let [Music] Meen to flag the United States of America and to the for it stands indivisible you notice that this meeting has been provided to the retrospect in the current post is a legal ad on January 5th 2024 here mie here Mr K here Mr Lex here Mr Richie here M rman here M here Miss Williams here um so we have minutes 2.1 regular meeting and work session of January 18th 2024 roll call M Bing yes M Desy yes Mr kend yes Mr Lex yes Mr Richie yes M Rodman yes M yes yes and 2.2 executive session of December 21st 2023 oh sorry approve call Mr lley yes Mr yes Mr Kendall yes Mr Le yes Mr Richie yesman yes yes I wasn't here but I've read them yes as as you read them and you're comfortable with um and we have 3.1 correspondence we have any no we do not we are at the first um public comment section this is for items included on the agenda only any has comments on the agenda see any none on to the superintendent okay I'd like to start with our arts department I have a backto back report from Mr beo many exciting things that are happening um like to begin with the High School Musical into the woods uh it's coming together very nicely it's certainly a team effort with a variety of Staff um that are pitching in in in different ways and we're very excited about this sh students have sold over $1,000 in ads um so we are uh encouraged by the amount of support that we're receiving several students represent our high school and our middle school with the all South Jersey choir concert which is a highly competitive program um we also have uh an assembly scheduled for the the 28th uh with for the elementary students who will come over um and see a performance we're having an all art day that's currently uh being set up hard still here sh exced about that um we're planning the uh summer program already we are having a mural beautification process IND visual media class with new teacher this barate um and you know great culture right now despite some significant damage that we' had in the instrumental and vocal music rooms that those rooms have taken in a significant amount of water not just rain water but also ground water these are areas that uh we are addressing in the referendum aggressively we have stopped water infiltration in the short term um Butch and Maria put that a sealant um the rooms are dry now um we stopped that are coming in that's good news we also have tested for mold and received the preliminary report that there is no mold present um we're happy to share that information um at faulty meetings of Staff would like to see that um so that's encouraging this point on this agenda tonight you are also going to be asked to approve the M uh between our school district and law enforcement we did have about 90minut meeting with Chief p that partnership between police department and our school district continues to be very strong we're thankful uh for our police police department one of the things um that came up was the cops Grant uh we've talked about the cops Grant in recent years the submission of the cops Grant is now in May for next year's award in November we were recently informed that we are not permitted to use the money in the cops Grant to fund an SRO but the SRO was something that was discussed um during this meeting uh with Chief hack and uh you know the bo something that we've discussed in the past Chief hack um told me to form the board if you're interested in hearing his opinion on that matter or you know the SRO other ways that he'd be happy to attend a meeting either a committee meeting or a board meeting um but he transitioned really well and in the role and we're thankful to have that okay um htea I think tabith is here put you first tonight and then we'll go to um bradi Savannah I think had a l report tonight so just re us all right sounds good so uh the purpose of our hday Spotlight tonight is to um recognize some literacy initiatives that have been happening around the elementary schools and also here at the middle school so at the elementary schools Jennings had a world readalot um assembly where the kids were virtually zooming in with uh really popular children's authors and uh Lisa report said it was a really um positive experience for all of the kids and then uh May Valenzuela at sto in first grade did a really cool project to welcome the new principal um with a rendition of don't Let the Pigeon be the Principal so if you're familiar with the pigeon series it's a great um book and it's really cool that the kids got to welcome their new principal in that way and then Jenna CMI at van skyver with the second graders did a project a poem project with um in the mirror and it was a self-portrait to show their uniqueness and just a really cool experience for those students and then here at RMS we are currently halfway through our read for the house um program which encourages students to read as much as possible to get sponsors and uh that charity donation supports the Ronald McDonald help House in Philadelphia and our goal is $2,500 and even though we are only halfway we are almost to our goal already so the kids have really been participating we have some students that have broken a thousand minutes already and it's just wonderful to see them pick up a book and enjoy reading so that's what's happening around the district um with Literacy for this one thanks how are you all right I know we was we had an opportunity to meet a couple days ago um sounds like things are going quite well this body I know it's a late report you anything to share tonight as BR I don't have anything like specific to talk about um the last month has been like a lot of academic work for us a lot of seniors are getting into their Top Choice colleges we're seeing a lot more acceptances rolling