001Okay, we'll start with roll call. Mr. Antonio >> here. >> Mr. Badger >> here. >> Mr. Goolson >> here. >> Miss Keranikis >> here. >> Mr. Kelly >> here. >> Dr. Morris >> here. >> Mr. Strauss >> here. >> Mr. Walker >> here. >> Mrs. Ginsburg >> here. Isabelle Dcasta here. Simron Mahendrada here. All right. Thank you. And now we'll do our pledge of allegiance. And uh I have some helpers up here or who are going to lead us ladies. Thank you ladies for your help. All right, and welcome to everyone who's joining us this evening. A lot of excitement in here. Uh first in our agenda, we do list out our prior meetings. Uh we met on December 8th for a regular public board meeting, December 23rd for a special public board meeting, January
00212th for a board curriculum and technology meeting, and January 20th for communications and board equity board educational equity oversight committee. And then we list out our upcoming meetings um or this evening's meeting. And then on February 9th, we have our finance, February 17th, policy. February 20th, board educational equity and February 23rd is our next work session. And now this evening, we're going to have some presentations. So I'll turn it over to Dr. Dwan. Thank you. Yes, this evening we are so excited to have our Blue Bell student presentation. Principal Farlo will introduce her staff who's with her and her amazing students. Thank you so much, Principal Farllo. >> Good evening, everyone. I'm Angela Farllo, the principal of Blue Bell Elementary. It is my absolute pleasure to be here once again to share with you another
003hidden gem in our school and community. As you may recall, last year we highlighted critical thinking skills with um our enrichment teacher, Miss Cara Windler. The year before that, we shared our awesome empty bowls program that was led by our art teacher, uh, Mel Palowski. And the year before And the year before we um highlighted a STEM program that we run through our librarian, Jackie Etchavaria. So this year I'm going to introduce you to yet another Bluebell super teacher and instructor, Miss Sydney Lamaro. She is here with our outstanding third grade strings musicians. Um and I can't wait for you to see what they have prepared for you tonight. Miss Lamaro. >> Hi everyone and good evening. My name is Miss Sydney Lamro and I have the best job in the world because I get
004to come to school every day and work with the most amazing and incredible students. Um, joining me this evening are some very special third grade musicians from Blue Bell. and we're excited to perform a few selections for you and share a glimpse into why our music program is so special. I would like to begin our presentation by sharing a very fun memory. A few years ago, when the Eagles went to the Super Bowl, our Blue Bell students were invited to perform Fly Eagles Fly on NBC 10. Cute pictures, cute kids. [music] Students in Montgomery County are putting a classical twist on the Eagles fight song. Dozens of young musicians at Blue Bell Elementary School sent us [music] this video of the school's orchestra playing Fly, Eagles Fly. Sounds great there. I love this video because
005I think it really captures the joy and pride and sense of community our students have. Um, and I would like to share a little bit about our music program before you hear from these awesome musicians. Currently, we have more than 150 students in grades three through five who participate in the Blue Bell Strains program. When I began teaching here about 5 years ago, there were 75 students enrolled. So, I'm incredibly proud to share that the program has doubled in size. Students who join our orchestra have the opportunity to learn the violin, viola, or cello. Many of them walk into my classroom having never held an instrument before, but by the end of their very first lesson, they are able to play a simple song. And then by the end of third grade, they can perform
006multiple pieces in front of an audience. And then by the end of fifth grade, they are reading music, playing very challenging repertoire, and performing with expression and confidence. Our string students receive small groupoup instruction every four days during school. Monthly rehearsals with the entire orchestra and right now in our third grade orchestra there are 65 participants. Um students also perform twice a year at our winter and spring concerts and perform at other special opportunities like on the news or at schoolboard meetings. The repertoire we explore goes beyond classical music. I love introducing my students to jazz, pop, and rock and roll. In the past years, we have performed traditional jazz standards as well as music by some of my favorite bands like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Fleet Foxes, and more. Beyond learning notes and
