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 good evening everyone and welcome to the West take two good evening everyone welcome to the West Orange uh Board of Education public meeting on Monday March 18th 2024 I would like to thank all of you here in person and there's a amazing crowd here today to see everyone that's going to be recognized later on the agenda so welcome as well as those of you who are watching from home and joining us tonight I'd like to welcome my fellow board members as well as Mr Moore and Miss Flowers and our newest board member Dr Dia Bryant uh Miss Flowers would you please take the roll call good evening roll call please Dr Bryant here Mr ifer here Mr Stevenson here miss Vera here Mr Rock here thank you the New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest are discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of the ACT a written notice was sent from the office of the secretary of the board on January 6 2023 that set notice was sent by regular mail to the West Orange Township Clerk and the editors of the West Orange Chronicle and by email to The Star Ledger that said notice was posted in the lobby of the administration building of the Board of Education and posted on the district website please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and may be broadcasted on local TV and the district's website at a future date please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance thank you Miss floward in consideration of the closed and public meeting of February 26 2024 do I have a motion to accept the minutes so move thank you Mr Stevenson is there a second second thank you Mr ier any comments hearing none uh Miss flowers please take the roll call Dr Bryant here Mr ifar yes Mr Stevenson yes vice president Vera yes president Rock yes thank you all right next good evening to our student liaison Kai James uh would you please share your student liaison report um okay uh starting off students from the West Orange High School recently explored the Museum of Early Trades and crafts in Madison New Jersey as part of their Black History Month activities and some of these students showcase their artart in the gallery windows happy women's history mon to all of the incredible women who shaped our school every day as well redro Elementary School had their fourth annual Martin Luther King Jr Day of Service where they donated 300 kindness kits to those in need on March 22nd 23rd and 24th Western Orange High School theater department will be presenting its spring musical hippen go check it out tickets are available at West orang school.org pipin for $15 each on March 10th West Orange High School Marching Band students from the for the 71st annual West Orange hard West Orange St Patrick's Day Parade March throughout the city getting support from the Girls Scouts to P MTL and the ROC to show West Orange pride and love the girl step team took home first place at its 14th annual Stomp Fest that featured sep teams from the tri-state area Go Girls spring Sports trials have begun and we will look forward to a season officially starting soon that's all thank you that uh next we have Mr Moore with your superintendent report well good evening everyone this is a nice audience I feel very welcomed here today and I'm happy to have you all here so first this evening I would like to address and officially introduce our newest board member Dr Dia Bryant I'd like to welcome her as Miss Tanya flowers will issue the oath of office and any pictures that we may want to take of Miss Dr Bryant we should do so after thisk Dr yes Dr yes please take the podium Dr Bryant your right hand and read your oath of office please I de Bryant do solemnly swear and affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and I will bear truth and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and this state under the authority of the people so help me God I Dia Bryant do Sol only swear and affirm that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of member of Board of Education and that I am not disqualified as a voter pursuing rs1 194 through1 nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime or offense listed in njs 18a 12 through1 and I will faithfully impartially and justly perform all the duties of that office according to the best of my ability so me God sworn And subscribe before me this 18th day of March 2024 thank you Dr Bryant and congratulations and welcome next our dispatcher from transportation from the Transportation Department's here Mr Michael sha please thank you good evening for those of you who don't know me my name is Mike sha I'm one of the dispatchers at the your District your transportation department for anyone who's had to uh call I'm the grumpy one who's there at 5: am uh unfortunately Mr Cohen is the director of transportation is unavailable to attend this evening meeting uh today we sent a letter out to all the students parents and Guardians about our new routing software um we will be uh here to have a meeting uh with the uh entire trans excuse me the entire Transportation team on um March 25th from 6: pm to 8:00 pm right here in the library this meeting aims to address any questions or concerns parents or faculty may have regarding the current transportation of their children or the new systems capabilities our team is committed to ensuring the best Transportation experience for all our students and community and your input will be invaluable we are very excited to implement this new technology it will give us the ability to track our buses anywhere they are it will also give the drivers an exact turn-by-turn directions to each stop with uh their tablets the parents will also have the ability to log onto their phone and see the ETA of their child to their uh their bus stop students will have an assigned IDE card swiped getting on and off of the bus we will then be able to track where a student is at all times and there's so much more for the transportation faculty and parents to utilize with this new system so uh please mark your calendars and join Mr Cohen myself and the entire Transportation team on March 25th for a more detailed uh desri discussion of uh the program tonight I'll be available uh briefly at the side of the uh room there for any questions and that's all I got thank you Mike we appreciate it and that's very exciting transportation's been quite to challenge but I thank you for all the work you put in Mike know you work very hard for us all and uh I know my son rides the bus as well so I know it hasn't been easy so thank you very much and I think this new tracking system changes the game gives parents access to knowing where their students are at all times so thank you for that it most certainly will thank you very much so that's March 25th right 6 to 8 March 25th the public is welcome to come and uh speak with our transportation department okay so the highlight of our evening I hope well one of the highlights tonight we have the pleasure of introducing our Governor's educator of the Year nominees the governor's education educator of the Year program is designed to highlight educational Innovation student achievement the rewards of teaching and the important Services outside the classroom environment that lead to Student Success the program recognizes our state's best teachers and Educational Services professionals every teacher of the year and Educational Service professional of the year that was registered by the specific deadline will receive a state certificate but tonight we have created our own opportunity to re for recognition as well as a certificate from our Board of Education so tonight we'll honor our teachers and Educational Services uh Personnel that do other things besides teaching and I thank you for joining us tonight it's very important that the heart and soul of our entire town our teachers and our Educational Service Providers as well so let's start it off with our first principal Miss Connie Abino of the Betty metalina preschool any particular order all right doing it like the kids do okay so I'm GNA begin with Betty molinaa Early Learning Center's educator of the year I am honored to present Jessica cicerone for Betty Melina's educator of the Year Jess is a I could just talk about Jess Jess is truly a dedicated teacher she came to us as a student teacher many many years ago and through that time I have had the honor of watching her hone her skills into someone who exemplifies good teaching she can take your most challenging Learner in embody the curriculum and embed behavioral strategy so that learning becomes fun in Jess's room Jess it is my terrific privilege to have you here tonight come on up Sor never okay next it is my honor and privilege to bring up Miss Merill Tillis who is our educational support person of the year I have worked with Miss Miss Tillis as a colleague for 18 years she is caring kind and dedicated she assists our students and teachers at the Betty Melina preschool program at Washington Elementary School Marl where are you come on up to keep it breach both of these women embody everything that is good and what we should strive to be in education and in special education I love working with both of you thank you for the honor before we bring up our next principal I just want um all the recipients and the administrators uh there is a step and repeat so that all your pictures can be taken in the back if you want to take pictures with your family as well of course you're welcome to do so as well so congratulations and thank you next I asked principal Mada huitt to please join us at the podium good evening everyone uh Gregory elementary schools Governor's educator of the year is Mrs Terry bonagora and I am also going to do it like the kids here on the telephone um it is with great pleasure that I'm able to speak a little bit about why Terry bonagora deserves this honor to put it simply she is the epitome of what an educator what a teacher should be she is the fifth grade math teacher that every parent should want their child to have and she is the fifth grade math teacher that we all wish we had when we were kids after dedicating 39 years to teaching she is still one of the most highly motivated and extraordinarily conscientious teachers that I've worked with in my professional experience she develops lessons that are Innovative fun and specific to each of the Learners in her classroom she intentionally develops learning experiences that push students thinking to the next level so that they can grasp challenging mathematical Concepts in a short period of time every single school year Mrs bonagora students achievement data speaks glowing volumes about her teacher teaching Style and what she does in the classroom with them the connections she makes with all of her students the amount of growth that her students demonstrate in their ability to understand mathematical equations and algorithms is nothing short of incredible she is the educator to Aspire to be she inspires all of us she inspires me it has been a pleasure working with you come on up Mrs bonagora to accept your certificate and congratulations congratulations thank you next I ask principal Joel Castillo to please come to the podium I'm old school so I have paper Mrs Taylor is Hazel Elementary School's educator of the year so Mrs Taylor can you please come up congratulations to Mrs sailor Mrs Taylor has been a dedicated educator for over 15 years she is always striving to provide not only the best learning for her students but also Fosters a loving and caring classroom she's a teacher that goes above and beyond for her students each day and each day starts and ends with a smile Mrs Taylor is committed to her Hazel Community but also to raising her two beautiful children in collaboration with her husband if you were to look up supportive in the dictionary you would see the definition Miss Leslie Taylor thank you for being you congratulations next I call principal David Marian to the podium good evening everybody it's my honor to present to you Kelly Elementary's uh Governor's educator service professional of the year and our Governor's educator of the year uh we'll start with the governor's educator of the Year Mr Anthony Carcillo fifth grade math teacher here at Kelly Mr Carcillo is what we look for in our Educators he is a true professional who shows genuine care for his students that he serves while