State Board of Education Meeting - 4/1/2026

001Morning everyone. >> My name is Donald. I am serving as the interim chair of the state board of education meeting today, April the 1. And that's no short to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. all the we're going to just insert um and I'm going to ask uh board member Vonnie Bird to read the governor's proclamation for the month of the military child. >> Thank you very much. Uh Mr. Chairman, I I have the proclamation here that I it is an absolute honor for me to read this. Uh it's the state of Connecticut by his excellency Ned Lamont, Governor. It's an official statement. Whereas the armed forces of the United States have served our

002nation with courage and dedication. And whereas the state of Connecticut recognizes the sacrifices made by military service members and their families. And whereas military children demonstrate strength and resilience as they navigate frequent relocation, school transitions, periods of separation from a parent. And whereas military connected students often attend multiple school systems during their academic careers and may face challenges related to enrollment, placement, and graduation. And whereas the state of Connecticut, a member of the military interstate children's compact commission since 2008, supports equitable educational transition for these students. Now therefore, I, Ned Lamont, governor of the state of Connecticut, do hereby officially proclaim the month of April 2026 as the month of the military child and April 22nd, 2026 as purple up for military kids day in the state of Connecticut in recognition of and in keeping

003appreciation for the service and sacrifice of our military members, their families, and most importantly their children. Signed Governor Led Mad Time for our public uh participation. And just a reminder uh I call your name. Uh we're going to call in group two. Uh one following the other. Uh each uh speaker is going to be permitted three minutes uh to speak. Going to begin with Terrence Collins that will be followed by Aaron. Excuse me. What's your name? That's good. Dear members of the SB board, I write with deep humility and sincere hope as you consider my request for a waiver for the required math examination. I respect the standards for educators and acknowledge that I fall short. I ask that you consider the full measure of my life, my service, and my commitment to students. I

004was raised in a volatile inner city environment where hardship was constant and survival and service. Those experience shaped my resilience, empathy, and lifelong commitment to serve others. That commitment led me to military service during Operation Desert Storm and later to roles as a community volunteer, caregivers for individuals on the autism spectrum, and a para educator. In that time, I had learned to teach, manage classrooms, and witnessed the transformative power of faith, structure, and belief. Refining the skills necessary to become an effective educator. An accident later left me unable to walk. The physical and emotional toll of relearning how to walk was one of the greatest challenges of my life. Yet, just as I had done in childhood and in military service, I reviewed the surrender. The classroom called me back. I returned first as a

005substitute teacher, then as a remote learning teacher during COVID, and eventually through the TRB program, I finally reached my dream of becoming a certified teacher in my own platform. Today, at 55 years old, I stand as a newly certified teacher who has devoted decades to serving others. I recognize that math instruction and testing have evolved significantly in the 36 plus years since I graduated from high school. I worked diligent diligently to meet these standards. Unfortunately, despite my continued effort time falling short through retired passing scores, I respectfully ask that you look at the entirety of my professional record. My work with Craig demonstrates measurable growth in student achievement in English language arts. My students have become strong writers. I've witnessed their transformation as readers and thinkers. They have grown in confidence, voice, and skill because

006of the environment I create in my classroom. that growth, that tangible progress has been my greatest. While endorsements, certifications are essential. The true impact of a teacher is seen in the lives of students. I know I'm an effective educator. At my age, retirement in this profession is not a distant reward. I simply want to continue doing the work I love for as long as I am able. Teaching is not a second career for me. It is a culmination of a lifetime of service. Every chapter of my life has prepared me for this calling. I've always chosen service. I've always chosen perseverance. I'm choosing it again now. I humbly and earnestly ask that you consider granting me waver that my journey in the classroom may continue. I'll remain committed to professional growth, to serving my students,

007and to upholding the standards of this profession with integrity. If granted this opportunity, I will continue working tirelessly to help shape not only strong students, but good citizens, young people with good hearts who contribute positively to our community. Thank you for your time and consideration. With respect and hope, Aaron Thomas. >> Good morning. My name is Aaron Kovaleak and I am proud to serve as the media specialist for grades preK to 8 at the Integrated Day Charter School. I'm the school's CDA union president and perhaps most meaningfully, I'm a future mama of WCS people. Um, while I was unable to attend the public comment during the regular renewal timeline due to maternity leave, this school holds such a profound place in my life that I felt compelled to be here today to speak on its

008behalf. As a long-term faculty member, I've had the privilege of not only contributing to but also witnessing firsthand the unique and powerful elements that define the IDCS experience. Our research projects challenge students to take creativity and technology to new levels, question new learning, and engage meaningfully with the world around them. Our learning buddies program fosters authentic relationships by pairing younger and older students, cultivating mentorship, empathy, and providing a genuine sense of belonging across grade levels, which help to build the strong community that we have in place. Our service learning projects empower students to see themselves as active contributors to their communities, instilling both purpose and responsibility at an early age. Equally impactful is the culture among our adults. The collegiality and shared commitment among faculty, staff, and administration create an environment where collaboration thrives and

009where every child is truly known and supported. This sense of community extends beyond the classroom walls. The relationships we build with families are deep, enduring, and rooted in trust. IBCs adults attend family gatherings, student sporting events, and other recognition ceremonies such as college graduations, alumni becoming NAACP, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. scholars, or Eagle Scout award ceremonies. These relationships are not confined to a student's graduation in 8th grade, but continue to grow over time. It is these experiences, these daily moments of connection, growth, and joy that have shaped my professional life and now guide my personal one as well. I would not be the person, teacher, or mama that I am today without having the opportunity to work at such an incredible school. With the leadership, friendship, and constant support of our administration and board

010members, us teachers are truly able to help our students grow to be well-rounded upcoming members of our society. These are the reasons that I'm not only proud to work at IDCS, but I'm also eager to entrust my own child into the community in this coming year as my first baby becomes an IDCS preK. Um, IDCS is more than a school. It's a place where students are seen, heard, and aspired to be thoughtful, compassionate, and engaged individuals. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my perspective and for your continued support of our school. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> Thank you, Joseph. And goodbye. Thank you. >> Good morning, member of the state board of education. My name is Joseph Sakalavic. I am the vice chair of the virtual board of education and this

011is my son Joe Wong. I appear before you today in my individual capacity not as a board member. I'm speaking with nine years of experience and my son will be speaking more than >> I appear before you today um nine years direct experience of how the state's fiscal decisions translate into educational outcomes, legal exposure and ethical consequences at the local level. The federal civil rights acted IDEA act and article 8 section one of the Connecticut constitution are not mere suggestions. They are binding law. They state plainly that the state of Connecticut bears the ultimate responsibility to provide an adequate and equitable public education. Every member of this board every constitutional officer and the governor of the state has sworn an oath to uphold the constitution. These os are not symbolic. They create a legal and

012moral obligation to act when children's constitutional interests and futures are placed at risk. Local boards of educations do not exist independently of the state's duty. We are agents of the state charged with exercising our professional educational judgment, not with absorbing, distinguishing, or normalizing the consequences of state state level underfunding. Educational mandates are not optional. special education services, multilingual learner programming, transportation, health and safety requirements and parts and civil right protections for obligations under state and federal law. When funding is insufficient to meet these obligations, the failure is structural and the responsibility governor and legislator not local boards of educations. The Connecticut law prohibits boards of educations from spending beyond appropriations, but artificial artificial fiscal limitations do not relieve the state of its constitutional duty. It does not compel board members to recommend, endorse, or implement

013actions they know will violate student rights or statutory mandates. Shorefalls do not suspend constitutional obligations. When the state mandates services but caps funding below the cost of compliance, it does not eliminate liability. and deflects it down onto local tax property owner poor districts and local boards of education. After over eight years on the board of education, I have watched cuts framed as inevitable. Cuts characterized as responsibility and intervention offered as proof of action all while the fiscal neglect of the state continues. This pattern does not resolve constitutional conflict. It manages temporarily and and it increasingly damages the future potential of our black and brown children. Mr. Jovon will continue where I evolve the words he reads online stated state intervention in districts such as Harford and Bridgeport have been presented as evidence that the state

014is fulfilling its obligation under article 8 but intervention without adequate funding does not satisfy the constitution. It should be obvious by now the issues these districts are facing are overwhelming the growth result of chronic underfunding. Taking away local control does not solve the problem. Intervention does not inadequate outcomes when funding levels are known, recurring, and insufficient. Once the state intervened, once it the corrected corrective action supervises governance, it must be morally and legally acknowledged. repeated fiscal and service failures. Distinction between local responsibility and state obligation necessarily shifts. Extended intervention under conditions of recognized insufficiency is no longer neutral. Comes confirmation of the state knowledge and therefore state responsibility. More importantly, intervention without stabilization does not insulate the state or those acting under its authority or legal exploitations. When educational inadequacy results in denial of services,

