e [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] yes whatever's next yes absolutely absolutely [Music] I have contct [Music] [Music] Rel seat [Music] [Music] [Music] yes [Music] [Music] okay we're [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Stephanie here Annette Barbara here John here Tracy Ellen here Claudia here Robert dou here Alan here Jon here Alan you good yeah New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon in accordance with this provision of this act the riverdell regional board of education has caused notice of this regular meeting to be publicized by having the date time and place sent to the record The Star Ledger newspapers the burough Clarks and burough libraries as well as posting the school district principal offices faculty rooms and the board office according to New Jersey Public Law 2001 chapter 226 the smoking or use of any tobacco product is strictly prohibited anywhere in the public school buildings or anywhere in school grounds including but not limited to parking lots grassy areas and athletic fields violators will be subject to a fine not to exceed $100 Stephanie the mission of the riverdell Regional School District is to provide a safe student centered environment in which each student is valued and respected to challenge each student to their potential to nurture every student's intellectual social physical and emotional growth to promote a healthy work ethic a passion for Learning and a respect for for oneself and others to develop responsible citizens for our diverse community and an everchanging world to continue to involve our community in an active partnership to provide all students the opportunity to achieve and exceed the New Jersey student learning standards this point of the agenda i' like to open it up for public comments on agenda items only please step up to the mic state your name and address and limit your comments to 3 minutes okay hearing none um presentations [Music] okay okay good evening everyone we have a number of uh presentations this is our tradition here at Riverdale at this point in the year to um recognize some of our staff members for their years of service and certainly some of our staff members and board members uh who are retiring leaving us after this year um so we'll take care of that right now first I'd like to bring up uh or just talk about him first before we bring him up um our former board president Mr Al graph who's present with us tonight um Al served for nine years I believe three terms on the board of education um with great distinction and you know I I've said many times I've been a board member myself prior to being a superintendent um it's less of a job more of an honor and I know Al has always treated it that way he's always been very honored to be in the position he was in serving the public and serving our community and our school Community specifically uh and I think did an outstanding job as a board member a trustee to the board of education and also um as the president a good sign of leadership and that's the position that he he held for so many years for five of the years I believe that he was on the board um Al really helped Shepherd the entire board and the entire district with the cooperation of everyone uh through some difficult times through covid uh certainly um and also brought us really brought it home for us this year with his leadership and direction as far as us being able to bring this referendum to the public uh that was so widely regarded and um so successfully passed so um in recognition of his contributions to the students of the riverdell public schools to the board and to our community we recognize Al graph come on up pal you thank you thank you thank you for your service um I just like to say one thing real Qui uh fast thank you for the kind words you're welcome but anybody who is part of this board is just one of nine um I feel we did get a lot accomplished in the nine years that I was on the board as a trustee and uh I know you folks will continue the good work so good luck and thank you very much you're welcome thank you well okay although not years of service and also not retiring just just moving on to to other Adventures which we're very excited for uh we have two student representatives and let me give you a quick history on this so This became the law I believe it was two years ago where every District had to provide student representation to the board of education riverdell has been ahead of that curve for I don't know how many years prior to at least 10 years you you've had uh students uh as representatives of the board of education so you you've been ahead ahead of the curve here um it only became the law two years ago where we were required to do that and we're very happy to have two um really outstanding young people who have been giving reports and and and really um sacrificing their time to come to our board meetings uh and present to not just the public but to the board the board sees a lot of information on board agendas and dockets that they receive and and uh a lot of different information that they receive in writing but they don't really get to hear or see as often uh the experience of the students and that's what these young people bring to the board of education so we'd like to recognize them for their service this is their last meeting we have one more meeting but it's actually going to take place um their last week as seniors in high school we don't want to really take that night away from them uh which is June 17th so this will be their last meeting so we have uh Melissa ye and Jonah nipp congratulations thank you both okay onto years of service Awards uh again this time of year we recognize um some uh really distinct individuals who have do much to um add to the fabric and to the culture of our community here our school Community uh we value their service um Patrick Fletcher said to me once when I took the position last year he said people come here to die and uh I understood I didn't understand quite what he meant by that but when I see the longevity that we have in riverdell it speaks a lot to the community it speaks a lot to our students and the way our staff supports each other that people do want to be here and do want to stay here uh I do expect to die here myself so um you're in good company so if I can just start with uh the least number of years of services that we recognize and then to the to the greatest number so for our 15-year uh recipients we have from our child study Team marri Hell congratulations thank you thank you uh also with 15 years of service we have Claudia cutri from our Board office congratulations you're welcome thank you and our third and final member is he here I didn't see him doc Houston he said he was coming so he got announced so doc Houston but I don't see him here so we'll give it to him tomorrow uh with 20 20 years of very distinct service in our English language arts department at riverdell high school we have Su Carney 20 years of service thank you moving on to 25 we have others with 20 years but they're not here this evening so I'm just going to skip over them with 25 years of service uh are the smiling face when you come into the building the good morning the hello um please get a pass