implementing effective instructional practices in his lesson Mr Carcillo wears wears multiple hats at Kelly Elementary including but not limited to teacher colleague Tech Guru AV Specialist and assembly producer Mr carillo's willingness to go above and beyond for his students and his school is greatly appreciated congratulations Anthony thank you and now for our Governor's educator service professional of the year uh Miss Nicole dalalay Mrs Dal Malay is a leader at Kelly Elementary and a strong advocate for student staff and parents she always puts the needs of her students first and never hesitates to jump in and roll up her sleeves to help her fellow Kelly Elementary family members her knowledge demeanor and her ability to stay calm in crisis situations will serve her well as she pursues her certification in educational leadership congratulations Nicole thank you congratulations next I call principal Mark Lawrence to the podium m Pleasant thank you and good evening everybody Mount Pleasants nominee for the governor educator of the year is Alyssa definis Alyssa if you can come on up here I found myself in a unique position as a firste Elementary principal uh at Mount Pleasant while I've been in West Orange for 20 years um charged with the task of of making this nomination and I knew it was going to take a little while for me to adjust to the elementary world uh but it didn't take me very long to recognize which teacher should be recognized here this evening and and that is Alysa definis she is an amazing educator she's dedicated to her students to her peers she's an amazing resource inside and outside the classroom when she's not creating and delivering amazing lessons with her students she's working with her peers she's meeting with reading Specialists she's trying to be the best teacher she can be it's countless evenings I'll walk in I'll do I'll I'll do a little tour in the afternoon to see who's around after hours and most of the time I could find Elissa def finis in that classroom uh working hard and it's a pleasure and an honor to be able to recognize her efforts this evening and um no one deserves it more congratulations Alyssa you deserve it congratulations next I call principal Kim a Jackson of redwin good evening everyone tonight I would like to recognize two of our staff members at Redwood the first one is our Governor's educator service professional employee of the year and that would be Moren Lily she has been oh I'm sorry waren Lily has been an exceptionally talented power professional at Redwood for six years she has the unique ability to effectively support students at any grade level with or without disabilities so we congratulate her this evening Miss Moren Lily next we have Governor's educator of the Year award for Melissa halter she's been with us oh I'm sorry no mat go ahead go ahead she's been with us for 28 years in this District she continues to be a consumate professional as an academic support teacher she has implemented best practices to meet the needs of our neediest students Melissa has always been a committed member of the Redwood Community and has made and she has made us her second home especially when she bakes us cookies around the holidays we are honored to have her congratulations Miss halter congratulations next I call on principal Eric Price St Cloud thank you Mr Moore thank you members of the board um and thank you for this opportunity to celebrate so many amazing Educators from St Cloud School this year we'd like to recognize two veteran teachers uh who have been with us for decades and they are amazing first off is Mrs Jenny Garcia resic come on up Jenny you can tell how loved they are by the amount of people here from SE St Cloud school so just just amazing Mrs Jenny Garcia resic is currently in her 33rd year as a public educator and in her 32nd year as an educator here in West Orange in fact Mrs resic began her career at St Cloud Elementary School completing her student teaching practicum as a sophomore and then uh finishing up with her student teaching as a senior she went to the West uh New York public school system for only one year as a special middle school special education teacher and elll teacher and thankfully Mrs resik rejoined the West Orange Community uh to begin her long and illustrious career she began teaching as in the third grade and going on to teach the second grade grade the fifth grade and the sixth grade in social studies and math as well as special education she did both pullout and inclusion math Ela social studies and science Mrs uh G Garcia resic then taught Spanish at the elementary level where she implemented and taught the elementary Spanish program as it began here in this in the West Orange Public School System she taught at all seven elementary schools in grades 2nd through 5ifth she also mentored the fifth grade elementary Spanish teachers um to uh introduce the program in all seven elementary schools she has served as a cooperating teacher for over a dozen student teachers throughout her career and in addition she has taught the district's summer enrichment programs provided services and conversational Spanish one and two to the West Orange staff she's been invaluable to me as a translator throughout the years I've spent with her she was a mentor to staff members in their first year of teaching and taught in the fourth and fifth grade summer esy program Mrs resit Garcia has also served on a variety of committees through her tenure she's currently teaching fifth grade pullout resource and in-class support and she also serves and as an advisor to the student council and conflict resolution clubs at St Cloud she is a can do willo educator who has changed the lives of hundreds of students that she has taught and is helped to make St Cloud the amazing school it is today she is a master teacher trustworthy and respected colleague and an amazing mom and wife thank you Jenny all right let's bring up Mrs Michelle frzy as our second Governor's award another amazing educator and loved by by the St Cloud her colleagues at St Cloud Mrs frzy has served 34 years in the West Orange Public Schools so we're talking 67 years in total up here she was a fourth grade and fifth grade teacher that was her specialty and she taught at Gregory School Redwood school and St Cloud for the past 10 years she has served as an academic support teacher for our upper grades she has served on a variety of committees throughout her career including the math committees and is and she's written the math curriculum for the elementary Mrs fr's E efforts as an academic support teacher has been nothing short of amazing she is as she is so thorough in her preparation and incorporates all of her years of experience into finding the best way to shine light for her students on their path to learning she is a fixture on all of our irrs committees and will be will be missed not only for her wisdom but also as a problem solver and a calm Sage for her colleagues have an amazing amazing retirement Michelle with your husband children and growing gaggle of grandkids congratulations next I call on an iconic principal ladies and gentlemen West Orange's very own princip principal the principal of Washington Elementary School we can't you can't talk about West orangs without her Miss Marie Deo good evening everyone it's nice to see everyone the governor's educator of the year at Washington school is Katherine Fitzpatrick a kindergarten teacher for 31 years with 31 years of service but at this time Mrs Fitzpatrick is on medical leave so she couldn't be with us but I want to tell you a few things about her during her 31 years of service at Washington Washington School Katherine Fitzpatrick has represented everything that is good about education she demonstrates a true dedication and interest for her kindergarten students parents colleagues and Community she is an instructional leader a great professional and an outstanding role model for everyone she is passionate and trustworthy with a Clear Vision of desired success for all her little students I want to thank Katherine Fitzpatrick for her wonderful leadership as the teacher of the year and for everything she gives to our Washington family thank you thank you next I call on Edison Middle Schools Administration principls Steve Melendez and Dr Carrie orange assistance assistant principal good evening everyone so tonight I have here with me three outstanding women all right Dr Carrie orange Jones who has been such a great partner and know I'm so happy to be working with an Edison Middle School so thank you Dr laen Jones we also have two additional outstanding women who I work with every day and who are in the classroom helping our students helping them grow helping them learn caring about them the same way that their parents care about them and those are WEA baluta and Miss Pamela Stewart you can clap so I'm going to introduce the teacher of the year which is we will Leta baluta and Dr orange Jones will talk about uh Miss Pamela Stewart so miss baluta is a consumate professional who cares about all students she is passionate about the content she teaches and does so with professionalism and creativity Miss baluda embodies the true Spirit of teaching as she engages students by igniting their C curiosity when I think of Miss baluda I see someone who is committed to her students and is a great role model in fact she has run in the New York City marathon and in three weeks she'll be running in the Boston Marathon so we wish her the best of luck so I would just like to say to miss baluda how thankful we are to have you teaching at Edison Middle School you really make Edison a special place to be and I am honored to be your principal thank you good evening um first off um Dr Bryant um congratulations it's women's history month and you're making history so I appreciate that so I'm going to talk about Miss Pamela Hallstead Stewart um both she and WETA have my admiration because they are Runners and I hate running and so anybody who can do that and do it well has my admiration um Miss holon Stewart is an outstanding guidance counselor and she is beyond deserving of being named Educational Services professional of the Year representing Thomas Edison central 6 Middle School she never hesitates when asked to assist students and colleagues further she provides support by reaching out to families in the Community one of her strengths is understanding and providing ongoing social emotional learning and support ensuring that she implements those supports in her guidance lessons regularly Miss Hallstead Stewart takes the time to engage all students she's also a role model who shares of Love of running as a coach and Mentor for girls on the run she nurtures a student- centered environment that respects cultural diversity and uses her skills and resources effectively she has the respect of colleagues and peers who appreciates all that she does daily I know I certainly do thus it is without hesitation that Pamela Hallet Stewart is receiving our support and accolades for Educational Services professional of the Year congratulations congratulations next I call on principal of Liberty Middle School Mr Xavier Fitzgerald and uh his assistant if he's here oh Mr Xavier Fitzgerald good evening everyone now y'all go y'all know I'm gonna do better than that good evening everyone no you can do better than that good evening everyone we are here to celebrate some very good people who have have done outstanding things so I'm going to ask two people Miss Melissa Martino and also Mr Aaron Carr could you please come up with this I don't go into separating support staff from teacher staff because at the end of the day at Liberty Middle School these two people are glued to what makes Liberty tick they hold it together and when I first got to Liberty last year um the first person I met was Aaron Carr because he stood right outside the door and his his his his desk is right there and from day one to whatever day this is he's been my sounding board I've learned more about Liberty Middle School than just being there he's able to tell me about students he's able to tell me about teachers he's able to tell me about parents he's able to tell me about the environment and the culture and climate of that building and he's my security okay so please understand it has nothing to do with your position in life it has to do with your influence in life now see I