001Good evening and welcome to the November 24th, 2025 personnel committee meeting. We'll start by taking role. Director >> here. >> Director >> here. Director here and I'm here. Um, so next we'll move on to public comment. Is there any public comment this evening? >> Right. There's no >> but you probably should take someone should take the card so people don't get confused. >> Next I'll ask for approval for the August 25th, 2025 personnel meeting minutes. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any extensions? And so now we'll move into the agenda topics for this evening that will be covered by Miss Farraita. >> Good evening. And first we'll start with an update on the LinkedIn usage. >> Got it. >> Let me blow out your ears. >> Sorry. Um Okay. So um on
002LinkedIn. Um we are signing a contract with LinkedIn. Um so we will start a fivemon pilot that will run from February to June of 2026. Um this will allow for all of our jobs to be posted. Really working to build a robust applicant pool um for positions. We can have three featured postings at any one time which can help drive traffic. Um so we're excited to begin to do more to build the funnel um at the top so that we've got more choice as moving through the selection process. >> Just quick question. Um, just wanted to see if there are any questions before we move to the next topic from any members of the committee of the board. >> I just think it's a great idea because LinkedIn as we know is far reaching. So,
003>> I just had one question. Is there a cost associated with it? >> There is. Yes. So, um, we were able to negotiate down the cost quite a bit. So, it's about 33% of what it typically would be. Um, and we've built into the budget and the budget proposal for next year. So, it will be about $6,500. >> Thank you. >> Sure. >> I have a quick question. Um, what types of jobs will all district jobs be posted on there? Only like certain admin level? >> Great question. And so all of our jobs will technically feed into LinkedIn, but we'll feature three jobs at a time. So I think depending on time of year, what we're working on, obviously that will vary. Um we're also making the switch to school spring for our um applicant
004facing applicant tracking system, which feeds directly to Indeed. So that should help with some of our hourly positions, custodians, roles like that. Um where we're really trying to start is with our principal. Um but we're doing some head hunting for principal but also for a teacher at this time. >> Thank you. >> Sure. Um so to switch to the fugit hiring process um we are trying to really step our toes into a competency driven selection process for the fugit principal role. Um so we're focused on building the top of the funnel just like what I said with LinkedIn. Um and figuring out a really robust way that we can screen applicants that HR can screen applicants so that when applicants get to Dr. Conley and the other members of the selection team, we really understand
005their strengths and weaknesses as applicants. Um, so I've been working with Michelle Allen. Um, and we've worked to develop principal competencies for the selection process. So they're listed up here. Um, the selection process is really focused on us evaluating candidates against these five things. So was communication and community engagement, equity centered instructional leadership, operations and resource management, people and culture development, and strategic datadriven decision making. Um we have posted the position for fugit already. Um we've had 12 applicants so far. Among them, we have more than 90 years of teaching experience and more than 20 years of being an administrator, which is great. um some really excuse me more than 70 years of being administrator, more than 20 years of being a principal. Um we want to continue to do just robust head hunting to
006get the right folks to apply for the role. Um and then we'll begin evaluating through um evaluating the applications that people have submitted. Um we'll be doing phone screens at the beginning of January and then moving to the selection process that's outlined above. Um, one thing I will just flag for the good of the group is that we're really trying to, um, manage the confidentiality of this process. So, in previous years, um, it's been quite public for people to go to the through the principal process, which has been a little bit of a deterrent for experienced principles to apply for the role. So, we are going to offer competency driven selection and implicit bias training for everybody who's involved in the selection. We're also going to ask folks to sign a confidentiality agreement saying, "I
007understand that I'm involved in this process and therefore I cannot be sharing information about individual applicants andor their performance in the selection process." Ultimately, our goal is to extend an offer by midFebruary and ideally have folks start as early as April, as late as July. Any questions on the get hiring timeline? I just wanted to say I think it's great that we're moving to not only a competency based hiring program or hiring model but then also confidentiality as well. I think it's great that we're doing that and it probably makes applicants feel a little bit more comfortable as you said. >> Thank you. >> How do we go about selecting the competencies that we're using? >> Yeah, great question. Um so we did work on looking at the research of the Wallace Foundation which has
008done a lot of work regarding how strong principles. Um so that was really the foundation for this work and we paired the Wallace Foundation with also our evaluation tool that we use for our school leaders within our system. >> Sure. Um so switching to the role of um where we are on teacher hiring. So we believe very strongly that principles are the chief talent officers of their building. We really wanted to build um some changes into our application process to support principles in having bigger applicant pools and stronger applicant pools. Um we also just really recognize the role that HR has in developing better staffing systems that allow for principles to have the resources that they need in order to effectively hire. Um so our teacher selection process um is really focused on elevating excellence
