I called to order of the Highland Park Board of Education hybrid regular public meeting of Monday November 20th the New Jersey open public meetings Act was an active to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attended meetings with public bodies in which any business conecting their interest is top or active firm in compliance with the open public meetings act High Park Bo of education has closed V of this meeting setting forth the time date and location to be submitted for publication to the home News Tribune Star Ledger and posted on the board's website at Le 48 hours in advance of this meeting members of the public who wish to address the board will be given the opportunity to do so before the board the of the evening can we have a roll call Mr B here M here Dr Coleman here miss gow here miss mcfa miss Cru here mrich here miss vman here M Mor okay we are going to we need to Res recess to Executive session um resolve pursu to the sunshine Act njsa 10 4-12 and 13 the H depk of Education will now meet in close session to discuss the matters related to hip and logical consequences these exemptions are permitted to be discussed in close session in accordance with njay 10 col 4-3 information regarding the board's close session discussion will be disclosed to the public as soon as the need for confidentiality no longer exists so I move that we resolve we recess to ex session all in favor session second flaged States of America and to the Republic for which stands one nation under God with Li and justice for all we're going go through our C of agenda items before we get to enjoy our Spotlight see the spotlight uh we had three communications this mon to the board which was one was related to assessment data and ourons the board Rel to that um there was a question about our start time survey and um as a question about the incident that occurred at our school campus one this week um next thing on the agenda is excuse me the approval of our minutes so I move that we approve the minutes of the hybrid regular public meeting and executive session for October 16 2023 second yes m c d yes Dr Coleman yes M McAllen uh yes yes Miss yes Mr yes M yes Miss yes okay and then we get to move on to my favorite part uh to start overing PTO held a Thanksgiving food drive to benefit in school for this Thanksgiving [Music] and are show welome through this Wednesday the P also is is having a holiday Bazar November 27th with a sh evening on Thursday November 30th that that same day they will have a urown complete is also holding thaning DFT to provide things uh through this this upcoming Thanksgiving reads are on November 30th and lastly the park drama club the high school's drama club will perform a teaser of the upcoming play p on November on November 29th and the students will also have a Q&A with the cast Middle School the boys basketball trials will held today for sixth graders and will also be H tomorrow November 21st for 7 in Middle School gym at after school Bo basketball team was also holding fundraiser until December 1ers will sh out TOS after holiday all proceeds new also Mr farmer is running winter track to the high par Recreation Department for a fly was sent out with all the information sign up in the owl outline to parents last Friday the Middle School well once in your mind everyone there is a Happ Wednesday off Thursday and Friday and students school on Monday in high school all right the H Park High School drama club will present pups on December 2nd and thir ticket sale now for purchase at HP drama.net next the class of 2025 is holding a holiday popup shop on December 17th from 12: to 4: in a high school gym come out and Shout your local craft vendors holid sh Additionally the robotics very D FTC NJ tournament on March 3r 2024 at ke University and they're very excited with the they made last year receiving Community Support sponsors and mentors if any Community member would like to share their coding or engineering design knowledge please contact Miss St K Sten spell step with ph at H school first stud perod breakfast was H last Friday aerv students celebratory breakfast congratulations to them all to end our we are starting a new section called class spotl where we spotl what classes up to and our first candidate is the high school nutrition class in this class students have had opportunities to harvest vegetables from their own school garden and make fun recipes like fried tomatoes and tomatoes they prepared and shared their own Bread breakfast Ander re to their classmates in school kitchen they visited the farmers market twice so far this year all different fruits and vegetables theyve also wear how to create nutritionally balanced meals using the Mind second half of the course will focus on Wellness the teacher is looking forward to teaching students about the importance of making and using proteins in their bodies sharing their own created cultural meals with each other discussing the impact of food on their own wellness and finally students will be designing their own food thank you very much EXC questions for is awesome be sh re I've never heard of Curry GRE tomato so we are going to go on to our super report so you thank you good evening everyone thank you for a robust report and I encourage everybody if they see in my email last week to go ahead and buy tickets for p um I think I can say it out loud I just can't put it in writing but it's a parody of a certain Wizarding World and Harry Potter a parody of it so for all those Harry Potter fans whether you're a wizard or muggle go ahead and check it out be a great there we go got the t-shir going so go check it out um tonight is a very exciting night we have um two um really exciting things that we want a spotlight and then a motion for our two course so first I'd like to bring up Miss nap who will be spotlighting a couple of amazing Marvel students bring it down here um so I am so thrilled to be here tonight this is always an exciting night to come here and Spotlight our marel students um so tonight we're here to honor three hardle Dolphins who really truly ody our school's expectations of kindness responsibility and respect they are all really extremely deserving of this award tonight we're going to honor ran Boyd we're H Anda gar and Maya I have special guest here so tonight I invited some of our teachers here who nominated these students so they could share their special words directly them so first up I'm gonna have Miss dra come up and she's gonna honor all right so it has been an absolute pleasure getting to know Rowan um I have her back in second grade and the band's back together and grade so it's been really really special so she is a student who always follows directions lend a helpy hand and cares about others R goes above and Beyond to seek out opportunities to assist others for example she's often found during her recess helping younger students she embodies what it means to be a BAL dolphin by being kind responsible and respectful ran is involved in several after school activities such as student council and chorus and we are so lucky to have her in our Bal Community because she is such a positive role model [Music] thank youat next up I'm going to invite Miss maiden and she is going to honor Mayana deserves a spotlight student recognition for exceptional dedication to the bar beliefs actively taking risk when participating by using her home life as examples and truly believing that Bargo is an amazing School within our community I've been working with her for two years now and seen her commitment to making a positive man's leadership skills are evident in her willingness to lead group projects and her ability to inspire her pears furthermore her kindness and respect for others exemplify the qualities of a model student making her a perfect candidate for this offer congratulations our last student that were spotlighting couldn't be here and now like I said her teacher misso but I'm gonna read what misso wrote about Anda Anda is a hardworking student who always wants