West Chester Area School District Personnel Committee Meeting and School Board Meeting 11/20/2023

001personel committee meeting welcome to the Monday November 27th 2023 Personnel committee meeting we will now take role Mrs Wamsley here Mrs leming here Mr Baka here and myself so we have four our first item on the agenda is public comment has anyone signed up for public comment tonight no thank you okay the next item on the agenda is approval of September 26th Personnel committee meeting minutes and I need a vote on this Mrs Wamsley yes Mrs lening yes Mr bevaka yes and myself that's for the next item on the agenda is review hiring update Dr olmer will review all right welcome everybody to our Personnel committee for this evening we're going to be going through our Westchester Area School District Human Resources Department hiring update which we do once a year our hiring update does

002not follow the regular calendar year what we usually start our hiring up process is in April after we finish our um initial Staffing meetings and we usually go through to the next either March or April depending on where we are in hiring I'm happy to report that right now as of today we are 100% filled in our classrooms and we have zero openings however come the new semester we do have many many openings coming up due to maternities sabatical and few other absence so we're hard of work right now trying to fill those positions and interviewing all over the district so we can get all our classrooms up and running our H hiring data for 2324 we have filled 204 separate positions this year um 83 teachers SL professional employees when I say professional employees

003I'm also referring to certified School nurses psychologists um and that that nature that there wouldn't be in a classroom but there would be Specialists that would help to so 83 then we had 49 long-term substitute teachers 20 support staff 19 facilities and operation staff 17 confidential support staff 10 administrators and six substitute custodians now I do want to emphasize that every one of these positions involves a very um in-depth process that involves in interviewing and multiple layers of interviewing so our HR staff has worked very hard with the buildings who also work very hard to get in their schedule to try to do interviews and get the best people in front of our students resignation data as you know we're still in part of the Great resignation we're trying to stop that um it's slowing

004down little by little as we get away from covid so through this year so far we 20 teachers have resigned from The District Five support staff five custodians three confidential support staff two administrators two long-term subs and one substitute custodian with a total of 38 employees that have resigned in their positions in this school year that is down from 54 from last year and 76 the year before so I do see a better Trend coming as we move farther and farther away from the pandemic retire data we only had 43 employees retire this year I expected that number to be double um but most people when I interviewed them they said that the market was pretty bad they'd like to see if it can go up a little bit before they cash into 4 or3

005BS so we're lucky enough to have people around sticking with us there 26 teachers retired four par professionals five administrators three staff nurses three support staff and two facilities and operations staff for minority hiring I did a three-year look back as you know my most important goal in my job is to make sure that we get the most diverse group of Educators in front of our students as possible for a multitude of reasons and it's becoming more and more difficult to do that just because so many people are not going into education um part of that reason is is that the state has taken away defined benefit um pension system instead it's basically a glorified 401K um and that's not really as much of a attractor to come into the teaching profession as it was

006before other reasons are just because of that students are seeing other ways that they can affect change in their communities rather than being in the classroom we're all working together as human resources directors and as directors in general um with the state to try to work with them to make it a little bit easier to become a teacher and to stay certified and also with reciprocity Pennsylvania is the most difficult state to gain a certification and we're trying to help on the state level to try to get our people that want to come in from Maryland Delaware New York surrounding states to make it easier to come here without having to take four more classes and a few tests because once that comes into view they're like okay I'll stay so we want to try

007to help with that um I'm happy with our minority hiring this year um this is a little bit difficult to see but I will be giving the board um a i i if I haven't already a copy of this information um we are rising in our Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander hires we did not hit my Benchmark for our black um teachers and administrators and and we are going to continue to work and try to get as many educators of color in front of our students in the years to come recruitment efforts we are members of the Chester County County that's not count County Intermediate Unit hiring Consortium what this is is we work together as an entire uh County to try to hit as many of these hiring hiring consortiums as possible um we're

008going to attend all local and non-local recruitment fairs we're holding two in-house recruitment fairs we had one in the spring which was highly successful we ended up hiring four secretaries which doesn't sound like a lot but when we only usually get two applicants per secretary job that was a huge piece of uh work that we did and we were able to bring those people on board um our next one is actually December 6th 2023 so we are ready to run that so we can have people attend and show that we have openings for teachers we have openings for um our par professionals custodians secretaries you name it we're going to be out there promoting this everywhere we can so we can get people to come and see what we have to offer we're working with

009area universities and colleges to form pathway Pathways to employment we have many um local colle Coles and universities that are more than happy to be helping us with their student base to come to Westchester to student teach here to become building Subs to get their faces out there so that when the hiring season comes around we will have a plethora of good candidates that can get in front of our kids we're also working with our own high school students to encourage interest in teaching and affecting our community this is important because we're at the Grassroots level we have our school counselors we we have our intervention Specialists we have different people in the schools talking to students about becoming teachers and using their leadership qualities that hopefully someday they can come back and teach I

010myself have hired um 12 so far students that I have taught in the Westchester Area School District there's also kind of one sitting right here that's in front of me that I'm very proud of um so having that connection to Westchester has always been a source of Pride for me and I love when we have people that to our schools come back to our schools to either teach serve as board members or just even being part of the community that comes to speak up here it's just exciting to see when people are that passionate about education our spring job fairs and recruitment opportunities we're going to Eastern University's basketball game we'll have a a bunch of people right there that can come right down and see that we are hiring and we're looking we're going

011to use C or science College same thing Millersville Bloomsburg um we're going to PC Monroeville near Pittsburgh we are going to be going to Penn State in April and Howard University in mid April I also want to say how difficult it is to get into these uh these recruitment fairs they fill up very quickly and they also look at the percentage of people that you have as educators of color to see if you meet that Benchmark where you need people this is something new and it's something that when we they're like well you have too many that's not that doesn't work for me so what we do is we keep working I Mark calls like crazy and pounds them until we can get our names on those spots and uh we are going to be

012attending as many of these recruitment efforts as possible certification issues now this is also very small I apologize but I didn't want to do it just for the impact of it this is the P Pennsylvania certification list starting in 2010 2011 we had 21,45 people that were certified to teach now we're at 2122 that's the highest that that pde goes right now with data 6,153 certifications the decline of certifications is absolutely mindboggling and every year it gets lower and lower and lower there was a jump in there in 16 in 1718 it went up about 5600 but other than that it has been really going down um dramatically which makes it much more difficult to attract teachers and also to get applicants to come in if we lose a chemistry teacher or a physics teacher

013or a Spanish teacher we know we're in trouble and that we have a lot of work to do we also wanted to talk about to finish up our HR website we rebranded our entire HR website using you think of HR you just think of boring people sitting behind desks with ties on working on computers that is not the case in fact we had one of our substitute custodians say what are you doing in Dr R's office I said hi I am Dr R because of the fact that I'm always out and about and I'm never here and he was protecting my office to make sure that everything was okay in there um but we've redid our entire website um Molly helped us extraordinarily our um Communications um we have me I'm the director of HR

014my responsibilities are listed here if you go on the website I'm not going to go through them this evening but if you go on the website everything is listed in alphabetical order as to what we do and it makes it much easier for our employees if they have an issue they know who to go to it also makes it easier for anybody in the website anybody the public to say all right I want to ask about employment offers who do I go to that's me who goes to sabatical I do sabatical we have Mark poner Esquire who is um our Assistant Director of Human Resources Mark has a wealth of knowledge and helps us out extraordinarily in so many different aspects of a human resources job um so he's another person that we had we

015go to for almost everything that we have to do I don't know what we do without Amilia Puma is our lead generalist she works with our professional staff and does a phenomenal job um with customer service and that's what we're all about right now Emily cardo she is one of our generalists um I will say that we stole Emily and Amelia from uh from Kelly Services they were both on that piece there I was thinking of the other name before that with that Insight I can't get rid of insight in my head so Kelly Services um we took both of them from their their administrative side and we are thrilled to have them and their wealth of knowledge there Bianca Barnes incredible addition to our team um again you can see the list of things

016that b Bianca does on the website with your convenience um it's just nice to have such friendly and wonderful faces that our employees can talk to lastly but not least in any way shape or form we have Karen Zita Karen is our staffing Personnel assistant I can Karen the made name of anyone in this District even like in 1960 and she will know it like that when I lose Karen I don't know what we're going to do and Karen is very happy right now we are thrilled that she is the queen of human resources and we're going to keep that going for our entire staff that concludes that part of the presentation if you have any questions I am here for you thank you Dr AR are there any questions or comments from the committee

017any other board members no the next item on the agenda is review and approval of memorandum of agreement with the Westchester area Education Association drer will review thank you Dr Herman the district recognizes the importance of teacher Recruitment and Retention and we wish to improve Recruitment and Retention by increasing the salaries of the bargaining unit members of the association which has been the major contributing force in our resignations for the past one to two years in this first part of the agreement the Collective barbing Agreement specifies the district contribution to our health savings account which is an HSA of the bargaining unit member in the association who elected the high deductible plan as $500 for employee only coverage and $1,000 for employee plus one or more coverage in each year of the agreement the parties