015failure to implement IEPs, unsafe learning environments, or discriminatory impact on students with disabilities or students of color, litigation is foreseeable. Individual boards face screwing exposure where those failures are known and unresolved. For that reason, I call upon boards of education across Connecticut to adopt formal resolutions on the public record determining whether current appropriations are sufficient to meet constitutional statutory obligations. These these resolutions will document reality, preserve integrity and clarify where responsibility properly lies in obligation capacity. The educational interests of the state and the requirements of the federal constitution cannot be carried forwards. Therefore, the state of the board of education should formally request that the governor of Connecticut provide emergency funding to stabilize all districts, especially under those stable. I have provided a simple resolution for the board's considerations. I ask that when considering, keep

016in mind that the oath office you swore was to was to the people of Connecticut, not the government. Further reductions in the city of Bridgeport cannot fully cannot lawfully carry out the educational interest of the state. The state cannot mandate services, cap funding, intervene in failure, and disclaim responsibility at the same time. Our children deserve better from the state. Local officials deserve clarity, not silent exposure. And the state must align mandates funding and compatibility in accordance with both Connecticut and state constitution. Thank you. >> Thank you. Representative Jerel Wilson called by Sharon. >> Good morning. Uh good morning. Normally I'm not on this side of the table, but um my name is Dor Wilson. I serve as state representative of the 46th district which Jesse Compitch. I'm here um on behalf of the southeastern delegation

017uh in support of the integrated day charter school. Um I am blessed to be in the unique position of not only serving as a representative uh of the integrated day charter school um at since in the complex district um but also having served >> as staff member at the school since 2017 um and having also nephews that attend the school. So I have I have been able to see the interworkings of how education of different philosophies um blossom kids into great leaders. Um having been there since 2017 uh we have had the opportunity to see multiple students go on and become scholars uh in our region. Um but the most important piece is the connection to the community. One of the things that we look at when as representatives in the region is the connection

018to the community family and most importantly philosophy of giving kids the best education uh that they can have. So for myself as well as members of the southeastern delegation we always look at uh the motto of giving students what is best needed for them at the time. So IDCS has been doing that for close to three decades and being one of the individual charter schools that has a great relationship within the confines of the city of college working with uh his board of education which uh you probably have seen in your packet as well as our uh local government has been an important uh and integral part in the growth uh and the fabric that it serves for in our community. And so for us as a delegation ranging all the way down to Brt

019and Old Sabbrook all the way up uh to the Willamantic area, many of the delegation members in Eastern Connecticut have supported um the integrated charter schools renewal uh not just this time but previous times as well as they've seen the the quality of work that has gone on between student researches having attended research nights um and other uh important pieces of uh the IDCS fabric. And so it's a it's an important piece to many of the families uh that we have. Uh I think one of the biggest pieces that uh is unique is when we look at education um and the opportunity to buy the best standards for our students. Um no matter where where we we lie, everyone always has uh work to improve. I think when you look at the staff members at

020uh the integrated day charter school, they come in every day with the mindset of what can I do to be better myself, what can I do to be better for my students and most importantly for the school. So I urge you to support >> Good morning. My name is Good morning. My name is Sharona. I'm a proud member of the insomnia board of education. I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak to my colleagues here at the state. I come here not just as a board member, parent or taxpayer, but as someone who believes deeply in what Connecticut stands for. When we call education a priority, we are naming a shared hope for our children and a responsibility to make sure no G slips through the cracks because a system meant to lift them up wasn't

021given enough support in need. The Individual and Disabilities Education Act is not a suggestion. It is a promise. A promise of free appropriate public education for every child with a disability. And our state proudly claims to believe in people, opportunities, and strong public schools. But promise means nothing if we do not fund it. The value means nothing if we do not protect it. Our current EC ECS formula does not keep pace with inflation, enrollment, or the growing needs of special education. It did not keep pace with reality. For years, ECS funding has been the topic everyone is tired of hearing about, and that is exactly the issue. We have talked the formula to death. But talking is not reform. Awareness is not action. As we know, it is difficult to manage an education budget without

022the support of human. Locally, we cannot turn to our city administration and is as it has been publicly stated loudly and repeatedly that the goal is a zero increase school budget. Zero as if needs of the children pause as if inflation pauses as if special education pauses. This leaves districts like mine suspended between state and the m municipality with little room to maneuver and no safety net for our students. The most responsible, most effective solution is clear. Raise ECS funding without delays and fully fund special education so that districts are not forced to choose between compliance and survival. The consequences are no longer distant or theoretical. They are pink slips. For the first time in seven years in Antonia without at least a minimum of 2.4 increases, 923,000 pink slips are unavoidable this April. And

023even that request is only a fraction of the 6% needed for a fully functioning budget. And this is not mismanagement. We have cut everything we can cut. Five administrative positions eliminated saving 750,000. 800,000 in service cuts exposed. There's nothing left to peer back. What remains is essential. Our superintendent Joseph Debago and assistant superintendent Steven Bergen have done everything humanly possible to protect students. We have stretched every dollar, innovated, partnered, and held our district together with integrity and in determination. All the while turning out better test scores and more competent students. But no leadership, no matter how strong, can overcome a formula fundamentally broken. According to recent studies, Connecticut ranks 49th in racial equality in school funding. 49th. How can we say education is a priority when this is our reality? Let Connecticut be known for

024inequality, but for integrity, for the courage to change. Let us be the state that finally says enough. Enough talking, enough delaying, enough pretending children can wait. This is about fixing an archaic system that no longer reflects the needs of our communities or the constitutional promise we owe our children. So today, I'm asking this committee to do more than acknowledge the problem. I'm urging this committee to action by passing a resolution to the governor to immediately raise ECS without delay of phases in and fully fund special education excess cost grants. Because education is not a budget, it is a key to every door our children will ever walk through. Thank you. the record. Um, I just want to take this opportunity and acknowledge that. By the way, that concludes our public uh participation. I thank all

025of those who participated. But for the record, I do want to acknowledge that our leader um vice chair Aaron Benham is in attendance at this meeting and uh we'll we'll hear from her giving her report and dealing with the committee reports uh in a short while. Moving on. Uh we have nothing under uh we have no executive session today. Um our minutes from our March 4th uh meeting. Entertain a motion. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Probably moved and second. Are there any edits, corrections? Hearing none. Seeing none, all those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> I. >> Extensions is so ordered. And here we are. Report of our chair, Vice Chair Aaron Bum. >> Good morning, Connecticut. Glad to be with you today. Um, very short report. It's congratulations to Dr. Pitkoff

026who um successfully went through the nominations hearing. Um probably the longest hearing I've ever watched um for for education, but it was very good. So congratulations to Dr. Pitkoff and I'm guessing at this point and uh Laura Stefan probably could confirm that um Dr. Carlson, Dr. Pit cough and our two students have now gone through the respective house or senate for their final final mark in this process. Um if it hasn't happened yet, I'm sure it's going to happen very soon. Um we're going to move on to committee reports. Miss Gabberto, um academic standards. >> Thank you. Um the academic standards committee will next be meeting prior to that time. However, I do want to acknowledge Dr. Hughes and also Irene. One of the requests of this committee was that we calendar out what would

027be the appropriate relevant timely agenda items that relate to this committee's charge in terms of academic standards and assessment. I also want to acknowledge the commissioner for her input and insight into watching it. Um I will be forwarding this to the committee uh for the committee's input. The topics align with the strategic plan and also are inclusive of some of the um legislative action that has been taken that references elements of curriculum. So that will be forthcoming. we will be well prepared for our May meeting as well as subsequent meetings. In addition to that, I want to acknowledge that Dr. Hughes and team are connecting with East Live and Waterford to talk about a potential I would refer to it as a site visit. This will be open to any board member, all board members

028that are available. date to be determined end of April so that we can visit East Lime and Waterford and take a look and interact with them in terms of their workforce programs. So more to come with respect to that. That's the committee report. >> Thank you. Accountability and support. There was no meeting this month last month but there is a meeting on April 28th. And Mr. Harris, finance, >> the finance audit and budget committee. Uh we held our quarterly meeting on March 11th. We uh received updates on aspects of open choice program. Uh a special a school system special uh review. uh single audits that have been uh have done uh ECS review and uh plus the governor's budget proposal. uh again and I keep acknowledging it but uh thank you to uh Keith Norton

029who has served as a acting uh director of that program the absence of our director. Thank you, Keith. >> And legislation and oh, sorry, legislation and policy. Miss Burr. >> Thank you, madam. Uh we met on March 4. Uh and Jen Rodriguez from the Connecticut Educator Preparation and Certification Board uh came before us to share some of the proposals uh that her group has been working on. Those were passed out of our committee and will be presented at our meeting later on the agenda. >> Thank you. and Dr. Pritchard CEX. >> Good morning everyone. Uh just real quickly, I think I mentioned at the last meeting that we had some resources identified in the state budget and the governor's proposal to begin to hire our own para educators. Um and so the uh appropriations committee

030budget came out yesterday. They held that um uh so far. um they they rightsized the hiring count a bit because I think they uh realized what it might cost to actually do this work. Um but so we are in the budget to hire up to third at the moment uh all all things being equal um up to 30 pair of professionals. So we have started um working on the classification process which we'll have to do to create a state state job. Um and we've begun conversations with our teachers union. um we specifically identified them as the union uh that would have these individuals so that we could be part of that pipeline to teaching um that the commissioner and the commissioner of labor worked so hard to uh get established. So we're excited about that.

