e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e is it on now okay the board met tonight in executive session we're now ready to start the public portion of our meeting uh we had one piece of written communication since our last meeting which was on April uh 30th um an email from Mar Glick on May 1 with regard to the one of the seal positions that we are eliminating due to the end of federal funding uh both Mr Phillips and I responded that uh Federal funding is wonderful when it's here awful when it goes away but we have to accommodate that change in our financial circumstances um the president's report everybody should come to the Arts Festival and ecoair on Saturday it's going to be wonderful we're going to have displays of Student Art and vendors and the Board of Ed will have a table so come and visit us uh and as will other community organizations including the foundation Freeman Gardens just about everyone you can think of so uh keep your fingers crossed for a good day um we had our meeting as you know our board goals included a provision for meeting with Representatives the mayor and representatives from the Town Council which we did um Joselyn and Kristen and I met with mayor Debbie mans and two of the council members we talked about uh you know we are working on relationship building with this new Administration in Glen Ridge we talked about field usage always a Hot Topic and the sort of larger issue of open space in Glen Ridge and one of the council's intentions is to have a conversation in some format with the public about how the Glen Ridge Public views open space in addition to sports um as you know like many New Jersey towns we're short on open space we also discuss traffic management which is a big focus of the town you all have seen all the many cones all over town directing in traffic trying to improve pedestrian safety uh that is an ongoing project the town has a traffic engine er uh we are so we are working on that they are looking forward to the outcome of today's Montclair election uh because we do do a lot of shared service with Montclair uh but the entire Montclair Town Council and mayor are turning over so uh it's a little bit of a guessing game as to what the how the relationship will go forward but we are hoping for a good relationship I feel very positive I think um we felt very positive about the meeting uh we uh Dirk was there uh burough manager Mike zelly could not be there but we'll be at further uh at uh the next one uh we felt that it was important to have the superintendent and the burough manager there because we may have grand ideas but the people who actually work out those ideas need to be present to uh to give us context for those ideas uh I also wanted to um say something about Rose can Rosemary canceler who is retiring after a long career uh with us she was at um Lyon Avenue School she so many people have talked about her uh have said their children loved her have um we'll will'll miss her greatly she has also influenced many many many classes and grade levels and even generations of students so uh wish her well in her retirement one other thing uh I wanted to bring to your attention uh was that unfortunately in the last week there have been three suicides of middle school students in New Jersey uh they happen to take place in Mammoth County uh I was in touch with uh Moren brogen who is the head of the traumatic loss Coalition uh because there is a specific concern particularly we're concerned with all students mental health but this brings into sharp Focus Middle School student mental health it's a it's a difficult age group it's full of De developmental issues social issues social media issues it's something I think we all have to be cognizant of and and this has really brought it home so um it will be something we'll I think we'll all hear more about and finally for the board I sent out the email reminding my colleagues about the board self evaluation which we do every year it is available now um via the online form and I sent you all the links so the deadline is um is June 2nd Sunday June 2nd so please get them in so that we can move forward with the goal making process which we will get going very shortly and also we will be talking about the scheduling of our board retreat and trying to um put some structure and content into that so coming up and that is the president's report all right thank you Betsy um we're going to start off the evening by recognizing a group of uh staff members who are going through or Gillingham uh training and that's all made possible with the generous donation from the Glen Ridge Education Foundation so I'm going to call up uh Mr dwick to uh present uh the individuals who are completing this two-year certification program and we might add that Mrs Wong is with with us tonight the chair of the foundation uh to whom we always owe a great debt okay they're coming up we Mr Phillips Miss Ginsburg board members thank you so much um here tonight to present you with our second class of Staff members who now as of 6:45 tonight are fully certified in the method of Orton Gillingham so I'd like uh Miss Wang if you could join us Liz and Jamie who are the two teacher trainers if you could come up we'll call them up one by one and then I have a couple words I wanted to [Music] side and there in no particular order so there's two certificates that they're getting tonight I think one is better than the other it's from Glenn Ridge uh it says in recognition of your dedication