018acknowledge that the intent of this Clause was for the district contribution to be onethird of the deductible of the IRS defined threshold for qualified High deductible Health Plan the IRS threshold will be increasing in 2024 effective July 1st 2024 those employees enrolled in the high elal plan will receive a contribution of one3 of the applicable deductible as specified by the IRS qualified High deductible Health Plan minimum threshold just a piece of information that we have to make sure we place into the the contract and knowing that the district will need to remain competitive with its salary schedules to attract and retain professional employees the second part of this agreement is an increase in teacher salaries for the remainder of the current Collective bargy Agreement of which we are in the second of five years The

019District in investigated and studied salary schedules from over a dozen comparable school districts and worked with the Westchester area Education Association to build salary schedules that will meet the demands of the current market for educators as well as keep our existing employees in a more competitive Workforce effective on the 12th pay of the 2324 school year occurring on January 31st 2024 each Bary bargaining unit member will be paid per the new salary schedules in the memorandum of agreement that we are pass hopefully going to pass this evening adjustments in Pay shall not be retroactive and the salaries per rated for the 2324 school year the salary adjustment will continue on July 1st 2024 with step movement for those who are eligible through July 1st 2026 which is the entire length of the contract I want

020to thank the board personally and the association personally for their work in making this important update to it in the contract this will attract and retain so many more of our employees and I know it's going to make a lot of people very happy and have that sense of pride in Westchester I also want to offer a heartfelt thank you to John Scully for his work in making sure the numbers worked as well as being fiscally responsible through the board's guidance so thank you John thank you Dr rer are any questions or comments from the committee school board members the next item on the agenda oh I'm sorry so we need approval uh Mrs wsy yes uh Mrs Fleming yes Mr Baka yes and myself that's for okay thank you Dr Herman you're welcome the

021next item on the agenda is review changes to information provided on Personnel recommendations Dr olmer will review thank you Dr Herman in our Personnel recommendations for every teacher and administrator hire we publish the employes name placement education and experience in this world where there are more access where there is more accessible information can lead to major problems including identity theft breaches in privacy and information that we are providing that could cause an employee potential issues the district has decided to remove the experience column from the public board report this experience column is not required and has been in practice for the district for decades in an informal poll that I conduct with my fellow human resource directors in the surrounding districts in Chester County West sister area school district is the only District that uses

022the experience column which we now know is dated and an unusual practice that allows too much information to be released about our employees we will continue to provide the public with a comprehensive Personnel report that meets all conditions of employment law and the only change we'll be making in the future report is to remove the experience column thank you Dr R are there any questions or comments from the committee okay thank you Dr Almer and thank you all for coming this meeting is now adjourned thank you all good evening I would like to call to order the November 27th 2023 monthly board meeting of the Westchester Area School District this evening we are proud and pleased to have have two Pierce Middle School students Maria kersen and Cole lean who are here with their parents

023and Dr de anonio who swears he has not written their speeches for them so if uh Maria and Cole will get up please and come up to the podium you are going to lead this group in the salute to the flag we can't start until you do would you all stand please our flag to flag of the United States of America to the for it stands na indivisible andice for all Dr de anonio will you be saying anything this evening well I would just like to uh congratulate you on your retirement and just say good evening to the members of cabin thank you for the opportunity uh to have Maria and Cole here tonight they're going to do an outstanding job Pier's Pride Here We Go Chargers lead away students questions for special guest to

024answer two of our guests were who is a pierce graduate and Mr Atkins who is an eighth grade teacher at Pierce at Pierce this year two new clubs have started for students to join jump rope club which is led by Miss lra and Mrs sh is running three sessions over the course of the year and it teaches kids jump rope skills Double Dutch and tandem juming another new club at Pierce is the Cricket Club this club is led by Mr leap and an e group of sixth grade students and they are learning the game and competing within the group fundraisers for night for her is a local organization that supports families that are dealing with breast cancer to raise money for this remarkable charity we held an event called the pink family night where there

025are food trucks hay rides and yard games one of the most entertaining games was the dunon where teachers would volunteer to get in and risk getting soaked for a good cause lastly I was fortunate to play quarterback in the anual pink football game against Stetson Under The Lights of Henderson not only do we win 3224 but we also raised more money to help win the fight against breast cancer movies during lunch during our lunch period we have the opportunity to go into the auditorium and watch a movie currently we are watching Spider-Man and the eighth grade class is really enjoying it so we hope to continue this on a regular basis if possible it is truly a nice break in the day to relax and reset before we finish out the day on Friday December

0268th Pierce will open for three shows ofing in the Rain the production is led by our director Mrs Boyd and has over 100 students involved in the cast and crew all three shows have already sold out the seventh grade block party at the end of December our seventh grade class will have a festive block party where they will have the chance to jump from class to class within their Hall playing games stacking our treats and having fun before the holiday break an annual tradition that the students look forward to every year sixth grade field trip the sixth grade is preparing to attend the art and theater on December 19th and 20th to see the play BFG which is Big Friendly Giant because the class is so large the trip has been split into two days

027on behalf of Pi on behalf of Pi middle school thank you for the opportunity to share our school year thank you so Cole you played football you played football and your team won you played against ston under the lights and Henderson pretty big deal it field looks larger out there at night in those lights was it long or just like the one in Middle School just felt like middle school over uh I also want to ask you when they let you out of lunch to go see Spider-Man how long do you get to see is like watching uh episodes at home no it's like 15 minutes of like the whole movie it's like 15 minutes of each and then at the end of the 15 minutes it's back to class yep pretty neat can you

028take your food in there no you have to you have to like finish our lunch and then uh once we're all finished we let it go in the auditorium so how many kids would you say go in there and watch that movie almost green it's pretty popular since got a little colder out not as many kids go outside do yeah I was what if they want to go outside can they they do and and can they go out and like take a couple loops around the building before they come back in we use our bus Circle good in the afternoon time we use that bus Circle and try to take kids out every day excellent but just looking for another option those last 10 to 12 minutes of a middle school lunch yes you want

029to be as creative as you can do and uh physical activity is a wonderful thing to do yes it's better even than cleaning up the trash pushing that trash can around the cafeteria I like it I like it but getting out for some fresh air air your head out before you go back to is good thing um Maran Cole I said I was going to point out the three seniors over here who are each representing one of the high schools Mr de anonio recognizes somebody I guess remember four have all the fun movie things I no but she did movie night of FBLA uh which was a huge fundraiser for us I remember so just looking forward to you're becoming a senior and you're possibly Rec uh representing Henderson or wherever you are in high

030school it is a very fun thing to do they can tell you this Monday night thing is very special to them we but we thank you all we're going to give you another round of applause and then Dr Reynolds and I will be around to give you your certificates thank you [Applause] all come wonderful I think he has get in the back he's probably gotten in the back all his life I know you're wonderful job thank you B very [Applause] much we are moving on at this point to public comment thank you president here now is time if you would like to do roll call I'm perfectly agreeable could we do roll call first vice president director Cher director Christie here director here director J here dor here director here now is the time for

031public comment on agenda items persons wishing to make public comment were required to register prior to the designated start time of tonight's 7 p.m. meeting when public commenters names are called please approach the podium and begin by stating your first name last name and municipality public comments are limited to three minutes per person the three minute time clock will be projected on the screens located throughout the room the board asks that all commentary be directed to the board as a whole public comments may be interrupted or terminated if the commentary exceeds 3 minutes or if it is obscene and or threatening in nature all persons attending this meeting are expected to conduct themselves with decorum and civility in addition to refraining from abusive and profane remarks please also be respectful of all persons and public

032comments including those comments and opinions that differ from your own distracting and disruptive behavior or other actions which interfere with the orderly conduct of tonight's public meeting will not be tolerated we will now call the first of 11 registrant Steve Jordan Steve Jordan bur of Westchester as stated on your website the mission of the Westchester area school district is to educate and Inspire our students to achieve their personal best recently coach Kevin Kelly was dismissed from his cross country interact coaching duties this dismissal was the result of a flawed process and in no way supports your State admission in fact it will have the opposite effect it is the duty of the board to intervene to ensure a just outcome that is in the best interest of the student athletes of Henderson High School I

033had the pleasure of being coach by Kevin Kelly during my time at Henderson under his guidance I learned many lessons through running that made me more successful in other aspects of my life among them was the value of hard work that more can be achieved together than alone and most importantly that I was capable of completing difficult tasks if I set my mind to it these lessons help me to this day and I don't believe I would be where I am without coach Kevin Kelly undoubtedly a mistake was made however dismissal was a severe overcorrection that eliminates 20 years of successful coaching rather than the extreme recourse of terminating him there should be there should have been probation or suspension this is akin to immediately expelling a student after a mistake rather than seeking a

034more productive action for our parties involved furthermore the HR staff member who oversaw this termination as a child on the Henderson track team this is clearly a conflict of interests and it is hard to imagine that it didn't have an effect on the outcome that is a failure on the part of the school district luckily it is a failure that is not too late to be corrected it is not too late to educate and Inspire Kevin Kelly's to achieve their personal best please review this case and let this unfortunate situation be resolved in a just manner that will benefit the people's and energ thank you for your time John good evening John Manion burough Westchester I want to first uh start by thanking you all for your service and being stewards of the the children