031We're hopeful that we'd be able to post and hire by fall. Um this is a small portion of the PAR educators that will serve districts. So uh we'll probably strategically be deploying them into particular uh schools where we've struggled uh to maintain a a paraprofessional workforce. Um CRE will continue in the next year to be our third party provider of PAR educators as well as other role that they uh provide for us under contract. So um you know steady on uh for CEX. I did also just want to mention that we have a a assistant uh superintendent of people's services. We're very excited. he started a few weeks ago. Uh Josh Robinson who most recently was in Windsor blocks. He has hit the ground running and helping to shape the the program going forward and

032very much look forward to an opportunity to meet with the SDE staff in special education and talk about ways in which we can continue to improve our services. So um that's all I had for today. Thank you. >> Thank you, NASBY. The next member exchange will be held on April 13th and I'm proud to report that both Dr. Carlson and Dr. Pikoff will be attending the new member institute for NASBY um in July. So thank you for that participation. Uh Miss Grailter can fill you in on her experience as well as Miss Record who really enjoyed that experience. So for thank you for that. Um CIRC you'll your packet um contains their monthly report as well. I'm not sure as as well as an invitation, but I do believe that invitation was sent to you

033via email for the May 8th dismantling systemic racism. I'm bringing that to your attention because it is it will take place prior to our next board meeting on the 15th. Um and that is going to be held at the Omnia New Haven and um all that can assist you with that if you're interesting. A wonderful conference to attend if you haven't gone before and it's now in New Haven. It used to be um up in Hartford, but it's in New Haven this year. And that ends my report and committees. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh before I move to the commissioner's report, I ask the board's uh via a motion to move item 8 F, fair educator recognition day. uh to uh that's that one item to uh this spot. Can I have a

034motion? >> Some moved. Second. >> Probably moved and second. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I >> post extensions. Thank you. 8F par education para educator recognition day and Marie Murphy parah educator of the year. are my finalist. >> Good morning, commissioner, board chair, and board members. The talent office is very, very pleased to celebrate our recogn professionals of the year. I'm going to turn it over to our consultant, Dr. Jessicaio who leads this initiative in her office holding the official recognition. So good morning. Today is a very special day as we celebrate our parent educators. Every single day our parent educators show up not just in body but in spirit. They besides their students who are struggling and stay that struggle erases. They notice the child who needs encouragement before the

035teacher even has a chance to turn around. They build trust. They build confidence. And in doing so, they build futures. They are the heartbeat of our schools. And today, we honor them. National Parucator Appreciation Day exists. So, we ensure that the people who do that hard work hold that title every day are seen, celebrated, and lifted up. In a moment, I'll invite uh you to hear from two remarkable leaders who have dedicated their careers to advocating for PAR educators, not just as peer educators, but as leaders. Um first is Trisha Santos. She spent her career as a PAR educator and taken that commitment far beyond classrooms. She co-chairs the PAR advisory um council and serves as staff representative for AFSCME council for fighting every day to ensure that par educators have a seat at the

036table and a voice that is heard and Shelley Davis a 35 year veteran of this work brings a depth of experience and passion that is simply extraordinary. She also co-chairs the PAR advisory council, serves as divisional vice president for the PSR PSCT and is the president of the Harvard Federation of Par Educators. Lots of letters. Um, so you'll hear from them both shortly, but I invite them to come on up to. So before we hear from these two amazing women, we are going to recognize this year's Annarie Murphy Pair Educator of the Year semi finalist and awardees. The Annie Parie Murphy Par Educator of the Year is an award named for a woman who gave her life to protecting the children in her care at Sammy Hills Elementary School. Amarie Murphy was a PAR educator

037and this award exists to carry her legacy toward um forward by honoring those who embody that same selfless delegation. So I will now uh call forth our semi violence and violence starting with Danielle Franklin from Windsor Public School coming out. Um Danielle is the 2025 parent educator of the year for Pocon school and the excuse me district her role as a preschool special education pair educator. She supports students with academics, social, emotional and behavioral needs by implementing IEP goals, maintaining safety and creating a nurturing, engaging classroom environment. Danielle is known for building deep, lasting connections with her students and families. Often celebrated for her ability to balance structure with compassion in ways that helps children gain independence and competence. She has transformed the lives of students facing significant behavioral challenges through patience, consistency, and creative

038strategies that foster growth. Her leadership extends far beyond the classroom. She serves as president of the UPSu parent educator union. advocating for her colleagues across the district and is an active member of her school community through initiatives like the sunshine community. She also dedicates her time to service at Hope Wild Baptist Church where she supports youth programs, music ministries, and outreach efforts. Danielle's philosophy is rooted in the belief that every child is a rock star worthy, seen, and celebrated. Her professionalism, advocacy, and heart-c centered approach make her an exceptional representative for her profession. So, please another round of applause for Daniel. Next, we have Kimberly F Kimberly Fehey from Gren Public Schools who unfortunately was not able to make it as she is sick today. Uh she is at Northeast Academy Arts Magnet School and

039she has served Ren public schools for 17 years and was recently named the district's first ever PAR educator of the year. At Northeast Academy, she is recognized as a cornerstone of the school community, providing academic, behavioral, and social and cultural support to students while also mentoring colleagues and advocating for parent educators across the district. Kimberly is known for her unwavering dedication, professionalism, and ability to form meaningful connections with students that leads to transformative growth and confidence. Her colleagues describe her as both a trusted teammate and an unsung hero. Someone who goes above and beyond every day to ensure students feel supported, respected, and capable of success. Beyond her classroom work, she was a leader and advocate serving as a union representative and a mentor who uplifts her peers. Kimberly's combination of compassion, integrity, and steadfast

040commitment makes her a role model for her perspective and a powerful representative of the impact par educators have on students and school communities. Our next uh semi- finalist or finalist is uh Cynthia Salaz of New London Public Schools. Uh she is at Nathan Hill Arts Magnet School. Cynthia is the 2025 2026 parent educator of the year for both Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School and New London Public Schools. In her role, she provides academic behavioral and social emotional supports to students with diverse needs, including those with IEPs and behavioral intervention plans. Cynthia is known for her calm presence, deep compassion, and ability to transform some of the school's most challenged learners into confident, engaged students. She implements traumainformed and restorative practices, builds strong connections with families, and collaborates daily with teachers and specialists to ensure inclusive,

041supportive environments for all. Her colleagues describe her as the heart of the special education team, consistently modeling patience, empathy, and professionalism. She is a natural leader among peer educators, often mentoring peers, contributing to intervention planning and uplifting the entire school community with her positive spirit. Cynthia works Cynthia's work reflecting an unwavering belief in every child's potential and the commitment to helping students feel safe, capable, and empower student. So again, we have Sia. Next we have Jillian Brio from Meridan Public Schools and she is at John Derry Elementary School. Jillian has dedicated over 30 years of service to Meridan public school and was named the 202526 PR educator of the year for John Gary Elementary School and the district. In her current kindergarten role, she is known for her strong organizational skills, ability to lead small

042group instruction in reading, writing, and math, and her creative classroom transformations that bring the curriculum to life. In her classroom, she has built capital in her students into literature, inspiring both joy and learning. Jillian's leadership extends well beyond her classroom. She serves as her school's union representative, advocates for colleagues and volunteers countless hours at school events from literacy nights to attend celebrations. Her colleagues describe her as the teacher's right hand and a trusted partner who can step in seamlessly when needed. Parents frequently request her classroom because of the strong positive relationship she builds with students. resilience, compassion, professionalism, and selfless commitment to education has left a lasting impact on generations of learners. And now, sorry, before I move on. And now, it's my distinct honor to introduce our 2026 Amory working parent educator of the

043year, Vanessa Taylor of Pam Public School. Vanessa is a dedicated parent educator at Platinum Elementary School and the 2026 Amarie Murphy charity of the year who was admired both as a compassionate educator and l natural leader within her school community. She collaborates closely with teachers to support learning behavior management and daily routine. But her impact reaches far beyond her assigning responsibility. When you walk into the classroom, you'll immediately notice her small group corner filled with materials she has personally created or purchased to reinforce and support those skills being taught. You would think she's a classroom teacher. Vanessa is known for her selflessness, often going out of her way to provide individualized instruction, not only for her kindergarten students, but also for first graders during her own class specialist time entirely by her own initiative. She