commitment and professional accomplishment in the completion of the Orton certification program and I think the one they really want is in here right the one want this is Fairley Dickens University Orton Gillingham dyslexia specialist training course this certificate witnesses that blank has completed the requirements of the certificate of Borton Gillingham teacher has been awarded the certificate with all the rights and privileges pertaining thet from July 1st 2024 through June 30th 2027 and it's signed by Dr frell at fairly Lon so one by one if we could Cassie Gibbons [Applause] um maybe over here is that fine yeah okay if you want to stand over here we'll go one by one I'm trying to get on camera I'm trying to make sure um Anthony [Applause] AIA Jen Gonzaga Jen O'Neal [Applause] Gonzaga Lisa Walter [Applause] Arlene [Applause] nonan Sharon Smith [Applause] I got Lisa Jacobson [Applause] Samantha Malo [Applause] and Trisha [Applause] Davis so we're here to recognize our Orton Gillingham certificate graduates for their work but also to thank the Glen Ridge Education Foundation for their generous financial support and everyone for their belief in this program we began began this process back in 2018 with an Orton Gillingham summer Institute we had 23 staff members that attended the week-long Orton gingham we called it OG light because it was not the true certification but uh where they could gain some interest gain some insight learn some methods um hopefully things they would bring into the classroom the idea was that they would learn some tips and tricks of multisensory reading strategies as a side note six of the staff members who attended that are actually now certified subsequent Summers we held multi-day workshops and I believe another three staff members who had attended have been certified a little bit about the program we've essentially created a remote campus with fairly Dickinson University where we've teamed up with them at The Graduate School level the program that we have has four graduate school classes across two full years one semester each course is made up of several parts it begins when I assign each teacher with two students that they will work with that semester each course has a two or three week session to learn the methods and then each following week they have two one hour weekly sessions with direct supervision where they're working with students and then they have a graduate level class after that each week they receive direct supervision during the teaching sessions where our teachers become students while providing tutoring support for our Glenn Ridge Glen Ridge Public School students that means that each staff member is able to provide two individual sessions per week in an effort for the in an effort to expand the program I've invited other school districts to include their teachers they pay for the classes and we receive the benefit of more of our students receiving the unique tutoring opportunity and that's our two friends at the end who are just certified a quick look at the numbers I know Mr Phillips is a math guy so we'll look at some numbers each teacher provides two hours per week with a requirement of roughly 25 hours per semester meaning that each teacher has provided roughly 100 hours of onetoone tutoring to the struggling students in Reading over the past two years the current cohort has provided 900 hours of individual tutoring over two years our last cohort which had eight teachers provided 800 hours our current cohort which is just completing year one on Thursday will provide another I think 3 or 400 hours so when we add that up the Orton Gillam certification program which again is generally funded by the Glen Ridge Education Foundation has provided 2,000 hours of individual tutoring and reading since its Inception that's the immediate benefit helping our nedia students long-term benefits let's look at who makes up our OG program their certificate graduates are made up of regular education teachers special education teachers learning disability teacher consultants and reading Specialists we're able to address reading for special education students regular education students and other students who may be struggling they've been bothered by me probably every other month to get some feedback from them so I had two questions that I asked them most Rec recently and I just want to share what they said one was what has the OG experience meant to you being part of the OG experience has meant so much to me I not only gained a new teaching perspective but also a built a camaraderie with other Educators who taught me so much as well the OG experience has been a tremendous Journey Through the past two years I feel I've grown so much as an educator and my understanding of teaching phonics I've been able to assess create engaging lessons and practice my abilities and I feel I have grown through years my OG experience has given me the opportunity to see how this systemic approach to learning benefits students at their level I was fortunate enough to work with one student for two years and saw their growth from start to finish uh in the program even when working with a student for a year I witnessed their academic growth with sounds and sound spellings it was a wonderful thing to see for both myself and my student finally I did ask them what's one thing that they would want to share with the Glen Ridge Education Foundation I'll read you a few of them I'd like to express my sincere thanks to the Glen