e that's is now therefore be a resolve that the Board of Education of the city of vland school district will convene in executive session for the following reasons is outlined in njsa 10 go 4-12 discussion is about employment matters and any matters falling within the attorney client privilege to the extent that confidentiality is required in order for the attorney to exercise his ethical duties as a lawyer do I have I have a motion in second so move second roll call please Mr Bono yes Mr medo yes Mr Rivera yes Mr sabran yes Mr Silva yes Mr Holmes yes Mrs ktis body yes motion carries public comment on agenda items or any other matter please limit yourselves to three minutes and state your name and address do we have any yellow sheets we do Jennifer belet hi good evening everybody um I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight I wanted to just come out and talk about a school that doesn't get recognized as it should and I want to say um thank you to Memorial School for three amazing years years this school gets a bad rap and my daughter had a wonderful experience um I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to Mr masonet and his administrative team uh Miss Burke and Miss ocean who's here um and all of your awesome teachers but especially I'd like to give like a quick shout out to miss Eller Miss Jenkins Miss kohanski um Miss Haley and Mr cresy um all of you have helped my daughter not only grow in academics but also in confidence and I appreciate you and I will miss Memorial School very much so thank you um I'd also like to just add a couple of things about the high school I'm hoping that over the summer and with some new changes that you would consider changes to our final exam schedule also to our grading policy and discipline policy and possibly consider a ban on water bottles um I would love to sit down with any of you to discuss concerns and ideas about those things and I want to say thank you for smart pass at the high school um it's had a little bit of glitches but it it has really made some positive changes in my daily classroom so I appreciate that very much um and lastly I'd just like to give a quick shout out to Mr Ross Stanger um for his efforts this year leading the language arts teachers and in addition to all of his abundant responsibilities it's been the first time in many years that I felt supported and that my opinions and ideas and my position um are respected by an English supervisor so I really want to say thank you for that and I hope everyone has a great summer and I'm looking forward to year 2 but not too soon because we didn't finish this one yet so thank you all have a great summer Jeff cel hello and thank you my name is Jeff solur I represent the violent High School parents Association on the president of them uh I just wanted to give the opportunity uh to present to the board over the past two months there's been a lot of negativity that has been brought to the girls uh softball team um I just wanted to say that all that negativity and you see the success that these girls have had young women I'd like to say um I thank you for recognizing them supporting them throughout the whole entire season um Mr fonio Mr cologne everybody at the violent High School um I redid the dugouts myself they supplied us with all the material this has been a great year um and to have somebody come up here and state negativity for the past two months anybody that knows me I don't speak in public I'm very behind the scenes I do what I got to do and that's it but I felt two people in particular got named quite often um and I just want to say uh they have done nothing but the best for every one of these young women for success for their future whether it be for colleges for whatever they wanted to pursue in life for you know their future um coach Reed Michael Reed and Coach Alex Gomez um without those two and the way that they jelled um a group of women who are uh very um loud and voyous at times um they play with a lot of passion but they also have a lot of kindness to them um they support others they support the young children that look up to them day in and day out yes they play travel ball yes they do other sports but that has nothing to do with it um and I would be remissed not to be able to come up here and to explain to you that everything that you heard is totally false I've been around these two men from the very beginning I've been part of Youth Organization baseball I was a coach for over 20 years at East Little League um and it's all about the kids and and I want to make sure that everybody up on that board is clear about that these men did not do a thing to belittle put down if anything they went out of the way to help each and every individual girl succeed and explain to them hey look you need to work a little bit on this you know do better strive harder to succeed and there's nothing wrong with that um so I thank you for the opportunity and thank you for the support that each each one of you have done for these young women thank you Gian Pera good evening everyone thank you for the opportunity of speaking tonight and my name is Gianna Perka and I'm currently the SJ president at VHS and I'm also a part of our V softball team on behalf of myself and the rest of our teammates I'm here to share some insights and speaking of false accusations that were made about our recent SE softball season and the leadership of our coaches was amazing of Coach Mike and Coach Alex Gomez first and foremost I want to emphasize that coach Mike and Coach Al have always been an incredible supportive and fair they have never left a player out or they would never yell in anybody's face