Yes, welcome to Northland High School. I would like to give first a shout-out to our amazing host today, the team at Northland. If you Dr. Johnson, our principal, all of our students, our amazing staff who are here. Could you please just STAND AND WAVE? >> [applause] >> THANK YOU FOR WELCOMING US into your space today. Uh we have an amazing opportunity to um talk with you this afternoon about a new partnership between Columbus City Schools and Columbus City Council. And so we um are excited that you all are here to learn more about this partnership. You'll hear from our school board members, you'll hear from city council, and you'll hear from our union leadership, you'll hear from a little bit more from me um also this afternoon. So we're excited that you're here and we're going to get started with some important announcements. And first I'm going to turn it over to our city council president Shannon Hardin. >> [applause] >> Thank you so much uh Dr. Chapman. We're so grateful uh for your leadership. Thank you. Uh go Vikings and thank you so much for uh hosting us today. That is very appropriate for a uh school uh press conference. Um but thank you all for being here. Uh I think today marks a really important next step uh in our continued collaboration between Columbus City Schools and the Columbus Board of Education. I want to thank uh my colleague one uh press pro tem Columbus City Council, but also my colleagues on the Columbus School Board. Uh I think through this announcement and what the expectation from the community should be is a closer and closer uh partnership and collaboration uh between the city and the schools. Um it is fitting that we gather here at Northland a school whose official motto is aspire, achieve, and adapt because that's exactly what this moment calls us to do. And for me it's especially meaningful because uh I'm a graduate of Columbus City Schools. I I'm in a big um big public service uh because of uh who changed my life. Miss uh Doreen uh You Assour who was a teacher of mine and Miss Sarah Thornburg who more than anybody is responsible for me being here today. Uh and I look forward to um my son. I was just telling Dr. Chapman uh we're in the lottery today uh to find out where we are going to be going to uh kindergarten uh in August. So I've seen firsthand the impact of our schools, our teachers, and this community can have on a young person's path. I want every student in Columbus to have that same opportunity to succeed. And so today we're launching a new partnership, one that builds on a continued shared commitment to the students of Columbus City Schools while the city and the school district have always been connected by the young people that we serve. We are going to form a joint committee to carry out a more intentional, more coordinated approach to that responsibility. This committee is how the city council and the school board can come together regularly, align priorities, and make smarter, more coordinated decisions on behalf of our students and our families, but also our facilities, the neighborhoods around our schools, our land, our economic development policies, our funding priorities, and our programs. And it's important now more than ever because we live in an environment where the state government is going on offense against public schools. We at the local level have to push back by being more connected than ever. So the city and the Columbus City Schools have long been connected through grants and early education investments, through recreation centers and after-school programs, and a shared emphasis on literacy. There are hundreds of touchpoints across the city where we are already working together. Obviously one of the great examples of our partnership and collaboration is the Columbus Promise. Um an initiative that already has shown what's possible when the city, our schools, and our community come together with one common goal, expanding opportunity for our young people. That partnership has already changed lives and it's a model for the kind of alignment we're deepening today. But each of these touchpoints are just one-off. What we need is a comprehensive commitment for how institutions are aligning. I heard that in the round table with Mrs. Zetta and the Columbus Education Justice Coalition. We all saw the need for that when we traveled together to Cincinnati a month ago to learn how their schools and their cities work together. You'll hear uh you'll hear later about the program we're funding based on what we saw there. And we all heard the need for this last Thursday at last Thursday's forum hosted by uh Dr. Amanda uh Miranda on how the city's demographics and population changes are impacting our schools. What this is not about is shifting responsibility. It's about sharing it. Because when students struggle in math or when a building sits vacant or when a young person becomes truant and goes down the wrong path, we all feel that impact in our community and in our economy and in our homes. And when a student succeeds, graduates, and thrives, then we all benefit throughout our city and our workforce, uh in our neighborhoods, uh in our businesses. So that's the spirit behind today. The fates of our city and our schools are intertwined and we will rise or fall together. So as we stand here with the Vikings of Northland High School, we take a page from their motto. We will aspire to stronger partnerships. We will achieve better outcomes for our students and we will adapt together to meet the needs of our changing city. I said this before specifically around homelessness. When we asked the shelter board to help us in homelessness, that's not the shelter board's responsibility. That's the city's responsibility as a community. When we think about educating our young people and making sure they're they are prepared to thrive in this city, that is not the school district and the school board's responsibility alone. That is all of our responsibility. Partnerships are hard. That's why many folks don't do them well. It's not about always being in agreement or even always being in alignment. It's about being radical about standing side by side through the good times, through the tough times, and by having a plan especially especially when we're in an environment when there are people who don't want any of us to be here, who who