##VIDEO ID:SLsTEdZzPLE## e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e apologies for the uh the delay we're having some technical diff difficulties but I think we're almost good e e e hi good evening welcome to a regular meeting of the East Windsor Regional School District Board of Education written advance notice of this meeting was provided at least 48 hours ago such notice provided the time date and location of this meeting and included the agenda to the extent it was known at the time notice of this meeting has been given in accordance with law minutes of this meeting are being kept by the board secretary and will be made available promptly to any member of the public requesting them from the board secretary at 25 25A Leen Lane heightstown New Jersey minutes will be provided at cost and in accordance with board policy are there any board members present who believe this meeting to be in violation of the open public meeting act there being none we may proceed in compliance with the fire code of the state of New Jersey I call your attention to the emergency exits for this room which are located in the back inside please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance item C having read the materials received I move the agenda be approved as submitted second any questions hold the board please M Drake yes Miss Murphy yes Miss boli yes Mr weeds yes Miss Patel yes Miss Salter yes Miss col yes Miss laruso yes um item D be it resol that the East Windsor Regional School District May hold two closed sessions at this meeting these closed sessions concern Hib report of October 14th 2024 Personnel administrative introduction mhk assistant principal minutes of these closed sessions will be made available to the public when the need for confidentiality no longer exists second any questions pull the board please miss Drake yes Miss Murphy yes yes Miss boli yes Mr weeks yes Miss Patel yes Miss Suter yes Miss Kia yes Miss laruso yes we'll now move on to a student representative report and hear from our two student reps hello everyone we're so excited to be back and have a lot of Updates this week with regard to the student body today commences the start of our well anticipated spirit week this week is especially special not only because it's our first spirit week of the year but also because it will end with our pep rally this Friday this year we are experimenting with something new but this time we are incorporating a universal theme where all classes will prepare and organizer Spirit Day activities with that theme this year's theme is high school movie so our seniors are doing High School Musical our juniors are doing Mean Girls our sophomores are doing grease and our freshmen are doing Ferris feler day off today from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. our class councils and students from each grade level help decorate their designated hallways based on their theme so we're excited to see what each grade has in store we also have some fun spirit days we are looking forward to this week which will include Olympic day where students can support their favorite country or sport by wearing a jersey or the colors of that country's flag next is inside out where students are encouraged to dress up as an emotion featured in the recent inside out to movie on Thursday we have high school movie day relating back to the theme where students from each grade are encouraged to dress up as one of the iconic characters in that movie and finally we have our class color day on Friday where each grade wears their assigned color which will help unify the grades at the pep rally on Friday so our spirit week will culminate in the highly anticipated annual pep rally on Friday this pep rally has been planned by student council in coordination with the four of class councils for many weeks to come and we are very excited for this unifying event this pep rally will consist of recognizing all of our fall sports teams followed by the anticipated lip sync dances lip sync dances will be based off the movie theme and our class councils have been directing practices for these lips and dances for the last few weeks we also have organized games set up by our class councils and finally the homecoming Court will be recognized later that night on Friday during the football game the homecoming king and queen will be announced and the football cheer and marching men will all be working hard in representing our school as they have been all season long on Saturday we have our homecoming dance hosted by the cheer team we're really thrilled to have this homecoming Dan this year and celebrate with our peers next we'd like to take the time to highlight an amazing opportunity we had last week on October 8th to October 11th with assistant from the Civic Center we had the privilege of hosting a voter registration drive for HHS students for all students above the age of 17 they had the opportunity to register and have their questions answered on how to make their voice heard in the political sphere of their Community with this year being an election year this was a fantastic opportunity to have our students become involved in Civic engagement and make sure that they know their opinions matter on October 18th the student body will take the PSAT Following last year's change the test is now online instead of the traditional paper version We would like to commend the administration for how well the new test format was integrated as the students taking the test are able to familiarize themselves with this new format a week prior during an activity period this is expected to make it very easy for everyone to adjust the day of as for seniors we will not have to take the test this year and instead we'll have a delayed opening a brief update on Athletics last Thursday he highstown had an incredible game against West Windsor Plainsboro not only did they win the game with a score of 26-0 but heightstown also won the coveted mayor's cup award before the game the senior class also organized a very special tailgate where students were provided food outdoor games and football tickets for a $5 entry fee into the event this is a great way not only to raise money for the senior class but to also raise morale right before this incredible game for wishing our football team and our other incredible false sports teams luck on their upcoming games this season on October 9th the counseling department organ organized a FAFSA Workshop to assist students looking to learn more about the New Jersey requirement for all students to fill out the FAFSA many seniors and Senior families were able to take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about the College financial aid process next we excited to Spotlight one of the year's most anticipated events our haunted hallways event every year the student council hosts a fun trick or- treat experience through the haunted Halls of HHS various clubs and class councils will transform their designated areas with spooky decorations each offering candy to those who pass by this event is open to all children in the district and we ask that all kids be accompanied by an adult for safety make sure to mark your calendars you won't want to miss on the frightful fun and following up from our last board meeting report on the suggestion boxes we have not had any responses as of yet however our Flyers have been put up as of today and we are using our social media platform presence to Garner more responses with that being said we thank everyone for listening to our report and we look forward to seeing you again at the next meeting great thank you so much for that great report does anybody have any questions okay thank you student Representatives excellent job tonight so I'm going to do a quick introduction this is a special time of the year uh this is the time where we have the opportunity to cele celebrate some very special people uh 25-year employees in the East Windsor Regional School District something that we shouldn't take lightly uh significant amount of commitment and dedication for these individuals to remain in one school district uh for for quite quite some time so um we don't have a huge number but but uh very significant uh individuals nonetheless so we're going to take some time to celebrate them recognize them this evening I'm going to ask um the assistant superintendent for human re resources Aon sillo come up to the podium and to begin our recognition thank you so just to uh repeat a little bit what Mark said about um really what a momentous event this is you don't really realize um how significant it is to be in the same school district for 25 years so I just got the Department of Labor um employee 10e summary came out on September 26 so what that says which I can't see what that says is that the medi number of years in January of 