035of Westchester and the surrounding areas it's a thankless task and comes with a lot of uh owner responsibilities I just wanted to point that out and appreciate all that you have done for us so with that having been said I'm going to Echo uh my prior friends uh comments there about the situation concerning coach Kevin Kelly I had uh two children who were fortunate enough to to run for coach Kelly and the situation that exists currently uh with the termination of the the coaching position is one that seems it should be analyzed um a mistake was made mistake was addressed public apology was made to all and then there was an escalation which led to termination of the coaching responsibilities for Mr Kelly the issue that I have concerns with and I would ask that

036the the board take a moment to just consider is that through this process and through a 20 plus year never was a letter in coach Kelly's file never was there any type of conversation about Coach Kelly's Behavior towards his athletes or his students for that matter in the 20 plus years that he held the role and to escalate from situation to termination with that level of expediency seems like an overcorrection there was not any type of progressive discipline measure that could have been put into place to remedy it and move on instead it went seemingly arbitrarily quickly to termination so I would ask that the the board uh potentially review and intercede on behalf of Coach Hy and recognition of all that he has done for the 20 plus year career that he has added

037the Westchester School District thank you again for your time excuse me can I make a comment um thank you to uh everyone making comments but these aren't are these agenda it technically it is an agenda item because it's contained within the Personnel report okay right thank you Laura p a t r c y and sister is next Elena and Laura I thought this was not on agenda uh Laura patter City East Bradford Township parents with kids and sports hear a lot about toxic Sports environments the stories of bad coaches are legendary at every level from Little League to the Olympics but my family's been really lucky one of the first sports my kids Learned was swimming they joined the swim team at Rosland Swim Club starting about 3 years old of course they couldn't swim

038at the time but that didn't matter for the youngest kids on the team was water safety and swim lessons disguised as being a team member the coach who taught these youngest kids the ones terrified and crying for their moms was Kevin Kelly I sat by the pool for many hours watching an amusement as he worked to turn those kids into swimmers when Kevin learned that our son Evan who has severe autism couldn't swim he worked with him oneon-one for free until he was water safe every time I see Evan jump into the deep end of the pool I know that it was Kevin's patience that has kept Evan alive on more than one occasion now that our daughter is at Henderson she runs year round on Kevin's track and cross country teams Kevin has coached

039these Runners to athletic Excellence while encouraging teamwork respect and high academic achievement it's a rare Sports environment where the female and male team members are treated equally and where they compete with mutual respect as one team this culture comes from the top to top down Kevin Kelly created this with his signature quirky style he has led a team that accomplishes all of the district's goals of scholarship diversity equity and inclusion while also winning championships that's why his recent removal as coach is so baffling and why parents and students have questions how is this decision made and by whom why wasn't building level Administration included in the process I understand some male students were interviewed as part of the decision but who decided who to interview why weren't members of the girls team and their parents

040interviewed was he really fired from three sports for cursing has anyone in HR ever overheard the coach of of other District boys sports because while all counts there's plenty of fa foul language thr around why was he let go not from one sport but from three Sports does this align with treatment of other coaches who have cursed in practice the lack of transparency and communication has been frustrating for everyone I'm asking this board to investigate the process of this firing how the decision was made and who made it I ask the administration to commit to an open meeting with all team parents to hear our concerns and explain the process and most importantly I'm asking for Kevin Kelly to be reinstated as head coach for the three Sports he coaches thank youa my name is

041Elena pattery and I'm a junior at Henderson I live in E countship and I'm speaking on behalf of track and cross country team in regards to the removal of Mr Kelly I've known Mr Kelly for 13 years of my life ever since my family began swim lessons at Rosen Swim Club where he was an instructor and a coach there I remember those lessons very vividly him encouraging us to slide into cold water while saying it's No Cry Wednesday or kick your feet like boiling pasta water throughout the lessons and time coaching on the official swim team Mr Kelly was fling his efforts to ensure that every child was accounted for altering their assignments or helping them individually so that we could learn to improve in the areas we may have struggled in aiding our performance

042as we grew into competitive athletes he did the same with his Runners I remember speaking with him at swim Champs a few weeks before my freshman year when he encouraged me to run in high school I was hes to do hesitant to do so at the time I just stopped playing lacrosse after 8 years of commitment I wasn't planning on continuing in team sports because of the competitive nature that many coaches permitted within their play I found that despite the fact that the team is supposed to work together so many kids were focused on being the best athlete among the group to the point that the sport wasn't fun and instead an excuse for drama in joining Spring Track freshman year I found it to be the complete opposite everybody was welcoming and United in

043our efforts you think that for a sport completely focused on personal times that Runners would be fighting fighting for positions in Varsity races were the fastest workout group I was thrilled to see otherwise that every athlete was humble and there to have fun I can confidently say that it wouldn't be that way if it weren't for Mr Kelly he helped us individually knowing all of our Times by memory and understanding our work ethics to help us improve and never the let that distract us from our progress as a team before each race he'd say you worked hard for this and there's no reason you shouldn't succeed firsthand his motivation was especially moving as I had been injured this cross country season and struggle to finish multiple races he knew what was best for me and

044helped me in my recovery which was great and can't compare to his true understanding as a coach he's been doing this for years he has seen hundreds of breakdowns bad races and discouraging practices and having him truly know how to help me stay positive and motivated in my Improvement was indescribably supportive and compassionate two elements of of his character that shall never be more Mr Kelly's ill advis removal as coach puts a lot at stake the culture of the team the well-being of athletes team commitment and more his punishment was inequitable and cruel especially as the team approached districts and states to event which having his support and coaching is crucial I hope this can help the administration in reviewing the situation and in stating him as her head coach once again thank you Jacob

045Jacob Corp West White Township I am a junior on the Henderson cross country and track team I'm here to represent the boys team I and all of my other teammates agree that we all would like an answers as to what is going on with our coach Mr Kelly and to have our coach return as soon as possible Mr Kelly has made but her Runners teammates and most importantly people from personal experience my first 5k on this team was over 27 minutes my last 5K was a 2056 a 7 minute drop in time this is doing part to coach Kelly's streaming my family has known him for a number of years my uncle also ran here in the early 2000s and sometimes coach will ask me how he and the rest of my family are doing

046showing that he is a good person in his heart in my freshman year I went through some stuff outside of school and running and nobody was there for than coach Kelly he would always Che him on me let me take a couple days off and running but things weren't going well and he became my father like f me to this day I have so much gratitude towards him for what he did for me that year coach Kelly is well an excellent culture in our team we root for each other compete with each other and have fun amongst each other there is no bad blood between team members when a kid joins the varsity team thus making one of the varsity members junior varsity instead the JV Runner thanks to the coacher buil here congratulates them

047works even 100 TR to earn his or her place back on the vers to reiterate we want answers to the timeline as to when Mr Kelly will return as coach hopefully this speech will persuade the administration to Quicken that timeline as indoor track already starting is vital a Clarity on situation thank you for your time and consideration hello everyone my name is Frankie howder and I am also a junior Runner on at Henderson High School and I am from the um Wester Baro Township and I've ran cross country winter track and Spring Track with coach Kelly for my entire High School career today I would like to talk about the impact of removing coach Kelly from our team there are many reasons why coach Kelly is needed by the team for all seasons of track

048and the running Community as a whole but today I like to start off with how coach Kelly is a crucial part of organizing different running events throughout the year which include the Henderson Invitational polar bear meets and the summer Crest Country Camp the Summer cross country camp serves a very important part of the summer training of not only Henderson athletes but the rest of the chesmont league by providing tough conditioning as well as quality mentorship from coaches and local professional athletes that kickstarts the official cross country season this Camp is also open to middle schoolers and Elementary schoolers which exposes hundreds of kids to the sport the Westchester mile is at the end of the summer camp which also provides an exciting and energetic race to Kickstart the official season which also invites the talents

049of local athletes outside of the district moving on to the winter track season coach Kelly is also the one to thank for the polar be meets that started during the co epidemic after the rise of restrictions he continued these meets because they provide more substance to the season and allow for more preparation for spring track meets some major spring track meets ran by coach Kelly include the Henderson classic and the distance Festival which are some of the greatest meets that I've ever participated in and are loved by the rest of the running Community all of these events are some of the smoothest Rand meets I've ever been to which is thanks to the time management and organization of the Heats by our coach which allows athletes to focus more on their performance instead of worrying

050about missing their Heats uh putting aside all these meats um the treasurer of the PO Club also stated that uh the Henderson running program will lose a significant sum of money due to a loss in participation from schools outside of the district which will also mean that our meets will be much smaller than they have ever been in the end all these gifts to the running Community will not be possible without the dedication and love our coach has for the sport community and his athletes his absence will definitely leave an impact on me the rest of my team and our community as a home I hope that you'll consider your decision with all of us in mind thank you for your time rley ryer hello my name is Bley wager of East Bradford Township I'm

