future of Camden students and who is there to truly support them everyone needs a Karen Bell Luke in their lives thank you for your time thank you Miss Abigail Rivera Mado and the following individuals have also submitted written comments supporting Miss Luke Cory Drummond Jr Eris well uh United Kingdom Lindsay P Camden New Jersey Eric Figaroa and Township New Jersey Kiara uh Mauricio uh who I actually uh also provided public comment so that will be her submission uh Luis Sanchez Camden New Jersey Lisa Wallenberg Marlton New Jersey dique Valentine Berlin New Jersey Nia a Camden New Jersey Michael Hawkins Camden New Jersey Angelie Pichardo Camden New Jersey Darren Howard Camden New Jersey Cameron clots Camden New Jersey and Chris Collins Camden New Jersey uh the next written submission is from lazette bergado of Camden New Jersey my name is Lizette bado I am a mother of three small children that attend Veterans Memorial School first and foremost I would like to give a huge thank you to vets for being a great school and for my children for helping my children with their daily work one thing I would like to see if the school can change up a little is on their school lunches sometimes they give out hot milk during lunchtime and my children don't like hot milk they used to give out cold juices but they stopped giving juices out I spoke to the school about it multiple times since the beginning of the school year but they still only provide milk and I know milk is good for kids but mixing milk with Pizza on Fridays is not a good idea kids can get stomach pain from that combination I hope you can understand where I coming from and bring juices back thank you for taking the time to hear me out thank you Miss purgato um the next written submission is from Carla Vias uh from Camden New Jersey good evening board members my name is Carla Vias organizing manager at parents Invincible I am a parent of a Camden District student my child attends Creative Arts High School I brought up some concerns to the board meeting in November regarding the safety of Camden high school students during dismissal and since then I only received one call from the school informing me that they were going to make sure there would be more crossing guards outside since I have been dropping and picking up my daugh I haven't seen any change I would like to know when all those changes will take place I work with parents daily and many par and with many parents from Camden high campus one of their main concerns is the safety of their children during dismissal fearing that their children will get hit by a car how can we prevent that from happening how can we assure parents that their students are safe I hope you can consider my concerns thank you Miss Vias next comment is from Tariq Wilson the school board president has taken a leave of absence after being accused of sexual assault 30 years ago he couldn't be trusted he cannot be trusted now he needs to submit a full resignation or the board should OU him not to mention this is the second board member that turns out to be criminal one with gun charges now a sex offender while Muhammad might be a different person now but how can you take chances when it comes to the kids as a student what are you going to do about it how are you going to fix fix this thank you uh Mr Wilson and the last written submission is from Veronica Martinez my name is Veronica Martinez community outreach coordinator W 2 I wanted to bring the to the board's attention about what our students are doing when they are on winter break are there any programs available for them to attend during winter break are the schools offering any programs for the families during this time if so are Flyers being sent out or calls being made to parents offering these services having resources put in place for families would be beneficial to avoid parents missing work or seeking alternative Child Care thank you Miss Martinez uh superintendent that concludes the written comments uh this evening I will turn it over you for any responses thank you um again I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone um for coming out to our board meeting this evening um as every month the public comment portion is a very very important opportunity for us as a district um and I'm sure the board as well to be able to hear um the concerns of the community and so again I want to take this opportunity to humbly again say thank you I know there were many many items on the um on the list or not on the agenda but what many different items that were brought up many concerns many um feelings many facts many things that some of those things we can speak to some of those things we cannot speak to but I do want you to know that it is very important that we hear what you are feeling and that not only we hear it but we take it back and do everything possible to make sure that at the end of the day we are doing what is best for our young people so I thank you for the candid feedback I thank you for the honesty I thank you for always being honest um and we look forward to moving forward working together to make sure that we bring resolution to the matters that were addressed and though I can't address each and every uh comment individually and again am Bound by what I can share and what I can't share um I do want to just share a few few words but I wanted to just let you know um that it's not very easy to sit um before you and to hear what was said and I say that because I want to be transparent and I want to be honest um because no matter how well-intentioned um we are it does not the the feeling of you know being perceived as TR not doing everything possible to protect the young people that we have served and many of us have have served for myself I can only speak for myself for the past 30 years although it's difficult to hear it's necessary it's necessary to hear it so I don't Sher back from it as a leader but I want you to know that even though I can't respond to to each item it was taken in notes are taken we're following up some of the uh the situations that were addressed we're already working on but that does not make it any easier until we get everything resolved for our young people we will still continue to work and hopefully work in collaboration and in unity so I I appreciate the um honesty that was shared today so again I want to thank everyone the students especially our student board reps had some of of them had to go hey Daman is back they're doing double duty because there's a basketball game and they are dedicated so they're coming back and forth so we will allow them to have the opportunity to share but again wanted to be flexible with their responsibilities tonight so I thank everyone for um sharing it does take a lot of Courage for not only our students but for many of us as adults um the topics that have been shared can be very triggering for many individuals and for many many of us as adults but at the end of the day we need to make we are making sure and we need to continue to work together to make sure we're being held accountable to ensuring that our student safety is first and foremost so thank you for your display of Courage thank you for your display of um just being an example for our young people to see um that you are standing up as well and for speaking passionately and from the heart about many of the issues um that are so very sensitive although the district is limited in its ability to speak to any of the specific allegations against the board president as this is part of an ongoing legal case involving the district we can confirm that the district was not aware of these allegations prior to the filing of the complaint I do want to assure everyone here tonight and everyone within our school community that we do take these matters very seriously they're not light they're not being taken lightly at all and for many of us who've had the experience of being molested or abused it's very it's very difficult and I have shared very openly with my young people not out of victimization because I'm not a victim but I'm a conqueror of the things that happened to me in the past as being of someone who was molested and someone who was abused and not because of my mother because she was a single mother doing everything she could to make sure she set the example for me um so I don't want anyone to get it twisted I don't talk about it a lot because I respect my mother and everything she did she never wanted that to happen to me but she entrusted me to the hands of people who unfortunately did things to me that they should not have so I just want to put that out there I am not a victim I'm an overcomer and I hope that we can all work together to help make sure our young people have what they need so that they can overcome too because there are many issues sexual abuse is just one there are many other abuses that occur to our young people that we have to bind together and keep them at the center so regardless of who was in the seat regardless of who has a the um the title or position of a district a state district superintendent and I'm only speaking right now for myself I can't speak for the board I just need you to know that at the end of the day regardless we have to make sure that we're committed to our young people and we are but we've got to make sure that we fill in any gaps that still are present so we do have to bind together if we are going to collectively protect all of our young people from all of the things that are thrown their way to thwart their progress but we must make sure they know that they have people who care about them so that they can overcome and not succumb to being victim victimized so I only say that the only reason I'm saying that is because yes I'm triggered I'm triggered I'm triggered by the conversations by the things that I read regardless of guilt or innocent or innocence but I want to let you know this one thing this one thing that we are doing what we can to make sure our team I've talked to our school-based youth services team we have individuals in place Miss Neesa Wiggins Miss um Andrea Omri and the team to make sure that if any young person is also triggered by what they're reading by what they're hearing by what they're seeing that there are adults available to be able to connect with them I've spoken to our students and they are aware of that but we all collectively have to make sure that we're pointing them in the right direction and so again I'm not pointing any fingers I'm saying that we have to do this together if we really are serious about making sure that we are supporting our young people through this very difficult time where lots of questions may come into their minds um so I I want to thank you for allowing me to share that because I have to be honest I have to be human being I have to be transparent I'm a product of Camden I'm a product of the Camden City school district my livelihood has been this District because I care but because I choose not to work anywhere else except here so I'm I'm saying that and I hope that what is a gaping um what is something that is an assault on the trust that we've been trying to work to build up that we can collectively come together in order to make sure that things are put in place so that our young people who are watching who are looking are not um are not individuals who are harmed and so again I want to take this opportunity there are pamphlets that are in the rear and these pamphlets are for anyone who may have um um concerns there resources from the county as well as resources in our school district if you have any concerns if you know young people who are are are in need of extra support and mental health support right now because of this specific situation we're addressing tonight please make sure you reach out again we have individuals here who are ready and and last but ready to support um and I know that we acknowledge that there are requests for the district and the Advisory Board to act to remove the board president from the board however I have to clarify that the district and the Advisory Board are limited in their authority to remove an elected official from their position except in limited circumstances such as when a board member misses three consecutive meetings without good calls or no longer resides within the city limits based on the outcome of the underlying legal proceeding additional actions may become available and finally um again as I shared as a reminder for anyone who would like to who would like support or resources regarding sexual assault and Trauma there are booklets available at the table outside the auditorium provided by our school-based youth services team and please if you suspect any individual of being the victim of sexual assault or abuse abuse or experiencing trauma please reach out to a school staff member for support and for guidance because again we must all be watching in order for us to ensure we're protecting uh our young people and so I know again that typically I try to address each and every individual that comes to the microphone because I respect you I respect your voices and I don't want anyone to walk away feeling like I didn't hear as a leader I wasn't listening that I didn't see you that I didn't hear you that I didn't feel you that I didn't understand but understand that I have taken notes that we are going we are working on um what was shared some already in the works um and there will be um resolution brought uh to miss Nia I don't know if you're still here whose son yes is at Eastside High School I got that information right before we came to the board meeting and share that and there is a report that's due to me so we can move forward in collaboration with the Camden County Metro Police Department so I want you to know and we can talk more one onone because I don't want to to you know be insensitive but please know that was troubling that was hurtful as a parent as a mother and understand what you feel and what you communicated so thank you but thank you is not enough we have to make sure that it doesn't happen again for any of our young people so I I will stop um speaking right now in public um for this portion but I do again want to just close by saying um we have to stick together and