009and equity across the process um all of our schools providing a very clear and consistent roadmap for selecting effective teachers and providing timely access to a vetted pool of applicants for principles. Um we know there's a direct correlation between when somebody when somebody applies and their effectiveness as a teacher. And so one of the things that we've really purposely done this year is try to move up our hiring timeline both for an eligibility pool but also for individual positions. Um so the principles for teacher selection are focus on transparency really ensuring that every candidate has consistent communications and expectations, efficiency, getting really clear about our timelines for every action to minimize delays, equity to really ensure that the same screening tools and rubrics are used for all candidates. Um and shared responsibility that we're focused
010on doing that only that which only we can do. We want to get principal strong candidates and minimize the time that they've previously had to spend on candidates who are not as strong in the process. So our applications, we aim to post our general eligibility process for teachers in the beginning of January. From there, um we'll begin screening applicants every week really to focus on building a robust eligibility pool. Um people will do vid career applications where they'll answer questions um really align to the competencies that we've identified for teachers and then there'll be a robust eligibility pool for principles essentially to go shopping for strong candidates for their schools. Schoolbased selection will begin in March once we finish staffing meetings and then we begin issuing offers as early as March 10th. So recognize it
011will take some time for us to lift that process. Um, our goal here is for principles to get final hiring decisions as they've always had. Um, but really to get stronger candidates upfront, um, a lot of time savings and just increased visibility and who is available in the field. We also really want to be focused of course on head hunting to gain strong candidates who can apply and make it through our process. Um, so just as we did with the principal application for Fugate, where we've paired down some of the duplicative questions and unnecessary questions, you don't need to write down where you went to high school for us or where you went to college. We can see it on your resume. We aim to do the same for the teacher application to decrease barriers
012to entry. Any questions about this? Um, how are we orienting our building leaders and our teachers to this process. >> Great question. Um, we are we're going to do some training with principles um and assistant principles and management team likely in January to really root them in the competencies and talk through exactly how the selection process will work. We're moving away from the standard multiple round interviews that existed and really building out tools that have competency driven selection questions um and assorted other resources that principles and their hiring teams can use to make the best most informed hiring decisions they can. >> So I mean I think I think a big shift is really we're trying to open the funnel up a lot more. So really trying to increase the number of candidates that we're
013getting into our pools, but then also realizing that if we do that, we can't use the same process we've used because it's already very people dependent. And so principles spending a ton of time going through lots of low-level interviews to try and get to candidates even with a even with a smaller funnel at the top. So the proposal really is to is to change that to where we really have a larger funnel when HR is doing some of the pre-screening to try and ensure that we have a a solid candidate pool that then the principles can feel confident I can go into that candidate pool maybe I'm not seeing as many candidates um as a principal individually but there are more candidates in our overall pool that have already been screened. So we're utilizing their
014time better um in terms of trying to manage that and then really thinking differently about the hiring practices. It's not like what reading did have you used what like those kinds of things that we can train you on. It's the competency based things really trying to identify you know really where where is the talent where is the habits of mind all those types of things that we expect to have in a quality employee. So it's it's a pretty big shift and to your point we're going to have some work to do with our admin team or our principal team to really understand how uh how that looks. I mean, we we normally have had very brief windows where we've opened like the the funnel for like elementary teachers like, you know, because we got so
015many people in, we just shut the funnel off, you know, and now the goal is to have the funnel open at all times and then working through a screening process so we don't lose candidates because if I if I didn't hit that little window, I might not even apply to Westchester. Um, you know, because it was it's very been time dependent and now we're saying, okay, we got to change how that works. questions. >> Okay, so this just details a little bit about how internal folks can move in our process. Um, the voluntary transfer process is dictated by the collective bargaining agreement. Previously, it was the case that if I wanted to move from school A to school B, I submitted a piece of paper to the director of HR. We really want to put
016candidates and principles in the driver's seat regarding this movement. Um so we want our internal folks to apply for open roles and meet with the team on site to figure out is this a match for both sides. Um so for teachers who wish to apply internally following staffing um we will allow for internal teachers to apply um they will not be expected to join the eligibility list. there already are teachers and therefore they're already eligible to move, but they would like external hires participate in schoolbased selection to interview, go on site and figure out is this a match for you and is this a match for me. Um, so the movement calendar is detailed up here. As I shared before, we aim to open up the eligibility process in January. Um and then we'll complete
017our staffing meetings for elementary and secondary March 5th and March 6th. On March 9th, um that's when displaced teachers would be notified that they are displaced. Um from there, the hiring for next year begins. Um so depending on our numbers, um displaced teachers will obviously be engaged in the interview process for open positions and then we aim to open up voluntary transfer movement and external hiring as well. So in previous years, displaced teachers received their new assignments at the conclusion of staffing meetings. This year, we're really trying to give them some choice and some direction in the process. So principles will be having the direct conversation with their displaced transfers regarding their needing to secure a new position. Nobody in the district is at risk for being furled or anything like that. But this is