044has served in both the kindergarten setting and self-contained able achieving beyond limits and expectations program where she adapts lessons, develops literacy tracking binders and implements advanced strategy support to support students with intensive needs. Vanessa's positivity, patience, and problem solving skills have earned her a reputation as a role model among her colleagues. She goes above and beyond whether coordinating pickup parent pickup clients, stepping in to cover classrooms, volunteering school activities, advocating for professional learning for her colleagues, or collaborating with specialists and families ensure student growth. Vanessa's ability to foster inclusion, build meaningful relationships, and celebrate student progress makes her an invaluable member of her school community. She's a shining example of the power power educators have to transform learning and inspire confidence in every child they serve. Again, so at this time I would like to

045welcome our distinguished lovely guests to share a few words. Um beginning with Vanessa. >> Thank you. Um I wrote this speech last night. Our parent educators play an important role in supporting student success. Myself and my fellow PAR educators who work closely with students to help them build their academic skills, build confidence, independence, and while also supporting social and emotional growth. Personally, I collaborate with the teachers to meet individual student needs, helping to create positive structured learning environment where all students can succeed. I've been working as a pair for four years, and I love celebrating every success that every student achieves. I tell every student that I come in contact with that every one of them holds the power of yet, which is they may not know it yet, but with some practice and hard

046work, they will and can achieve success. With that said, I've also witnessed students moving forward to the next grade level without strong foundational skills. It's my belief that when this happens, we're asking them to meet higher expectations that can lead to stress, frustrations, and classroom disruptions. This can impact the learning taking place in the classroom as well as the teachers experiencing some burnout. As a parent educator, if I could change one thing, it would be to continue the support of these students as they move up to each grade level. Our role is so important and that we bridge the gaps and provide the extra support to the students to help them stay on track and become success. So with that, I would encourage the state of Connecticut to increase support in our students and educators

047so that we continue making them a success and make a meaningful difference as they move up in each grade level. >> Good morning. Let me begin with something simple but true. Our schools do not function without pair educators. Not partially, not occasionally. They do not function at all. Across Connecticut in the classroom from Berth to every corner of the state, PAR educators have the steady presence students rely on when learning builds out of reach. They are the bridge between frustration and understanding. The common moments that could become chaos. The trusted adult who says, "I see you and I'm here for you." PAR educators just don't just support education, they make access to education possible. That is not a supporting role. That is a foundational one. There's a story that reflects this better than any statistic

048ever could in a classroom. There was a student who had begun to shut down, not engaging, not speaking, falling behind. Every day that student walked in carrying more than just a backpack. And it wasn't a new program or a new policy that changed things. It was a pair educator. Day after day, consistent, patient, present, sitting beside that student, encouraging them, refusing to give up. No spotlight, no recognition, just commitment. And slowly that student began to respond, to participate, to believe in themselves. That transformation didn't come from a system, it came from a person. This is the impact of PAR educators every single day. So today as we recognize PAR educator day and week, we must also be honest. We cannot call a role essential and then treat the people in that role as optional. You

049can't rely on pair educators to carry our most vulnerable students and then deny them compensation, respect, and the voice they deserve. Recognition is meaningful, but recognition without action is incomplete. But what we also know is there's more work to do because PAR educators are not an afterthought but a critical part of educational system. If the work is essential, the support must be essential. If the impact is lifechanging, the investment must reflect. This is not just about appreciation. This is about alignment because we say what we do. So today we do more than celebrate PAR educators. We affirm them. We elevate them and we commit collectively to ensure that their value is recognized not just in words but in policies and practices and in outcomes. When pair educators are respected, schools are stronger. And when pair

050educators are valued the way they should be, our entire system moves forward. So to every pair educator across Connecticut, we see you, we value you, and we honor the work you do. Not just this week, not just today, but always. In closing, the truth is simple. You cannot build a strong educational system while undervaluing the very people holding it together. So, Commissioner Russell Tucker and your team, I applaud you for standing up with us, for hearing our voice, and for making the changes for the PAR educators. Thank you. Good morning. First, I'd like to thank Jessica for that wonderful introduction. It is an honor to sit here today with all of these wonderful, wonderful ladies. My name is Trisha Santos and I am honored and privileged to serve as the co-chair of the Connecticut Parah

051Educator Advisory Council. On behalf of PAR educators across the state, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the commissioner of education and to the state board for your leadership and recognizing the essential role par educators play in our schools. Being a PAR educator is not a job. It's not a it's not a position. It's a love and a passion for the students. Not just to give them the best education, but to give them the best school experiences. Examples of this, you have a district in Griswald who do a their high school do does a special prom for their special ed students where the pair is and the special ed students. They get dressed up to the nine, they go down the hall, the whole school. It is a whole production. It is wonderful.

052That's an experience. And that's what PAR educators are doing. They're not just giving the education. They've been giving you the experience. They are the backbone of inclusive education. They support students with diverse learning needs, building trust, relationship, and helping ensure classrooms are safe, supported, and successful for all learners, but not just the learners, their parents. Your recognition affirms that PAR educators have already known their work matters, and their impact is profound. This acknowledgement is more than symbolic. It sends a powerful message that PAR educators are valued professionals and critical partners in educating our children in Connecticut. We deeply appreciate your commitment to listening, learning from those closest to the work, and advancing equity and respect within the education system. Thank you again for seeing our PAR educators, for honoring their contributions, and for standing with

053us. We look forward to continuing the partnership and together to support students in the communities where we all serve. Thank you. My name is Daniel Franklin. Recognizing the importance of PAR educators is not just meaningful, it's necessary. We work one-on-one or in small groups, specifically with children with learning disabilities, emotional issues, and some language barriers. We help students fully participate in their education. That is why it's so important to set aside a day to raise awareness among students, families, communities, and some teachers about the actual impact and how essential par educators are in education. It is a way to say our work matters and doesn't go unnoticed. And then I had something um in recognition when I walked into school today. Um our administration had flowers and each um par educator that works at our

054school received a personally handwritten note which means everything. And I'm just going to read it. says, "Danielle, thank you so much for the incredible care, patience, and dedication you bring every single day. We appreciate your leadership and guidance. Your kindness, encouragement, and hard work help our school be our happy life, our our happy. Love, Cynthia, and Jay." And that was the best thing that I got. Thank you. Morning, distinguished state representatives, honor guests, and fellow educators. I stand before you with deep gratitude, representing a role that is often quiet but profoundly powerful. I believe our work is like planting seeds. Every moment of patience, every word of encouragement, every time we choose compassion over frustration, we are planting something in a child that may not be visible right away, but is always growing. We nurture

055confidence where there was doubt. We create safety where there is fear. We build connection where there was distance. We water those seeds every day. and they grow into resilience, into selfworth, into futures filled with possibility. As PR educators, we don't just support education. We help shape lives. When we support education, we are not just guiding learning. We are shaping the thinkers, the leaders, and the hearts that will define our future. We invest in who these children are becoming and in every life they will one day touch. So while our work may have happened in a small moment, this impact is anything but small. It is lasting, it is generational and it is forever. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. Being named a semi finalist for the Anna Marie Murphy Parah Educator of the Year

056Award, it's a profound honor. I am truly humbled and I stand alongside such dedicated and inspiring colleagues. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to the selection committee. Thank you for your time, your consideration and for for providing this platform to highlight the vital role that PAR educators play in the success of our school communities. When we think of the legacy of Amarie Murphy, we remember more than just a job title. We remember unwavering devotion and courage. Her life reminds us that being a parent educator means being a mentor and a steady, compassionate presence in a child's life. I share this recognition with my students who teach me more about resilience than I could ever teach them and my fellow educators whose partnerships make my work possible. This honor is a tribute to the quiet

057essential work that happens in our classrooms every day. I am incredibly proud to be a PAR educator and I'm honored to continue serving our students with the heart this word award presents. Thank you. And I just want to highlight the fact that these ladies up here are just a small tiny family of all the parent educators are in our school each and every day working in and out um with students to make sure that every student is successful but also that their colleagues are successful each and every day too. So they're not only supporting students but they're supporting their peers and the teachers as well. So, thank you so much for uh giving us this time to really highlight uplift our par educators here in state of Connecticut. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you.