stay United on those areas that impact our young people that's what is most important right now I thank you for for listening and I want to take this opportunity if we can hear from our student board rep who is there Damien if we would can turn it over at this point um board secretary is it okay if we yes sure absolutely to our student board rep because because I know they have to come in and out so uh Damian if you wouldn't mind sharing as a representative from brim Medical Arts High School hello um my name is Damian I'm a junior at BM Medical Arts High School and uh I just want to say I'm speaking as the president of the class of 2025 so we um we have two advisors given to us freshman year all the way throughout senior year and one of them is sadly leaving the district but the other one is Miss bti Luke that is still not with us and as you know since we're Juniors senior senior year next year is literally impossible without an advisor we're not going to have a prom we're not going to have any field trips we're not going to have any senior fun things if we don't have Miss luk back at brm simple as that and there's really no point like we need an advisor there we don't want another advisor we don't want another advisor given to us we want Miss Luke back as our advisor so we can have our senior year and you did speak on this uh superintendent momes but I don't know if any other students spoke about it so I'm going speak about it from a students perspective that um with the Wasim muhamed um allegation or whatever it's called and can I have someone record cuz you know they don't like putting stuff on YouTube so I just wanted to say that hearing it from a student's perspective and constantly at every board meeting seeing the man up here is disturbing and for the district that I read the article it says the district and Muhammed himself went to the judge and asked for the case to be dismissed and that's what we're not going to do no matter if it was false or if it was true we're not going to dismiss any case because if any other allegation happen to any other District employee that District employee is immediately put on Administration leave so what that person needed to do was I immediately resign or immediately take a leave and it didn't have to wait until the governor of New Jersey to act for him to resign it should be the district or superintendent momes or anybody else that has the ab to ask them to resign cuz that's the same thing that happened to Clayton Gonzalez that y asked them to immediately resign or immediately whatever so that should have happened with Mr Muhammad as well it should have wait all the way till it get to the governor of New Jersey when we have cden City and people that are elected from the community for to do that to basically represent our community so with that being said I just want to speak from the students perspective and student is as a whole that the district needs to basically do their job thank [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you thank thank you Damen yes you may speak now MH thank you so my name is harmony Bronson I am a junior at Creative Arts High School um I would like to first start off by touching base with the claim that AA carmichel made about the water and um I'm sorry I also forgot your name but the lady about her son getting bullied in school that actually listening to that actually made me cry and I feel like I'm about to cry right now because it is so sick to hear that is happening regardless of whether he was Autistic or not and also the fact that we we barely have resources I feel we barely have resources in a school as it is we don't have tutors we now have our water um jugs taken out for whatever reason I don't even know the reason they're just gone now we can't fundraise for stuff that we have to pay for ourselves because the district doesn't pay for it and there are just so many other issues and I would also like to touch base on The Bard program that I'm in as well my class is going to be taking the what the yes we are going to be taking SATs the njsla any sort of state test very soon and we have absolutely no preparation for it because while I do enjoy being in The Bard program and the college course we have not been preparing for it whatsoever we are not ready for it whether it be in math or reading science whatever it's going to be on we're not ready for it there are just so many issues um again with Camden high and they're just being smoked in the hallways the alarms on the doors it's just it's it's infuriating almost how little we have and how much is continuously being taken away from us moving students rather than helping them solve their problems telling students to figure it out on their own rather than helping them learn what they need to learn you're just I feel like everything is sort of being put on us and then when we do not show the best that we can it's also our fault and to address the thing with um the president I'm sorry I'm shaking um I I honestly don't know how to feel because I personally I don't know who he is but just the simple fact that he is a man working for our school district the president of the school district and he is now being accused of the things that he may or may not have done whether they be true or not the fact that it is even happening it shouldn't be a thing this should not be something that could even be brought up or potentially arise I just I don't know what to say and I know I know that they're only accusations so I'm not going to point side point fingers but something needs to be done about this something needs to be done about our students about the schools about safety everything everything is just on us and I feel like it should not be at all thank you [Applause] [Music] [Music] yeah thank you both thank you very much um for sharing again um your courage is powerful and you speaking truth to power is what we want you to continue to do this is just an opportunity to learn to do that but we hear you both very loud very clear we will have conversations again with school leaders and those who are um are your instructors and teachers to make sure that they also here and they also are aware of how you're feeling thank you for your comments with regard to the um allegations uh surrounding the board president um I know I spoke one of you I spoke to um individually but Damien I know you on a college tour today but thank you again we appreciate what you're sharing we will continue to keep you informed as student board reps um and we continue to support you in your leadership and your roles I want to turn it over to our um interim board president to just to see if any board members have uh things that they want to share with regard to the student reps or or any of the public comments sure thank you superintendent uh board members if you don't mind if I start off if that's okay um so first um to our student reps as well as um our young adults um you are a priority um like superintendent said everything that you're speaking about is something that we hear and that we're listening to um for our young adults all those that address concerns and those that weren't able to be here to speak for themselves it's very challenging times there a challenging situations um challenging times and you know everything has happened at once I'm not just speaking about one situation um just multiple things and for us you know it's our job to figure out you know how to make sure we correct those things assist with uh supporting you guys and you know how we make the necessary changes um you know there a lot of work that's being done but it's not enough if it's still problems you know I look at several people in the uh in the audience and you know I know people reach out to board members up here I know this is the position that we've chosen right so you know when the fingers are pointing like we we're up here for a reason so it's okay to point the finger but I also want people to feel like they can trust board members but not just that also know that we're here um and I know some people know that like and I'm not saying this is the time to you know hey get a pat on the back because like superintendent said the collective effort is what's needed you know we can't run from what our issues are and we have a lot of them and like superintendent also spoke about it's things that we can't speak about so it's not hey we just don't want to talk or hey we may not just speak up you know certain things that we are bound by you know I mean it's part of the law you know when we help when we support you know when we fight for people everything is not always we spoken about you know some things are but we do a lot of work behind the scenes only say that to say I don't want you to think that hey it's nothing being done and now we're getting ready to act that's not it but I am telling you that there a lot more that needs to be done there a lot more and any issues anything that you bring to us it doesn't go unheard we don't leave the board meetings and say okay that's over the things are addressed by every board member that's up here I can stand by the board members because I know the work that they do so everybody may have opinions and their personal opinions but we do the work I speak from I'm out here we're in the streets we address things people call I I see five six faces we don't shy away from the issues and the situations at the same time we can't have these different things going on we just heard about the young man you know being jumped today the first thing we did was we asked we followed up you know what's the situation can we get a report on that so that we can get the facts so that we can support the superintendent and her Administration just making sure that the things that need to be done are done there's a lot of things that we don't know and sometimes it's assumed that we know things that we don't we don't know unless it's brought to us and every outcome everything that's brought to us may not always be the answers that you're looking for but we work on it it's certain things that we can do it's certain things that we can't do but we all have voices and I'm here to tell you that we use our voices and we use our voices for our students I'm passionate cuz I've been doing this for over 20 years other people you know collectively we probably have 30 40 plus years of doing this work again it's not to give a pat on the back it's so that you understand who's in front of you so when we say hey we want this person or we need different people or and that's fine that's okay this is a volunteer position that we show up for not just for a school board meeting not just for a school booy meeting and if it's anybody who don't know us I welcome you to get to know us and you still may not like some people and that's okay but if our focus is our young adults let's figure out how to work with our young adults I call people to the table in a regular for our young adults this is not no front this is something that's done all the time and I say I but it's not just I and in everything that I'm saying I'm saying there's more that needs to be done collectively we're not doing enough if we got people getting jumped people afraid people scared to speak up allegations because you're correct that's not something that we should have to deal with that's correct we shouldn't have to deal with these things I don't want to discredit anybody that's working hard cuz we have some good teachers and you know some good administr ation and staff members that's working hard and the reason that I acknowledge that is because people get discouraged we don't want to lose good quality even though we have some people that might not be the best I look at faces and people might not want to accept that or believe it but I'm willing to have any conversation offlines in reference to that we not just talking about the person that just shows up when it's convenient I hear photo ops and all that but along with those photo ops and pictures is the people that's out there working when there's no cameras around and yes there's people that just show up for photo ops but let's talk to the people that's doing the work and not just that if it's not enough of us doing the work how do we get more people involved how do we get this many people that's in the seats right now and more to show up and I heard people not believing in the people that's up here but this came before the board that's up here right now so how do we reverse that I'm open to suggest and I say I I mean we we're open to suggestions on how we get more people involved we know things have been done wrong and not always the correct way we know that there's a lot of fraudulent people there's a lot of things that go on not just on the board in the audience outside in the streets everywhere so how do we be the example for our young adults and be those leaders so that they see the right [Music] thing how do we do that and this is challenging for all of us but for me is how do we figure out the solution so that we can make sure our young adults have what they need I appreciate your time and please let's not let this to be the last conversation let's please figure out how we can do more and I'll speak for myself even though I feel like I'm speaking for the board I'm open to suggestions I'm willing to make time whenever it is that you have time to discuss whatever you may want to discuss I can't tell you I have all the answers or I have the power to change those things but I do have the ability to speak to the people in position to make sure that your voice is heard and not just speak about it to work collectively with those people to help do what's in my power so on that note I would like to turn it over to any other board members that has anything else to say at this time Naima [Music] Gillespie thank you acting president um my sentiments are those of my colleague um but while we're here and we have numbers in the seats I'm asking for consistency not to just show up when it's a issue but to be consistent all the time and a call to action for parent involvement because we can't do this by our ourselves I commend the administration for doing the very best they've G above and beyond to try to attract teachers keep