their approach is always constructive and encouraging and and ensuring that we all feel valued as a team sta statistics show that the best nine were on the field and at the time given and it was a tragic approach that led us to the state championship every player stepped up when needed fulfilling their roles perfectly this team's effort was a key reason we reached every success of our season school was equally important to us despite our busy schedule especially during our Florida trip we maintained our grade which our coaches stayed on top of us this commitment to both academics and Athletics is something our coaches always stress and it paid off we not only Excel on the field but also in the classroom it's important to note that no player had a guaranteed spot on the team regardless of their class year when someone didn't perform coach Mike and Coach Al made the tough decision necessarily to keep them in and keep a competitive team or to take them out they clearly communicated that everybody's roles and if someone wasn't happy with their role they were able to communicate with them or leave without any hard feelings the trip of Florida was extended to all returning Varsity players it was an incredible experience for team bonding and it strengthening it was strengthening for our Unity when we returned we welcome our other returning players who didn't make the Florida trip ensuring that they were not treated differently finally I want to highlight how amazing coach Mike and Coach Al are their leadership fairness and dedication have shaped us us into not only better players but also better individuals they've taught us valuable life lessons about teamwork commitment and resilience and just thank you for your time and I'm looking forward to coach Mike staying and coaching with the rest of the girls and for the successful season next year anybody else wishes to speak I apologize I missed those yellow papers uh my name is John capizola I'm a teacher of aosi Elementary School uh I've been teaching in the district for over 20 years now um there were some positions opening in the district and you know we all all the FED teachers in the district talk and a few weeks ago and actually months ago we started talking about different move possible movements at the end of the year we have a new athletic director and I was told to be patient um for some movement that possibly could be happen happening in the summertime and today when I looked at the board uh minutes I saw that we are hiring somebody from out of district for a position I would have liked to move to and um I was just hoping I don't know if it works this way but it says you know the school that I want to go to next to that person's name I'm not trying to stop anybody from getting a job um but if it said to be determined until all the cards can fall into place um I put a lot of time in in this district and you know I've followed the right PA path done what I was supposed to do it talked to the uh the principles involved I talked to the athletic director and I was told to be patient and to see that person's name at the school that I want to go to it's just I feel like they should have to wait their turn that's how I feel but if I'm wrong I'm wrong I just hope that's what does happen so hope you consider that thank you do we have our student representative um here for comments they not okay do we have special presentations yes we have two special presentations uh we'll go down to the podium and start from there e our first presentation is a special recognition of the vanon High School girls softball team for having an amazing 2024 season at this time in The Courier Post we heard and we read that this current team put violent softball back on the map violent finished a 24 season with a remarkable 26 and3 record capturing the second South Jersey title in program history the fighting Clan fought all the way to the final day of the 24 softball season playing in the state group four final at Ivy Hill Park one of the quotes from our students we played like a family and played with nothing to lose that was from senior Megan Harold Alvarez we learned how to play for the person in front of you and the person behind you the team bonding is what I'll always remember about this team they're my second family this team some of them gathered here tonight brought together the entire community of violin and gave us all something to cheer about this spring thank you girls and thank you coaches let's hear for our team and to recognize our team who who did an amazing job we have some certificates so we're going to call you up one by one and then we want you to just take a spot right next to the stage over here president kispa has the certificates uh to begin with number two siah Holland if you're not here okay we'll keep it going uh number three Avery Gomez congratulations stay right up here uh number four Lucy day number five jasine Cruz number seven Morgan Harold Alvarez number eight casvi Patel [Applause] 11 skyin o Oola not here okay number 12 Natalia Pon 14 Frankie celebr number 15 Megan Harold Alvarez number 16 Mia morve not here okay number 17 jna Toro number 19 Giana Pera 22 Leah Meyers not here 23 Brooklyn Lopez I think that covers all of our players but I'll announce 24 Trista supi and 33 beis sotoor next would like to call up our coaches coach Reed I'm not sure if coach Gomez is here tonight no okay coach sua coach Breeze and Coach bamin let's hear another great Round of Applause for this amazing team coach Reed thank you for your leadership coach Supa thank you for being here and supporting ladies job well done we're going to get a picture so if any board member would