058Thank you. Um before I ask for a motion uh to accept um your recommendation, not only this outstanding group of educators, but this group represents educators all across the state of Connecticut and rest of the country. And you are right Shelly not survive without par educators. I want to before I again before I ask for this uh motion want to read a proposed uh statement coming from the Connecticut State Board of Education dated today April 1st 2026. Whereas national paraprofessional appreciation day is celebrated annually on the first Wednesday of April. And whereas para educators are instrumental in supporting students in the various aspects of the educational process. And whereas para educators collaborate with teachers and related service providers to support the diverse needs of students. And whereas PAR educators take pride in their profession and

059are dedicated to supporting their students, families, and school communities. Whereas para educators welcome opportunities to engage in professional learning to build upon their existing skills and knowledge of best practices pertinent to their specific roles. And whereas their educators recognize the importance of their role in maximizing student engagement to ensure students experience positive outcomes. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Connecticut State Board of Education extends its gratitude and appreciation to all Connecticut par educators for their dedication and service to the students and families of the state of Connecticut. And it's signed Aaron D. Venom, vice chair, state board of education. Charlene Russell Tucker, secretary, state board of education. Can I have a motion? >> No. >> Second. >> Properly moved and second. Any questions, comments? >> Hearing none, seeing none, all those in favor, please

060signify by saying I. All right. >> With a round of applause. just to add before you uh move away from us, but thank you. Uh and I know you've said it, Shel, and others for the work you do every day. You've heard it read. Uh but I want you to truly know that you are seen and we certainly appreciate and this is just us saying thank you for the work you do and for being makers because that's what you do every day. And we want you to walk away with something to remember us by. So, we have plaque for you and the rest of you have, you know, nice little paper weight here that says, "With gratitude for your service to the students of Connecticut, Connecticut State Board of Education." Um, we're going to do

061that. Maybe take a picture or two and then we'll move on. >> Thank you, Commissioner. dance in between. There you go. Yes, that's right. >> Not very good. Thank you very much. Uh and great to be with all of you today again and certainly appreciate the month recognized as a mother and also recognizing just now our par educators today. Uh you have my packet. Uh in in your supplemental package, you have my report. Uh and as usual, I know we're going to get moving along here. Uh my the first slide is the board priorities as I share them with you. Is getting ready to put those up. uh do you have the equitable um access to education regarding advantage safe and healthy learning environments made in our Connecticut curriculum frameworks and creating opportunities for students

062from multiple career pathway options. Uh those four I know are very familiar to you and my report addresses actions aligned with all of those four strategic priorities. And then you also have uh the complete strategic focus areas and you'll see some alignment there as well uh as I walk us through. There's an updated slide four uh that that I now have for you and that is that I've added uh the 18,960 adult learners that we have in the states. money to make sure that they're well represented as you look at our education landscape because the Don Education plays a critical role in strengthening the state's workforce supporting families and expanding economic opportunity. We have uh over 300 adult centers statewide uh supporting these learners and I just wanted to make sure I pull that forward

063as we talk about our entire education system. So that is an addition that's getting for you. looking at our actions uh briefly, I'm so pleased when we look at ensuring equitable access to education and exploring multiple career pathways. I was so thrilled to have joined more than 400 uh aspiring educators, middle and high school students from over 20 districts uh across Connecticut at the sixth annual Educators Rising Connecticut State Conference at Southern Connecticut University. I wish you were in the room to see uh the students again all excited and exploring a career in education uh which is absolutely wonderful. This event celebrates and supports the next generation of educators. Uh and we know how critical this work is to our continued focus on expanding our educator workforce so that every classroom has skilled high quality

064and educators. This past week, we also have when we look at safe and healthy learning environments, our school discipline collaborative met uh that brings together community partners uh leaders uh educators and uh thank you so much for Dr. Lavvice and Miss Records, the board members who attended that meeting as well. Uh, and really had conversation across looking at school discipline, what actions we need to be taking together, working together, looking at how we disagregate our school data, uh, to discover trends, uh, and to really identify with us how we can continue that work together to improve access and opportunities and outcomes for students. Uh, so really pleased to have the school discipline collaborative. uh the work continuing there and uh also just uh few days ago the commissioner's round table on family and community engagement

065in education at a virtual meeting uh I shared emergent uh critical issues in education all the things that we've been talking about here uh and this the round table's purpose is to advise the commissioner of education regarding policy and programmatic priorities and improve outcomes for all their students and to advance the state board plan and strategic priorities in elevating our connect curriculum frameworks uh under that priority. This room was filled on Friday uh with our fellows our our curriculum teacher leader fellows were in this room is hardly standing remotely uh but they were here uh this is um the the first in person with the work that they've been doing uh and so it was I updated you last in February about the start of the fellowship that was launched in October and we have

066140 fellows from across the state participating and they were here for learning together and my thanks to Irene Paresi and team uh for the work that they're doing in that regard. Regarding statewide uh presentations, I delivered lunching remarks at the four 46th annual Connecticut Association for Delta Canadian Education Conference. Both the governor uh and representative Tony Walker was honored for their commitment to Delta Education and it was great to be in this space with them. There was a lot of lively work happening there in the learners who were also recognized uh for the year. The Connecticut Association of Public School superintendent at the uh spring conference leading transformational learning shaping the future and I attended that as well and provided some thoughtful remarks. And for national presentations, I was pleased to be a panelist along

067with my colleague from the Alabama Superintendent uh Eric Mackey. And some of you know of state uh Kevin Ellis from Texas. Uh and we were all on a panel together at the South by Southwest uh education conference uh on a panel talking about partnership in education today uh about working together uh which is so important that regardless of political affiliations or leaning in states uh that our colleagues are all joined together in addressing the needs of our students and addressing outcomes. Uh also uh I participated at the council of chief states total officers meeting uh state leadership for student outcomes event uh on a panel there with colleagues as well uh from uh Wisconsin and Alabama to talk about uh the work that we're doing around the seven states showcasing the efforts and I was

068pleased to ground my presentation in the state board comprehensive plan in the four priorities and how we're working together not having individual siloed actions but systems level approach approach uh to improve outcomes and so we were able to do that. So with that, let me transition to a few uh exciting presentations today or they're always excited but I'm really excited uh about this first presentation. I'll move things around a bit because we have students in the room today and I'm going to ask uh Irene Parisa to have our students join us from Berlin High School uh to welcome them to talk to you about some innovative project that they're working on. Uh, I really want to acknowledge uh Ava uh one of the students who wrote me back in November and I'll read a part

069of her letter. She said, "Years ago, bats filled our summer skies and growing, but today they're becoming harder to find. They decline just a loss for nature lovers. It strengthened the balance of the entire ecosystem that depend on them." And she sent me this really engaging letter uh reached out to let me know the work that is happening. She said, "I welcome any feedback from you or your team on how projects like ours can best support the state's broadened STEM and innovation goals." Uh, and that together we can strengthen STEM education in Connecticut. And so I connected uh this team as they're making their way and finding seats. As you can see, there's a lot of the uh making their way here uh to talk about the work that they're doing and being recognized uh

070for the work that they're doing and working with MIT uh and the funding that they've support. I think they have a patent pending. Uh so this is really exciting uh work that's happening. So I'm going to turn things over to Irene to further introduce the group and to hear so we can hear from them. Thank you, Commissioner. Good morning, everyone. Um, Vice Chair Bound, board members. I'm not going to give too much away, but I did want to also add that in December, we've received this invitation uh to visit Berlin High School and the team, and I had the privilege to meet with them um the Parfum Invent team. And I won't give too much away about their presentation, but by the end of that presentation, I wanted to be an honorary member of Park

071and soon realized along with them that bats are the silent heroes of the night. So it was decided to bring them here with you today um this studentled STEM innovation team and um also with them joining them, they couldn't do this without a supportive leadership team. I want to recognize superintendent in the room, principal lamea, teacher and mentor and go to other names but I won't give that away. Christopher Wasnki and very supportive colleagues also in the room um Adam Leonard, Jim Arnold and Carl Watson. So I'm going to stop talking so that you can listen to them and I invite you to hear um their journey and just this exciting news. We will be inspired by that. Their energy is infectious and yes, I hope you agree that bats are the heroes of tonight.

072>> Good morning, state board members. It is an absolute honor to stand for our part today. Um, but special thanks to Commissioner Russell Tucker for giving us this opportunity. Before we begin, I just wanted to give a introduction of ourselves. Uh, hi, my name is Michelle P and I'm a junior here at DHS. >> Hi, I'm Hannah. I'm also a junior. Hi, I'm Angela and I'm also a junior. >> Hi, I'm Angela Barbagallo and I'm also a junior. >> My name is Angela. I'm also a junior. >> Hi, my name is Kaylin and I am also a junior. >> Hi, my name is Sid Holland. I'm also >> I'm Steven and I'm a sophomore. >> I'm Marco Mangelo. I'm also a junior. >> I'm James. >> Together we are Kam and also the 26. is

073a part of Lson MIT inventing this program. So you're probably wondering what is Lemlson MIT? What is this program? So back in 1992, Jerome Lemlson and his wife Dorothy Lemlson founded the Lemson Foundation. This foundation was used to inspire young inventors and everybody to have creative outputs on life. So they had a partnership. Well, let me do a quick introduction on who Jerome Wson is. So Jerome Wlson was an advent inventor who had over 600 patents. So with this foundation he decided that he wanted to inspire young generations. He soon created a partnership with a school of MIT Massachusetts institution Massachusett. So with this um partnership they created the Lemlson MIT Foundation bridging a connection between education and real world invention. Each year, eight schools are selected nationwide to receive a $7,500 grant. This grant