had this whole thing written out and I know Miss Hughes told me to keep it short so I'm G to keep this one short okay the next person I'm going to introduce is Miss Melissa Martino I met Melissa some five years ago we were working on the math curriculum we did a math audit some years ago um and we sat down and the first thing that I said after I finished that um curriculum audit was I really want to work with her now I told her this last year she looked at me like this like what are you talking about and what it meant was as a math math teacher myself and what she does as a math teacher in the classroom Math teachers no math and it's more important to know students you know I always ask I always ask my uh people that I'm interviewing what do you teach and if they tell me they teach their subject area that may be like a red flag for me because the first thing that I'm listening to and I learned this from Mr curado some years ago as my mentor he said your teachers should say we teach students we don't teach a subject and what you see here today are two outstanding Educators in their position and in their field of education and it is my pleasure to introduce to you Miss Melissa Martino teacher of the year and Mr Aaron Carr support staff member of the year see I kept it short congratulations and thank you next I call on Roosevelt Middle School administration principal Lionel hush and assistant principal Miss Olivia bantis good evening our educational support of the years Miss Melissa Bueno Miss bueno's former role is a power professional but she brings so much more to the students and staff of Roosevelt she is often assigned to work with students with moderate to complex academic organizational social and emotional challenges and helps them to navigate the demands of Middle School in a as typical as a way possible she demonstrates her commitment by extending her support to not only the students she is responsible for but to all students in every environment she's involved in she has a steady and compassionate air about her is insightful flexible and willing to support a student or staff member however she can miss Bueno is a caring and such a tremendous Resource as she comes to know the students beyond the scope of their IEPs but as young individual people the students she works with are supported valued and are learning she is a wonderful professional and role model in the building for both students and staff and though she has only been at Ros for a few years she has proved to be an invaluable member of our school family it is a privilege to work with her as she truly brings the best every day and inspires many of us to do the same Melissa bu Governor educator of the Year miss Tracy nardone in 30 years she has been teaching at Roosevelt she has established a rigorous learning environment that enables her students to excel in ela and actually enjoy doing it as strong as she is with her Ela content where she shines even more is her Rapport and interactions with the students the amount of connection she has made over the years and the love and respect the students have for her is a testament to her ability to reach our students and make a difference in their lives she addresses the social emotional needs of the children with the same Vigor she applies to her teaching students can always tell when teachers really care about them and so many flock to Tracy because of her genuine concern and gentle humor they come to her for emotional support advice and guidance and continue to do so well after they graduate she provide she provides the love and care and attention needed to nurture their growth and consequently helps make Roosevelt a place of comfort for so many students Roosevelt Middle School has served as a home away from home for so many children and staff members like Tracy nardone are part of the reason why she is one of the most skilled and knowledgeable teachers in the district that leaves Lasting Impressions on the lives of the children she touches she is a well respected by her colleagues and serves as a great role model for younger Educators in the field Tracy nard congratulations and thank you next I call on our high school principal Mr ukar Guerrero raise this up a little bit good evening everyone I'd like to Second the congratulations to Dr Bryant welcome aboard I'd like to First Call up our Educational Services professional of the Year Mr Amad chichelo better known as Mr C Mr C has served the West Orange school district for 16 years as the substance uh excuse me substance awareness coordinator anti-bullying specialist and a licensed professional counselor he is the Ultimate Team player who always makes himself available to Advocate and support our students he serves as a valuable resource to District Personnel on substance awareness and abuse issues and in a year like like this one and in years since the uh pandemic where mental health of the the demand for mental health is at an all-time high he is a pivotal member of our team here at the high school he is also the sharpest dresser at West Orange High School congratulations Mr Chell that's cuz I left I I humbly and respectfully disagree more but next up I'd like to call up our educator of the Year Dr Victor alcendor Dr Alcindor is an accomplished educator holding Advanced degrees in English criminology and a doctorate from Jew University according to his colleagues some of the aspects of Dr Al cinder's teaching style that makes him truly special are his ability to convey comp complex concepts with Clarity and enthusiasm as well as ability to connect with students on a personal level Dr alindus constantly challenges students to think critically pushing them beyond their perceived limits he genuinely cares for his students well-being and takes the time to understand their strengths and their weaknesses during my brief time working alongside Dr Al C I have been impressed by the admirable leadership qualities he consistently demonstrates beyond the curriculum he has pushed his colleagues to look inwardly on how they approach instruction while leading professional development on critical topics such as equity and access when West Orange High School is very fortunate to have Educators like Dr Alcindor and Mr chello thank you not to go Off Script uh because I know we have to take some pictures uh we had a special special uh occurrence within the last uh week and a half and I'd like uh our director of Athletics and our sorry our director of Athletics Mr stepan Zella and our wrestling coach Mr maseri to come up to speak on the next recipient first I'd like to call up uh the wonderful and talented Miss Guerrero bring some of that Hardware up so Matt coach Mt can you make sure they're carefully put down in front here so that people can see um before I get into the the great AC accomplishments of Sandy I just want to thank the board of education for everything they do for the athletic program all our schools honoring the the staff today it's it's really very special that we received this and I also like to welcome Dr Bryant you're a mountaineer now right once a mountaineer Al always a mountaineer so um thank you for for serving um so uh the great journey of Sandy Guerrero began when she was eight years old she was a redwood rocket and uh yeah and she decided to go out for you know the sport of wrestling which was at the time male dominated um and she continued her career care through Middle School where she wrestled for uh she was a Liberty Middle School lion and um you know just overcoming so many challenges in this sport she stayed the course and her junior year the state said we're going to create a girls wrestling tournament there were a few states that did that so to overcome all that she did to be in this Sport and have to compete against males it was very very difficult for her but she showed up every single day and gave her best and um that year she became a state medalist she placed fourth that year and she cried and cried and cried and it was like Sandy like we're so proud of you and she's like no her senior year came along and um she was determined it was a different young lady and uh what she overcame to be Essex Count's and West oranges first state champion that year was really amazing uh the tears happened it happened before the match for like an hour she was crying before a match I'm like oh no uh but she overcame everything she she was undefeated that year and she won her state championship the world shut down the week later it was almost four four years to the day Co shut down and wrestling was was very difficult but in her High School career she really grew girls wrestling we started off with really only her she brought in a a a an athlete Daniela tuuri and when she graduated we had 21 girls in our wrestling program it was one of the biggest programs and it's because of her it's because of the support of the administration so um fast forward she goes to the New Jersey City University on the President's Scholarship um there she competes uh her first year she gains All-American status places top eight in the country her second year she does the same thing places all americ and this is her third year of college uh she entered into the um the college wrestling tournament as the number three seed uh there she came from behind in a few of the matches down was it 5- Z on in the semis 5-1 in the quarters and then 6-0 in the finals she fought her way as she had done her whole career in this male dominated sport she fought her way and down 6-0 in the finals she pinned a girl from Iowa University to be the first New Jersey national champion in college that's that's the small trophy you see right there that's the small one the big one of the 10 national champions again no New Jersey wrestler had ever been crowned as such um they decided to make her there was only one the outstanding wrestler of the tournament and that was our Sandy Guerrero West oranges Sandy Guerrero outstanding wrestler um in our program she is she is a legend she really is and uh you know coach mazri I asked him to come up here because he um he named an award after her most most outstanding wrestler which she so elegantly presented on Friday at the awards banquet but uh Mr Moore had always reminded us and Co really slowed things down and how we could honor you Sandy but he always said you better put up a poster Sandy you better make sure it's right for the Guerrero family who does a lot for our community with no limit martial arts but um Sandy uh coach mazri came up with with a design we are going to blow this up with your approval we're g to get your we're going to blow this up and we are going to hang it in the wrestling room thank you for being just a champion person a champion wrestler we love you and we're so so proud of you ladies and gentlemen Sandy Guerrero Sandy Sandy uh Sandy is a very important Mountaineer we talk about Mountaineers climbing and reaching the Apex of their potential Sandy represents what means to be a mountaineer she's a Trailblazer and I am so proud to be a mountaineer alongside Sandy Guerrero Sandy Guerrero you mean a lot to us I will never forget you I'm happy I got a chance to be a part of your being your principal and getting to witness you wrestle myself but thank you because today you may not understand how important you are but tomorrow another person will you've made you've opened up a lot of doors and you've motivated a lot of people and you're from right here in West Orange we're so proud of you and thank you thank you so much Mr fer yeah uh thank you uh just as a off the cuff comment could could we ask the Guerrero family to stand up the Guerrero I mean I mean as hard as you worked as hard as you worked Champions don't fall from the sky they come from people like this I mean this is a family that if you've ever been to their martial arts academy we talk about inclusive here all the time they have worldclass athletes on one end special needs kids like my son on the other and everything in between and all different languages spoken it's a crazy fun wonderful place and when we talk about West Orange having special people this is what we're talking about so I I thank you I thank you so I want to thank everyone for uh coming tonight um what we will do is we're going to take a break and an intermission before we start our presentations will be Ela and the bud oh wait don't everyone get up at once you know I mean fake