018really to help them have some agency and choice in where they end up for next year. Um whenever possible, our aim is for displaced teachers to have the opportunity to apply and interview positions at schools that have open roles. So this is where it gets real ticky tacky. Apologies in advance for this. Um, but if there are more displaced teachers than there are open positions in a given content area, displaced teachers only will have the opportunity to apply and interview for open roles. We wouldn't open up voluntary hiring or external hiring until displaced teachers have secured their roles for the upcoming school year. So, we're going to look at this by content area. Um, so if we have 20 displaced teachers, we're not looking at it as 20 displaced teachers in general. We're really looking
019how many elementary teachers are displaced and how many elementary positions are available. If there are the same number of displaced teachers as there are open positions, displaced teachers will be placed by the appropriate cabinet members. So if it's special education teachers, um Miss Kleinman would do the work. If there are elementary teachers, Dr. Missit would do that placement. And if they're secondary teachers, Dr. Con would do the placement. Only once there are more open positions in a given content area than there are displaced teachers will voluntary transfers and external hiring begin. Um so the district recognizes the correlation between when we hire somebody or when they apply, excuse me, and their strength as an applicant. So we'll need to keep close a close eye on this throughout the selection process. This is the goal. Um,
020but we want to make sure that we're not losing out on really qualified external people if we're um if we're still really working to place our displaced teachers. >> I just want to so displacement could happen like for instance, you know, we have a redistricting right now happening. So we may have less sections the next year because we're moving students to other buildings. So if we went from four third grades to three third grades, one of the teachers is displaced at which point we would need to find them a new place into school district. Similarly, that happens with secondary staffing. Uh secondary staffing is much more dependent on student choice and the number of students that we have per grade level in different buildings and the number of sections we're running and all those kinds
021of things. But um but in general, we don't have we don't have a tremendous amount of displacement that happens in the school district. Um in years when we do things like redistricting and things, we would have more just because moving kids around. >> Are there any questions from anyone on the board? >> I I do appreciate the prioritization of the displaced teachers in the process and I think just overall on a number of the topics that we discuss having the clarity and the transparency um hopefully you know over time once it becomes familiarized within the district. I know there's a change management process and people have to get accustomed um to what's being proposed here, but the consistency and hopefully the efficiencies that'll be realized as a result of the process um will uh lead
022to better outcomes for all of us. So, good luck. Thank you to everyone who's who you socialize this pro these processes with and and um >> thank you. I have one more slide to go through about our voluntary transfers. Um, so we really want to stop moving people. Um, because we don't want to move vacancies. We want to be closing vacancies where possible. We also recognize that volunteer transfers are an incredible way to retain great talent who are interested in trying a new place. Um but did want to stamp for everyone that our goal is that between um the start of the hiring season and May 1st, voluntary transfers are welcome to participate for teachers to move. Between May 2nd and June 30th, if and when they wish to move, they would need to do
023so um with the consent of either Dr. Missit or Dr. Conley um and of course Miss Kimman the special education teacher um or somebody who falls under pupil services and then after that point we really want to minimize if not eliminate voluntary transfer movement. That being said there's going to be cases where it's in the best interest of all parties for this person to move. Um it would require the consent of Dr. Christopher in order to do so. That's it. Any questions from anyone? >> Thank you very much and good luck with the process and we'll look to extend some grace as we introduce these new protocols across the district. Thank you. >> Um our next meeting is TBD. So we'll call its Good evening. I would like to call to order the October 27th,
0242025 meeting of the Westchester area school board. It is not October 2. Today is 24th November 24th, 2025 meeting of the Westchester area school board. Tonight we welcome students Sheamus Gibby and Quinn Wright from Fugate Middle School along with their principal Dr. Alexis Mcuin. If you would like to come up and lead us in our salute to the flag and let us know what's going on. To the flag of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> What's going on? What's going on with the Cougars? Hello everyone. My name is Clint Wright. I'm an eighth grade student at JR Fugate Middle School. I've been involved in a lot of clubs at school in the past few years. I did track and field
025last year and I plan on participating again this season. It was a big physical and time commitment, but it taught me a lot about responsibility. FU has a lot of great opportunities for any student to participate in extracurricular activities. Most of the clubs are very flexible and able to work with kids. so can be included no matter what it is that's happening. Fugat also has a lot of great field trips and events that they host at school. A week or so ago, Fugate had kids bring in food for the Westchester Food Bank. We also participated in World Kindness Week and had a lot of fun spirit week activities. Wednesday, November 12th, in fact, was uni day and we had a day full of care events. Every year, the eighth grade students take a trip to
026the PA Renaissance Fair. It's always a fun trip and I was grateful for the opportunity to go. Thankfully, every kid was able to participate in the fair this year, but not every field trip is like that. Which brings us to Shay over here who's going to talk about that a little bit. Hello, I'm James Gibb and I'm an eighth grade student at Fugate Middle School. I've really enjoyed all sports opportunities, including wrestling, which I've played here since um sixth grade in real. I've been at Fugate for three years now, and I've noticed some students who are less fortunate and not able to come on field trips due not having funds. I saw this and decided to take action. Making a Dodoce fundraiser to help any students pay for field trips. Knowing that some students couldn't