which is great but otherwise we're sort of just looking forward towards Spring because we have a lot of great events playn with student council and a few the other clubs that we run so should be good that's pretty much it yeah not too much tonight uh everyone's just kind of locking in on their academics um trying to finish up the second after strong is des about the senior trip trip oh yeah yeah we're very excited we have we have a countdown in um in m d class so we're very excited I think that's think I want to touch on okay uh good yeah so just listen real simple presentation you've seen this a lot of times this is required that I present to you on a uh instances of violence and vandalism and other instances that have led to suspension so um I don't know who has the the controller here me thank you than so the role is just to really summarize the student safety data system report which is submitted to the state and provided the PO with the opportunity to have discussion uh regarding these instances you can see they have de increased from the last time uh until this time I'm go through both the cours uh with you and see with how the instances are C Cate categorized uh and um how they are inputed into the student safety data management system ssds so see you know no suspensions at the elementary level from like during period one time time period here and significant amount of training and uh fral development in school climate I attributed this a lot of this to the Choose Love character education program that we have at the elementary schools students typically behave very well no secret that middle school you know Behavior starts to go you know kids a little bit different kids are pushing the limits there we do have those con es of violence and vandalisms and other instances that have led to suspection 21 at the middle school and 26 at the high school I believe that's September to December but if you look back on the previous report this is the spring of last year January to June almost doubl the amount of instances that led to student suspension so we've had a very good fall semester one compared to um last year spring it's still not very high you know if you put these these numbers you compare them to middle schools and high schools I think from across the county and across the state our students typically per behave very well some pretty low numbers we take a lot of pride in being proactive uh with the universal programs that we we offer character education programs that we offer but also the anti commitment that we have to anti bullying and just the daytoday uh touch points that our teachers our counselors our administrators have for students to make sure that we're not only teach them academics that we are committed to the whole child that's certainly um there's a high commitment to uh student character and any questions it was a few years ago where it was vaping major problem uh vaping's a concern it is I have two questions so we looked at a period one this year versus period two last year it's very natural to see an uptick in the spring and student behavior and I was trying to find it in our minutes from last year how period one this year compared to period one last year I think it's quite pretty consistent okay I would think it's I thought and then I guess my other followup is looking at section 10 on tonight's agenda there does seem to have been an uptake of incidents particularly at the middle school in the month of January which was not included in that report yeah I mean [Music] listen details years but I I think I I would still stand by the decision to take students off team this is the first year we've been on Team in seventh and eth grade um and I like what we're doing during the week period seem the sixth grade are still on team um but I think our teachers are connecting extremely well with our students um world of social media hurts us because they leave school for peace and Harmony they go home the phones are hard to monitor it's hard for parents to monitor it's hard for teachers to monitor they come at 7:00 in the morning and there's a problem right so you know a lot of these things are so to generated any questions audience ask question no uh any comment from the audience uh should be at the end this so we are on Section seven um M Williams do you have a report for finance and Facilities sure um we met as a committee February 7 so just a few things um hand Township received an SDA emergent project and capital maintenance program Award of $49,000 capital projects so we're working to make a determination how to appropriate um those um as mentioned dur work session uh the construction management firm RFP circulated or prep um for circulation so that we can get ahead of potentially C management uh we've talked about it uh likeus car mentioned it as well there are concerns that have been brought to the district's attention um regarding AMR and VMR water um there's been a put together um working with but and Mario and our insurance um as well as representatives from the HTA and NGA um investigation as to earlier' got some good news as relates to the water and at least stopping it for now and then lastly the March 12 special election um this is in regards to voting districts 1 2 3 and 11 that would normally vote at Dave H Holy Savior um there is some concern about the heat um at Holy Savior that would be a cost for the district so there is a tentative um location suggestion and we're waiting for commissioner and that was approve this afternoon yes okay great so the location for districts 1 2 3 and 11 will be strawber yep thank you all right I need a mo for 7.2 710 any questions just for the people in the voting districts how will that change be communicated it'll