20124 that employees spend at their current employer is 3.9 years let me say it again right 3 n years is the median we all remember 8th grade algebra 1 the median 50% of them are longer 50% of them are shorter so 3.9 years it gets a little bit better for people who are in the public sector yay us except rather than the private sector that goes up to 6.2 years years of their average tenure in a public sector it does get a little bit older for people who are my age so once you hit about 55 your average tenure in your current employeed situation is [Music] 9.4 years we have people in East Windsor Regional School District for 25 years 25 years how many times more is that than the average worker 10 times more than the people who are starting jobs now are in their District than we have right here so it's really like really a momentous event we're all very proud of you so we're going to bring up we have four of our six people four of our seven people who have reached this Milestone we're going to start with emk Miss Nicole folks and miss Jill gr come on up Jill good that was a lot of math just saying all right good evening so it is my privilege to recognize an excellent educator Mrs Jill gry for her 25 years of service to the east tnso Regional School District for a quarter of a century Mrs Royce has not only shared her expertise and passion for music but has also enriched the lives of so many students at Ethel mcnight Elementary School in addition to her incredible work at mcnight Jill has also brought her talents to creps Middle School where she spent one year fostering musical growth in older students whether teaching Elementary or middle school her dedication and influence have been felt throughout the district what stands out most about Mrs gr is not just her skills as a music teacher but her deep commitment to her students she gets to know students and connects with them on a personal level she has been a source of inspiration creativity and confidence for many helping them find their own voices both in music and in life Jill your dedication passion and hard work have made a lasting impact on our entire School Community we are deeply grateful for your 25 years of service and we know that the Legacy you've built will continue to resonate for many more years to come thank you and congratulations thank you next we have Miss Emerson and Chevy F good evening everyone one so today we are here to honor Sheri bir and I am honored to recognize Sher for her 25 years of dedicated service to the East Windsor Regional School District and you have done a lot in your 25 years here miss Birth has been dedicated to teaching and supporting students with IEPs in various programs including outof class and inclass resource self-contained programs and most recently you teach students who receive Wilson Reading instruction Miss f is well respected by her colleagues one position she held was Lead Teacher for special education while that's not a position any longer Miss f is still seen as a mentor and someone who is always available to offer suggestions and strategies for teachers who need some help working with striving readers Miss f is a fierce advocate for her students working tirelessly to ensure that they have the resources support and tools they need to become stronger more confident readers Miss F actively seeks professional development opportunities to enhance her teaching practices and her dedication to staying current with educational Trends and methodologies has a positive impact on her students learning Miss fth is also committed to ensuring that her class classroom atmosphere is one where every student feels valued and respected her efforts to celebrate divers and promote acceptance has created a harmonious and Collaborative Learning environment where her students Thrive beyond the classroom Miss F understands the importance of the homeschool connection and prioritizes communication with families additionally she regularly engages with parents and Guardians to ensure that her students needs are being met both at home and at school you volunteer for school events demonstrating your commitment with community and your participation enhances School experience for your students and families congratulations and thank you for 25 incredible years of service compassion and excellence and education your impact on the lives of your students and your unwavering commitment to fostering an inclusive supportive and engaging learning environment is commendable and I have Patty Horowitz and Miss Allen [Music] good evening everyone for a quarter of a century Patty harwit has shown unwavering dedication compassion and resilience qualities that not only Define an exceptional educator but a true advocate for their students raised in Spain Patty learned English as a second language and this personal Journey has given her a unique ability her understanding and empathy have built strong relationships that extend beyond the classroom making her a valuable bridge between students their families in our school Community beyond the classroom Mrs harwit is a mentor to new teachers and new principles generously sharing generously sharing her expertise and guiding others as they begin their own Journeys in education she not only cares deeply about her students but sees the good in every single one of them always seeking out their strengths and helping them shine in their own unique ways in special education teaching is more than a job it's a calling and Mrs harwitz you answer that call every day with a commitment to ensuring that every child feels valued seen and capable of achieving their fullest potential tonight we not only celebrate your years but the countless lives that you've touched along the way congratulations Mrs harwitz for 25 years of passion perseverance and heart Mr vinon and Terry s I apologize for my voice I think I was cheering a little too much at a football game uh it's with great respect and admiration with that we honor Terry suvin for her 25 years of dedication and service to height sown High School Terry first joined us in 1995 and although she was faced with a difficult set back when there was a reduction in force her story is one of resilience and passion in 1999 heighton High SCH had the fortunate decision to invite her P back we have been blessed with her unwavering commitment to education ever since from 1999 to 2006 Terry made significant impact as the adviser for the student council fostering leadership and guiding students to take active roles in the school Community her efforts helped shape the next generation of student leaders in so a sense of responsibility and school pride as a teacher Terry's left an medable Mark in the field of Science Education her passion for biology combined with her ability to connect with students have made her a beloved figure in the classroom for the last 10 years she has taught AP Bio challenging inspiring our brightest students to excel many of these students have gone on to pursue careers in science undoubtedly influenced by her enthusiasm and deep content knowledge in addition to her work in the classroom Terry has been a mentor to three student teachers guiding them through the complexities of teaching and imparting her wisdom that she's accumulated over nearly 25 years her influence on future Educators ensures her Legacy will continue long after she steps away from the classroom for the last 12 years Terry has been um a member of the ewe building Representatives representing the East winter Education Association she has been an advocate for her colleagues representing their voices within the larger School Community her leadership in this role has strengthened the bonds within our school and enhanced the working environment for all Terry your 25 years of dedication to height sown High School is left a mark on your legacy your influence on students colleagues in the school community Community is immeasurable on behalf of everyone at height sown high school we thank you for all your service and congratulate you on this remarkable mileston you're truly a part of this fabric of the school and we're grateful to have you best of luck we have three other staff members who've reached this Milestone who are unable to come uh tonight so I'm just going to acknowledge them a little bit Carlos Gavin Ales who is our transportation assistant supervisor has been in East Windsor for 25 years he started out as a bus driver and worked him up to worked his way up to assistant Transportation supervisor his knowledge history and memory of the department is quite impressive and I've really experienced this myself you could ask him things about routes from like 1993 and he knows exactly what they are uh Renee Karen is from grace and Rogers Elementary School Miss Karen meets every student at the door every day and greets them with a this