want to defund all of us. Uh these partnerships are critical. So I'm very grateful uh for the partnership that we are deepening today. I look forward to uh being held accountable uh for making sure that we continue to move this city and this district forward on behalf of our young people. So it's my uh pleasure and uh excited to be closer partner uh to welcome up to the podium uh my friend, our leader, Columbus School Board President Dr. Miranda. >> [applause] >> Good morning and thank you all for being here. When I stepped into this role at the beginning of the year, I did so with a deep sense of responsibility, not just as a school board president, but as an educator and someone who has spent a career in and around education. I've seen firsthand what happens when systems work well for students and when they don't. And right now we are being called to meet a moment that demands more of us. Columbus City Schools is facing real and significant challenges. Shrinking financial support from the state of Ohio, budget constraints, aging infrastructure, these are not small issues and they are not isolated to one institution. They are shared responsibilities. Because the truth is our schools do not operate in a vacuum. They are deeply connected to the health of our neighborhoods and city. That's why today is critical. Today this announcement of the creation of a joint committee between Columbus City Schools and Columbus City Council is important because new challenges require new solutions. And more importantly, they require us to work together in ways that are more intentional and coordinated. This committee is not just a conversation. It is infrastructure. It is a space to evaluate and assess the many, often complicated, ways the city and our school district intersect. From finances and budgeting to school safety to how we think about and repurpose aging school buildings to how development decisions impact enrollment and opportunity. As someone who has worked in education, I believe deeply in the power of collaboration. But I also know collaboration only works when it is grounded in action. This committee will not exist to study problems indefinitely. It will exist to surface solutions, to re-evaluate assumptions, and to move us forward. Because at the center of all of this are our students. This moment calls for all hands on deck. A shared commitment to the future of Columbus students. I am grateful to our partners on City Council for stepping into this work with us, and I am confident that together we can build a stronger, more sustainable path forward for our schools, for our city, and most importantly for our children. Thank you, and next I'd like to welcome up Council President Pro Tem Rob Dorans. >> [applause] >> Good morning. It is always optimistic to start the day when you're walking into a beautiful spring morning with a bunch of school-age kids walking into a building that are filled with enthusiasm. So, I want to thank certainly the the entire Northland family for having us here today for this incredible announcement. As Council President Harden mentioned, his family is also his family's in the lottery right now to find out where little Noah is going to kindergarten. We are, too. So, you know, we like to joke we got a little bit of a dad's caucus at Columbus City Council, and these things keep happening at the same time where we talked a lot about potty training and reading and math, and all of a sudden now we're we're talking about where our little ones are going to be going to kindergarten next year. So, timing could not be more prophetic for formalizing what often times has been a long relationship between the city of Columbus and the Columbus City Schools. But, now is the time, as Dr. Miranda said, to formalize this. Not just to allow these things to sort of seep out there in in the world, but actually to create lasting infrastructure to make sure that we have the structures in place to have these very difficult and sometimes complicated conversations about how the city and how this district can better work together for our kids. And when I think about that, I think about my son. I think about Noah. I think about all the thousands of young people that are walking into buildings like this every single day. And we owe them the opportunity to have a world-class education right here in the city of Columbus. As Dr. Miranda mentioned, this is more about than just having discussions. We are going to hit the ground running. And you know, if you ever heard me speak, it's going to take like 5 minutes before I start start talking about land use and zoning, right? And as the the chair of the zoning committee, we have been undertaking an incredible once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize our land use policies here in Columbus. To help plan for the future of our city, to make sure that we're ready for the growth, and not only for the people who will call our city home in the future, but just as importantly for our residents that call our city home today. And as this district evolves, one of the things that we need to do is link arms with our land use policies and identify ways that the city of Columbus can better support this district as they think about their built environment, their future. And think about creative ways for us to work with the district create more affordable housing for Columbus City School families. To think about how our land use policies are going to shape neighborhoods that our schools are in, that our kids call home. So, I'm very excited to announce that in the coming months and year, we will look at every single Columbus City School parcel that they own, and think about what is the future of that piece of property for this district, for our kids, for our teachers, for our communities, and think about how we can be better supportive of individuals all across Columbus. The other thing that I'm really excited about, and Council President mentioned this a moment ago, you know, as adults you don't get a lot of field trips, you know. We all thought about this when we were we were kids about the excitement and in fact, my son has a field trip tomorrow that I'm just remembering I need to pack his lunch for. Um, but we actually took a field trip together. The superintendent, the president and vice president of the board, myself, Council