027have the same opportunities and fun experiences that I did made me realize I had to step in. Hoping to be able to help any students who would need financial help, ensuring that Fugate is a fair environment for all students. The fundraiser ended up being a huge success. The Dodoce truck sold out twice. The support from all the students truly showed our Fugate pride and capability to problem solve. I would I want to give a thanks to all the students and teachers who purchased cupcakes to help our fug family. Another thanks to Dr. McGloin and Miss Keys for making the fundraiser come to life. >> Thank you very much and Quinn and that was a wonderful idea. Thank you for doing that. I'm sure you set a very good example for your fellow students. So, thank
028thank you both of you. And if uh you and Quinn will stand up there for a moment, Dr. Christopher and I have certificates for you. We're going to face over here. We're gonna practice your graduation. Are you ready for your graduation? Okay. And don't go anywhere. Well, you can go over a group photo. Thank you so much. Thanks for coming out. Hey, next up we have no special announcements this evening. And next on the agenda is roll call. Miss >> here. >> Director Christie. >> Director Dietri >> here. >> Director Gell >> here. >> President >> here. Director here. >> Director Long >> here. >> Director Parkinson >> here. >> Director >> here >> Jackson >> here. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. >> That leads us to public comment. Do we have any public comment
029on agenda items tonight? Nobody's registered. >> Okay, we'll move on then uh to approve the minutes from the actual October 27, meeting. Um may I have a motion to approve the minutes of the October 27th, 2025 board meeting first from vice president. May I have a second? I have a second from Dr. Dietri. All those in favor say I. >> I. opposed as two a new board member and members. >> Now we'll approve the minutes from the November 17th, 2025 special board meeting. May I have a motion to approve the minutes from our special board meeting held on November 17th, 2025. I first from Director Parkinson. I have a second. Are there any questions or comments? >> Seeing Seeing none, all those in favor say I. >> I have from Director Director. Thank you. And
030moving on, no executive session announcement tonight. Now we'll approve the agenda for tonight's meeting. Now is the opportunity for board members to request changes to the board agenda or make comments. Director Dell, >> it's President Fleming. Uh I wanted to note that the handover agreement was approved to be placed on the consent consent agenda at the November committee meeting is listed under H2 teaching learning and equity committee November 4th November 24th 2025 consent agenda item on the agenda. However, while H1 approval of the November 24th, 2025 consent agenda committee indicates items H2 through H6 are to be approved under the consent agenda. The handover agreement is not specifically listed in that section. I wanted to make clear that since it is listed under H2 as referenced uh in H1, this contract should be considered part
031of the H1 consent agenda items for the approval tonight. >> Thank you for that comment and my understanding is that not we don't have to actually amend the the um >> it's on there. We just want >> the agenda. Okay. >> Thank you. May I have a motion to approve the November 24th, 2025 agenda agenda as pres as as presented? I have a first by Vice President Beala. I have a second. Director Fry. All those in favor say I. Opposed. Motion carries. Next up is Dr. Christopher with his monthly superintendent report. >> Good evening everyone. Uh it's been a busy month. I I tried to condense some things so I'm not talking too long, but uh we really have a lot of things to celebrate. Uh you know, we celebrated American Education Week uh last
032week uh really recognizing the incredible work of our staff and everything they do for our students. We also marked hunger and homelessness awareness week uh with food drives and classroom activities that teach empathy and service. We had a lot of that going on all across the school district. Uh on Veterans Day, we honored those who served through assemblies and performances. I had the opportunity to go to Westtown Norbury Elementary School for their Veterans Day assembly where we honored more than 50 service members uh most of whom were retired who were connected to students in the building which was really a a great event and they did a really nice job. It was a lot of fun uh to do that and really is good for our kids to to actually be involved in that type
033of activity where they're really showing thankfulness for the the sacrifices that these folks have made for us. Uh last week we wrapped up the disengaged teen book read. We had our third meeting really deepening our understanding with student engagement. We want to thank our community and staff members who participate in this meaningful work. Uh we look forward to continuing the discussion with additional uh members of our community in the coming weeks. We're really trying to identify how we can bring more people into that conversation. Uh we had we had really good uh really good attendance and it was a it was really a nice um opportunity for us to work through that book as a as a community and really think about how we can improve engagement with our teenagers especially. Uh this month we
034also hosted our first career compass lunchon uh with community partners as a launch to our new internship initiative for high school seniors. Uh so we had a lunchon here in the district office that was supported by the chamber and also the greater Westchester chamber of commerce members. Um we had a a good turnout for that to really start thinking about how we can increase the number of students who are in internships as seniors uh in area businesses. It was great to see just a a variety of business members here um and really thinking about how they can engage with this work and how we can support them. So I mean our goal is to really increase that number dramatically in terms of number of students who have access their senior year to be out in
