And so beyond technical expertise and skill sets, you do have to have that passion and that connection.

And I think that's something we both bring to this table and some of the other members on the school board, but you can't have too many because I think your perspectives are going to offset some perspectives that I even bring.

And I'm so excited to hear some of the things that you'll be able to say, hey, this is what I saw, and then I'll be able to share with you what I've seen.

So, as you're talking, I was just pulling up some data here to kind of reflect on, you know, where we're at and performance of students in Rochester City School District.

And I have from, the New York State Education Department, the, proficiency in English language arts between grades three through eight.

Rochester City School District grade three, 15% proficient by grade, compared to 45% for the state grade for 14%, compared to 49% for the state.

Grade 513%, compared to 45% of the state.

Next grade 15% compared to 46% 18% compared to 48% 21% compared to 55%, and for grades 816% compared to 48%.

That's not good.

That's pretty low.

It's pretty low performance.

And, I think there's two factors that we have to address here.

Big, large factors of why is it so low.

What are the the underlying reasons that our students are performing this poorly, where we're kind of averaging 30% lower than the state performance.

And how do you fix it?

How do you start to get students to come up to speed and get up to task?

So let's talk about that.

I mean, where what do you think the core issues at play here that are contributing to the poor performance of our students and what can be done about it?

Yeah, one of my, thoughts about this is when you look at my my whole campaign, one of the pieces is in the I ran on this before because it is what I believe is first and foremost are barriers, systemic barriers.

And this is historical and it's not new.

Right.

And then there's the other part of it.

So breaking barriers is one part, but my other part is raising expectations.

Right.

Because we have to make sure that we as a community understand that although these barriers exist, they are not a prerequisite for failure.

Right.

And so we may see poverty and things of that nature that really definitely play in and create barriers to learning.

But poverty is not indicative to one's ability to learn.

And so when we raise our expectation of our children, we will begin to, encounter them and engage them in that way.

When people when children know and students know that you have high expectations of them, they are capable of rising to the occasion.

There are much more, intrinsic things throughout our system that we have to take a look at from instructions.

Stability.

We know there's a lot of instability.

We are yet bringing in July 1st another superintendent.

Right.

How do we stop and curtail that hamster wheel and ensure that our superintendents are, consistent and long standing in our district and that we are selecting them, for the right reasons and in the right way?

And then also one thing that's historically missing out, and I'll get off my soapbox, do you know, is, we haven't historically had goals.

The board now has had established goals.

These are brought in under the previous president in 2024, where we were working.

We brought in a the council for Great City Schools, and we've been working with them and continue to work with them on board goals and guardrails so that our governance and how we approach this work creates the vision that the school district needs, so that folks can get behind what the portrait of a graduate really looks like and move our students toward success.

Know.

I also think we can't discount the fact that we are a sanctuary city.

I spoke to a parent who 85% of her fifth grade son's fifth grade class spoke Arabic only.

No wonder they're not working well with English.

So I think there's a lot of things that we need to address, obviously, but there's a lot of really innovative things that are out there.

There's grouping by reading level, and there's something that we've talked about, and I'm hoping that Kareem brings some expertise and some of the innovative ideas that we can bring forth.

If we grouped kids by reading level and they're doing this in one of the city school districts, they all rise together and no one feels left behind.

And that is something that we need to work on the kids pride, so that they feel like they're getting together.

And we need to bring the community my own library.

There are people that come in and volunteer to help the kids read every day, and those kids show up.

And so if we bring the community and we raise the community's expectations and we raise the whole community together, it'll improve.

And let's look at social promotion.

So yeah, that's a whole big one.

And I'm going to have to this, both lady said everything, right.

I'm going to piggyback off of what they already said and what we need.

Our we need the community.

We need for people in the community and the people in the community to understand what their role is and how to help us address the literacy rate, how to help us address these scores that we're seeing that we're like, this is dismal.

What is there to do?

We can we can do things.

There's supports that are needed.

And the supports come from not just for the parents, but also for the teachers in the classrooms on how to get these students and these young scholars and these young children from a reading level that's not at grade level.

And that's and that's a big part.

And then the last thing I'm going to throw out there, that hasn't been said was absenteeism.

That's a huge part in this.

In the, in the grades and in the, the results in the proficiency levels of these students.

If you're not present, you can't do the work.

If you're not present, you can't learn.

