good evening everyone adequate notes of this meeting was provided by sending such noes to as mtown patch website and the posting of such notes at the T minor administrative services and Elementary mid Secondary School in the district Mrs Mrs here Mr Mrs Mr here Mrs here a motion for exec session to discuss matters of hi MSDS superintendance contracts special litigation and personel all in [Music] favor see you h good evening everyone please stand uned States indisce for everyone tonight with high school nor student speaker aier [Music] better write one meeting other the pr student and staff member of the month program celebrates Excellence serves as our school communi Foundation the award wi October include Richard fler Torres for nth grade Jia Ryan hman 10th John D Justin Fon 11 CH Fus Emily D our staff member was Miss B student government election determined this year's leadership team with help this highest participation High School history exting High competive process Miller president his vice president I eight of high school nor outstanding prot accepted to all show course [Music] are Gonzalez Oliver [Music] four our exceptional student a signed NCAA National letters of intent National letters of intent to compete last week during High School of nor ceremonial signing EV they are Prest Jacksonville University division one lacrosse Anthony asiro to Alia University division 3 wrest Clair State University baseb Alexandra C Al University division three softball Senor BR earned the D Ting honor recognizing contribution ofunity wience high school student government has honored a Middle Town resident or graduate of our school has is currently serving America's Armed Forces each day throughout the month of November pictures of these individuals are displayed in our salute service la which is located near our main our Mar un delates participating in the conference at Clon University this past weekend these individuals sered on various leadership communes International fa peace security let Go's homecoming gu was held on Thursday 16th feel grateful to our parents Community for assisting the decorations particularly in the courtyard illuminated and L aome It's a Wonderful live a live radio play our fall play it's a Monumental success the performance was amazing St kicked off polies and allar high school event was tonight and it featured celebration of program as well as our band wire and dance Six Original projects from our talented filmmakers were selected screen at the North Saturday de food store has been selling new report for months name ceremonial reopening and ribon High School North's 8th grade open housee which will include informational presentations campus TS scheduled for Tuesday November 28 6 thank you thank you now G move to High School South at Jake bouni Jake can stay there great to see all you tonight Sports season has reached conclusion for most sports and it was an extremely successful season for all our SP the girls cross country te won Central jersey3 championship and followed that up with an impressive second place finish lead of champion senior Rosie Shay led the way with third place overall Fen state the girl gymnastics finished second at the short conference second at the Central Jersey championships and fourth overall state championship senior Emma Geno won both the short Conference Championship and overall state championship of both the girls soccer team Beed Howell to win their first short Conference Championship school history the girls volleyball team won the first ever short Conference tournament and state tournament matches finishing their season record of 14 and7 the boys soccer field hockey boys cross country and girls tennis all had successful season funds and short conference State the the winter season began for most sports today with scages and G being held the first week in December mown South Eagles Hall of Fame over six inductions on the last weekend in October 10 former South athletes and coaches and threee teams were inducted in a two-part ceremony over 180 people in attendance at Saturday brunch event tickets for the upcoming Thanksgiving F game are underway should be a great day of tradition Middletown South's homecoming bonfire was held tonight and it featured an open mic three hot chocolate games two bands and alumni were encouraged to attend at the next meeting I will have more South students continue to help the community holding a competition classes with the most donations will be awarded of breakfast for the generosity all donations will be given to Middletown he Middletown South presented the Revenge of the Stace P by David man last weekend and as always it was well attended great work to Mr kak and his students for their amazing South's diversity Club is beginning its second annual students and teachers can be we all look forward to spreading kindness this year last Wednesday sou held its National letter or intent signing division one universities nine of our student athletes continue academic and athletic careers at the collegate level s too West Virginia soccer hamon Zac South Carolina socer Rosie sh track field owenia citn Brown rugby heso UAV baseball and Mason CH hallas the Middletown High School South Spectrum gender and sexuality Alliance participated in transgender awareness gr students were encouraged to attend a club meeting and seek out resources to Foster morning congratulations to Mia Joe dearco Shan O Grady and Mar Collins her film Panic was selected to be screened at this year's MCD Film Festival osc Russ December 22nd December 23 this will be the second International in the F the past seven months I hope all of you have a safe thank okay moving on to our committee reports we'll start with curriculum and instruction Mrs we met last night andlight everybody abil out to the parents of secondth grad and we definitely encourage everyone Haven already to take a look at those score reports and go online check out some of the resources there's a lot of good stuff on there um regarding how to interpret those scores and also just resources to help you know your children based on out um another thing that talked about that super exciting hopefully will get off the ground in the coming probably next school year is continuing with um lessons in find and Performing Arts in the middle