teachers it's a struggle Nationwide the state of education is in trouble our kids are in trouble and we need everybody just like uh acting president said we need everybody every day it's something else and we're trying to keep up we're trying to figure out what attracts the kids what keeping them out of trouble and just like he said we in these streets all the time I'm available all the time so I'm begging you to let's work together and we say that when we in these rooms but when we get out of these rooms it's something different all the time to figure it out cuz I know I don't have the answer I'm sure most of you don't either and we have to figure it out thank you board member Gillespie we're a [Music] member um first I want to acknowledge the student Representatives who came to speak tonight I see the first two left but thank you all for joining us um your comments are heard they're taken into consideration they're very serious how you feel um I don't want to discredit you at all for any of that I believe at the last board meeting we talked a little bit about fundraising and different ways that we can get that going um I'm here where y'all at come see me call me I gave everybody my business card and everything else I gave you some really good Alternatives that we can get done um to move along the things that you all want to move along as far as your senior year your class trips your different things like that um please please please know that I'm a resource um if you need help with writing if you need help with reading if you need help with SAT prep if you need I have run a nonprofit of my own and I also work for a nonprofit I work six to seven days a week you need groceries call me your little brother or sister need Pampers formula call me anything I'm at 1801 South Broadway Monday through Saturday if if and that goes for everybody who's in this room we all do the work I can't speak for anybody else that's not here but we do the work we we like like brother n said we're in the streets um the allegations were absolutely serious concerning board president but I also want to make clear that we found out when you all found out Truth for both of the people who are not here who are no longer on the board so a lot of things although we're not allowed to speak about a lot of stuff we we weren't aware of I literally so some things we're human just like you are we're in the community just like you are a lot of things we we would like some Grace on that we also give Grace for nobody is perfect we're out here striving everyone is striving to do the best that they can um you all are heard um I agree with a lot of the sentiments that you all have what I don't agree with was just the part about the silence we weren't silent we didn't know um it's as simple as that um but I'm always here again if anyone wants to have a conversation if you have any questions if you have any anything I'm an open book as always a lot of you from the community know exactly who I am you know exactly where I am you know I service your children I've serviced you so I understand where you're coming from but at the same time let's let's also keep at the Forefront who we are and if you don't know who we are get to know us thank you thank you any other board members board member Meritt first I want to thank the student Representatives um I want to let you know that we hear you and we're here for you and I want to let the audience know that we hear them too but I I don't want to be long I want to keep it sweet and short and sweet united we stand divided we'll continue to fall so we have to be United to fix all these problems that we have in our community thank you thank you board member Mar board member Hudson thank you acting president I appreciate it um thank you to everybody you came out to speak you know it is definitely um like I'm you know it's a lot to take in uh and it just happen so quickly um and you know to Echo board member Jackson some of these things happening we we don't know you know but I think that everybody that's up here um our hearts are truly in this you know it is a volunteer position um you know we are out in the community we really do care and we really do do encourage participation uh from members of the community from you your families your children not just when things go wrong but when things are going right when we all trying to make progress together um there's this there's this saying you know that I uh that came to my mind about all of us being on a boat together um and if on that boat a hole happens to form anywhere we all sink all of us no matter what side of the boat that you're on so that's something that you know I want everybody to keep in mind that we have to you know um we're all trying we may have different solutions to how to resolve these issues but we need to try to get on the same page and continue having um not only hard conversations but you know healthy ones too so that's all I want to say thank you so thank you to all our board members that uh uh took a moment to share at this time I would like to turn it back over to uh our superintendent thank you very much because we shifted the meeting just wanted to make sure that procedurally we were doing everything in order so at this time I'm going to um turn the meeting over to our board secretary Dr Kelvin Smith to present the agenda items I present the uh business office agenda items for approval to the Board of Education Mr Bill in the resolutions are there any questions from the board members any questions not at this time I'll turn it back over to you all thank you thank you thank you got no questions about transparency ask questions in front it's transparent thank you very much time I don't have any questions none of the board members has any questions superintendent thank you thank you um and board president in accordance with the powers vested in the state district superintendent under title 18a I hereby approve today's superintendent agenda items and business office agenda items at this time because we changed the order of the meeting there is a um a portion that must be presented in public um to in order for us to be in compliance with code and also to maintain um points in the area of qac and that has to do with our reporting on student safe student data uh information and student safety and data information so at this time we're going to shift in what I would have typically done at the beginning of the meeting it shared a superintendent report but it was definitely important in alignment with um the recommendation from the interim board president that we shift in order to show empathy and to listen um and to be able to move forward so at this time I'm going to ask the board if they would transition down to the floor so that I can share the superintendent's uh report and that will be our last item of business for today thank you everyone for your attention testing testing so good evening again everyone um thank you again for joining us for our January regular Advisory board meeting during the month of January we honor the life sacrifices and Legacy of Dr Martin Luther King Jr the Camden City school district continuously strives to uphold the principles values and dreams shared by Dr King because our students deserve that and so much more so today we pause if I if I may ask you if we can pause I know we're transitioning out and we did shift the order but out of respect um to Dr King if we can pause in a moment of silence I'm asking if we can just pause for a moment of silence as we acknowledge the passing of Dexter Scott King the son of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and ketta Scott King if we can just pause for a brief moment of silence thank [Music] you so the agenda as I shared before there is a topic that um must be presented today um because we're time bound to do so to be in alignment with New Jersey um administrative code and so as with all of our board meetings the topics are before you uh so we can go on to the next slide in order for our students to thrive academically and social emotionally from prek through 12th grade we must ensure they feel safe and fully included in their learning environment as a school district we are required to report at a public board meeting twice per year on the student safety data system so by law all public and you see the information on the slide I won't be repetitive but all public schools in New Jersey as well as all approved private schools for students with disabilities must report annually in the Stu on the student in the student safety data system as the state super attendant of schools I must certify that all CCSD schools have reported by January 31st for September through December and then again at the end of the year for the January through June data next Slide the incidents that are reported publicly by the New Jersey Department of Education fall into the following five categories violence vandalism substance offense weapons offense and confirmed harassment intimidation and bullying cases next slide this time last year the total number of incidents reported in the ssds for Camden City school district for the entire year was 65 next slide and again these slides will be posted on the website so that you can take a deeper look at them um I just want to make sure that we can get through them now looking at this year so far we have a total of 39 reported incidents and that's of course just for this half of the year that is however a decrease of 26 incidents we are pleased with this decrease and look forward to moving and continuing with this trend as we move forward and I'll talk about how we are are going to be able to do that and this is also um helpful for many who had comments tonight with regard to safety and concerns about safety in our schools so you'll know what the data looks like and also what we're doing to move forward next slide areas and this slide again shows a graphical representation of each of the schools in our district uh and this is comparative data for school year 2223 versus this current school year areas of harassment intimidation and bullying are captured separately and also reported to our Advisory Board the public and the Department of Education for the reporting period of September through December 2023 there have been 26 Hib investigations and two of the investigations were in fact confirmed to be harassment intimidation and bullying for comparison for the same reporting period last year there were 21 investigations and four of the incidents were confirmed to be hi next slide it is important that we drill down to be able to analyze where the incidents are happening and who may be impacted so this slide shows just the high school data which is very relevant given the conversation that we had uh earlier for this year we have investigated 13 potential HIV in idents and none of them were founded under the definition to meet the harassment intimidation or bullying by comparison last year we investigated three HIV cases across our high schools but none of them were founded even though they were not founded that does not mean we don't continue to work to ensure we are teaching our students about conflict resolution and how to resolve uh their issues without uh resorting to violence or harassment or intimidation or bullying next slide in our primary and family schools the present data for the 2324 school year for September to December there were 13 Hib investigations with two founded while last year there were 18 Hib investigations with four confirmed as Hib next slide and this is another way that we review the data by grade level for our current school year 2324 from September through December and as you take a look at this you're able to see by grade level where we can we need to focus our efforts so when we take a look at grade four and then when we take a look at our fifth 6th 7th 8th grade and Ninth we take a look at this helps us just to take a look at those areas and those grade levels that need support and that guides our intervention next slide out of school suspensions um this is an area that I want to take just a second to to look at because if you take a look at the comparative data between last year and this year you'll see that we have made some strides with regard to out of school suspensions um we believe in a restorative approach in our district and have had training throughout the year that's one of our priority areas and we know that it's important to keep our young people in school so even if they have a disciplinary infraction our last effort or our last resort is to have them suspended outside of school unless there is something very egregious and they cannot be suspended within school so again A lot of times where there are infractions against the code of conduct we think about the learning environment and suspensions so during the 22 23 school year for the first reporting period we had a total of 269 suspensions that was last school year and this year for the same reporting period there have been 155 out of school suspensions across the entire District so that is a decrease of 114 out of school suspensions through December 20123 and I believe that as we continue to support our staff with restorative training um and appr is building relationships with our young people we will continue to see that number decline next slide so for in school suspension data so with fewer out of school suspensions and more restorative practices there has been an increase in the number of ino scho in school suspensions as I shared the total in in school suspensions for 2223 were 47 and the total in school suspensions for 232 24 are 81 so we know we have work to do in that area but we are glad that our students are in school um more than out in school in school suspensions allow students to continue their education by not being excluded during in school suspension restorative practices are being utilized which provide for safe neutral spaces for students to reflect on past behaviors make an action plan for future decisions and complete their daily assignments we believe our commitment and focus on restorative practices is making a positive impact on the culture and climate in our schools and we do look forward to monitoring progress and