to do her best and challenge herself she is an active participant in our classroom and loves to help others she not only works hard in school but she also wants to excel in areas outside of school often joining activities and is part of Bar's robotics Club as well as book buddies she is well deserving of this honor congratulations to I'm so proud of all of you congratulations again have another for I hope that everyone will stick around for the second part of my presentation I'd like to call Miss M out to the podium uh we are excited to accept our sustainable Jersey for schools black so Ry have good evening my name is Tracy maid and I the green team's district coordinator tonight we are champions of sustainability I stand before you not just as an admirer but as a cheerleader to celebrate the district's recent Ascent to another three years of R certification status from sustainable Jersey certified school program if you not familiar with SS as we call it they are a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting schools an environmental economic and social growth the certification program is supported by training technical assistant and grant opportunities we have been sjs members since 2014 and have been honored to receive various friends that you may recognize while observing the schools and speaking with students this recognition underscores the district's commitment to sustainability and his dedication to providing students with the tools they need to contribute to a more flexible and environmentally conscious future I would like to highlight several key initiatives and accomplishments that have contributed to the district's well-deserved recognition professional development for sustainability our professional development plan is the secret SCE to ensuring our educate Educators stay on top of their green g the district's professional development plan further reinforces a commitment to continuous Improvement ensuring that Educators stay informed and empowered to integrate these principles into the teaching practices GRE enhancement of District strategic plans weaving sustainability into the district strategic plans reflects on Forward Thinking approach to education this guarantees that environmental considerations are W into the fa of decision making processes promoting a holistic and responsible approach to education it's like adding a dash of pale to M you didn't know need now you can't imagine without so it's decision making with the equal twist and now I call that strategic District commitment to digital burning and equable access our commitment to digital learning coupled with the focus of equable access guarantees that all students have the opportunity to engage with techn technology Rob to administrators for fost stre inclusive and Technology literate Community data Safety and Security policy we're the modern day guardians of shining armor equipped with encryption tools Access Control Shields and the mighty two Factor authentication L following this policy isn't just IL legal Duty it's our mission to uphold trust prevent disruptions and construct a safe secure digital Haven for everyone involved we're the ones declaring no entry to any data under Intruders our safe return to schools instruction and continu continuity of service plan establishes a safe and secure environment for all determining to the extensive the goal of creating a secure and responsible clment re purchasing policy a round of applause for choosing eco-friendly supplies it's like shopping for green Essentials while saving the planet who knew going green would be so sh our green purchasing policy showcases the district's dedication to making environmentally conscious decisions contributing to the overall reduction of this ecological cour policies to promote physical activity and safe grounds to school district policy we encourage students to be equal Warriors of Life reducing their carbon foot print one pedal at a time our policies not only contribute to the health and well-being of students but also alive the broader sustainability goes a positive relationship building while walking and reducing Reliance of motorized transportation and finally Community engagement it's like growing a party inviting the whole town to join in our excitement the Highland Park Community Pro provides opportunities for students to have real world world learning experiences by collaborating with local experts businesses and organizations our school staff has enriched the curriculum and exposed students to practical applications of what they are learning in the classroom because let's face it the saving the plan is more fun when everyone's involved in conclusion being a part of sustainable Jersey for schools is not just an ACC it signifies the High Park school's District's commitment to shaping responsible and reling environmentally aware citizens by instilling these values in our students we are preparing them to be leaders and a world that demands Sustainable Solutions to complex challenges the hen Park schools District's achievements and sustainability are a source of Pride for the entire Community the dedication to fostering a sustainable and strong learning environment sets a standard for educational institutions Nationwide I applaud the Board of Education administrators Educators and students for their Collective efforts in making High Park of leading sustainability thank you for your time attention and commitment to the future of our community I'd like to introduce Roman who is a part of um jerse thank you thanks Tracy hi I'm brand solom I'm the executive director and founder of C Jersey and also have Park resident with three kids in the schools and so I'm very proud to be here to convey this certification it's a the sustainable Jersey certification the standards are created by a series of task forces on different topical issues where academics and experts and local practitioners and nonprofit organizations come together and deliberate what it is we think schools could be and should be doing to address our most pressing issues they come together and they divise standards and those standards are very detailed it's not like hey do something about green purchase pass this policy um Implement these standards um and everything that Park about credit for as Miss B knows is rigorously reviewed it doesn't me the standards it gets rejected there three rounds of coaching it's a very rigorous process that you know she uh probably got a couple gray hairs in somewhere going through so I just want to commend you for for following the program sure I'm sure you have lots of help it touches so many aspects of a school that it really requires a whole districtwide effort and I also want to say um as proud as I am that that we' got bronze there's a lot more that you done um bronze is the lowest level of certification silver is in sight for the next cycle and it's the schools are um I think often overlooked when it comes to the impact on sustainability and and I think you know we know the impact of educating on kids um so it's almost tra to say uh how important that is but when I look at things like for example food waste in cafeteria one of a really hot topic around the state something a lot of schools are advancing on um schools just as an example um are probably the biggest single purveyor of meals right we feed every day a huge chunk of our population and food itself accounts for about 40% of our greenhouse gas emissions right and then as a society we waste about 40% of our food so it's a huge amount of our you know when we think about all the climate impacts that we're feeling we think about flooding and forest fires and future food insecurity and just the anxiety of climate change food is just a big deal so schools have an outside role to play this again just one example multipli by everything you do um schools feed just a huge percentage of our population Every Day Count for a huge chunk of that and schools are the place plac where people go to learn social norms about everything