when you come into the high school building um she always says please though so we we like that um Miss l ly ioli Administrative Assistant you thank you so much thank you don't be late tomorrow or you have to get a pass uh also with 25 years of service another excellent teacher and really just the pride of that language arts department we have Jennifer Morris at the high school [Applause] congratulations moving past 25 to 30 years my God it's 30 years and he only looks 30 years old science teacher in the Middle School Brian clap [Applause] okay that should be the last of that okay all right so uh we also in a as a very kind um expression of our appreciation for our staff members who are retiring we of course on behalf of the board I of course wish you all well I thank you for your service uh to the district of riverdell uh wherever else you may have served before us if if you did have another position before coming to riverdell um a a school district is only as good as the educational professionals that work in it I've always believed that and I know I speak for the entire board when I say that and we've got some great ones we have some fantastic ones really leaving us um as of June 30th so in a couple of weeks they'll be going on their merry way hopefully to very happy healthy and productive retirements or other jobs whatever they choose to do um but U we do wish them well so let me go through them right now I think I'll start in um least number of years um I think I'll do it that way but I didn't put it in number one here so I have a number two he going to mess here we go okay now I got it okay so starting in the uh English Department in the middle school we have Linda Moka [Applause] Linda congratulations I think it's o clock is that what it is I didn't look at them but they tell me it's o'clock so and and it and it it'll break when you retire and it just stops at that time just so you know okay um second also in the middle school and it's just interesting that they kind of come together because they basically do everything together um science teacher at the middle school Amar Whitaker thank you very much congratulations thank you you're welcome you know really the middle school is taking a hit this year um the next uh recipient is currently one of the executive secretaries in my outer office uh but has also worked in the middle school for a period of time I guess technically is still in the middle school because you're still in that building um someone who has been uh an excellent help to me and also a splendid spur at times you know to give me the sarcastic look like you're really going to make that decision that way or you sure you want to do it like this uh but I I certainly have value have valued her experience um and her time working in that position when when Patrick was here when she worked with Patrick because it's been a tremendous help to me not just to understand how we do things but how riverdell does things because that's important to keep that tradition as well so that's Liz aling congratulations thank you don't go no I mean literally don't go okay the teacher is so nice we're going to bring him up twice Brian clap I know thank you congratulations good luck to you thanks you're welcome okay um this is a tough one because she's fantastic at what she does as well um we have so many talented teachers in our Middle School in our high school but if I can move on to the high school here um someone who has someone whose work I have admired through our students if you walk down that art hallway you see some fantastic work and they're very proud to display everything that they do um and when I I make it a habit to be as much in the cafeteria as I can be during the lunch periods whether it's in the middle school or in the high school mostly the high school because that's when you hear the most about teachers and this is one that they always talk about with a smile on their face and a lot of appreciation in their heart Mercedes fond art teacher in the high school thank you thank you congratulations okay next someone who needs no introduction but I'll introduce her anyway um with a lot of years of service in the district and it's not just a matter of years it's also what you do with those years and the kind of uh the way you make use of your time while you're in that time in this moment of time here in our public schools and this is someone who has has been uh a teacher of our special needs students um but a teacher of everyone and not not just students but also other teachers who are here about what it is to do it the Rd way and that is Morin congratulations we'll miss you I think that's everybody did I get everybody for a picture that's a great idea that's why you are who you are okay we're going to take that picture right now sure can we do it yeah it's a great suggestion I don't know why I'm doing it could you do it thank you because you have that new iPhone I don't know why I'd be doing it we'll do it uh maybe go right here I'll grab my phone's you don't trust yourself no I'm terrible at this ready One Two Three River r used to say perogi in thank you [Applause] everybody right at this time we're going to break some more regular order business I I know you want to stay for the whole meeting but you don't have to so we'll break for about 5 minutes so that you can say some goodbyes and then um we'll start up our meeting again so thank you everyone back in [Music] five my finger [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] very ni okay okay we now have a presentation by Mr VTO deloria on AI how everybody good C right good things um so a little bit of background just uh I know that you've kind of been in on the conversation a little bit uh we were uh we kind of made this our Focus this year um Dr Alro and the board had suggested we go to an AI Summit which started in December um and so I attended that with some other staff members that also uh then included an AI day here at Riverdale which included staff Administration and students and we sort of had like our own little AI Summit uh with AI for education and Amanda bicker staff um she came in and did PD it was really well received from there we sort of made a plan to draft some guidelines for AI and so that is pretty much what you're going to see tonight is our our draft of these guidelines and I include the portrait of a graduate for everybody thank you you're welcome so our goals um our purpose and goals are to align with educational standards um using AI tools should adhere to establish curricula and learning objectives and assessment criteria to enhance techn ology and learning um we should be enhancing um effective pedagogical pedical strategies sorry uh engaging Learners experiences support personalized instruction facilitate research and promote creativity and problem solving we're going to start with um providing our students and our staff a lot of PD on responsible uh digital citizenship we're going to be working with the staff in PD which is the first box teachers and staff should receive comprehensive training on AI using AI tools effectively understanding its capabilities limitations and ethical implications um and this empowers Educators to guide our students in the responsible use of AI and then for