be when you get that voting that'll be from the Board of Elections your sample it will happen on there okay that doesn't have anything question M dingley yes M Desi yes Mr Kendall yes Mr Lex yes Mr Richie yes M Rodman yes m s yes M yes 8.1 Le so fast phonics reading EGS is the um online program of the district um approved of to um you know to help support that c third graders that um have some read Gap so that's the program that they are using the tutoring Grant is going really well um and in reference to the I ready program with the fact fluency um teachers have been provided with 30 plus um apps to help and use in our classroom to help build that math um back fluency um round two of our screening for um students who could benefit from Reading um intervention has uh was conducted in January and this round um included our kindergarten students we're not obviously in the first round due to you know learning how to read um as a result 115 students are receiving support in Reading in grades K to 5 um and most of those students are in the lower grades as they are still building their foundation for reading uh professional development so tomorrow there is an early dismissal for students um teachers and staff will participate in a bunch of different um PD sessions some include PLC at the grade level uh some of our special education faculty and staff are going to be getting trained in executive functioning skills uh for the students so that will focus on skills such as working memory planning prioritizing task initiation time management Etc our nurses will be attending a PD at leny high school um and then we're going to still offer um any questions that teachers have for inquire Ed and for I ready as those two programs are being implemented the next professional development day will take place in March and this is going to be a full um day in service for uh staff and there still the district is still working on the logistics of that day some course updates so the following courses will be offered for the 2425 school year I believe these are I I wanted to clarify this with um Shantel I believe these are all high school level courses um we're going to offer yearbook forensics Earth and state science which is actually a course that will be returning that we used to have nonap statistics Algebra 1 CP and everyday Spanish which will now be considered a full year course um looking ahead summer program such as summer enrichment the Summer music program and summer rack are currently being planned uh Preschool Round Up is February 21st and 22th but this is by appointment only um and information for that is located on the website Kindergarten Roundup is March 6th and March 7th and kindergarten transition night is May 17 we have nothing to vote on in section8 so we are on Section n Personnel mrman you have a report yeah committee met on February 7th we spent time going through just about a dozen different policies and regulations guides that are recommended as well as required updates for us as a board um five of those items you will see show up on first reading for this evening two policies and two regulation guides related to teacher and staff member attendance um Jen was able to join us for our committee meeting to go through the language in that and make sure it was consistent with current practice the only change in Lang that you will see from the recommended text that came to us from Strauss Esme um in response to the feedback we discussed as a committee is section freeb that had previously been called counseling in in the event that we need to follow up with a staff member is now termed as an attendance conference um so you will see that on on for first reading but that's the only language change that we are recommending to to the full board there um you will also see a revised policy around 2270 which is religion in the schools in review of that and consultation with Bob we do feel it's consistent with our values holistically as a district as well as what's currently happening in practice and we didn't have any any flags with that particular TX so you'll see those three policies as well as two regulation guides um on the agenda for this evening we still have just about six or so that we need to continue working through next month to make sure some language things that Jen's following up on that I'm following up on um to make sure that as we head into this next that process we are up to date and and as prepared as possible for for that work at the state level thank you so I need a motion for 9.2 through 9.14 move second any questions I have a couple uh I see where substitute appointments and teachers are we still having a hard time finding substitutes and teachers uh no we're doing okay with substitutes the teacher uh it's going to be interesting to see last year at the high school level was a a very much a struggle now we did very well we we were very fortunate uh great teachers but it was not easy um this year we don't have nearly as many of retirements we are attending uh we registered tc& J's job fair Stockton's job there and they jump into Broman job there in April uh we'll see but the teacher candidates have have have Shunk and I noticed that for the first time last year we'll see what and the same thing with the transportation deployment is that still hard hard finding bus [Music] dri much better questions call M Bley yes M Des yes Mr kendle Mr Le Mr Richie m rman yes so on student services uh I need a motion for 10.1 through 10 10.11 questions I do but I can't monitor the uh 10.7 uh Brookfield schools it says we have we're buying shes of hours is that during is that additional hours I'm I think I'm yeah hours per week and then two different students are they just home students