##VIDEO ID:mt0tce3Nurg## Please Mr Chu here Mr Craig here Mrs Maya here Mrs molski here Mrs Savino here Mrs Seltzer here Mrs Sheran Celia here Mrs Sherman here Mr tab here Mr doas here Mrs Kaden here please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all all right uh there is no executive session at this time and our first presentation of the night we are in for a treat the senior string quartet is going to play for us so I will leave it to them for [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] for [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Applause] [Music] for [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] so that was incredible and we want to thank Miss Carlson um for all of her hard work and the following senior students who were playing for us tonight Amelia bergstra rean Burke Max Hest and Finn Sullivan thank you so [Applause] much getting to hear things like that is truly the best part of us having to sit up here in the first place um why don't you because I don't really know go ahead um Miss Coleman's just going to give us an update about the agenda for those that might have it so I apologize there was an issue in printing the agendas the entire agenda is on live on online live but um it seemed we're missing pages of the agenda so not on purpose everything is live um on board dos and on our website so I apologize if everybody's going through the agenda and you start missing wholesale numbers it's not it's not you there was a mess up in the so I apologize um so right with that the first copy of this that I had didn't have the page that had the presentations on it so so if you thought we were missing presentations that's where it where it goes uh we're going to switch over and go into Committee of the whole for the other two presentations um so motion to enter Committee of the whole please so moved and a second second all in favor okay um I'm gonna I guess turn this 3.02 over to bethan actually Matt I think he was our appointed speaker this evening I volunteered um you were violent told sort of No I um in the December meeting uh as we wrap up 2024 and prepare for the second half of the school year it is our tradition to honor the service of board members who are whose terms are ending um out of respect for their wishes uh I'll keep my comments brief I could say a lot but uh could not let this moment pass without acknowledging your hard work and dedication to our community when I joined the board in March of 2020 uh Mary Christine and Reagan uh were three board members who I knew I could rely on for guidance and for answers to my seemingly endless questions um I've appre appreciated how much I've been able to lean on each of you for your support remain in all of your commitment to our schools and to the amount of energy that you've poured into this role uh it's been an absolute pleasure serving with each of you um honored not only to be here and present each of you with these plaques um but also just have had the opportunity to work side by side with you um in service of our students and as a parent in our district I just really want to say thank you that being said if I see any of you in the audience in the next year I am going to tell you to go home respectfully thank you [Applause] w [Applause] and thanks to our family cheering section over there for braving a a meeting for us thanks guys um okay um with that being said we're g to move on to even more fun topics uh budget bethanne is going to talk to us about the 20125 budget guidance actually I think Dr mcdal that's right we're both probably it's it's just a discussion um we rolled out budget guidance to the admins about a week to a week and a half ago so we wanted to um inform the board during Committee of the whole and the public kind of what we rolled out and um how we're going about the 2526 budget so we will also uh in the meeting highlights we will also be sending um all of the information it's really important when we talk about investments in our schools investments in our students um that we talk with great deals of frequency uh and that we put in the uh greatest amount of planning as possible and so the budgetary process for the 2526 school year um starts in September of of 2024 uh we start with formal guidance that goes to uh school and District leaders in October uh technical assistance and further discussion and ongoing planning review and Analysis takes place between December all the way through uh budget submission in March uh and the goal is to make sure that we are appropriately aligning resources uh to our needs of our students and our schools and so in keeping with the theme for this current school year shifting from recovery to rigor um we always want to make sure we're being aligned with our vision and our mission but we also want to make sure that we are removing uh systems and barriers that may be preventing uh students from getting what they need schools from getting the resources and the support that they need as well we also want to make sure that there's a great emphasis on effective teaching as well as uh strong local site-based school leadership as well as making sure that we're supporting our faculty and staff and so uh we've heard many different names about budgetary philosophy strategies and approaches But ultimately budgets are based on uh students and so in a student-based budgeting environment resources are allocated to schools uh based on uh achievement gaps demographics um actual uh articulated needs areas of focus for each individual school and no school budget is the same because every single school has different needs has different uh components that make that school uh unique and so we want to make sure that our budgets accurately reflect that and so from September to November we discussed the budget cycle with all school and District administrators and we're in anticipation for what uh some of the known quantities that we're going to be planning for there are several unknown quantities uh that we will continue to uh put plans and contingencies in place um but we won't have the complete and accurate picture until sometime in February and so December and January is really looking at the requests coming from schools in preparation for all of the revenues or all of the resources that will be available uh to to be distributed uh come February with final decisions uh being made and sent to the state back for their review in March and then it comes back to the Board of Education in April uh for the board to be able to further uh scrutinize to make sure that it meets the needs of our school community and then to uh eventually approve uh in the April board meeting and so in terms of planning guidance um it's pretty simple uh we make sure that uh schools first identify their priori priorities every school is going to have different priorities uh we want to make sure that that is a collaboration between faculty and staff in each school in order to establish key priorities for the 25 26 school year it's also important in the spirit of transparency that schools communicate to their specific Community what their priorities are and how they're going about making decisions it's also important that we review and analyze student data data often tells a story but it doesn't tell the only story uh but data is extremely important if we're going to move towards academic achievement and proficiency for all students we also want to make sure that we're aligning our staffing to the needs of students within their schools and schools have the flexibility to take an individualized approach to how they're going to do that we want schools to be places that focus on Solutions and we want them to be creative or Innovative whenever uh and however possible but we also want to make sure that because this is a budgetary exercise that schools are maximizing the resources that are available to make sure that students receive the most benefit from the resources that are available we want schools to focus on student needs we want them to prioritize academic achievement we want student voice to be one of the primary drivers in how decisions are made at the campus not as easy at Elementary uh but significantly more easy uh easier to do at the secondary level uh because the students are are complex thinkers they have strong desires they have strong interests and our goal is to make sure that all of our schools are engaging places where young people want to be we also need to be cognizant of enrollment pattern shifts and changes in years where we see increases in enrollment that requires schools to make adjustments in years where we see decreases in enrollment similar adjustments must also be be made in addition to making sure that uh schools fundamentally understand that they have the flexibility to remove or adjust or add courses or programs that align to their schools specific strategies or academic goals in addition to looking at discretionary spending and using it as an opportunity to enrich and supplement The Learning Experience for all students we want there to be uh coordination and planning between departments so that we don't have redundancy or duplication in our spending efforts which then translates into wasted dollars and missed opportunities for the young people in our district and so one of the statements that we have used for the last several years is when in doubt accelerate and when there is no doubt innovate