school so right now um students only get lessons in four and hisory and then in Middle School those lessons will continue and there's some you know thought that that could be a reason for some of the drop off that we see in arts and arts very important in the district so something want to definitely encourage continued participation in um so that's something we're looking into I said hopefully for next year that we're excited about and I think that's it very thank you moving on to Student Services Mr yes thank you we we met on November 16th as well um discussed a number of topics I'll also hit some highlights for everybody first uh as you might recall the last several months we've been our district has been subject to a couple different state of New Jersey audit programs one is the additional or compensatory special education related Services Grant audit and the other is a an audit of our transition program program for 18 to 21 um please to report that both of those have been completed and we we've uh succeeded in passed with applying colors on both of those that's good um also I'm on behalf of our committee and I I probably speak a big thank you to a teacher at South who donated a whole lot of furniture to our transition program so it's furniture that can be put to use um in you know a simulated living environment a home a workplace and students can use that as they make their transition from school to the real world through our program so that's a big thing out um keep your eyes open in January superintend phone will be hosting a special at parent Forum um some of the logistics and topics and participation approaches are being worked out now but it's going to be a nice opportunity to share feedback with superintendent about parents experiences good and the bad so we can you know develop and and move move forward the right direction but keep your eyes open for that there'll be more information in the next um month or that'll be taking place probably in late January um and then a couple things that we're getting the ball rolling on that I'm excited about one is um looking into better opportunities for special ed support within the world language classes that's typically not something that special support is is provided as just you know rules and regulations in that area but um the administration is looking in today to um you know work with class sizes and other opportunities to facilitate some special ed um for including inclass uh consultative model support within the world program and then last um something and you know thank you to the mid toown friendly diverse Learners group very helpful um this topic we talked about expanding opportunities for social engagement extracurricular opportunities for specializ students it's obviously a large portion of our district and so we're going to you know I don't have all the answers yet and what the outcomes but we're going to look into a number of ways to try to um expand and provide some structure around and better notice for those kinds of opportunities for specializ students thank you Mr on to faciliated finance Mrs D do my best I apologize for my voice discuss some agenda items from the agenda this evening one of them is a change H contract work was done we are increasing am contct $34,000 to install some detectors in the we also continue to discuss the high school tural [Music] and contracts soon we also talked about the progress our ising with our master plan assessment project they working on they're going through all the buildings here district and put together update our list of improvements foress kind we also talked about Finance settlement agreement on the agenda last month listing again this month Transportation girls joter and Athletics the good news about the we also went over in committee on the agenda tonight will cprs for Q and Comm so also the agenda we also preliminary information 2425 budget which we continue working onch and some of proes expenses very early on process there's a lot of things that change a lot SC but everybody we have working on that also the up on p m property and the fact that county is a consultant assess it so see thank you moving on to policy m per good evening everyone we had two policy meetings since our October 17th board meeting at the October 19th policy meeting related policies were examined as a result of recent requests to allow hom school students to participate in athletics and co-curricular activities in the Middletown CC Public School System the meeting included District administrators board members and parents during the meeting it was discovered that the request for participation was not only for traditional hom school students but for students enrolled in a virtual accredited school program and students enrolled in tuition-based private schools as well there were policy committee members that needed to leave before the 2.5h hour meeting ended therefore no consensus was reached this topic was also discussed at the November board meeting so we had I mean a November policy meeting we had another policy meeting on November 17th a number of policies and regulations were discussed first reads of the policies and adoptions from the meeting will be on the December agenda two items from the November 19th meeting are on tonight's agenda regulation 5200 attendance is on the agenda tonight for adoption and policy 5230 late arrival and early dismissal is on the agenda for first could you explain what the differences in the attendance yes so in the past policy states that we do not accept doctor's notes from parents right right away we are looking to um allow parents to hand in doctor's notes for illnesses for three or more days consecutive days for chronic illness so this gets past the opportunity to not wait until their child is at a lost credit to give the notes if it's a chronic ongoing abs for more than three days takes a lot of time it does any anxiety that some of the students were feeling we had students that were anxious about you know waiting for possibly losing credit to have to talk to Administration about those absences so this gives parents the opportunity to have those conversations a little bit okay moving on to public comment on agender items only anyone like to make a comment on AG gender items please step forward name and