like to join in this picture please uh join us down here on the floor I was just told that South Jersey Times Nam them the team of the year right [Applause] w our next presentation as our board members make their way back to their seats will be on the violent Public Schools strategic plan for 2024 to 2029 uh tonight we have with us Michelle Kennedy from New Jersey school boards she has been by our side throughout the whole process guiding us through all of the committee meetings and supporting uh violent public schools in the develop Vel mment of a fantastic strategic plan girls on a softball team I'm sorry you got caught right here I I didn't let you leave beforeand but this won't be too long I promise just wanted to always begin our presentations by taking a peek at our mission statement uh we have this mission statement on our school district website it's a mission statement that was developed quite a few years ago but that continues to resonate it is also one that we'll be looking at in the future as we continue our work with our school district but the development of our strategic plan uh was an exciting opportunity to bring our community together to work together to F think about the future and develop plans and kind of come up with those metrics of how we'll be assessing our progress for the next 5 years so it's been an exciting time and an exciting process and you'll see many of our folks are here tonight uh who supported the process that are with us uh say hello to all of our not all of our but many of our strategic plan team members and many of our board members who participate in those strategic planning events as well uh we appreciate the support of our board many board members came through and were able to participate in different committee meetings and also uh the work that our students did at different times good evening everyone the portrait of a graduate it's a collective Vision it was it is our North Star that helps articulate the entire community's goals and aspirations for our students the portrait of a graduate influen the development of our strategic plan the competencies include empathy responsibility adaptability communication perseverance and critical thinking so some of you may be asking thank you Mr marchie you know what is a strategic plan a strategic plan is the road map that we are now laying out for our school district that will help guide us through the next five years that road map will outline goals priorities and initiatives and what we aim to achieve over this period of time it serves as The Guiding document it'll help align our budgeting process and it'll help work and develop Partnerships and collaboration between all of our stakeholders so we began this process last year as we just noted with our portrait of a graduate and now we're continuing with the development of a fiveyear plan which you'll hear more about today on this next slide I'm not going to read all of them but we had many meetings many long meetings evening meetings and also student meetings where we worked collaboratively there's a few photos there and the process included looking at the past what have we accomplished when we looked at the last strateg plan the present what are the current states of what is the current need the current state of the district in terms of achievement that led off on our me our meeting number one where we presented the state of the district and the future looking into the future five years from now where will we be each meeting was developed around the idea of collaboration and consensus building participants engaged in deep conversations and shared what they felt and also shared good things and bad things but it was all accepted in the spirit of cooperation and the development of a five-year plan we develop five goals voice and choice student achievement family and Community engagement multi-dimensional culture and social wellness and security each goal has approximately three to four objectives and each objective has between two to four action steps I have several members of our focus group here with us this evening that are going to help both myself and Mr Yano with presenting each goal the first goal is voice and choice I'd like to call um to the podium Tara meerson and Megan Greenfield yes we do everything together hi everyone so for voice and choice um the goal is to develop processes and procedures that Foster collaboration and communication which incorporates staff and student voice and choice so our first objective was to create opportunities for Meaningful dialogue among building staff and Central Administration so an example of an act step um for this objective would be to hold uh forums that give staff and Central admin um chance to talk about relevant issues and share updates um and exchange ideas the next the next objective under this goal is to support students in becoming um agents of change in Partnerships with community and school leaders and an example of this action step of an action step would be to also um provide opportunities for students and Central admin to discuss issues and exchange ideas in open forums and meetings as well our third objective is to implement a platform for staff to assume leadership roles and adopt ownership of unique initiatives um and an action step one of our action steps is to develop a streamlined process to recognize the contributions and successes and Milestones of building staff on a monthly basis our fourth objective is to foster a culture of empowerment among students to take ownership of their learning Pathways and an example of an action step uh is to provide targeted information sessions uh to students and their