007rhythms, the program is intentionally designed to build confidence, self-expression, perseverance, and creativity. And most importantly, our strengths program supports our school district's core values by creating an inclusive, equitable, and culturally responsive music education experience. One where every student feels like they belong, regardless of their background, their prior experience, or their access to private music instruction. outside of school. And over the past few years, we have been expanding our instrument loaner program, which provides instruments to our students at no cost. And with so much happening in our world right now, it's so important to me that every child who comes into my classroom feels supported, valued, and loved. Now, we are going to have a performance by our third grade strings instrumentalists. These students have only been playing their instruments since September, which might be hard
008for you to believe because they look, sound, and act like professional musicians. First, we will perform our warm-up, which is a D major scale, followed by Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, which we recently performed at our winter concert. Walkers. and here is Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Maybe you've heard this one before. Oh, thank you so much for listening to that fabulous presentation. And now a few of our students would like to share in their own words why being part of the strains program is important to them. My My name is Nebby. Being a part of the orchestra is important to me because I have so much fun doing our lessons and I have worked on really hard to be a great musician. I am proud of myself for trying something new. I think everybody should try
009to play an instrument. My name is Bright and I love playing the viola because it's fun. I get to practice with my friends during school and perform in front of a huge audience. I have been improving a lot since I started at the beginning of the year. I didn't even know how to hold my aviola, but now I can play a ton of songs. >> My name is Izzy and I play and [snorts] playing viola has helped me grow by becoming more responsible. I have to remember to bring my re my instrument to school when I have a lesson and I have to work hard to become a better musician. All of the hard work pays off when we perform at our concerts. I love playing the viola and I think all of the musicians
010in the orchestra do too. right here. >> My name is Evan and I am looking forward to the spring concert because we are playing music from famous video games such as Tetris, Minecraft, and the Super Mario Bros. I'm also excited to play the cello in fourth and fifth grade because the music will be harder. To wrap up, we would like to share one final video. This video features our third, fourth, and fifth grade combined orchestra performing under the sea last spring at our concert. I chose this video because we had some very special guest performing guest performers. Our students parents performed with us. Many of our Blue Bell students come from musical families and it has become an annual tradition to invite students parents to join us on stage at our spring concert. In this
011performance you will see two parents playing the guitar, the bass, the drums, piano and strings players and they are all collaborating with the kids. Making music alongside our families is a powerful and joyful way to strengthen our community and deepen student engagement. [music] >> Hi, I'm Preston. My name is Olivia. I play the cello and I'm in fifth grade. >> Hi, my name is Sage. I play the violin, drums, and 20 other instruments probably. >> My name is Eli. I'm in fifth grade and I do cello. >> The people here are very like supporting and very like uplifting, especially my um teacher, Miss Lamra. >> I really love playing the cello because of a few things. The first thing is that [music] we always have a theme for one of our concerts every year. For
012fourth grade was the Beatles. This year it's going to be a video game theme. It's fun to play uh the viola cuz if you're the first time playing in third grade, you can like learn new music and then when you want to if it's fun and when you're done everything, you can have fun with Miss Lamro. [music] I think that having a new hobby is really fun. [music] As a person who has a lot of hobbies, >> every year we invite parents to [music] come and play with us at the spring concert. My dad plays guitar with us and [music] it's like really really fun because then I know what he's playing. [music] >> My favorite two songs was [music] Hey J by the Beatles and Octopus's Garden back in fourth grade. Octopus's garden always
013seemed hard, but really after we got ready and got involved, it was hard. And I can't wait to perform some videos. Miss Lamro, she's the greatest teacher ever. And I'm so You'll be so lucky to have her. >> [cheering and applause] >> I promise I did not pay any of those kids to say those nice things about me. In fact, I was going to cut out that part cuz I didn't want to be a I didn't want it to be a Miss Lamro promotional video. Um, but I do feel so loved by my students and I love them a lot back. Anyway, we hope to see you at our spring concert on Monday, May 11th. Thank you so very much for taking the time to listen, watch, and support our students. We are incredibly grateful