me fake it out pretend you like you know not boring you're like I'm in a mid conversation everybody got their coat on no I understand I used to do the same thing but it's different when you're sitting here though it hurts a little right but we do have uh two presentations if you're board uh Ela and of course the budget so you know you're welcome to stay but if not please take pictures in the back uh by our Steep and repeat and thank you for coming out and congratulations to all our recipients never heard 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 I we will bring back you now we're good all right so the uh West nor Board of Education meeting is now back in session and Mr Moore please continue with your report thank you everyone and welcome back um and now uh we will have a presentation um regarding our Ela program um hosted by our very own assistant superintendent it's Evony dandz Evony EV yes thank you Evony thanks all right good evening um good evening to our board uh to our community members uh this evening the ELA committee is going to present an update on our Ela program and make a recommendation to the board uh for adoption for the 20242 um school year uh we had a longer presentation scheduled and more people to present but because of so many activities today we condensed it a little bit so I just want to thank the people in advance who had prepared earlier so this evening we're going to walk uh the board and our our community through our recommendations uh thank you to the committee members I'd like them to stand these are our Ela committee members some of them um who yes absolutely thank you we've been working for two years uh on this recommendation uh we published a calendar of dates and I think we quadrupled it um um so thank you thank you for your time for your commitment for your effort for this recommendation uh well informed well done uh and we appreciate all of your time um I'd also like to thank Miss beatric hanr she's our K to5 Ela supervisor um this was a heavy lift and it would not have been done without her so um she uh eloquently and uh formidably chaired this committee and made sure that everything that was needed um was here for us to uh again make a good decision so we're going to begin thank you to our board uh these are our committee members you'll notice that um this committee started last year and it has a very uh Broad and diverse representation across the district curriculum instruction general education special education English as a second language academic support reading Specialists and principles we're all involved in this decision um not just the committee members but we also went out to our entire K to 5 staff where they sampled materials piloted where they um really delved into what it was that we were examining exploring gave us feedback monthly um to let us know if we were on progress if we were moving in the right direction and what they were considering as a priority uh the ELA committee purpose was to conduct a formal evaluation of the program it included our instructional components materials and assessment uh really think think about alignment to the revised Ela standards and to address the pillars of reading and the new research that came out to make sure that we are grounding our recommendation in highly effective strategies for reading instruction there were many primary considerations uh the first was the revision of the ELA standards these were adopted October 4th of this year we must Implement in the fall um and these standards really covered a lot of gaps that existed so a question that's often asked to us is um if we're teaching to the standards and we're being assessed on the standards then why are our scores where they are right I think the state realized that as well the state saw that there were so many gaps and that the um student performance results were coming back deficient in very concrete areas um and so then they revised them so here we are in an opportune time to revise our curriculum and our selection in alignment with these standards our second consideration was our state assessment results while we have made significant progress and I just want to commend our teachers you'll see that we went up from around the 35th percentile grade three 51.9 grade four 63.5 and last year grade five 70% proficiency we're making gains we're making nice healthy gains and then in the right side you'll see the students who are right at the cusp they're right there at proficiency so we have another 16 to 23% of our students who are right there in proficiency so we believe that by aligning to the standards by introducing the structured literacy components by filling in the gaps by getting the resources that the teachers need in a core comprehensive program we're going to make those gains additionally our teacher feedback let us know that they would like a core comprehensive program versus supplemental materials right that they would like something where they could go to um everything in one organized Place have very clear guides very clear resources um structures that permitted for the differentiation that we're expecting Etc um and that the uh usability was present in these materials so that was their feedback and then additionally we had all of the research that came out so as Mr Mendes said the committee developed primary considerations and some of those were around the five billers of literacy by the national reading panel to make sure we were addressing phic awareness phonics fluency vocabulary comprehension also to the committee not listed on there very important was grammar based on the feedback right that was an area that we really need to address within that we also wanted to make sure we were addressing all our student populations we were hitting our diverse Learners the committee wanted to make sure we were representing our special education population our multilingual population our academic intervention supports that we were checking all those boxes as we were looking um also this is Garbo's rope which is grounded in decades of research for balanced literacy for science of reading all of the research goes back to this rope very basic overview on the bottom is word recognition so you'll have phological awareness decoding and you'll notice there's a thread for each one of those Concepts and then when we move up it moves to the language comprehension a background knowledge language structures all those pieces and each one there has a strand and there we've together right and when they all come together the word recognition and the language comprehension we now develop our skilled readers so we have to make sure we're hitting all of those pieces and that encompasses in it and so this was our process and timeline again we started last year in February with a review of the program action planning in the fall today we are making our recommendation to the board um and then pending that recommendation we would begin our implementation plan uh curriculum development and professional devel this year April so we began our instructional material review we reviewed over 13 different programs and resources um we looked at K5 core comprehensive programs which encompassed everything we also looked at supplemental materials other instructional materials as well to support grammar other parts of reading and then we shifted once we narrowed that down to two of the core programs is what was selected by the committee then we began the those Pilots we did those Pilots within every school for the two programs represented of different grade levels and I would like to introduce Mr Eric Price principal of St Cloud so he can talk to you a little bit about how the school-based experience was through that material expor thank you beus and thank you eony um I just want to say that um we're really grateful for the the committee that was put together all the time you guys put in uh this was a big task it was big ask and we're really um really just the administrators principles are are very um thankful for all the work you've done and we're excited about into reading and the program we're getting um to speak to um you know as an administrator as a principal of school um how we've been um kind of incorporated into the process um so far we have been um you know a part we've had had two representatives from our school Emma Pacifico who's a a second grade teacher and Mrs Tara Kaa who's a fourth grade teacher both phenomenal teachers really thoughtful very considerate and Earnest in their in their openness to the um the products out there so um in terms of the um opportunities that were granted to our teachers to take a look at the materials that is my view and Inter reading the materials were in uh at St Cloud as they were at all seven elementary schools for a month uh we worked hard as principles to provide opportunities for our teachers to go if they could do if we could schedule it was uh with grade bands so they were able to go down look at the work talk talk uh great practice look at the materials side by side and be able to make an educated and thorough um consideration of both programs um they were then piloted um these materials were available to the teachers for a month so they had ample opportunity to go down they were encouraged to take it home if they wanted to um to take pieces of it even to teach um to see how that worked um but really to be able to test drive and and that's where when the rubber hits the road we have to see how these resources actually translate into day-to-day operations K through five um and so we had those um that opportunity to do that with the Pilot We piloted inter reading in second grade and we piloted um my view in the fourth grade um so we had the opportunity to watch the watch the lessons uh being taught we were able to talk about it in those lessons to see where they were strong and where we needed you know some support or some concerns um and all of our teachers had the opportunity again we provided um our teachers coverages um teachers went in during their preps and they went into the classrooms and watched it work um so we felt really satisfied um with the overall process we felt there was transparency uh we were looking for engagement right kids kids engaged in learning uh and rigor okay okay and also differentiation how do these materials will they be able to meet the needs of all of our Learners in the school um for Ells kids that want need stretching um all all all of our students um and in the end it was um pretty unanimous into reading came through as the best package of resources comprehensive package um no no program is perfect right um that's that's a tall order uh but inter reading uh was provided what we thought was um you know the most value uh and the greatest resources you know that that we could get so the teachers are excited about it we as administrators are excited about it um we're looking for continuity right K through five we're making sure that we are we're covering it that we the word studies in there right grammar is in there comprehension phonics phic awareness all of those components are um you know U present in inter Mee so um just thank you for the opportunity to really dive into it to understand it to think about it critically um and to make a choice democratically so I think it it worked really well all right thank you um thank you to Mr Price and to all our principles who really spent a good amount of time with our Consultants evening just going through the materials examining the materials for themselves um so that that when they were working with our teachers that they could be of good support I I now I'm going to ask um Miss Lisa D Michelle um to come up to talk about um my view she piloted my view and recommended inter reading so I think this is a good valuable comment hi um so uh here are some reasons why I decided to select uh inter reading one thing I saw was very strong student engagement I observed this in two grade levels a primary grade and an upper grade and I was truly Blown Away the teachers here um by the student engagement they were using the vocabulary how they were just interacting with the text the discussion that they were having I was truly blown away and I kept saying to her I'm Blown Away by the discussions that they're having they were so involved and engaged I just loved it another reason I chose into reading was students have their own