or that question it gives her the opportunity to check in with her students and helps build rapport she has created a classroom atmosphere where every student feels valued and respected and her efforts to celebrate diversity and promote acceptance has created a Collaborative Learning environment where children's where children Thrive and John vagi John vagi has taught Algebra 2 AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC helping countless students navigate the complexity of mathematics and to reach their Highest Potential beyond the classroom John played a significant role in shaping our athletes our Athletic program for 10 years he coached the girls swim team guiding student athletes with the same dedication and focus he brought to his teaching his leadership as a coach not only helped the team achieve success in the pool but also instilled a sense of discipline perseverance and teamwork in his athletes we congratulate all of our recipients today we have another round of applause for them we are going to do our obligatory photo atast is reminding me like I would ever forget a photo up uh if we could have all the recipients come up with uh Mr Daniels and want to come to yeah miss liso too board president e e we'll just take a five minute break um and then we're going to have the um HIV Pres presentation e e e e e okay we're going to transition into the next presentation tonight uh this is just a brief introduction on what we are going to review uh each year school districts of New Jersey are required twice a year to report um data that is provided into something called the student data data safety system ssds um typically there's two types of information that's provided into this system you know obviously incidents of violence vandalism harassment intimidation bullying uh weapons offenses substance abuse um data related to restraint seclusion and anything connected to a student needing to be removed from school also uh in that um report is connected to just training surrounding hip uh really more hip prevention and programs tonight's presentation will also include something else that uh we're required to do and that's kind of a a hip self assessment so um that's based on some criteria that school safety teams in general should be kind of watching over as it relates to hip prevention within schools and there is kind of a scoring component within the rubric uh that teams at each School utilize to develop the score so with that said I'm going to turn things over to Lauren O'Brien Lauren is our supervisor of counseling but she also wears the Hat of being the district's anti-bullying coordinator who works with our anti-bullying specialists at each of the schools so with that said Lauren hi good evening everyone so I'm going to start with just a general overview of what the student safety data is um and you know we do this twice a year so it's just a just a reminder it's required by the doe we report twice a year um and we are going to be talking tonight about incidents that fall into the categories on the screen violence vandalism substance weapons and HIV confirmed so this is a snapshot of all of the buildings in the district and our numbers in each category in the following slides I'm going to go into a little bit more detail um just a reminder this is report period two of Last school year so that report period two runs from January to June so our first category is uh violence and if you look on the the right side you'll see some incidents that must be reported our numbers as they typically are are um heightstown high school and KPS Middle School which makes sense so you know we we see that more often as students move into the higher grades that there might be some physical conflicts all of these incidents that are represented here are are fights um just for some context of what we're seeing there I do want to point out as we're going through so you'll notice that the report period two for last year was you know quite a bit higher in both buildings than report period one report period one covers September through December um and Report period two as I mentioned is January through June so there's a whole lot of extra time in that report period too um I also usually talk about how during report period one sometimes it's more of a honeymoon period for students everyone's kind of getting in getting settled getting acclimated to the building um and then by the time we reach that that January you know February March time frame everybody's settled in and sometimes things that maybe you know started simmering earlier in the school year kind of come to a pitch uh later on in the school year our next category is is vandalism and you'll see some um of the the incidents that must be reported as vandalism uh again heightstown high school and CPS they are at that developmental stage where uh we start to see some of these things come out in uh incidents that would qualify as vandalism substances so uh we talk about this a lot what actually is reportable as a substance offense and what is not reportable um we talk a lot we hear a lot about vaping often that vaping is tobacco so that is not something that is represented in these numbers um at the high school report period to we had 21 incidents and at CPS we had 16 and once I finish all of the numbers I'm going to talk about some of the remedial measures that we're working through weapons we had zero in all buildings for report period too just a quick overview of what would qualify as an incident that we report as a weapon and here are our HIV confirmed numbers for report period two um and these are cases so we investigate a lot of cases these are cases in the second half of the school year um that were found to be substantiated as HIV in um in the buildings Lauren before you continue could you just back up and just uh clarify with the substance AB use what the substances were and also with the weapon if you could just identify what the weapon was for one incident so the weapon was for report period one let me go to that um and I did talk about that in my last presentation that weapon report period one was a pocket knife um so you know we had conversation with student conversation with parents about how although there was no Mal intent uh for the student having a pocket knif in the backpack that's not something that can be tolerated uh substances for report period to we had um marijuana and I believe alcohol yes so those are the two substances that we had sure all right so I want to just spend a little bit of time related to the ssds talking about some of the proactive and remedial measures that we have in place so I think the first thing that comes to mind when we're talking about these incidents is discipline and what we've really been working on is consistency of con consquences so that's across the board for all grade levels in the high school making sure that everyone's kind of talking and on the same page about what consequences should be um same thing with the middle school all different grade levels uh we're working on being consistent there and then also across the buildings middle and high school so that there's some uh level of everybody's on the same page about what type of incident should constitute what type of consequence um we're working on restorative practices so last year at the high school we piloted to actually bring back navigate 360 um and that is a platform which consists of social emotional learning lessons um some character education and that gives students an opportunity to go through certain modules often they were assigned as part of a student who received in school suspension as a con quence so students in addition to their academic work would work through some of the 360 modules and then there's also a reflective piece at the end of those modules so students would go through do the work and then um kind of reflect on the incident that occurred and then what they learned from the 360 modules and counselors were involved in that reflection p um we also have some student mediation happening um this is really K12 but I think when we're talking about a lot of these incidents they do tend to be 612 so uh counselors are involved in mediating conflicts between students um I do want to point out that this year we were fortunate enough to be able to hire additional counseling staff at the middle school um so this year we do have two counselors per grade level um to support students and really to be available to be more proactive and hopefully getting out ahead of um some of the situations that are going on between students before uh conflicts happen we're off also offering uh opportunities for students to get involved in the community whether that be in the school or in the uh town or in the county our Student Assistance counselors are working with students um with all