including food so for most kids in the state schools are where they go to where that food's not that important it's okay to waste it doesn't have to be high quality um you know or it can be a place where people learn to cherish food not waste it make sure it goes to people who need it um compost you know uh just one example so um that's why I believe so strongly that the work that you're doing because it's hard work and I know that you're not sitting around with free time and money all the time waiting for us to think up things for you to do um but so that's why when you do the things uh it really means a lot to us and we're very grateful for the work that you do but hly don't stop so so thank you very much and [Applause] congratulations later when you're uh on a desk and you won't like get them we add to our yeah you just add to the next spot yes all right thank you so much congratulations so I I want to Echo the sent um from Solomon and thank Tracy Ma and the Green Team really crazy but the Green Team collectively for all their hard work it's an understatement the amount of work that's involved and a lot of emails back and forth this policy that policy this and we really do do into it deep and I really Beyond me appreciate her work um I know we're close to Silver we are that's how it came out we are like really close very very and that is the work that Tracy the team uh does so we're really excited we'll promote them out our social media and on the website and again another big round of applause for Tracy degree team so I just have one last thing for my superintendent report um and I'm requesting a resolution to submit our qac uh District performance report for those who were listening last week or last Bo our DPR is just an annual quality assurance report so we do quality control from the newor Department of Education so they're doing it's a self assessment that we do every year this year we're being monitored so we do the self assessment that's what we're approving tonight and then um they come in uh later in the winter after the New Year to actually look through our documents and confirm that it's all legit but before we do that I just want to thank everybody for coming that's that's in public but feel free to leave whatever unless you want to stay for the rest of our wonderful board meeting but feel free to leave when when you're ready thank you approve submission thank you thank you and that conclud my report uh we going to move on to committee reports uh we this is a voting meeting but we both committee reports and the agenda items only ones that are new and highlighted weeks ago then we'll have public comment and then we'll go to V as our usual so curricul instruction hi so curricul instruction met November 14th um we were joined by miss m who presented information on the advanced learning program due to some parent and more M questions um one inquiry was how the program information is made available to parents and families in addition to the letter being sent to fames in an email mad presented the information at back to school night for parents who attended the special session the second question was how the program is being implemented miss m discussed the AL program is being implemented as described in the program description and meets the state's requirements that districts identify and serve gifted and talented students using multiple measures of assessment which may include intelligence and aptitude tests and provide opportunities to participate in advanced learning outside of the general education curriculum all CES described in the program description have been G although the or have been changed so for example if they want of a particular um Cycles involved observing nature so they just switch be order in order for the kids to be able to go outside um there was concern that the program is not inclusive to all students because there was the use of aptitude assessments Dr mosia and Miss naap provided some background that this was a shareed concern at the time of the program's creation and that the district in an effort to be inclus inclusive while also meeting the state requirements designed that par learning to include sem which is our schoolwide inment model for all grades so the schoolwide enrichment model allows for extra enrichment Cycles Beyond students regular special classes um an example of that is fuse which is a stem program provided to fifth graders um the program description which is listed in the con report um lists the multiple measures used when assessing students for advanced learning program parents must give consent for their children to take the inw assessment um in the past they did try giving it to all students but students felt a lot of test anxiety about taking it and it was quickly discontinued so it was noted that if a student shows a strong interest and or talent in an area a teacher will often advocate for that student to join a particular Al cycle regardless of their performance on the EnV assessment the committee requested that racial demographics of students in a be shared withan Excellence the committee also discussed two course proposals zoology and animal behavior and a environmental science uh we did ask for more information about the type of labs students might experience in Zoology and this SAA followed up with possibilities including virtual dissections observations classifications of um different organisms the curriculum will be written over the summer and the committee Rec that both courses move forward in the approval process we also discussed the difference between regular or CP honors and honors distinction courses um some courses have honors options and some have honors distinction options and some have no opportunities for advanced learning so we kind of need to clarify why is that how that come to dat um unlike honors classes the honors distinction is a choice students in a heter geniusly grouped class meaning old levels they can make that choice to go deeper into the content and the standards during the third marking period the distinction was created to try and expand opportunities for advanced learning in courses that did not have honors sections it encourages students to dive deeper into content without committing to a full honors class which which may also promote participation in honors and AP classes in the future the distinction was negotiated as a sidebar with the HPA for teachers who wanted to commit to offering this option in the classes the creation of this kind of Distinction relies on staff buying interest skill and commitment um next we discussed the njsla district performance level summary reports uh we were provided test performance summary reports that included demographics the committee shared concerns about the numbers of students meeting expectations in ela and Math and how while the performance of grades May improve as a whole the disparities in performance for our students of color our students who receive free and reduced lunch students with IEPs and students that are enl or English as a new language remain quite large the committee asked for routine updates and student support and interventions during our meetings this meeting we were provided with an up on reading instruction in K through3 teachers at Irving and ble have received training and Foundations reading program and heg which is writing program M Rodriquez is working with teachers to strengthen the rest of the ELA block time using curriculum that the district already has and is using aadience nor assessment and progress monitoring tools which are aligned to New Jersey standards and provide teachers with useful Norm assessment data the committee was also briefed on the intervention efforts at Middle School intervention is at the middle school use re 180 and Math 180 which are two intervention programs um they are finding some resistance to uh intervention periods because students do have to miss um world language in order to attend staff is working to identify a needs of encouraging students to