we want schools to be places that push the boundaries we are never looking for Perfection only progress and so the budget priorities for the 2526 school year from a district perspective are to improve the alignment of the administrative team making sure that roles and responsibilities are aligned with our strategic goals and our objectives actively engage our community continually around our infrastructure challenges continue to identify strategies for adequate school funding and the advocacy needed both at the local the county and the state level actively pursue additional revenues in order to support uh Innovative student learning initiatives and then commit uh to supporting and retaining our dedicated faculty and staff in areas of curriculum and instruction continue to pursue with Fidelity implementation of the science of reading improve the quality of teaching and learning by making sure that we're using effective curriculum Resources by making sure that we are building instructional leadership capacity in every school and making sure that we are building District capacity to shift to becoming more inclusive schools at at every level while also providing targeted levels of support in literacy and Mathematics in terms of prek through five priorities we are focused on increasing access to high quality preschool seats for all Collingswood families so until we get to Universal levels we still have work to do um we are currently in the process of planning for four additional classrooms in Collingswood which will add 60 additional seats to Collingswood families of high quality early childhood education in addition to our elementary schools maintaining their infrastructures to support and sustain a quality multi-tiered system of support uh for students of varying uh needs grades 6 through 12 we're seeking to uh develop the infrastructure to support and sustain a robust tiered system uh uh of support for secondary students in addition to implementation of our math curriculum with Fidelity for improved outcomes in algebra geometry and Algebra 2 um and so we will be sending out uh this is the same guidance that our school leaders are receiving uh we believe that it's important for our community to all be on the same page about the challenges that we face and the opportunities that are present uh when we all come together uh and that's that's the the the guidance thank you Dr mcow I imagine um this will be an on well I'm positive it will be an ongoing conversation um for every board meeting from now until um when the budget uh is due and Beyond uh but did want to open it up it's why we went into Committee of the whole if any board members had questions or thoughts that they wanted to raise wait hold on one second because he's leaving right now I did I didn't want to say anything and because I know most of the people don't really want to hear anything but I've been watching all looking over here and remembering how little all of these kids were when their moms started on this journey uh Jonah wasn't even who's the kid about to leave wasn't even in school yet um my other kid my youngest kid wasn't even born yet um and the rest of them were in all the rest of them sitting there were in middle and high school and pretty much almost all of them have graduated from high school now and are in college and Beyond so um they had to deal with their moms uh doing a lot of extra work and um dealing with their moms being on the school board while they were in school so I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you to all of you for um supporting us on this journey you guys deserve a round of [Applause] Applause sorry Jonah you can go now with and now we can talk about the budget um with the guidance I would just ask that we put in um the dates for the school funding uh conversations that Trenton is holding right now uh for those that aren't aware uh the conversation around the school funding formula is currently happening at the state level uh they are taking feedback as they look to tweak redo address I was thinking should I I was thinking I had that thought today should I put it on the website this way of any citizen I know a lot of people have come to the board meetings like to question school funding and ask like what the board is doing and what they can do you can register to either attend and or speak so I can maybe I'll send that to the tech department maybe put it on the front page that would be great it's January the southern one is January 16 yeah there yeah so happen State real opportunity for voices in communities like ours to be heard and really to to express the fact that this is not the time to be cutting back on education funding um and really needs innovative solutions but um really needs to be a a area of focus at particularly at the state level thank you um I had a question about something you said um you know Dr mcdal you said that and I appreciate this that schools should communicate their priorities to their communities um um so what what could families and community members expect to hear from their school leaders about this process and so one of the um one of the things that it's it's it's important is that when changes take place at any campus whether they be uh new Innovative or if something is uh dissolving or no or no longer being done um it's important that when the changes come up uh we have the expectation that all schools communicate what are the changes why are the changes taking place and what will be replacing said change or if there are new opportunities what are the new opportunities and how can families be involved and what's that positive impact on the students in which we serve and so School budgets are um indicative of the localized needs and so it's important that families in each of our schools understand how resources are being spent and ways that they can help to inform if there are unmet needs at their child school I was also thinking for at least one of our board round taes that will be continuing in the New Year probably two would make sense if we pce them out topics around budget um particularly as we find out either State funding or we get deeper into the process and schools are talking about next year um I think you've laid out clearly the benefits of building based um leadership and building based budgets um so I don't think that you know the need to rehash that I just had a question um based on the information shared in terms of the data I don't exactly know when that was if it was one meeting ago or two meetings ago and the St contrast in terms of um different schools and you know the outcomes of you know you know present at different schools and I know that you said that you know like this is a snapshot right so standardized testing only shows a snapshot granted that's true but this snapshot has been shown year after year after year and probably decades right um so while appreciative of the fact that building based leadership building based budgets how is the district going to support those schools that clearly need the the extra supports um because they just they do so what are we going to do to kind of uh supercharged or super you know those schools good evening and great question thank you for asking that um so beginning uh you know and over the last three weeks as Dr McDow said we shared out this process and information with all of our leaders they've begun digging into the process in order to submit a draft in the next few days here and then immediately following the winter break and winter holidays uh the weeks of the 6th and the 13th I believe it is um I'll be sitting one-on-one with every principal going just line by line through um their budgetary plans looking at last year's budget projecting ahead to next year perhaps even projecting ahead to Beyond um and making sure that there is obvious direct correlation between um student per student performance in the past and and how we're planning for the future and so I'm looking forward to those conversations with every building leader just to follow up but if there is a if there is more need in a building which clearly it would appear that there is and I'm using the word need because I can't quite honestly think of another word um but if more need is demonstrated in a in a specific building is it possible to give support to that building most certainly and so um we would be looking at that from a couple a couple of different um perspectives and in some cases these um uh differentiated supports are already in place so um in some instances there are two interventionists in a building where there's demonstrated need that's already in place um and there's no intent to shift or change from that um and then looking again at other kinds of Target targeted curricular um uh models that perhaps we haven't considered yet and could be implementing at one or multiple places etc those were those will be the types of processes that are either already in place and will continue or that we'll be looking to going forward um I have a question as we continue to have these discussions is there a way for us to get a sense of um out of the student achieve numbers students who have spent most of their academic careers in Collingswood as opposed to students who come into the district um at various times of their school careers I think it would be helpful to know um you know I think differentiating some of that data would be helpful considering we