014to be able to share our work with you. Um, and thank you so much for your continued support of music education. We would be happy to open the floor to any questions either for myself or for our students. Well, first, Slowro, I think you are amazing. As you know, you've had my oldest daughter and um I think she would agree that you are uplifting and the greatest teacher. So, I think it'd be hard to find a student that wouldn't say such wonderful things about you. And to the students, my goodness, if you wouldn't have said they were third graders, I would have never have guessed that. They were amazing. Oh my god. And I would never would have guessed they started just this year. So, wow. Very impressive, guys. Um, yeah, I like the video
015game music. That's so Now you have like the Super Mario song in my head like as you're playing that game from when like I was a kid. So yeah, I definitely want to come hear this at the concert. Do you like that one, too? [laughter] Awesome. And the Beatles. I wish I would have heard that last year. I didn't even know that was a theme last year. I love Beatles music. Uh, who else's comments? Zebie, >> no question, but just superb performance by all of our musicians. I want to thank them all for making the trek to come out and share with us your beautiful music. I uh I'm I love that we have this program at Wissa Hickin. My daughter started in third grade and now she's in college studying music. So it it
016opened up a whole new avenue for us that I didn't even know anything about. Wish I could be a parent up there like participating, but I p played no musical instrument. >> It's not too late. [laughter] >> Yeah, I have I have tons of time now. Well, uh, thank you. I want to thank the parents for your support. I know how much time and commitment this is. I hated those early drop offs. Uh, but what a wonderful thing to expose our beautiful students to. I I'm so happy we got to witness this today. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> I love that our arts are on display and um, kids, amazing job. I can't believe you just started in September. Stringed instruments are very hard to play. Um and also Miss Lamro, the reflection of
017you as a teacher is shown in the sheer numbers of participants in Blue Bell. And so that's just amazing to me. So thank you so much. >> Any other comments from the board? >> One comment. I guys like as everyone said, fantastic job today. That was amazing. Um, I love the fact that, um, you you guys will be performing video game music. That's so fun. Um, oftentimes I feel like, um, they have the kids play traditional stuff. >> Boring stuff. [laughter] >> Uh, yeah. Um, traditional. Some may call it boring stuff. But I love the fact that you guys are integrating video game music. Um, and fun fact, my son Ian, who graduated from the high school in 2024, is in college now, and he is a a co-lead of the video game music ensemble.
018>> It's a group of uh musicians in college. There's about um 20 of them, and they play specifically video game music, as well as music from anime um and movies, animated films. So, uh if you guys keep at it and you enjoy it, you might still be doing it in college as well. So, thank you again, I just want to say that when Miss Lamaro came to Blue Bell, she was not a strings instructor. So, she is self-taught teaching students how to play strings and that is amazing. Thank you. Thank you. >> Yeah, I never played a violin, viola, or cello until about a week before I started teaching here. Um, I got a phone call from HR asking if I could cover for the orchestra and I said, "Yeah, I can do it." And
019I ordered a violin off of Amazon that day and was only a few lessons ahead of the kids for my first year, but I I really do enjoy it and now I can play at like a middle school level. [laughter] >> Okay. Well, thank you so much again. And um I think these kids have to go to bed soon, so we're gonna start to get them. Oh, right. We have one more thing. Just kidding. Just kidding. Thank you. >> Good. Good evening. We hoped you enjoyed our presentation. On behalf of the Wahhiken School District, we would like to thank our board members for the time and effort you put into supporting students, schools, and families. Happy school board recognition month. Thank you so much. Love these. And before you guys sneak out, I do want
020to get a picture with you. I love getting pictures with our guests. So, we're gonna get a picture quick. Zephy, do you want to join me? Zephy, do you want to join me in the picture? Thank you so much, Principal Farlo, Miss Lamaroo, and Miss Sirhoff was here assistant assisting tonight. And thank you to all of our parents and caregivers for bringing your your children out to be a part of this special evening event. Oh, make sure you grab cookies on the way out. >> They're cookies, right? All right. Well, a lot of people left. The rest of the meeting is just as interesting and exciting if you're listening out there >> as you can tell. I know, right? It is going to be a tough act to follow. All right. Well, we'll move to