take the assessment seriously so that they get more accurate and useful data possible there was also some discussion that parents don't really believe that the scores that students get on these assessments are accurate because their kids just kind of aren't interested in taking them so they're really trying to brainstorm how to kind of motivate students to try to do well the committee encourag these Ras to suggest any other larger changes need to be made in order to address these gaps such as new curricula or intervention programs or even a change in the optional intervention class to be your required period all right now go to we also discussed um a need a perceived a request for the middle school for gting awareness training the committee asked for more information regarding um the need for that the new items on the curriculum and instruction agenda include the a environmental science course P reports HS 23241 A and B BS 23241 a oh I'm sorry and Bs 23242 a through G we also have the approval of an intern for counseling health and wellness and the U submission of our school self assessment for determining grades under the anti bu and of right act and I oh it's just okay all right um any questions yeah you saided you said that in the meeting you touched on some kind of like rights for the middle school but I didn't like hear no um was it towards the end of the report yeah oh there was a request for gain awareness training so they ask for more information than questions curricul instruction we're move on Excellence yes met on 16 and exciting uh upate on our advis pilot program that's occurring at the middle school and high school back to share that these uh response and advisory meetings are being facilitated by faculty members teachers and the counselor um they provide targeted a specific social and emotional lessons 18 times across across the school year at both the middle at high school these are 30 minute meetings um and they have Incorporated to the end of the school SCH both schools uh teachers uh who are participating in this supervisory uh program we the scope and sequence of lessons in the responsive advisory of guide book U prior to the school year and it chose um lessons for their grade levels making adjustments that's needed um based on the needs of the school that they identified and the age levels um teachers do follow a striped curriculum um and there's closely collaboration with un to that teachers not have to uh you require additional time outside of their contractual um service to implement this CRI but they are also again being mindful of the specific needs and tailoring and tailor the lessons to their needs of our students uh so Dr presented a outline of middle school and high school advisory groups on the highlights that were shared at Middle School advisory meetings are being offered to all three grades the sixth grade lessons are here towards setting goals communicating kindness and selfcontrol seventh grade lessons are focused on conflict resolution end on building an academic mindset ath grade lessons are focused on academic and building Future Leaders again all of these all areas were um developed through uh in conversation with faculty around concerns that uh there are 35 Staff members running and an advisory class each class has 10 to 11 students teachers work together at the beginning of the year to hand pick um each group um and the uh group assignments are intended to uh follow the students through their course um at the school uh the meeting formats includes well message announcements acknowledgements and the activity which is part of the um learning piece and reflection period um this the excited this new part of their scho definely forward to hearing an update on the implementation um in future meetings at the high school uh nth and 10th graders are um being offered advisories there are 12 freshman advisories and 11 sophomore advisories with 10 12 students in grou higho faculty are viewings as an opportunity to um discuss important issues help students become more invested in um doing their part to create a strong vibr healthy school Community meetings are designed to fac facilitate opportunities for students to be social um about their challenges and sharing with their fears um challenges and experiences and also creating a safe and open environment among students um similar format to middle school the high school they um cons of breing and have Shadow times for students who talk about their highs and lows and challenges and triumphs um there reflection period advisory um high school they apprach set questions or discussion topics to allow students to on their own experience and listen to the experiences of their peing activity uh which is a followup opportunity for students to connect with each other discussion The Faculty received four days of training responsive clro and collab last develop program um and their topics include expressing gratitude uh digital identity hope tolerance versus acceptance coll and collaboration um Juniors and seniors if you're wondering what they're doing time Juniors and seniors will be meeting with class advisors and School uh counselors in whole class or movings during the advisor times these meetings will incorporate lessons focus on our lessons focus on navigating and postgraduation planning for the themes of leadership and spirit of service couple of committee questions um were as follows how administrators assess the IMPACT program that administrator Administration is looking at uh discipline uh data attendance data um and looking for cor possible correlations in terms of the create more positive culture in school and ult proding to students to be Community um they also using postate surveys prior cult Sur we also talked about questions asked around whether students will be able to bring up issues or that Rise um in a given time during the school year in advisory theis opport discussion issues so we all excited about to hear about the advisories look forward to hearing more asold over the course of the year we also discussed or reviewed I should say and discussed our rise and uh uh rise data and our OSS or out school suspension data rise is our therapeutic program now that uh is implemented uh as an alternative to suspension where students areed part instruction as well as um restorative uh support uh the community restorative action data um seob reported that um they will be uh sharing out some more of this kind of Valu data in upcoming meetings we also talked about um what we noticed in terms of majority of dis incidents occurring in the Middle School um mostly generated at playground after school not necessarily during instructional time uh also looked at um fact the OS suspensions out School suspensions that Ur in Middle School are black Hispanic Latino and multiracial students so just looking at those racial disparities um and we discussed the potential indicated that some students SED for advisory or identified match teachers um to impact students posi way um we discussed also incorporating qualita into dep inms then we moved on to talking about uh professional development that's been offered around hisor responsive work in the district uh since the spring of 2023 up to now uh in the spring of 2023 T booster provided a training responsive classroom for special Area Teachers music art and k k teachers special this particular uh training and really focus on strategies that we need to um these special classes which are you know constantly changing in terms of the rotation stud teachers um there's a summer training uh by The International Institute for res practices ended by SCH staff um teacher trainings for teers also Prov on reler TRS also in summer uh we talked about uh just requesting some follow up on implementation of the professional development training and to havee time staff implementing advisory groups and administrators also do informal andal obervations and she will be sharing data with our committee and around ination ccle to you know um we also to having