our students students should learn the responsibilities in ethical use of AI including evaluating information credibility respecting intellectual property rights and uh recognizing in potential biases and hallucinations um this Fosters digital citizenship and critical thinking um just if you're not aware um AI does promote does give you um biases and it does have hallucinations it does not tell you if you're wrong so it will make up an answer um you should try it sometime it will be very convincing um how we're going to monitor and evaluate this uh yearly we're going to take a look at our student data and performance and our AI tool use metrics here in our district um quarterly will conduct stakeholder surveys on AI tool Effectiveness and concerns we'll be continually monitoring for potential biases or errors in AI outputs um biannually we'll have an Ethics Review Committee to assess our alignment with our values and then periodically we'll update our AI guidelines and training based on feedback so much like we take a look at our curriculum is living documents this will be living at as we sort of work through it for our first year in having these guidelines sure is the to it everywhere or are we trying to do like um like a controlled study where some some staff will be using Ai and other staff will not be using AI to measure what might be an enhancement or or a distraction or any of those kind that's a good question we actually have some teachers currently using AI as sort of our test group um our TurnKey Su Carney actually did a really great lesson Dr Alro was in on so we do have some staff what we're going to do is sort of see who wants to adopt this in the beginning like our early adopters I'm going to be training the turnkeys over the summer in AI usage and ethical use and how to help the teachers kind of TurnKey that to our students as digital citizens so I don't expect everybody at first but it won't be a specific controlled group it'll be our adopters who want to use it and well then will you compare the data like when you're talking about like on that yearly data well are you I can understand how you're comparing it to the metrics of the ones using AI but are you then also comparing whatever metrics you're seeing to those staff who are not using AI to see if there's a discrepancy right to see if if it's you know um if those students were scoring better on language arts tests or if they were um being more creative whatever whatever the metrics are yeah we could do that with those that's a good idea just talking about um AI for Education just talking about academic Integrity meaning using AI tools ethically responsibly as intended to support student learning not to bypass it it implies producing work primarily for the students learning and appropriate acknowledgement of any assistance from AI so it is really important for students to understand that if they are using AI as part of the process they are to site the AI usage and so that's our responsibility as Educators to teach the students how to use it ethically and responsibly so steps in using AI these are sort of our general overarch and guidelines first um you will check with the teacher on the assignment homework or assessment and get permission to see if it can be completed or AI can be used so it would be permission based I'm a teacher I'm giving an assignment I will give explicit permission yes you can use AI in this assignment here's how you can use it no you cannot use AI in this assignment so teachers will be giving on their own basis um permission permission to use AI if the tool is allow out they have to track their conversation with the tool by cutting and pasting the interaction in the document that they can share with the teacher so part of the art of using AI is how you prompt Ai and the engine to do the work it's not just simply putting something in it's really an art to try to get it with tone and information and Clarity and the way that you want that so you would you would um copy and paste your usage and then using citations um in submitting your work in APA style and formatting I have another question sure um will the repercussions be based on like our plagiarism policy we're going to get there yes okay correct um so guidelines for using um appropriately using AI as a supplemental Aid it should be used as a tool to enhance learning not as a substitute for human effort and critical thinking um it should have reference and citations um it's essential to properly reference and site AI as a tool clarification not substitution it can be helpful in clarifying Concepts and providing additional context which should not be used as a substitute for human human interaction or guidance learning not completing so AI should not be used as a tool to support um should be used as a tool to support the learning process not as a means of completing an assignment so not just typing it in and handing it in just generated from AI tutoring and not completing a lot of the data suggests that this will really enhance the opportunity for students to get clarification on topics if they need help or support and so they see AI as really a great you uh tool for tutoring and giving resources and explanations and guidance on topics and then extending perspective Ives leveraging exposure to diverse perspectives and viewpoints and broadening their understanding and critical thinking skills so here are violations of the policy and I do just want to note that I think that it's really important as we approach this to use uh it as a learning process for students and to really focus on how to educate them to use AI properly and not so much the punitive part of it but really having conversations with students about proper use so these would be in violation of our guidelines unattributed use substitution a sole source um of information or generation of work and then an over Reliance on AI experience and tools so here would be sort of our process of disciplinary sort of action um first would be teacher review an explanation the teacher would review the student's Behavior provide an explanation on why it was inappropriate or violated our school policy second would be like an oral or written reprimand the teacher uh issues a verbal or written warning to the student um about the consequences and actions of not uh citing AI um appropriately or using it in an appropriate manner our first disciplinary action would be students caught plagiarizing and another whether it be published or unpublished shall receive a zero on the assignment and a parent conference uh parent and guidance contact with the families would also be instituted there our second disciplinary action would be the building principle would determine if further disciplinary action needed to be taken and meeting with the parent um on a case-by Case basis and then there would be an appeals process for students and parents to appeal the decision-making process through a formal process proc which may involve a hearing or review by an administrator and if I could just paraphrase this is also this is along the lines of our current plagiarism policy correct now couple of questions sure so the because I can't see exactly what's written but like you want me to try the lights no no no it's I mean it's