074brings our project to life, and this is has been an opportunity for our school here at Berlin High School. Not only has this program funded our invention, but has connected us with such amazing and talented people. Next slide, please. So, I just wanted to also speak about how this group came together. So in the fall of 204 we had originally started out as an independent study and we had actually reached out to Mr. Viski our AP biology teacher to help us um get engaged with some research because we were very passionate about STEM. Eventually, we founded uh this grant and applied for it. And through the summer of 2025, we worked very hard to help the application. And in September, we found out that we were one of eight nationally selected high schools to receive

075this grant. And ever since then, we have been working on a project to help protect bats. And next slide, please. So, you're probably wondering what is white? White syndrome is a fungal disease that spreads across a cat's muzzle, ears, and wings. It is most deadly by causing disruptions to a batch tor which is akin to hibernation. These periods of awakening drain a bat's fat reserves resulting in early death before winter's end. This this fungus was first identified in 2008 in New York. It has since been confirmed and spread to 45 states, nine Canadian provinces, and recently within the past year identified in Mexico. Although this bongal disease has caused upwards of 10 million bat deaths across North America, there has been little progress towards a solution. This is marked due to ignorance further the complexity

076of this disease and specifically the novel pathogen hypothesis novel as in new. As this disease originated and came from Europe and Asia, North American bats had virtually no immun resistance to it allowing it to decimate their populations. Now bats are important for a variety of reasons. As a keystone species, they uphold the order and stability of of an environment. They also play a critical role in our lives, industries, and e economies. Imagine you have to eat your body weight in hamburgers every single day. That's exactly what bats do, except with insects. Through this massive number of insect consumption, bats naturally suppress the populations of crop eating insects, resulting in a 33% reduction of pesticide use across the entirety of America and ultimately saving the agriculture and lumber industries 30 to50 billion dollars per year. Alongside

077this, bats eat invasive species such as the spotted lantern fly and emerald emerald ashbors and other pesky insects such as mosquitoes. So as bats die as a result of whit nose syndrome, insect populations skyrocket out of control and our country's pockets hurt at the expense of putting more chemicals in our community. Thank you. Next slide. So all this information online has been randomly generated in our headsets. uh every paper and presentation we have written has been based on pre-existing sophisticated research. Um in fact up to date we have read over uh 20 plus peer-reviewed research articles since we started this project. Hence we are very knowledgeable in all my notes in Germany maps. We want to especially give a shout out to four of these research articles by Maron Kb and our adviser Christopher Wnuski

078and out of these four research articles two of them have been key to our research fris and wnuskis. So Frick's um research was foundation to our invention because her data proved that light attraction is a viable mechanism to increase bat foraging proving that we can use our invention to fatten up the bats and increase their chances of survival during the winter. Additionally, um use case research is key for us to develop our methodology for fields deploying our invention. Specifically, where we should deploy the site, what specific bags we must use and how we should categorize our data into specific bath species and foring calls. Next, please. So, there are a few other challenges and concerns we consider with our invention. First, lab cures are not viable in situ. It is simply not feasible to distribute

079a cure to the millions of bats across America. Secondly, the fungus is cold loving and does not require a host to survive, meaning it lives on the walls of caves and other bat hibernacula. This means every time a bat goes home, reinfection occurs. And finally, many states, including Connecticut, have researched moratoriums on bats, meaning we cannot physically manipulate them and are limited to passive testing. So our goal is to increase fat fat reserves pre-winter in order to compensate for the energy loss they will experience in order to give them that push into spring to allow them to repopulate transition. Um so we had to figure out how to solve this problem. Obviously um we started by looking at what people have done in the past. So insects themselves which bats feed on obviously they are

080attracted to light and scents bare moons. So using Frick's study where she deployed UV lights in a bucket hanging from a tree, it was found that bats that got fatter from eating a higher quantity of bugs survived their winter torper batter or better. So we decided to focus on or have our vention on getting bats really fat for the winter. Um, we did this by using both 395 nmter and 365 nmter lights which are UV and really good for attracting insects of over a wide area of insects by species and also targeting specific species that are invasive to Connecticut such as emerald ashbors or splant flies. Um, on top of this, there is also a box under the light that you can put whatever you want into it that produces a scent. Um, so you

081could buy pherommones for a specific species online or you could also just throw an old fan appeal in there and it turns on a fan that disperses the scent over a wide area and that also helps attract a bunch of insects. Um, to run this we have a full sensor suite containing sensors that detect temperature, humidity, pressure, uh, light and time. This allows you to set it up in a way where you can set it up far away from wherever you live, your house or property, and you could run it to where you don't need to touch it. You can just leave it be, and that will naturally help insects without you having to do much. Um, the second pineiz component of our solution is um named the not the haven. It is a modified

082bat house that will be made of durable and secure pine woods with specially designed chambers capable of housing um tens of bats at a time. This will be primarily used during the string months when bats are out foraging and has in has more layers of combat against the white syndromes. For example, it has a 222 nmter light that is also UV, however, in a different spectrum that allows it to actively combat and kill the fungus within the bats um preventing reinfection in this um in that bat house. Additionally, the Dr. It even also has a probiotic diff diffuser system that can further mitigate white noses syndrome, white nose syndrome's impact on bats by helping bats in these probiotics that um will fight while it bats. In addition, the Noctaven also has the same monitoring suite

083as the nocur. So we will be able to tell the environment the bats are in when they're in. The final component of the current conservation system is called the naka. It's essentially just a robot that mimics the anatomical and physiological functions of bats such as heat, size, mass, some noise and um some basic movements. for us uh we use that to test our other inventions particularly the knock haven because as we mentioned we can't use real thi bats uh that allows us to make sure our whole system is working without actually having that it in the wild. We also hope that in the future other researchers can use this for their own experiments on bats to help further this field in general together all three parts from the carbon octin conservation system. It protects bats

084from rhino syndrome throughout the whole year during the warm months and during the more cold thread months and by aiming for not a full cure of the effects which we previously established is not feasible because of the widespread nature of the fungus but instead aiming for a mitigation of the effects we hope to be able to make the effects. Next slide please. >> So we are super excited to announce that as of January 30th of this year we are now patent pending. So you might be So you might be wondering what exactly does this mean? It means that we've f filed a provisional application through the USPTO before our invention. A provisional application not only allows us to say that we are patent pending but grants us one year of protection over our invention. And

085it is the reason we are allowed to share so many tech technical details with you today without having to worry about our intellectual property being stolen. At the end of this year, so January 2027, we will be filing a full utility patent. We are actually working with a proono lawyer within our school community to help make this happen and to help inform and fix our application to make it ready for the USPTO. This process has been very rewarding and it has allowed us to learn about the USPTO, how it works and how to conduct a patent search which we did and we discovered that our invention while inspired by previous studies is completely novel and has never been patented before. Next slide please. A huge thank you to the CTSE for allowing us here today,

086especially Irene Breezy who was super super instrumental in our marketing strategy and helping us improve our communications and also getting us here to present to all of you. Um, we would also like to shout out our Lumlson MIT fellow Paul Filile of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute who has been super super instrumental in helping us with our uh, electrical engineering and helping all of our inventions come together as well as Dr. Lee Eserbrooks, our Lumlson MIT invention education officer, who has been amazing in pushing us and showing us where we can go. Uh, as well as Dr. John Rert of the US Fish and Wildlife Service who had shown us how we can deploy our invention on a more national scale and uh Dr. Tony Brock who was nice enough to meet with us. She's

087super amazing. She is the leading developer of the white syndrome vaccine. Um and all of these people are incredibly important to us because we could not be here today and making this impact that we are hoping to make without our network. Invention does not happen in isolation. No impact happens in isolation. Uh without our network, we are just improving high schoolers in a classroom with a big idea. Uh next slide, please. Okay. So now after all our hard research, engineering, and outreach, why does all of this matter for education? Well, we set some precise goals on what we hope to accomplish moving forward with this project. By addressing real world issues, we hope to show other students that it's possible to accomplish such amazing things through STEM education and student centered learning. As no matter

088if we're doing research work or technical work, we're all gaining such great leadership skills that we could be using as students now as we're learning, growing, and also when we pursue careers in the future. Additionally, we hope to build our own legacy at Berlin High School. We want to show other students that it's possible to do amazing things like this as we are so proud of having this amazing opportunity to form this amazing team and make a real positive impact on our next slide please. We also like to say that this past week it was been really exciting for us as we got to spend our Saturday and Sunday at the MIT campus in Cambridge. We got to present our project and also network with other MIT staff and other invent team students from across

089the country in team building activities. on finishing building up our prototypes. Uh once we have them built up by around midappril, we will switch from a more engineering and innovation standpoint to a fullyfledged biological field study. In the corner of the slide, you can see a map of our town Berlin with many red dots on it. These are the points that we will be testing our invention week, specifically the knockord as due to the moratorum, we cannot test the navigation. Um, by October of next year, we hope to attend the North American Society for Bat Re Researches annual conference, which will be in Colorado as one of the only high school groups presenting there. This will let us network with the larger bat biologist community and many other experts in the field. By January of