035some kind of workplace environment and getting those kind of skills that we are really tied to our portrait. Last week we also had our first superintendent advisory council meeting with students. All three of our uh board reps were there. We had that at Rustin High School. Uh our friends here with about 50 other students from all three high schools were present. we had a a great opportunity to just talk about, you know, the student experience in the school district, things like cell phones and how's it going and what are things we need to work on. Uh we're able to talk about, you know, potential changes to the cell phone law if that were to come about and what that would look like and have those conversations. We talked about the new spaces that we've created
036in the buildings and how they're being used and ideas for additional renovations in the schools. Uh we had lots of positive ideas. Uh students would like a place to take a nap. That was one that was my favorites. Um, you know, there were also ideas about additional cafeteria options I think were up on the list highly, but it was a really engaging uh time with the kids and and they're brutally honest about how things are going and we appreciated their honesty. Um, but it was really a nice morning we're able to have. Uh, looking ahead, families are soon going to see receive winter weather updates from us. I know it seems to be that time. It's December 1st going up here. including things about flexible instruction days and how we report closures and two-hour delay
037schedules and all those types of things. So, that will be coming out here in the next week. We're also going to change we also have changed our comprehensive planning posters in our schools to reflect our new plan and we've added signage as you see behind you for the portion of a graduate. Uh those will be in all of our buildings and they're there now. So, if parents are entering buildings for conferences this week, they will see this new signage uh that we are moving forward with in terms of our planning process. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm going to turn it over now to our student reps. Thank you. >> Hello everyone. I hope you had a great November so far because East definitely did. So, as Dr. Christopher said, we did have
038our superintendent advisory council meeting and we talked about the portrait of a graduate and how it's being implemented in schools and after the meeting, I really saw how teachers were putting that into focus. Along with Dr. program. I've seen how they've come up with new forms of communication for problem solving. And last week, we did have hunger and homelessness awareness week. So, student council worked with our school's case worker to collect money for families in need and so they could buy essentials like clothes, clothing, like food. Um, and student council also organized our annual grateful grams where students could write grateful notes to either their fellow students or teachers to show their appreciation which went wonderful. We distributed it last Friday and everyone got their grateful grams and it just really shows how grateful we
039are. And our east business class also had a food drive working with a another case worker at our school to help bring food like food can like a food where they can get canned food to donate and that's going to keep continuing for the rest of the week going into December. Our on our athletic front, our boys football and soccer team have won first place in sportsmanship along with our girls soccer team that won second place in sportsmanship. So they really know how to show east excellence on the field and off the field including our our clubs which in our recent weeks our mini committee which helps support kids with childhood cancer and their families. And one of their first events is coming up tomorrow which is stall day which kids can bring in change
040to their teachers and however long it takes their teacher to count the change it's like stalling class. So Hopefully people bring a change tomorrow. >> Penny still lives at East. >> I would also like to congratulate our East Theater on their fall performance of Pride and Prejudice. And not to be biased, but I was sitting in the front row and it did feel like a TV show. So, congrats to Mr. Swig and every actor and stage crew. I would also like give I would also like to give a shout out to our former East student Andrew Hecman who is a sophomore now at the Naval Academy. And today during Viking block he came and talked to students about his personal experience and how it just felt going into the process. So a bit I wish
041him the best of luck in his future successes. And lastly, I would like to close with my senior quote because that happened last week and it was a Dr. Seuss quote that really stood out to me and he said, "Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory." Which really encapsulates all of high school. I feel like I was just a freshman walking in and navigating my way around and now I'm all of a sudden like hearing back from colleges. So, it just it made me feel really grateful for East and all the memories it gave me and for the opportunity to be school board adviser. So, thank you and have a good November. >> Good evening everyone. Uh for those I haven't met, my name is Jackson. I'm
042a senior at Henderson. Um I'll start off with asking who's excited for Thanksgiving? >> Amazing. Awesome. Me too. Um, I I'm really excited for my my very pivotal role of uh hanging out with my cousins and causing a ruckus while all of the adults make the food. Um, now jokes aside, I I am excited to eventually uh make food for Thanksgiving. I think it's something that's really beautiful about Thanksgiving. It's it's a really great feeling to spend a lot of effort working on a meal and and see the direct uh uh the success of that, to see the joy it can bring other people um get that benefit right back. And I think in that way uh November at Henderson has been a lot like Thanksgiving. There's been a lot of opportunities uh for students
043to uh reap the benefits of the hard work they've done over the past three months. Uh I think the b biggest example of that is our boys soccer team uh which just a week and a half ago made it to state championships. They played um an amazing game and although we didn't win, we definitely won in terms of school spirit. When I arrived at the game, our student section was twice as big as the other teams. We brought over 450 students from our school to the game and along with that we live streamed it at the school too for students who couldn't make it. Uh so I think it really really showed our Henderson pride um and how much uh we believed in our team. Um along with that our pickle ball club uh which