051a sophomore of the Henderson High School cross country team the recent situation concerning MR hly suspension has been unfair to not only him but the entire h team and Community Mr Kelly is the most dedicated coach I have ever had holding an attending practices six days a week pushing us all to be better Runners teammates and people Mr Kelly puts us everything into the team holding team meetings during free periods chatting with his Runners before practice and giving the support we need to be successful some of our Runners are playing to run in college While others just want something to do after school but none of that matters to Mr Kelly he loves and supports everyone the same no matter what the clock reads cross the finish line Mr Kelly's forc absence two days before

052the two biggest meets of our season meets he has been training us for since June resulted in a huge loss for our team the heart of our team was gone resulting in panic sadness anger and fear for the future as we understand it Mr Kelly had no warning probation or much discussion at all before the punishment straight from his team he had he had poured his everything into Mr Kelly is kind loving and a friend to us all so I ask on beh of the Henderson Henderson High School cross country and track teams to please strongly consider reinstating Mr Kelly as our head coach thank you for your time good evening I'm madx Cohen East Bradford Township I'm a junior at Westchester Henderson High School and a member of the tracking cross country team like

053my teammates I will be speaking regarding track track and cross country coach Mr Kelly the Henderson track team is known for its strong culture and dedicated athletes the dedication is a a reflection of the dedication of coach Kelly and the time and energy he puts towards coaching every Runner coach Kelly makes a point to know each of us each of his athletes even on a team with over 50 Runners always surprising us by being able to recite each of our 5K times down to the second I can say personally that would not be running if not for Coach Kelly's Recruitment and investment in my progress myself and many of my teammates joined as a result of his efforts to get students involved in the running program in contrast to the harsh competition usually associated with

054high school sports coach Kelly welcomes any students to the Henderson running Community regardless of experience or athleticism truly upholding the pillar values of the DW Chester area school district significantly coach Kelly teaches his athletes to not just be dedicated to their sport but dedicated to each other before every race or workout he reminds us you are a team work together showing us that adversity should bring us together coach Kelly is a coach who creates not only successful athletes but also hardworking students and good people he is a pillar of both Henderson Athletics and the Westchester running Community as a whole Mr Kelly's removal is a loss to a large program with a history of success I hope you will take this into consideration regarding the reviewing of his position thank you for your time and

055have a good night thank you for listening to all of us um I'm barley Bender from West Whitland Township I'm a senior on the cross country and Tra teams at Henderson High School and I'm also here to address the situation regarding our coach Mr Kelly I've run cross country track and winter track for all of my four years at Henderson and Mr Kelly has led us as head head coach six days a week all year for each of those years my experience with him has only been positive Mr Kelly's influence on my life started my freshman year when he encouraged me to work for the last spot at a varsity race and he has never stopped encouraging me since then my friends and I have gone many times to his room before school just to

056talk with him and he supports us with whatever we consult with him regardless of if it relates to running or not he has always made me feel welcome at Henderson Mr Kelly's absence was a hard blow for many of my teammates especially as it was just before a culminating race and I know it personally has made being on the team difficult for me as I realize now that I've taken his encouragement wisdom and kindness for granted I know that Mr Kelly is well respected in both the running community and the Henderson community and his influence on me has only been beneficial so I along with many of my teammates ask that you take Mr Kelly's positive character into consideration thank you Sten Thompson hello I'm Stephen Thompson I'm from West Whitland Township thank you all

057very much for listening to me and everyone else and for the selfless work that you do here on the school board um here tonight as well to speak about uh coach Kevin Kelly and show my support for him um advocate for him Coach Kelly has been a huge asset to the track and cross country Community here in the Westchester area school district for myself and so many others he has been an exceptional coach a mentor he has been doing a great job of teaching young athletes about the importance of goal setting dedication commitment persistence and the importance of not quitting when faced with challenges or adversity uh those very same lessons that he taught me more than 10 years ago on the track team of Henderson were very crucial to my My Success outside of

058uh uh crucial my success in academics Athletics and work Beyond hon High School I was extremely shocked to learn that Kevin Kelly was dismissed from his coaching duties after more than 20 years of experience in the position uh which produced multiple state championship teams um and a long list of all American athletes uh my shock for his dismissal was not just because of his extreme resume and his accomplishments as a coach Anderson High School but also because of the also because the decision seemed to be rushed and misled in my opinion as I understand it he had no prior issues on his record and termination was uh excessive I question the protocol that was followed and I question why not why there wasn't other disciplinary action taken like a suspension or additional training in this

059situation um uh it's unclear to me if the school's Administration was even consulted through this process or decision was made by a single uh District HR staff member um you know the athletes speak for uh Kevin's commitment to the program um it's really amazing to hear just in closing I hope to show my full support for Kevin Kelly and ask the decision is reconsidered he's a huge asset to the running community in Westchester and his dedication he has dedicated his life to the success of others thank you that concludes public comment on agenda items I would like to thank the uh students and parents and graduates who came to talk about Dr Kelly in such a respectful and loving way um sometimes we we don't hear such wonderful things but that was a remarkable Testament

060to a remarkable coach so we thank you for coming we thank you for expressing yourselves as clearly and uh concisely and and yet passionately as you did so thank you if I may for for Steve and John for Laura and Elena for Jacob and Frankie friend Le Maddox Riley and Stephen thank you so much for your feedback and for your words of encouragement and also for acknowledgement of Coach Kelly's efforts and his impact on you individually as well as collectively as a team please know that we do listen to your your feedback this is a Personnel matter but one of the things that I think that we can pull up as far as action on is a team meeting to make sure that you have clarity as far as the process and for next steps

061so thank you for your time and for voicing your feedback we are moving on to approving the minutes of the October 23rd 2023 meeting are there any comments or questions about that meting meeting last month hearing none I yes I yes I told you I I do this right may I have a first please Dr Herman and a second Mr Baka now let's call for the vote director Herman yes presidenta yes director Christie yes director romsley yes Director D yes director Forman yes director jell yes presid yes thank you now we are going to would you please add to the uh minutes of those board meetings for tonight the executive committee meeting on October 30th for personnel matters the executive committee meeting on November 13th for personnel and November 20th for personnel thank you all

062right moving on to the approval of the November 27th 2023 agenda for this evening we have any questions or Corrections or other issues um may I have a first please Fleming and a second Mr Beva director Fleming yes vice president yes director rley yes director Dell yes director Christen yes Director D yes director Herman yes president T yes motion pass all right and it is time now for the superintend monthly report Dr Reynolds and students thank you president T good evening and thank you for joining us following what I hope was an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday for all before we move to our agenda and School Board director and student representative reports I would like to share some expressions of thanks important information as well as moments of Celebration first for the school board directors and

063for president Tian we'd like to extend a warm welcome to our newly Ed and reelected School Board directors your commitment to the West Chester area school district is truly commendable and I along with our school Community am eager to collaborate with you in shaping the future of our educational Community I'd also like to take a moment to express heartfelt gratitude to board president Sue Tian who has dedicated numerous years of service to the Westchester Area School District Sue's leadership has been instrumental in advancing our District's Mission and her passion for education has left an indelible Mar on the lives of students and colleagues alike as we bid farewell to sue as our board president and her tenure on the school board East High School has graci graciously collaborated with us to create a commemorative bench

064this bench soon Define its home right here at the Spelman administration building will serve as a lasting tribute to Sue's exceptional contributions accompanied by a plaque and it's a symbol gratitude for our tireless efforts and profound impact on our Westchester Area School District Community thank you s we sincerely appreciate you and your family's passion for this community and we do have a number of um Su members of our family here this evening if we can have you stand to be recognized didn't expect that did my daughter who is a teacher at l Mar my daughter Kendra who is a teacher H sorry who is a nurse at Chester County Hospital my husband Ed who also taught in the school district and now works for the willtown township and you didn't stand up I saw you

065when you're a school board member or any kind of person who has to go out at least once a week um the family gets used to it they adjust and they go oh you have another school okay but I will say tonight we had dinner before the meeting and my husband asked if we ate that well every Monday night and I said of course we do now that was a special are upstairs but he was wondering what he was missing when I went out every Monday night to go to the school board meeting so um it's not time for my speech yet is it no I'm just kidding I somebody got up at the beginning of the meeting and said um they wanted to thank us for our thankless task and I've got to tell

066you that 12 years of being on the school board has never been a thankless task because what we're about on the school board is 20 is 12,000 students students a whole lot of wonderful teachers and the administrators who keep things going at different levels so it has never been a thankless task it's been sometimes a challenging task sometimes not the most fun in the world task but it has always been a thing that you do because it's for the right reason and the right reason is we need to educate every child in this community and do it well and do it right that is what board presidents have been doing and um I'll get to thank Mr mun and Dr swam two past presidents who are here I'm just very very very honored that they

067came and so um this was a joy and a delight to do it's not that we um it's not that I can sell this job because you don't make any money doing it and it's not that you get thank you notes in the mail every week but overall if you believe that service is part of what you do for your community this is a great way to do it so that's just a message for all of you for the future it's not so thankless after all and the bench I love I told my husband we'd have to get it in the car and take it home and he said oh I don't think so even though he has a nice big truck out front so it really it's meant to stay here which is very