bringing that um data back to the board and the public so that we can double down on those efforts that are effective um and remove those that are not next slide so trainings it's very important that we discuss how are we going to support our staff members to ensure that we continue to move in the right direction when it comes to the reduction of HIV and also the reduction of violent instances so as in education and in all careers to become more effective we rely on continuous training for some of our training we utilize the global compliance Network or gcn for all staff including District level administrators School level administrators teachers paraprofessionals and other staff the 9 hour gcn training includes some of the following topics anti-bullying Bill of Rights characteristics or needs of individuals or groups at risk for HIV conflict resolution cyber bullying HIV intervention and prevention HIV consequences parent involvement in HIV cases peer relationships or peer social norms School climate and culture Improvement social norms social skills relationship and Improvement and suicide prevention related to HIV these are critical um pieces that all of our staff members across the district regardless of position have to take these trainings as a part of our District's reorganization the creation of our office of climate and culture has allowed for a greater focus on implementing districtwide School climate strategies and so this office has partnered with Humanity first consulting which is helping to provide District staff with training on restorative justice strategies restorative justice is an approach to Justice focused on communication building relationships and mediation rather than punishment to work towards the better well-being of those who are offended as victims offenders and community members we are specifically working with all of our administrators and climate and culture staff to implement restorative approaches in all of our schools the restorative justice practices align with the New Jersey tiered system of support which is a framework of interventions to improve student academic Behavior social emotional and attendance achievement and this Slide the next slide that is um on the screen just lists the programs uh that the district is engaged in uh that help us to ensure that we are U meeting the needs of our young people and so finally for this portion we must report out on ssds this slide represents just a few of the programs we are utilizing to educate prevent and combat harassment intimidation and bullying throughout the district here you can take note of mentoring restorative practices and positive behavior and supports in schools this year we are launching a new Citywide anti-bullying I'm sorry that was um this year we we are launching a districtwide focus on minimizing bullying anti-bullying in our district we care about outcomes in our district and we know social emotional learning is a reliable Pathway to those desired outcomes um thank you for your attention again that report will be posted on our district website along with all of the other reports that I provide so that you can take a deeper look a closer look and if you have questions um uh reach out and we can address those questions so just a few other areas under teaching and learning just to highlight and share for the board what has been happening um so M schools um M schools visits Ruckers University Camden Campus on Thursday uh December 7th a few of our Scholars from Veterans Memorial School and Eastside High School attended the M schools annual dream Summit AT Ruckers University here in Camden and again the focus of this Summit is an opportunity for immigrant and undocumented students to attend workshops to attain valuable information about college career and Entrepreneurship opportunities and I want to just shout out this year one of our very own Eide high school students Edwin Silva won a scholarship from the Consulate of Mexico and one of our middle school students Chris mey boo Sabino won an iPad so congratulations to both of our young people for representing our district with pride and Excellence next slide so CCSD congratulates Miss CH Christina graffone who is a middle school Ela teacher at Davis Family School for being selected as one of the 32 curriculum Associates for 2024 as one of their extraordinary Educators let's give Miss gony a round of applause for the for the excellent job that she is doing and so we are so very excited there are 32 teachers in the class of 2024 selected from hundreds of applicants across the entire country this is a national program so Camden City school district has represent representation at the national level so you will hear more about this so again on the next slide we want to take this opportunity to shout out our Ela content leads and reading interventionists who facilitated school-based professional development sessions on the upcoming Dibbles 8 assessment which is a literacy assessment um that's a battery of short one minute fluency measures that can be used for Universal screening benchmark assessments and progress monitoring in K through fifth grade this is critical as it is helping us to drill down on some of those skills and gaps and phonics and awareness that um our young people may have um missed during the pandemic which has kept them back so again this is helping us to strengthen those gaps that were created next slide instrumental music is back and strong instrumental pullout music has started students are very excited to receive their instruments this is something we've been working toward for a long time and are learning the basics so that they can feed into our own Camden City school district High schools like creative arts like any of our high schools that have um instrumental music uh bands and programs the picture on the left are two young uh represents two young ladies at cat and the other two pictures are trumpet players along with Dr W glicky at Morgan Village Middle School so again for many of us um I remember beginning music uh instrumental lessons in third grade at Cooper's point when Mr Ryan Bates was actually a a a teacher he had just gotten out of college but it's so important for us to expose our young people early to instrumental music this is a big deal because we have not been able to do this for many years in our district so hat off to the team uh for working to put that in place next slide Eastside High School's Winter concert excellent job took the concert took place in December and for the first time in several years the school band at Eastside High School actually performed so we are building up our Eastside High School band so that we can have Equity across our district the audience and players were very proud and excited to have the band participate again it's been many many years next slide Creative Arts Academy students artwork was part of an exhibit at the Woodmere museum in Philadelphia the orchestra was invited to play during the open house at the Woodmere Museum several students and and their families were also in attendance next slide we want to make sure that we're doing a better job yes and hats off to all those teams who working so diligently we want to make sure we're doing a better job as a district for the board and making sure that when new uh individuals join our team especially in key areas that we are providing that update to the public and to the board so for uh for a while now since the begin at the beginning of State intervention one of the positions that was cut was was that of a director of guidance and we have suffered um because of that for many years finally because we're in a better place fiscally um we have been able to bring that position back so we'd like to welcome Dr Elisa delali to Camden City school district Dr delali has an extensive and diverse education background focusing on student Advocacy she is joining us as the new director of counseling scheduling and student Support Services she served as the College of Education Recruitment and Retention specialist at Rowan University in her previous role at Rowan Dr delali was crucial in coordinating post-secondary pipeline programs for underrepresented high school populations contributing to efforts in Recruitment and Retention she has over 20 years of experience in p12 including serving as a director of school counsel and three other districts and she also served in Camden City school district many years ago that's what I was told if I'm not um mistake is Dr delali here yes Dr delali thank you you may stand up so everyone knows exactly who you are thank you and welcome to the Camden City school district and we are almost there but we cannot um neglect to update the board and the public on our efforts regarding attendance because we know that in order for our students to achieve they have to be in school and so we partner with our families and we provide motivation and incentives to get our students to school every day so every month we've been doing something special at the board meetings to encourage our um schools our school leaders um to continue to aim high when it comes to attendance and so this month we'd like to present I know okay very good gr congratulations to Dudley Family School can I have a representative from Dudley to come forward to receive the January attendance attendance trophy Dudley school had the highest attendance throughout all of the schools in the Camden City school [Applause] district thank you and so here's a trophy it moves from school to school the trophy is moving uhoh oh we have to to tighten that up at the B if you can make sure that principal Ruiz gets this thank you Miss Wiggins and again a round of applause to Dudley for encouraging their young people to come to school thank you so much please give principal Ruiz our [Music] [Applause] [Music] regards thank you be careful the steps all right so our uh January F Focus um in addition I just on the heels of what I just said it takes a partnership and a collective effort between our families and our district in order to move forward um not only attendance but academic achievement so our parent advisory councils it's important for us to continue to update the board and the district on where we are this month our District parent advisory Council received updates about our upcoming election and parent leadership training sessions uh and then on the next slide I'll share a little bit more information um as you can see here we were able to on December 8th the DPAC interest form was opened on January 17th you were able to meet the candidates and so the next Benchmark is February 21st um which will be election day so February 21st will be election day in the Camden City school district for our District parent advisory C Council leaders and then you see the rest of the milestones in March there will be um a meet the deac leadership event and then March through a April completion of parent leadership academy training and then training that will C occur a summer Leadership Institute during the week of July 8th and we want to have all our parents um from across the community as well as our DPAC leaders to be able to engage in intensive um an intensive in Institute next slide I just have a couple of updates from the division of talent and Labor Relations who have been working diligently but we want to make sure that we share again the context um I believe board member Gillespie talked about the national teacher shortage and so we do know that there still exists a teacher teacher shortage but our DTLR team under the leadership of our chief Talent officer Miss Teresa ree is working um on innovative ways in partnership with the Department of education um to really put forward some innovative ways to create our own teachers and grow our own but I have to share with you that we currently have a 9% teacher vacancy rate our highest number of vacancies still remain in the areas of special education science math music and health and physical education DTLR remains committed to recruiting as many teachers as possible however hiring is slowing down as most cand candidates are looking for roles in the upcoming school year so again we want to just make sure we keep you um a breast of what is happening with regard to our vacancy rate it is currently at 9% and again some of the things we're doing to continue to address this thus far the team has been invited to attend career fairs at the College of New Jersey Ryder University Ramapo College New Jersey school jobs virtual Fair Temple University Stockton University and that's just a short list of all of the all of the uh recruitment efforts that have been put forth the team is working on a districtwide hiring event and will share further details at the next meeting and so we continue to advertise our roles on indeed New Jersey school jobs K12 job spot LinkedIn handshake and more to fill these and future vacancies but we know that we have to become creative and so again as I shared uh we've been working collectively um with so many especially with our partnership with Rowan University the department of Ed our own talent and Labor Relations team to create teach Camden and teach Camden is an initiative um this initiative is so very important because it will allow us to help to grow our own teachers so again we are excited to announce the teacher Camden initiative you see some information there this is a Camden specific initiative that is specifically designed to assist power professionals currently employed with the Camden City school district who have a bachelor's degree to become certified teachers by September 2025 in 18 months so we're able to to do that and build and grow our own because we know our par professionals are loyal and dedicated and they want to be right here here with our young people so the deadline to submit an application is February 1st those staff members who are admitted into the program will receive a scholarship to participate in this accelerated program so again um we had a an information session on January 12th 11 power power professionals participated but we have more slots available so we're going to support them through the application process because we want to make sure that they are able to not only get into the