address hi my name is GRE I live at 10 B Court I want to thank the board for making its decision while the policy committee says it could it come to a consensus I think by now we have all learned how it all works there's four members in the policy committee so if the policy committee couldn't come to a consensus it means two were willing to move forward to figure out a way to give homeschoolers access and the other to were not and as your lawyer told us a couple months ago when a committee cannot come to a consensus because dies and goes away so while it's not the decision we had hoped for we're honestly just grateful that a decision has been made and I hope that in the future when a family Middletown comes before you to ask of something for their children that the administration and the board of can come to its decision Vision much much sooner than seven months aside from that I just want to thank specifically Joe Barry Deborah and Gary because there was one moment through this whole journey that meant the most to my family night and that is the night that our boys the adjustin people were to speak before you now I know the root of their passion for this cuse I know that they wanted as home schoolers in Middletown to have the decision for themselves to decide if they could try out for sport team or join a school club just as their homeschooled friends and birth can do and just as many homeschoolers and other communities throughout our state do I also know how nervous they were that night when we came before you to speak and it can be quite intimidating coming here and standing up for what you believe in as an adult before an 11-year-old child to do it it's quite remarkable and commendable and that night that my children spoke after the meeting meeting ended Joe Harry Deborah and Gary walked up to my boys looked at them in their eyes and told them you did amazing that was a great job you were so brave you were so confident and that meant so much to my family and night and I just want to thank the four of you for showing my voice how much they accomplished that night and I want to thank you for making your words a part of their memory of that so thank you guys so [Music] much Middletown High School South made the number eight best public school in sports for New Jersey big ACC has tremendous [Music] accomplishment congratulations also to the following Middletown Elementary schools for earning the best elementary school distinction by US News and World reports for 20124 linkt Village Navin nuton and Raza lastly one more congratulations to Thompson middle school for earing the best middle school by us new and Ro report for 2024 congratulations I have to say just wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and those who celebrate very happy we now mov on to the superintendent report this is Al thank you Mr welcome everyone um there are a couple topics that I want to cover this evening um the first has to do um with some information that has been been being talked about in the community regarding censorship and other um resources and materials that are used in our curriculum and I think in order to start with I just want to make it clear to the community that there is by no means any censorship of topics um occurring in our curriculum we are required by code and by the New Jersey student learning standards to cover certain content um and we don't have a choice on that um more importantly we believe in educating students on historical and cultural events so I just want to make sure that I said that um because I think there has been some disconnect with some of the conversation that is happening in the community um I think it's also important for the public to understand how a resource or a material comes to be encumbered into our curriculum we don't do this in a vacuum I or any other administrator doesn't write a curriculum we are actually consult on it we we um convene teams of Educators that are our teaching staff members um that are familiar with the content and have experience with curriculum writing and they take suggestions on content write the curriculum and vet that content it then goes through multiple reads with our administrative team it passes into our curriculum committee of the board where we review it even again um and have conversations surrounding the content and also the materials and resources and then it comes before the board for a vote to be an approved form of curriculum with all its materials and resources included um so when something wants to be encumbered as a new resource it would need to go through a similar betting process that is just responsible curriculum writing as a process so when we talk about things being included or excluded there is a process behind that so I just wanted to make sure the community understood how something comes to be in our curriculum documents um you know it's become a little trickier over time because the internet and and immediate access has really broadened what we have at our fingertips on a regular basis but by no means do we feel responsible in letting our students or our teachers have unfettered access to content and resources unlimitedly um that would be irresponsible on our part so we never dissuade a teacher from bringing forth a resource that they feel is valuable and worthy and they certainly do have to use their lesson planning mechanisms or consult with their content director or administrator in their building to ensure that it's being vetted in a similar way that we do with those other materials so I think it's really important to understand those pieces um the final thing I want to talk about is brain pop because that's been kind of the big digital app that's been in question BrainPOP has put some filters on their content this is by no means something that we decided to do um in the sense of tagging certain items as sensitive versus not that was something that was done by um that digital tool that we purchase as a district however again we do not allow based on our curriculum writing process unfettered access to any video that's in within that digital tool if you look at our curriculum documents you will see very specific brain poop videos in that document which demonstrates that those videos it's a whole host of them have all been placed through that vetting