families sorry and now Mr Marie and Miss Zigler our next goal is student achievement and I just want to um if you take notice at the bottom it says link to full goal sheet you'll be able to see all the action steps to each of the objectives we're only providing just one of the action steps as an example for you our next goal is student achievement and it is to ensure that all students demonstrate measurable academic growth and Mastery of essential skills and knowledge across all content areas fostering a culture of high expectations equity and continuous Improvement our first goal is that we want all students reading on or above grade level by the end of third grade one of uh are the action step steps will be to enhance teacher capacity and curriculum implementation through professional development coaching and collabor collaborative planning opportunities objective two is that students in grades 4 through 12 will increase grade level Proficiency in Reading based on New Jersey student learning standards again we want to provide our teachers with access to to high quality curriculum materials technology tools and instructional resources to support effective teaching and learning and next is Alexis all right for objective number three we are focusing on students uh increasing grade level Proficiency in math based upon the New Jersey student learning standards in order to do that we one of our action steps will be to ensure students have access to highquality appropriate and grade level math in construction our last objective is to ensure that we're diversifying learning opportunities and strategies to make sure that we meet the needs of all Learners in our schools and in order to do so we are providing differentiated instruction to accommodate diverse learning styles abilities and interests um and ensuring that all of our instructional materials and methods are accessible in order to engage students with disabilities and ensure that all Learners are successful and next to discuss family and Community engagement is Miss Coya and Miss Marcado good evening so we took a look at family and Community engagement and what does that entail we are looking to Foster collaboration among our families communities and schools to ensure not only the academic success of our students but develop the whole child um an objective number one was we want to enhance Community Partnerships to support our educational initiatives and also address the needs of our students um an example would be we want to promote Career College and Military opportunities as students begin to explore future Pathways objective two is to promote cultural diversity and inclusivity to create welcoming and Equitable learning environments an action step for that would be that we as schools will provide opportunities for families to embrace their cultural Traditions languages and experiences and our last objective objective three is to empower families as active participants in the decision-making processes in their children's education and the action step one of the action steps is to establish multiple communication channels to keep families informed about different School initiatives and opportunities for parent involvement next we will have Mrs fizio and Mr Martin good evening everyone the multi-dimensional culture goal is to enrich and exclusive learning environment that prepares students to navigate and contribute to an increasing diverse and interconnected World there are four objectives for this goal objective one the school Community will Foster an environment where individuals with diverse backgrounds feel welcomed valued and respected an example action step would be to implement a a survey to gather input from various stakeholders to identify ways the district in its current fostering and environment where individuals with diverse backgrounds are welcomed valued and respected objective two the school Community will incorporate a multicultural curriculum across all disciplinary contents an action step would be to collaborate with teachers from different disciplines to map out where and how multiculture perspectives can be incorporated into existing units and lessons our third objective for multi-dimensional culture is the school Community will provide opportunities for students to learn from each other's backgrounds and the example uh action step for that would be to support celebrations of different heritages languages and traditions that reflect the Multicultural backgrounds represented within each School Community the fourth objective is that the School Community will address barriers and inequalities within the school community and Beyond by promoting fairness and empowering students to become agents of positive change in their communities and the example action step for objective number four is that uh we will develop an Implement support programs for students such as tutoring mentoring counseling and after school programs coming up next is Miss Tomlin and Miss Rulo our final goal is social wellness and security and the goal is to Foster social well-being and security while ensuring a safe and engaging environment promoting self-esteem strong character responsibility and a respect for diversity got it a little shorter objective one a positive School climate to cultivate a positive School positive and inclusive School climate that Fosters a sense of belonging respect and safety for all members of the school Community an example of this action step would be to continue to integrate the portrait of a graduate competencies um districtwide into daily practices and lessons as well as utilize a school climate surveys to identify strengths and