021our first public comment period and the board appreciates hearing from the community. A maximum of five speakers can be heard on the same topic. Please limit comments to three minutes. In the interest of fairness and to treat all speakers equally, it's not the board's practice to engage in dialogue with speakers. When appropriate, we will follow up with responses on board docs. Please, when speaking, state your name, your municipality of residence, and the topic on which you're speaking. So, please make sure all three are stated when speaking. I have nobody in person. Anyone online? >> Yes, I have Sita Settles online. Okay, Sita, you can go ahead and unmute. Good evening. My name is Sita Settles. I'm a resident. Good evening. My name is Sita Settles. I am a resident of lower quinn and I'm speaking
022during the first public comment on agenda items only. My comment relates directly to agenda item 18 the policy committee report specifically policy 103 non-discrimination in school and classroom policy 104 discrimination and harassment and policy 317. I'm raising concerns regarding the continued failure to remove the joint or die poster from a classroom environment as well as the as well as the lack of disciplinary action and transparency related to staff conduct connected to this issue. The imagery is not neutral. It depicts coercion and violence and carries historical meanings that impact students differently depending on race, religion, and lived experience. Its continued presence directly conflicts with the intent and purpose of the non-discrimination and conduct policies under consideration tonight. In addition, there has been no clear or transparent response regarding staff conduct associated with these concerns. This includes
023a school counselor who is who was present during anti-semitic remarks and made derogatory statements herself, a teacher who serves as a department chair and made the decision to post this image, and a school secretary who used foul and inappropriate language in front of a student and a parent. These [snorts] issues cannot be separated from the bound border disciplinary climate in the school. Indigenous and black students have been subjected to racial slurs by other students and the response to those incidents has been inconsistent and insufficient when racial slurs and discriminatory behavior are minimized or handled without meaningful corrective action. It reinforces a culture where harm towards certain students is tolerated rather than addressed. The concern here is not isolated incidents but a pattern of inaction and unequal enforcement. This dismissive response has been particularly evident for
024indigenous and black children whose concerns are often met with delay, deflection, or silence. That disparity undermines the non-discrimination and disciplinary policies before the board tonight and erodess trust in their implementation. As the board considers action on these agenda items, I urge you to ensure that these policies are applied consistently, that staff and student conduct is addressed transparently, and that classroom environments align with the district's stated commitment to dignity, safety, and cultural respect for all students. Thank you. >> Right. Thank you, >> Is there anyone else? I have no hands raised online. Right. Then we'll close our first public comment period. We'll move to the board president report. And first, I did just want to note when I was mentioning the upcoming meetings, we do also have a special board meeting on February 18th at 6
025PM and that is a virtual meeting. So, I wanted to highlight that because I did um miss that one during um my earlier uh mention of the upcoming meetings. All right. Um so under the board president report um I have uh one item this evening and that will be the approval of Dallas Peagan as the board treasurer for the remainder of the current fiscal year effective December 8th 2025 through June 30th 2026. Can I have a motion? >> So moved. >> A motion's been made and seconded. Are there any comments or questions? So >> she's Tim's new assistant. Is that right, Tim? >> That's correct. >> Okay. >> All right. Seeing no further questions, all in favor? >> I >> Anyone opposed? Motion passes. Thank you. Uh, superintendent report. >> Thank you. I don't have
026anyformational items or action items this evening. Thank you. >> Right. Thank you. Assistant superintendent report. There are noformational items or action items tonight for the assistant superintendent report. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you. Board solicitor report. Uh noformational items or action items tonight. >> All right. Thank you. Uh board secretary report. >> There are five minutes for approval this month. >> So moved. >> A motion's been made and seconded. Are there any comments or questions? All right. Seeing none, all in favor? I >> I I >> Anyone opposed? All right. Motion passes. Thank you. For treasure report. >> Uh this month we have the November and December treasures report for approval. >> Second. >> A motion's been made and seconded. Are there any comments or questions? >> Right. Seeing none, all those in favor?