044started uh at the beginning of last school year has gotten to see the impact of all of their hard work. They hosted their third pickle ball tournament uh just a couple weeks ago and raised $1,700 for St. Jude Children's Hospital, which is the most they've raised thus far. Uh, in a similar fashion, the Ellen Salone Memorial Fund held a dodgeball tournament, uh, which I got to compete in. I played in a team, uh, with my classmates in multivariable calculus, and our name our team name was named after a famous mathematician and physicist. So, as you can imagine, we did not win a lot of games, but it it was a very fun night. Um, and uh, they were able to raise enough money to gift $2,000 for a scholarship uh, for a graduating senior along
045with groceries for six Henderson Henderson families in need. These two clubs weren't the only thing only clubs achieving great things. Just to name a few, our National Honor Society had a food drive that collected 85 pounds of non-p perishable items. Our drama club had an amazing weekend of performances in the play Our Town. and our academic team uh by a third-party ranking system was just ranked 20th in the nation. Um although I talked to my friend who's the captain and he wishes it was higher because he's really hard on himself. Um our music department has also had a lot of successes and has gotten to see all of the hard work they've done practicing and rehearsing. So first we performed three concerts during this month. There was a band concert, an orchestra and a jazz
046band concert and a choir and chamber orchestra concert. The reason I list out all of these ensembles is because I want to highlight something that I think is really special about our music department, our collaboration. We work really well between our ensembles, and I'm really grateful for the opportunities to get to know students in all of our different ensembles and make music together, which is so much better than if we did it alone. Now, I think the best I'm going to shameless plug here, but I think the best highlight um of that cooperation is our winter concert, which is on December 10th. Um, and just like anything I talk about here, if you want more details, definitely talk to me after the meeting. Um, also this weekend, just yesterday, 24 student musicians made it into
047all district ensembles, which is the most that Henderson has ever had. And just to show that cooperation, there were three students who made it into two different ensembles. So, that is really amazing. Just to sum it up, uh, this month has been an amazing month for the Henderson community with many students getting to see the success the successes that come with hard work, whether it be state finals or even just being proud of their first quarter grades. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wanted to extend my gratitude to both our school's administration and the school board for allowing us to have so many opportunities to work hard and reap those benefits. Something really special about our school district. Once again, just to end my speech, I have a lim. When working hard, it can be
048easy to forget that the benefits just haven't come yet. But the month of November has brought joy to each member of Henderson's community. I couldn't get it to rhyme without that. Uh even if the academic team's captain is still upset. Thank you. >> This is for Rustin's monthly update. So, this month has been full of activity and accomplishments for Rustin High School. I remember last month, our last meeting, I did tell you that our Rustin boy and girls soccer district team games were going on. I now have an update for that. Um, they both qualify for district matches. Unfortunately, we did lose, but both had incredible and memorable seasons representing Rustin, and I talked to both the boys and girls senior captains, and they said that as a senior, this was their best year so
049far, and they are really going to miss the team. Um, our football team also qualified for district matches and they played well, winning, taking another win against Henderson and an additional one against Kennet. And even though we lost the district's semi-final game against Chester, the RHS football team fought to the very end. Um, this past weekend, our theater and drama club premiered its first show of the year, the 12 Huntsmen, which is a unique mix of stories by the brothers grim. Not every show was the same with the audience being surprised by the array of stories told every night from well-known ones like Snow White to lesserk known ones like One Eye, Two Eyes, and Three Eyes. And let me tell you, that story was definitely the funniest. I could not stop laughing the entire
050time. Um, and this week, the club will pivot from it seasonal plays to its upcoming musical, Secret Garden. On a more competitive note, on November 8th, the Rustin Golden Knights ended this year's season with a final performance at Nationals at Matt Life Stadium. From all the photos and all the videos and seeing all the posts everyone was making, I can definitely tell that it was a memorable experience for everybody involved. And our Rustin Science Olympiad also did very well, outperforming 20 other schools at a recent Cornell Invitational, specifically scoring well in astronomy and surgery lab. And as The holiday season is approaching with Thanksgiving right around the corner. So, Rustin students have also shown their commitment to the community. This past week, we raised awareness for hunger and homeless awareness week by donating non-p perishable
051food items to different shelters around our area. And through our student led feast for family initiative, we are currently connecting collecting donations to support local families during this holiday season. Uh this year students also started the adopt a family program for Thanksgiving further reflecting our dedication to ensuring every household can celebrate with warmth and family during this holiday season. And then as Dr. Christopher talked about this past week Thursday h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h hosted the first ever superintendent advisory committee where members of every high school's advisory committee met together to discuss cell phone policies, overall vibes surrounding lunch and learn
052and future p future plans for every school. I think everyone here can agree that it was a success and very special to have meetings with students from different schools to discuss topics that impact us all. So, we're very excited and looking forward to the next one. Thank you. >> Thank you very much for those reports. It sounds like wonderful things happening at all three high schools. So, enjoy your break and uh have a happy Thanksgiving and we'll move on to the monthly personnel report with Miss Aruto. >> Thank you. You all have the things in front of you. I do just want to flag a few things. First, Maria Beltran, um, who is retiring after 10 years. Um, we thank her for her service. Um, not in the report, but two, just shout outs to