weaknesses objective two ensure safety we will Implement proactive measures to maintain a safe and secure environment conducive to learning and personal growth an action step for this objective would be that we would establish threat assessment teams and protocols as directed by the state of New Jersey objective three mental health to Foster social and emotional Wellness for students staff and school community Through promoting Healthy Lifestyles an example of an action step for this one would be to provide professional development for staff on trauma informed practices positive behavior intervention strategies restorative practices and techniques for promoting emotional well-being in students and I'm going to turn it back to susette Mrs Dori I just want to take a moment and thank all of our focus group members um thank you to our board members and Central Administration that participated in this process um but focus group members we spent countless hours together um and I am very very grateful so when I call your name if you could just please stand um Jeff I see you in the back Mr Deo um Jeff Martin Britney Tomlin Lauren Coya Alexa Ziggler Daisy Marcado Melissa fio Nicole oen um Megan Greenfield Tara Myerson Dina Rodolfo and I have to thank Gia um for this beautiful presentation that she helped us put together and of course thank you to Mr Yano for all of your support um we really couldn't have done it um without all of your support so thank you very much [Applause] at this time are there any questions uh we'll make sure you have a copy of the presentation that's linked and the complete action goals are also linked within that presentation so you have a chance to look deeper into what has been set up as a initial initiatives and there's still a lot of plan and impr prep that goes around the development of our strategic plan any questions at this time or would' like to continue thank you so much great job team thank you [Applause] you ladies don't have to stay if you don't want to are there any questions or comments on the hi report do we have any comments on the minutes June 5th special meeting June 5th combined meeting June 5th executive session June 5th executive session two questions or comments seeing none do I have a motion so moved roll call please Mr Bono yes Mr medo yes Mr Rivera yes Mr sabran yes Mr Silva yes to all and had to abstain from the executive session to Mr Holmes yes Mrs kispa yes motion carries I have to abstain from the executive sessions I'm sorry can you repeat that I abstained from the executive sessions superintendent recommend a yes thank you at this time I'd like to make uh request in discussion and approval for personnel items under 1.1 questions or comments seeing none roll call oh do I have a motion so moved roll call please Mr Bono yes Mr medo yes Mr Rivera yes Mr sabran yes Mr Silva yes Mr Holmes yes Mrs ctis body yes motion carries request and discussion and approval regarding procedures and operations items 2.1 through 2. five questions or comments do I have a motion so moved roll call Mr Bono yes Mr Medio yes Mr Rivera yes but abstain from 2.4 2.1 four four thank you Mrs sabran uh yes and I also abstain from item 2.4 Mr Silva yes Mr Holmes yes Mrs kispa yes motion carries requesting discussion and approval regarding Finance items 4 point excuse me a second did you you abstained from the district calendar the calendar revised and the ESL bilingual or were you abstaining from row and college col from 2.4 2.4 he clarified mine says 2.5 2.5 the approval of resolution super Authority make personel decisions June 18th through August 7th 2.4 the agenda is approval authorizing the board secretary to enter an affiliation agreement with the following College universities for 2425 at no cost Rowan University Rowan University Health and exercise science 2.4 correct Mr River Yes mine must not be updated M mistake I'll read that again uh requesting discussion approval regarding Finance items 4.1 through 4.19 questions are comments do I have a motion so move second roll call please Mr Bono yes Mr medo yes pardon me Mr Rivera yes Mr sabran yes Mr Silva yes Mr Holmes yes Mrs Scot spotti yes motion carries board member remarks I'm going to start with Mr Rivera good evening everyone um I like to first and foremost congratulate the girls softball team on reaching the state championship um and any sport it's very difficult to reach the highest level of of your sport and reach your championship game and we are more than proud of you girls you guys represented violent above all things you represented with class you represented it with you know with our our toughness that we have here in viol and we again congratulate you on an awesome season and can't wait to see what next year brings um had the privilege to attend the Middle School uh I guess ambassadors we were we call them um uh picnic last Monday um all the ambassadors from all the middle schools that Mr Yano and several board members and other uh individuals have met with with these uh Middle School uh students and to ask them their opinions on what the overall their feelings of the overall District everything from uniforms to the food from discipline to their even their academics um and they all gave us great feedback um Mr Yano did remind me today that our team did be his team in tug of war um so you know there's that there's pictures out there too um so it was a it was a great experience uh speaking of middle school this past week I was able to attend the three Middle School recognition ceremonies it was great to see our eighth graders being recognized for their achievements um all the awesome things that they accomplished in this