josiah bell. dennis kelly. as you can see, we have quite a few speakers. i would like the students to come up first. please be respectful for the time. come on up, students. come on up, students. state your name first, and press the button to speak. >> my name is thomas marks. i am a graduate of a traditional high school. i am here to speak on behalf of my teacher, ms. emily van dyke. she is our teacher. i just wanted to say that going into my senior year of high school, i did not want to take an art class, mainly because it was not a topic that i liked very much. but as soon as i walked in, ms. van dyke was there to help me. she was not just my teacher. she became a very good friend of mine. not just to me, but to everyone who has her, 150 students per year -- everybody knows her well and is a good friend of hers. when we all heard she received a slip, you could have heard the entire gymnasium. we went off chanting her name. you could see the connection she has with the students at the school. so i do not like the cut at all. >> good evening, everybody. i