053people who are relentless of talent. Um, Mr. Burster and the facilities and operations um, just keep cranking offers all the time and it's really awesome to see the promotional opportunities that are provided to people on their team. Um, the other is to principal Dr. Hunt is in her first year of being a principal with us and is indeed fatigued when it comes to hiring. Um, so every day she is on it and it's just a pleasure to get to work with her. Um, the last very minor thing is that Jessica Knox is one of our two teachers who is recommended for a sbatical. She's in fact a teacher at East, not at Henderson. So we apologize for the error there. That's it from the Office of Human Resources. Thank you very much and we will
054May I have a motion to approve the November 24th, 2025 personnel recommendations as presented? First from Dr. Dietri. May I have a second? Director Parkinson. All those in favor say I. >> Opposed. Motion carries. Next up is approval of the consent agenda. I have a motion to approve the November 24th, 2025 consent agenda as listed. I did not hear about any amendments to correct vice president. All those in favor say I. >> I opposed. Motion carry. We'll move on to our monthly school board committee report. First up is director Dell with teaching, learning, and equity. >> Thank you, President Fleming. The teaching, learning, and equity committee met on Monday, November 10th. Uh we approved uh a list of winter booster clubs and athletic groups uh after presentation from Dr. Connelly. We also approved the draft
055calendar for the 2026 2027 uh school year. I apologize for getting the high school students excited about having a week off for spring break. that that fell through the future but not this year Wednesday until Monday. If you do get that Monday back, I believe um let's see where was I also we've approved a new course proposals and also approved a number of contracts. One contract is for the army of leaders uh which is studentled which will culminate in a studentled belonging conference. Uh we also approved a a contract for AIM uh which focuses on the science of reading. We approved the contract for reading assist which is a tutoring program with members from Americanore providing tutoring for our students and also approval of the contract for handover research uh which gives us access to
056a research database. Um for discussion items included uh the academic achievement report uh presented by the TLE team and they al that also included action plans for ELA and math. Uh there was a followup on AP dual enrollment and collegiate opportunities. And finally, there was a view and a review and discussion on policy 217 graduation requirements. Our next teaching, learning, and equity meeting will be in January. There's no meeting in December, January 12th at 6 o'clock. That ends my report. >> Thank you, Director Dell. And uh we did have our personnel committee meeting right before our school board meeting tonight. Uh director Parkinson, do you have anything to report on or >> No, not not yet. >> We'll save that for the next meeting December meeting. Um next up is property and finance with vice
057president. >> Thank you, President. The committee held their last meeting last Monday, November 17th. As we do on a monthly basis, Mr. Skully reviewed the budget forecast model and the changes from the prior month. Changes for this 2526 school year projection resulted in increase in fund balance designation for future millage increases of 1,325,000. Mr. The Skully then advised the property finance committee that this month's model includes actual 2627 budget salaries for existing employees as well as staffing additions for the 2627 school year. The net of all the changes in this this past month resulted in the 2627 budget gap increase of another 139,534. Mr. review the summary of all funds and the budget gap after the actual increase is currently set at 12,587,000. The administration as they always do continue to review the projections for
058potential savings to reduce the mill impact of 2627 budget to come the next meetings. The next item, Mr. Our director facilities presented the property finance committee with the bid results for the previously approved Stark weather elementary renovations and addition project for the capital for the existing capital plant. There's six contractors that we're awarding contracts to tonight. One is our general contractor NCI construction for total bid award of 11,86,000. Our mechanical contractor Tri County Mechanical for bid award of 5,933,000. Plumbing contractor Michael Mechanical for a total bid award of 1,527,000. Our electrical contractor Boral Construction for a total bid award of 3,785,000. Our sprinkler contractor accelerated fire protection for a total bid award of 495,460. the roofing contractor ProCom roofing for total bid award of 2,999,634. The total costs of these six bids for construction contracts
059totals out to 25,646,000. The project budget is set at 33,680,000. So these came for us. The property and finance committee recommended approval of the start for the elementary renovations and projects. I do have a motion tonight uh for approval. This is I4 agenda. The motion reads as follows. Approval is requested of the Stark Elementary School renovations and additions project awards as presented. I so move. >> I have a first from Vice President. May I have a second? All those in favor say I. >> I opposed. Motion carries. >> Continuing on. I have one more item. Mr. Burres. presented the property finance committee with the bid results for 2627 capital reserve project. We call this project G210 which is the Rustin High School fieldhouse mechanical upgrade. We'll be providing a bid award to Snider Hoffman and
060Associates for total bid award of 19,920 total budget of 250,000. Um the property finance committee recommended approval of this 2627 capital reserve project. The next property finance committee will be held on Monday, December 15th. And that concludes my report for this evening. >> Thank you, Vice President. And next up is Director Dietri with policy review committee. Thank you. The policy review committee met on November 17th where the committee reviewed a few timesensitive policies and then continued to review section 900 community. These policies and administrative guidelines were approved earlier tonight under the consent agenda. The committee will not meet in December. The 20126 board schedule will be approved at our organization meeting. That's my report for tonight. >> Thank you, director. Then we'll go to other reports. So, we have director Dell with his IU report.