Ridge Education Foundation for making this opportunity available another person being part of the OG cohort allowed me to grow as an educator and I'm grateful for that opportunity and for the generosity of the Glen Ridge Education Foundation I'd like to thank the Glen Ridge Education Foundation for allowing me to have this opportunity to grow and I'd like to share that this EXP experience was impactful and has changed my way of thinking and teaching thank you for providing this opportunity for me to be part of the program I know will continue to use these skills learned during my OG training within my classroom during our language arts instructions and finally I'm so proud to have completed the OG program the program has taught me so much about the reading process as well as strategies and techniques that really work to teach readers I'm excited to introduce the magic of read to individuals who struggle in this area I can honestly say that I feel blessed to have had this opportunity to touch the lives of others and make their reading dreams come true as an OG certified teacher I know I can make it happen and what a feeling it is so thank you to the teachers for their time and efforts a sincere thank you to Fran and the Education Foundation for everything they've done this would not be possible without you thank you [Applause] I'd love to offer my congratulations and thanks to all of you up there because we write the check but you're the ones who do the hard work and of course you ladies as well we're delighted to be able to sponsor this uh program for what now three years three years sessions three sessions yes five oh it's been five years those checks come and go really fast um and uh I have to say that um I've never received thank you notes from parents like we have on as a result of this program and I think that having been able to visit a classroom where uh the process was being used I noticed that in the entire class was benefiting from the techniques and methods that the teacher was implementing that she had learned in in Orton Gillingham and it it was a very Lively class it was great to see them so engaged so I want to thank you Jack you've done a great job um especially the thank you notes it really motivates us and the administration the rest of the administration for uh bringing this project to us I don't think that although we've sponsored a lot of impactful programs over the last 31 years I don't think there's one that has had any any more impact than than this so thank you all keep it up thank you I also want to Echo uh congratulations and and and thank you to um the foundation once again um the impact is being felt throughout um the elementary schools um in the high schools and and I'm seeing that as I walk in the buildings and seeing what's happening in the classrooms um whether it's small group or large group it's it's amazing um and again we appreciate everything that the foundation does for us Jack you said two 2,000 hours so the mathematician is me is playing well I know how much roughly OG gets paid for tutoring we're saving the the residents a lot of money in tutoring fees let me tell you that um so uh Mr dwick got to recognize uh teachers I get to recognize students um I'm going to recognize two students at the the beginning of of my report and two students at the end so I'm first going to recognize uh I'm gonna ask Jimmy Benson to come up you can clap r two of the teachers were from Verona which makes uh this a little bit more meaningful uh Jimmy plays for the Verona Glen Ridge ice hockey team uh the team had a very successful year they went 15 and seven they were the Kelly division Champions uh not only were they Champions but historic uh they played in for the championship game the longest high school hockey game in State history this year so uh amazing uh Jimmy was one of the leaders played defense you don't expect a lot of scoring but he ended up uh getting seven goals and 21 assists and with all his success on the defense and and on the offensive side he was recognized as first team Kelly Division and one of the rare occasions that we have an Allstate hockey player uh third Team all public co-op in the state so I want to recognize Jimmy for all his effort and the success he and the team had this year congratulations um and I do not see Riley o salivan here so I'm going to try to get her her at the next meeting I would recognize her because she's quite taller than I am um she is a basketball player and a tennis player among other things so um hopefully um she'll be able to make it to the next meeting um I have a few announcements and I'll get to uh my uh two other students I'm going to recognize first I want to congratulate uh High School teacher maray de who was was presented with the ex patas language matters award at the American Association of teachers of Spanish and Portuguese the New York New Jersey chapter um um sh Maria has been very successful in the classroom but has expanded that in the last several years of taking her expertise outside the classroom and and and some International experience and being recognized for all of her contributions so I want to uh congratulate her um recently um at Ridgewood Avenue we have several teams that participate in the stock stock market game and our adviser is um Miss Christine suo and she's been doing this for years actually the first year that um Miss suo ran the tournament um her one of her teams placed first that year and Miss suo is retiring after this year so