do have a lot of students who come into the district at various times of their academic careers as well as leave um and then also for those populations that are not spending all of their time here um are there different support systems that we can put into place to support that population any other questions uh on the the budget guidance discussion is there any sense from the state or anywhere where we might be landing in terms of of State funding this year no um I'm sorry queen of the obvious um the Articles I've been reading as the governor's doing like all these like Town Hall going to everybody saying that he fully funded the formula I think which is why they're doing these Town Hall meetings because you know he's say I fully funded the formula so hey what's next like what are your ideas um of which we have many just because he thinks he fully funded it doesn't mean in that he funded it correctly in my personal opinion um but our enrollment is down slightly so I'm anticipating flat stated flat state aid if not a little bit of a decrease because obviously they are supposed to fund based on the number of children that we report every October so um we are down actually in both collinswood and Oakland we're both down a little bit so I wouldn't expend I wouldn't expect a windfall and I'm not expecting a windfall I think like I said a million times our argument that I would like to make is that the 2% needs to needs to move in line with CPI and some of the rising costs that treaten pass on to the school district that's the argument that I am planning to make so at the and just to add to that at the state budget level they are not anticipating as much money being there as years passed and there have been uh steps already been taken at the state level to address that so I think there still education Still Remains a priority at least in words so hopefully we'll see that in actions in terms of funding but uh this will not be like last year is a lot of what's being said yeah because just like just like us we got they got eser money that is has expired so there are additional pots where they can offer all these specialized grants that's pretty much all gone I would imagine so so you're saying that next this coming year should be an improvement from last year or no okay and so that we should know febru end of February from yes usually um the governor speaks third Tuesday February and then within 48 Hours he has to give us the state aid so it would be the the Thursday of that third week in February is typically when we get State and then we have about three weeks to balance the budget and turn it over to the state by March 20th and and also that so then right now our kind of only method to raise revenue is either tuition from externally or tuition or tax levy correct and tax levy C at 2% so that's 2% of like the $18 million or so that it's about $373,000 three 37373 $31 okay I've done the math yeah um again tuition I'm still waiting um tuition our certified tuition rates will not be in probably till the end of January so once our certified tuition rates are in which tells me exactly the state calculates exactly how much it costs per grade level it'll then that lets me informs the finance committee on what we can charge intuition to our neighboring districts Oakland and Woodland um in the following school year but I can't really start estimating that until the certify exactly what it cost for each grade level So So currently our budget our total budget's around is 40 the general funds about 37 and some odd million and then grants are about another almost three million and so so basically without knowing let's just assume the state funding is flat basically we're looking at maybe like $370,000 extra on that 3740 million budget if nothing else goes up yes really quick has there been any improvements in the postco price spikes like has transportations continued to rise or we get making any ground there no um transportation's leveling off um I'm just going to go on my soap box now my frustration is I sat on a a committee of um my State Association so just what you want to be in a room with 20 Bas that are angry but it was 20 of us and the accountability regulations that govern basically basically how we operate um were up they sunset in June so they were up for Renewal they asked for comment from the people who do the work so we went through Page by page of 300 pages of statue and we gave them feedback um they took none of it but what we recommended was the 2% needs to slide in line with CPI that was rejected we also said for those cost drivers that are beyond our control meaning child plac out of District at a private school for the disabled no fault of their own but Trenton sets those rates we don't so we're kind of captive to the rate that Trenton sets for the private schools in addition we're kind of captive captive to the rates that the busing companies charge so two extremely big cost drivers in our budget we have no control over Trent needs to cap that and cap them in line with the 2% that we've been capped at for all of these years because they directly Trent and directly approves those costs and passes than on right um they set the CPI for transportation they approved the tuition rates we're just expected to make up the difference every year and it's getting increasingly hard at 2% so they're being very toned deaf to what's happening out there but it's suiting their narrative so until people start screaming uh people Beyond me and board members like those who come to board meetings and understand this but traton is very toned deaf that 2% on a tax levy although in total it is keeping property taxes down right that was the goal but services to children are starting to suffer you can't arbitrarily hold property taxes low if your services are suffering there're still we still have the obligation to provide the services regardless of how we generate the money or get the money so that's the struggle and they were completely toned off and they rejected all of our comments so just FYI I did I did make my comments um but they were rejected all right so I'm not anticipating clarify like the those cost drivers that you're saying that the state approves if I remember correctly last year the transportation piece they approved like a 6% increase on the trans um like 5.8 5.81 so basically that that Transportation companies could charge like 5.81% more than last year's rate correct exactly how it works don't mean to bum everybody out before the so on that Sunny note sorry um yeah like um as I said I'm sure there will be many more discussions uh during Committee of the whole um from this point forward uh about planning for the budget um planning for all contingencies all that sort of thing um yeah um one last quick thing we just wanted to to address before then we're going to let our our have our student rep speaks uh is the there's an item on the buildings and grounds agenda tonight for um Justin Brown uh to work on building capacity and developing tools that will Foster a diverse School community and we just uh we wanted uh Dr McDow and then any of us that wanted to chime in to just give a brief um overview of what the plan will be um for him and so so first and foremost it's important to to make sure that we're noting um any initiative that uh School District districts are uh or excuse me that our school district is establishing um are not being paid out of General funds uh we for the last several years have been pretty uh aggressive in pursuing Grant dollars so that we were not having to take away from classroom dollars um or general fund dollars that were uh in Decline uh to do some of the important work and so case in point um The Wellness Center um has been completely paid for using a Federal grant uh some of the uh mtss work both at the elementary and at the secondary level um has all been funded through Grant dollars with the goal of building um a sustainable plan that last once the grant funds run out and so embedded in every Grant are uh professional development and strategic implementation support and so using some of our uh Grant dollars we will um we we believed that we needed an implementation partner um specifically to help address some of the achievement challenges uh that you heard referenced earlier uh some of the cultural challenges uh that we have historically had within our school district um and to equip our Educators and our administrators with additional tools so that we could better serve and support um a growing uh population of diverse students both in ability um and also in need and so uh the uh dap is the organization that was selected um there were five uh organizations that submitted a proposal and so what we were looking for was um did they understand the needs of our particular school district and so and in the the needs of our school district were they aware of um our faculty staff Administration our community being in very different places and there needing to be a little something for every everybody in order to continue these conversations in a uh in a productive Manner and so uh with this consultant uh we believe it's important that they come in uh listening that they engage our community um that is very diverse and as very a wide range of need um in order to help us build a strategic plan related to how do we de appropriately uh develop a sense of of in of inclusive iive schools where all students feel