So we need for students to be present, and we have to look at strategies that we can in place as board members governing that can help the superintendent actually work on absenteeism and get kids in seats and in buildings.

I'm glad you brought that up.

Because, last year there was a report on, the absenteeism rate in, Rockford.

More than half of students were found to be chronically active, I believe about 52%.

Some schools were up to 80%.

What do you do about that?

I mean, if kids aren't showing up to school, how do you make them?

One, they have to want to, and you have to give them a reason to feel like it's worth their time to show up.

A lot of the reality of a lot of kids in our, especially when you get up to the high school level, they're probably helping support their families.

The poverty rate is rampant.

And school might not be the top priority for them.

I don't think it's just, you know, kids playing hooky and going to hang out in the park.

Most of the time it's they it's they're absent because they probably just don't.

It's not the top priority.

It's not the thing that they need to do to survive, the day.

So.

And that results in the poor performance of students, the poor graduation rate, graduation rates and, kind of plural, if it proliferates the cycle.

How do you address that?

How do you effectively address that, if I can?

Yeah, sure.

So for, for for the, for the listening audience, a chronic absenteeism is basically ten days.

It's a set day.

Right.

So it's ten days of absence of being absent from school throughout the year that it's 10% ten to not ten days.

Well, it's it comes out to be like 2010 to 20 days of when it when do we actually do the percentage because we're in school for 180 days.

Right.

So that's what chronic absenteeism looks like when we think about how many days a student actually miss, there's a lot of things that can happen in 180 days.

Right now, what we're looking at is we have a lot of moving parts, a lot of stumbling blocks that occur.

We have, barriers that the students are facing that you've mentioned already.

That it's not that they don't want to be there, but they could be doing other things.

So what are some of the strategies, what can be used?

There is a you know, there's a lady named Sharon Bradley who does work out of Texas, whose mission was to build the absenteeism in her in her district.

The district is very similar as far as demographics to Rochester, and she was able to use different types of mechanisms, such as SEO and other ways, and getting to the root of the problem, and then allowing and then bringing students back in once they were able to solve the root.

And you mentioned some of those roots in your in your statement, you know, they're taking care of family members.

They're doing other things that just put school on the backburner.

So if we as a community and as a district can start addressing some of those root problems for these students, we can then bring them back into the classrooms where they need to be and become the graduates.

We want them to be.

Can the district do that?

Well, it's about uplifting families.

We can invite community partners in to uplift families and create an environment where community is involved.

Yes, absolutely.

The district can do that.

Right.

And again, ice cream said is is 10% of your apps.

And so if you're looking at 180 days, you're looking at about 18 days.

And we have to educate our parents and community around what chronic absenteeism looks like.

Because when people say chronic absenteeism, they like the kids aren't coming at all.

But to your point, when you really lean in, it's, oftentimes is that child who's like, I couldn't get to my first, second or third period class because I had to make sure my little brother or sister got to that bus stop, or I couldn't leave them alone.

My mom had to be at work.

And it's so it's not just this child that's not interested in going to school, but in some cases, our school climates have to be looked at.

Another piece that we have to look at is structurally what is happening in in our Office of Parent Engagement and our, parent, we have parent liaisons.

Are we leveraging, those roles most effectively?

Are we staffing them properly and giving them the resources and supports they need in partnerships?

They need to really expand those efforts strategically.

And I'm excited about Doctor Rosser coming in because he, definitely has a strong understanding of community, and parent support.

And so I believe he's going to bring some strategies, and be able to meld those with maybe thoughts and suggestions and other models that we bring forward.

And if I can add one more part and yes, thank you for correctly this 10%.

But I got you.

I know you're listening right now and I want to add something to the in.

This speaks on Heather's part as well with community is we have to start looking at different models.

There's the community school model which uses these wraparound services and these different types of, metrics and these different types of strategies to actually go and support students and families to do the work that the school and the teachers cannot.

And so this is important that we are looking at all of these different things and these different, strategies to bring into the district so that we can actually start combating some of the problems that we've been seeing.

We were homeless for seven months.

Two years ago.

We told the school we had problems registering our children because they closed down the schools that two of my kids were in.

We couldn't register them because we didn't have an address.

And three months after we were housed, that's ten months.

We were asked if we needed any support and we had to register as homeless with the district.

All of the the staff knew three months after we were housed, we were asked if we needed support.