books and since they have their own book books they're able to mark up the text there's spots for them to respond to their reading um the teachers also have a similar book called The Cheat teaching pal which is very user friendly and it's easy to use and it has teaching points highlighted on the side of the pages instead of having Post-its all over the place it's already printed with these highlights within the text um there's a very rich vocabulary for each grade level students are engaging with words they're drawing they're discussing they're role playing um interventions were given for differentiation there's a wealth of materials to use for small group the online platform was user friendly slideshows are available for the teachers to use to accompany their lessons there's rigor the students are learning four to five Concepts a week um there's a nice structure to the lessons and we with the structure will be able to maintain Fidelity um there's also a lot of critical thinking and I just have to say throughout the whole process it's been very transparent and the teachers and the staff have been very appreciative of of that because they felt like they've been a part of the whole process and they felt like they knew what was going on every step of the way I'm gonna ask Amanda Goldman to come up um one of our priorities um is definitely making sure that whatever we adopt it's comprehensive for all of our students so she's going to speak to us about the teacher perspective and special education hi so I teach second grade pullout resource at Redwood and I'm going to speak to you a little bit about the teachers response to choosing the curriculum so first of all teachers were really excited that this is going to be a core program that all the materials are in one place there's materials at our fingertips it's all the pieces are fit together seamlessly which is great for teachers and therefore great for instruction teachers also love that the lessons are linked to the new standards right we're take we're in professional development we learning about the new standards that are coming and teachers were asking wait will these standards is this in this new curriculum and a big sigh of relief great this is ready for the goals and outcomes that we that we're headed for another strength that teachers are really excited about is that balance of foundational skills and critical thinking right we've got these Young Learners and there's a lot to happen we need really strong foundational skills that are getting our young students up and strong readers while also challenging them to think critically challenging them to have discussions and we found that this program really took both of those and Blended them really nicely finally there are so many resources for differentiation in this program teachers can can take different components and give their students more of foundational skills if that's what they need or there's graphic organizers linked right to the lesson there's so many opportunities for teachers to use their expertise and to use those resources and bring it to their students and then one other thing I wanted to say that has been said was that that this process has been really open when I joined I wanted to to be part of this one because I care about this so much right like I'm a big teacher dork I want us to be doing all of these things and want to be part to make sure that that's happening but also I was curious how does this happen how are we choosing curriculum and it's been so open teachers opinion has been really valued and um sought after so it's been a really great experience and I think it's leading us to a great recommendation so then Mr Price he already did the BM bum bum right and so inter reading was the choice uh inter reading was the choice 74.4% of the staff recommended inter reading 20.2 did recommend my view and 5% actually said let's stay with what we have so with 74.4 % we think we have great confidence to move forward with this recommendation tonight on the board agenda uh you will see that the board is being asked to adopt into reading you will also see some follow-up recommendations on the agenda for the purchase of the instructional materials for the professional development and for the beginning of the curriculum development all of which will be funded by Esser and so then a comprehensive research-based instruction for all Learners our priority um and so then we're going to to talk about the foundational skills so the connected foundational skills right we talked a lot about that's the core of the the early literacy skills and that's going to be through direct explicit instruction making sure we hit phonics decoding spelling word recognition fluency all of those components we need to be systematic and consistent it needs to be realistically placed and that's going to come through curriculum development and we want to make sure that the concepts are building on one another and that's one thing that the program does support it also we wanted to a lot of the feedback and the current research right that we needed to incorporate more structured literacy into our balance literacy program and for structured literacy there are six evidence-based components right phology sorry phology sound symbols uh syllables morphology syntax and semantics those are the six evidence-based components then we have three evidence-based teaching principles right we want to make sure it's systematic it's cumulative it's explicit and Diagnostic and then with that when you take those two together that's really where you're going to get substantial reading growth so structured literacy or foundations this was the big question uh we put it out to our staff and asked them to let us know what their thoughts were in the small pie chart you'll see what the staff recommended 49% 51% so we were half and half with our staff do we keep foundations or and move totally to structured literacy or do we replace it um so as we're thinking about this and we read the recommendations the primary recommendations of the staff were not that they didn't like structured literacy or that it wasn't rigorous it was this is going to be a new program and this is going to be a lot to implement at once so with that the committee took the feedback went through it all and they um um put you know a recommendation forward and the ELA committee 82.6% said let's replace fundations let's rip off the Band-Aid let's move forward with structured literacy we will put the supports in place so we are going to move forward with replacing foundations however we're going to reserve foundations for intervention we're going to reserve it for small group we're going to be able to use it and keep the materials in the classroom for the staff so that they don't have to feel comfortable with implementing everything at once but our formal structured literacy program will be into readings structured literacy so as we discussed before we want to look at the whole class instruction as well so it's really important to know that these foundational skills and progressions are all aligned to the science of reading but they all scaffold right through the progression from each grade level and they build upon one another so an example if we look at grade four for we're applying decoding skills right but now we're looking at prefixes suffixes and roots and we're using that fluency and passages and reading multi cabic words also when we look at the development of academic vocabulary right that's going to increase based on the grade level content so they all connect and spiral off of each other and now we want to introduce Felix Plata supervisor of ESL and World Language yes so um yes I I also want to commend the entire committee the work that was put into it all the teachers and um and looking at all lenses uh the the quality of the program for all of our students um what I I saw and what most of the committee members also saw who piloted the program as well as were just reviewing the materials was were the intentional supports that existed within the program uh for families of multilingual Learners students and the teachers who who for a Time have been struggling on on on acquiring the resources to support uh the students the multilingual Learners in their classrooms uh so that intentional support that exists in the program um was clear uh in promoting not just the literacy which obviously is is what we're all here for for English language arts but also that language development there are tons of resources um and supports for the teacher to support the students with their language development um some of some additional features that that exist in the program um there's a a multilingual toolkit uh in the program that has again resources that are aligned to the lessons um in the program uh to support the multilingual uh students in the classrooms uh there's also a tabletop and and and other scaffolds uh like sens and stems to support the students um in in small group instruction additionally there are uh opportunities and resources to support the multilingual families U at home um there are parent letters that are that come in over 20 translated languages uh so that this parents and the families can feel as though they're involved that they know what's happening um in the program um in the instruction in the classroom as well as um the teachers additions which teachers have access to online with tons of embedded resources sentence stems uh questions differentiated questions um and and parts of the lesson for the multilingual Learners at different proficiency levels so in all the program really did uh support the multilingual Learners uh and and all the committee members saw that thank you so as communicated through several people tonight right the flexible resources really support differentiation intervention supports grade level content and extension right for our higher students as well than when we need to give enrichment so it it supports our multi-tiered system we have rby libraries classroom libraries we have decodable text right for our younger readers who are starting to read we have read and respond journals right so that is basically we might be used to those old school textbooks when we were in school but they have these interactive books where the student has it they can engage with the text they can annotate they can highlight they can Mark things up we have the tabletop mini lessons for um the students for small group and to support our multilingual Learners as well and then there's additional online supports just so many on there to list and now I'm going to Goldman who is a special education teacher and she's going to talk a little bit about the special education portion so as we've said there are so many opportunities for differentiation in exploring the materials I've used those the read and response Journal um articles that we were just speaking about and they're great the stories are engaging and it provides a scaffold for students to be reading and practicing the responding right away marking up their text there's also slides that will focus on a foundational skill set and then it's linked with a decodable book and it's right there it's all so seamless and when we then add in the structured literacy component we're going to have foundation for all of our readers I think that as I used the materials I kept thinking about how this was serving the students in my room but also how this would serve the students that my colleagues are working with and we know that New Jersey requires us to have one curriculum for all of our students and I kept seeing in these materials so many opportunities like this would be really great for these two students and this will be really great for that for um the needs of this group I think that it's really exciting that we can have materials that are serving all of our students so well and then another piece that is exciting to have that's okay my fa the there's a really great social emotional component to this program and some people say everything you need to learn you learn in kindergarten right there's all of the social emotional learning that we value so much in elementary school is embedded in the program and my students loved this there's videos and it's supported with vocabulary and then text discussion so all of uracy goals are happening as we're also teaching empathy as we're teaching how