President Harden, our our leadership from our labor organizations, going down to Cincinnati really to lean into how community and schools can be a huge support not only for our kids, but our families. In the city of Cincinnati, over 20 years ago, they sat with their coalition of parents students labor, their elected leadership and thought, "How can we invite the community into our buildings to make sure the buildings are reflective of what the community actually needs?" And in those 20 years, they've had incredible success in able to make sure that they're actually providing the support to individuals within those neighborhoods that they actually need, that they're asking for. We were able to spend half a day with folks at Euler Elementary School, where we saw just an incredible an incredible amount of support that they've been able to provide to those kids every single day, and to that neighborhood just as importantly. That school is a hub for that entire community that's surrounding it. And again, it wasn't about telling the community what they wanted, they asked. And I am so excited that the Columbus Education Association and Columbus City Schools have begun that work right here at Northland High School with Mr. Montero right here with us, and really has laid that excellent groundwork to think about how this can work here in Columbus. While Cincinnati may have maybe 20 years ahead of us on this, I believe that we here in Columbus can do this just as good, if not better. And I'm very excited to announce that myself and Council President Harden will be be bringing legislation in the coming weeks to help to fully fund that pilot here [snorts] at Northland High School to make sure that we have the opportunity to really lean in and create that foundation right here in Columbus. So, if you're coming here today just thinking you might be hearing another announcement to have another commission or another another committee, that is not the case. We are here to announce real, actual steps to make sure that we formalize this incredible partnership because the success of Columbus is directly linked to the success of Columbus City Schools and vice versa. And that is something that I know I feel in my heart and my colleagues know to be true as well. And it is an incredible opportunity both with the superintendent and this leadership of this board for us to take the next step and make sure that we are doing everything we can for our kids, whether or not they're getting ready to head to kindergarten this fall or whether or not they're getting ready to graduate this spring. And I want to invite an old friend of mine who I'm so excited to be in this position to do this work with, Vice President Sarah Ingles of the Columbus City School Board. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Council Councilman. Um, I want to start by recognizing the work that has brought us here today. Not only with the announcement of this committee, the formation, and the work that we're going to do moving forward, but the investment in Northland High School's Community Campus Program. The Columbus Education Association bargained with our district to include a Community Campus School Pilot Program in their collective bargaining agreement for the past two agreements. Northland's 4-year graduation rates have been increasing steadily since 2017. And I believe that's in part due to the commitment of our students, our families, our staff, and our community to ensuring our kids' success. While the Community Campus School Pilot Program is still in its beginning stages of development, there are key components that have been agreed to by the district and by the union that may lead us to successful opportunities and community building that truly benefit our kids and our families. Our CCS community knows that successful schools require investment. They require energy, and they require attention to make the difference that our students deserve. I'm so excited to share the stage today for this announcement where that investment is occurring through a partnership with our city leaders. We know that what happens inside of the classroom is only a part of the broader well-being of our students. And that well-being is a shared responsibility for all of us. While the students may be in our building roughly 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., they're in the city the rest of the evening and early mornings and on the weekends. And our commitment to them is a shared one that we must work across the city, across the county, across the state, and across this country to make sure that we are taking care of our young people. And so, I'm so so grateful to have our Council, Council President, and our Council Pro Tem here sharing in that work and sharing in that commitment. It is my hope that the committee that we've announced today will create an actual infrastructure for the district and the city to do that work, to do that meaningful, deep, hard work on topics ranging from economic development, youth safety, transportation, and housing among the other topics discussed today. This committee knows that the needs in each school are great. And that our families, our staff, our partners already know where to put the energy to meet those needs. Our committee's first hearing will be in the coming months in Columbus City Council chambers, and we need you there. Community, we need you there. I deeply encourage everyone in our community who cares about the success of our students and our families in our district to join us and engage with this process and share your thoughts. A date will be forthcoming on the first committee announcement, so please stay tuned. But get excited because this is something truly to be excited about. Next I'd like to invite up our prestigious Superintendent Chapman. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Vice President Engles, and good morning again to everyone who's here to join us for this important announcement. Um, for many of you, this may be a typical Tuesday, but for us, this is not a typical Tuesday um in a high school. Uh, right now this is testing season, and so our students are engaged in a very important aspect of their um career, um and we are want to continue to make sure that our students are focused and as our students are focused, it's very important that we're having this conversation today because it shares our committed focus and interest and desire to make sure that we collectively, between the school district, our school board, and city council, stay focused on what's most important. And that is making sure that we are setting our students, our district, and the system up for success. That requires collaboration. That requires partnership. That requires a thinking about how we support our community in new and different ways. So I am tremendously excited about this partnership with city council and thinking about all the ways that we can leverage our collective resources and assets to move our district forward and to uplift our community. I also want to remind us that when we think about um the work in the district, uh many of our our community leaders, our elected officials, our board members have shared some of those common and shared priorities that we have already worked collaboratively on. That means that this new partnership, this structure, is going to help us accelerate and deepen those conversations as well as partnerships. You've heard us talk a lot about Columbus Promise over the years. A true partnership between the school district, city council, our nonprofit leaders, Columbus State, that's again, this is an opportunity for us to expand and deepen those relationships. This week we kicked off school safety week, right? And that yesterday was the announcement of that, reminding everyone that school safety is not solely the school's responsibility, it is everyone in our community's responsibility. So please know that as champions of this work, we are committed to thinking about how we strengthen, how we deepen, how we make better connections across our entire community so that we can serve our students, our families, and our community in deeper and broader ways. This uh joint committee will help us increase and accelerate our communication so that we are ensure that we are prioritizing um the right um areas of need at the right time. We talked a lot about facilities. You heard us talk about facilities as we um next week we're launching a new a series a listening series to invite our community in so we can hear from them about their hopes and dreams for our facilities and our footprint across the district. These are beginning conversations and we want to make sure that we're not doing this work in isolation. So again, this is an invitation. This is an invitation to be a part of the conversation not just for us as school district leaders, city council members, and board members, but for our entire community. So I'm tremendously excited about the work ahead. I'm tremendously excited to um have the support of city council to support the community school model right here at Northland High School and really excited about what's to come in the future ahead. And so now I would like to invite up um my partner in crime, John Caniglia, our CEA president, and invite him to bring um some words or greetings to the group. So thank you. >> [applause] >> Sorry, I don't have a prepared speech. Um, you know, uh the the community uh campus piece uh is very important to the Columbus Education Association. We brought this to the uh the bargaining table in 2022, and uh this is one of the issues that we we went on strike for. Uh, we believe that uh that bringing in the community have making sure that the community has a say in their schools, uh the democratic process, uh what resources should be allocated, we believe that it's very important. And in order to get that done, um we needed a community campus coordinator, right? And so we bargained for that position. Um, we were um and we're very grateful that city council is uh going to be providing the funding for that position. Uh, currently Chris Montero, who's doing that work and doing an excellent job by the way, um is um is is is doing a lot of that work, trying to bring in the community, engaging businesses, engaging uh uh different stakeholders. Uh, one of the issues they have that they're working on right now is that there is a food bank that's going to be closing in the neighborhood. And so uh they want to make sure that, you know, the resources to the community are going to be there for them when they need it. Um, we know that uh that Columbus City Schools is uh um in facing budget cuts and and um and also we know that uh there's a lot of uh you know, the state is is um you know, actively um trying to dismantle public education. I don't think that's a secret for anybody. And we believe that this model, the community campus model, is a way to to bring in the community, stabilize our school district, increase enrollment, and make uh and and continue to provide the world-class education that Columbus City Schools provides. Um, you know, uh also, you know, I just want to say that our teachers are very dedicated to this. They're dedicated to the uh serving uh the community and the students in Columbus, and uh we'll continue to do so. And and I want to say thank you to city council. But let let's be clear, you know, um we keep going back to to funding, right? And um you know, we we as educators are are are fighting every single day for every dollar we can get. What and and we, you know, going back to the state cutting our our uh you know, cutting uh school funding. And you know, the tax abatement issue in Columbus is also a an issue that we're fighting with. Millions and millions of dollars are not coming into Columbus City Schools because of tax abatements. So we're going to continue to pressure city council and uh and and uh the mayor and and and folks because, you know, um you know, I I I would just say, you know um it is it is that important to us, right? And so but I right now I just want to say thank you to city council for funding the position. >> [applause] >> We'd like to open it up for for questions and and >> John is is completely is 100% correct. Um, we what we won't be afraid of is having any conversation. Everything is on the table. Uh, pro President Pro Tem Dorans talked about housing. We will talk about that in our shared committee. I talked about land use. We will talk about that and work on those issues with in our committee. Uh, John talked about community in schools and making sure the schools are a hub for the entire neighborhood. We will talk