welcome and all students feel like they have a place where they belong uh that process uh would start first and so that would require both school-based and communitybased engagement in order for uh the implementation partner to be able to help us construct a long-term multi-year plan um to address some of the challenges paired with that would come uh targeted professional development We Believe those topics would emerge only after engaging our community and so um that would be the second phase and then paired with that would be the establishment of um of a council of a task force of of of groups of individuals at each school to actually help us Implement support the work and hold ourselves accountable to making meaningful progress um and so the uh consultant was selected based on the of their proposal um based on the uh affordability of their proposal we saw proposals ranging uh from 25,000 to $250,000 uh and so we wanted to make sure that while we're building capacity we are also not overburdening our faculty and staff who are currently um laser focused on uh filling in gaps specifically as it relates with the varying performance band of our students um and so we needed an organization that kind of recognize the Continuum of what change looks like um and the bandwidth that our school district currently has and so we believe that this is a uh a nice transition in order to uh level set um and commit uh to being able to move the work forward uh but doing it a little bit differently by engaging our community in really making sure that the the areas of focus that we're placing the training and the capacity is actually being built in the areas of greatest need um and so when is this work uh slated to begin so our original timeline we uh were pretty aggressive we believe that uh a lot of the work needed to take place between now and uh and summer um we're going to sit down uh pending approval from the board we'll sit down with the consultant uh we will adjust the timeline um because we believe that that Community engagement piece is important um and so that will extend the the the timeline um and so we're going to look at when an appropriate start date makes the most sense uh and then work backwards from there and then um for for kind of those in in buildings in the beginning of this process what could they kind of expect from from this work like what will that look like on the ground for them so initially um the only thing we'll be asking schools to do is to participate um provide feedback um help to begin um establishing Rapport uh with the implementation partner uh and just being uh honest and truthful about the challenges that are happening at the school level um and uh hopes desires about what type of support might be most helpful in order to address those challenges um thank you Dr mcdal I appreciate the the emphasis on listening first and I think you know I think that will be really good um will the um implementation partner also be partnering with some of the other initiatives going on like for example the student Voice work that's happening will there be any crossover because these seem to be aligned initiatives so there's a there's a there's a few opportunities um that we're actually really excited about um one is the uh the elevating student voice project uh the off official uh title of that group of young people is the student voice action committee uh and you'll hear a little bit more about that during my actual formal report and so it would be our expectation uh that the implementation partner Works um with multiple student groups um because they have um detailed information that would be most helpful in actually getting it right uh paired with that uh we also believe that it's important uh for us to aggressively push the conversation around inclusion and so um we will be authorizing our special services team uh to begin engaging in in a parallel Community uh process around putting in a strategic uh action plan uh to aggressively increase uh inclusion happening within our school uh to uh multiple phases and so we believe that you can have a conversation about diversity Equity inclusion or belonging without that also being um one of the core foundations of the plan and so uh the student voice group groups um the inclusion um discussions and groups paired with this we believe will strike the right balance and and and be able to help us move move forward um before I close this out anybody else have any questions um on this I do um I think the only thing that I was looking at was the time frame so I think that uh you were looking at hiring this company back in November but we didn't put it on the agenda for that night I'm not sure why it was tabled but it was and then um you know was is now December so I'm assuming that they're not going to start any kind of implementation until January and then it only runs until June so it says it was for the year and I just wanted to make sure that we're maximizing on on that year in terms of the time frame so embedded in in the propos in the the pending awarded proposal um their proposal States a a year worth of of service and so we haven't started yet and so we would be assuming that that approval would be a year from the actual start date not a year from from November we also asked to made sure too that the funding doesn't end at the end of the school year so we would be able to extend P because the terms of the grant aren't based on the school year it's on I believe the calendar year I I have one more question so in terms of um involving the staff and making sure that they have input in all the things were were they involved in the conversations in hiring this company did they have any input in that that's that's that's not that's not how it works um bethanne can share with you the um RFP process which is a a uniquely a a district process and so if you could kind of get the details um so RFP is basically request for proposal it's kind of like a bid but it's one of those instances we publish just like a bid but um proposals come in and then in accordance with state law I in the body of the bid we put um the scoring criteria so we normally seat a committee of three or more people to review um the rfps when they come in with the scoring rubric and then the the group that gets the highest score wins the RFP basically is what happened so in this case it was Fred myself and somebody else in the administrative office but I forget who the third person was their initials are on the um so oh was Maria in my office so three different people we sit and you know um yeah so three of us you know we read the RFP that was published based on the scope of services that was um prepared and then they read the RFP and all other things you know the um price has to be consideration so obviously that is one of the um the criteria that has to be at least one of them I think we had three to five criteria um in the RFP so we kind of scored them and then the highest um scoring one gets it get wins the wins it so is this company to replace the adz consulting firm that we had this is sort of the same thing right so um yes yet it's it's it's more of we've established a foundation um but it's also important to note is that the equity work that we did as a district uh pre pandemic looked very different than the equity work that needs to take place now um and so the strategy um the core principles will be similar but the strategies in order to get there will be dramatically different oh I'm sorry go ahead okay will there be any collaboration I know we've heard from um some faculty members several times about the equity Council that currently exists in the district will they be brought in on some of this work whether it's um the listening sessions or um you say something about a task force and I guess two-part question I also just want to make sure I understand um the way you laid out the timeline so did I understand year one will be uh engagement from uh the district and the community and is it year two then professional development and year three task force or are these just the the are these just steps that uh that the process is going to take so these are these are steps this is not a a multi-year initiative and so um written within the proposal was basic was a a year sure uh and so we realized that that this work is uh is complex um and that it requires multiple phases um and so this would be phase one uh in answer to your first question um out of respect for the the process of um negotiations once we reached impass um there's no additional uh uh requests uh of volunteer and volunteerism which is what the historical Equity councils have always been they were always non compensated roles and responsibilities uh we believe that in um this new iteration with the new uh implementation partner uh there will be subtle tweaks um it will be an open process to all faculty and staff across the district uh and then the establishment of a of a task force or an implementation team um it would be a new a new process based on what we learned during the community engagement piece thank you um okay with that uh all of that being said motion to exit Committee of the whole so moved and a second second all in favor uh thank you for all that discussion we're going to skip to section nine the student report and let danne um tell us what's going on with students right now got it uh so not much has happened uh past couple week there