or are they other services [Music] needed these students currently attend book field they currently attend book field schools out of district and they're not in school okay any other questions call Miss Billingsley yes Miss Jesse yes Mr Kendall yes Mr Le yes Mr Richie yes Miss Rodman Miss St yes Miss Williams section 11 policy I need a [Music] motion that's it all right so we are now at section 12 this is our public comment section for anything um agenda or non-agenda please um come up state your name and address and you have a minute time hi I'm Jennifer Parker um as many of you already know I'm super passionate about um greatest transparency and fames getting the best education they can for their money um when my two kids were in school I saw three things standing out in the way um of the student shining at hths um 20202 13 school year um I questioned the seveno scale to guidance and I was told no worries colleges recalculate besides it's a sign of an elite standard in 2014 I finally looked at the hths transcript there were no numbers how on Earth did they recalculate that um 2016 September 2016 I finally reversed the math on a transcript to figure out how they came up with the waiting formula because that wasn't in any student handbook or on the um profile um which is concerning uh I have a copy of that too from way back um I asked about the numbers missing on the transcripts I I got enough courage to come up here it's different than um to S to ask three questions I asked about the numbers missing on the transcripts I asked about the seveno scale and I asked about the formula that depresses A's um in extra value um I suggested these policies combined could impact College acceptance Merit Aid and scholarships the vice president at the time Bonnie Richards asked me a couple of questions to clarify which was really great because that's what I was used to from my first meeting 22 years ago to that point um and she chose the missing numbers on the transcript and she asked the administrators about it at at that point and um immediately they turned over the defense to the seveno scale which didn't have to do with the numbers um the retrospect picked that up and I I have a quote of it and they just skipped right over it and that was in 2016 and I'd like to say thank you this year for the kids that are in school now that they'll have those numbers because when you have 92s 92 4 in AP CM 92 in accelerated geometry it matters it matters they see that because in your neighboring schools those are Aid's um that did affect my students um then rather than rather than thorby she would have had two um and that did affect her Merit because it was just tenth of a point um anyway I shortly I got called into the office after that after bringing up that and I gave I was I gave my information to Mr Shard Mr O'Brien and um I ended up giving like that that was a great move in that they published the I don't I'm so flustered um they published the the there's my three minutes yes there's a little bit of a difference again like I said between that's why I can't can't speak here today clearly the Small Town f is [Applause] gone okay I go yep hi address yes my name is Barbara Nasco I live at 17 West CER Boulevard this is the um first evening I've been able to make it out I generally have a lot of confidence in our Board of Education our administrators and our educators uh we moved here in 2020 which is a terrible time to move did not recommend but um we've had a wonderful experience since then U but I just wanted to come tonight to voice my concern with the grading system as well um I grew up in Cranford New Jersey um I went to college I had my graduate degree I had never heard of a seven-point grading scale until we moved here and um to see that a lot of the neighboring districts are turning over to a 10o grading scale um um and we are not moving in that direction is concerning I have a junior in high school and I think it's too late for her at this point and I have two middle schoolers so I'm just here to advocate for them um I served in the US Marine Corp for a nine years their dad is in the Army currently um they've lived a very stressful life my oldest went to Four elementary schools and um they've sacrificed a lot and they will be up for um scholarships that I think are welld deserved for children in the military and I just worry that their GPA calculated with not having a full grade point weight as other schools count with ap will really affect them um I recalculated my daughter's GPA uh her 3.8 would have been a 4.0 and that's a big difference and it's really disheartening she's in 38 classes and honors German this year she works very hard she's in a lot of clubs and it's really stressful and I just think that you know including the surrounding areas and seeing like competing with Cherry Hill kids had in field kids and you're all trying to go to the same colleges and you're all competing for the same scholarships and it really puts our kids at a disadvantage and not just that 10-point grading skill but how we wait how we wait our GPA is incredibly ineffective and it really sets our kids at a at a loss so you know I'm I just wanted to come up here and say that today um again there a lot of respect for the board for the teachers I think this is a wonderful Community um and thank you for your [Applause] time Kelly mine 514 Homestead app I'm here tonight to express my concern of the grading scale in the had in Township my son is currently a freshman at the high school and I also have three other children in the district that will be attending having Township play school as parents my husband and I want the best possible opportunities for our children based on the evidence that I have seen the