By L. Parsons Federal Programs Director Denise Estudillo presented to the Winslow Unified School District Governing Board last week. She noted that the Winslow City Council declaring November Native American Month and that students from the Winslow Residential Hall accept the proclamation. Reading a portion of the proclamation Estudillo stated, “Whereas the City of Winslow was originally founded in the midst of Indian Country and has been enriched and inspired by the magnificent traditions of our Native American friends and neighbors; and whereas the City of Winslow considers the preservation of Native American traditions and culture as one of the highest priorities for this community and this entire region.” Along with the proclamation, Estudillo pointed out a list of activities celebrating the month. Today, Nov. 10, the Native Film Festival continues with a complimentary showing of the film, “The Legend of the Boy and the Eagle,” at the Winslow Theater, located at 115 N. Kinsley Ave. Other events include the upcoming Native American Festival at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 13, at Vargas Field on Maple Street. The complete list of events can be found on the Winslow Unified School District Facebook page. The governing board then discussed their annual self-evaluation. Acting President Joe Hartnett said, “In standard one: vision, leadership and accountability, we had two board members rate us as effective.” He continued, “The board could be more unified in focusing on making sure our children are getting what they need to be successful. I think sometimes we get caught in the weeds way too often as a board. I think we are definitely downtrodden with a lot of district business, which I understand is part of the job, but I would like to be an advocate for kids to excel.” During the self-evaluation discussion, it was also mentioned the need for more community involvement. Hartnett said, “I know with COVID it has been hard to get people in the schools, but there used to be quite a few things that the schools encouraged professionals and others in the community to become involved. We should think of creative ways to let people know what is going on and how they can become involved.” Another standard the governing board evaluated was fiscal resources, staff recruitment and environment. Hartnett read an anonymous board member comment, “I haven’t seen a facilities plan. We need a strategic plan for building replacement and long-term planning.” He added his own comment, stating, “it can be discussed in an upcoming work session.” The work session is an open meeting and will take place at 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 19, in the board meeting room, located at 800 N. Apache Blvd. The governing board’s self-evaluation will be posted as minutes from the Nov. 3 meeting on the district website, at www.wusd1.org. In other business, and in the absence of Board President Allen Leonard, the governing board: * Ratified vouchers in a routine procedure that allows the board to submit vouchers to the county superintendent between meetings. * Accepted a donation in the amount of $10,386 to Washington Elementary School from proceeds of their annual Walk-a-Thon. * Approved out of state travel for Michelle Jones, four staff members and 30 National Honor Society students to Anaheim, Calif., in May 2023 for their senior trip. * Approved the hiring of Madison Zamora, Mary Candeleria and Quentin Begody Jr. as elementary school paraprofessionals; and Linda Mileham and Isabel Britton as substitute teachers. * Accepted the resignation of Norell Sears, a district bus driver. * Approved the Winslow High School fundraiser for Spiritline to sell programs and program advertisement at basketball games. * Approved Penny Brimhall, Career and Technical Education director as a qualified evaluator at WHS. * Adopted four Arizona School Board Association Policy Services Advisories. This was the third reading of each policy; two of which prohibit the mandatory vaccination of students and staff against COVID-19. * Approved the award of the School Facilities Board project for the Washington School HVAC replacement in the amount of $256,911. * Approved Connie Gover as the signer for the annual Impact Aid Grant application in a routine annual procedure. * Approved the Indian Policies and Procedures as approved by the Indian Education Committee in a routine procedure. * Approved the moving of the meeting previously scheduled for Dec. 1 to Dec. 8 and cancelled the Dec. 15 meeting. * Approved the moving of the meeting previously scheduled for Jan. 5 to Jan. 12. * Approved the 310 Plan as was already in place, adding a Governor Doug Ducey approved pay increase for speech and language pathologists and health technicians in January. The next regular meeting of the Winslow Unified School District Governing Board will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17, in the board meeting room, located at 800 N. Apache Ave.