issues regarding substance so they are pushing into classrooms they have individual case loads um so anytime a student is found to be in possession of a substance the Student Assistance counselor will be will follow up with that student and have individual meetings with them we have installed Vape sensors at the middle school and the high school this year so we are off and running with those uh we're running a vaping vaping presentations assemblies for students middle school and high school next week and there's also a parent presentation um that's going to be on the 23rd and that's open to all parents in the district and it will be held here at the high school we also for the first time this year are participating the Department of Health is running a tobacco survey so we're going to be serving our high school students about their habits um related to tobacco and hopefully use some of that data to drive some of our programming okay so now I'll move on to the uh the ABR self assessment anti-bullying Bill of Rights so every year we're required to take a self assessment at um to to kind of gather all of the the um programming that we're providing uh what's been happening with our school climate and safety teams and really make an honest assessment of what we're doing what we're doing well maybe where we might be missing the mark somewhere and then you know update our uh plan for the following year so the ABS is involved in this uh process that's the anti-bullying specialist and the anti-bullying specialist and other members of the school safety team are working with the building Administration to go through some of these core elements so this gives you an idea of some of the kind of broader topics where we're assessing ourselves on uh we're looking for core element one programs approaches we want to make sure that annually we're establishing our programs uh everything is is uh planned out for the entire year and that we have a plan in every building core element two relates to training and um that's training of School Employees contracted service providers volunteers that everyone who is and also other instructional staff and training programs is core element three so essentially we want to make sure that everyone that is in the building understands the policies um and is able to make a report if they feel like they need to and um just everyone has an awareness of the HIV policy core element four relates to curriculum and instruction on HIV um observing the week of respect and um really engaging in character education k12 and providing age appropriate instruction that focuses on prevention core element five is HIV person now so making sure that we have an ABS in each building which we do uh core element six is the incident reporting so we need to be sure that students um have multiple means of and students and families and staff have multiple means to be reporting any potential incident of HIV core element seven relates to our procedures notification to parents um and core element eight is HIV reporting ensuring that staff member reports for all incidents so that's essentially what we're doing now so if you take a look at uh this is a snapshot for all buildings so the building teams engaged in this process I would say probably towards the end of the summer and through September when they could get everybody together go through each of the elements and score ourselves and I know that I've talked about this before but I just want to underscore that yes this is compliance we are required to do this but we do sit down and we take a look at everything with Fidelity because our goal is to make sure that we are providing the best services to our students um that they're getting everything that they need and that we are doing everything that we can to to prevent any incident of bullying so these are our numbers compared to last year last year our average was 74.5 so we have ticked up one uh 75.5 is our average across the buildings these are anti-bullying Specialists you'll notice that high school and middle school we investigate sign significantly more cases than in the K5 building so we do have two specialists at the high school and two at the middle school and then one in each of the K2 and 35 buildings so I talked a little bit about school climate and safety teams but just a review uh that school climate and safety teams meet twice per year at a minimum um in all buildings I know that they meet more of often than that um they review discipline data they take a look at uh any trends that they might be seeing in a particular building and um talk about how we might be able to address some of those Trends if we see you know specific things coming up with students having conflicts about the same kinds of things how can we address those um week of respect activities we just wrap that up last week seems Seems longer but those was last week um our Red Ribbon Week activities our seal lessons that are happening um we are doing secl lessons with counselors in the K5 buildings and um at creps they're doing lessons through the actually they have an seal committee the seal committee puts together lessons and pushes them out through teachers we are using stop it again this year so we roll that out last year and that's an anonymous reporting tool for students to tell us um if there's an incident of potential HIV that they're aware of or there's a conflict or just a concern some of the reports that we've gotten through stop it are just uh you know for an example might just be like I'm having a hard time with so and so and I need some some help with this uh so that's just been you know we haven't gotten a ton of reports coming from stop it but we have uncovered some situations that otherwise you know maybe we would not have known about this year we're also going to roll out the school climate Improvement survey which is a partnership it's the Department of Education and Ruckers University so we're going to be doing that survey for grades three through 12 and what's interesting and I think going to be really powerful information that's going to come out of this is we are not just surveying students so we're surveying students and staff and um really trying to get a sense of the overall School climate in every building and then of course um I always just like to talk about counseling and how counseling factors into reducing the number of hivs and uh hopefully conflicts counselors are used as a followup to discipline if there is an HIV confirmed Al oftentimes uh counselors will get involved with the student who was the named aggressor for that case and also for the victim um and those might be different types of conversations but counselors are involved to support and finally this is just a quick overview of some of the HIV trainings that we run each year for staff um all staff do their required gcn training and there is um a fairly lengthy mod module on gcn for HIV we talk about it in building faculty meetings um every year for new teacher orientation there is a segment where we go over uh the law the policy same thing for each summer in the administrator Retreat um I meet with the abss a few times throughout the year and also will encourage them to engage in outside training whenever I find a professional development opportunity that relates to anti-bullying Specialists um I encourage them to do that any questions oh you have one thanks so much Lauren I had a question about the stop it how is that information disseminated to the students because I wonder if they my my girls had no idea of it and I think it could be very helpful so how is how do you or the Specialists get that out that word out to the students about it I have a little bit and then I'll probably lean on Mrs fetta um I know that in the beginning of the year we do disseminate there's some flyers there's some posters um I think we did send out an email can certainly do another push out just to clarify and stop it's only for grades 6 through 12 questions hi thank you so much for the presentation it was very detailed I do have just a few questions um so when we talked about substances and you mentioned that marijuana and um alcohol was uh for the middle school and the high school was it are you saying that there was alcohol and marijuana found at the middle school or were you just saying that the middle school and the high school had marijuana and the alcohol um the middle school and the high school we have marijuana at both and I believe alcohol was only at the middle school for that report period okay all right and then when we scroll down to um the one of the slides where you talked about I'm so sorry one of the slides where he talked about consistency slide was that all right when we talked about proactive and remedial measures and we talked about consistency of consequences is this a continued practice