And I think it's important to emphasize that's not even an uncommon story.

No, no, no, the A report, last year for the 2022, 23 school, school year found that 1755 students in the CSD, have been experiencing homelessness.

So when you put that into context, that, about 10% of your students maybe a little less than 10%, but about 10% of the students that are in your schools don't even have a home to go back to that stable.

How can you expect them to be showing up on time?

How can you expect them to be able to, you know, do well on reading exams or whatever it may be?

I would argue that you can't you you can't expect that.

But, you're dealing with an environment where, the poverty and destabilization of households is so deep that functionally running education that's going to match with compare.

You know, schools in Pittsford or Penfield seems like an impossibility.

We have community supports.

We do.

There were programs that can get kids no matter where they are.

If a kid is in a shelter, there's an organization that will pick them up and take them to the school until the school busses can get situated.

It takes sometimes two weeks to change an address, so there are community partnerships, but if we don't connect our community with those community partnerships, that's everybody falling through the cracks.

And that's that's the piece you need.

We have to understand, too, is the school districts position is to educate and to have this point, we can leverage community partnerships better so that the burden does not fall solely on the district.

We have to do better at creating synergy around how we really dive in to making sure our students get that approach.

And I want to push back a little bit, Gino, because I strongly believe we have to we cannot afford not to expect things from our students.

But in that I hear what you're saying around, how can you expect that and not consider these situations?

And that is the balance you can you continue to expect those high expectations, but honoring the experiences and making sure that we we're creating the space around our children where they are getting that support as far as them, performing alongside Penfield and Brighton and some of the better performing districts, that's not going to happen tomorrow.

Is it possible potentially.

Our students.

Great.

Absolutely.

Can they do it?

Absolutely.

If I don't believe it, then how can I work with a community and get them to understand that there is potential?

And that's what their SDS, tagline is unlocking potential.

Right.

We've the potential is there.

We've got to create the conditions.

That's the responsibility of the school district.

Yeah.

I would argue that it's not a matter of infantilizing the students to say, oh, they just, you know, so those kids are never going to be smart enough to do what they need to do.

It's a matter of recognizing that the circumstances of life that many of these students are experiencing are so profoundly complicated that using a traditional education model that might work in a suburban district might not work in the Rochester city.

I can I can agree with that.

And I can also say that because I and I feel you totally because working in a nonprofit at one point, that's where my foundation started with working with students.

So I had case loads of students that I work with in the city school district, and many of them homeless.

With some of the compounded issues you talk about and having those those students assigned to me, I was able to see sit in their homes if they had one, because some of them, I was going to the Cadillac Motel to make sure they had groceries.

Right.

So I firsthand have seen these issues and recognize that it's going to take alternative and progressive strategies to really support our students in the way, you're talking about.

So I do agree with that.

What are some of the strategies, strategies look like?

I mean, what are the models that you can use to reach out and have effective education for students that might be in, unstable environments?

Yeah.

Well, we've got to look at Mckinney-Vento.

We've got to look at some of how we can, partner with our city government as well as our county.

Again, I think that the district does things very insular.

And so, that's what I'm excited about with Doctor Rosser.

He's bringing in some of, his models and things that he's done in the previous school district he was in.

He had a children's cabinet.

And so I just, I want to hear more around what he sees.

But one thing I do think our school district has fallen short with is our Office of Paired Engagement and the community facing pieces, and how we've leveraged that.

And we have not done well with the partnerships that we've had already.

So what I was going to say, which was the community school model, that is the model that we need to be looking at and really getting our staff members, our teachers and our school communities to understand how that model benefits them and their students, and that it's a model that we can use to create the services and the wraparound services and the, and what is needed for our students to be successful.

Well, in school 19 is our community school right now, and they have encompassed navigation.

They have navigators that you can rely on so that the social worker at the school has the back up so that they can say, here's a navigator that can step in and help you, uplift you, and make sure that you have what you need.

Make sure you have a ride to school.

Make sure you have groceries.

That's the navigators job.

And that way the school can focus on what the kids need in the classroom.

And people tend to get the community school and neighborhood school models kind of intertwined because they sound very similar.

And neighborhood schools are convenient.

But I've always used the analogy if the school across the street from my home, the children aren't reading and there's a school across the city that they're doing a lot better, I want my child there.