it's only fitting that one of our teams finished first this year out of 800 75 middle school teams one of the sixth grade teams plac first place in the stock market game this year so congratulations to the team and Miss suo back in February the c c uh C CCD changed the protocol with covid um we were waiting for the New Jersey Department of Health to follow suit they did in April so I wanted to make everyone aware there's no longer mandated period of time where students or staff would have to sit out if they have covid there's um so it's going to be treated as any other typical illness um the protocol will be the same if uh as long as you have declining symptoms and your 24-hour period of being fever free you can return back to school so if you have questions just reach out to your school nurse this past weekend sus called the musical happened if you remember we had a couple singers here um that was they put on a terrific show it was just a small part of what happened over the weekend it was amazing if for anyone who got to see the show um over 200 kids participated and there was times where that stage was just filled with kids and kids running out on the side of the stage and down the aisles and they just never stopped there were so many kids it was so colorful the kids were just um bright on Queue the whole time it was an amazing show to watch I congratulate all the students who participated um I thank all the parents who volunteered because as you can imagine 200 kids in a production that's quite a undertaking and uh and I want to once again thank he Heather Ballentine for all the time and commitment she puts into it um and I also want to congratulate the girls High School lacrosse team which just past Saturday won the Essex County tournament um by beating Montclair 15 to it was a terrific game uh they were just they they played amazing and I wish them the best for the rest of the the season and now I have two my other two students I'd like to recognize and and this is always a special time of year where they're getting a lot of recognition and much deserved recognition I want to call up um Juliet Juliet Juliet lorei Juliet's Journey at Glenridge high school has has been marked by her unwavering commitment to academic Excellence leadership and service her dedication to achieving at the highest level in seizing every opportunity has rightfully earned her a place on the high honor Ro every marking period of high school Juliet has earned an impressive cumulative GPA of 2.46 2 scored a 1540 on her sat and has taken 11 AP courses and was named an AP scholar with distinction by the college board she has also earned the Seal of biliteracy in Spanish been inducted to the National Honor Society math Honor Society computer Honor Society and the National Art Honor Society and was an honor guard for the 20203 high school graduation a distinction given to the top four students of the junior class Juliet will be attending vanderbelt in the fall as a computer science major her passion truly lies in the stem field particularly in computer science where she excels beyond measure enrolling in challenging courses like AP Computer Science principles and AP Computer Science a Juliet has found joy in problem solving and programming her enthusiasm for app development and her ability to comprehend complex coding languages like Java showcas her exceptional talent and drive Juliet's Brilliance isn't confined to the classroom she's a true leader balancing a demanding load of AP classes with Varsity Sports and various leadership rool roles in clubs as a representative for the Girls Club she spearheads community service projects as the founder of girls who code chapter she inspires her peers to pursue stem careers and as a peer leader she serves as a mentor for her younger Glenridge high school peers Juliet is a true role model a leader and a force for positive change in our community with her drive resilience and commitment there's no doubt she'll continue to Excel and make a lasting impact as she pursues her academic goal and career career goals congratulations Juliet on your outstanding achievements the future hold endless possibilities and we can't wait to see the incredible things you accomplished this upcoming fall Juliet will be attending vanderbelt University Juliet is the class of 2024 Salud toan congratulations and this time if we brought up this latorian fitting that our next student we bring up is a valoran arnov arov Roi is an outstanding student has achieved incredible academic success through his high school career with a 4.7 GPA and a 1570 SAT score he has demonstrated his commitment to academic excellence and his ability to Excel and challenging coursework arof has taken 23 AP and honors courses and has scored a five on six exams including AP Physics 1 psychology US History Human Geography seminar and world history this is a testament to his dedication to his studies and his ability to master even the most difficult subjects in addition to his academic achievements arnoff is very proud of his tutoring opportunities he was invited by the the College Board to peer tutor other students that were preparing for the SATs he loves maths math and physics and enjoys the opportunity to share his love to of those subjects with his peers arov has been an integral member of our CrossCountry teams over the years and was able to manage his sports activities and extracurriculars arnav's proudest personal accomplishment is teaching himself how to create a