Administration joins in fut disc thank you also looking forward to having administrators join us future meeting to Q&A and discussion of the implementation uh and that that discussion we also looked at uh both Dr Prov a nice overview of the September policy alerts which I know uh Al also mentioned in crying overview the two policies that are for first read that looked at uh 116 education Children and Youth um and these are updates that uh were are required as first state mandate um and looked at most of these updates being more of language consolidation nothing too substantive in terms of flags issues that we felt were concern concerned we also looked at uh policy 5111 eligibility of Resident non-resident students um thank you so much very detailed report reports are getting better better competition you I want to thank our teachers for participating in advisory they don't don't have to this is like Beyond and it's really potentially really important for students um so appreciate the teacher I canest how great is we had ours on Friday um where we wrote thank you letters to the veterans um and let me just say it's so nice to kind of sit down a Pre project but it was also nice to be able to get toity it was really that we did have to rush because it was only half an hour but half hour was fast I do understand I don't know as anass I don't know if I would be talk for that long or listen for that long but in terms of a activity it was a I can also attest to to the Tyler Brewster um Workshop she did a circle with some of the students some students were selected um about is in school and stuff like that and it was really and I told Mr Rich was organiz it beol lot thinkware of being one of them and it was really nice able thank you um any question any other questions Excellence or no okay thank you so much um facilities I not as long as the last two but there were a lot this long long we had a long meeting as well um we met on 14th um drosa myself J and an and say my not uh and we covered many areas we got present a up from um on our daycare uh after school program we are currently have 235 students so um he's very happy with the enrollment um and pretty Staffing now he feels pretty comfortable he may still look for one more staff person to help aard um but we are um things are going along well he commented that the um man scientist program came in during release days that was well received with other things like that he's looking to um start some mini camps um in January once students can be outside playing as often so we's got an idea of bringing in one hour you know crafts sports that kind of thing for students would be no extra charge for our families so I thought that was really great um and he's still exploring certification options um the new Rags are coming out in January so it doesn't really want to do anything right now that would then have to be reach out in January um it looks like we would need one thing order to be certified at least uh as the current GRS is that we might need an additional part-time supervisor somebody that's based on way somebody that would be between Colin and the site managers so he's trying to hold off on that as long as he can we'll see what happens with these RS that January so things are going well there this perspective uh johnan and Mr Ros commented that um progresses with modul classrooms we're still making progress but now where they appear to be set up we have Plumbing electricity the movement should be after Thanksgiving so it's been a very long process and we thank everybody keeps working on it it's it's happening I think theature is in there close to being and decid after Thanksgiving so suggested toos that we definitely take a field trip out there see um uh as far as our preschool expansion Finance was the next item on our agenda um and I'll combine that with meeting that we went to Mayor and um was before our finance meeting um it was a whole group of people was the architect architect from 1102 our B lawyer the's lawyer M Terry it was a round table of all of us um the bottom line that we learned was that 112 RAR is not yet in a Redevelopment track we were under the impression that it was and they bu the owner of the property needs it to be in order for it to be I guess financially feasible engaging in this P3 um in order for that property to be in the Redevelopment track it's a whole process which will take over six months time to get there the whole Council study and you know all those other things that happen through development so um that's not looking like a reasonable option for us at this point um there was the other issue that um it appears that the burrow would continue to in a sense own that property that we can't as a school system engage in a 30-year lease and would be the world un at the end theoretically they' turn it over to us but there's um what uh what's anris I've been finding out is that they just there's a lot just a lot of information I also put it every time I I sat that today give you another refresher because I'm strugg this um there's just so many pieces and um uh there was the issue we had fin facility we talked about state grants one just came out the grant was g money was given to certain districts to work on facilities but they and what we learned is that Linda did look into that Grant when it was when we could have applied but you need to have we need to have enough money to put in our fair share whether that fair share would be of our project it would be substantial the kind of money we have around so it didn't that Grant we couldn't do there's potentially another state grant for facilities coming up not been formally announced yet in order to do that I'm saying this right um we would am I right that yes where we need our long range plan updated right yes no that's wrong one okay the other part of this is that um still need our local share we still need our local fair share for the next Grant so that would depend on how large a project we were into at that moment what would be our share of get there um the other thing that we've learned is that in order to get that service Aid which is um some districts appear to be de into help with these facilities projects we need to have um unhoused students as the term they're using in order for us to show on how students we need to have a long range facility plan updated because we didn't have preschool with our long range plan um so that would be another step we would need to take in order to then potentially be eligible for Debt Service a in the state um so one possibility and prek can't be on house onh house students can't be preschool because that's on mandated program stud um so one thought that um it's floating out here is that um if we moved with chain our idea moved prek to Irving and moved first graders to ble the first graders would be then unhoused in that in that theoretical model and which might make us eligible for this de service in order to determine if that's possibility we need to get the architect back in to looking to see because it can't be new building it can't be an addon right it has to be renovation of building so can be renovated to accommodate more of our preschool um and then we'd have to still do a referendum to get our first graders Tom borrow anyway the bottom line This is that there is a lot of Ming Parts as keep saying um and so we definitely need to slow know fund facilities definitely felt we need to slow down our decision making process to sort all this stuff out um so that ultimately we make the best decision for the school and the community and our finances and so that's where that's where um that's where we are on on um preschool it's go back to GA information and figuring out what works next what works best next um other topics that we covered uh the need for an health insurance broker um Denise discover that we can actually have the health insance progam for the district and we need someone to submit proposals on our behalf to see if we can do better on our insurance premiums so um