So I do love the idea of the community school, model that both, folks have both commissioners and spoken about, because that is different and that considers the resources in the neighborhood and the nuances that are special to the students and families that live within proximity to that school community.

So taking care of an overhead view, 2025 budget of the Rochester City School District puts spending at per pupil at about $30,000.

Place is among the highest in the nation.

There was a recent report that was from Playground equipment.com, of all places, which cited federal data, that found that Rochester had the third highest spending per pupil of any district in the country of the about 900 highest in, in the country.

We were behind only New York City and Boston.

This year's budget comes in at $1.1 billion.

The graduation rate for the district was 63% last year, 23 points below the state average.

Are we getting what we pay for when it comes to the budget?

Well, what I tell you is that the budget $1.1 billion.

And I said this when we first, when the dollars first appeared is, well, we know what ain't money, right?

Because it's got to be strategy.

The dollars are there.

But I also think when we hear, you know, $1.1 billion, how those dollars are allocated, we've got to take a look at health care, teacher salaries, all of those types of things that it takes to run this district.

But there's there's a lot of opportunity there.

And I'll digress there.

Also, when we talk about the per pupil, 30,000 per pupil, we also have to consider the high, percentage of special education students that have a higher costs associated with English language learners.

And to your point, the needs that, exists here in the district.

So, but 63% graduation rate.

If I sat here and said, that's okay, I would be, less than truthful.

That's that's not okay.

So we need to look at how are we spending these dollars, because your priorities are where you spend your money.

And I will also say that there are strategies that have been put there.

So it's a whole strategic plan.

And it's really going to be on the onus of us as commissioners to ensure that we are putting together policy that's going to help the superintendent fulfill those strategic plans and actually build and create a better school district where our policies, where our graduation rates can grow.

We also we also really have to take into consideration we might be the third highest and paying out, but we also are the second poorest in the nation.

So there has to be a balance somewhere.

When you have poverty, you have extra needs.

So we need to make sure that we're meeting the kids where they're at and when you have special needs, when you have second like second language learners, low English proficiency learners, we have extra needs.

We embrace our sanctuary city, and we just have to meet our kids where they're at.

And yeah, and a lot of that requires additional supports, you know, so it looks like it's oh my God, it's all this money.

But there are a lot of working parts that go into this district.

And we have to make sure that they're all are, are accounted for, for the two new members.

What is the first thing that you want to do entering the board?

I mean, if there's a policy proposal or a bill or a resolution that you can put up.

But what is it you know, as you're coming into office in January, what does that look like?

I am fully in support of Isaiah's new policy.

I want to help him get that on mental health is important.

LGBTQIa plus is vital.

I have a trans child who was misgendered repeatedly.

I've said that publicly.

I was reached out to a parent who had a child who was dead named at their graduation here in Rochester.

They know it's a priority for my children, and if my children are safe, all children are safe.

And so I need to make sure that all children are safe.

So helping Isaiah get that policy and passed and everything aligned the way it needs to be, that's my first priority.

For me.

It would be ensuring that I am able to present and give my 100% and what needs to happen for the board and what that means and what that looks like is there are plans already happening.

We are coming in midway through the year.

There are already be things initiatives going on, so I want to be able to assist in what's happening so that we can end the school year strong and then start a new for the next school year with initiatives and new policies and things that that of that nature.

So it's really about learning what's going on and strategically fitting in and doing what's necessary and what's right for the district and for the students and for for my fellow commissioners.

Heather, I want to build on something you mentioned a little bit.

In March, a student at the school of the Arts had died following a mental health crisis.

And, You know, I don't want this to be a thing where, like, hindsight.

And I'm armchair quarterbacking what the school could have done.

But I want to get a sense of what safeguards could be in place so students feel safe.

Talking about some of the, if they are having a mental health crisis and what could be done to prevent things like this from happening in the future.

That's very easy.

I mean, restore give safe zone training.

So part of the mental health initiative and policy that's already being worked on.

We're not coming into this like Kareem said.

We're coming into it midway.

But we've been supporting this idea already in the community.

I have.

But restore can come in and for free give non-mandatory training because that's very important to safe zone training in the schools.

It happens all over the city.

It doesn't happen all over the suburbs, it doesn't happen in the city.

Currently.

We need we need that to happen in our schools so that kids know who they can go to and who is quote unquote safe.

And if it make it mandatory, then it's useless.

But the kids will know who they can go to.

This is not brain surgery, right?