068very nice now let stop stop it we'll have more for soon we're going to continue on with American Education week during the week of November 13th we recognize American Education week and we're appreciative of our exceptional Educators administrators and every member of our dedicated staff here in the district their in wavering commitment to our students families community and colleagues is truly commendable I also want to Express gratitude to our support of Westchester Community for the heartfelt expressions of thanks to our educational team which occurs all year long as a former teacher and principal I can truly say that your recognition and support means a great deal so thank you for acknowledging the hard work and dedication of our sounding team here in the district and speaking of Staff recognition our Westchester Area School District staff

069have made some incredible experiences and recognition lately including this is quite a list so hang on instrumental band director at Stark weather Donna Cooper was selected to march in the Macy's Thanksgiving par in New York City Donna was a part of the band director's marging band representing the state of Pennsylvania so congratulations to Donna R high school special education teacher Anna carosa was recently named as one of the top 30 honores for the 2023 NCAA Women of the Year award andn is a two-time national champion earning victories in the 200 yard butterfly in 2022 and 2023 she holds the NCAA division 2 record in the 100 yard butterfly and the 200 butterfly and let her team in fifth place to finish at the 2023 NCAA division 2 swimming and Diving Championship so congratulations to an

070and two former Henderson coaches will be inducted into the testm Hall of Fame in February Miss Kim jaon and Mr Bill lot Kim started teaching and coaching at Henderson in uh 1986 and coached both field hockey andc cross she retired in 2015 and while at Henderson bill was the head head girl's outdoor coach The head boys and girls indoor track coach and the girls um cross country coach at Henderson High School so again shout out of congratulations to Kim and Bill and we congratulate all of those teachers and staff members that are being honored and recognized for their talents they are exceptional individuals this is the season of given and it's not only the season of gratitude but we want to um just give a shout out we know that Mr J will be talking

071about some of these details in his report but I just want to say that I'm so inspired by the way our students staff and families consistently thank of and support others during this time of need and giving throughout the holiday and also all throughout the year also as we honor the service and contributions of others we be remiss if we didn't take a moment to just reflect on the Veterans Day Celebrations through assemblies visits from veterans and active duty service members projects and other activities our Westchester Area School District school celebrating in honor our nation's veterans on November 11th that was actually the 10th I attended assembly held at Hillsdale Elementary where students and staff listened to stories and advice from a Medal of Honor recipient which was really cool to have his a original

072um Penny cast from video back from the 1960s also had the pleasure of watching news coverage of the assembly at the West Helm Thor school where World War II veteran was honored there so again con congratulations and thanks to all of our veterans upcoming U we have our Westchester Area School District job fair and if you were here early of for personnel committee Dr olmer gave this plug we are currently um hosting a job fair to support a staff a job fair to hire or recruit for support staff and this is a focus effort for par professionals and those with custodial roles the fair will be held on Thursday December 7th and offers an iners session at buug middle school we encourage anyone interested in joining our district team to visit our website where you

073can find more information about the job there and the registration and uh the link that's in the announcement sections on our website and two more announcements with lots of celebrations we want to provide our community with an update about Clock Tower schools and our latest update the district recently presented key developments and during the recent people service committee earlier this month highlighting that CL Tower schools recently Shar that it is entered into local contracts the school district was informed that the institution is now poedit students potentially as early as next week while I won't delve into the details that will be covered during the UPC coming School Board director's report it's crucial to keep our committee informed about these significant advancements as the clock tower school begin to receive students and finally we are pleased

074to continue on with the recognitions for our board president suan and also for board director Karen Herman both are being recognized for Honor rooll for their many years of service and partnership with um psba so we'd like to recognize Dr Karen Herman for eight years of service and we also like to recognize our own Bo president miss Su tet for 12 years of service so congratulations and thank you and if we can have President T you come around and get a good picture with on the bench on the bench there we go anybody else want to come sit with me board members that's right you got to come join okay usually to student reps want to join I know you're not going to be spending much time on this bench after you're out here for

075a nap wonderful than we can take the are we finished now okay talk about you can tell we didn't practice the bench and thank you for that now that we've had um our had moment of Celebration we're going to turn it over to our board Reps for our monthly updates as the newest High School in the district we tend to take things from the other schools so I would like to start off with a hiu of my own today Rustin golden blue Rustin school is super cool Rustin we love you kindly today I have a pretty short report as our school is gearing up for a pretty packed December so with sports russing football capped off their season by going all the way to the district one semifinals losing 20 to 26 to Chester this

076is the fourth year in a row that we made it to the district one semi-finals and I think two of the four years we made to District finals and we're hoping to take it all the way next year and by we I mean them and then Ron's winter sports team has started off their winter season strong the track team is looking to repeat as one of the best teams in the state having hard workouts day in and day out and when I say hard I mean very hard cuz I almost didn't make it to the meeting today and then both our girls and boys basketball teams are having their final scrimmages this week and are playing their first games of the season this Friday with our boys being home against Collegian the academic team has

077been performing well placing top 15 in their last competition Russ's model un had a successful outing at Virginia model un with three delegates winning Awards One winning best delegates and the Taylor Swift crisis committee and then rest in choir sent four people to districts Henry Romans Grace Dia gomia Emily dogen and myself and then rustin's BSU collected about 60 plus canned foods and distributed them at safe many new clubs met this month like physics Club hosted their first meeting with Mrs erns increasing our already large collection of clubs and we're hoping to have more as the school year goes on rustin's business marketing class had a super success turkey Drive they kind of sted as a competition where it was separated by grade so each grade would win points for bringing in food and as

078you know kids love competition so they got over 500 cans of food and they provided Thanksgiving specialized Thanksgiving dinners to 10 resting families and then they donated the excess food to the Westchester food cover with along with many other clubs at our school and that's all for today good evening and thank you for having me tonight I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break November has been an eventful month with the start of the new marketing period our fall play and host students hosting many fundraisers to start our music and theater departments had a big month on November 16th through the 18th the East Theater Company shared their production of the play that goes wrong the E person cast entertain the audience with their performance of a play that goes terribly wrong fill with

079prop up prop mixups set failures and forgotten Minds this was the first ball play that I've went to and I'm so excited to go to the musical which will be in the spring 12 kids from our music department are participating in The pmea District Band choir and Orchestra winter festival our East DEA students hosted two prominent fundraisers first of which was a clothing Drive hosted by students Caroline finnen and AA Puro they received around 140 full bags of clothing and seven bikes the other group featuring Analise kavas Lyla flowers and Olivia soal received over $8,000 during the Eagles Autism Awareness 5K both these groups are now participating in deca's community service campaign projects and they now have until the state competition in February to create presentations detailing their planning process and their successes moving on

080East student council hosts our annual grateful grams where students could submit small phrases of gratitude towards their teachers and Friends we also decorated a bulleon board outside of the cafeteria with the turkey and the feathers of the turkey were handwritten messages from students um about what they were grateful for looking toward our athletic department for the second year in a row our field hockey team made to the state tournament losing to Paul Myra who eventually made it to the state finals and that concluded our fall Sports season to start off the winter season our defending state champion boys ice hockey team has won its first couple games and our boys and girls basketball teams have completed their Tri outs um our academic team hosted our first home match since 2018 and we dominated both Henderson

081and stem winning by 70 points on November 3rd our phone free Friday was all successful during the lunches tables who were able to stay Gadget lless won prizes from our Administration a vum a mental health awareness Club at East held an all female stress Forum to our female population the club also handed out yellow ribbons to students to show support for their mental health awareness for myself and my peers we all can get stressed during this weeks between the two breaks so having forums like these can help usee our minds looking forward our first basketball games are next week and the music department will also be hosting our winter concerts in the weeks following this concludes the East report thank you good evening a month ago there was a girl here who apparently looked just

082like me who waxed poetic with h I would never do something that cheesy it must have been my evil twin anyways my parents told me that it would be hard to one up Hons unless I started singing my report or something don't worry I'm not singing it would be absolutely criminal to put you guys through that however there is a very talented group of singers at Henderson out of which 13 students made it to pme Molly Hopton and Brook Hoffman placed first and second overall for District 12 which is an incredible achievement five students were accepted to pmea District Band and six students to pmea District orchest excuse me in total we'd actually run out of fingers and toes counting these amazing students 24 Henderson students will be representing our school for pme which is

083a new record for us as my generation would say Henderson is so extra these 24 talented students shown through out of 730 total auditions so I'll leave the singing and music to them on another note pun intended Anderson National Honor Society hosted a food drive this month and they collected over 300 items for the Chester County Food Bank the wake of Warriors Club is also running a food drive for Henderson families in need on top of that our Red Cross Club is running a drive to collect Personal Care items for homeless and atrisk Veterans Henderson has three separate drives going on this month like I said we're a bit extra Henderson art students went on a field trip to Brooklyn Art Museum my friend described it as an invigorating experience artists am I right our

084Science Olympiad team went to Cornell for a competition and our academic team hosted a tournament this month the south Asia Student Association held a Dali event and we had a fall drama the teachers in our math department have restarted the math Honor Society and computer club we also have a new chemistry Club I think it would be easier to count the clubs that Henderson doesn't have they're seriously something for everyone fall Sports have come to a close and winter sports are now beginning the boys basketball opening game is this weekend so we're all rooting for them some of the Henderson cross country team came here today to speak to the board and I'm glad you got the chance to hear from them and thank you for considering their words as we ease back into school