chief of ADP we got six candidates two of them the two finalists were interviewed um also just last week um Keith and myself were there as as well as Kim from benefits and Denise Christina we'll interview and a recommendation will come to the board December to um select one of these uh service providers for insurance who can get us quotes and hopefully see whether we can get a better price on um our health insurance which obviously a big part of our our budget um and there's potentially possibility state aid coming in the future on on um for health health care and we're going to keep an eye on on that County um other topics baseball field donation we the athletic boosters got $446,000 to renovate the baseball fields and there's been negotiations communication to get that project uh ready to um to undertake um name vendors and tur and all that important that's so moving along there might be some some of this might be available who might come to us December in terms of vendors and so for other topics budget calendar we are starting the budget for uh 20 23 24 um so you have your calendar in the in the minutes on this agenda and that will um really commence it has already commenced in terms of within the district for administrators um and in January we'll be looking at the stamping impact and question of power ratios ratio of staff uh certificate staff professionals know which is imp the budget um and then that process will move forward um preliminary will be presented in beginning of April um right that's the first time it comes to board okay we had a conversation about grants and funding opportunities um that we excuse me um we didn't apply for the high impact two Grant there been some questions about that and it was explained that um when we receive grant money as in the Esra money that weed it really is important that we use it all um and we have the grant quite a bit of money over the last couple years that we are busy um accounting for and spending and so at that point there was enough money in our current grant money to put in tutoring and that's what we've done rather to go out for additional grant money um but we certainly going to keep our eye out as it's um as um and gr up to um determine money spending the money that we have and going forward the grants that become available um report on Broad grants that are moving along those are grants that we did apply for two out of three were branded and those are moving along um and facilities in the district last piece was um policy um two policies for that um being abolished related to uh School nutrition and Food Services because there is a new policy that is here for firsty um I'm sure you read the all it's like 15 pages long so test uh pretty much just really laying out how our food service has to run and hopefully that's how it is running um and just on on the notes I actually need make it to to the end of the meeting and thank you to Jen for being so thorough we actually have just information 638 students that qualified for freeing reduced lunch um which is actually 39% of our population pretty substantial number and six additional because that says the qualifications change so we are we a high number of students have beening from our lunch lunch program so that is the finance facilities report um and on the agenda see things new um the bill list for November 1st to November 15th the amount of $97,200 on mostly for special education evaluations occup uh educational evaluations occupational therapy um opening up the possibility of using a different healthc care Staffing for for nurses and other um professionals that we might need Mar special education um through the municipal lines there's a couple of professional development and one for parents that are um I believe related to um druge drug use prevention um the hidden and pl site is one for parents that is that is paid for R the municipal Alliance um done by the Center for Family Services we have a translator for Arabic on our agenda uh to to add that service under bedside instruction we have additional student who needs to attend R's Behavioral Health theide instruction um and then we have a few changes to the grant uh to our o a change to our Ida basic Grant amount is a change here you can look at the numbers uh there's a resolution to accept there preliminary report of the treasurer for school monies as of September 30th and other board secretary reports that we are as to inove um that's 15 16 also um certifications for our board secretary there's some budget transfers number 17 um we are voting on The submission of pre kindergarten projected enrollment for 2425 um and I actually asked for those numbers were they're not here and so we are projecting 90 students in our pre kindergarten um 2425 thirdy oldy old and students and the last new item um is acceptance of um renewal of our the company that does our website of Messenger Service any questions question sure I think the issue before putting preschool CLS in there was that squ footage we also preschoolers can't be on the third floor of the Tower and so exploring that like essentially be breaking down Halls right looking to use what I at all that's possible looking to use interior space you have more information yeah so it would definitely be about a lot of significant Renovations also come to additional cost because they we have to have temporary housing somewhere so like four classrooms we could put out the modular classrooms like four first grade classes but we still have two more plus special ed classes that we have to find um some temporary housing for during that significant construction if it was possible it's really an idea to explore you know back to that idea because you can't build up you can't build out I don't know that will work but see expse moving on personel you're up all right excuse me I'm hearing all kind of got news about the audio so um I'll try to speak loud we try to do like available mock up to you have a point member be not present and some of us try to talk I wonder some of the microphones are worse than others I'm hearing something yeah so we need yeah new mics maybe I hear your working very well Christina not so well yeah I don't know how it sounds yeah okay thanks we are hoping it's possible to move aori sometimey sound system something that's being explored yeah all right um so I we had our last meeting on November 1 and I pointed out on that the last board meeting sorry that was our last Personnel meeting is on November 1st I reported on that our next meeting was to be November 27th to delay that until early December maybe noce November 27 meeting person personel oh because we're going to do it on the 29 oh wait why they come we'll follow okay awesome so we a cou um let me move on to the Bold text which indicates things discussed yet in public number three we have two new hires welcome to Miss Diaz and Mr sness uh number seven we have two volunteers who will be advising a high school Jewish St Union uh thank you to those volunteers that's great to hear I heard about that from a child excited about number 14 approval professional development there are two additional staff members at the bottom of the table oh sorry one additional staff member listed twice M Claremont um be doing PD on several items see number 18 after school PR St um I see it's approval of approval of an approval of a job description or just the approval of the possibility of hiring the site assistant no that's what the St that work with students that's what they're so what it mean to say that they're approving oh I see I I'm sorry I was reading the table correctly Goa my B I think just left out uh another title this per taking on title she's also Sy sorry we talk about um my apologies and arel will also be working as a site assistant we uh if we vote Yes on this proposal I number 20 approval of a che chaperon change for men uh number 21 approval of a translator for Arabic number 22 child care for family literacy night number 23 approval of payments for staff who attend family literacy