So we need to make sure that our kids feel safe and we need to make effective policy so that things like this don't happen again, especially in a place where kids should be safe.

And I and I have to add that, there are a ton of programs that the city has to their disposal that they have trained individuals on QPR, youth mental health, first aid.

They have these programs that people are trained on.

I'm trained and I've trained with that, and I trained with some of the city employees.

So they have them there, but they have to be utilized with fidelity.

They have to be out in the schools and in the places in the spaces where they're going to be utilized.

So we don't see situations like we see occurring.

And that's going to come with strong policy and strong backing with the suit from the superintendent and for the superintendent to ensure that all building leaders and all teachers are getting these trainings and these services.

So, I want to read an email from Charlie.

And it's long, but he touches on a question.

It touches on a question that I had anyway.

So I hear he goes, I taught in the city for 31 years, the last nine at East.

When you show kids a way to make some money, they're all ears.

At least we have a culinary program.

Optics, phlebotomy, optician training, and a home repair class, among others.

I would show my seniors how they can make a minimum 40 4KA year out of high school, and probably much more with overtime.

By simply getting a skills based job.

Right now, I'm following the training of one of the my favorite students who is becoming an electrician.

My wife runs a design building company and her skill base, the people take tile setters, vintage carpenters, plumbers, and electricians are all aging out.

There is money to be made in the trades.

We have had some students come back after getting jobs, showing off really nice cars paid by their new jobs and smiling ear to ear.

College is great for some kids, but many kids who really want to make some money right out of the gate go to trades.

I think that's how he meant that in that.

But yeah.

So yeah, I do want to talk about that, that for a lot of students, I think college increasingly is becoming a less realistic or feasible option.

I mean, I look at the amount of debt I am in from college for my very, very lucrative job, where I sit here and talk on the radio.

Was it worth it?

That's a question I ask myself every day.

But, when you look at these students that are looking for, you know, going into 11th, 12th grade, about to graduate, looking at their path, are there enough options that are being offered or promoted by the district that might be alternatives to what college might be?

What could it be?

Trade school?

Could it be entering into, a job right out of the gate?

What does that look like?

Absolutely.

I think that the district needs to do better at exposure.

So one of the positions I held was with, in the same organization I talked about where I was at one point a youth advocate working with students.

As I said, I was there for a number of years, and one of those roles became the operations manager for college and career services.

And that included exactly what you're talking about.

Look, and these were with City School students, looking at what career options they can go in and making sure they were exposed to skilled trades.

And one of my gripes was always, we're waiting until they're in the ninth, 10th and 11th grade to expose them to these opportunities.

They need our babies.

Our children need these, opportunities expose sooner.

And one thing that the district is doing is trying to make sure that that gets into the middle school model as well, so that very young students know alternative psychology.

I also like what's happening at the state level in regard to the Blue Ribbon Commission and alternative, pathways to graduation.

So we have to consider the way, the world, the way of the world today, what options were placed in front of the students?

The brick and mortar college is the way, conversation is antiquated at this point.

There are a lot of ways children can make money.

Coming straight out of high school, we have to put those opportunities out.

And I think the way the federal government is, the federal environment is we already know that college is going to be less accessible.

And I, like Doctor Rosser, spoke about this.

He talked about bringing this in and making sure that kids know that they can make money right out of school, that they can go into these trades.

So he is already thinking on that line, too.

And to touch on that, like, I'm a I'm a proponent of alternative pathways.

Right.

And CTE is one of those alternative pathways.

Currently Rochester City School District offers, I believe, just about 20.

Our little over 20 different CTE programs.

And they're growing.

But what has not happened is the advertising of these programs, the knowledge that the community and parents and students have that these programs actually exist in these buildings.

So I feel like we we are moving in that direction, but we have to do better at advertising it, getting the word out to the community and growing this program.

And they're they're doing the work, but we have to be able to support them in this work.

Part of our job as commissioners is making sure that we're working with the community.

I like that Doctor Rosser is going to be doing fireside chats.

I want to make sure that everyone knows that they can reach out to me.

I hope everybody knows lots of people have already started, but I think that it's important to know that the community is where we're going to find the answers.

But if the community doesn't know these programs exist and the community doesn't know what's going on, we're we're just housing people.

Look at Edison, for example, Edison was the school to go to if you wanted to go into trades.