to resolve conflict and to me that's that's what elementary education is all about and it there's so many resources that are engaging for our students so it's exciting thank you so cross-curricular connections were critical um you'll see and Let Freedom Ring and rise to the occasion um very specific connections to social studies natural disasters specific connections to science this is a requirement for NJ qac and um really just for the student to be able to exit one class enter another transferring the skills and the understandings that they are developing they are specific ties to essential questions so that the students are again developing those critical thinking skills and here we see um just knowledge Maps so they're teaching students how to think teaching students how to make the connections between um the ideas that they're learning in their readers and the connections to real life application and the connections to other content areas culturally responsive and relevant learning environment is our priority as the board knows and as our public knows right we are focused on diversity Equity access and we are needing to integrate it thoroughly through all of our curriculum it's not just a holiday that we're celebrating right it's thinking about the eight competencies for culturally responsive teaching it's creating a welcoming and affirming environment setting those high expectations rigorous instruction in every single classroom an inclusive curriculum and assessment and providing ongoing professional learning support um through a diverse set of texts that are relevant relevance matters and so we have a fundamental belief in West Orange and the ability of all of our students to learn we need to see that in a wide range of cultural content with Dynamic instruction and also have a strong homeschool partnership so it's important that we give students opportunities to engage in such texts so they can build their knowledge they can apply their independent skills and doing it through books that can serve as Windows into other people's experiences or into mirrors of seeing their own identity and their own cultures as well in addition we want to make sure we're keeping book clubs and literature circles going right that's important for students to have those opportunities to engage and collaborate in these conversations to take on roles together so we want to make sure that we're doing that also and no access in through diversity and inclusivity of text and then we want to there's inquiry and research projects right to give them performance-based opportunities to now apply what they learned in these units and that could be done through making an invention or creating a book Trail or or just even making a documentary and in integrating those social studies and science skills as well so we've talked to you about the source right inter reading as a resource and so what's the model here are the assessments so in the center you will see all of the assessments that will be embedded into daily instruction so this is every day this is not separate and apart from it's not pulling the students um inter reading comes with a very expansive and robust set of Assessments in um ranging from independent practice to weekly assessments to cold read selection quizzes unit assessments the inquiry based research that Miss Hanratty just spoke of and Etc on the leftand side you will see the interactive early literacy assessment for K1 these are for all students entering into um the grade so that we can assess those foundational skills through inventory and then of course we have our Dibble screener so that we're making sure that we're assessing students um and understanding their needs in that area and across the bottom you will see that we will continue to uh Implement our I ready diagnostic but only as a diagnostic so here we will be aligning it to it is aligned already to state standards and we will be pulling from those standards you will notice fontas and panel is at the bottom and that is a wondering for us at this point what we're doing is we are exploring um the I ready no I'm sorry the inter reading Rigby Benchmark um so teachers have started exploring it today they were administering it to students to see if um we could replace fontas and penel with it it looks promising we're not ready to say that today um but it looks promising so if we move in that direction of the inter reading uh rigb benchmarked then we will only use fontas and panel for students who need to be inrs or who require tier three intervention or Etc so that is still being explored this would be the whole model then yellow K to 5 into reading as our core comprehensive reading and Assessment program we will continue with K1 hegerty f awareness we are replacing foundations with inter reading structured literacy multi-tiered systems and instructional support for special education and multilingual Learners throughout and then our diagnostic at the bottom and my path Will Be Independent Learning at home bookended by all of the assessments because we begin and end with our assessment in mind so we talked about all the different populations that it reports but we want to make sure that there's a home connection right and that home connection is strong so we did begin um meeting with parents all of last week and we have another evening this week to continue to give them opportunities to explore some great level materials give them access to a demo account on how to access the materials and resources and this is the QR code and the sample login for parents to get in and to continue to explore oops whoops and in addition this strong supports for families so a lot of the family letters come in multiple languages um some other resources come in other languages not everything uh but there is a lot of support to that and then there's also a family room on the website and it gives parents other materials that are in content related such as questions to ask your teach questions your teacher would want you to ask your children or just how to get your kids talking about school so some things if you'll see the icon it could be a video it could be a print out or just something to read and it gives you exactly how long it is three minutes two minutes they try to keep them short and quick for parents to access but it's a whole another piece of the platform so for next steps and Fidelity of implementation we are closing uh our current programs foundations we need to speak to our staff go back to them to let them know we're replacing um and what it would look like for small group and then we're going to assess if we're staying with fontas and panel or not our professional development would begin uh with staff as soon as April April 15th and June 3r are half days those are already planned um should we get the go ahead and then ongoing for next year our administrators are already in training we'll continue to receive training we will order our instructional materials Manana tomorrow so that we can get our teachers guides in their hands before they leave for the summer um and so that they have them for the professional development in April um our curriculum development starts the last week of June we're coming together as a team it'll be all general education teachers for um developing the curriculum in reading and assessment and we will have ESL there we will have our special ed there so it will be everybody together writing curriculum uh curriculum development will continue into next year and then next year we will pilot writing this is an adoption for reading only we were not prepared to um adopt both at the same time and if I were able to click on the new writing standards it's about three pages long of new writing standards not revised brand new so that's a whole um adoption by itself so here are the Fidelity of implementation and supports we need to support our staff we need to make sure we're assessing if the program is working and how it's going so we will have in-classroom coaching with hmh we will have learning walks in instructional rounds analyze our data student work analysis lesson plan alignment and grade level team meetings so that we can make sure that we are moving along the path we are implementing with Fidelity we are measuring our progress and seeing um what we need to do to um to just make sure um everything is implemented well right and that we're getting the outcomes that we expect and that's it thank you for your patience and for bearing with us it was two years worth of work so we tried to just wrap it up we'll take question coming back okay yeah we need to everyone take trip over here thank you uh first um Evony and uh beus I want to say thank you for that wonderful presentation I think it was very clear and it was very it was concise because I know you had a lot more to add to that so I thank you for it but I turn to the uh teachers and uh the principals and uh supervisors thank you thank you for uh you know when I yeah thank you you know when I uh came on as superintendent similar to as a principal the team approach seems to be the way that I ever had success and uh to see that you embodied that in terms of trying to figure out for us with Ela I know that there's no better answer than when we go to the sources and the people that work with the kids and know what to do I know last year I did a lot of little listening tours and listening to teachers and so forth but I you know it was always the promise that if we're going to do something or make some changes we're going to need you to help do that and you did that you stepped up you you came about you delved into it you're very student about it you understand it you've recognized it principles such as Mr Price are just Priceless no pun intended but they are because it shows us here as residents of the community and community members how much you care for the kids and we appreciate that and we do want our kids to make sure they improve and strive so thank you so much for putting the work in but also thank you for understanding that we need your buying and in order to get that we need your knowledge and we need your strength and your ability to get this across so I appreciate the hard work you put in and be prepared that all movement and decisions we make going forth is a group thing it's an hour thing it's in all of us and no one has better answers than we do right here in West Orange so thank you so much for all you've done I really mean it from the bottom of my heart that when I see the way you work together that truly makes the difference and I appreciate that to Evony beis and to the other administrators thank you for having the fortitude and having and being able to make sure you include and being inclusive but not just by symbolic but by meaningful ways and really listening and hearing and implementing what is said and what is done that will make the difference for us we and West Orange have to connect from Central off office to the buildings at all times in order for us to be successful so I appreciate that it really meant a lot to me to see this come together and I'm confident in the decision going forward because we all contributed and worked together on that decision so if there's nothing else in my tenure this is what I'd like to see this makes me quite proud to be the superintend west art schools so thank you I appreciate you guys and I appreciate the work you guys did thank thank you right d I'm sorry go ahead no um I'd like to Echo that appreciation and really commend your thoroughness um your attention to detail in the process that it's obviously clear and your attention to the populations that are here in our town so kudos to you fantastic it's more of a request than a question um as you all begin to think about sort of you have PD on April 15th you have PD on June 3 and you're going to be moving fully away from fundations in September that feels a little scary to me without seeing a transition plan tonight and so would really love once you have those details hammered out to see a transition plan from foundations into structured literacy and something from um like what you're going to do with FMP because I know that's a hairy thing so would love to just when you have that information when you all have come up with that have some details on that thank you sorry so I again want to Echo what's been said earlier and commend the administrators and the teachers