process and then appear on our curriculum um as things that have been vetted and approved so um what we don't want to have is a student to stumble upon a video um because they can log in through clever which is our single sign on feature and have access to something that they may need more explanation on and we would also want it to be couched in a larger framework of the context for instruction so I felt it really important for the community to understand the bigger picture when it comes to selection of materials and how they appear and become approved in our curriculum so the brain top request by teachers to use videos that aren't already there is not an unusual ual thing because we bet all of our materials sensitive or not in the same exact way so that's the first thing I want to talk about I have a couple of topics that I want to um continue with so the next thing um I want to talk about is the hiring of a new business teacher at High School South um some of you may or may not be aware we have been trying um to hire a business teacher which is a very very difficult certification to come by um especially with the significant teacher shortages that we are having um our candidate pools across the state aren't just what they used to be um however um you know this was due to a resignation of one of our business teachers at High School South to start the school year so what we chose to do um is we employed an ESS substitute who actually happened to have a business certification um and what they had was something called a comprehensive business CT and what this allows that individual to teach is our dual enrollment courses which are College college credit bearing courses for the students in that that that classroom without having that comprehensive business certification we cannot partner with the universities and award that college credit to those students so um we have a teacher um who has done an outstanding job as an ESS Subs and has been working with our students since September um we've received nothing but positive feedback from administrators and colleagues within the department um this individual also applied for one of our full-time positions went through the interview process and will be appearing on the agenda tonight um for potential hiring um we are confident based on this Educator's performance with us in the three months that he has been here that um it is the right decision for our students because without an individual with that comprehensive business certification we would not be able to continue with the awarding of that college credit um I know that there's been some dialogue in the community about this individual's previous employment and I just want to remind the community that there are two sides to every story um unfortunately situations can take on a life of their own in regards to misinformation being spread but please know I am making this recommendation based on this Educator's classroom teaching capabilities only and proven track records in our classroom since September I'm confident that this individual will continue to uphold the standard of Excellence that we require in all of our schools like he has since the day he came in September so thank you for listening to that long longwinded response um I do want to talk about the home school um and I just want to um form the school community that as as Belinda Lindy came up and um you know spoke about that we will not be moving forward with any amendments or changes to the district's home school policy at this time and I just want everyone to know this was definitely not a decision that we took lightly and there was much discussion lots of debate a variety of opinion of opinions among all of the stakeholders most recently the policy committee that just met last week um and while there was not consensus among the board policy committee members the administrative team believes that co-curricular and extracurricular activity participation is part of really the larger student experience within the district and for a variety of reasons parents of homeschool students have made the choice to not participate in the public school experience um which we believe is incluses of co-curricular and extracurricular offerings also important to this decision um as katri reported out is the fact that the definition of what constitutes a homeschool situation has greatly changed and expanded over the last several years to encumber a wide range of options from traditional homeschooling to Virtual and poot experiences not to mention the private school sector because of this expansion it truly does become a significant challenge to manage and monitor things like student eligibility residency and attendance so so um you know certainly again not a decision that we took lightly um finally we are undergoing our district performance review through the qac process this is a state and county level process where we are audited on five different areas of school functioning it's not how well we do things it's do we have processes and structured in place in these five areas um instruction and programming fiscal um governance personnel and operations so tonight what is on the agenda for approval is our self-scoring we are required to selfscore and submit every year um this is also our formal qack year which we do um an audit with the county where they come on site and we provide evidence to support all those self scorings and that will take place in May so finally I just want to um inform the community that my next Community update will be on November 1st because the 30th is a Friday and that's just a strange day or sorry December 1st because that's kind of a strange day to do things I like to send things on a Friday um so please look for it on December 1st and I just want to wish the entire School Community a Happy Thanksgiving if you can get out come to the north south game um I'm sure it's going to be um an exciting and fun event for everyone um and we will see you all um after the law weekend so thank you thank you m okay I need a motion to approve 8 and minutes executive session minutes October 17 2023 discussion all in favor I I oppose extensions I need a roll call vote motion on nine Board of Education approval of employment agreement for a superintendent of schools [Music] discussion