And there are people that are entrepreneurs, they're doing well in our community.

And they came from Edison Technology, right?

Career and technology.

And what has happened with Edison and what we've seen internally is that some of our students have ended up going to Edison without it, really without knowing exactly what Edison does.

And so previously, students and families would pick that school based on what they understood, what happened.

And we've got to get back to what Heather said is increasing community knowledge around that.

And I believe we have to get into the middle school level so that schools can go on these, like just like we have job, fairs and things like that.

Let's have these CTE fairs, let's see what exists in our schools so students can make those informed decisions and families.

And I just want to build on that a little bit, because, you know, the way I'm looking at this is like it's a very like this isn't a Rochester specific thing.

This is an American culture.

I look at like, when I was in high school, your options were you go to college or it was almost like a moral failing if you did it.

So I think if you're looking at kids that might like some are probably struggling to graduate, and know that they're never going to I'm like, I'm not going to go to college if I'm at that kind of mindset, which I think permeates all parts of our culture, it's like, I'm not going to go, so I might as well just give up now, if that exists, how do you start to change the mind check mindset?

And I don't do think it takes a cultural shift, how we view what you do after, high school.

It does.

And to piggyback off of what Camille was saying, we have to start earlier.

Yes, we have to start infusing our children with the mindset that they have these options.

And by infusing, it means exposing them to these different types of career path and these different types of, opportunities.

And we have to start earlier.

I'm I'm a proponent of starting an elementary school.

That's so that we could actually start exposing our children.

And then what this does is this sparks a knowledge and a fire to want to learn more.

And then we talk about the literacy rate.

This will spark that knowledge because now they have to read about these programs and these careers and these pathways that that they've just seen someone do.

So it's a part of that.

Go ahead.

I'm sorry.

Because you know, I'm excited, I sorry my mind I get excited, I start jumping in.

Yeah.

Sorry you guys I have to say I agree so much because that's where the culture shift happens.

Like we can expose the children, but if the adults don't start changing their messaging and their understanding of that need, the children aren't going to get it.

And that's a mindset.

And we got to change that adult mindset.

Go ahead.

No, exactly.

I have one of my kids.

What got to be a senior in high school and said, you have eight credits.

And it was like, wait a minute, how did you go to become a senior in high school to find out you only have eight credits.

We need to have these conversations much sooner.

And I have a deaf daughter.

When she was two years old, we went to imagine RIT and there was a bridge to PhD program, which was just federally funded.

But I said, can you explain this to my daughter?

And the person said, what is she to?

I said, yes, she has to explain to my daughter what this program means.

And they said, okay, fine.

When you get older, if you really want to, you can become a doctor.

And she said, I can become a doctor.

Me she still says she wants to be a doctor.

She's she was two.

She's 11 now.

But somebody introduced that idea to her when she was two.

And and to be fair, there are programs happening within our Ccsd that are doing this type of exposure with some of our children as we are speaking.

They are connected with universities, local universities, and the kids are going at at the middle school age and it's grades six and seven and being exposed.

But we need to see this done with fidelity across the board.

Yes.

To make that cultural shift in our district to where this is the norm, we're gonna take our first and only break of the hour mark, come back and talk more with the, primary winners of the Rochester City School District board.

I'm making Mac Thursday on the next connections, you're joined by guest host Raquel Stephen talking about men's mental health.

June is men's mental health month, and in our first hour, we discuss why men's mental health issues often go undiagnosed, and we explore how local supports for men with mental health concerns are achieving results.

Then, in our second, our new studies show an increase in the use of cannabis to treat chronic health conditions.

We talk about it.

Support for your public radio station comes from our members and from Mary Carey Ola Center, providing education and life skills solutions designed to empower individuals and the families of those with complex disabilities.

Mary Carrie Ola, Center transforming Lives of People with disabilities More at Mary Carrie ola.org and we are back on connections.

I'm Gino Fanelli discussing the winners of the primary election for the Rochester City School District Board.

And you know, I do want to touch on kind of like an elephant in the room.

The, federal administration, wants to dismantle the Department of Education, and that's that last month, was blocked by a federal judge, but that doesn't mean it's going away.

So, I mean, that would be a huge shift in how the district operates.

And, you guys are more experts than me.

What of, what what would that mean for you?

And how would you kind of navigate it?

Yeah.

So it's the the partners that we've got to pull into.