fine I'm going to call step one with the teacher determining that it was inappropriate use do we is there a set of criteria that they're all that each teach the teachers are going by or is it on you know the teacher's personal um I don't know what the word I'm looking for but like personal perspective right there right so I think um in a lot of the U research that has been presented and I've been part of AI tools are really not effective like detection tools are not as effective as say like our our typical turn it in where we look at plagiarism and things so what is most important is for students and teachers to have relationships right where I know that students work and I know their voice I know what they're what they're capable of and how they write and I think some of that is going to come down to training um with the staff on what AI kind of looks like in the tone it sets when students use that also we do have the capabilities here being on the network to look to see what students access on their computers to see if they use the tool to complete the assignment okay and then how does that also just tie into like students using tools like cram which are ai ai based but in like a I'm going to say not the same way I mean those are like spell check those are you know those are typical AI tools that people use you know you have ai in your pocket if you have an iPhone right we we all carry around AI with us and use that when we write messages and we get suggestions or we get different word choice so it really is going to be like ongoing PD for everybody and really taking a look at how we can harness this power in a way to assist our students in being successful and not just using it as a substitution it's going to take a little finessing to to get there but I think we had a really great start um I think if you asked the teachers and the students who were present at our Summit like our AI Summit I think it was really enlightening for everybody and a lot of the students talked about how they use it and sort of where it fits in right now with them well I guess to piggy back on what doug was saying or or maybe to like if somebody's using grammarly do they need to site that no no so I right so that's like this is like an over Reliance on language acquisition right and really getting that language from another place not being your own words does anybody have any other questions okay and then just in wrapping it up just we're using AI to integrate into education um should be careful and considerate and based in academic Integrity I'm sorry how are you going to communicate this to the students you talked about uh training the teachers how's this getting communicated to the students so that's a good question what we're going to do is Wednesday I'm going to meet with the staff during our TurnKey time and I'm going to present this to them um and then over the summer I'm going to be working with the turnkey trainers on becoming as much of an expert as we can in AI because it's kind of like building a plane and flying it at the same time right now we're all sort of like trying to do the best we can and becoming experts but it changes so much and so rapidly if you look at this technology it has changed in just a few months it has the most early adopters of any technology that's come out it is actually like lightning speed uh at moving at a lightning speed so what we plan on doing is working with the staff and having PD sessions using some of our time on Wednesdays to have ai sessions and have as the turnkeys do as much training as they can to help the teachers with tools with access with kind of looking to see where students are using it and then sort of continuing to modify that PD plan but how do we communicate this to the students now the teachers will communicate with the students so we expect as that first uh slide where I talked about digital citizenship we expect to be doing some heavy lifting with our students and teaching them about that digital citizenship piece because it is ultimately their ethical responsibility in the way that they use it okay so the teachers will be your way they will be the ones to work with I assume you'll give them some some material so they can communicate a consistent message they'll have copies of this and like I said I'll be meeting with them and then ongoing checking in with them to see how it's working if we need to make modifications or adjustments again this will be very fluid as we kind of roll it out and see how it works with our staff we have a lot of Staff already doing a lot of these things we're just trying to formalize the process I will also mention that I did present this to the turn key who had feedback on some of um the guidelines specifically the disciplinary process wanted it a little more consistently align with with our plagiarism policy and then one other point we're talking about a lot of like textural AI a lot of people kind of gravitate to that but it's also image and music too so whatever we do here since we have kind of uh areas that would probably be impacted differently maybe you guys can educate Sol too on all of that sure I used an AI tool for the presentation purposely I did that that the beginning you it at the end right you put your citations at the end so I'm just it does say it at the top as well so when John talks about how are you going to communicate it to the students right um I think I think it needs to be communicated to like a baseline to all the students at the start of the school year that whether or not this is something that you're using in one class like that it's class specific and and educator specific and so um so the discipline policy everybody should know because it mirrors the plagiarism policy but um just because some classes might be using AI you can't make the Assumption right I I think that's what you were sort of like how are you letting the students know that it has to that you have to be assigned the AI not oh I know they're using AI in that class and so like the schools using AI I think that's the blanket this is going to be the key here right and the steps for usage and the permissive part in the beginning and I think that was one of the things that when I met with the staff that they really wanted the power to decide if it was appro an appropriate tool for students to use so this will absolutely be reviewed with students in the fall and talking about how permission is granted to use and how you would go about in utilizing the tool even in classes in which the teacher has no intention of using it I think that's I have just a general question for technology in the district and I'm ignorant to it so forgive me is there something a policy that is sent home with students like a technology use policy that is sent home with students at the beginning of the year as a contract where both the parents and students sign and could the AI feature be something that's included in that technology usage policy where the parents are clearly conveyed the message that your student should not be using AI they do have to when they there is an acceptable use policy when you pay the feed to click on acknowledgement of the acceptable use policy I don't think it currently includes Ai No but what it does include is the use