school district one another reason why I say this school district is the best school district in New Jersey try to change my mind um we're very proud of you every single eighth grader all your accomplishments can we look forward to seeing what the future brings in high school for each and every one of you um last Saturday I was able to attend um a the mocha ceremony mocha is for anyone doesn't doesn't know what mocha is is the men of color hope Achievers is a program that the state um piloted uh last couple two years ago through Rome University and it's to help men of color become teachers and last Saturday they graduated 10 individuals and out of those 10 three work here in violent and I'd like to give them their recognition Albert Jimenez Joseph kamacho en and Montgomery Strickland congratulations on achieving that program and we again look forward to all the things that you're going to bring to violent and everything that you're going to impact our kids with um I'm looking forward to the strategic planning and is my five minutes almost up yeah okay I'm looking I'm looking forward to strategic planning and implementation looking forward to everything that that was put together and so we can see what where it takes us um violent High School graduation tomorrow congratulations to every single graduate you made it you made it you made it four years probably was the hardest four years of your life but you made it and we're looking forward again to seeing all the accomplishments which I know are going to happen all the major accomplishments that you're going to provide or give to this community to make us feel proud and lastly um today I was able to participate in the Duran school teachers versus fifth grader softball game um it was an Awesome event I I must say it was the first year I was able to participate in it um I had a little bit of pressure cuz my kids were watching me so I didn't do as well as I wanted to do uh the teachers did win 30 to 5 um I was on the kids team so you know I felt a little bad for them but you know what next year we're going to we're going to get it next year uh the Philly fanatic did some unmentionable things to my Mets Hat by the way um there's probably some video in pictures of that as well so but it was a great event thank you for Durant SC for allowing me to participate thank you have a great night thank you I was going to tell to you lose use a couple of my minutes but if you're a Met fan forget it minutes Mr the message I had planned to deliver was preempted by Mr Rivera congratulations to the softball team looking forward to a successful not so hot graduation tomorrow night congratulations to the girl softball team and I am looking forward to the graduation tomorrow thank you I stopped by graduation practice this morning they are did a good job they're getting everything lined up and tomorrow night we find out what it's all about when our students graduate and move on in life I need a clock thank you K congratulate all the graduates of class of 2024 really looking forward to tomorrow seeing their smiling faces and all the uh festivities uh I'd like to congratulate VHS softball team uh myself and uh violent educator uh Karen morve decided to drive up to Sean Hall University to watch them it's my second state championship to see these girls perform up in North Jersey and they performed they had one bad inning almost took it home for us but very proud on a great uh season and uh congratulations to all the seniors moving forward best of luck and all your future endeavors Mr Holmes I Echo the sentiment of my fellow board members looking forward to graduation tomorrow night thank you superintendent tomorrow is going to be an amazing day looking forward to an awesome graduation seeing our students out there in their cap and gown also want to take a moment to recognize uh the efforts of uh Mr sabran over the last three years to get our Communications van finally delivered like a proud papa he was looking at that uh van last week checking everything inch of the new machine and uh the equipment the supplies the setup the arrangement of the van was awesome and I know he's very proud and it's because of the work that he did pushing us forward to make sure we were able to deliver it so thank you Mr sabran and congratulations to our strategic planning team uh for presenting and you know the work continues we're not done we're just getting started so thank you again to the girls softball team congratulations you did us very proudly ladies um we couldn't have asked for anything more you showed uh what violence's all about and I'm looking forward to next year also Mr um Rivera kind of said everything that a lot of us were going to say so you know but we did attend eighth grade moving up ceremonies we had the Merit assembly um we're so proud of all of our students graduation tomorrow night is the highlight of my year for being on the board to get to see those kids smiling faces and know that that what they've accomplished I can't say anything more about that to our students well to our I want to say to our faculty and staff thank you you guys go above and beyond all the time all year round and I know you guys don't think that you get you we feel for you got we do we see it we hear it um so thank you to Central Administration the strategic planning committee thank you I got to sit in on many parts of that and I'm looking forward to seeing just how this goes G and Doug thank you so much for everything that you guys do you're always there at everything Gia you helped me out a lot and I really truly appreciate it and with that being said do I have a motion to adjourn second all in favor I did e