And I when I say partner, all partners, all hands on deck.

Right.

But government partners, community partners.

And we've got to take a look at this budget because there will be implications, I think, in the next few years over this budget, and we're going to be in a position where we are going to need to know how to do more with less.

And if we need to get ahead of that conversation.

And so to just kind of level set, we recognize that the Snap benefits are under attack or compromise at this point.

That trickles into our free and reduced lunch, which we're we understand Medicaid and how that goes into our, services for special education and students who have different needs and are able differently.

We are the all those things are going to be compromised.

And we have to figure out what our new normal looks like and what are the contingency plans, because things are going to get cut.

So we've got to get ahead of that.

This is on my every day thoughts, because I have a deaf daughter who goes to a special school.

So what did I do next year?

She's partially mainstreamed so that if and when that school closes, she's ready to be mainstreamed.

She's not going to have a culture shock.

But I have to teach everyone as I go.

Teach my daughter, teach her school teacher, mainstream school, teach everybody.

But that's our job.

Our job is to uplift and educate as many people as possible, and that's what we have to do.

We have to educate, uplift and just take it on.

And so and I'm going to just add to that, to what both said is that we have to do more with less, like she said.

And we have to lead on a community where it's just going to require us to to do some almost grassroots things because the landscape is going to change.

It's already in the process of changing.

It has changed since Covid, and it's about how we are able to adapt to these changes with the resources that we have and actually leverage those resources for our students and our community and our district.

You know, what else is is really important is in times of chaos, in times of certain uncertainty, how you lead, how you message, and how you lean in and educate the community is important.

You know, I think of like an organization which is obviously much smaller than our community.

But if something's going on, that organization and the head of the organization is like losing their mind, the community follows that lead that that that tags them.

And so we have to move with a swiftness and a sense of urgency, but we cannot be so on balance that we create more tandem in a space that needs a stable, strong voice.

But they also need to know what's going on.

So we've got to be able to balance that messaging and in the way that's helpful.

It's tough balance, right?

It's easier to be sad.

It's easier to be sad, especially when you see it happening firsthand when you see people, compromised.

My sister lives out in LA.

You know, she's she watch people from the breakfast joint that she goes to out there in LA.

She went back to the car wash and all the people were gone.

She's watched agents come in and literally take the people, you know.

So when you are seeing it, live in it and breathing it, it's, it's difficult to have that balance.

But it does require that.

And and that's how we why we've got to leaning toward one another and it will require more strategic thinking.

You know, we have to do exactly what she said is we have to become one purpose, one mind, so that we can move in a direction that's going to be the best for us all.

And we have to take into consideration who we're talking to.

When I was at school, number two and there were lots of parents, I was the PTA president.

I was their second call list because at the end of the month, they didn't have any more minutes and they couldn't get any phone calls.

So if we're blasting out phone calls and thinking we're reaching everybody, we're not reaching everybody, especially at the end of the month.

So we need to understand who we're working with and meet people where they're at.

That's how we uplift them.

You know, but we're looking at the totality of everything we've talked about this hour is, this district faces a lot of challenges.

The performance of the students is a massive challenge.

The graduation rates are the massive challenges.

The whatever is coming from the federal administration, it's a massive challenge.

The homelessness rate of students, of the massive challenge.

We can go on and on and on about that.

But they're kids.

They are kids potential.

And it's beautiful and I want to leave off here.

Talk about leadership.

The district has gone through quite a few superintendents in the past few years.

You have a new one starting July 1st, doctor Eric J. Rosser.

You will all be coming to office in January under a new superintendent.

I'd be five months into the job.

What does good leadership look like?

In this time period where you're dealing with all of these issues and plus the growing uncertainty of what the future holds?

Are you hopeful at all that things can be managed, that, that we're going to get on a better track?

I don't think you would have ran if you didn't think there would be any chance of that.

Changing.

No one wants to, you know.

You know, jump on to the sinking ship, but you ain't got hope.

You ain't got nothing, you know?

Right?

You gotta you have to move with hope.

But you also have to move with purpose and intention.

Strategy.

And I am hopeful, and I do believe that we as a collective board will be able to work together, and we're bringing new energies to the board right now.

And I believe that that's something that we will see a shift.

Any dynamic that comes in, you shift certain, spaces.

And so, these are welcome, individuals, welcome to my colleagues on this board.

As far as Doctor Ross's success, he's only as successful as the board.