of technology for ill advised reasons for plagiarism cheating for like that so I think it would be covered in a generic way under that but I can see to your point how as we evolve and move further into the use of AI where that would become its own subject in the AC is it worth throwing a paragraph in there it can be absolutely yes it is worth just a simp something from here just to tie back to say when we give examples of what those are including artif use of artificial intelligence exactly I mean they have to they have to pay for the technology you know every year that's where you click whether you read it or not that's where you click you read it um but you could just send out like or or it could be a popup to say you know um in in signing this agreement while not specifically stated please no that it relates to all technology use including AI I mean you could just put that pop up instead of rewriting what's already on the thing and I think what's key is as you said you're a plain example I think this is a very fast evolving area I think we're in this for a multi-year journey Journey so I think it's going to be important to monitor it's all very well intentioned till you see what really happens in September so I think you have to be prepared to to take some action if you start to see it kind of not heading in the right dire I agree with everything you're saying U but I will say I not but and I will say this I i' I've specifically gone into certain classrooms that I knew were doing lessons on this in the last couple of months Su was here before she was one of the teachers I went to um I was very very pleased with um the responses from our students that were if I could just classify it or categorize it I should say were very suspicious of AI not as embracing as you might expect them oh wow this is the greatest thing since life it was much more the opposite and I had one student in one freshman class suc carne's class um say you know if there's a bot teaching this class a robot in front of this class in the next 15 years I'm really going to be upset about that and I turned to her and I said if if that happens it won't be my decision I'll be long gone I said it's going to be your decision your generation is the one who going to make that decision whether that's acceptable in a classroom or not acceptable in the classroom so it was very clear to me from that class and several others that I went to that the students are really suspicious of it um and can see how big a change this can be for their world so I'm I'm a little encouraged by that we have a very strong plagiarism policy here and implementation of the current policy and so I think students are aware of plagiarism and not and not submitting their own work I mean look the way we're looking at this on the technology side you know for a long time I think you made a statement before it be nice to go back to books but the computer became a tool right you could misuse it I I think we have to look at this like it is a tool I'm very encouraged that we're actually going forward instead of being afraid of it and blocking it and not allowing the use I think what's going to happen next year is you'll have to watch it very closely and just change it as you know you see it it's you know as a positive or A negative kind of uh influence you'll make the necessary adjustments to go forward and just keep the board updated as you learn I think it'll be great for the board members to you know to learn with everybody with the staff in you and like you said before John that this is such a rapidly advancing technology one of the students in one of the classes that I was observing actually brought that up and said that you know I'm graduating in 3 years and I'll bet you in 3 years we're going to be talking about remember chat GPT wow nobody uses that anymore because there's five other things that came after and that was from a student who's in the freshman class right now so they agree it's like my space yeah I mean the technology be like your iPhone one right when you look back now at it you're like wow that was really primitive rudimentary is going to grow and is going to expand very quickly the only thing I was going to say is like I think Beyond just a popup on on um the what's the pay website that we I can't remember Community pass Community pass I like what's the name that there's some communication at the beginning that goes home to the parents that just talks about in general you know I I don't want to like brush a broad brush stroke but you know I think there's like while people don't read genov Ai and Chap and all all all of this stuff is out there there there are segments of communities that you know are like into it read it and maybe use it but I think there are majority more that have heard what it is have no idea how it works probably will never use it and never understand if their kids are coming home and using it and so I think some kind of explanation to the parents at the beginning of the year talking about what the go forward is for the school how their kids might be coming home in certain classes and using this would be helpful can we do something back to school night for the parents or through the PTO even yeah I you know I just want the stff to have opportunity to really get become as proficient as they can right that's a quick turnaround um from September to I think like midep um with the staff so I really want to kind of work with them throughout the year to get them to be as proficient as possible because what when we do have moments with staff and we have had training I did go over a previous thing about the background I shared with you I think like Stephanie said there are some really early adopters of this in their classes and then there are people that have not used it whatsoever and have never approached it or or prompted it or anything like that so we have a really wide range of users here I think the students are going to challenge and push you like what Dr Albert was talking about I think you'd be surprised the number of students that are probably using it already I wouldn't be surprised so I think once you start just like happens in any technology I think that the students will also be a great help to the staff it's native to them right like they're they're kind of growing with it so as opposed to you a question yeah I just a comment more than a question I think um the bigger issue with AI and I think the bigger challenge in education moving forward is making sure that what we're asking students to do is authentic and not L of regurgitation of material that's already out there so I think the broader conversation moving forward is not necessarily so AI based but a general what is it that we want our students to be doing because you know it's and I don't mean to pick on The English Department but it's great to ask a student to write a comparison essay but so much of that is tailored to a traditional form of Education where what we really need to be asking them to do are things that are more authentic to the time so I think the bigger conversation will be AI we're not going to change it's here it's going to evolve quickly so what is it that we want our education and the output to be what do we want the students to produce