program but also to get through the program and to earn their teaching C certificate this is something that's near and dear to many and I will always say while I have any microphone my mom was a single parent and she worked at woodro Wilson at the time as a par professional and myself and my two younger sisters would go to go with her to Glassboro State College because she was a parah who was able to participate in a program very similar to this and earn her teaching certificate so it can happen it can be done um and we are here to support so please spread the word let everyone know well not everyone Miss Reese is going to get me for saying that but yes spread the word so that we can get as many par professionals involved but there there are criteria and we want to support them and this is an awesome way for us to build our own we can't rely on anybody else we have to build it for ourselves and again this Slide the next slide I won't go over it but it just shows the 18month process for our qualified par professionals to begin the program if they are successfully entered the entering the program um this spring they will begin with an expected completion date again of Summer 2025 an 18-month program this is the outline and we are looking forward to being the first once again um to provide this type of opportunity and the next slide just shows a reminder again of the application deadline and some of the piece that I already um spoke about and finally favorite part for all of us District highlights fun stuff so we know we had a couple of snow days uh we W not expecting it uh and we will share a revised calendar um very soon but check out our students from Cooper Point who are learning to play with snow inside so since they couldn't go outside they brought the outside in uh and they had such a wonderful time learning has no limits and they were able to use a project based um learning uh lesson in order to help our young people to take advantage of just the fun time of having snow but tying that to positive learning experiences next slide earlier today myself along with advisory interim Advisory Board president Nelson teamed up with the Camden education fund and councilman fio labor Martinez to encourage District Charter and Renaissance high schools and Camden to participate in the annual Citywide FAFSA challenge the school with the highest completion rate will win a $25,000 prize so we know last year we won it Camas City School District won bpla won the $25,000 prize so our very own yes that's right and we want to do it again and we want to do it again our very own bpla scholar Isaiah M spoke on the importance of filling out the FAFSA and of course letting his PE know that the Camden City school district will take the prize home again this year it'll be interesting because there's also a compet competition between Camden and Newark so if we if there's a winner we'll also be you know there's there's a competition going on between the two cities so we're looking forward to when we win not if when we win we'll be able to share that with you as well but more importantly than winning it makes it helps to encourage all of our young people to make sure they're taking advantage of the millions and millions of dollars that are left on the table because um students may not have applied for the FAFSA so that's the real goal um even though you know we want to make sure everyone knows what district is best um and then the next slide as we continue to focus on reading bookmates read aloud we had a wonderful event with the camon county Metro Police Department um the Jewish Community Center as well as our Forest Hill staff members and students on reading again we must continue to focus on reading and these reading mentors help are helping our effort to um motivate our young people to read and the next slide on Friday we posted asking families to savor their snow day off and to share the activities they were engaged in so we're delighted to see how many students embraced and enjoyed the snowy day and we had many individuals who posted on our website and we are almost there um the next slide I wanted to just highlight again the incredible work of our school-based youth services um team and the work that they do so in December and January Our school-based Youth Services team organized several programs as highlighted in the slides they organized a lead uh which stands for learning Empower Empower herment and achieving diversity Summit hosted by the Department of Children and Families stud students against violence everywhere Multicultural holiday celebration at Eastside High School the Morgan Village Middle School holiday family night holiday Gala at Cooper Point Family School the parent linking program ages and stages of farm animals learning through exploring a winter wonderland and Multicultural holiday celebration at Dudley school where just a few of the events and the program so in addition to these highlights the district is disseminated as I shared before the 2023 Camden County Youth Services Commission services and Community programs resource manual for students and families and I held up a copy of that earlier and we want to make sure that anyone um takes advantage of that who needs it uh and that you are referring other individuals to our excellent school-based Youth Services team and last but not least um interim president Nelson I don't if you want to um uh acknowledge our retirees or have a designate to do so and you can just it's just the two who are there it's okay I have it here it's okay I have it here it's okay thank you we're doing things a little differently so thank you for your flexibility these are the two individuals so thank you superintendent I would like to take a minute to just thank you thank uh those that that have dedicated years of service to our district so Karen green teacher of Health 26 years and Rosita Vargas Corbin Social Work 23 years and 3 months on behalf of the board we would just like to say thank you for your commitment and your service to our district thank you so very much and again because we did things a little bit differently I'll ask our board secretary I'm not sure oh there you are over there if you wouldn't mind taking the mic so we can just adjourn thank you thank you all for your [Music] flexibility okay [Music] that's fine that's fine thank [Music] you have a motion to uh Jin the meeting moon motion Nelson second Miss ton okay uh all in favor me J --------- as the board president is not in attendance at this meeting as the vice president I will be assuming the duties of the president at this meeting the regular notice requirement of the New Jersey open public meetings act has been complied with and that adequate advance notice of this meeting was given at least 48 hours in advance on January 9th 2024 notice was mailed to The Courier Post Philadelphia inquire and posted on the district's website notice of the change of the meeting time was mailed to the carrier Post Philadelphia inquire on January 19th 2024 and posted on the district's website at this time can we stand for the Pledge of [Music] Allegiance Al to the flag FL of the United States of America and to the for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all at this time I'd like to turn it over to our board secretary for roll call Janette Alvarez Naima Gillespie present Cameron Hudson present Danielle Jackson present Karen Merck present Wasim Muhammed Nam Nelson pres we have a quarum five present the board will now go into close session to discuss matters of the following nature Personnel dis dis discuss confidential Personnel matters uh a motion to enter into close session motion to go to close second all in favor now to close session we'll approximately be um in close session for about 20 minutes [Music] sub do those people in sub like [Music] good thank you mm let's get a motion to come out of close session motion by Mr Hudson second by uh M marcks all in favor right a close session so thank you for your patience at this time I would like to request uh a motion to change public comment uh in an order and let's start off with public comment um [Applause] also at this time uh I would like to request an an extension of the three minute time frame for public comment due to the serious nature of the allegations against the current board member and to ensure that the public has adequate opportunity to express their concerns about this issue so I would like to make a a request to change from 3 minutes to 5 minutes thank you um interim board president Nelson I do agree with you um with the request and and Grant to Grant uh the extension of the time for public comment to five minutes in this singular instance in accordance with policy 9314 as this situation warrants additional time for the public to share their comments with the district um so we can proceed and move forward then I'll turn over to our general counsel to guide us through the public comments portion thank you thank you superintendent thank you superintendent the campden city school district welcomes the attendance and comments from all members of the public at its meetings thank you this public comment period is your time to present your comments to the board and the superintendent each person who signed up to comment will have 5 minutes as this time has been extended for this board meeting by direction of the superintendent and the uh board president you'll be notified when your 5 minutes are up and you cannot yield your time to another person when it is your turn to speak please come to the podium and address all of your comments to the superintendent or general [Applause] counsel please be courteous to your fellow community members and keep your comments within the time frame allotted so that everyone has the opportunity to speak at the end of the 5 minutes the microphone will be cut off and we will end your comment your comment time we also request that you please conduct yourself in a respectful manner the first amendment is not absolute and the board can prohibit language that is inappropriate or vulgar for anyone whose comments or actions harass intimidate or threaten the safety of any person we will provide you with a warning or immediately end your comment time we will not interrupt you during the 5 minutes of comments unless we deem it necessary if a member of the public speaks negatively about a staff member Interruption may be necessary to caution the speaker of the dangers of slander after the public comment period is closed the superintendent or her design will address your questions to the extent provided by law I will Begin by calling the names of individuals wishing to provide in-person comments before reading any written comments um as there are several people signed up for public comment this evening and the time frame in which to provide public comment has been extended we do request everyone be mindful of the time displayed to ensure there's an adequate opportunity for everyone to speak um also as a quick reminder any public comments read aloud during the meeting are the views of the person submitting public comment and not the views of the superintendent the board or the Camden City school district thank [Music] you and the first individual signed up to comment is Natalie [Music] Rivera Mike is not one oh there we go hello okay good evening my name is Natalie Rivera and I'm a social worker out of North Camden I Natalie Rivera stand in proxy for every student every child every youngster in the great city of Camden I am here this evening to give a voice to the voiceless I Natalie Rivera call for the immediate designation of one said was Wasim Muhammad one said Donnie Walker for his appalling heinous nature of allegations and Injustice to our student I am sending a clear message to this board and the Canden School District Advisory Board president such behaviors acts and tendencies will not be tolerated and and it will and it has been been condemned by this community and let me leave you with this reminder Matthew 186 the NIV version if anyone causes one of these little ones these little ones those who believe in me to stumble it will be better for you all to have a large Mill Stone hung around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea leave our little ones alone leave our little ones alone give our students dignity give our student Justice resign now Natalie Riva mama [Applause] bear thank you Miss [Music] Rivera right next individual signed up for comment is mongalo [Music] these I board members board members who's the state representative there who's the state representative up there person there Mr Davis I would request that you just uh limit your comments to to comments at this time thank you I want to uh mongalo Davis longtime activist we drink you're drinking bottled water because of us for the kids just want to let you know how far our work go and how far we reach this is uh about the Martin Luther gin Summit that was at the Morgan Village School it was appalling that there was no heat in the auditorium or lights did you hear me where is the Belding and ground person is he here is he here nobody's not going to say that so he's doing his own thing it was a time when all the directors should be here and for us to come in there and no heat it was appalling and it's a responsibility of the principal to make sure the school is up and they said that that had been down for a while it completely messed up the whole uh program of the summit there were people that were supposed to be there and that was not there and they said they were not uh communicated from the superintendent and they had other things to do like bring the boys there there were girls there but there were no boys those are the ones we wanted to reach out to so I will talk to you a superintendent about that later on to uh you're not communicating to your people because they didn't know anything about it and made it seem like I walked in off the street somewhere and did what I did the other thing I wanted to get into and I don't want to get off the why everybody's here Parkside School is Falling the hell down what is the hell going on why is that stuff falling on the street in the Parkside buildings ground meeting this is the guy that you