or is this something new since the equity audit um I don't know how it relates to the timing of the equity audit I know that last year this is um something that I talked about here actually that this was a a concerted effort on the part of all of the building administrators to make sure that one AP isn't giving out you know a more lenient consequence that there's some consistency there so um I'm not sure how that might relate no so so each year we review the code of student conduct at each of the grade levels the the consistency of consequences I just want to clarify that you know there is developmentally a difference between students at the middle school and the high school so you know for some instances there may be um comparable consequences but I don't want to you know a sixth grade student may not receive the same level of consequence that a junior at the high school may receive for a similar uh infraction uh I think twofold within a building um you know the the code of student conduct is a Playbook of sorts it's not a lock step approach but we we do want to make sure that uh there's an element of consistency as it relates to um you know the types of consequences and and there's some other factors as it relates to you know the frequency of a particular behavior um but yes there should be some articulation and awareness between the Middle School and the high school because um you know we want to make sure for example that you know all things being equal that a consequence at the middle school is not um something that may be viewed as as actually more significant or severe compared to something that may be ass signed at the high school so on the one hand look discipline and consequences they should be logical they should be developmentally appropriate you know we do have an obligation to make sure that students um you know via the code of student conduct understand the parameters so it's almost like these are the things that you should Avo void right uh and if you choose not to these are these are some of the potential consequences that may come along with that so I think it's just a matter of making sure that one from an issue of equity and fairness that we are being cognizant of when we're assigning consequences to students especially when it's a first occurrence um um that we are we're in the same ballpark and we're not looking to just be kind of arbitrary in terms of how we we're issuing those consequences um I I'm having this conversation now putting to the side for example a student who may be um finding themselves receiving a certain level of consequence more often than another student then we have to kind of look at that that student as an individual and to see how we can best support them um but they may not receive consequences in a way that another student may may may receive them who is not as frequent in terms of those decisions so I think that the notion was making sure one within buildings especially because you have multiple assistant principles of both the middle school and the high school they have an awareness in terms of how they issuing consequences but also between the Middle School and the high school just to have an awareness developmentally where there's some commonality but also some distinct differences just based on the age of the student right all right thank you for that all right uh next question was The Vaping program um at that's going to be held at the high school is it being recorded I'm not sure yet so I did reach out to the presenter um because I would need to get the presenter's permission if he's okay with us doing that then we can certainly set that up so I can follow up on that once I hear back okay and then um my last question is on the self assessment slide that talked about the grades so we had some improvements was Administration provided like the breakdown on what the improvements actually were cuz these are these numbers are like we see the whole number but we don't see the breakdown like was the was the core element five improved or was it element seven improved so was administra I'm I'm assuming right that an Administration was provided like the breakdowns by Administration you mean no I'm saying like did the um anti-bullying Specialists like um provide like like you know the superintendent like the principles like here's the breakdown of what improved and What needs Improvement yeah so um so the anti-bullying specialist will always be working as a team with the building Administration to come up with these grades so um It's usually the ABS the principal maybe an assistant principal sometimes maybe another member of the school safety team who's working through this because it is a lot of information and everybody's kind of putting it together from their angle so these grades are actually submitted by the building principal Lauren I think the question is though if just looking at this you know most of these grades are comparable in terms of the overall grades I think if you look at the high school going from 69 to 74 I think and I don't want to ask the question for you but I think you're asking what category right I think I think that's the question so we we can get that information for you all right that that's what mine was going to be your thank you that's what mine was going to be um so then the other one I had then was about uh The Vape sensors um how do those work is there like an alarm that goes off or like does the message get sent to the principal so that they can look at the camera and see who's in there yes that's the part one part two is has there have there been any findings yet so to answer the first part of your question there's no alarm but there are alerts s that are received by principles assistant principles security uh people are getting a lot of alerts um so then what they'll do is they'll do exactly that follow up um check check cameras you know check that particular area wherever the sensor went off and then follow up with those students um let me just let me just sorry can I yeah let me just um clarify that though so right now you know these have been newly implemented so yes we have an app and and there's notifications that um that individuals receive based on the activity in the bathroom because that's where they were installed and also Lo rooms but because it's so new you know my my guidance to the administrative team really to follow the data so um you know as we look at and map out where we believe there may be some um volume in terms of alerts time of the day location and then use that as an opportunity to kind of map out and deploy and monitor um you know how we kind of identify what that looks like so right now we kind of learning the sensors in terms of you know their level of sensitivity um the things that may be triggering them the time frame that it may take from you know the sensor to uh pick up on um something that they would identify um as a as Vape uh evidence within a restroom um so I think we're trying it on for size I think it is serving as a deterrent because that's the main reason that we're looking to do that you know obviously when we talk about when uh a sensor alert is received and we have a location for it um yes there's going to be one an opportunity to go to that location uh two if we believe uh we need to we can review the cameras um obviously not in the restroom but outside the restroom and look to determine if we don't identify students who may be there at that point in time and granted I could be a student just that's in the bathroom and not participating in that so I do think to some degree the fact that there's some conversation that may occur not an accusation necessarily but a conversation I think um that has created and we have students here that probably can attest to that in some instances it might create I just think a heightened level of awareness as it relates to where we are so I think um as we become more accustomed to the devices I think it'll enable us to um have a better working rhythm in terms of you know gauging um usage um um and whether or not we're seeing some decrease because I I'd like to think that um I like to think that that's where we're looking to go but but those right now we're in the process of just kind of you know there's been a few trainings that the teams have engaged in because it's almost like they were activated we we kind of used them then I was like oh we have some questions right in terms of like how do we interpret that so that's kind of where where the teams are currently so it's early stages but I think that you know the goal is to ensure that we are reducing incidence of Vape within our schools um hoping that's the direction will continue to go thank you I have a question um so for the data would it be possible to share with us anything from the uh prior school year as well sure as