because we want them to produce something original and authentic we don't want them you know using a cliffnotes dating myself cliffnotes version of any type of assignment so I think that's the broader conversation to be had by Administration and department heads as you see the role out of AI portrait of graduate skills right that's what we spent that time on when you think about it yeah but it's I think it's a conversation to have with the students to make them understand that it's not about the information that's readily available it's about you showcasing your own unique perspective on something and your ability to problem solve not taking someone else's words and I think that's an important thing to convey to them thank you thank you right you're welcome you're welcome very nice so cold okay student member report um before you start you too have been fantastic this entire you've been very informative um you covered everything in both schools um you did a great job we've had a lot of student members and they've all done a good job but my opinion you guys been outstanding this year so thank you thank you okay school for uh with less than 3 weeks left of the school year left the high school has been incredibly busy in and outside of the classroom on May 14th students went on the annual hospitality and tourism trip to the Marriott Marquee and Hard Rock Cafe in New York City thank you to miss Lenahan for planning this experience for her students on May 21st the science research class held their 12th annual stemposium in the cafeteria students presented their exciting projects on wide ranging topics encompassing diverse research areas of science technology engineering and much more congratulations to Sophia minck on her Girl Scout Gold Award project thank you to her Mentor Miss Connor Miss o Conor an rdms teacher and the rdms students who assisted in creating a food sustainability Garden at rdms during the week of May 20th Miss laudan's constitutional law classes held their mock trials in the library it was a great opportunity for students to get a simulated experience of working in a law profession on May 23rd AP Spanish students traveled to the River Public Library to host a bilingual story time for Young Learners where they taught and read Nursery books congratulations to the rdhs teacher of the year Mr Wilson rdms Teacher of the Year miss Whitaker we are so lucky to have such passionate Educators at Riverdale on May 30th art students hosted a 2024 art expo to Showcase their portfolios and pieces of artwork that they've been working on all year their talent and hard work is remarkable also on May 30th but there was an AP Literature field trip to see Great Gatsby on Broadway in New York City what a cool experience to see one of their class novels come to life for upcoming events a laptop collection will take place next week on Tuesday Wednesday Thursday and Friday for all students this Thursday is the senior scholarship night in the auditorium where students and seniors will be presented their scholarship Awards good luck to all attending and lastly the end of year senior activities are in full swing with the senior award ceremony and senior prom on June 13th yearbook signing breakfast on June 17th and a senior class Field Day on June 18th so now for Middle School report congrats to the boys and girls middle school track team track and field teams for a successful conclusion of their Seasons out of 15 teams in the league the girls finished second overall while the boys took home first place seventh grader Jonathan Park shattered the school mile record with a time of 5 minutes and 9 seconds congrats to our student athletes and amazing coaching staff congrats the uh Middle School mayhawk Spotlight recipients they are as follows Grace gunnerman G Giuliano Brendan gulo Kaden Jung Avery Nixon Cole Hammer Emma ginput and Mera yamas these students were recommended by staff members for modeling examples of the positive behavior we often talk about at rdms way to go Hawks this week the Middle School celebrates student achievement with two induction ceremonies on Wednesday students in the art Honor Society will be inducted and on Thursday students in the Spanish Honor Society will be inducted both ceremonies be at 6:00 honoring these students for a year of dedication and accomplishments congrats to all the inductees last Thursday evening Middle School musicians performed brilliantly in the rdms spring concert both the seventh and eighth grade chuses and seventh and eighth grade bands entertain the audience they were joined by specialized groups such as jazz band select choir and The windw Ensemble congrats to Mr kenned Mr vietta and all the talented artists on a successful concert so we would just like to say thank you to everyone here for extending such a warm welcome for us this year and we're both really grateful to have this experience of listening and engaging in these like important CommunityWide events especially on an administrative level and like although you guys don't think it's interesting like you don't think that we think it's interesting but personally like I was talking to miss O'Neal um last week and she was like I know it's really painful for you guys but I personally think it's really interesting to see like what's going on at the administrative level and like kind of behind the scenes of what's like really behind Riverdale and we just really appreciate your passion and care for serving our student body so thank you we're hopeful in the future that this kind of experience encourages you to go into public service in some way we need good people working on Boards of Education working as as uh Mayors and Council people uh in different communities and this exposure I imagine when this started for riverdell all those years ago this was one of the reasons that you wanted to do it as a board you wanted young people to get exposed to public service and we hope it does inspire to do that in the future they're not going to stay forever Library boards they're so real quick you have to tell everybody where it is that you're going to school next year because we always ask that I'm going to city corland nice um I'm going to University of Texas in Austin congratulations congratulations thank you best of luck okay president's report um I'm going to pass tonight I really have nothing okay um so the superintendent's report yes I'll be very brief as well we had a lot of presentations tonight I want to just thanks again thank again um all the uh staff members that were here tonight um for the recognition of their years of service I think it's great that riverdell does that and certainly to our retirees we wish them all the best we have some fantastic people retiring this year um and you know you always lose something when when you lose U teachers and they move on to retirement you lose a piece of History uh people who have have a lot of shared history both together and and individually and there was some some wet eyes in the audience there tonight as they were leaving they they can't pull it back now because they've already put their paperwork in but um you know we are sorry to see them go we wish them the best um and they'll always be part of the riverdell family so I thank them for their