061>> Thank you, President. The Chester County Intermediate Unit board of directors held its monthly meeting on Wednesday, November 19th at the Technical College High School Penox Bridge uh campus in West Grove, Pennsylvania. TCHS Penock Bridge highlighted how career technical and customized education CTC transform student learning. Dr. Steve Lever, director of the T CTCE division, opened the session by introducing the team and framing the discussion around customization. TCHS Penox Bridge principal Ron Wilson, emphasized the school's commitment to tailoring education to student goals. Two instructors then shared program highlights. Sarah Martin, veterinary science instructor, described how her program blends vigorous theory and hands-on projects, field trips, and realworld experiences. Students learn surgical assisting, pharmarmacology, client communication, and digital imaging, and benefit from partnerships with organization with a number of organizations. Ryan Thompson, Teacher Leader Academy, TLA, instructor
062explained that TLA is a seniors only dual enrollment enrollment program offering college course work and three 7-week internships in Chester County classrooms. TLA addresses Pennsylvania's teacher shortage by attracting, preparing, and retaining future educations within local communities. The presentation concluded with Gina Gallo, a Unionville Chad Ford senior who shared her customized educational journey. Joe Lubitzky, director of of administrative services, and Joyce Humphrey, director of finances, presented the preliminary 2026 27 CCIU budget. The next CCIU board of directors meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 21st, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at the Technical College High School brand campus in Downtown. That ends my report. >> Thank you, Director Dhouse. Next, we'll have comments from residents and non-aggenda items. >> Thank you. All individuals wishing to comment this evening required to properly register prior to the designated start
063time of the meeting by the information specified on the public comment registration card. Once called to the podium, each commenter will begin by stating their first and last name and municipality. Each speaker must limit their comments to three minutes or less per public comment period. Commenters may not see their time to other individuals. Individuals will be notified by the time clock when their time allotted for public comment has expired. Board ask that all commentary be directed to the board as a whole. Public comments may be interrupted or if the commentary exceeds three minutes or if the commentary is off. our first speaker and only speaker I believe is Dan Ros. You may come forward. >> Thank you. >> No, thank you. Nice to be here tonight. So, I know that the rules say that I
064have to address the whole board, and I will address the whole board, but my comments tonight are really to thank Director Wolsley for her four years of tireless service at the school board. She has been such a bright spot for so many parents, for so many community members, and most importantly for so many students. She has elevated people's concerns, their problems, their issues to a place where I think she's really made the school district a better place in the four years that she's been here. And I just really wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart and so many other people who appreciate the tough questions that you ask, the data that you look at to help make decisions. You've really set an outstanding standard for the board and thank you so
065very much. You will be greatly missed. Thank you for the comments. And in closing, we are uh saying goodbye to Director Wley's final meeting with us. And uh as a board, we would all like to recognize her commitment over the past four years and for sharing her experience and her insight with us to help improve this school district. So, thank you very much and good luck in your future endeavors. >> Would you indulge me in one last comment? >> Thank you. Um, just some final thoughts. Um, really mixed emotions tonight. It's hard to say goodbye to this after four years. Over the past four years, it has been an honor to serve as a Westchester area school director. When I look back on this term, I see two very different habs. Years one and two
066were marked by challenge, tension, and at times division. Years three and four brought a profound shift. A board that has chosen curiosity over conflict, collaboration over chaos, and thoughtful leadership over reaction. I'm proud of the work we've accomplished during this time. I want to extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Christopher for leading our district by example. Your calm, steady, student centered leadership has grounded this district when it needed it most. You remind us all of what it looks like to act with integrity and purpose. to the administrators and the staff. Um, thank you for indulging all of my questions over these last four years. I really appreciate your partnership in this journey. Um, to President Fleming, thank you for serving as president as a president who has welcomed constructive examination of board policy, process, and
067curriculum. You consistently supported transparency through thoughtful questioning and the belief that improvement comes from honest dialogue. To my fellow board members, thank you for being curious and brave. these last two years. You asked our questions. You listened deeply. And you showed the community that respectful disagreement can lead to better outcomes for students. To my family and friends here tonight, thank you for your patience and understanding throughout these four years. Especially to my sons who I do accept all the nights I miss dinner or hiccups and drop offs or wasn't there to help with your homework. Thank you to their dad, Aaron, and my own dad, Harry, who helped fill the gaps so that I could fulfill my purpose, my promise to be present, engaged, and ready to serve. We went into this adventure together, and
068appreciate you being here tonight for us to complete it together. As I finish my term, I would encourage our community to stay engaged, attend committee meetings, ask critical questions, and most importantly, pay attention to the needs of the district as a whole, not just your own children. Our schools thrive when the entire community parents, staff, neighbors, taxpayers, stay informed and involved. It's been a privilege to serve. Thank you, Director Wamsley. We do have a certificate for you which we'll present after I join the meeting. And thank you. We get some photos if you'd like. Um, so we do we know our next meeting? >> Well, we're having one December 15. >> Okay. But we don't know if that's the next one. >> Oh, you mean organization meeting? >> Our we have the reorg meeting which
069and then we have our full our next four full board meeting will be on December 15, 2025. So, because the county is not certifying the most recent election until December 5th, they're meeting at 10 a.m. in the morning. We cannot hold our reorganization meeting until after that. And so, the district will hold a reorganization meeting at 3 p.m. on Friday, December 5th will be the board organization meeting. And we are hopeful that Amanda will be able to bring the certificates from the county offices certified so that we can hold the meeting and swear our members. >> Thank you. for that clarification, Dr. Christopher and then our our next full monthly board meeting will be December 15th. Thank you. May I have a motion to director? >> Director Dell. All those in favor say I. I
070meeting is