hired that didn't even have a black seal he had to be political to come and get a job at that magnitude and don't have a black seal and then first thing he do he spent $35,000 for his woman I mean his secretary down there at that office down there so he does his own thing so what they call politically connected so we having a problem not only with people with our kids we having problems a person flew in town for that situ for to talk about kidnapping of children and all the all the children left at lunchtime they came there for lunch and that was supposed to be a day of service and no boys and we at work ever since August to get that project together so we want to talk about we coming back again and I hope that you put us in touch superintendent of people who uh consider you um making commitments is just talk and I'll tell you about them I don't want their job I want them to do their job now somebody need to do something about that their school up there falling down in the street it would never happen in the suburbs of where a lot of y'all living at that don't live here come in here and watch out for us but you don't watch out for the people that come in here robbing us every day so we going to turn it up on y'all do do you understand they said the simers was supposed to be coming there simers didn't show up show didn't show up so I put a lot of time in this town and I don't like to be treated treated like a crackhead you get that who's who's a state person on the up on the on the stage there is a state person here today is the state I asked the question is the state person here oh I want to talk to you sir before you leave is that all right okay tell you about some other things you need to know cuz we might have to come up there to the State Board okay thank you thank you Mr [Applause] Davis next individual signed up is roncha [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Dickerson I got a question for y'all who protects black women who protects black women no good evening my name is rcha Dickerson I'm a Camden City resident representing Camden we choose Camden parent Union and I'm pissed off been very cordial with y'all for a very long time where this is getting to be nonsense now as a black woman who lives in the city every time that we see or hear the names of political figures it always has at the end of something they've done harm to some woman Inside the city I can name names but I'll be respectful right now but down to the point where our Schoolboard members are being charged and have allegations and on trial that you all didn't make a statement until the governor said something hurts because democracy is being challenged in our city how can we trust y'all how can we trust you let's go down the trust line I'm holding in my hand documentation in 2018 we said vote no it's a nonpartisan election y'all said vote Yes Y'all wanted to keep us at an appointed School Board we said we want to be an elected School Board because our democracy matters it came out in the paper vote Yes from the Democratic committee cam Democratic committee don't live here it came out again vote for these certain candidates from mayor Vick car Starin and people from the C City School District and cabin city council it came out again vote for these candidates it's a nonpartisan election how do y'all expect us to trust you to put people in these two seats after you supported the two people who got off the seats and a third seat that's vacant how do you expect to trust you I told you the time is going to come where y'all are going to have to stand with the people we are fighting for democracy here and the last thing I want to add in our last three minutes and I'm going to go in on this part is that no one will allow a person who has come up on charges to sit at the hym of something imagine a bank teller on criminal charges about embezzlement do you think that bank tell her to stay inside that bank imagine the president of any Corporation that's B up on allegations they take them down immediately but in canvin city and here right here in this city we allow people to sit in the office seat allow them to do harmful things to black children allow things to happen in the city and we all become ostriches with our head and dirt act like we don't see it y'all endorse these people you were had their back y'all were all team caming on the streets with these people we weren't it wasn't our vote and Y are stealing democracy from us you should have stayed out of the election all of y'all you should have stayed out of it and let the people vote for the people but y'all chose to come on board and push your power and abuse your power and now we got this mess it's a mess in this city and it's disrespectful it lacks any type of respect for any individual and last but not least we deserve to be protected and the protection is not coming from y'all it's coming from the people so we say to you before you get the applications out asking people to put their names in to fill the two vacant seats you come to us first and ask us what we think because y'all never respected us from the door when we fought hard to get the no vote to beat y'all 80% of the vote you never respected our work and now we have this tremendous amount of tragedy happen in our cities to the point where little girls are asking questions I did not know it was wrong to be touched that way I did not know that was considered sexual abuse I did not know that how can we trust y'all how can we trust you and the last thing I want to say is for the love of God if you want to change the time of a school board meeting and come in hour later the best you can do is hold off on your close session and give the people what they're asking for y'all got to take a pill of humility because we the people are on y'all we the people have had enough and I refuse to stand here as a member of Cam par Union and all the people here who have on these shirts and allow you to continue to build a rhetoric that cam is doing all right we are not okay in Camden and we are not okay at the hands of all of you who believe that y'all are running running the city in a way that makes sense it's not making sense so to all the work you're doing all the phone calls you might have made tonight to tell people not to show up we still showed up and everybody in this room could be saying it should be a 100 people in here who's in here is who matters spread the word that we the people have had enough are we [Applause] good thank you Mr gon next individual signed up for comment is Joyce Johnson good evening I signed that list uh unintentionally however I wanted to um reiterate ranch's comments that it is very inappropriate to ask people to vote for you and then you blatantly disrespect them that that's just the epitome of of irre regard for who they are you don't value the people of the city that you serve so how can you serve in a a quality intellectual caring nature and you don't respect your people you don't do you respect the children you know it's it's a real difficult situation when you see that just to ask to to put off the um Clos session for a few minutes was met with total disregard and it didn't have to be after folks you know we're here thinking the meeting was going to be at 5:00 or 5:30 and then it it's changed and you and then it starts later than when it when it was announced and still the disrespect is is not necessary it shouldn't be a controlling situation it should be a giving matter because you are here to serve thank you m Johnson next person signed up for comment is Fahim [Music] Leah good evening council members my name is uh Fahim Lee a Canon resident Grassroots activists camon parents Union the Kuba school and Islamic Center and a number of other organizations that we work with so today tonight I want to share a quote with you and although it's in line with what we're addressing tonight about two council members whove had these uh nuances if you will uh this quote is right in line because it is an indication and byproduct of a deeper deeper deeper problem and this quote is from a world-renowned neuroscientist his name is Abhijit ncar he is a great author neuroscientist uh and a dynamic uh public speaker he had a quote that's very profound is related to what we talking about tonight he said that every reformer is a public servant but not every public servant is a reformer every every reformer is a public servant but not every public servant is a reformer so this is a message to all of you that you have to be reformers now we're tired of the routine as Canon residents that people come on and they don't have the best interest of this great City that our Legacy is at stake our safety is at stake our honor is at stake this city Invincible is at stake because we have people who are not taking care of our interest all the way at the top level we got to worry about somebody touching our babies someone harming our women that these people that we trust to take care of our city are not doing it so it's time to be bigger than public servants y'all got to be reformers because if y'all don't do it then we going to have to take another way to get people in there who's going to be reforming stand up for the city not stand up for private people who are making backo deals and claiming to be for the city but it doesn't reach us and that's why you see look look in the audience these seats should be filled up but they're not coming here because they don't believe in y'all no more they don't believe in y'all no more y'all got to become reformers again if we want this city to be great it's time to start with you all start cleaning house or we going to go another route where we going to clean it for you I don't need 5 minutes I think I said what I had to say [Applause] am thank you Mr Lee next speaker is Amir KH oh my God Amira K case sorry about that Miss case Amir Kane thank you all right so I want to thank you guys for allowing us to speak um I'm a longtime resident and former student of Camden City Public Schools and I just want to set a little Foundation superintendent Katrina momes you have been someone that I've looked up to for many years you were my vice principal in school um you played an advocate for my mother when she just didn't know how to handle a child with behavioral challenges and I've seen use your power to advocate for many other families one point in particular it was a cold snowy day like today we went out and we fought to keep Landing Square feathers open and we stood with signs and we said you know don't close our school down don't close our school down people from high magnitudes low magnitudes we came together and we used our voices to speak up and those same voices were loud and strong we were making a point to the doers in our community you are now a doer and these are the voices of the people we're here we deserve respect our children deserve to be respected I have two children now one she's about to be a kindergarten student this fall and her life is something that I value and I protect like a a precious gem I'm a I'm a a forget a lioness I'm a bear when it come to her I'm a Savage when it comes to her and the fact that we could allow individuals to fall through the cracks 30 years is appalling to me you know I I was a student um from 2006 to to 2014 and every year in school I heard or I witnessed a situation where a student was inappropriately contacted or dealt with by a staff member in school and now I hear these allegations not because somebody decided to wake up 30 years later and play doorbell Dixie at the police station no because the system that we have had over the past 30 years is old tired and worn out and is no longer protecting our children and we the voices enough we're here to say it's enough because I'm scared that the person that I shake my hand to and send my daughter in in fall in the fall time during open house is the same person behind closed doors that is disrespecting and devaluing them enough is enough our daughters our sons deserve more and we're pleading that something has to be done Statewide Community wise it has to be done and I'm allowing myself to be a vessel to add to the solution let's find a progressive way to get past this and to no longer allow this happen to happen again the next 30 years we need to create a system where our children are protected and respected thank you thank you Miss [Music] Kane the next speaker is VA Neil good evening first of all I would like to say in 2014 I came here to to this board in front of pay rord and I said this Minister Wasim Muhammed known as Donnie Walker has touched the 14-year-old student had school I notify you people what he forget the allegations the whole Community knows but now one of you took time to figure it out to to make sure anybody was okay to invest gate or anything yet and still y'all get mad when I get on Facebook and say This Is The Love and Hip Hop version of a school board see because when I was in school people that were on the school board were 59 or 60 years old retirees that wanted to give something back to the community not people with llc's that want to make money off of the backs of our children if you are sitting on this board there's no way you should have anything benefiting in the school let me tell you something schools are paid for by public funds and public means for the people you got board members sitting up here that got stuff going on in schools charging for it that's a conflict of interest theft by [Music] deception you allow anything to go on in this school district we have lack of resources lack of teachers came our kids running around smoking weed in the hallway no no teachers in the classrooms let me tell you don't think I don't know what's going on cuz you know who calls me the kids the kids why all y'all do is go around and take photo ops with the mayor and city council and this here you don't listen to us and it's not any of us that elect you see it's trickery you go to the senior citizen homes you got the managers there anybody else that's running they can't get in there you take them bowling you know you do line dancing with them give them a Thanksgiving meal and help them fill out there voting for them cuz none of us here will vote for none of y'all up there I want