Last time I was on the show, speaking with Evan, I said, Superman himself can come here and we'll not be effective if our board doesn't get ourselves together.

Right.

And so, recognizing the talents and the scope of the superintendent and then the talents and scope of the board, and that, that has to be balanced.

Right.

And so we are working with partners.

Right?

We're bringing in Nisbet, the New York state, folks, New York state, state, School Board, Association, excuse me, the Council for Great City Schools, we're bringing in different folks that can help us get our, rally around our board on what governance looks like.

Our incoming candidates are not even candidates.

Commissioners will be able to, take part in these trainings as well.

There's there's a lot that's happening right now that I think is going to set us up for success.

I'll be quiet.

Well, I'm so excited by Doctor Rosser.

I mean, I've seen him multiple times.

I went to his first fireside chat.

I've bumped into him in the community more than I've ever bumped into any other commissioner.

And I'm in the community and I've been in the city school district a lot.

So I think there's so much passion already that he brings, which is amazing.

But I also love that he's an impacted person.

He has a lens that he sees and that is what this community really needs.

I think there's a lot of disconnect, and by bringing that in, that's one of the lenses I, I openly say we were homeless.

I have a lot of degrees.

Very educated white woman, lots of white privilege.

Still was homeless here in Rochester with disabled kids.

I want to talk about all those lenses and having an impacted lens.

And Doctor Rosser hasn't impacted lens.

I think he brings so much to the city already.

I'm just so excited about the partnership and and I'm going to just say sustainability, being able to sustain where we are through the turmoil, through the mess, through the situations that are coming down from whether it be Washington or the state.

Sustainability is the key.

And Doctor Rosser, that's one of his key words.

And knowing that's where he stands and where he plants his foot and creating something sustainable, that is what we need in Rochester, and it's on us as commissioners, new commissioners.

Hey, it's on us to actually help him create that sustainability that we need for our kids and our community.

What does that look like?

Well, I mean, what would you define sustainability and stability as I would I would define that as a, a, network because it's not just one.

Right.

It's a network of individuals, of organizations working together for a common cause and that in purpose, and that is to create graduates that we can say came from Rochester and can be put back into our community.

That is what it looks like in that is a long course, right?

It's not a short course, it's a long course, but it's something we at this point we have to use urgency, strategy and purpose behind.

I mean, those dollars have to match up.

You've got to create strategic plans that have long term effects that are sustainable through finance, sustainable through implementation, execution, all of those things.

We have to consider the whole kit and caboodle on how, these strategies are brought out and that is what will create the sustainability.

And we've got to stick beside it, our district educators and students, you know, they have been the the remnants of this ever changing system.

The curriculum changes, the superintendent changes, the the orders change, the board changes, whatever happens.

It's just this trickle effect that we have to, put a stop to at this point.

Yeah.

I mean, I look at it as a school should be a place that, is nothing but a positive force in a student's life.

And, I wonder a little bit if we are there right now in the school district, if, the district is meeting the needs of the students that we have there, and, you know, Heather, you're shaking your head.

I mean, where do you think we're failing students right now?

And do you think we can get there to where we're not doing that?

That's why I ran.

We're not, we're not.

We are improving every day.

And that's why I ran to make sure we continue to improve.

But when you see these beautiful graduation ceremony, pictures and videos where these little kids start in kindergarten and go all the way up through and graduate with the same kids.

And my kids don't have that.

The only kid who has that is my deaf child who's in a special school.

So she's been there since she was 18 months old.

All of my children have had a school closed on them.

All of them.

All right.

Well, Patrick, no, to leave our five.

Well, we just wanted to.

The kids are going to win.

We've got some great candidates.

Our incoming commissioners.

A let's we've got myself Camille Simmons Kareem Marcos.

Right.

And have their five.

And we're bringing it back.

Will you have this conversation in six months Gino, you are having maybe we'll be talking about some trajectory that we see.

I'll be looking forward to.

Okay.

Okay.

This is connection time, Gino.

Finale.

Thanks for tuning in.

This program is a production of WXXI Public Radio.

The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of this station.

Its staff, management, or underwriters.

The broadcast is meant for the private use of our audience.

Any rebroadcast or use in another medium, without express written consent of WXXI is strictly prohibited.

Connections with Evan Dawson is available as a podcast.

Just click on the connections link at WXXI news.org.