085after thanking Thanksgiving break I'm excited to see what new Endeavors my KS will pursue tonight I've brought up how extra we Hender stud students are many times while that word isn't often said with a positive connotation our extraness is one of my favorite things about my school Henderson is bustling with life we always have have a lot going on but I think that shows the spirit of my classmat we're ready and willing to go the extra mile you'll find that same spirit in every Club Sport and class you enter and it infuses all our work with liveliness and joy being surrounded by this wholeheartedness I feel proud to consider myself a a part of the Henderson Community if there's a message I can share with all of you today it's to not be afraid of

086being extra with the holiday season coming up we'll all pour a little extra love and happiness into our daily lives and that will make all the difference thank you you're a little competitive but you are all extra and when you speak to this community about the joy that you feel and the happiness that you feel and the excitement and even the competitiveness that you feel being at your schools that is music to our ears get it okay um you're all doing wonderful things and we appreciate your coming so um will they come in December ah okay we'll see you in December now I believe it's time for personnel report from Dr rmer that's correct good evening Mrs tman Mr reaka and mbers of our board our Personnel report for the month of November 2023 is

087as follows with removals from payroll we have 11 resignations five teachers one long-term sub one custodian one registered Behavior technician one C certified school nurse One Communications technician and one substitute custodian you also have three retirement notifications this Diane drenan kindergarten PR professional at East Goan Elementary School with 17 years of service Miss Deborah Fisher special education par professional at East Goan Elementary School with 15 years of service Mrs Nancy we first grade teacher at Westtown thorb thorb Elementary School with 22 years of service we wish our retirees nothing but happiness and enjoyment in their retirement and we thank each of them for their dedication to our district and our children with additions to payroll we are recommending the hiring of two teachers and three long-term substitute teachers we're also recommending the hiring of one

088staff nurse one custodian one electrician and one substitute custodian in Personnel events I'm recommending status changes for one employee in the facilities and operations center and increased Staffing allocation to a staff nurse and an increased Staffing allocation to a teacher I delivered and notified three involuntary transfers to teachers and one speech language Pathologists I also delivered a notified volun transfers voluntary transfers for two technology employees and two facilities and operations employees and Personnel leaves on recommending the approval of one sabatical and the professional staff in additional information we are seeking the approval of 14 updated start dates one last day update two salary changes one long-term substitute extension a name correction a leave of absence start date a ending correction and the approval of anou between the district and Westchester area Education Association for dual

089and concurrent enrollment courses we also have the list of drivers and AIDS from crafts and on Theo kids as recommended by the Pennsylvania state auditor recommendations furthermore we have added 10 additions to our tuty list the supplemental contracts we have 10 additions for annual contracts for the 20324 4 season one supplemental addition for the 2223 fall season 15 additions for the 2223 winter season and three removals for the 2223 winter season and one removal for the 2223 fall season lastly we are recommending 49 approvals for game help and respectfully requesting board approval for all Personnel matters listed above thank you Mrs chairman thank you may I have a first please Dr dri and a second Mr Dell all right any questions comments on Personnel matters seeing none let's take Ro Director D yes Director D

090yes vice president yes director Wy yes director Christie yes director Herman yes director yes yes thank you now we are seeking approval of the November consent agenda as you know those things have been discussed and are on the consent agenda which is most of the paperwork that is in the rest of your packet so um I'm seeking motion to approve the November consent agenda may I have first please Mrs Dr Herman and Mr Bevo is second are there any questions or comments about things on the consent agenda seeing none we're ready to vote director Herman yes vice president B yes Director D yes director Christie yes director yes director lley yes director yes yes thank you all and now we are ready for committee reports so we're finding out what we did in our committees

091Mr dnell you are first education thank you president tan we had a very full meeting on November 13th the education committee meeting we we heard several presentations there are two presentations about trips that that are being plannned uh one is a trip uh throughout Europe Switzerland Italy France Spain and Monaco uh a second trip was approved uh trip to France uh and both of these trips are being sponsored and taken by teachers that have taken multiple trips International before and I always get excited when I hear about trips internationally because it just gives students an opportunity to see that the world is as awesome as Westchester is the world is so much more than just Westchester and to be able to go on trips like this and come back with A New Perspective is a

092wonderful thing um we approved several booster clubs um there are so many activities going on in our schools our students have so many opportunities to be involved in extracurricular activities so they were approved we also heard a first read of the calendar and we acknowledge that that's a living document we get updates throughout the year as changes become evident or necessary but we had the first read of the calendar um we also heard an equity update from Dr Martin and I just wanted to highlight a few things that few next steps uh that the equity team will be working on the delt teams will share share problem solving and corrective strategies by tomorrow and that's from all 17 of our schools followed by implementation of strategies to begin in January data collection on these strategies

093from January to April and then Community fall sup meeting has been moved moved from December 7th it'll be sometime in the in the fall or sometime in the spring that date will be announced when we know when it is uh we also heard uh new course proposals and curriculum updates by Dr barnella and Dr Everly we also heard about student achievements uh student achievement by Dr Bailey Dr Carr Miss Whitmire and Dr Dormer uh again we pointed out we saw that there are areas of Pride and we saw areas of of need and it's it you know I think it's commendable that we take a look at both and that we see that there are areas that we can do better we know that we've had experiences because of covid uh and we have plans

094very specific and detailed plans and strategies to recoup much of what's been lost so our students continue to excel uh finally we had a present an AI update by Dr Bailey and Dr mcgallen um AI isn't going anywhere and so our our task um Team task force has really done a really good job of saying okay now where do we go with this and how do we navigate it how do we use this tool in a way that's effective and responsible so that our students can continue to produce produce their their own learning and learn from it but how do we do it in a way that's responsible and I think the the task force is doing a good job taking a a slow methodical look at how to use AI as part of Education

095because it's not going anywhere and so let's use it in a way that's effective and responsible and approval of following Student Activity accounts approval of excursions and I think that's it we talked about a lot our next meeting will be January 8th and you're welcome to attend thank you president Tian oh but wait it is time now for the pupil Services report and as do director Chester is out coughing like the rest of these people it will be up to director Darnell to fill us in on pupil services please thank you president T I'll do my best uh director Chester emailed me her notes good luck thanks uh the pupil Services meeting was also on November 13th uh an act action item included the approval of the clock tower service agreement that we the Dr

096Reynolds referred to earlier um there was there were informational items uh presented there was a presentation on social emotional learning the mult multi-tiered system of supports or ntss presented by Melissa kimman Kate cter and Nicole Vero social emotional learning ntss is kind of a process and we're in the middle of a three-year process with that uh where we've been year one there's been training building core teams including parent stakeholder involvement admin administrative training the Tom sticker group completed building walkthroughs and involvement with the Chester County Intermediate Unit we're now in the midst of stage two of year two uh te which includes teacher training Tac team support and buildings student voice days parent trainings and building walkthroughs by school teams and then where are we going in year three uh there will be needs assessments

097restorative practices stronger NTS teams Equity student voice days and digital second step program moving on there will be continued action planning continued training continued analysis and implementation to review needs assessments develop building and District level goals and Implement district and building goals uh the next committee meeting for the pupil services will be will also be January 8th thank you all right we'll let you relax for a minute thank you very much um Dr Herman if you would lead us through the Personnel committee report yes thank you president Chan good evening everyone the Personnel commit committee met earlier this evening committee reviewed the following agenda items number one review of hiring update number two review and approval of memorandum of agreement with Westchester area Education Association number three review of changes to information provided on Personnel

098recommendations I have one agenda item for approval tonight approval is requested of the memorandum of agreement with the Westchester area Education Association I move thank you may I have a second Mr Baka questions comments from board I just had a quick question um for the public mostly but if they if the public wanted to see the old schedule where could they you mean the old contract yeah someone just want to compare it that is online under the human resources area okay no it's good great question y all right seeing no further questions or comments we'll call for the vote director Herman yes vice president bya yes director pluming yes director Dell yes director dri yes director Bley yes director Chris yes president yes that is the end of my report for this evening thank you

099thank you very much director Herman and now Mr Eva property and finance committee report good evening property finance committee met last Monday November 20th um the first item of the agenda was to review the November budget forecast model so Mr Scully the Director of Business Affairs as he does each month in the committee for the property and finance he reviewed the budget forecast model it advis the committee that changes to the 2324 expense projections and the changes to the existing 2324 projections resulted an increase in fund balance designations for future millage increases of 2,750 000 Mr Scully then went into more detail and advised the committee that this month's Model includes updated budget salary figures for the 2425 school year as discussed earlier in this meeting the updates include actual budgeted salary amounts for existing

100employees as well as Staffing additions for the 2425 school year the net of all changes in November resulted in the 2425 budget cap decrease of 1,569 th000 the administration will continue to review these projections for potential savings to reduce millage impact for the 2425 budget Mr Scully then discussed a request for proposal for food services and stated that the district's contract with airmark expires June of 2024 according to the state requirements the school district participate in rfps for food services and approve a contract with the provider by July 1st of next year the last time the district participated in a RFP for Services the school board approved the formation of a committee to perform the RFP for the District Food Services and select the cafeteria custodial service Mr Scully recommended to the committee the same