about how we support that in this committee. We'll talk about summer and after-school programming and funding in our committee. Uh, we'll talk about and we are not afraid to talk about tax abatements and its impact on Columbus City Schools in our committee. Um, this will be a place where we come together as a city, as a community, to see what is best for and how we continue to stack hands to uh ensure that our young people are not just living in Columbus, but are thriving in Columbus. So with that, we'll open it up for questions. Um, President Hardin, do do you see this having um kind of a an a pretty fast effect, this partnership, considering the the financial challenges that CCS faces right now? >> I I think that the financial strain that the state has put uh the district in is a was a critical impetus for us uh moving with haste to pull this back together, pull this committee together. Uh, we want to make sure that our district is not uh on an island uh when as they face these big uh financial challenges that we as a city will stand side by side with them. Uh, as President Pro Tem and uh everyone in spoke about today, we are announcing right off the gate uh that we are funding this community in schools model. We believe that this as soon as he said um this one of the things you're working on uh uh sir is the uh food pantry. It right away like, oh, what can we do? You know, is there is is there space here at the school where we can open up a like it started to uh get us thinking. This is what collaboration and partnership uh allows for. It brings the single issue in front of everybody who can have an impact and allows us to work for towards an uh an opportunity. And then with this partnership, um could you really elaborate on the difference cuz the city council is already been working with the school district, you know, pretty hand-in-hand. What are the ways that this will allow for uh would it be increased responsibility? How would it be much different? I'm looking at I was looking at President [clears throat] pro tem. There is a history of the city and the council. This will actually be a codified in our city code. There was a space for a joint committee, a a committee between the school board and the city of Columbus. It has come together I think once before. This time we are coming together in a more general stance to say all the issues all the issues that are that that collect that we collaborate on collaborate on every day. This can be a space where we have those conversations and we and where Superintendent Chapman said that we can just deepen those. One of the areas that when we talked about this with the superintendent Actually I'll let we fund millions and millions of dollars each year in after school programming for and and summer programming. But how often is the school district at the table when we do that? You know, when does the city ask is this the the nonprofit partner that really has impact in our schools? And the truth is we haven't been doing that as well as we can. We believe that this committee can be a place a conduit for some of those conversations. I'll let anybody else. Yeah, I mean I I will add to we talk about like I as President Miranda said actually having permanent infrastructure to this. We've you know, have great partnerships across the board with the the board the superintendent the district. But I think what is different here is what President Harden mentioned is having that systemic back and forth and again also this to be out in public, right? Because often times you know, we'll collaborate on an individual issue and then we'll move on to the next issue. Again to Council President Harden's point often times we're not stopping to ask the question how are these two things linked together? One of the things that we sort of prepared to actually create this with the district was actually doing accounting at the city of Columbus of from a funding standpoint what do we provide across all kinds of different programming to Columbus City Schools? It's almost impossible to answer that question because there are so many different versions of this and again we've not stopped and just said hey we've been funding this or working with you on this for a number of years. Does that still make sense? Again given the reality where the district is in the moment with their financial state. So if they are in a position right now where they're having to make very very difficult decisions around what's going to happen today in the district and what's going to happen in the future. This to me was the time and again sort of the animating event around we should not just be sitting back in silos and saying hey we got this great program happening over here. We have this great partnership happening over here. Let's actually reevaluate everything together as equal partners. This is not about Columbus City Council coming in telling this Columbus City Schools what to do or what not to do. This is an equal partnership and I think that is something that is very different as what's compared to the past where again when you have folks from City Council saying we want the district to be successful and they need to be part of that. The community needs to be part of that discussion versus us deciding well here's the one program we want to fund for you or here here's the one partnership that we're willing to take up today. I think it's a very very different approach and again one of the things I've talked to President Miranda and Vice President Engles about is again allowing this to be out in public. I mean the community should see this discussion among leaders about how we all collectively are going to deal with this moment. And you know, a lot of those conversations can happen you know, among leaders but I think doing that out in public is also incredibly important for everyone in Columbus to see that we believe that we have to have this district be successful in order for the city to be successful. And I think that is one of the reasons why we did not want this just to be another hey we're going to you know, meet monthly about X issue. This is about doing this out in public with leaders that we know that we can trust to get a lot of these things done in a moment that is necessary for us to come together like this. So so [clears throat] this pilot is just for this