uh I'll take personal privilege in saying as a proud Redwood rocket or the parent of two Redwood Rockets um it's great to see my children's teachers in the building my my children's principal in the building Miss Jackson um Mr price thank you for your vote of confidence for the program you know as as board members we often uh are disconnected from these types of discussions in the granular way but I appreciate the fact that that Mr Price and Miss Deo uh and Miss Jackson have made themselves available to have these kind of thorough discussions about uh curriculum and instruction particularly around Ela for the benefit of our children children because that's ultimately what we're here for and I think that when our teachers are now armed with a more comprehensive Ela Ela curriculum that allows them to prepare and ready our students just not for the year that they're in but for subsequent years so that they may be successful across the board I think that is significant I want to thank Miss D mendz and Miss hanr for their leadership in cord coordinating organizing and ensuring a process that allowed teacher voice to be elevated in the process I want to thank our superintendent uh just for his outstanding leadership to drive the process not let the process uh get put on the Shelf but really put this in place in a way where everyone walks away feeling good about it uh I will tell you this curriculum and instruction and student achievement curriculum instruction as the foundation of that is near and dear to me and these are conversations that on background uh I've had with the with three superintendents by which in the time that I've been on the board but I'm but I'm most pleased that uh under Mr Moore's leadership uh we have really accelerated and accelerated not in a way that does a disservice but accelerated in a way that has incorp erated uh as I said earlier teacher voice the administrator responsibility and it really has facilitated a good buying so when I saw Mr Price earlier this evening and he gave me the thumbs up uh any doubts that I may have had uh really subsided I will Echo Dr Bryan's point about how some of the implementations will work in terms of uh sunset setting foundations which I think at its at its core has been the ELA curriculum for the most part what what parents see right we see the ELA assessments that happen we may not necessarily know everything that's going on in the classroom with respect to writing I know this is not tackle writing as you mentioned earlier Mr mes but um so I think when when parents say when parents here you're getting rid of fundations we kind of want to know how will that be done uh there are a lot of resources there how will differentiation take place how will we use the materials in a way that addresses the needs of the of the various populations uh and just not looking at uh pullouts and intervention but but also stretch right also our our our g&t population our kids that are achieving at high levels that there is uh we know that now based on what you presented tonight there's sufficient material materials but is there sufficient Time by which these things can happen within a classroom setting and more importantly is there sufficient accountability to ensure that it does and I think as a parent and as a board member those things are critical for me so again uh I Echo the Kudos of of my board colleagues uh the words of the superintendent and thank you all for your work tonight can I ask question can I ask one question I I just had one question uh one of the the slides uh I was so happy that I think it was um there was a a wide consensus from the teachers that they wanted this new uh program and then I saw the other one that was uh like 5148 or something and I got a little confused so what's what's that all about so it was 74.4% for inter reading so that was confidence yes um replace foundations or not was the 4951 foundations is a phonics program that we use in K through 2 and so then when we looked at what the teachers were asking there it was more so to give an opportunity for gradual release so that's kind of where we're sitting in a gradual release of Foundations we're not removing the materials but we are leaning toward replacing it um the timeline the transition when we'll do it is what we are exploring the same thing with fontas and panel there's an ask for us to look at fontas and pel now we're going to see if what we have there is sufficient in the Rigby Benchmark and if so then there will be a gradual release we will begin to discuss and explore how we move away from it so 71% of the teachers want this new 74 I I hate to be the pessimist but I just I wasn't here for the what was it for the previous program was it also very strongly in favor of it I wasn't here with okay so we're just gonna for getet that we'll just move on you're talking about um prior to the ELA prior to balance literacy yeah yeah okay well I think it's great that if the teachers aren't supportive of it it it doesn't stand a chance so I think that's a very positive sign so I was happy to see that they're excited we're we're there very right you're excited wo first of all good evening everyone I didn't have a chance to say hi to everybody today and um you know I went to one of the presentations and I really want to express my admiration to you Mr Mendes for the kind of work that you are doing and to all the teachers who contribute to implement the plan during this period of time I don't have no doubt that you are going to do or integrate this curriculum or this program into K through five and I don't have no doubt that it's going to be an excellent program all the input that you expressed today it was really I can see the passion that you put into the work that you did and I know that you are going to develop all the you know the activities and lesson plans and do the modifications because you are an expert in the field that you are doing right now thank you very much for all the support that you contribute with Mr Mendes in order to take this new program into place and thank you for being here tonight and all of you who were part of this uh development of the you know the to take into consideration this new program right uh the hour is late so I'll be brief and just say Thank you Mr Mendes for your hard work and especially thank you to the committee uh it's great to see this level of collaboration from the oh thank you but it's great to see this level of collaboration all the way from the classroom teacher through the administration up to to central office um we all work together this is how we can be successful so thank you again to everybody I'm not sure but next on the agenda I wasn't sure if we could go on I was hoping that i' get a little signal but okay um yeah well next oh go ahead um if it pleases the president can we can we swap item G and item F so the superintendent can conclude his report with the budget presentation and do the H report first true thank you Mr President okay that'll work so since our last board meeting uh we've had two Hib investigations throughout the district uh I've reviewed and summarized the investigation both have been determined unfounded and I concur with the findings of the anti-bullying specialist okay so now for the elephant in the room at this time uh I'm going to give the uh preliminary preliminary budget presentation for uh 2425 um so I ask the board to please take a seat and allow me a chance to uh review the budget we're gonna move back over here just screen up yeah think I can I can see sure okay okay good evening everyone i' like to talk to you a little bit about the preliminary budget presentation this uh for the 2425 school year but it starts with um budget challenges this year our budget was cut and you'll see that throughout the presentation but it presents themselves with um some difficult choices and some difficult challenges there are no specific choices or challenges here there are no jobs listed or anything like that however I think it's as we're doing the preliminary and we're taking a look and this news came to us about two weeks ago so it's not it's new but we're aware that we're going to face some difficult challenges and some um difficult choices to make let's take a look our district is comprised of 13 schools approximately 6,800 students and if you take a look at your school you can see your enrollment our budgetary goals are simple it's continued to provide funding to maintain a safe environment in all buildings increase and support student achievement while optimizing District spending review and evaluate District expenditures to identify opportunities for efficiency and financial savings a review of the budget and a comparison the if you take a look The Story begins with State a 22 23 you saw we had about 29 million in 23 24 we were at about 34 million we expected to go up in 2425 but we didn't instead we went down about we were cut 700 into ,000 which is a two over a 2% cut to our budget why that's important yep is it it impacts us greatly so the decrease in state aid coupled with the annual increase in expenditures created sub a substantial budget deficit let's take a look at what I mean if you take a look at where it says in increases that column shows you just the natural increase in cost of living and prices how much salaries have went up benefits have went up let's go to instructional support and we'll go down to Transportation costs as well as preschool so in total our budget has went up about $8 million just on natural growth due to cost of living so as a result and a cut our district district cuts are required so to all departments I've already challenged them to look at supplies and equipment all our outsourced contracted services we'll have to take a look at doing a lot more in-house right now looking at the preliminary numbers we're looking at 30 to 40 districtwide staff reductions and that goes from preschool all the way up to central office we will of course work on wherever we get retirements or resignations not replacing non-renewals we will look to do without staff may have to be transferred to fill positions throughout our district that part of the slide is not to scare you or to say you know this is just to lead us into depression but it's to allow you a chance to understand transparency as we spoke about with Ela it is better that we talk about this within two weeks rather than we wait till May to discuss where things will have to go this is preliminary there is nothing exact nothing surgical nowhere I can say this is where we need to be make the cuts and here and there but know that just reviewing the numbers and where we stand right now those are the challenges that we face if you look at the tax levy increase to the general fund you see that that's about 4 million 200 and let's talk about the estimated impact on the homeowners of West Orange which includes me we're looking at it fisal it we're looking at an impact of a 2.77% with a uh a fiscal impact of about $261 a uh 93 cents per year it just happens to be less than that last year which is a decrease is a decrease of $34 89 because we were somewhere at 29682 last year so look at the Timeline today I wanted we want wanted to make sure we discussed the budget and we wanted to present it to you make sure we present it to the community and let them know the challenges that we Face by April 24th we do have to send the county our budget for approval and by May 6 we will have to adopt the final budget so in between tonight and uh April 24th we would have to have some idea of what we're doing but really by May 6 I believe right Tanya before May 6 we will know exactly what cuts should be in place and what we will do what we can't do so this isn't an easy process for any of us and if you know me being a longtime West Orange person definitely not an easy thing for me to hear or for me to do but it is part and parcel of what goes on when our budget has cut so steep unfortunately that well well thank you that's all folks no no it's not easy talking so I kind of appreciate that but um the reality is there we received a cutw that was unexpected because we didn't expect to receive that cut and when as things have increased all the plans we have we had we are not going to be able to do any of those right now and on top of not being able to do any of the things we forecasted and and uh different people we were looking to hire