101process we did prior uh following with committee members consisting of cabinet members administrators and all levels of schools the property and finance committee recommended approval of the request to form a committee to perform the RFP for District Food Services Mr mcgallen our director facilities and operations then presented to the property and finance committee to propose projects in the technology capital budget for the next year 2425 the budget contains Replacements equipment in line with established replacement cycles and maintains the the one to1 computer programs in grades K to 12 additionally there is one new Initiative for digital signage dig digital signage is strategic placement of video displays around the buildings to keep the school Community informed of events showcase student work and school themes and help Foster a connected School community at the elementary level these

102uh technical capital budget items consisted of routine Replacements of student iPads for grades kindergarten and grade three and then also routine replacement of teacher iPads at the secondary level again replacement of student laptops and grade six and n and the routine replacement of secondary teacher laptops at the district level there Replacements of obsolete security cameras additional cameras replacement of obsolete classroom projectors um routin uh routine replacement of Staff laptops there's also some Network infrastructure replacement of the wireless access points and switches replacement of uh firewalls and replacement of servers property finance committee recommended approval for the 25 26 technology capital budget not to exceed 4,713 I do have a motion for tonight's uh meeting for approval it reads as follows approval is requested for the 2425 26 technology capital budget not to exceed 4,738 195

103ISO move thank you may I have a second please um it's just 2425 2425 that's great thank you yes director Fleming just thr off there for a second um questions comments technology seeing none we'll call for the vote Yes director yes director yes director Christie yes director jell yes director dri yes yes yes a couple more items here uh Mr burer then our director facilities and operations reviewed the 2425 capital reserve projects they consisted of multiple items districtwide emergency repairs concrete sidewalk and curb Replacements playground upgrades fencing repair replacement floor replacement and districtwide secure vules stage rigging and door Harbor upgrades there is some specific School improvements also on the list for roof replacement painting seal Paving and relining of parking lots burner and water heater Replacements chill repairs electrical panel Replacements and Pa intercom

104upgrades the 2425 fund 27 Capital project allowance is for 2,425 53 the committee recommended approval of the 2425 capital reserve projects as I listed prior not toed 2,425 53 Mr burer then reviewed the 2425 capital projects U they consisted of districtwide access control replacement some specific uh school projects that that are as follows ston middle school replacement of the auditorium stage lighting to LEDs and also for Pierce the same the 2425 Capital uh 2425 fund 30 Capital project allowance is for a total of 1,432 863 the the committee recommended approval of these 2425 capital projects is stated Mr burer reviewed with the committee the recommended contract awards for two different projects the Henderson High School exterior LED lighting with Denny electric for for 8,386 and for Rustin exterior LED lighting with Denny electric also for

10553963 the recommended approval of those two contracts of the two high schools uh with Den electric supplies as stated the last item on the uh that we held in the property Finance meeting was Mr Gonzaga our Capital project manager uh provided an informative presentation to us to the committee providing capital projects completed in the year 2023 to date he provided uh pictures of many of the interior and exterior projects completed this year is informational to the board so was a good way for get us to give provide us EXP of the projects that be approved and the projects that got completed during this year the next property and finance meeting will be held on Monday December 18th prior to the board meeting and that concludes my report for this evening thank you Mr vopa and

106finally for committee reports we have director dri talking about the Personnel committee meeting sorry policy policy I got it the policy Review Committee met on Monday November 20th we reviewed a revision to the existing administrative guideline 918 ag2 and continued our review of policies and administrative guidelines in section 100 revisions to these policies were approved as part of the consent agenda earlier tonight our next meeting is on Tuesday January 16th thank you thank you very much okay we just have a couple more a couple a several other reports and that starts with director El's update from the cciu thank you again president Tian the Chester County Intermediate Unit cciu board of directors held his monthly meeting on Wednesday November 15th at the Educational Service Center Technical College High School green one campus in Downingtown the

107board recognized uh Miss Mary Curley director of communications and learning solutions for her upcoming retirement as a district uh we want to acknowledge her participation as a member of the cciu search team which led us to our next superintendent who's here this evening and we want to also thank her for her other various contributions to our district throughout the years Mr Joe libitzki director of administrative Services gave a presentation about the budget Mr litzky provided the board with an update on the development of the 20242 cciu core occupational educ education categorical and Marketplace Services budgets the proposed budgets will be presented in their entirety to the board and superintendents for consideration in February and March 2024 the next cciu board of directors meeting will be held on Wednesday January uh 17th they're giving us off

108for December uh at 7:30 at the Educational Service Center Technical College High School brand new one campus in downtown and that concludes that report Mr Dell did you find out about the robot the robot with a iPad head I did not yet find out about the robot but I will it's still around it's still over there someplace I know I I didn't know what you were talking about at first but then I realized you're talking about the robot that sits there during the meeting so if somebody's not able to attend the meeting and the robot turns to whoever was talking so yes I I know we and it can be used to sit in for students yes so it's still there but it's still there a technology may have taken a leap ahead of that

109poor iPad head with rollers on the bottom I don't know but I did check with Mr fiori or Dr fiori to find out that it's still there someplace you can visit with it I'm sure when you're there again yes um legislative Le Lea's long report director Fleming thank you president tan uh the last Chester County board legislative committee meeting was held on October 26th as we have been uh speaking about for the last few months in August the state budget was passed however 1.1 billion of that 45 billion budget is on hold pending code implementation language that uh the House and Senate cannot agree on the Senate and the house are currently negotiating various amendments and Provisions related to the budget uh there have also been uh quite a few bills introduced in both the

110Senate and the house uh a lot of those probably have very little chance of passing both the Senate and the house so I won't go through all of them uh a couple important ones are uh hb27 uh which just recently passed by both the house and the Senate and it involves uh substitute teachers it uh has extended the lessening of requirements and limitations for substitute teachers that was passed during the pandemic uh to help with the shortages that are still occurring and to extend it now until June 30th 2026 another bill uh that just recently passed both the house and the Senate is HB 1094 for military families it amends the public school code to allow children of military families to enroll in the school district they will living before establishing residency another important bill

111uh that the legislative committee is very focused on uh is hp1 1422 which is meant to modernize Pennsylvania's charter school code to ensure transparency accountability and fiscal responsibility it was passed in the house by with bipartisan support uh if all the districts in the in Chester County support this along with the large majority of districts throughout the state so there the committee is working on trying to get that bill passed by the Senate also that concludes my report and the next meeting for the legislative committee is this Wednesday November 29th okay thank you very much U and the equity report and back to you director now thank you again president t uh we as a district are wishing a belated happy Diwali to all those who celebrated the Festival of Lights on Sunday November 12th

112in our community earlier in the month Henderson High School students and in the South Asian Student Association illuminated the library with the spirit of diali after school after school to celebrate the Festival of Lights from vibrant de paintings to Savory delicious snacks they embraced festive festive traditions and shared the essence of Dali with the school Community National Native American heritage month is celebrated every year in November it is time to celebrate the Traditions languages and stories of Native Americans Alaskan natives native Hawaiian and Affiliated Island communities and ensure their Rich histories and contributions continue to thrive with each passing generation leading up to the week of Thanksgiving giving many of our Schools staff and students thought of those in need throughout our Westchester Community holding food drives and collecting vital donations Rustin Henderson Pierce Penwood

113Mary seah house just the name a few all held food drives to help ensure local families do not struggle with food and security over the holidays the district also partnered with the believe and acheve Foundation to provide meals to 30 of our ELD families additionally the district observed hunger and homeless awareness week which included schools reading the story madd's fridge wearing wearing red and collecting food donations we continue to address our we continue to address our District's Equity priorities all of which are closely aligned with our comprehensive plan each of the delt teams in our 17 schools is working on phase one of a root cause analysis to address barriers that are impeding the way some students experience school tomorrow the teams will submit a clearly stated problem statement evidence of the current state of

114the problem Solutions and metrics for measuring key performance indicators and a road map for implementation of the solutions to begin in January we believe the root cause analysis will be a GameChanger in addressing current challenges November 13th through 15 uh the three middle schools engaged in an assembly presented by the opened ey group open.org aims to promote crosscultural understanding and acceptance through facilitated discussions and Workshops the team organized their workshop through the lens of perception active communication and resiliency the goal has helped students share their unique experiences and to respond with empathy and kindness in addition students were reminded to reach out for help as needed as as there are others who can offer strategies and support finally we are moving forward to develop the Westchester Area School District Community Partners of mentors initiative uh

115We've postponed as I mentioned earlier the December 7th fall soup meeting for a date in January to be announced stay tuned for an update on the new date time and place for our next Gathering and that concludes my final report that was a lot of reporting but thank you very much Equity teams all over the district are doing very serious things thank you very much all right um I believe Mr Baco you are going to lead us in an approval of the 2324 board goals yes thank you president T and I do have a motion for the board for approval tonight the board held the uh board goals working session on Monday October 30th um these board goals are dated and updated as of November 8th approval is requested of the 232 24 Bo board