I'm I'm I'm kind of curious just to be a look at um the same period from the prior recording year and does the state make available any kind of a General like what does New Jersey see as as like a per capita incident rate so you know if we have because what I'm seeing on our on your report is we had in many instances and almost doubling of instances from the reporting periods I know that there's a difference between the first half of the year and the second half you made a comment about people getting into um the school year and um also just I think the sheer amount of time well yeah yeah it's four months versus six months but when you have reporting period one and Reporting period two when you're looking at data like that you're you're combining you're you're comparing them so so either need to change the reporting periods to be a harmonious amount of dates so it doesn't look so skewed but just you know for our for our benefit um or at least you know for for the way I like to review things if it's possible to get a look at year over year versus period to period yeah definitely share that out and I do have I generally do include some information about the um once a year in the performance reports the state does release a per capita number so I can also share that out yeah just you know just from a sake of the sake of how are we how are we seeing the trends in our district not only from period to period but year to year and how do we Trend against comparable districts within the state to see if there's any additional support we need to be providing you know our staff or if there's anything that the board can support as an initiative to to further build up this program sure I I'll just add just as a a editorial our numbers are you know we can always improve but in terms of the the bigger items on there like weapons and so and I don't want to say something that I'll regret saying but I do think that we are I think that we're intentional um but I I think we're always looking for ways in which we can enhance school school climate School culture and I always go back to the fact that we want to make sure that we are providing environments where students feel connected um to the school Community um and we know that for some of our students there are some students that depending on what's Happening they are not as connected and it may lend themselves to kind of engaging in some behaviors that and not as healthy but you know I do believe that we we'll get you the data I do believe that we are in terms of the size of our school district the demographics of our school district um I I I I feel positive in terms of our Direction which I think that's that's awesome um but when you when you put the data together and there's a good story to tell then you should definitely lift up you know yeah no completely understood thank you Lauren uh we'll now move on to item four superintendent rep report than well good evening again um couple of couple of highlights thing I would just want to Echo um congratulating our 25y year employees tonight so thank you again to Sher Renee Julia Patricia Teresa John and Carlos um really appreciate their dedication uh 25 years of service to the students and families of the East Windsor Regional School District so thank you on tonight's agenda there's um a new um a new employee uh under the administrative umbrella and assistant principal recommendation for Melvin H creps middle school so uh please recommend the appointment of Miss Gretchen ciso to serve in the role of the assistant principal at Melvin H creps if you recall um Katie Mento currently assistant principal at creps will be transferring over to perod Drew school so she's excited as well tonight that miss ciso is on the agenda so therefore we can begin to U solidify that transition with her moving over to plld U Miss kamisa currently serves as a middle school assistant principal in Upper Derby PA today as you know we did not have any students it was a professional development day for our staff I just want to provide a quick update regarding um well our Educators I should say just a quick update regarding uh kind of what the day entailed so today was a a day where we had um I call it a for us by us because primarily the professional development was offered today was facilitated primarily by our uh supervisors and our building administrators I want to commend them for the planning and and and so forth that went into that we also had a couple of outside U providers as well providing some support uh the day for the most part started here for our 312 Educators our K2 Educators uh were engaging in a leader of me facilitation connected to the work within their buildings um our 312 Educators did begin the day here we had a motivational keynote by Brad Butler who is by nature a motivational speaker author he's also a heightstown high school graduate believe class of 2006 so kind of served as a good way to begin the day he kind of echoed or really talked about his journey but really talked about how teachers here within our school District um enabled him to grow and see his impact uh as a young adult so it was a huge thank you uh to this to the teachers here um today really just as I said facilitated by our administrative team and teachers and um we had wide ranging relevant Workshop opportunities stemming from classroom management strategies to cultur responsive teaching to co- teing Partnerships and strategies to support literacy construction last week here in this same space had the opportunity to attend the collaboration between uh the district and hpac uh it was a resource fair that was well attended um well planned and um kind of served as an opportunity for parents of our special education students uh to get a sense of the kind of support resources that are within the county and surrounding the county so there are a number of vendors here and uh served as an information session uh from that standpoint in terms of the resources that are available it also uhu served as an opportunity for the student services department to provide a presentation led by uh Dave R our director of student services we also had all of our case managers within the district here that evening as well and it served as an opportunity just to kind of highlight and uh clarify the role of the case manager and that connection and monitoring the students IEP so uh I'd like to commend our H CAC as well as Mr row and all of our student services uh members who were here that evening uh there was some food obviously you need some food but it was a it was a well well attended event and I thought it was a good bridge between the district and the community on the October 28th Board of Education meeting um the administration will present the student performance data from the spring administration of the njsl U it's a requirement that districts need to do 60 days after receiving the data from the New Jersey Department of Education so that'll be an njla um presentation as well as dlm which is really less than 1% of our students participate in the dlm but nonetheless we'll be reporting out regarding how students fa this spring and with that it concludes my report thank you say do any does anyone have any questions none um we'll move on to item five first opportunity for board member comments do any board members have any comments or anything they want to share um I was able to go to the marching band competition last Friday um I just wanted to congratulate anyone who had any uh part of putting that on um it's a huge undertaking to put together competi um and to be able to host it at the school um for I don't know the third time or fourth time in a row something yeah yeah third time in a row um it's just great to see all the schools um come including one from New York um so congratulations to everyone who had a part in that it was great I just wanted to um I go off Mark and congratulate all of the 25 year recipients um also to say what a a good turnout it was for the for the event that happened last week with student services and um CPAC it was a great turnout and it was nice to see so many people from the community there and the the the fair part was really great and um it was a good variety of people there and I also wanted to thank um there was the financial aid night for senior parents at the high school which was also great and very helpful so thank you to anyone who um participated and um coordinated that if there's no other board member comments we'll move on um first opportunity for public comment is there anyone from the public who wishes to speak if there's none then we will um adjourned for executive session what we should probably be gone around 30 minutes and then we'll be back thank you e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e okay we're back in session let's move on to item seven old business