yes Mrs yes Mr F yes Mr he yes Mrs Min no Mr yes Mrs R yes Mrs tobacco yes Mr yes and congratulations this once again moving on to motion to approve N9 B through D discussion all in favor iose [Music] extenstions motion to approve 10 business office business office consent agender 10 a through I discussion all in favor oppose exensions and a motion to approve 11 recommend recommendation of the superintendent of schools 11 A K plus the agenda discussion all in favor and this is yes and this is with 25198 for B okay I have where that okay 10 I and number 25198 that is m I the president pulled it off so that okay I so just six you're a no 10 you're obain yes I am and the rest you're yes yes okay any any I am voting no on c number A and C voting no on 10 I'm voting no on High School North equipment manager sorry the first first one with letter C oh number six okay number six C no yeah number six letter c a A and C no on no okay everybody yes yes okay now we need a motion to to approve 11b 25198 a discussion this is are you for or against currently I States so a no vote would be as discussed no discussion all in favor oppose I oppose exensions know think my we got on [Music] to Old business does anyone have old business new business I want to um say that we went to school board convention and it was very interesting there were a lot of hes there that um gave a lot of um good info we went to uh planning on construction and success which is to kind of help us get started on what our buildings need to be um addressed address in our buildings maybe looking for a referendum how we're going to pay for it it was really interesting on how to engage the community um part so I hope that we can go forward with some of that another one that I attended was 13 common mistakes made by board members and that was really inter I must preparing students for for future work which a lot of the things that they discussed we are in process of doing so that was really um good to hear I did a workshop on inclusion attended the steam tank and a student film showcase which was really good it was disappointing this year some of our students weren't there but it was explain that um you know a lot of our students are um just getting involved a lot of our seniors graduated that usually attend that so hopefully next year we will have students and we also went to the um School La update very interesting um I attended the ball Fest me sa the north play this week I went to an um I went to the senior luncheon um event before the play and it was really nice to see the room packed with senior citizens having lunch and going to see the play I think that's the best way to get our seniors into our schools to see what's really going on and what our schools look like and how our students perform and they were very excited unfortunately I did not get to sell through a family um obligation yeah I'm sure I did I know it's better than going to New York and I don't like to go to New York anymore so school players are a big thing for me kids outstanding we also attended the harmony casino night which was very well attended and a lot of fun so anybody who didn't get to attend this year you might want to look next year because it was really a good time good night um also the Ocean Avenue gift do and I want to thank M's board members for all they did um that was a very well attended event this year and I was really excited for them um they put a lot of work into it I also attended both of the high school signings and each student that signed is amazing it's just they had amazing Stories their coaches and mentors you know just told the whole story about them and I wish them nothing but the best in future endeavors I also intended the Hall of Fame for um High School South and I have to say I sat there and I've been here so long I knew all that hist that they were talking about I felt like I could back them up on some of that um but it was really nice to see so many people come it was well attended a lot of oldtimers were there and um it was really nice to see and hear and reminisce about the past and all the good things that happen in the district I'm looking forward to the holiday concert that's I hey very good does anyone else have new business I'd like to speak about something real quick we have to actually speak about the calendar for next year re is January 3rd possibility I think it's a Wednesday it we have nothing SCH can we are good we are set we meeting is Monday January 3rd I'm sorry Wednesday 7:00 Wednesday January 3rd and that's what I have my new business we will move on to public comment on no on the non-agenda items anything you like to State please step to the microphone state your name and address direct hi my name is and I will write my address down um I recently mov to M Town based on the reputation I have questions about what Miss El mentioned about I'll read them all now and then I'll for um an employee of midd school that around september2 25 like hoca and slavery civil rights depression I know you mentioned a sensitive label that this content but said on my first question is why were they okay for five years my next question restri criteria I assume that only the content but ground not have why were those restricted guns and gun rights are not restricted we know many kids are scared of gun school so what isera I heard you say that there is concern about students accessing sensitive information at home without supervision this logic worries me is book Banning also happening here so students sometimes about and are you assuming that parents not my next questions are around who exactly has the final setting send EMA all parents you offer an OP policy parents have the right to make their own decisions also it does not seem like inance 91 my last questions are around teacher access ROP allows you to give access to teachers but not to students why why would they ever be denied how long take when they're approved do their students get access to or just that I understand that by law these topics are being taught and our teachers have but why are we limiting resources at time antism and isses why would we ever block educational age appropriate orful material on ants rights or depression if parents don't want their kids to see it should they not have the right to monitor that