website from scratch using HTML and CSS overall arnoff is an exceptional student who has achieved incredible academic success while making significant contributions to the school and Community he is a leader and a scholar and he has a bright future ahead of him this far Aral will be attending the University of Illinois the class of 2024 valoran [Applause] I always enjoy these moments I know uh the two of them have uh this is the second time we've been together recognizing their achievement and I know there'll be at least two other times this school year with the academic Awards and graduation so uh welld deserved it's quite an accomplishment um considering how competitive and challenging Glenn Rich High School could be to be one of the top two students so again another round of applause at this time I'll turn the program back over to you okay and one item I forgot in the president's report uh just as our graduates families have lawn sign celebrating their accomplishment our um non-student graduate has his own lawn sign so those of you who have not had a chance to go by the board office uh you should take a look because on the side is a on sign for dirk Phillips who has taken almost 30 years to get out of the Glen Ridge Public Schools as opposed to the 13 years it takes most of our graduates but those years were well spent and uh the sign is a wonderful um tribute from the Project Graduation team so um take a look if you haven't had a chance and now we need to go on with the uh rest of our business portion of our meeting uh you just now excuse yes uh I should say uh we always love people to have people stay with us but we know that some of you have other engagements so thank you for being here thank you congratulations congratulations okay it is now time for public comment on agenda or other item on agenda items only excuse me um I think everyone in the audience knows the protocol um so does anyone have a question or comment Mrs Wong I'm looking at you okay um all right that being the case we will go on with the rest of our meeting uh you have uh it is time for a committee and liaison report since it is the first meeting of the month let's start with our student representative David Kelly uh so uh currently in the high school we are in the midst of midst of AP testing uh they began last Monday and they will continue to the end of this week with makeups in the next following weeks uh senior service is back this year and many students are taking advantage of it uh senior service is an opportunity for students to take short internships instead of class where they'll just be wasting time by the end of the year and also this is a little bit personal for a little bias for me but the lacrosse team this weekend has one of the biggest games of the Season uh playing Montclair in the Border battle where they pass back a trophy every year and we started this tradition last year so it should be fun uh the curriculum committee has hasn't met since we I last reported out but we're meeting this weeky uh G has not met since the last social so there is no report G First Central hom School sorry did did the same thing noort for this so the personnel and policy committee met I don't have the date in front of my head but maybe May 3rd last week um and we were discussing some of the policy that you'll see on the agenda for tonight's meeting as well as shifts to Personnel for next year um the negotiations committee met on May 2nd with the administrator team and we established a new contract which will start July 1 2024 and extend until J Jun une 30th 2027 we're all very excited to have that resolved and look forward to continuing um to have such great administrators for the next three years so thank you on that front um Grace The Glenn Ridge Association for special education is having their final meeting of the Year this upcoming Wednesday it will be virtual from 7 to 8:30 and that link has been sent out and I'm sure you can also email the grace address through the um director of students Serv services website if you did not get the link and then Ridgewood had a home and school meeting on May 3rd um with a lot of updates as Mr Phillip said there was the susal performance on the 10th and 11th of May which involved about a third of the student body of the school and and many parent volunteers um they they've been busy with transition events for students both coming into Ridgewood and students leaving Ridgewood and going to the Middle School um there have been Buddy bre parent meetings student tours sort of the whole thing and move up day will be on June 7th also upcoming at Ridgewood is the Rhino romp and field day and a lot of enrichment activities by grade so there's just been a lot happening generally and there will be a final meeting of the year on Friday June 7th for those who want to attend and get the kind of full recap the uh Lindon Vue home and School Association has not met since our last meeting uh I have not heard from the Glenridge uh diversity and inclusion Association although I did have an email from FIS Bon Bender who has been the co-leader uh she has a senior uh she is relinquishing the co-leader position and I wanted to thank her publicly for her contribution she has been a a terrific collaborative leader hard worker uh I know that uh the grd is in her debt as well uh and now trca the middle school high school HSA has not met since our last U board meeting April 30th so no update at this time okay dual yes um Forest Avenue home and school um