have been two big sales one by the French Club and one by the social justice club uh to fund a uh a charity to help the children of Gaza um fall Sports finished up I think a couple weeks ago as well winter sports just started and um other than that the Wi-Fi uh not been great for the past couple weeks it cut out a couple times as well as the smart pass system that down earlier today but that was only for like an hour that's all I got and then you got reindeer games coming up right yeah we do yeah okay thank you very much um as always you are more than welcome to stay but we also understand it's uh December and everybody's ready to be done so if you'd like to to head out that's perfectly fine too um moving on to section five future dates and miscellaneous information there's lots on there there various um concerts uh some during the day uh the CHS winter Coral concerts in the evening um reindeer games is on that schedule as well as um I don't know that it's all on here but madrigals are going to be singing all over the place in the next uh week or so so uh listen for them as well um moving on to section six routine business motion to approve the minutes of the November 25th 2024 regular board meeting so move and second is this roll call all in favor uh we are at our first opportunity for public comment the purpose for this public comment section is to discuss items listed on the agenda additional more General comments may be made later in the meeting the public is reminded that attempts to resolve all concerns and complaints should first go through appropriate staff members and administrators the intent of public comment is to give the community the opportunity to provide feedback to the board we'll be actively listening and taking notes so that we can take all that is being set into consideration if appropriate clarifying comments if appropriate excuse me clarifying comments may be made at the end of the public comment section for more detailed responses to concerns communication may go out later in the week by the appropriate staff members or administrators or be discussed by the board during future committee meetings members of the public are welcome to speak and expected to do so with the utmost sensitivity for everyone in attendance In fairness to all who wish to speak there's a strict five minute excuse me didn't update my uh my uh paper that I had to print out because I lost it last one of the the ever three minute time limit per person during public comment um remember to state your name for the record and address and um Miss Coleman is going to be keeping time with my phone today instead uh so there we go good evening my name is Mr Goldberg music teacher at the Garfield and Tatum elementary schools here in Collingswood I'm here today proudly speaking on behalf of the district music teachers Miss Carlson Mr gross Mr Hartong miss inasa miss lwig and myself it is the mission of the Collingswood Public School District's music department to provide every Collingswood student the opportunity to grow through a high-quality ability appropriate universally accessible music education that inspires the continuing study of music coming up in January all three Elementary after school music clubs District Band District Orchestra and catonic District choir celebrate the snowy season in our district elementary Ensemble Winter concert also auditions will be held for the High School Musical Little Shop of Horrors finally congratulations to the seven Collingswood students who successfully auditioned and earned a spot in next month's all South Jersey middle and high school honors choirs for more details on any of these exciting events please feel free to reach out to your school music teacher the high school magical singers an auditioned extracurricular choir that has been in existence for over 40 years has been rather busy they welcomed the season at Collingswood annual tree tree lighting lifted the spirits of those most in need at cam Camden's Cathedral kitchen revitalized staff climate at the High School faculty breakfast and serated Shoppers at the William P Tatum Holiday Market most recently the magicals were honored with a feature on CBS News however they're not done yet you will soon find the magicals on stage at Wednesday's High School winter Coral concert touring the district to sing for every Elementary School the following two days and finally carolling by the clock tower on Haden Avenue Friday afternoon thank you to all the magical singers for making this season bright here in Collingswood leading this dedicated Ensemble is their dedicated teacher Miss Kristen incasso under Miss ino's Direction Collingswood choirs have performed at the prestigious Lincoln Center Carnegie Hall the Kimmel Center the National Cathedral in Washington DC and more she is presented at the New Jersey music educators Association conference and has conducted the South Jersey Coral Directors Association Festival currently she's serving as the duly elected president of the South Jersey choir Directors Association an organization that supports nearly 100 conductors singers and teachers in the area Collingswood is exceedingly fortunate to have such a distinguished music teacher expert at the for for front of our music department I am personally grateful to have her as a colleague a mentor and a friend thank you Miss incasso for everything you do and thank all of you here for your time [Applause] today all right um thank you Mr Goldberg uh moving on to section eight the superintendent report uh Dr mcdal will present okay uh section uh 8.01 um is the enrollment report uh November 2023 enrollment was 2256 uh enrollment for November 2024 is 2226 and that is attached uh 8.02 and 8.04 are the school safety drill reports and the anti-bullying report uh and I have just a few uh announcements uh for this evening um uh first uh we would like to uh publicly congratulate uh Benjamin arbach who was selected as a 2025 um RC a national RC scholarship recipient uh this is uh a $180,000 uh scholarship with a national process that is extensive it involves a thorough interview and is extremely competitive and so out of 132 applicants across the country uh Ben was was one of 21 uh recipients for this prestigious award uh and so we just wanted to uh publicly say that we're extremely proud of Ben uh and everything that he will accomplish in the [Applause] future and so mentioned earlier during our committee of the whole we talked about uh the elevating uh student Voice work and so all of this work is aligned with our strategic plan to increase opportunities for student influence on overall school life and so this summer we began working with a diverse group of student leaders uh on this project and it seeks to build capacity for high school students to participate in comprehensive School Reform and so in partnership with their advisers the student voice action committee has identified uh discrimination lack of communication and limited accommodations as primary areas of concern and so the purpose of their committee is to develop a greater sense of belonging on campus to improve School climate and culture and to help uh work with the adults in the building to establish support for more engaging classroom learning and so last week we met uh with this group of students uh and we're extremely excited about what they have planned to improve their school so once they have uh finalized their goals and strategies additional communication will follow and we would just like to uh thank the co-advisors as well as the program leads for supporting student leadership on campus campus uh as part of our continuing effort to uh continue elevating student voice this month we also met with diverse groups of students in the middle and the high school level questions included what were not limited to things that they liked did not like about school what changes uh in their experience would they like to see uh what additional programs or opportunities would they find value or interest in how would they compare School culture this year uh to last year and how can we uh uh ramp up our College and Career Readiness uh preparation efforts uh and so in January we will host Elementary uh student focus groups and meet with available faculty and staff at all schools and so we're actively seeking feedback on how the school year is Progressive uh progressing and what we can do to provide additional support uh once all the feedback is received uh we will be sharing that feedback publicly uh in future updates and so we just wanted to uh also bring additional attention to uh uh last week there was inclusive schools week and so there was a whole host of activities that took place uh across every campus um we'd like to just to thank uh cpeg as well as our special services team for putting all of this together our goal is is to make all of our school communities more inclusive with inclusive schools week seeking to celebrate the progress of our schools uh in educating and increasingly diverse population acknowledging the hard work and commitment of schools and communities in creating opportunities for young people regardless of ability gender ethnicity language or health status encouraging reflection on how culture policies and practice can promote more inclusive opportunities for all young people and then promoting actions to increase the capacity of our schools and Community to meet the needs of all Learners and