you to know that now to the attorney that's sitting there what other job do you have in this school district other than an attorney I think we just if you could public comment I want you to know that these people have dual roles like they can't find a attorney in Camden 69,000 people they can't find an attorney from our city where do you come from good question you're not from Camden and then you're holding two positions let me tell you something about Clayton Gaz I don't care what you say about saying names before you even told the story it was on my Facebook page three and a half weeks before that because I'm from P talk baby and let me tell you something my cousin called me she said you know CL Gonzales I said yeah girl what's going on she said girl the state Marshals is at his house the Federal Marshals this man been running around with the kids in the back seat of a car with the gun to the wife head Metro Police Panara police chasing him and the paper said he has seven guns my cousin said they took out 12 and it's on my page now what if this fool would unhinged in one of our schools on one of our children I want you to know that Clayton kazal ran for the first time in 2020 he bought his house in P in February of 2020 so him running again in this November he ain't even a cam the resident and guess what I know only two of y'all that's Cam the residents that's up there right now I see n on Mount Ephraim Avenue and I know Miss Meritt lives in Northgate but for the rest of you is a suspect I want every time you shut your car door look around cuz we coming for you if you ain't from cam when you got on this board I'm going to get your off of here I'm making you a promise tonight to protect these children from people like y'all the on this board I want to know how many other ones up here suspect cuz they ain't the only two they just the two that got caught I tell you and I've been telling you for 12 years I am here for the children I am a graduate I am a graduate of the mighty cam to high school class of 1980 until the day I die I will thank you Miss [Applause] [Music] Neil next individual signed up for comment is Karen belli [Applause] [Music] Luke you the one sit down on medical school good evening my name is Karen belli Luke I've had the pleasure of serving children and their families in Camden City as a teacher for nearly 40 years I was placed on a 200 plus day administrative leave of absence recent events have made me concerned that I will not be returning to brim Medical Arts a place that has been my home for the last 20 years I have brought many things to brim some highlighted in the packet each of you received those accomplishments have been made with the assistance of the brim staff and students we work as a team such as paid summer internships for students at chop Corel and Rowan Chow hounds a food bank for and wellness clinic for the community pets with a veterinarian and training program which have not been active in since my absence the brim Health curriculum is different than the district's other high high schools Health curriculum I was part of the team of writers that worked specific speically on the brim Health curriculum we have a different book and have medical infusion and medical terminology we are not cookie cutters it is not fair to involuntarily transfer a teacher in December she wanted to return to Cooper's point when she returned from her leave her Cooper's Point family and principal are missing her and expecting her to return you are impacting several schools climate and culture by making these moves expecting her to learn and adapt to the brim Health curriculum and in just a few weeks is not fair to her or the students Cooper's Point deserves her return and instruction as brim deserves my return the brim staff and students are my family these last eight months have been very emotional for me I have been separated from my brim family no one fully understood why I was separated from them students that thought I abandoned them I go above and beyond the normal school day I have worked very hard mentoring and instructing the students of brim I Am A co-advisor in the class for the class of 2025 the other teacher is separating from the district the first week in March the Juniors will be left without us we have been guiding and Advising them for 3 years I have dedicated nearly 40 years to this community and District I have an exemplary record my reputation and career can only be restored by returning me to brim to transfer me to another building in the middle of the Year sends the message message that I must have been guilty of something I did nothing wrong to transfer me is the same as punishing me further what I find very disheartening and disappointing is that no one had the decency to discuss this matter with me I thought I had a very close working relationship with many of the district decision makers including superintendent mcoms this episode has shaken my belief that we are all together for the students and the teachers it forced me to rethink my profession and the people I work with I am not exaggerating when I tell you that the way I have been treated has been a nightmare you have treated others that have been arrested others that change that have been charged with sexual abuse others that have been stripped of their certificates better as if things what they did was okay yet me who has given my heart and soul to the Camden City students and community for nearly 40 years innocent of wrongdoing I'll say it again innocent of any wrongdoing yet you want to take action against me please don't make it any worse by ending my relationship with Brim thank you thank you [Music] m next speaker is Kevin Ruiz baroa how you like being treat like a black person huh Bill take down our Medical Art for a dog program yeah Dr nurses not doget that's right ladies and gentlemen of the Camden City School District Board of Education Madam superintendent good evening I appreciate your time and as I express concerns regarding recent developments surrounding Mrs Luke's tenure at brim and the board president Mrs Luke a dedicated educator with a 40-year tenure faced in administrative leave during an external investigation after two rounds of scrutiny she emerged unscathed unfortunately she now faces an unexpected transfer leaving our community puzzled and questioning the motives behind such a decision as we scrutinize the situation it's crucial to recognize the human impact Mrs Luke is not just an educator she's a guiding force a mentor who has shaped countless lives including mine her influence extends beyond the classroom the decisions to transfer her to another school coupled with the reshuffling of the health and physical education course at brim prompts us to consider the Strategic placement of staff for optimal success Mrs Luke's Health course and its emphasis on medical terminology has become integral to brim's educational Fabric in this extra minute I implore the board to delve deeper into the potential ramifications of this decision consider the ripple effect on both staff and students Mrs Luke's unique contributions to brim are immeasurable and losing such an invaluable asset would be a disservice to our community now let's explore the broader implications of this transfer beyond the immediate impact on brim it raises questions about transparency and communication between the board and the community open dialogue is essential for fostering trust and the lack of clarity surrounding this ision has created uncertainty furthermore the transfer suggests a broader issue in how the district values and utilizes the expertise of its seasoned Educators experience should be celebrated and leveraged for the benefit of our students Mrs Luke's Decades of service should not be overshadowed by an ambiguous transfer as we reflect on the de decision-making process I urge the board to consider the long-term consequences the strength of an educational Institution tion lies in its ability to adapt and grow while preserving the pillars of Excellence that have been established Mrs Luke represents such a pillar and her reassignment should be reconsidered if other matters were addressed as Mrs Luke's worth things may have been different today in conclusion I ask the board to take the necessary time and consideration to revisit this decision the voice of the community the concerns of the students and the dedication of an educ Ator with a four decade commitment to brim should not be overlooked in addition my name is Kevin Ruiz baroa and I have been a resident of 932 North 31st Street Camden New Jersey for 20 years and my my my involvement and and and and what I bring to the community has been overlooked by a lot of different people in this community and I just want to say just because we might look a little bit different never ever assume that somebody's not from this City because I am from this city okay and I have a lot to bring for this city you know that I reserve my time she made decisions that she didn't even let the parents know thank you Miss B she's lated to a political hack that's why she did what he did that's why she got get students for 20 years the next speaker is Kiara and I apologize if I get your last name wrong outo morio we need a gym teacher at Morgan Village sent her there hello good afternoon my name is Kier Mauricio and I'm in a alumni so I'm sorry I'm a bit nervous just want to say that is it extremely distressing and concerning to have someone who is a pedophile involved in educating our community all right the safety and well-being of our children should always be top priority and having someone with such dangerous intentions in a position of influence is absolutely unacceptable now I did promise myself I would not get emotional but I've come today on behalf of Miss Luke I graduated brim July 21st of the Year 2021 which we all know the year we were overcoming the pandemic Miss Luke stuck by our sides even through the process of Zoom because I think we can all admit that that was a pretty stressful and very devastating year sorry I say that to say this I never met someone more devoted and driven than Miss Luke someone who is beyond passionate and would move mountains and Earths for each individual she meets it's officially been three and a half years since I've graduated and she has stuck by my side through every obstacle Miss Luke is the heart mind and soul of Dr Charles ebm Medical Arts High School she has marked each and every one of our hearts our community is incomplete with without you and we believe that you continued well we believe that with your continued involvement we will enrich our professional Endeavors but also strengthen the bonds that tie us together thank you thank you Miss [Music] Mauricio the next speaker is Stan [Music] White [Music] for the last year uh I had some illness that took me down for almost a year and that's sugar diabetes but tonight is important to me I have some questions to ask and some comments first I'll start with the state monitor sir where were you before here during public comment if you continue your comment and we can answer your questions to the extent we can at the end thank you second is I think enough and I just want everybody to keep talking on this sexual allegation but I'm here as a community outreach specialist for 25 years in this District I'm a shame and when I say a shame we talk about focusing on the kids if we focusing on the kids why does cim High's field does not have a bathroom does not have running water this Administration I have never asked to spend their own money the state of New Jersey Green Acres the state of New Jersey Community Development block grant wanted to work with this District letting them know that funds was there mark specifically for Camden all they had to do was write the grant did we write the grant when you said us speak Mr White I'll let the superintendent answer that promises were made paper trail was given the kids go to bathroom under the bleachers or in the trees and you tell me why we did a camping High field with true Community participation and monies but yet we allow another's High School in our district they do it on the back of politics something's wrong with that picture so this district is just so much Mr White has to say I was assigned a new person cuz the state didn't give up on us they came again with another proposal Mr White we send him money again so I reached out to the superintendent reached out who could be my contact and she did give me a person he was head of Maintenance so I said oh here we go and everybody promised Mr White we going to work on it we going to get that Grant done guess what the gentleman that was referred to me left in the next month did I get a call from the school district and said Mr White this is your new contact and I've been calling the board for appointment I'm tired of calling and you know Mr State monitor I would love to contact you I would love to see you behind this initiative why are people sitting high and don't give a damn about the ones that's sitting low thank [Music] you thank you Mr [Music] White the next individual signed up for comment is is it Monae L more again I apologize if I not reading your handwriting [Music] I'm so sorry I write a little sloppy I'm Minaj Lam more I'm a junior drama major at Creative Arts High School I just wanted to ask one question I know it's very intense with the situation going on right now but I just wanted to say how I feel I just feel like I'm a prisoner and I was trying to do my research and research what schools have alarms when you open the door like when I come in the building I have to walk upstairs with a badge to get inside my hallway to go to school and I feel like that's unneeded and I feel like we open the door the alarm goes off I feel like I'm a prisoner I don't know it don't feel like school and then one day we wanted to go down to the tennis court to play tennis why is the tennis thing why is it locked we can't go inside it this is our community why can't we go inside the tennis court I don't know it just doesn't make sense to me and I just feel unsafe the security guards don't do nothing kids in the hallway smoking weed in the what's that called the girls locker room you go in the hallway all