themselves maybe you're not Banning the topics completely but reducing the resources that teach except on I obviously amle by what's going on and I'll send this question however I am not okay with any educational material and frankly bra is really tool I've seen the videos and PES on parents accounts from neighboring towns that are not restricted and they are very well done and need appropriate I will be requesting an Ops inform forms that I have right to access all thank you for your thank you name's Janette and I live in Middletown resident voter and tax there are a lot of us here tonight uh many resid and not that we are residents we're not bust in we live so what do we bother on Monday night before Thanksgiving why are we here we're here because we're alarmed it's about the brain po restrictions we believe in education we believe in teaching history fully fairly in all its glory and all its heart human history and American history have much to be proud of and much to ready we must teach all can't address Injustice and inquality without understanding history so it's hard to understand how you can restrict curriculum covers topics such as the Holocaust civil rights slavery LBT history support developed by experts to the age appropriate and student by state for by we're alarm alarmed that our board has been taken over by a political agenda we have to always remember context in which everything is happening today throughout the us there is a movement stength and deny education exactly those subjects exactly the subjects restricted for brain a we're alarm because we see this influence step by step some of the steps the talk about changes to the controversial toic The Next Step appears to be the brain top restriction as you follow these and think about them can only fear that book bands are next certainly follow the extremist PL so we residents were here to request two things to remove the Brain Pop restriction and to never to ban books in any way follow up with the email and look forward to all your answers thank you thank you my name is car Christ I live at Road and I a parent to a at Ander next year I'm also you know with the same alarms the two speakers prior to me um about the concerning news and hearing about the content restriction specifically on brap um whether others are happening I'm not aware of that I only you know heing about bre off myself um it's my understanding that as of September 2022 um there were countless materials dising Holocaust slavery mental health disorders um including depression and eaing disorders um have all been restricted from public access and bra to as you heard touched on um you know knowing a lot of this content has been listed as sensitive I understand and can appreciate you know censoring it or restricting it for public access for children um my biggest concern is that it also was restricted to teachers um I think that at a time when you know anti-Semitism and racism and children's mental health is in crisis mode it is very alarming to me and I think District to make huge disservice to our teachers and limiting access to resources I understand that by law they are still required to teach these items but a big concern with um you know rting access that is on a platform that we have just work for um you know I am a little bit fored as too our teachers have had you know a history of showing inappropriate content why you feel this need to restricted from them as well um and you know as a parent and taxpayer in this District I would like to have a little bit more clarity you I mentioned number isting process um which of course I appreciate that but would like a little bit more clarity as to exactly what that process is um you know how long if the teacher requests access to your curriculum are they required to get an answer right away will they have to wait you know we already have so much on our teachers dayto day that I worry about making it more difficult for them to get access to Quality resources that are age appropriate that are used by other districts in state and other states um you know is a big concern I have and as had mentioned you know it also concerns me that poliy 9130 may not have been met with this particularly um you know as a poli states that no challenge material may be removed from the curriculum or from a collection of resource material except by action of the Board of Education and no challenged material may be removed solely because of prevents ideas that may be unpopular or offensive to some so I would love to hear a little bit more Clarity on exactly what process was forting the details and exactly what was and I'll my name is Robin Stella I live in Plaza and as somebody who was the vice president of the Board of Ed and the chair of curriculum we've had brain pop for years I'd like to know when suddenly the Diary of an Frank became very sensitive just curious as a Jewish resent in this community a book that was written over 70 years ago was suddenly deemed sensitive too sensitive for the children of middlet uh what are we trying to protect them from are we trying to protect from actually learning and I'm also wondering our rankings are falling um is there a correlation between censoring our materials and our falling rankings this is something that we really need to think about male we've already demonstrated that our lgbtq plus Community is not welcomed in this in Middletown now we're showing Jewish people and people of color that their history is not a part of anything that we teach in this town anymore finding it very alarming that's a word that's been used over and over again I sent an email I didn't receive a response but if somebody can just let us know what exactly is sensitive about the Diary of Van FR it's actual history and and I don't know I read it when I was in seventh grade I'd like to know what no no you didn't ban the D Frank band access to it on brap so I know bra right no no but you're Banning access to it because Suddenly It's considered sensitive and in what world do we think that kids gangs kids after school oh hey guys I know what we can do let's go on brain pop you know how our parents know this isn't happen okay and if it did happen are we afraid of our kids actually learning something so I'm I'm just a little concerned that we're focusing more on culture