so uh we're just extremely proud uh and thankful for all of the schools and the volunteers in each of our schools who support this important work and then we will be uh using the work uh that cpeg and special and special services has been uh pursuing for the last two to two and a half years uh to move to the next level we believe that more definitive action with goals and metrics uh is appropriate uh and we will be starting that engagement uh work in January uh we'd also like to thank the interact club and student council for their Community Service uh both of these student groups they made 250 sandwiches to support the mission of Cathedral kitchen Camden's largest emergency food provider serving more than 100,000 meals per year and so what we've seen time and time again is the commitment of the young people in this District to be able to give back to the community specifically those that are in need and we just wanted to bring lots of positive attention to our students in addition we would like to uh uh mention uh the important work that's taking place at our Middle School uh through their food pantry which was highlighted last week on CBS news our Middle School um staff and students continue to go above and beyond to also support the needs of the community and so we would like to give special recognition to miss nner and all the student volunteers at the middle school for also leading this important work as well and so our schools are all engaged in uh this week in Winter fund uh so as we close out uh the 2025 school year and so students will be singing on the steps of their schools some students will be spreading holiday cheer uh in the Town Center um our youngest Learners are actually learning new songs after uh their Heroes and so um it was important to share with some of our high school students last week uh specifically our senior leaders is they were talking about how excited they were to be able to provide mentorship and support at all of our elementary schools and so I shared with them how uh jazzed the elementary students were because they look at high school students as the cool big kids and so every time I'm on campus they talk about how positive this experience is and so we want to continually bring attention to that um of our students uh some students are celebrating with flannel and fuzzy socks others are designing uh handcrafted cards to send to soldiers overseas others are participating in fundraisers to show appreciation for our First Responders uh and as we heard from our student representative uh there will be a host of winter uh festivities and activities uh with uh reindeer games taking place later this week um we'd also like to now I am not as eloquent I do not have the radio voice that Mr Goldberg has but I would like to uh give a plug to the high school uh Winter concert again on uh Wednesday at 7 o'clock in the auditorium it is free uh please come out uh to hear uh the song birds of Collingswood um give their uh their performance uh our Wellness Center is currently uh supporting uh mental health screenings and so uh families will be able to go to the parent portal for important messages about our Wellness Center and no cost uh mental health screenings for uh young people in grades 7 through 12 and so there are forms that are located with the goal of the screener to help identify students who may be in need of additional Services as they relate to school connect connectedness in addition coming through our Wellness Center is pre-employment transition services and so we are partnering with National Employment 360 to provide opportunities for students ages 14 to 21 the wellness to work program is a unique pre-employment training program to help equip students with vocational skills job placement self- advocacy social skills and other qualities necessary for Independent Living students that are 14 to 21 with varying learning disabilities mental health diagnoses and challenges or medical conditions can receive direct instruction as well as ongoing support uh we'll be sending that information out um with uh questions and more information uh and that concludes uh my report thank you thank you Dr mcel uh moving on to section 10 the business administrator board secretary report Miss Coleman will present um item 10.01 is a listing of your November monthly budget transfers 10.02 are your November financial statements 10.03 is a listing of your Student Activity uh cash reports I do not have a food service financial statement at this time so I will present it in January um 10.05 is a listing of the purchase orders that have been issued for the month of December and in 10.06 is the listing of the warrants that will be paid tomorrow morning pending approval tonight thank you uh section 11 the buildings grounds and finance committee Mr Craig will present thank you the uh Finance buildings and grounds committee reviews all financial statements purchase orders and warrants on a monthly basis the committee also reviews and approves all contracts with outside service providers and oversees all maintenance and capital Improvement projects districtwide um we're seeking approval on the following items uh 112 to 119 as the board secretary's report has presented and we will take out the um the Food Service report from that thank you uh 1110 uh using health and wellness Grant funds for after school Services through the resilience Resource Center uh to support lgbtqia a plus students uh through an after school program uh 11-11 is accepting a $55,000 honorarium from the uh can't read my own handwriting Association of nurses um thank you to our school nurses for the our school nurse team for doing the uh the work to secure These funds 1112 the justel brown Diversity Awareness program RFP response to our building capacity grants RFP uh 1113 shared service agreement with Gloucester City uh 1114 is amending the culture and climate Grant funds uh to properly reflect um where spending is going for Staffing uh 11:15 through 1118 are use of facility requests uh first for staff Wellness healthare uh and then the 76ers basketball camp and then finally two Odyssey of the Mind events uh so seeking approval for items 112 to 1118 thank you motion to approve set items so moved and a second second questions or comments from board members roll call please Mr Chu yes Mr Craig yes Mrs Maya yes Mrs molski yes Mrs saino yes Mrs Seltzer yes Mrs Sheron Celia yes Mrs Sherman yes Mr tab yes Mr doas yes Mrs Kaden yes section 12 the curriculum committee Mr will present the curriculum committee overseas and approves the district curriculum and assessment programs as well as field trips home instruction co-curricular programs and the school calendar uh up for approval tonight items 12.02 and 12.03 are Middle School and High School field trips um and I guess on the high school field trips uh that does include the magicals in April going to carnegi Hall uh so kind of to add on to that theme um 12.04 is an overnight field trip for the high school TV uh production and art students to go out to LA um in uh February then there are uh 12.05 and 12.06 are out of District uh and and home instruction placements for uh some students and so for tonight uh we're seeking approval for items 12.02 through 12.06 thank you motion approve to approve set items so moves and a second questions or comments from board members roll call please Mr Chu yes Mr Craig yes Mrs Maya yes Mrs molski yes Mrs saino yes Mrs szer yes Mrs Sheron Celia yes Mrs Sherman yes Mr tab yes Mr doas Yes except we're required to obstain Mrs Kaden yes uh section 13 the Personnel committee Miss Sheridan Celia will present uh good evening the Personnel committee reviews all recommendations for teaching and staff employment considers co-curricular employment and considers all professional development opportunities for staff members rather light agenda for this meeting and I'm seeking approval for agenda items 13.02 through 13.20 um items 13.02 through 13.04 are leaves of absence 13.05 is the appointment of a social worker at 13.06 the appointment of a long-term Elementary research resource teacher at it item 13.07 we're extending the cont contract for a French teacher 13.08 is another social worker appointment at 13.09 and 13.10 are the appointment of two part-time uh temporary substitutes for PE uh 13.11 is an elementary long-term sub as well as 13.12 at 13.13 is the appointment of a part-time secondary mtss coach um we have a revision at 13.14 to the sharp rates for after school program that we approved last month there was a minor typo and 13.15 is athletic event Personnel 13.6 and 13.17 are um I'm sorry 13166 is are revisions to the athletic coach um at the High School coaches at the high school level at 13.17 is um non nonathletic EDP stiens 13.18 is a student practicum placement of um a student from Rowan College uh 13.19 is a list of new substitutes and appointment of substitutes and tutors and we have a few items on the travel expense form at 13.20 so this evening I'm seeking approval of agenda items 13.02 through 13.20 thank you motion to approve set items so moved and a second questions or comments from board members have a question about uh 13.13 uh Mr ml is coming back past a part-time secondary mtss coach uh just if I remember correctly Mr mlan was a high school teacher correct who left a couple years ago and then he middle he he's uh middle and high school he left to uh he got a doctoral