service uh just a general announcement everyone uh the board of course knows but anybody who might be watching at home that you know these next couple of weeks especially for us seniors go very quickly um we're at the end of the school year there's a lot of information going back and forth there have been some um School messenger announcements that have gone out in the last couple of days just reminding students of this and reminding the students of that and parents as well and it can be a little bit uh overwhelming but I just invite everyone to please pay attention to everything that comes out from the building principles especially uh because a lot of this information is time sensitive and we don't want you to miss anything there's a lot of events going on over the next couple of weeks as we come to the culmination of our school year and I invite you to participate in as much as you possibly can and that concludes my report thank you okay committee reports budget and finance John we have not met since the last meeting okay facilities same thing we have not met since the last meeting okay community relations and Technology we did meet earlier this evening and I have a couple of quick updates um we are happy to report that the laptops for both staff and students are currently in the process of being updated um we have also updated our visitor management system to one that includes photo identification on our visitors passes and that we are using our Frontline in a different way which will provide our application process with a larger pool of applicants which is always hope helpful when we're looking to fill positions And as far as community relations go we're happy to report that the district newsletter will still be arriving in your mailboxes in a print form because it allows more members of our community to be aware of what's happening in our district thank you it curriculum we were supposed to meet tonight it's been pushed to June 17th and Poli it's also on June 17th we have two me two meetings yikes and my birthday two committee meetings and my birthday God what you making that was debate I don't know I don't know jeez we we'll chat later okay okay all right I move on all items designated with an asterisk to be part of a consent agenda and approved do I have a motion I'll make that motion thank you thank you any questions on the consent agenda okay Stephanie yes John yes Robert yes Tracy Allen yes Doug yes Barbara yes CIA yes Alan yes E1 it is recommended by the superintendent that the board approve the appointment of gude angle to the position of business administrator board secretary for the period of July 1st 2024 through June 30th 2025 in accordance with the terms and conditions of the cont I'll make that motion I'll second thank you and Trudy thank you for a great year thank you Stephanie yes John yes Robert yes Tracy Ellen yes Doug yes Barber yes yes yes I'd like to move on 11a I'm going to move on 11a and B um one is for Orel one's for River Edge but it's basically the same whereas the rivel regional board of education here and after referred to as the board and its Administration have considered the options available to provide law enforcement in its schools in order to make them safer and more secure I'll also include River Edge in that do I have a motion I'll make that motion thank you I have a second second thank you any questions Stephanie it's not a question just a comment you know and it's it's not like a surprise you know I've been very vocal that um I don't think arming having armed Personnel in the building um necessarily provides more safety um and that there are a lot of other aspects of safety that um we are doing and we have done and will continue to do that I think provide the safest environment um in in most cases it's uh it's human either era or um or intentional opening that really causes um some hiccups in school environments um I would just continue to say that um it really should be something that the students have some voice in because it's it's their school and it's their sense of safety um that really is is Paramount to what goes on all the all the other things that we're doing um and you need Buy in from the ones of not letting people in and following all the protocols and and we' we've done so many Fantastic things somewhere in the referendum some Tracy Ellen just spoke about there's a lot but I don't think having an armed person really um increases that and certainly doesn't increase it for me so I'm just sharing that information John I disagree I think it's long overdue I think it's going to be great to have law enforcement in the building in constant communication I hope we never need them but if we do I think it's going to be great to have the schools you know with that presence anybody else did I know we had some brief conversations at the last meeting but have we clarified or just maybe I I need some more clarification on the role of the officer in the building as far as what their responsibilities are um I've heard some conflicting information from like other districts on what the officer can and can't do as far as their function in the building uh and I know we have security current security Personnel let's call it that do certain tasks um and will you know if it's for instance sitting in the front checking in IDs those kind of things can the officer continue to do those things or is it or is that not allowed like stat statuto no know it's allowed the the to answer your question in in the most expedient way I can um we also work under memorandum agreement with the police department and class three officers will be covered are covered under the memorandum agreement they have certain responsibilities while they're working in the schools and other responsibilities that they do not share such as investigation uh and those kinds of things would be deferred to the actual police department not to the SOS that are working in the building would they be in charge of visitor visitor management they would have a part in visitor management that's not all they would do they're here for the security of the students the staff uh the facility um and they are a resource to the administrators that are currently working in the building um when matters come up that may need law enforcement involvement um or when it's just a matter of just going over something with someone who's a law enforcement God bless you law enforcement professional um who has knowledge of that they have specific training for that as well I have a question yes um Dr Alber you had sent out um an email the other day and stated that if anybody had questions that they could reach out to you just curious did you get any questions no I no questions okay you gentlemen were nice enough to come tonight to the meeting would do you care to add anything before we vote on this I just Chief Walker River I just offer that River started this here in our grammar school Roosevelt in Cherry Hill and it's uh it's been well received by everybody the students the staff the community um and you know when we look at these officers that we're picking right I'm not sure how much you guys know what a slo3 is um it's special law enforcement officer 3 created by the state right to fit this particular role to the