wars and we're aspiring to be Florida which is if you look at up it's ranked 44th in the nation educationally and they have empty bookshelves so if you could provide a little more clarity about what's sensitive about the diary Frank at a time when Jewish people are being persecuted I'd like to know thank you can I just question library library so it's not B I didn't say that the book is Ban but for some reason for many years we've been able we've been using no no access to it being and if I cantion I don't agree with the fact that brain top is a high quality resource to begin with I think it pay for it we've been using it for many many years and it's being evaluated as in regards to please please we can't have people yelling out are we G to start using those prayer you videos the ones that teach about call back to many conversations and many public comments that people have made that have stood before us um we are trying to get away from a vide Centric environment in our classrooms and in absence of instruction teachers sometimes rely on videos to heavily and after the co era that is certainly the case um we are not saying that they don't have value in some places but but certainly we we removed newa this year for that exact same reason because of the fact that teachers were relying too heavily on digital content so it is one of the things that we're evaluating our digital schools in total as as also we're evaluating the amount of time that our kids are spending in front of screens in our classrooms and also I just want to say that Jake and I were just talking he's studying the Holocaust right now right I know that there was a course available at high school and if you look at our um literature curriculums our literacy all across the board you will see that there are books that have the Holocaust and other topics like civil rights embedded within particularly historical fiction because we believe the best lens for teaching about history is through literature so if you really dive in and evaluate our curriculum you will see that there are a pleora of books related to the topic of the Holocaust and we have not removed them from our content or curriculum or a book list by any means we're the only District that I'm aware of within 50 miles that has limited access restricted access to brap that brap is an optional resource that District can choose to not nothing to do right no I'm aware but we paid for it and for many years suddenly explain Suddenly It's senstive I'm just curious we we did not label the videos within sensitive braed it is k k k yes yes is K to8 and if you look through our documents there actually Brain Pop videos embedded within but they're specified uh thank you so much um uh as an educator um I understand that there are many different available um but as a taxpayer I don't quite understand why this service was Ed at some point to be paid for by my money and everyone else's money and yet the certain just the certain topics are being uh restricted and you're telling me now suddenly now it's suddenly a change of I was hearing about oh we're trying to restrict uh the amount of time they spent on on screen okay that's a fair point but then what does that have to do with only in certain subjects and where does it then go from here and what and why and why why it's not across the board then then get then get rid of it sure fine that's really what it's all about limiting screen but unlike most of you who are sitting up here I have actually seen children using free pop and how they respond to it and how they enjoy it and how they they find it fun and it's kind of goofy so robot speak but you seem to know exactly what he's saying um the kids respond to the they're and that and that is so important in the St to get kids to actually pay attention and to to take note of something and especially it should be when there's something about sensitive topic such as this and I can't understand the reasoning behind it um teachers should have access to beded taxpayer funded resources available to them at all times there never been a restriction on on these topics never been a restriction on onp but suddenly they have to go asking with their hat in hand for permission please Ser to use this particular uh video it's it's ridiculous the district already vended brain p as I said and it should be made available to the teacher we should trust the teachers to use these resources appropriate if there particular staff member is not using it appropriately then they should be directed to do so prop and not just restricted just without willy-nilly without any U without even thought to the process um brain po has not place a filter onat Topics in question in other districts I work in another District thank you the business teacher was suspended in wall really that's what you're hiring but it disturbs me greatly as a member of the Jewish Community P president I'm also ucat chwi Federation recently sponsor the recent polia bill by govern I come to you with the concern about how it's being taught what resources are available to teachers you as an attorney our respect and understand process first and foremost I understand we have a process here in but we have to have each individual video material that teachers have to use to teach about Holocaust and presentism to teach about civil rights be approved for each and every we are delaying that PR Thomas of now more than ever the lessons of the Holocaust have to teach are more important we are facing a time when anti-Semitism Rising particularly in M toown County and other forms of hate and bullying are on the rise our teachers need to be able to have the resources that they can use without having to wait the prolonged approval process with each and every te whether it's great some other material whether it's book and I love books and I still think books are the main s source of education so I respect you on that but we need to be able to educate our children we're not going to learn about how not to be an how not to other students they're Jewish or they're black or they're they Brown um they we need to be able to have to available to our teachers becom lawyer I teacher in my heart we have to not control our teachers yes we have to make sure proper materials are being used we also have to rely on the teacher