um we have our committee meeting dates on [Music] there looks like the next meeting is policy on the 28 oh oh both okay if we could just make that change I guess can you make that change please um next we have access data wait could I yes it I really um in Lee of time I really really wanted to discuss the curriculum committee notes from April but since it's almost 10 o'clock can we please put the curriculum meeting notes on the next agenda and also then Sandy could be prepared and everybody could look over those because there's a lot of indepth items on there that need to be discussed and I've been asking for this since April and I really want it on the agenda to talk about it's in regards to graduation requirement policy AP courses and one other thing one other thing on there but if Tina had sent out the notes to All of Us in August so I'm going to be speaking or have questions on those and sand I don't know s if you could will you be here to be able to dis answer those oh okay so she'll be here and then one other thing Nicole there was a policy approved in September on Comm on committees on board committees and it said that a committee chair will be identified and and we will also be given the roles and responsibilities of the committee so when do you anticipate that that would be done I think honestly I think it's something that should wait until January with the reorganization to do it now there's only a couple meetings left until the end of the year I think that's what makes the most sense unless there's objection from the whole board no that's fine but I think we could approve it them but I mean do we have roles and responsibilities like a like a list because then we're going to just it's just going to push the time frame back for that like so we've never had chair as as long as I've been on the board we haven't had a chairperson for committees we've always had an administrative liaison is that the correct term um four committees so we would have to start then having her the policy of chairperson for each committee so I mean that's all we would have would be the committee and a chairperson and administrative lead for each committee and the policy also States though there should there like the roles and responsibilities of each committee will be stated we don't have that I don't think what would I I don't understand what the rules like what what's the finance committee responsible for what's the protocol of the policy committee we don't have like we don't we don't have the rules and responsibilities of what the finance looks like do you have to follow the policy of V I'm just cuid like if a policy says you have to have XYZ do you have to follow that Rie I I'd have to review the specific policy to see exactly what it says it was wasn't it one that we just approved so it was a new a revised policy on committees and we had in there that we're were going to have these committees and then at the end it said something like we could always do committee as a whole and then we have ad hoc committees but that I remember that part but I just but and in that one it was it said something about each committee will be named a chairperson and there'll be roles and responsibilities for the committee so me back track on that one U I think when I came here initially you had asked the board members if you would be interested in like want want to be part of a let's say finance committee so you would normally email it to Paul and then it would be forwarded to you Nicole and there would be list of people who want to be interested in that particular committee so I think that was the process we had used when I came aboard is that the that's what I guess is that what we'll be doing next year as well if you have any interest in let's say doing a policy I mean if I remember in January we had the list of the committee and who was on the Committees and then if anybody who was currently on that to say Finance if you were on finance did you want to stay on finance if there was an opening on finance if somebody else wanted to take that that spot that's how we've done it um as far as roles and responsibilities for each committee that's not something that we've done it's before and I understand it's a new policy I'm just curious if for each policy if it has to be followed verbatim I'm just curious on that isn't that the reason why we have policies is to follow I mean when I was it depends on the Lang it depends on the Lang it's you have to remember how technical legal ises so it depends on I'm pulling it up now I'm trying to it's it's policy 0155 and it was uh it was just August 26 A August 26 for second reading so it wasn't approved just it says revised August 22nd right so was I mean it's posted to Bo dos as approved oh it is okay for second reading so from second reading once it goes through second reading and it's approved on the agenda that's okay thank you m i b legally because I know that sometimes there's policies so I think just while rating to get I think since if we do want to have roles and responsibilities I think it would be best for um if we're going to do a chairperson starting having a chairperson maybe in January and we all sort of agreed that I guess we all agree that that's a good idea and maybe have the group sort of decide you know for themselves what they're responsible for and then present it to the rest of the group to see if everybody agrees that that's something that you know that serves the purpose of the committee for the rest of the folks does that make sense I mean I think it would be hard for like who like I think a group can do that and it shouldn't take very long um be very straightforward so if we went ahead and whatever the Committees you know shook out in January we would then you know start following the policy of having a chairperson and then deciding with that person why that person exist and what they would do differently than the other members and then um you know determine what the focus of the group would be and that might change you know based some what was happening at the time but I think that that's my thought on that what language are you referring to exactly a chairperson shall be appointed by the president and the committee shall be provided with a list of its function and duties okay it uses the word shall so I would say yes a chairperson should be appointed and a list of its functions and duties should be provided but you have to remember that this doesn't specify exactly what a list of functions and Duties are so it could be something that's very concise or it could be something that's very detailed so do we have can does everyone agree with Jenna's ideas it's something that we should wait until January for the reorg have your committees committees the president would appoint a chairperson for each committee and then each committee can decide what their roles and responsibilities are that fine should we so I'm only reading it and Amanda for you it says the committee shall be provided with list of functions and duties should we change that too functions I just I couldn't remember functions and duties it says the committee shall be provided with it's should we change it to the committee shall develop a list of their functions and duties or I don't think it's necessary to change if you this is something new you guys have to establish this wasn't something that's been done before I mean in the same breath you could also revise the policy to remove that a list of functions and duties has to be supplied if there's nothing else on committee meetings um Item B under old business was the exess data presentation if there was any followup questions from any board members I just had one question is there a normal length of time that students are in like ESL in the district or do we try and get them like a like a like a typical lent right like if someone is in kindergarten they come in as you know ESL are they still in that program when they get to high school we we we don't want them to be so obviously we want to make sure that right now we've the students are eligible uh for bilingual uh Services we are embracing their L1 especially under the Spanish umbrella to ensure that they're proficient in that and then looking to transition them so we want to do it in a meaningful way I can get back to you regarding some a projection of what a a typical students Journey would be look if a student enters and kindergarten obviously they're a little bit more of a sponge and we and we can move them forward but we no the goal is not to have a student uh receiving bilingual services for five six seven years if if we're if we're doing it the right way are there any other questions on that topic item C was the security audit recommendations are there any questions or concerns on that um just a thing uh how is the high school um the