and so forth we still have to make some Cuts just to uh make sure we balance the budget so it's not the best time in West Orange right now because of that but we will do our best I give you my word we will work our best to work on areas in which we do not cut as many positions as we as as as we may need we we are hoping not to do that by finding money elsewhere I have to tell you we have a wonderful business administrator who has made all kinds of calls and has look have looked in all different areas to see where we can have a cost savings we have a terrific board who listen to benefits today to see where we can if we can save money in certain areas because they understand the importance of the work that you do and that I do and they know that this is this is very difficult of course our priority when making Cuts will be not to not impact the student as much as possible so although I will say that all Cuts impact students somewh way or another our priority is to try not to impact student programs and still offer the things we offer to our students because that's what makes us special here at West Orange and it is all about the student experience for us but I want to be transparent with you and let you know that we're in a challenging situation we are in a challenging situation and some of those cuts are inevitable but better we know now and we work with it and give us a chance to work it as best we possibly can and hopefully we'll have better news than this but we do have to make Cuts I don't want to make promises that I can't keep and I want to make sure I tell you things and that keep me up at night so but they do but we do have to face these challenges and West Orange is in a moment in a time where we have to try to balance a budget and it is not going to be our easiest time we've had here it is going to be difficult but it will come and I will have to make some tough decisions along with some of our other administrators right I thank you guys for listening I thank the public for listening and to the board if you have any questions or anything or that you want I'm here now or we can return to the okay so let's return back to the days thank you e thank you for that uh Mr Moore um just the The public's aware we have met with the administration several times as pairs to to receive updates on this budget so we've asked them a lot of questions already uh so although I will open it to questions from the board at this time I'll ask them to save the lengthy questions for some of our follow-up meetings but was that pressing we want to get to tonight uh please do ask and then for the public during public comment if you have any comments or questions it'll be open to you does anybody of the board have questions they want to ask Mr Moore at this point or Miss Flowers you know I'll just make a quick note that it's unfortunate that there was a budget cut as Mr Mor said it was unanticipated uh for our state legislators that are out there listening um West orangen is the only municipality in all of esus County whose State a was cut uh that is unprecedented and uh obviously as a board member as a member of the community it's unfortunate and I think that uh certain funding uh criteria and the decisions by which fun fing is made likely needs some level of review to make sure that there is parity and equity and funding across uh townships for the funding of public education so whatever is unique about West STS that allowed us to receive uh not even flat funding but a decrease of $72,000 uh certainly uh should draw some scrutiny and the community should be aware that that we're in this position due to an unanticipated reduction in state aid thank you Mr Stevenson um on that note I I have done some research into our the way the state uh funding formula works and M flowers Supply me with the number of the state aid notices for the last several years to investigate I'll save you the the details but like Mr Stevenson hinted there are some issues with the formula uh we represent an anomaly this year in the way that it was run um so I have met with one of our Assembly women Alexon Kaza Gill and her Chief of Staff to discuss this and present them with kind of uh some education on the shortcomings of the formula I'm also setting up a meeting with Senator John mcken to to share the same with him and his staff um so while I can't guarantee that'll change anything per se I will make sure that our legislators are aware and that they're talking about it um and and I think if they don't resolve this issue for us this year it's something that's going to come back around and hit other districts next year uh so like Mr Stevens had said I'll I'll implore the legislature to to look at this see seriously um not just for our sake uh but for you know public schools throughout New Jersey that we we can't deal with ups and downs and fluctuations in our budget of this magnitude it's it's unsustainable uh but thank you Mr Moore and Miss flowers for your work on this I know that you don't take this lightly uh and I know you will do your hardest to to make tough decisions that will uh balance everything that we need to accomplish and and keep students in your Forefront of your mind thank you president BR and that concludes uh the superintendent report thank you for that considering how lengthy this meeting is I will forego a a lengthy president's report uh but just say that I did have the the privilege to go to Washington and Gregory during uh re Across America so thank you to those schools for inviting me it was wonderful to have a chance to read to some of your students um were you gonna say something Mr EV I think I skipped very sorry yeah I also had the pleure of going to Gregory for cross America I'm not going to mention the young lady's name but I was was very impressed we there was a fourth grade class we read one book and I think we both the students and I had so much fun that we read a second book and one of the book I forget what it was something about a little boy has an idea like it follows him around like a cloud and he's embarrassed he doesn't want people to make fun of him and whatever it was he was the idea was that you should be proud of your ideas and follow them through so I asked the class of fourth graders tell me an idea that you think's a big idea that changed the world and I thought they would say you know the light bulb or the wheel or fire this little girl raises her hand she says Dr Martin Luther King fighting against segregation I was like wow that is a smart girl her parents should be proud and her teacher should be proud I was proud um and then the other thing is as the liaz unto Town Council from the Board of Education I speak uh on a regular basis with uh councilwoman Michelle celino we had our usual conversation and one of the the thing that took most of our time was the topic of student safety when it comes to school buses there's been some more discussion about that lately and I know that the superintendent takes that very seriously and um just to let people know that that's that's on our agenda thank you thank you I'll also add that uh last week or the week before I had the privilege of attending another Eagle court of honor for John gainus of troop 2 earned his Eagle Scout award so congratulations to him uh we appear to have a lot of Eagle Scouts here in West Orange um with that uh move on to our agenda items the next item on the agenda is the first reading of policy number 5111 eligibility of residents nonresident students policy has been reviewed and revised by Administration and presented this evening for first reading is there any discussion or questions Mr Stevens do you want to can you say anything as policy chair so this is an existing policy thank you thank you president Rock Mr hip this is an existing policy that has some revised language with respect to the eligibility of Resident non-resident students in the district so it's undergoing a first reading the first reading is taking place publicly tonight there'll be a second reading um and it'll be up for approval at the April 15th okay thank you any other questions discussion no all right hearing none uh this policy will appear on the next agenda for second reading and adoption next we will have questions from the public on agenda items only any Community member who would like to make comments or ask questions please come to the podium at this time please state your name and home address for the record then begin your comments please limit your comments to 3 minutes we have any members of the public uh here in the audience tonight who wish to make public comments all right seeing none uh we will move on to our resolutions I have a motion to approve the Personnel items A1 through A4 so move thank you Mr Stevenson is there a second a second thank you Mr ier uh is there any discussion I just want to congratulate the following retirees David S a social studies teacher here at West orang High School for his 26 years of service uh Tania thomasy a technology integration specialist at central office for her 21 years of service deorah Daniel an administrative assistant in central office for her 34.5 years of service Elise rder a management information systems coordin Ator a central office for her 20.5 years of service and Cynthia zoon a PA professional at Kelly Elementary for her 1.5 years of service uh thank you all for your service to the West Orange Board of uh education and our students in our school Community uh and on behalf of all of us welcome to the club where every day is Saturday there's no other discussion Miss flowers please take the role Dr Bryant yes Mr ifer here Mr Stevenson yes Vice president Vera yes president Rock yes thank you all right next up may I have a motion to approve the curriculum and instruction items B1 through B6 so moved thank you Mr Stevenson is there a second yes thank you Dr Brian uh is there any discussion on this uh just a reminder to the community president rock as a as a point of a clarification that this uh motion on Item B curriculum instruction does include the approval uh both of the curriculum and of the funds uh to support the uh hmh curriculum that was presented tonight by Mr Mendes and Miss handri in the committee yes which we've already discussed at length so I think we can Echo our comments from before uh any other comments on curriculum and instruction all right Miss flowers please take the role Dr Bryant yes Mr ifer yes Mr Stevenson yes vice president Vera yes president Rock yes thank you you all worked hard you can clap for that all right uh no next may have a motion to approve the finance items c special services items a one through3 and business office items B 1- 17 so move thank you Mr Stevenson is there second second thank you vice president ver uh on behalf of the board of V I would like to thank the Gregory School PTA for their very generous donation of $100,000 to be used towards the purchase and installation of the playground equipment at their school um that that K Applause that is some hard work is there any other discussion on this agenda no all right seeing done Miss flowers please take the r Dr Bryant yes Mr ifer yes Mr Stevenson yes vice president Vera yes president Rod yes all right and next may I have a motion to approve reports items D1 through two so move thank you Mr Stevenson is there a second second thank you Mr ifer uh is there any discussion seeing none Miss flowers please take the role Dr Bryant yes Mr ifer yes Mr Stevenson yes vice president Vera yes president Rock yes thank you all right uh thank you very much to all my board colleagues for that next up we have petitions and hearings of citizens for any agenda or non-agenda item that you wish to discuss you will have three minutes to speak please approach the podium at this time and state your name and address for the record seeing none thank you very much our next board meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on April 15th 2024 this meeting will be held in the western Orange High School library media center we will not be going into executive session after the close of this meeting there will be no further business discussed and no additional action will be taken may have a motion to adjourn motion that took a little too long is there a second back in thank you thank you everyone all in favor I thank you for joining us tonight our meeting is now adjourned we wish you a good nights e