ability to teach and be able at a minute's notice this might help these students because they're not understanding what explain or that book explain or any other degre books there on civil rights mement but please don't censor each and every week don't censor sensitive interial now more than ever we need toach our children how to accept thank you my name is Frankie Stella I'm aent graduate of Middletown High School sou I'm here to speak about the amazing people and resources that had a hand in my education here in Middletown those resources included expansive content and curriculum provocative conversation and debate in my AP classes a sense of belonging and acceptance in elementary school and by far the most important resource our teachers they're more than academic instructors they are personal mentors who got to know me and allowed me to know these connections are immeasurable but so valuable these teachers are willing to expose us to real content that would impact Us and how we been before when I heard the teachers needed to ask and be granted permission to gain access to particular content that I grew Lu with in order to enhance their lessons I was shocked buy sensitive topics that have been restricted that influenced myrent concentration of study a community outreach and law when you Institute a procedure where teachers are made to ask permission to teach State Standards who are also stifling lessons in teachers see one thing when they are added to a list they see that they are being watched perhaps that is your intent maybe that's your ulterior motive behind the political toy that this obviously is perhaps your lowered academic rankings or to St censorship and overreach by educationally unqualified members perhaps it's time you trust your greatest EXP experts and resources your teachers after your recent and continued efforts to attempt to eras the lgbtq community it seems as though you want to further marginalized already marginalized people as a Jewish member of the lgbtq community I no longer feel like a Valu member of this community I'm happy to have on and I for AR thank you would anyone else like hello everybody the name everybody knows name as far as the brain pop that everything's talking about uh my children uh I believe I understand both sides of it however teaching starts in home it starts with with kindness so if there if this is going to be blame blame on any type of uh digital uh uh you know access that teachers are given or teachers are they say they're not given when my child is on their Fire tablet I know what they're on so as far as this Brain Pop being a big issue to everybody it seems here it's not isue to me because my children will learn they'll learn about the Holocaust they'll learn but you know what in five six and seven they're not going to learn heat not through me and they're not going to learn it in the Middletown school system so I believe like you you you're learning about it now for me to shock my children at this age they CED my kids are raised with good Hearts more a great moral confence and a strong Mom I don't back down as people may know and I want to congratulate you Mr Capone on your reelection you jacn Tobacco on your re-election and most definitely Karina but going back I know I have maybe a second left I believe it's the parents responsibility to monitor their children I don't care if my child is 15 you know that I want to know what they're doing on the computer I'll have access so as far as this uh you know holding back things not I'll make that I'll make that judgment myself so I am in full agreement with all of you up here thank you for today have a good evening my name is Ashley I avue um wanted to come up because I think there's one aspect that's notated so these resources were available before 2022 and then something happened in 2022 and they were then restricted to teachers and students there's two separate processes that the district has one for adding content and resources as a teacher I'm very familiar with how to curriculum and include resources that are appropriate there's a separate policy 9130 for removing resources you should be bringing it to the bo for approval the fact that it was done behind closed doors without any communication to us is what's alarming to all right so I suggest you go back and look at that Court policy I'm concerned that there's more things that are being hidden from us we were someone was lucky enough to find this somewhere and so I think the thing that's just scary for us is lack of transparency and so I would like to know from 2022 what are the other things that may have disa just to clarify didn't any resources there are specified Brain Pop videos in our curriculum currently if you go through the document so we don't just put open source access in our curriculum guides for instance if you take go up there's there's not just YouTube unfettered and unrestricted um we've moved away from that to act responsibly in writing our curriculum inclusive of all digital digital tools so I think it's a misrepresentation when you're saying that we've just taken out brain pop because if you look in our documents Brain Pop is still there with specific videos cited on multiple topics you did restrict it in 2022 from videos that were video pre 2022 and I think it sends a big message to the community when civil rights and Jewish videos are the ones restricted but guns AR but neither of those videos were part of what was approved by the Board of Ed and written by those curriculum teams they were just a part of the digital app so they weren't specified in the document which is how a resource lands into the curriculum it's different you restricted it you took it away that's not part of approving curriculum thank you have three more minutes anybody else want to make a comment close my name is row I live at and um I'm a retired educator also retired 22 years of work as so I know a lot about my suggestion is Maybe onean she could show us samples of great show us items that were deemed to be maybe not acceptable so that we can have a better understanding of what everything to I really don't but I would like to you know just have some more information some perhaps that's possibility thank thank you chair the meeting discussion all in favor I oppose have a great night every