027>> I >> Anyone opposed? Right. Motion passes. Thank you, Tim. Uh HR report. Danielle, >> good evening. Uh changes from last week's agenda are marked with an asterct and can be found in bold in the details. The first item is 13.2. Uh this is for the approval of Dr. Misha Cubido as the lower Gwenned principal. Item 13.3 is additions to the volunteer list and item 13.7 is an agreement for special education services with Solient Health. All other items were reviewed at last week's work session and have no other changes. Thank you. >> Second. >> A motion's been made and seconded. Um any comments or questions? Sorry, I didn't um see this before, Danielle. I apologize. Um but can you just tell me what the Soleian health agreement is for specifically? >> Sure. It is for
028um uh contracted services. Uh we were unable to fulfill uh a a short-term stint through STS. So, we're working with Soleian. >> I guess my other quick comment would just be to welcome Dr. Kabido to the lowered family. I still consider myself part of it. So, we're thrilled to have you. So, thank you so much. >> Well, now we didn't vote yet, Tian. >> Oh, sorry. >> Sorry, my bad. >> It's pretty premature. [laughter] >> Any other comments or questions? All right. All those in favor? >> I hear Jean. All right. We'll see. Anyone opposed? All right. Motion passes and I second Deian. Congratulations, Dr. >> Congratulations, Dr. Cubido, and welcome to Liza Hagen School District. We're delighted to have you join our Lower Gwend Elementary team. Very exciting. All right. Um, moving Oh, and
029uh, well, we don't have many people here to introduce you to. They all laughed, but to those of you that are here, Dr. Kabuto, if you just want to wave your hand, introduce yourself. >> [laughter] >> All right. Thank you. Our communications committee Zy, >> no items for this meeting. Thank you. >> Curriculum and technology. >> There are uh three action items which have remained unchanged from last week. 5.1 to 5.3. >> Right. Is there a motion? >> Second. >> Right. Any comments or question? just just wanted to give another shout out for uh the I guess Tim and also our director of IT for finding someone to buy our obsolete technology and put another $60,000 plus into the coffers. So, thank you. >> Any other comments? All right. And all those in favor? >>
030I I Anyone [laughter] >> Anyone opposed? All right. Motion passes. Thank you. All right. Uh, facilities and transportation. Joe, >> uh, this evening we have two items for vote. Item 16.1 and 16.2, which we reviewed and discussed last week, and they are unchanged since last week. So, uh, tonight I'm seeking a motion for approval of action items 16.1 and 16.2. >> Motions are made and seconded. Do we have any comments or questions? All right, seeing none, all those in favor? I. >> Anyone opposed? All right, motion passes. Thank you. Finance committee report, Steve. >> Yeah, we have uh items 17.1 through 17.8 tonight. These items are the same that were discussed last week. So, I'm seeking a motion for approval of those items. >> Second. >> A motion's been made and seconded. Any comments or
031questions? All right, seeing none. All those in favor? >> I. >> Anyone opposed? Motion passes. Thank you. Um, policy. Jean, are you covering that this evening? Oh, null, you are okay. >> N. >> Thank you. Uh, the policy committee is seeking a motion to approve items 181 through 1815. uh these policies uh completed the review process including the review at the policy committee meeting followed by first round uh reading and approval. Tonight's action is for approval and the second and final reading. There have been no changes since last week of any of these items and so at this time we're looking for a motion to approve these action items 18.1 through 18.15. >> So moved. >> Second. >> A motion's been made and seconded. Are there any questions or comments? Um just quickly relating to
032some of these policies. Um I mentioned this last week during the curriculum and technology committee um uh summary, but just to remind people on February 25th at 6 p.m. in the middle school, there is um a presentation that's going to take place on the code of contact and restorative practices. So I think that that kind of relates to some of these policies and some parents might find that helpful or interesting to attend. Thank you for that reminder. Any other comments? All right, then. All those in favor? >> I. >> Anyone opposote? Should we routine? All right. Anyone opposed? >> All right. Motion passes. Um board educational equity oversight. Uh Paul, >> we have no items for this evening. >> All right. Um health, wellness, and safety. Uh, Jean. >> Uh, yes, there are no items
033this evening. >> All right. Thank you. All right. Um, extracurricular Dan. >> No items this evening. >> Okay. Um, and for MCIU, let me just pull up my notes here. Uh, so we had six new board members. Um, Colonial, Upper Dublin, Lower Marian, Happer, Horscham, Serton, and Springfield all had new members join our board. Uh we're currently in the process of uh seeking a new vice president for our board. Uh we also um are right now signing up for read across America. Uh so we can come into the MCIU and read to some of the students and I'm looking forward to hopefully doing something similar here at WIS for our board. Um, and let's see. I think those were really the highlights. We had some presentations. Um, but I think that was really the highlights