secondary door are we on track with the construction you know it is amazing how these things kind of take on a life its own so uh we we are expecting to receive uh the building permit any day now uh our contractor has agreed that once that is issued he's willing to work second shift to um there there's kind of two parts to that there's the the administrative so right now we have an administrative office that's being split part of it's going to remain Administrative Office the other part it's going to become a security uh area we're looking to get the administrative area done as soon as possible because we've displaced a staff member somewhere else so we're looking to get the building permits to to get the administrative side done and get that staff member back in there we're hoping to have that um hopefully the next day or two and then the contractor has said that right now is a kind of a slower time for him so getting the staff to come in and do the work um he he can get them here pretty quickly to start working on that the security side of things is a little more of a lead time because the actual security vestibule has to be entered uh ordered excuse me and then even with that it's amazing when you start talking about things so the conversation came up from our heightstown construction official that the security window the vestibule the glass front is actually sitting on an expansion joint in the concrete and so now the architect had to go back and change the size of the entrance because the glass fell on an expansion joint so that's kind of some of the stuff that they're working through um that stuff that has to get ordered for that's going to come in two phases the actual glass wall and then the doors which have a longer lead time the actual uh glass probably should come in um no not yet but the um like I said they're still going through the size of it so they can't even order it because the size hasn't been finalized because it's sitting on an expansion joint because our construction official came out uh but anyway once they're finalized with that the actual ordering of it get it in it's going to come in two phases so you're going to see stuff come probably mid November end of November and then some part after that thank [Music] you any other questions on security audit I'm sorry I just had a quick question Paul does that mean that the cost of anything will change no moving on to item Eight Second opportunity for board member comments I'd like to report on the wellness committee meeting today um so we talked about um the introduction to New Jersey school climate Improvement um that we talked about in the um the presentation this morning doing um a survey um and that would be all stakeholders so parents staff students from grades 3 through 12 um that would uh go out and it would be focused on assessing improving School environments um they partner with ruers trainings have happens with staff and that would uh also um that would be a partner to the Panorama survey um and it would be done it would be done once a year we also talked about different programs um sort of under the heading of uh School climate there was um sorry now I'm trying to remember yeah it's all here I'm just trying to remember what everything was um so I'll just read what dber we had a safety care training staff training on preventing and de escalating challenging behaviors uh with a focus on legal and ethical management of Crisis situations um we talked about everyday speech program a social emotional learning tool that helps to neur virant students develop social skills and manage emotions um and Foster peer relationships um talked about um a program that we've had uh for um we returned last year um called Suite uh 360 uh which is a social emotional learning platform it's a comprehensive social emotional learning curriculum promoting positive behavior character education and mental health support um those modules were talked about this morning as well um we talked about earlier as well uh well we talked about uh the sensory space at creps which is designed to help students with sensory regulation and Behavioral Management through structured deescalation uh processes um um and we talked about project teach uh program supporting expecting and parenting teens uh by providing education life skills and career guidance was one thing I thought oh they're also is that the same thing yeah I think that was it any questions I don't have too much more information can I just add though we also um during the the meeting talked about the New Jersey school climate Improvement survey that's done twice a year so I thought that was interesting to know that all the different stakeholders um are surveyed and then we also talked about the Panorama survey but that's only um for students so yes I thought that was interesting and that way we can you know get feedback from um not just the student population but with the um njsi survey we can also learn from all the other stakeholders like their feedback as well are there any other board members with any comments there's none second opportunity for public comment are there any members of the public who have comment wish to speak if there's none we'll move on to item nine item nine mandated policies for second reading a policy 1530 equal employment opportunities B policy 1550 Equal Employment anti-discrimination Practices C policy 2260 equity in school and classroom practices D policy 2411 guidance counseling B policy 2423 bilingual and ESL education F policy 24 31.4 prevention and treatment of sports related concussions and head injuries G policy 5750 Equitable Educational Opportunity second any questions hold the board please M Drake yes m Murphy yes Miss B yes Mr weeks yes Miss Patel yes Miss Suter yes Miss Kalia yes Miss laruso yes item 10 a regulation 24 31.4 pre prevention and treatment of sports related percussions and head injuries second any question questions P the board please miss Drake yes Miss Murphy yes Miss B yes Mr weeks yes Miss Patel yes Miss Salter yes Miss Kia yes Miss laruso yes item 11 recommended policies for second reading policy 3211 code of ethics uh B policy 5570 sportsmanship C policy 5841 secret societies D policy 5842 equal access of student organizations e policy 7610 vandalism F policy 9323 notification of juvenile offender case disposition second any questions I it's not a question but on the sportsmanship policy 5570 on item five there's a typo in that sentence to be fixed any other questions or comments pull the board please miss Drake yes Miss Murphy yes Miss B yes Mr weeks yes Miss Patel yes Miss Suter yes Miss Kalia yes Miss laruso yes item 12 12 mandated policies for first reading a policy 1523 comprehensive Equity Plan B policy 1140 educational Equity policies affirmative action program C policy 1140 educ it's tce sorry there's actually that's on there twice is that the same thing A and B yeah it's already been deleted okay s any questions pull the board please miss trake yes Miss Murphy yes Miss P yes Mr weeks yes Miss Patel Miss Patel yes Miss Salter yes Miss colan yes Miss laruso yes item 13 motion to approve routine items by exception having read the materials received I move that the board approved routine agenda items as submitted a staffing October 14th 2024 B Hib report from September 30th 2024 C evaluation system d add of District placement D approve new field trip sites F approved traveling related expenses virtual and in person G non-resident students H Transportation joint ches I approval to submit to doe J donation to buildings and grounds Department shelving for building 4 K confirmation of 2425 budget passage and tax levy L board minutes for September 30th 2024 M executive session board minutes September 30th 2024 and report of the board secretary and financial report August 2024 o expense and transfer reports of school monies report for August 2024 P Bill list of October 14th 2024 second any questions I do have a question with e with field trips um I I so like some grades right the grades have like their stable field trip right they go to certain places based on the grade um this one it talks about the first grade is going to uh firm Brook Farm why are they going there rather than Le Turkey Farm which they usually go to I actually don't know Jean it's a good question I'm not sure I can find out all right all right thank you there any other questions pull the board please miss Drake yes Miss Murphy abstain from 13A line six and then 13 C yes to everything else thank you Miss Bley yes Mr weeks yes Miss Patel yes Miss Suter on a yes to line six abstain on all the others lines um abstain L and abstain M thank you Miss callia abstain from l m and a yes to the remainder thank you Miss laruso yes um we have no need for ex executive session motion to adjourn thank you have a good night e e e e e