school. It's good because I mean this community. Why is it one school and also what is the cost if we already have the cost for it? So why is it just this school? Because we were not able to negotiate more and we would love to see the programs expanded. The the the cost of the the program is is pretty much the the funding of position one position for that and that is the community campus coordinator. Everything else is and trying to and their job is to not actually to to bring resources into the district, right? And and so you can see a benefit there. Hopefully you know, the idea is to to bring in more resources the things that our students need and and so it's saving the district money and I think Dr. Chapman we've talked about this. Do you want to do you want to answer this? Yeah so I just like to share a little bit more about um I think um Council member Doran's talked about our field trip when we went to Cincinnati. We took a field trip to Cincinnati and we were [clears throat] learning from them about how they have implemented this model and it took them a while to get there, right? But they've been implementing this community school model for over two decades. What we learned from them is that they have been able to garner partnerships and relationships from the community and all of the services supports and resources that the students need are provided at the school. And so we visited a school where the health department had a vision clinic, a dental clinic and health services at the school where we had after school programming was provided at the school for every student who needed during the school year and during the summer. And a numerous other services and supports that were needed based on the students and the families that they serve. And here's the the piece that really jumped out at us. All of those services were provided without additional burden or financial burden on the school. And so they thought of ways to provide those services that was budget neutral for the school. The school had certainly resources to offer because they had space, right? And so that's what they brought to the table. The school said we have space. If you can have space for a food pantry then you can operate your food pantry right here. If you have would like to offer a dental set up a dental clinic we have space for that, too. And so it was a really exciting opportunity for us to see how the Cincinnati community has stepped up in targeted collaborative ways to support the students and families and a really exciting opportunity for us to bring that back to Columbus and think about well how can we not only just replicate what we saw in Cincinnati but you know, in Columbus we want to do it even better. And so today is an opportunity where we are supporting the pilot and we'll adhere at Northland so we can figure out what works best and think about how those practices could be replicated and scaled and I just want to remind everyone Cincinnati told us this did not happen overnight. It took them two decades. And so we are learning from them. They're continuing to be thought partners in this work and share with us best practice and strategies and I want to remind us all that we're here at Northland High School which is one of our top performing high schools. They figured out the secret to success. Now it's about thinking about how we scale that and bring in more partners to support and extend the magic that's happening here at Northland High School. This is one of our sites where we have a partnership with Nationwide Children's Hospital. They have a full clinic here at the school. This is one of our sites where we offer many many services to our community. And so we want to be thinking about how we expand and provide more of the supports that our students and our families need in all of our school communities. But today is a pilot we're talking about Northland. So thank you. Dr. Chapman and this might be for Council President Harden, too. You know, this is an example of an existing partnership with the with the city and the school is the Columbus Promise. And I you know, I mean in the last year there was discussion about funding for the Columbus Promise from the city side. Could you talk a little bit about it or whether you're hoping this announcement today is going to you know, signaling to the public that the Columbus Promise is you know, a program that the city and the school are you know, deeply invested in. I would certainly offer that this announcement signals to our entire community that we are all committed to working together. We are all committed to working together to identify the strengths of what we currently have in terms of partnerships as well as the opportunities. And we recognize that many of the opportunities that we are presented with there are no simple solutions to them. And so we have to be thinking differently. We have to make sure that all of the voices are at the table and in the room. And we also have to be thinking about which voices are not in the room so that we can bring them to the table. This is not a situation where we're saying this we've already figured out the answers. This is a opportunity for us to say we have questions and we want to bring our community together to help us answer and grapple with those questions so we can figure out the best course of action for our our school for our for our schools for our district and for our community. The Columbus promise is certainly one of our priorities. We certainly have seen a great return on that investment and thinking about the promise that we've made to our young people so that they can have access and opportunity to pursue their higher ed goals, but I would say that there are certainly other priorities that will be discussing very deeply and engaging in as we continue this important work. So I'm excited about the partnership. I'm excited about the space that we are creating together to commit to ensuring that we have regular conversations, regular dialogue, and we are doing that in ways that involves our broader community. So again, really excited about the partnership and the opportunity to have this joint committee. Thanks everyone. If we want to do one-on-ones, we can talk over there in the back while we while we wrap this up. Thank you. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.