retired officers with less than three years out their uh school resource officer trained they're um hired by the police department and obviously work together with the board for these salaries but when we look at these officers it's an officer that's basically 99.9% Community relation oriented and the report that they create with the students and the staff just as as superintendent Al said they don't we don't get them involved if there's something negative with a report writing all the reports were taken by the by my patrol officers they come in so they're never in a spot of oh that guy you know he came after us or he did this he this there always going to be eyes and ears but there you know we hope we never have to or they never have to be used in a way of of uh using the weapon all right but that's there and that's unfortunately you know the society that we have now um the bulk of them is what we've been doing for a long time we've adopted the cop in River Edge where we're first grade they see us in this uniform they know what police officers and guns are right we're in the schools my officers are in the Parks the the children themselves and the kids that have certainly come up through the high school are very comfortable with us because of what we put into the community so this is not going to be we haven't seen it and I really don't think it's going to be something where the the students are apprehensive over they're like oh my God what's a cop doing here course we're in the schools often here you know so um I think I agree I think it's long overdue um and I think it's going to be positive I can say that it already has been um very positive in River Edge I don't if you have any other questions that I can answer but uh that's that's our experience for one year in in River Edge okay any questions okay thank you Judy Stephanie no John yes Robert yes Tracy Ellen yes Doug yes Barber yes CIA yes Allan yes passes okay Jay be it resolved to approve a school district revised final budget for the 2024 2025 school year which includes 136,137 th000 um we received 45% of it back which comes out to be $136,600 and that money is going to be used for overages um both in the middle school and in the high school and to to replace some of the supplies that were cut when we lost all the state aid and just can you explain what overage is overage is is when we need to have another section of a class so we need to pay a teacher extra money to cover that and we have a few of those any questions okay I'll make that motion second thank you Stephanie yes John yes Robert yes an I'm sorry Tracy Ellen yes Doug yes Barbara yes Claudia yes and Allan yes okay I'd like to to move some items over from the cons uh executive agenda uh like to move 3a1 is recommended by the superintendent that the board approve Mary Ellen kleinberg for one additional hour each day 7 to8 at her hour hourly rate effective May 20th 2024 until June 20th 2024 to oversee High School substitute assignments I'd also like to move 3 E1 and 3 E2 E1 it is recommended by the superintendent that the board approve the appointment of veto deloria to the position of assistant superintendent for curriculum instruction and Technology education for the period of July 1st 2024 through June 30th 2025 in accordance with the items and conditions of the contract attached to the Ford secretary's copy of this agenda I'd also like to move forward 32 it is recommended by the superintendent that the board approved the appointment of Dylan McConnell as the high school counselor leave replacement and 3 E4 is recommended by the superintendent that the board approve the appointment of Michael Valentino as high school teacher of physics and we have two more like to move 3E 8 is recommended by the superintendent that the board approve the appointment of the following minibus drivers for the 2024 2025 school year at the rates as per the da agreement for William kleinfelder and Jose Ortiz and last but not least I'd like to move forward 3 e14 it is recommended by the superintendent that the board approv the appointment of Rebecca fanina as the teacher of science I have a motion I'll make that motion I'll second thank you executive tonight okay any questions sorry okay Stephanie yes John yes Robert yes Tracy alen yes Doug yes Barbara yes Claudia yes Alan yes welcome back Peter okay wait has it been approved by the county approved by us any old business or new business oh the River Municipal Alliance will be hosting an event for our seniors the day before prom which would be June 12th at 900 a.m. um it's a follow-up conversation that has been going on um for the past year with um Buster Mari who was a graduate of ours here at riverdell who passed way due to Il lethal overdose of heroin and fenel and um we've had his family come in and speak and now we have one of his good friends coming in to speak so to give our students a different perspective of um how they can help and be supported so we're very excited to have him come that morning than and the the young man who's coming to speak sadly Not only was a friend of Busters but also Tyler keny who died about in six months or yes or so after uh Buster had died maybe a little bit longer but um so that so unfortunately for this young man is not only one friend but two friends that powerful M yeah so um we we we thank Mr pepy for being open to the concept um you know it's different than bringing in a a formal speaker or you know somebody that so it's one of us yeah right and so um we we thank the young man for agreeing to to do this and um and share his thoughts but also for the school for being open to that concept of sort of a uncharted waters a little bit yes okay any golf outing Alan oh golf outing come on you haven't signed up yet you can come to dinner C we going to dinner of course we're going to dinner Dr abro if you're not a golfer you come to dinner veto a golfer come to JL I'm playing but I'm not a golfer oh fun well you come to dinner we could go to p and then go to dinner there's still time to sign up um okay at this point I'd like to open it up to the public for comments hearing none bra good evening we would like to propose that the high school considers the hiring of an additional music teacher because our current music teacher Mr Wilson he is to name all the things that he oversees he is the teacher of the concert band class select choir concert choir History of Rock and Roll he also oversees the music Honor Society our school's AC capella group and the school's drama club and we think that that is too many things for one teacher to oversee and it is very clear to us as students that he's stretched a little too thin and we think that if the high school would hire an additional music teacher that teacher could take over some of the responsibilities that Mr Wilson currently has and it would enhance the um experience of all the music students so that having two teachers they could each focus more on their specific things that they oversee rather than having one teacher stretch Way Too Thin over all of the music activities so we would just like to ask the superintendent the board the administrators to consider that okay thank you thank you anybody else okay do I have a motion to adjourn I'll make that motion thank you