night 24 a sidebar uh regarding compensation of nurses on field trips number 25 requesting approval of title one after school paper tutoring staff would you remind me understand what papering means sorry virtual the virtual service yes [Applause] it stud a little classroom or dos just got a little PE in the bottom right corner and if you click on that it'll BR to Paper website and you can request at any time can so much that's great I remember we were planning to do that I was called paper um think we are okay number 25 was people staff for the program 26 approval of title three after school ESL enrichment program staff that's good to know that we're doing that number 27 approval of title one after school enrichment program staff 28 staff one tutoring program in barle number 29 approval a staff for B's high impact tutoring program and there's a read in on this item rather than high impact toring running two times per week it will be running three times per week so uh I the Board of Education accept your recommendation superintendent to approve the following staff for B's high impact toring program at B school to run three times a we December 12 2023 through May 9th 2024 Etc this starts November 30 oh there's another change it starts on November 30th rather than November 29th thank you so much and number 30 approval of mainten over time uh to take care of various repairs and that's all I have questions yeah I have question sorry um so for the papering understanding that it's like online so what would the after school program it just additional tutoring by course or is it help with theing I was wondering about that too yeah um I talked to B today it's teor students um so um I've got policies there's not a meeting however on the meeting since last however um there are three additional policies on the list that we at weeks ago um it was for the uh non-resident students eligibility of res nonr students education of homeless children and youths and Food Services those are all PR first so and now we to the of Education welc public participation Ander your com policy4 participate in public meetings this is our minutes of anybody that um would like to comment we have nobody in the room tonight at this point so Abby you're first hand um so thank you to email the AUD one second one second the audio is only coming out my computer not this it's coming off it's only coming out of my computer not the speakers yeah yeah we can hear what just you're okay it's fine okay then please continue sorry no no problem thank you um I was actually just saying I sent an email um during the meeting about the audio and thank you for um addressing it I'll just reiterate that meeting after meeting it has been an issue and I you know it's a matter of moving or doing something to truly make it a hybrid meeting it really hasn't been uh fully at this point for a while um couple other comments I wanted to make um uh it was really good to hear the update about the after and um I want to say that um Colin and um Carla at Irving have been extremely helpful responsive and um she also mentioned Kaitlyn PW um have been great um I I do think that while Staffing is comfortable as you said um I'm wondering if um maybe there's a possibility of more volunteers um and uh sorry I'm just distracted by um also I wanted to comment so there's a few things I have com stff so the modular um and kindergarten classes moving um I I understand why need see a push back and I know how hard everyone is working on it but I just think it's really important that at least the board understands that um there's still a class an entire Kindergarten class that doesn't have a classroom and is from what I understand um in the media center and not a true classroom which I'm sure the teachers can go totally fine but that also means that the rest of the classes don't have access to the media and I just really hope that Um this can be really prioritized and this is not an insignificant amount of time also the kids have been um told that they're going to those classes the teachers are again doing a great job at keeping the kids come and and not worried about it but you know as as families we're not really getting um the ability to where this just keeps getting pushed back and back and it is really difficult for the kids to not know when they're moving and what's really going on with this so I I don't know at this point what's holding it up but anything that can be done to expedite it and not just say oh it's just another leek it's just another like every day every week they're not able to go to the media center they're not able to have that special they haven't had it all year um so I just wanted to emphasize that um another thing so I have a few things that I wanted to bring up um another thing I didn't get to see what you guys are approving with the Food Services policy I had reached out to the Food Services director and got some really helpful information um I had I spoke with a lot of families who had some concerns about the variety of food being offered um there was helpful information given back about the the nutrition and and that we're following all the standards but I still think there's a really big lack of variety and while each individual meal might meet the nutritious guidelines having a variety is important I see the exact same meals week after week and I would ask that that be explored uh further as well um I don't know if I have more time I 17 seconds I iitk Ling to my unfilter replies thank you app com um any other speakers [Music] to ask question about something okay wait all right so we're going to do our board action items and then we'll come back to public comment so 'll be back up uh so curriculum and instruction yes I'd like to move it second second Mr B yes m c yes Dr colan yes Miss gow yes Miss Bruce yes Mr Ros levich yes Miss bman yes Miss Mor yes okay I have um Finance facilities I um make a motion that we move items one through through 18 Mr B yes M Cal yes Dr Coleman yes Miss gow yes M Cru yes Mr R yes Miss bman yes Miss Bor yes and Personnel communication yes thanks I'd like to move numbers 1 through 30 with 20 n amended as we discuss second Mr B yes Miss Cal yes Dr Coleman yes Miss G yes Miss pce yes Mr revich yes Miss Gman yes Miss B yes and the last one is policies and regulations and I move that we accept um policies for person reading a through L and second reading um a Mr B yes Miss Calon yes Dr Coleman yes Miss G yes Miss Bruce yes Mr R yes Miss vman yes Miss V yes okay move right along here uh L on reports anybody have anything they want to share on these uh organizations was to I asked I asked for email if there was anything to else that didn't rece um president report um I don't have anything either because I my talking tonight um uh old business doing this by proced I yeah thanks that sounds good I gu just wanted to inquire about the uh kindergarten situation do we have an extra kindergarten class this year I didn't realiz we're waiting on the moders to fit existing students yes so we have one class that is in the it's half the media center so I my understanding is that um the students are still getting media this the graph mobile unit so they aren't going in into the bu into the room but they are stilling Media Services um and this the graph is just doing it as a mobile um push in model uh for for media um yeah it's unfortunate that the PS p Electric we have electric meeting on the final tie for fire alarms and final cosos and pling and all that yeah so just some final details um we're moving as fast as everybody else move to get us um I I know John fenan has been on this as his main priority and has been call after call after call trying to pull every strength possible to get this going really quickly but unfortunately it's completely out of our control and the confs that we're told yes within two weeks and then that doesn't happen and yes but you know so we're it's a balance because we're trying to share and say hey yes okay we're exitting we here two weeks and then