has not met however they had their spring fundraiser on May 2nd at the Glenridge Country Club about 75 people um attended apparently it was well I saw some of the decorations it was quite beautiful they had a big auction um and of course one of the the uh the highest winning auction item was principal for a day which is always a favorite um I don't know quite how much they raised but I think overall it was considered quite successful and their next meeting and last of the year will be June 3 at Fitzgerald's and that is uh of course open if you would like to go um and the Glenridge Educational Foundation met um last Tuesday and we reviewed Fran will you tell me eight grants um some very creative um and interesting ideas were brought forth um will be announcing more about that later um or the foundation we we'll be announcing more about that later but um it was a very exciting meeting because lots of lots of good stuff coming down the PIP thank you okay uh minutes from the meeting of April 30th our last meeting has everyone had a chance to look at those minutes any changes none uh may I have uh Jocelyn may I have a motion to will we moove the minutes okay may I have a second second from Heather okay Barbara would you call the role Miss Akim wand I Mr Bonnet hi Mr Denard yes Miss gole Miss Graham yes Dr yarus Ramos I miss Ginsburg I motion carries okay uh administrative items uh Heather would you move the administrative items sure I move A1 through A9 okay may I have a second second second from Anthony um any discussion on the administrative items all right Barbara would you call the role Miss Aken wand I Mr Bonnet yes Mr Den yes Miss gotle yes Miss Graham yes Dr yarus re Mo I miss Ginsburg yes motion carries okay Anthony would you move the Personnel items yes I'll move P1 through p14 in addition to P9 and uh addendum of p14 through p16 okay uh may I have a second second from Jocelyn in keeping with the rules and the board board members code of ethics we do not discuss Personnel items in public session that being the case Barbara would you call the role Miss Zin wand I Mr Bonnet yes Mr Denard yes Miss scle yes Miss Graham yes Dr yarus Ramos hi Miss Ginsburg I motion carries okay Heather would you move the curriculum item sure I move C1 a on the regular agenda and B on the addendum all right may I have a second second uh was that Devol Tera trca sorry uh all right any questions uh board members on the curriculum items Barbara would you call the role Miss Aken wandi I Mr Bonnet yes Mr Denard yes miss gly m Graham yes Dr yarus Ramos hi Miss Ginsburg I motion carries all right before we move the business items I draw your attention to item B3 uh donations um from the Glen Ridge volleyball booster club donation for girl grhs boys volleyball spring 2024 uniforms at a monetary value of about uh $20,000 748 and also donation from the Lynden Avenue home and School Association art display boards for the Arts and ecoair an author visit solar eclipse glasses very important and a day in clay grade level Workshop assembly uh for various costs that seem to add up to um over $3,000 so thank you both to the volleyball program and also to lynon Avenue home and school and now uh Duval would you move business items sure I'll move B1 through B9 noting that um B8 there additions on the addendum and B9 is also on the agendum all right may I have a second second second from Heather uh any discussion board members on the business items all right Barbara would you call the rooll Miss Aken wandi I Mr bonnet yes Mr donard Miss scle Miss Graham yes Dr yarus Ramos hi Miss Ginsburg hi motion carries all right we've reached the second public comment period a second chance for anyone who wants to make a public comment is there public comment so I couldn't help but notice um when you were introducing the salutatorian and valedictorian and all their accomplishments that there was a very long list of AP exams that they had taken and I know that that was not always possible in Glen Ridge and thanks to the administration for bringing to the foundation the virtual high school program 10 11 12 years ago a long time ago um there are an increased number of tests being taken both via the virtual High School which course enhances the students um resumés but also some of those courses that we used to offer via VHS are now adopted into the uh the on-site curriculum for inst in Psychology I noticed one of them took psychology and I remember that was a very popular one back when we first started doing this so I'm I'm very happy that we've been able to do it for so long and I wish I had a count of all the kids and the number of exams that have been taken or classes that have been taken more importantly um and uh especially in the computer science vein uh because that that's a tremendous um accomplishment that that young lady has um achieved thank you come get free cotton candy remember on Saturday thank you Fran in terms of touching lives the foundation has helped us to touch so many lives and we are so grateful and I have to say after hearing a lot of sort of uh this the semiformed movement in Trenton about uh early literacy it's so nice to be here to see so many successful practitioners of the Orton Gillingham method and to be able to thank the foundation for their support of that so thank you it's our pleasure all right any further comment for the good of all that being the case uh may I have a motion to adjourn moved by Anthony may I have a second second by Heather thank you all for