090next year, as Kayn mentioned, we will be filing for our fully utility patent with the help of our pro lawyer. Um, in the future we hope to publish a fully peer-reviewed paper to document all of the uh all of the things that we have found and all the progress that we've made. And continuously we are always working to expand invention education in our community because that is something that is so important to us as a group. We want to share the skills that we've learned with our peers through this amazing opportunity because all of us have truly grown so much. This project has come to define our high school careers and we hope to leave a lasting legacy at our school, our town, and our state. Next slide, please. Thank you so much for listening

091to our presentation. If you would like to keep updated with our group, please follow us on Instagram at carpum_land. And if you would like to support us financially, we are fundraising for North American Society for that restriction trip in October because that is in Colorado, which is just a little bit far away. So, one of our carpen parents made a GoFundMe. Um, thank you again so much for having us here. We could not do this without all of you supporting us. Thank you so much. Um, we have pins and stickers that we will be passing out to uh all of you later. I'm going to join them because I've got to get in the picture. But did anybody learn something today? >> Can I just make it? So, first off, I learned way more about

092bats than I thought I would, which is great. But I just want to say, you know, in my day job, I'm a professor at Yale and I advise PhD students. And I want to tell you that the degree of curiosity and critical thinking, perseverance, and honestly, the ability to express these ideas in plain language is really very impressive. And I wanted to commend you guys on a very clear presentation of what you've done. It's really I wish more of my PhD students would think it's clear. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Um, my name is Bonnie Burn. I'm on faculty at University of Connecticut in the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources. And we just had a meeting last night talking about why it's so important for students to understand intellectual property and

093entrepreneurship. And I got to tell you, I'm like totally dialing in and following you and taking this back to my dean because I think you're the kind of students that I I agree with Seth that that you're you're just a shining star for everything that that you know we want to see coming forward to help the entrepreneurial mindset is just so critical to how we go forward with with our with our careers. And so career readiness and you are living it. So thank you so much for everything that you've done to us today. Thank you so much. >> I I can tell you having uh one child who's PhD in natural science resources and another who graduated MIT and is an entrepreneur uh the experience you're getting from this is invaluable. Watching that pathway through

094my kids, you guys are way ahead of the curve right now. And every lesson, everything that happens during this process is a learning experience. whether it's you know it depending how far it goes through or or what your path takes you're going to learn so much valuable things through this and I also will be following I love the bats in my backyard so yeah don't want anything bad to happen thank you so much >> um hi I'm your student representative hi my name is I'm Representative on the Connecticut State Board of Education. I'm not a STEM student like at all, but I absolutely like the presentation. I was just wanting to ask you a little bit more. So, with your involvement, how have you like expanded STEM education at Berlin High School or like are

095you um advocating for that like new courses or for more people to be added? Like really interesting to me. So um currently we have a lot of plans in the next few months although we haven't really directly connected with the rest of our district yet. We have uh nature centers who have reached out to us who would like us to present to younger uh students and we're hoping that through our presentations we can also get them involved more on the science and STEM aspects. And then sorry what was the other half of your question? Oh, I was just going to I was asking you about like how if you're getting spent better education B high school and if you're looking to like expand this or like do more projects. So from our introduction early you

096can tell that uh seven out of the 10 members on our team are juniors. So in a few years we will be leading Rowan High School. We hope that the two other sophomores here, um, J Scobby and James, uh, will be able to continue leading this group at Ranch High School. Perhaps uh, we do have plans of a second phase, uh, although not the same inventions that we have here, but we do have a second phase that we are planning to extend. Picture a picture, guys, don't move. Just look at me. two three. Thank you. Well, so thank you um board for your engagement uh with our students and for the learning this morning. That's I did some learning here as well. So I really want to appreciate them. Uh the next presentation uh this

097morning uh is hearing uh about a project uh from uh uh another guest uh that we have in the room, Dr. Paul Dorin. I'm going to have Dr. Dorin to join us. Uh he is founding director of the help me go national center project director of the US department of education promise neighborhoods grant design and implement a cradle to career pathway for children and youth in underserved neighborhoods. He's a consultant to Connecticut children's on community child health issues professor emeritus of pediatrics at the University of Connecticut school of medicine and president of the Joel I war charitable foundation. For over a decade, he served as executive vice president for community child health at Connecticut's Children. And for the prior 15 years, he was physician and chief at Connecticut's children and care of pediatrics at college.

098So, we're so pleased that Dr. Dorin is joining us today to tell us and update us about this project. Thanks to an introduction for me was with Dr. Salazar who told me about this project. And so, I said let him know that he's here and Dr. Salazar isn't this morning. uh but we thank you for being here to just update us on the project and outcomes for which you're >> Thank you so much commissioner and uh thank you also uh chair uh of the board and all of you for the opportunity very briefly share with you at a very high level our work in North Hartford and admittedly this will be very brief very high level but my requests to you are two number one if anyone following this presentation patient has any questions, suggestions,

099recommendations, guidance, please do not hesitate to contact me afterwards. And similarly, if any of you have any thoughts with regard to how we can best uh sustain this work beyond the grant period as well as scale this work, I would love to hear from you. So again, thanks for the opportunity. Next slide. So, I don't know how familiar you are with the US Department of Education Thomas Neighborhoods grants. These grants are modeled after the extraordinary work done by Jeffrey Canada and colleagues in central Harlem, the Harlem Children's Zone. And the purpose of these grants is to enable uh jurisdictions to try to replicate some of this amazing work in their neighborhoods. The goal is to improve the academic and developmental and societal outcomes of children and youth living in the quote unquote most distressed communities

100in the country. And uh as I'll share in a moment, there are very very daunting expectations and really requirements with regard to reporting and outcomes including school readiness, high school graduation rates. And uh the focus is on ensuring access to a continuum of highquality community-based programs and services. And the strategy is to create, in the words of uh the state, excuse me, the federal DOE, a pipeline of services. And we'll come back to that in just a moment. We were funded in January of 2022, which means we are now in our fifth and final year of this grant funding. More about that next, please. So I mentioned that there are very lofty expectations for these grants and they are lofty with respect to both the type of data that we need to be able to

101collect and as well as the outcomes that we are expected to report on and as I mentioned school readiness, academic proficiency, successful transitions from middle to high school to college or workforce or the military. Obtaining post-secary degrees or credentials. Ensuring that families are supporting the learning of their children and youth. Ensuring that children and youth are healthy. Ensuring that they feel safe at school, that they live in stable communities and are able to attend the same schools in the same school district over time, and also have access to technology. as 21st century learning tools extraordinary ch extraordinarily challenging and yet I will demonstrate for you uh very shortly our ability to collect and analyze this data which is so important to achieving our goals next. So and how did we get into this? Well, I

102I one day received a call from uh the former administration, Mayor Bronin, city of Hartford, who requested that we at Connecticut Children's and our Office for Community Child's Health consider serving as an applicant on behalf of the city for US Department of Education Promise Neighborhoods Grant. Wanting to be good citizens, I said, "Sure, we would consider it." Knowing very little of what was involved. I knew the program was modeled after the Harlem Children's Zone and then did a deeper dive and lo and behold found that the grant itself was an ambitious task. Our narrative within two and a half months was over 100 pages and when we included attachments and appendices it was over 500 pages. We had to come up with matching funds, which meant that for a $30 million grant, we needed at

103least $30 million in matching funds. We identified 34 million. And uh we also needed to be able to be competitive in a grant cycle. They typically lose 100 to 120 applications with the US Department of Education funding 0 to six. So we uh cautiously embarked on the strategy by which we could put this grant together and we were specifically asked to focus on three neighborhoods in North Hartford. We are very close to them sitting here, Clay Arsenal, Northeast and Upper Albany. And to focus on these neighborhoods because they were designated during the Obama administration as promise zone neighborhoods. So we engaged with the community. We had countless discussions with residents, families, with community- based organizations large and small, with providers from numerous sectors, and with elected officials. And we ultimately decided that we would not

104pursue the usual path to a promised neighborhoods grant, which is as follows. You do a needs assessment. You identify what the uh needs and concerns of these of neighborhoods are and then you propose to use the funding to build the programs and services to address those needs. And next slide. We thought that was inappropriate. First of all, we worried that it would undermine the good work that was already going on in these neighborhoods by a wide array of community-based programs and services. And we also felt that it would not serve the heat problem faced by families and communities. And our discussion really confirmed that there were a strong array of program services and supports in these three neighborhoods. Yes, there were gaps. Yes, there were capacity issues. But there were many, many organizations doing excellent

105work. At the same time, there were families who were able to articulate what their priorities, opinions, concerns, and needs were. But there was no comprehensive integrated process to engage with families, identify their needs, and ensure that they are efficiently and effectively linked to community-based programs and services. Next slide. So that is what we exactly designed to do in our North Hartford ascend model that is ensure that all families were being regularly solicited with respect to their priorities, opinions, concerns and needs and they could be linked through a care coordination care navigation system to the appropriate community-based programs and services. where there were gaps, where there were capacity issues, we would use our discretionary dollars to address those needs, but only if the community indicated that they were priorities. We did this through a core group