seven-point grading scale that Haden Township uses does the opposite it takes away opportunity the students of hat in Township are competing with students from other school districts around the country for admission into college because of our greeting scale our children are being handicapped my husband and I have both been Educators for over 20 years as Educators we believe that instruction and education should be based on research and the evidence that results I have yet to see any evidence or research showing that a 7o grading scale is advantageous to our students on the contrary I have seen ample evidence showing that it is hurting them our system produces lower gpas than other schools when you get get the same grades and many colleges don't recalculate for merit scholarship consideration based on This research if head and Township High School's GPA formula Remains the Same a family like mine with four children will lose tens of thousands of dollars it is extremely upsetting to me that this issue keeps getting pushed to the side to be honest when I first read the research that has been presented by many of the parents of had in ship I assumed that our grading scale would have already been changed it seems like a no-brainer to me as the students of P Township deserves be on an equal playing field to their peers it does not sit well with me that the board continually keeps telling us that this issue cannot be considered until after the voting of the referendum the referendum that mainly addresses items to improve the Aesthetics of our schools and please don't get me wrong we see the improvements that need to be made and my four athletic children will benefit from these improvements my question however is why are academics not number one as part of the grade level I was part of the grade level scale process and I saw firsthand how while you address multiple areas of concern At Once by creating focus groups researching Consulting and coming up with a solution that had our whole community in mind please realize the importance of this issue and make academics and our students your top priority hi Alex M jesa att's hly I have a few questions um did the board conduct a committee to look at this is it being researched in any way in the district or through the administration we can't answer questions make comment okay Dr pakara chooses at the end to make comments okay um how all right I just had questions I my statement is and from what I've seen in the college search with my daughter it doesn't matter that's what I've been told by a professional for the colleges we've applied to I know this is a passionate issue for everyone here at the end of the day you hear 30 different opinions but everybody's personal opinions the most important things to them as well as their child I would ask that it just gets looked at it's considered and just be open with the community of positives and negatives if changing it or does from will do any good or bad I'm not sure I don't know I didn't really help my daughter with the college process because I'm not going back to college it's her her job her thing her life not mine um I respect the board's opinion thanks guys hi Nicole Kennedy 1009 I you might even know my address by now um I wanted to um just talk about you shared a few months back that you don't you're not willing to discuss this issue until March I wanted to ask and I hopefully I hope you can answer at the end it when if and when this is is going to go to a PO vote um a few months back you also said that um it is up to the board the board makes the decision so just if you could please confirm that and again confirm if and when this is going to go to a vote and then I also have another question if you're willing to answer at the end which is who sits on the grading committee and would they be willing to share their stance since that is the committee that they've chosen to be on could they stare share their stance with the community on the greeing policy that's it thank you so much Joe gallager 113 Le Lane as you know had six children to this District over 30 years of experience and great school love it all we want tonight I think we need an answer from the board and from the superintendent of we need to address this now I mean I said that last meeting you see you see said a couple people before me said how much thousands of dollars you know they've lost I've lost thousands of dollars going to lose thousands of dollars everybody in this room and everybody in the district we're not on an equal playing field our students are hardworking great students and they need the advantage they need to be on an equal playing field pick up the phone and call haddenfield they did the research you did the research we've all done the research we know what what are the downsides of switching to a 10-point scale there are none but there's only advantages that put our kids on an equal playing field to get into the schools to get Merit money and to get the dual college credit that they deserve and I think you owe it to them to do it now on referendums out there there's more than one goals in the district there's more than one goals for everyone we can multitask and get it done now that's all I ask thank [Applause] you uh Jeremy McCarthy 806 West Mount Vernon AV before I speak I just if you're here for the 10-point grading scale please stand up so they can see the amount of people that are here they're not some of them may be here for the bond but this is why they came nobody really wants to be here I'm not going to lie I don't um so with that said I just wanted to update you on my college list of schools who do not recalculate I'm currently at 22 out of 34 who responded do not recalculate that's 65% again costing