Fellowship um and he in order to accept the fellowship to get his PhD he had to uh remove his full-time employment um and so but he will be he has hours that he's been approved through his doctoral program um and he wants to work with with us awesome thank you any other questions or comments from board members I have a question about that same item is someone is that a preexisting position or was that an open position it's uh it's open it's an open um and so we originally pursued a fulltime position uh we were not able to fill it fulltime and so uh we gave the the team the ability if you could bring in somebody part-time uh to help build capacity so the students are receiving the services that was another opportunity and they were able to fill it with a parttime any other questions or comments roll call please Mr Chu yes Mr Craig yes Mrs Maya yes Mrs molski yes Mrs saino yes Mrs Seltzer yes yes Mr sherid and Celia yes Mrs Sherman yes Mr Tav yes with extensions were necessary Mr dolus Yes except we're required to abstain Mrs Kaden yes section 14 the culture climate and policy committee Miss zzer will present the culture climate and policy committee reviews all updates and changes of District policies and regulations um very brief agenda this month we have one policy up for a second read That's 9181 um as discussed last month no major revisions to this just some language and some um regulations around TB testing um that's 14.02 and 14.03 is actually going to be tabled yes that's what I was just going to say is um was added fairly late to the agenda so we're going to table it until next month when we can have a little more discussion about it uh so for right now I am seeking approval for it uh item 14.02 um so do we need to to do a motion to uh to table correct yes I do okay so uh motion to table 14.03 so moved and a second all in favor I uh so then motion to approve item 14.02 so move and second questions or comments from board members roll call please Mr Chu yes Mr Craig yes Mrs Maya yes Mrs molski yes Mrs saino Mrs Seltzer yes Mrs Shar and Celia yes Mrs Sherman yes Mr tab yes Mr dilus yes Mrs Kaden yes on section 15 miscellaneous uh just one item 15.01 is the recommendation to approve the the anti-bullying report presented during the November 2024 board meeting uh so motion to approve item 15.01 so moved and a second questions or comments from board members roll call please Mr Chu yes Mr Craig yes Mrs Maya yes Mrs molski yes Mrs saino yes Mrs Seltzer yes Mrs sherid and Celia yes Mrs Sherman yes Mr tab yes Mr dilus yes Mrs Kaden yes uh section 16 is our second opportunity for public comment uh this is for any general comment the public is reminded to that attempts to resolve all concerns and complaints should first go through appropriate staff members and administrators we we will be listening and taking notes and if appropriate clarifying comments will be made at the end of the public comment section or in more detail um later this week or I discussed at a future meeting uh In fairness to all who wish to speak there is a three minute time limit um per person please remember to state your name and address for the record thank you very much all right good evening everyone Rebecca Mueller 509 Dwight Avenue Community member and secondary mtss coach funded by the wellness center I want to take a moment to acknowledge the incredible contributions of Kristen o Lexi and the lasting impact she has made on our students staff and Community Kristen is a tireless advocate for student wellness and a skilled leader in mental health initiatives her resignation represents a tremendous loss to the district given her depth of knowledge Community connections District Partnerships collegiality and unwavering dedication to Student Wellness she is an incredible teammate who makes sure we all feel seen and are wellfed be before all meetings over the last 14 years Christen has played a transformative role in shaping our mental health initiatives in The District in a recent conversation she shared with me that she had envisioned beginning and ending her career in this dis District a testament to her belief in the importance of her work and the difficulty in in the decision to resign it is important to know that if the district hires someone to fill this role the next person may face CH challenges due to the positions uncertain long-term F funding as it is a grant-based position Kristen has built a long found a strong found Foundation but additional structures and transparency are necessary to ensure the continued growth and effective support for our Stu students her journey with Collingswood has been remarkable and tonight I hope I am given enough time to highlight all of her accomplishments during the 2010 2011 school year Kristen o Alexi interned in Collingswood where she provided onetoone counseling at the the the Middle School seal instruction at Zay North and support for the Twilight Pro program which included counseling team build building and prevocational training a program that to mind knowledge has most recently been eliminated at that time she was the only social work in in in intern and worked closely with her incredible Mentor Deb Vesper whose supervisor position was eliminated at the end of last year causing yet another significant loss to our counseling and special education departments and loss of a staff member who dedicated over 15 years to Collingswood in February 2020 Kristen was the elementary counseling coordinator of a position funded by the mental health referendum champ championed by Scott Oswald and Beth White House she developed a mental health support model for all five elementary schools and transitioned it to the virtual space during covid this was essential in supporting the transition back to in-person learning as an elementary school counselor she collaborated with an instaff talented team to design and Implement an seal C curriculum to give back Kristen launch the social work internship program starting with three interns in 201 and expanding it significantly in the subsequent years with a total of seven at the end of 2023 to support staff the kindness crew was created during virtual learning to build staff morale and Foster a sense of community as volunteers were lost at each build building Kristen continues to purchase prizes out of her own p pocket in January 2023 Christen became my team teammate as the Wellness Center Director over the past year and a PA we have witnessed tremendous growth in student engagement with mental health re resources and Kristen is the one that we can thank for the wellness to to work pro program spoke spoken about tonight Kristen on the behalf of the entire Community thank you for your passion vision and unwavering dedication you my friend I see you out out there along with Deb and Shannon will be greatly missed [Applause] Dan Smith 225 Lincoln Avenue um I've been following the uh the buroughs the Commissioners meetings lately and um last couple months it seems like whenever the topic of the schools comes up the mayor seems to have this like consistent refrain where he says I reached out to the district and they never got back to me so my biggest question here is just like how true is that and you know if so why and the idea of it worries me um we have a lot of fiscal challenges facing us obviously um the burough might you know might have more financial flexibility to fill some of the gaps in enrichment programs that might address some of the district's performance gaps and you know if the district really doesn't have good communication and coordination with the bureau that's something I just really think is worth fixing thank [Applause] you my name is Lori lewig and I'm a music teacher in callings with schools my job responsibilities this year have me teaching every grade from kindergarten through high school but I'm not here to talk about the rigors of my POS position today this message is really for the parents and guardians of students in our district thank you for the work you are doing raising your children they are sweet funloving and frequently filled with a spirit of helpfulness they keep me going as teachers we all walk through our own Journeys through life and although every student that we teach will one day leave us in that time time we have together your children do more for us than you can imagine from the kindergartener who held my hand on the first day of school and calmed my anxiety as much as I was calming Theirs to the middle schooler whose goofy Antics made me laugh last week before we got back down to business to the high schooler who selflessly offers to help clean the band room on a regular basis my students lift me up and they Propel me forward last week was a particularly hard week for me any band parent in this District can easily infer as to why I want you to know that your children were the guiding Sentinels that got me through it as children in this District do for other teachers experiencing hardship of any kind in this District every day your children are wonderful people as you settle in for a long winter break know this your children's teachers love your children they are the reason we get out of bed in the morning and come to work even when it's hard to do so we are grateful that you share them with us thank you again for the gift of getting to teach your children and I would like to wish you and your families a safe and joyful winter break [Applause] I'm