034for the meeting. Yeah, we had board appreciation month. That was the other thing. And um actually some of the transition students um made items for us um but we had a virtual meeting so we didn't get them yet but I'm looking forward to seeing the items that they made for us. So that was really sweet. So that uh that's my update for this evening. All right. And North Monaco there was no meeting since last week. No new items. PSBA. >> No new items. >> All right, then that brings us to our second public comment period. Um, a maximum of five speakers will be heard on the same topic. Please limit comments to 3 minutes in the interest of fairness and to treat all speakers equally. It's the board's policy not to engage in dialogue with
035speakers. When appropriate, we will follow up with responses on board docs. When speaking, please um make sure to state your name, your municipality of residence, and the topic on which you're speaking. Any hands raised? >> Yes, I have. Saya settles. Okay, say you can go ahead and unmute. >> Hi. Hi, my name is Sita Settles. I am a resident. Hi, my name is Sita Settles. I am a resident of Laura Gwennet and I'm speaking during the second public comment on school related topics. I want to address concerns regarding the curriculum currently being taught in the harm caused by how history particularly slavery and the experience of black Americans is presented to students. At present, slavery is largely taught through the lens of white Americans rather than through the voices, humanity, resistance, and lived experiences of
036those who actually endured it. When history is framed this way, it strips enslaved people of agency and reduces their experience to an abstract chapter rather than a reality that continues to shape this country. Students are taught about slavery as something that happened, but not about the systems that sustained it. The resistance to it or its lasting impact. That absence is not neutral. It is harmful. There's also a glaring lack of black American history being taught at the seventh grade level. Presently at this time, students are now learning about the profound contributions black Americans have made and continue to make to this country in science, medicine, law, labor, culture, innovation, and civil rights. Black history is American history. At the same time, students are exposed to symbolic imagery posted to schools that create bias, division, and
037historical distortion. When biased symbolism is present but accurate and inclusive education is absent, it sends a message about whose stories are valued and whose are ignored. I strongly believe the curriculum must be expanded to include the critical race theory principles not as a political concept but as an educational framework that teaches students how laws, policies and institutions have shaped and continue to shape racial inequity in this country. This is about truth, context, and critical thinking. Students are capable of understanding complex history when it is taught responsibly and honestly. Failing to center the voices of black and indigenous people when teaching about slavery, colonization, and systemic inequality does disservice to all students. It perpetuates misunderstandings, reinforces biases, and denies students the opportunity to fully understand the country they live in. If this district is committed to
038equity, safety, and inclusion education, then curriculum decisions must reflect that commitment, not only in words, but in content. Our children deserve an education that tells the truth, honors humanity, and prepares them to engage thoughtfully with the world around them. Thank you. >> Right. Thank you, SA. >> Um, there's no one, as I mentioned, in person. Is there anyone else online? >> There are no hands raised online. >> All right. Then we'll close our second public comment period. Um, and we'll move to board comments. And I did just want to make a anformational statement. Um, so forformational purposes, the board is pursuing the use of a digital signin process for public comment at future board meetings. This electronic option would allow community members to register in advance to speak, helping to support participation and improve the
039organization of speaker lists during the meetings. Uh community members will continue to have the option to provide public comment either in person or virtually and paper signup forms will remain available at the meetings for those who prefer not to register in advance. Additional details will be shared uh well advance of the implementation along with a frequently asked questions section in board docs. Uh do any other board members have any comments this evening? All right. Well, seeing none, do I have a motion to adjurnn? So moved. >> All right. All in favor? I >> We're adjourned.