it doesn't happen and then we have to put out another update so part of it's like we don't put it out no one's expecting it but people want communication so it it really has been really challenging um but once they're up running there are for two years so we'll be smooth sailing after that I I have no doubt that we working as fast as possible and I think those of us who had repairs done on our home you know are familiar with how how how slow this is and how their promises made um that wind up not being realistic I think my question was more about why do we not have enough rooms for our current ping classes because we opened up the preschool classes because preschool started October 1st oh oh I see those are all open and running out preschool up last to share get going of it so we had preschool in and up and running so we need find space for all students we thought we'd be up and running with the moners but question is so share the frustration of parents appreciate the flexibility has students are getting educated just not yet um any other old business I don't know if this is old because I was planning to bring it up under and now it's up tonight already but I did want to ask about the potential move of these meetings to the high school auditorium you know a while it seemed like that was possible even for this meeting so well we can't because right now it's already reserved for the um the High School drama club um I went P today and they were full on still practicing up till almost 6 o' I know to get done the set looks beautiful um so what we have to do is we have to go in and fill out a facil use and then I guess of a superintendent order we can Trump everybody kick anybody who has on our Mondays kick them out of the facility and take it but we have to go and do that plus I want to make sure the tech department is available to run through some trial ones before we moved it over there so the problem moving forward if we decide to move it over there the audio is better um we just have to conf figure the setup and all of that over there um and then figure out how to relocate the other people that are using it during the times in which we want it so there are some conflicts um so maybe something that we do next year and then just let the other people know that those are dates that are already conflicted so it's it's a balance your calendar year is January to December the board calendar year but schools start in the summer to reserve stuff for the full year so it's a balance that we probably have to look at if you wanted to do it for next year um or if there's availability which we try to Pilot it or something like that so it's something that's on our radar we just have to get in there to set it up and try it out but right now it's occupied by what I expect to be a wonderful presentation of POS so like an I would also like to volunteer to come in early one night if there's anything we can do maybe if we don't have if we're not meeting before the board meeting come in at 6:30 and just test it I was just going to say me lot we were just talking about how as simple as a few mic yes you think we would have this out by now I hear the frustration from the public and I get it know so my microphone was working and I was taking yeah I don't understand any other old business or new business okay we're going to move to public comment and once again we welcome your public participation and this is the time for your comments this is an unlimited time um so um AB your hands up Jo us hi thank you for letting me speak again um sorry when I was talking earlier I was a little just distracted by what was going on on the screen so I didn't get to articulate myself um when I was staming this after care um what I'm saying is um I understand that there are on the agenda there are volunteers who are able to come from rors for the school day perhaps that can be looked at for after care as well um I know that's something that you also approve um and again Colin has been great and very responsive and I'll definitely reach out to him but I wanted to mention that um here I know you said that the Staffing is sufficient but um you know efficient and good for the kids are you know two different things and there are creative ways to find uh more things you know staff are working extremely hard but often are just kind of trying to stay on top of things versus down there playing with the kids you know interacting with them no fault of their own absolutely they're doing an amazing job but um you know more bodies for these little kids is is always helpful um I I just wanted to again I'm just collecting my thoughts again but I just wanted to also remind you that in terms of uh the library situation the library in town is also closed again I never trying to put fa on on people here and I understand everyone's working as fast as they can but I think coordination with the town is really critical um I I don't know that I I don't know what's going on behind the scenes but when the certificate of occupancy was needed I I hope and I I don't know if this is the case I hope they were there the day that that was possible um I hope that the fire inspectors were there the day that that was possible I don't know that okay I see you Val so I'm happy to hear that's the case um I know you guys are working very hard on this but it does have a big impact on kids and yes this will be all set for the next couple years but again every cohor of kids has this effect and and there is a copor that's being affected by this and couldn't go to the library for years because of uh Co and now the library of town is closed and now the AR isn't experienc you know checking out books and and that whole thing so of course as families we're trying to supplement that and do what we can but some families don't don't have that opportunity so I just wanted to make sure that um the board and everyone understood that um doesn't mean that you know can move faster but she just wanted to get that context um the other thing the last thing I wanted to comment on um is just as a as a community member and you know through to be honest texting and chatting with other community members who are who are listening I'm absolutely shocked to hear that the P3 is not an option and this was explored for months and it wasn't even an option really to begin with um I have not quite understood understanding why it's still not an option because my understanding is Redevelopment is a process that you know while it takes six months if if that's the best option maybe that should still be on the table I don't know what other um what other reasons I I was having trouble hearing but what the other reasons were that that's no longer on the table but if it needs to be made an area of Redevelopment I know that that's we all know that's done in this town and if that's the best long-term solution I would hope that um you know we look into truly the best solution even if it takes a little longer and not rushing to uh get to just a solution but really uh the best solution um you know I'm a big uh proponent for the best prek program and I know we all want it to happen as soon as possible as do I wishing that but it's a balance between those things so um I'm just I'm really surprised to to hear that now we're saying it's not even an option that was one of the two things that was presented um and when it was brought up previously that perhaps first grade could be moved to Irving and prek could or first grade could be moved to bar and prek could be in Irving we were told no that's not an option now it is an option so um I'm sure everybody you know is not I I appreciate that I just I really hope that things can go a little smoother from here on out and that these options can be truly explored instead of just kind of you know uh put forward and and try to get things um passed before the truly explore thank you thank you any other commenters seeing none I move that we the evening yeah move that we the evening Happy Thanksgiving Happy Thanksgiving everyone thank you