116goals I so move thank you may I have a second please Dr Herman uh questions comments on 23 24 board goals or have we discussed them all very well uh I believe we are ready to take the vote vice president Aqua yes director Herman yes director lley yes director J yes director Christie yes director yes Director D yes president yes thank you and now it is time for comments from residents if you would update us on the protocol yes thanks again president tan uh we have four registered uh commenters for non-agenda items I'll remind the public that when your name name is called please approach the podium and begin by stating your first name last name and municipality public comments are limited to 3 minutes per person please direct all commentary to the board as

117a whole and also please be respectful of all persons and public comments including those comments and opinions that differ from your own we will now call the first Speaker Mich good evening Michelle Cory Kramer Westchester area Education Association president good evening board members I wanted to take a moment tonight to offer some thank yous first thank you to all of you for your consideration and approval of this most recent agreement between our two parties this Mo MOA will help establish us as a more competitive District in the regional market while also taking a moment to honor a precious resource the educators we already have thank you board members and cabinet for being willing to listen and even more willing to work with us to reach this point we are grateful on another thankful note Dr

118Reynolds thank you for all you've done on behalf of our district for the past 10 or so months you didn't hesitate to step up and take control when we needed it most and to guide us through one of the more difficult transitions we've had in a while that was not an easy task and you did it with a smile on your face and nothing but kindness in your heart heart on behalf of the association I thank you and finally Mrs tan I can't sneak out the back door without saying a word about you I want to share one tiny memory that has stuck with me because it is one of the foundations of my own leadership you may not remember it too well but there was this August in service when you were our supervisor

119and you gathered all of us in a room to welcome the new year you asked us to go around and give the normal who uh who are we intro but then to share what we were excited about in terms of returning to work easy enough but things went South quickly when one woman began to cry because she had just had a baby and the last place she wanted to be was back in the classroom this quickly started a trend of many more teachers expressing the same situation and eventually there were many teachers crying and you standing at the helm I was sitting in the front row and I remember watching your face and thinking what now how does this end and what struck me was how you simply stood there in silence and listened to

120painful story after painful story until everyone was done and then you offered some advice you didn't try to stop it you brought some humor to it and you let every single person say their peace that moment taught me that sometimes leaders just need to listen even if the perception is unreasonable or fraught with personal stress just listen give space and then guide them to move on which you did so carefully I have never forgotten that moment and I work every every day as a teacher and a leader to give people voice to gently move on on behalf of the entire Association I thank you so much for the millions of things you have done on our behalf and personally you have been a part of Westchester for my entire career I'm not sure I know

121how to be here without there being a sue in leading away enjoy the heck out of your final retirement you are always welcome in my classroom and always in my heart thank you thank you thank you Michelle if you want to uh come to my house you know you can but also this VCH will be out it will have a PL with my name on it bring a pillow take a little mask enjoy the sunshine think of me thank you so much for your remarks and your friendship and your excellent teaching and uh Michelle was one of my granddaughter's last teachers here and she still stands out in our family as a person with a whole lot of part oh I'm not supposed to be talking go Rick SW rck SW 9 GL dve Glen

122Pennsylvania Madame President Dr Reynolds board members student Representatives faculty staff and constituents my name is Rick Swan and I'm here this evening to pay tribute and honor to the service of your board president Sue tan every once in a lifetime an individual comes along who stands apart from most others who looks at Service as a duty who gives freely of her time who unselfishly cares more about others than herself who has the intellect to postulate the fortitude the culminate and the disposition to accommodate Sue it was my pleasure and honor to have served with you to have learned from you and to have watched you lead this board through challenging times with dignity and respect sue you have made a positive difference in the lives of our students helped faculty Administration relationships grow and served

123as a welcoming bridge between the community and the district thank you SU he for all that you have done for the Westchester Area School District and its Board of school directors job well done good and faithful servant thank you thank you [Applause] Drita edar good evening um it's so wonderful we all get together together here and congratulations to all the new and elected board members and um you know we really have quite unbelievable Dynamic here um I really have to say one board member I might I can't even begin to tell you how smart your campaign was because you had about like seven eight campaign managers that before when there was a board vacancy you were appointed to but that's something that I guess nobody pays attention mention and also do a couple of our

124board members who just for love of serving Hey listen they'll let go of all their principles and they will just go with the new party whatever wherever the wind blows they'll go and congratulations to them um you know I am sending my kids to school and so many other sending their kids to school and this is not was I was going to talk about I really appreciate the young uh people coming here and talking about all the charity work are doing but considering that for past seven years the scores have come down year after year I don't know if that is something you should be talking about this has nothing to do with Co this is started before Co and none of you are even mentioning it it's so great how many cans of food

125we collected while our kids are going to college on prepared or trade school or Workforce it's great to have an equity meetings while our kids are killing each other in school how about those kids who came with their parents saying that they're scared to go to school are we going to talk about that or are we all just going to be so happy that we are all just one happy big family with the smirks on their face and when the things get tough just little silly sense of humor here and there well this is what happens I'm sorry too that it hurts but you would think a board like this we would face problem face to face we will be challenged and will work with parents none of you none of you extend an invitation

126to work with parents and why is that because you're not here for the kids you think you you here because you want to prove that you have the seat and you are going to occupy the seat or maybe you don't have anybody to go home to or you're scared of to go home to the person who's waiting for you but Mr attor thank you for your service but I cannot help to think how much more you could have done with your age your wisdom but instead you brought politics into this meetings you let parents be insulted you let your board members be insulted and repeatedly ignored every Outreach that parents had done have a good day Chris M thry Town she has Del count Chester County sorry formerly Del count president Dean Dr edns board

127members and administration student Representatives thank you for the opportunity to share my comments here tonight first I want to congratulate the existing board members on raining your seats this was more than just a vote for you personally it was a vote in favor of public education over politics over outside influence the West chest community and much of chestra County voted protect and invest in public education I urge each of you to to remain Vigilant against not just overt attacks in recent years but also the influence of any outside parties that runs counter to the best interest of our students and taxpayers president Tian my how time flies it's hard to believe this is your last official board meeting you have played more roles in this District than probably anyone ever has student parent of a

128student grandparent of a student wife of a wife of an employee just learn that one tonight taxpayer educator administrator and board member including serving as the board president the last two years all that anyone should ever do is what they feel is right to do sue you have always put the best interest of a district especially our students above everything I had a distinct privilege of serving with you for eight of your 12 years and pairing for you with you for five of of those years as board officers we saw we saw eye to eye on most issues and I still have the scars from the ones that we didn't agree on I say that in Jess as you really don't know someone until you disagree with them and go at I learned many things

129from you over the years about leadership life and family for that I'm internally grateful your name and your family's name will remain synonymous with the achievements of this district for Generations is to come you've always been a star war champion and defender of this community in public education you will go down as the ultimate Steward of wcsad on behalf of my family especially thank you thank you and thank you CJ wishes he could be here tonight but sends his best regards he said to let him know when you want to visit pit for offal tour thank you have a good night all right I do have something that I want to say Dr swam and um and Mr mun and on behalf of my father because I can't say I wouldn't be here except for

130my father but that's the truth he came back from World War II and here I am um I don't know if my father ever made a speech when he left the school board and I'm very fortunate that I got a chance to do this I was talking with my husband about the many jobs that I moved on from and never really retired so I will count this as the retirement Cheryl I wish you all the best because you came in and Like sisifus You Got That Rock every day and whatever flowed downward you were there saying I we can do it we can do it but on behalf of the people who influenced me as a board leader and that was not something that I Really Ever sought uh my father and Dr swam and

131Chris mun are people who stood up for the right when it was hard to do it and so the quote that I'm reading from George Bernard Shaw an Irishman you know um is the way that I feel but I would not have spoken in quite this fullblown a manner George Bernard Char was full of himself and thought he was a wonderful guy and like any a Nobel Prize or to but this is what he has said and other people have used it because I think it's appropriate for tonight this is the true joy in life being used for a purpose be as well and privilege to do it to do what I can I want to be used up when I die for the harder I work the more I live I rejoice in life

132for its own sake life is no brief candle to me it is a sort of Splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to Future generations and George Bernard Shaw said that I love it but I didn't make it up so to you who inspired me and came week after week I want to Echo what um Mr mun just said this community spoke out and has continued to speak out to say we believe in the public education being provided by the Westchester School District we worry that they won't speak out and we have listened to many people who have become quite discontented and unhappy with school district and this school district and life but the people in

133this community have come out and said no we're not going to come every week and get involved in these fights across the aisle but we will support you when it's time to tell you we want the kind of education you're providing for our children so that I think is critical for us all to remember at this table and you as you go forward with new leadership and new leadership we have a bright future I am leaving this job full of contentment because I stuck it out I put my head down like that bison on the bench I said we can do this and the board did it and the cabinet did it and we survived but believe me some days we weren't all together sure that was going to happen tomorrow so with great gratitude

134and affection for this position and all of the education in the Westchester School District I say thank you and God bless all of you and that's it do we have a motion for adjournment oh yes the meeting ised