Alexander Guido Smith uh 311 Lake View Drive um first I just want to say how wonderful it was to have um the conference with uh my child's first grade teacher I had expected I've been giving the Dibbles for no joke 20 some years I was really excited about getting that report I was not expecting um to have the progress monitoring included in that and it wasn't just one there were three progress monitoring hits uh from the time that that Benchmark was given and I as an interventionist um I am so pleased to see that roll out to see that be districtwide um and to see it to see it that it was done so um efficiently I'm really pleased and that said um I can see that there is growth for that we had a conversation about um nonsense words why do they test them what's the point in it and um I feel very strongly and passionately about it I teach my kid nonsense words because you can't read dyslexic if you can't you know decode leex means Lex and it's a closed syllable so um but I'm really very very pleased to see that and um hopeful for uh for the middle of the Year Benchmark and where it's going to come down the line and also um I would really love to see districtwide data you know we don't see testing measures until third grade but if you can tell me how a kindergartener can do first sound fluency you know any interventionist can tell you you can project what's going to happen from there from there out so I think that that would be really helpful information to have I would love to see it I think that's wonderful and also um I really um I would like to say thank you to miss sherid and Celia miss saino and miss Kaden um I think that whatever happens moving forward that under your tenure the town of Collingswood has uh been made aware of some really uh Stark truths about um the way that our our schools are structured and whether or not we do anything about it it won't be because people don't know and so you know you won't be sitting here anymore but there is an obligation I would say it's a moral obligation to do something about it and um for that um as the community we are I am very grateful for that so thank you good evening everyone uh my name is k Lin I'm a resident of West Collingswood uh 72 need the address M Lin I I understand can you you want me to use this because of the people watching sure absolutely this is why I didn't want to mess with it though thank you a people manager uh anyway uh I've lived in Kingswood for nearly 15 years with my spouse our now 13-year-old child attended Thomas Sharp Elementary where I served as a PTA officer a room mother and a volunteer librarian um because the school district did not provide our children with that service prior to my coordination to Pilot that with Sharp's administrators there was no Library service offered at any District elementary school at all I have many concerns about this board and the superintendent this board has voted on raises for multiple administrators role refusing to negotiate in good faith with our teachers who had been working nearly entire length of the school year without a valid contract during the same time same board has also hired multiple assistant for the superintendent nationally we inhabit a space where we have too many managers many of whom are Superfluous and most of whom are not building the relationships necessary with those they manag to effectively do their jobs I have concerns about this board's repeated attempts to silence dissenting members over a plan that is substantially similar to multiple proposals over several years that have been overwhel rejected by the voters of this bur I'm also very concerned about this board's attempts to censure one of its own members for frustrations that our school administrators are inaccessible and uncommunicative with parents which many parents can attest to myself included over the course of this board's and superintendent 10 years we have seen increasingly degrading conditions at our high school middle school complex children are wasting valuable educational time in study halls children are being assaulted by other children children on their walks home from school and this board and superintendent insists on blaming past administrations instead of taking responsibility and fixing the situation significant number of peer parents that I know have decided or currently deciding whether they're going to send their children out of this school district for their for their high school education thank you for your time I don't attend these meetings frequently because I don't have room in my schedule for it I appreciate that all of you do thank you so much uh so the only clarifying uh comment that I wanted to make was uh to to Mr Smith's question the um district has attempted to communicate with the burrow uh often and I would I would say the the communication issues are not ones that lie with the district um and the will to work together is not one that lies with the district um so hopefully uh things will change and that will improve as time goes on um does uh either um Miss H Turner or Dr mcdal is there anything else that you wanted to say before we close yes I wanted to speak um and so I'm not going to stand on my Soap Box about uh the challenges that uh that we have in our society in our community uh but what I will speak to is direct feedback from what I have personally observed and direct feedback from our students uh who are the recipient of the decisions of this board the recipient of the decisions of our teachers our admin rators and their families and so when I spoke with the uh students last week both middle and high school very diverse mix of students um students were uh happy and hopeful uh students talked about how from a cultural perspective they see that there are significant improvements in terms of school culture this year compared to last year and uh the year before they see that students are more engaged in their learning um students who uh want to challenge themselves believed there are opportunities for them to do so but they also acknowledged that some of their classmates um were not as engaged and were uh in need of additional motivation and that was something that they were hoping that we would work collaboratively with them in order to uh to do um in terms of uh safety we have dramatically increased the degree of uh supervision and support um and and access on our secondary campus and we have seen a dramatic decrease in disruptive behavior and negative experiences and student altercations and we will continue to uh Place great emphasis on that uh we established an office of culture and climate in order to make sure that we were putting appropriate attention as it relates with this uh but I will say that uh School culture is the embodiment um of the organizations in which we serve and so when we look at our Middle School school when we look at our high school there are bright spots that happen every single day in both of those campuses um and our students uh are the individuals who will be able to appropriately uh testify to that uh but another piece I would also encourage is uh individuals who have the desire to observe or see what's happening in our Middle School and High School uh there's an open invitation uh please reach out to my office on a regular basis I bring in individuals from the outside in order to see all the great things that are taking place at our secondary campus and we will continue to do so thank you okay um on that note section 17 motion to adjourn uh the oh I'm so sorry go ahead thank you I just wanted to take a moment to thank my fellow board members Dr Ral bethanne and Meredith uh for persisting in the work of moving towards a more Equitable and quality School District a special recognition to Reagan who has withstood countless personal attacks in her role as a volunteer I would also like to thank my family who has supported me as I have journeyed through my six years as volunteer on this board um and just one other note as I leave I know there's much work to be done one area that is most striking to me is the discrepancy in test scores and graduation rates amongst our black and brown students and our special education population these numbers were presented to me as an incoming board member and were discussed as nothing new those numbers represent our children in our community those numbers are not the sole responsibility of one superintendent we have had two that I have served with those numbers are not the sole responsibility of this board there have been countless board changes over the years those numbers are not the sole responsibility of specific teachers teachers so many of whom work tirelessly each day caring and worrying and working for kids that are not their own have changed over the years Collingswood if we are what we say we are a small town where we care for each other community-minded a place where we have a responsibility to each child in our school then we cannot be okay with this or simply pay lip service those data points those kids are all our responsibilities and finding a solution to an issue that has become baked into our district and perhaps Our Town rest with all of us otherwise we have to look at those numbers year after year perhaps decade after decade numbers that we look at and say yes that is who we are and we are fine with it thank you Mary um motion to adjourn this meeting so moved second all in favor have a great holiday season