you smell is weed teachers I don't know it just don't feel like school not one bit thank you [Music] [Applause] Mr next speaker is Nia [Music] Wilson so I'm nervous super super nervous um my name is Nia I'm new to Camden it'll be a year next month we've been living here I'm an Autism mom my baby be 15 next month on the 10th and he's been jump twice since we've been living here in school the first time he got jumped was actually here can you move a little closer to the microphone did you hear anything I said you heard okay the first time my son got jumped was here at Canon High School um like I said he's autistic he's super sweet my baby he wouldn't hurt to fly um uh he was goofing he was walking down the hallway with a couple of friends they were goofing off and he got pushed into another student who was a female and she told him to watch where the he was going and he was like I got pushed so you know she they exchange words they started fighting my son and this female started fighting and um the whole candom High School jumped on my son and it's video for y'all to see I'm sorry for cursing but I am pissed y'all to see I didn't see that video instead of handling the right way they transferred him to Esau High School where he got jumped yesterday again yes wow he got jumped again last Thursday my son came home from school and told me my mom was gotten into a fight I said what happened he said I was the exact same thing that happened at Camp high he said we was going into the cafeteria and everybody was pushing each other and I was trying not to get pushed into another student and he got push into a girl and again different girl watch where the you going he said how can I watch where I'm going if from being pushed she didn't care about none of that they exchanged words uh uh another boy came up and was like watch who you talking to um I beat you the F up son like I'll beat you the F up what's up so they G to the cafeteria the boy takes off his stuff my son Tak off his stuff security jumped in awesome I sent my son to school on Monday no I shouldn't have did it but it's like you you have to face your fears you know you have to I can't keep him home every day I'm a mama bear anybody who knows me know I do not play with the kind of my kids I do not I was calling East out of high school all morning I can show you screenshots I can show whoever want to see proof I was calling cuz I knew something was going to happen texed my son you good he like yeah time is lunch 11:38 I said call me if anything pops off he said okay he call me at 11:48 mom I just got jumped the V I have video of my son getting stomped in the head stomp in in head so many people tell me my son is so sweet he don't bother anybody he walks around a cafeteria his my son loves headphones he don't like loud noises he got his headphones in they say he walk around the cafeteria the whole cafeteria time his hand in his pocket music just B in his head chilling the video shows no sty he's in the basement of East High School getting jumped they pull his shirt over his head beating him like he a niggaer on the street like they don't like my son bothers nobody and I feel like Esa trying to sweep this under the rug I'm sorry for cursing I'm sorry trying to sweep it under the rug yes the boys got suspended for 10 days that's not enough it's not enough this is this is crazy yes I hear the whole pedophile molestation thing I hear that and I'm I support that too but y'all not none of these kids because end of the day it should have been somebody in that hallway with my son he has a IEP where where was his 101 where was his one one my son has zero friends and he is okay with that he's a loner he's okay with being by himself but he's a Target because he prefer to be by himself and that's not fair to my son he bothers nobody four or five boys jumping on one boy because he didn't back down to the bully who was was bullying him that's not fair 10 days so so my son come to school and this boy still got beef for my son what's going to happen after the 10 days is up okay we got a mediation I get to talk to the parents and the students what's going to happen after that nothing it happened twice it's not going to be a third time my son not getting jumped again and if he got autism or not that's not the point these kids are not protected they're not my son especially because he has autism but if he didn't it's not fair the video is cringe you know how you watch Fight videos sometimes cuz you bought on Facebook Instagram you like damn n this is different he was getting kicked in his head my baby bald up like this cuz he couldn't fight no more he fot them kids the best he could he F them kids the best he could and when he got on that ground in that basement and they stopped them in his head bro when I tell you I wanted to go off on everybody including the students and the parents is not fair this can't keep happening it's not going to happen the third time thank you Miss [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Wilson the next speaker is I say Miss Divine a aaba no longer want wish provide comment next comment is Lee [Music] wall uh good evening everyone I hope you all are doing well uh my name is Lea wall I am a lifelong campden resident as well as well as a graduate from Camden City public school district um I'm a nonprofit founder as well as a small business owner here in the city of Camden um I still reside here and today I just would like to use my time to express disappointment as well as discouragement I say disappointment um for a few reasons um I'm actually going to Echo a miror uh in regards to just miss our superintendent Miss Katrina momes being that figure for us back in Lis Square elementary school or family school um I was an elementary school student at that time and it was just such it was a remarkable feeling to have such representation of a black woman who truly appeared to care for the students in our school um and so for you to have Rose and to ranks and to be superintendent um is admirable um but again it becomes disappointing when you know you just have certain expectations and you see that they're just not met um I want to actually point out something particularly that uh School Board president Mr Wasim Muhammad shared on his Facebook on Martin Luther King day he shared the quote uh in the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the Silence of our friends and I thought that was interesting for him to share um because the silent part hit a little hard the fact that you know as school board members you guys are representatives of us um the community and we would like to consider you guys as friends um but instead the silence is is not really understandable I don't get how people in positions of power continue to break the law on a multitude of levels um again also with Miss uh Miss Vil said in regards to Clayton Gonzalez um the city of cim that I guess we can speak to I actually want to I want to articulate in a uh a lower level I would say um because it's really she said Love and& Hip Hop but I want to say ghetto I feel like our leadership in the city of Camden is ghetto it's sad that we hear we heard the story of Clayton throughout all around town but no one spoke about it no one from the city level um from the district level and again it's frustrating to see that if you guys are our friends um our Representatives why are you guys remaining are you guys compliant with what's going on um in addition to uh there are I know there's a due process and allegations are allegations but um if we're being going back to the street term of words just travel in the community cam then is but so small um there have been multiple times where stories have been told regarding Mr Muhammad and you know you don't kind of hear the same thing about a person over and over again and is just can't be true again due process understood but I think when it comes to this degree of allegation I can't help but question if Governor Murphy didn't step in would he not be sitting up there right now and it's sick it's sick and I think that it's like it's almost and let me get to the discouraging part so just as a young person who um you know is look to get into I'm in community service again started my nonprofit in 2017 and just looking to get more into the political rim of things it's discouraging because it's like it's a cult almost like if we're not down with the Foolery and the buffoonery we can't get in and then the people who are in we see how they're carrying it doing whatever running people over touching like what are we doing for real what do we represent for real and again as a young person who's looking to serve looking to help lifelong resident love the place where I was born and race it's sick y'all we look crazy as a community together like all of y'all all of we look crazy we have to do better we have to be better and if we say we are leaders we have to really lead in that way and right now it's not being shown in the way that it should be thank you guys for your [Applause] time thank you Miss wall the final speaker for this [Music] evening Carmichael perhaps it's [Music] Isaiah good good evening hi I am an 11th grade drama major at Creative Arts High School my name is aera carmichel um I'm kind of nervous so that's why my Voice's shaking a bit um so I was born ining C then I went to ecdc prek and kindergarten I left came back went to cbers point um fourth to e8th grade and have been in creative arts for all my high school and I would just like to say personally I believe that the candom city school district is kind of set us up to fail I have witness multiple students like have trouble in classes and instead of you know maybe tutoring or anything they just get to trry better you know um teachers deny certain students help um um I'm sorry I forgot your name but you were talking about how when your son um got jumped they just transferred him to schools I have had friends that went to Camden high and they were troubled a bit I will admit that but like I said instead of getting them help they just transferred them to other schools and personally I just believe that that is not okay if you see that students are struggling and you see that they don't understand certain things you as a teacher or schoolb Schoolboard or anything you should help them and and a lot of these schools they don't really care about their students they don't really care about anything all they care about is how we test you know our grades and everything um personally you know I have gotten behind in classes because I've had personal issues and when I try and I talk about it they're like oh well it's not much we could do because it's like well if you got something going on you know your school should really be your priority but how can I prioritize school when I can barely prioritize myself and I like I believe that as a community you know as a school board we should really be coming together and looking out for the students that's like recently they took our water away and told us well you got filtered water you don't need the gallons of water but I don't even want to tr they want time to drink out the water fountain yes they want us to drink out the water fountain and I don't really trust the water in C that I don't trust our water flow and everything so why take water that I know for a fact is clean and make me drink out of of a water fountain um another thing the a day and bday schedules I have heard multiple students complain from all types of grade levels how it's messing up because we're sitting up [Music] here we're sitting up here in these classes for hour and a half and we're learning things and then once we leave that we have to go to another hour and a half class and it's like I have to do all this work I have to remember what I learned in class and then I have to go and do the same thing on another day for different subject SE in different classes and it gets overwhelming and it gets very stressful and like I said kids they slip behind and sometimes we don't get the help that we deserve we don't get the help that we need and then it's like when we fail the class it's just like try again but it's like I'm asking for help and I'm looking and I don't receive it and I don't know if it's something with the curriculum I don't know if it's maybe the way the teachers are teaching but that is a serious issue that I feel as though needs to be discussed thank [Applause] you thank you Miss [Music] carmichel now you feeding our babies contaminated water that we fought to keep out of this school you're giving our kids contaminated water we have several written comments uh submitted this evening as well who tested the water we have several individuals who have submitted written comments on the same topic supporting um employee miss Karen brell Luke as these comments are all uh similar in nature and due to the time constraints for public comment we will only be reading the first statement and we'll list by name all the individuals who submitted comments and support individual written statements will be made available for any board member or members of the public who would like a copy the first um comment is from Abigail Rivera Marcado um in Camden New Jersey Karen belli Luke is more than just your average teacher she is that Village students need to thrive in our city drink if I can ask all audience members um to be quiet while we are reading the public comments um even though they are written submissions how could one person be a village well miss Luke has been my rock since freshman year of high school as she has done more than enough to ensure my efforts never went unnoticed in fact she is one of the only teachers I kept in contact until this day I am now a junior in college without her dedication and commitment as a teacher and basically second mother to me I would I would most likely would not have attended college or be alive to be honest she believed in me when no one would and has always had my back when I needed it most please let other students experience the gift and Care Mrs Luke has to offer to our C Camden Community it is important to consider the future of Camden students and who is there to truly support them everyone needs a Caren Bry Luke in their lives