in Admissions and lots of Merit money some new additions who did not recalculate our itha wake Falls High Point Coastal Carolina which are all 2024 graduates applied to three are those in the state of North Carolina do you know the state of North Carolina has a mandate for a 10-point scale same with South Carolina Florida Tennessee Kentucky and several others again putting our kids at a disadvantage Monmouth got back to me they actually recalculate you know what they told me they told me they would calculate to put your kids on an even playing field Monmouth knows our scale is incorrect I'm I'm going to save the next part for next month but hopefully L to be here thank [Applause] you Joe Abby cogin 23 Emerald Avenue so I'm requesting the the board help me understand while we're poised to consider funding a $30 million scheme oneir of which has direct benefits to only a small minority of students by our budgets as taxpayers our financial planning as citizens of this town the fiscal certainty of our kids future is not being prioritized we have presented and will continue to present compelling evidence thanks to Jerry and other parents who have done the like dogged hard work of tracking down this information it shouldn't be something we have to do to make the case for this directly from we're getting this information directly from ad missions officers right that our seven-point scale is in many cases not being recalculated parents Among Us have done this tedious research and they doggedly made phone calls and the evidence is undeniable that you are costing us money this policy is costing us money at the very time your hand is out asking us for more money even while the tax assessors are knocking on our doors this should not be something we have to beg for it's your job to prioritize our kids and our families the issue has been repeatedly raised not just at An Inconvenient time for your bond referendum for over a decade I don't want to have to do the math on what that decade may have cost had in Township families in Scholarships in admissions in their kids' Futures and hopefully we won't have to put the N to it now right simple thanks [Applause] any other questions hi my name is Tracy suet I live at 27 Oriental Avenue and I've prepared a little bit of a statement so I can stay focused um I'm hoping we can find a way out of what have would have seemed to be an intractable conflict uh we're allies we all have vested interest in having Township students succeeding I know if you you personally and your wonderful children but what I don't know is the board's position on this issue of the grading point scale and it's only been brought to my attention more recently by some fellow community members and I understand that it's being researched I Believe by the board but given the amount of time that this issue has been on the back burner I respectfully disagree with the directive of waiting for more research um and what I've learned that there's already been a fair amount of research done locally and a lot of it is conjecture I mean really we can do research on what this admissions Officer says is this is going to help your kids or what that you know dean of admission says but that's just conjecture what the fact of the matter is is that 7 2% of schools nationally use a 10-point grading scale so when Mr McCarthy refers to being on a Level Playing Field it's because nationally 72% of schools are using a 10-point scale um what I've also learned is that much of the research you know it's anecdotal like I'm saying it reflects opinions um does having a seveno scale give students a Competitive Edge maybe in some instances um but does it reflect a more Challen ing grading system not so much as an educator a master in education myself I know that the rigor comes in the teaching not in the way you're graded uh in contrast to the mere conjecture as I said is the black and white issue of Merit Aid the lower the GPA the less Aid period And when most schools operate on a 10-point scale they're certainly and factually at a disadvantage this current GPA negatively impacts many students and once more as a community we are largely United in needing to see change so the question is why aren't we being heard why aren't we being represented you hear all the people speaking here none of them are saying you know we're really putting our kids at a disadvantage if we change this everybody here is saying we'd like to see this change happen and we deserve a reasonable response and expect the board to make decisions that positively impact the majority of our students thank you question I just want to thank everyone for coming out and continuing to come out it's obvious how much you care about the school and the district that you're going to come out um continue to come out to speak up for what you believe thank you we offer okay over this is not one conversation or two conversations and this is certainly not what being cized as a no-brainer I know the board's aware of this is a very complex issue this is not comp comp yeah I just wanted to Echo what Kristen said I mean and Joe knows this he was board president for a long time when I was on the board and we even ran together many times so it's very moving to see you all here and you know rest assured you know everything is being considered you know and uh it's it's not just you know I I don't want to say it's not I want to say it this way we're all here for the betterment of the kids of had Township and I've been doing this for almost 31 years now we always put the kids first and any decision we make isn't just for the kids of now it's the kids of the future and the future and the future and we are listening and we understand thank you it's in the jaob show move