106of family navigators who are funded by the grant. But most importantly, they are working in collaboration in an integrated fashion with the full range of care coordinators, care navigators that exist within Hartford and to some degree across the state including United Ways 211 and 211 child development. So this is the model. It's a systems model and it is all driven by community voice and community co-production. We have community members integrated within our governance and leadership structure. They weigh in and approve every step along the way. Next. So the goal here is to ensure that children, youth, and their families are connected to community-based programs and services in order to achieve optimal outcomes. Next, and as I mentioned, we are uh focusing on a variety of key areas. community and family engagement, service provider engagement, the

107family navigation system building model that I just shared, and data and evaluation. And as I earlier referenced, collecting data here, particularly with regard to the daunting federally required outcomes is a real challenge. I have been stunned by our capacity to collect and analyze data and it's a tribute to the state department of education working collaboratively with the Connecticut and the Hartford data collaborative and data haven and all of our research and evaluation is being facilitated through the University of Hartford Center for Social Research. So I'm going to share with you some outcome data. We are not going to have the time to do a deeper dive, but I want you to at least be impressed by our capacity to collect this data recognizing that the outcomes are a work in progress. Next. So next, for

108example, we can monitor the extent to which we are elevating students readiness for kindergarten. Again, I'm not going to go into the details. Follow up with me afterwards if you would like. And as you can see, Promised Neighborhoods is approaching that of the schoolwide district. Next, chronic absenteeism. We want to see a downturn. We're seeing a downturn and it's within the targets that we have set for this work. Next, four-year adjusted graduation rates. And as you could see, while we are lagging behind in these neighborhoods from the outset, we are closing the gap and approaching our target rate. And next, we're not just looking at typical measures of academic performance. So, here is an indicator of the extent to which students feel increasingly safe within the school environment. And you see that we are actually

109exceeding our expectations for this measure. Next. So, in building a system, we recognize that a key factor is the extent to which community-based programs and services are working together rather than working in a siloed, independent, often redundant manner. And we can show that through this work, we are promoting collaboration among community-based organizations and building a comprehensive integrated system. We've used the technique of social network analysis which has demonstrated that over the initial years of this grant, we are moving community-based programs, services, and resources from a vague awareness of each other to actually cooperation and coordination in their activities. And we are now beginning to see an impact on integrated activities. This does take time and keep in mind that the first two years of this grant were planning. So we're really only in our third

110year of action and yet seeing movement towards building a comprehensive integrated system. Next and we have a variety of tools that we are using in this work including a resource map and the community has had an enormous impact on the way in which we've gone about this. We initially thought we could take resources beginning with United Way's 211 resource inventory and building it out and make it available on a computer. And we were told by the residents unless this is on this is able to be viewed on a phone on a on a cellular phone. Uh it's not going to be available to them. So we've worked with them to convert this to a module that does have an app and they can use this to find the specific services in response to their specific

111needs. One example of the tools and strategies that we are using next. So we are now as I've said in year five of the five-year grant. We have a variety of strategies that we are employing to make sure that we achieve sustainability and scaling. We are developing both a strategic and business action plan to enable us to bring this to scale across Hartford and ideally use it as a model for elsewhere across the state perhaps even even beyond. Next. So why are we focused on this model in our advocacy? Well, I share with you a number of factors that describe the attributes of this model. It's innovative. We have sufficient emphasis and evidence with regard to community voice and leadership. We are leveraging existing community resources, not overpowering them with new programs and supports. We

112have an extraordinary capacity for data collection and analysis. We're able to demonstrate impact both at the individual level, although of course deidentified, and at the community level. We've shown through our social network analysis that we are building a system. We are taking a multiaceted approach to spreading, scaling, and sustaining this work. And we can demonstrate the return on investment, cost savings, cost benefit that occurs with every dollar invested in the model. We have a return on investment calculator that we are developing with the MENAT group, a national group of consultants um such that we can make the case fiscally why this is uh a smart investment. Finally, next please. Let me just end with acknowledging the critical importance of relationship building and building trust. I've been working in Hartford since, if the truth to be

113told, 1981. I knew that we would be challenged in building trust for very understandable reasons. I underestimated the extent to which we would first have to overcome mistrust. And yet we totally understand the reason for this and we have worked hard with the community to overcome mistrust and build trust. But I will tell you on a daily basis it remains a priority. Let me end with three quotes that emphasize why this is so critically important. Steven CVY business leader author these things move at the speed of trust. Jeffrey Canada who I mentioned earlier the founder of the Harlem Children's Zone. Efforts such as North Hartford Ascend Pipeline must successfully build trust by engaging the community and its residents as an authentic, valued, and influential partners. And Jeff Canada has been extraordinarily helpful in helping us

114to understand what that actually means. And one of our favorite quotes is from the Reverend Jennifer Bailey of the Faith Matters Network. Relationships are built at the speed of trust and social change happens at the speed of relationships. So again, thank you for the opportunity. Very high level. My apologies for that. But um anyone with any thoughts, suggestions, questions, please, please let me know. We'd be happy to expand. Thank you. >> Thank you very much or comments from the board. >> I really get in touch with you, Paul. Sorry. >> What email address do you have? How how best to contact? >> Yeah, sure. So, um I I I do have a Connecticut Children's address, but I'm officially retired. So, uh William Dwaranpaulgmail.com is the simplest. >> Thank you very much. I'll be getting in

115touch. >> Great. >> Thank you. >> Have a I just want to say thank you. Thank you for this and I really am impressed that the way you implemented the program that you adjust you just didn't take this program and say we're all going to do this but you adjusted it. You met the needs of the community and I was really say wow that's great that that really happened because sometimes people just come up with these ideas and programs and then come in and say this is how we're doing it. you've kept those things that are working in the community and then added additional to this program and I'd like to thank you for that. >> You're welcome. Thank you. >> Uh Dr. Dory, thank you so much for being here and you know to

116the board. We talk about improving outcomes. We talk about attendance. We talk about all these things. It's important to see how uh when we talk about school family community partnerships and the need for things to happen not only in our schools but inside the schoolhouse doors but outside the school outdoors and what you're doing in the community is really so important and as you've heard we are supporting the evaluation by providing all the data so we don't just collect data and have them here for the sake of having data it is informing that work as well and hopefully at the end of this uh that you know policy makers and others can see the outcome. I know they're always looking to invest uh in uh programs with proven outcomes and so to continue that dialogue

117with you. But thank you for being here to update the board where we are. >> Okay. >> Thank you very much. Moving uh to finalize my report. I'm going to ask the team to the Hartford Bridgeport and special education updates. Join us at the front and uh of the room and we'll walk through updates. An update on Hartford public schools fiscal operations, updating public schools action to address needs, an update uh on the special education system. Morning everyone. It's good to see you all again. I'm speaking over the chief chief funding officer for the department. Here's a video report of public schools. Um there is a document or packet which will be replaced. We have on the table. Um there was one edit we made to the document and so we'll be replacing with the

118one that will be circulating right now. So very briefly uh in terms of I'll just jump right into it. We got a lot to cover in a short amount of time. um an area of staffing shortages. On March 25th, uh Deputy Commissioner Sas and acute talent officer Shuan Tucker met with HPS's new executive director of human resources, Christopher Weiss, who assist HPS in strengthening teacher retention strategy. is we all know a lot of effort is being made to recruit teachers to get them in and we have teachers on board. Some of the programs that they're looking at right now are improving the teachation as well as uh access to training for new teachers in the area of special education and general education supports. In February, CSD issued a letter to Dr. Jennifer Hoffen, the HBS

119assistant superintendent for education and people services sharing the concern reporters like they earned groups that students with disabilities enrolled in the IBOL and STEP programs were receiving fewer hours of instruction than regular educational students. uh CST required HPS to immediately discontinue the practice of incompet universal shorting with school paper students um in any subgroup uh program within the district unless an individualized PPT determination as documented in the IRP supported this as necessary for the student. Attorneys for the district reach back to the agency and replied that uh the students enrolled in pro in the program have an IEP amendment signed by the parent or had a PPT meeting prior to the start of the school year to amend the IEP to align with the program schedule. Agency staff in the Bure of Special Education are

120currently reviewing IEPs. There is a letter in your packet uh from our general counsel. Moving on, Michael McKen to the Hartford superintendent regarding a contract BTPS signed with PA K12 to recruit students to Hartford Public Schools, including resident students that are currently enrolled in SHP online magnet school choice districts. Training a Kian in this letter indicated that signing such a contract may violate the court order currently enforced in the chef case. and might be see answer further questions on that important way of a bit of backtracking. There have been reports in the media indicating that HPS budgetary problems are in part uh resulting from a decline in enrollment due to a one-year jump of 1300 students attending choice options rather than in the neighborhood schools. CSTE staff conducted our own analysis of that claim, the

121results of which are also included in your packet. Um, we showed that only 295 more students took advantage of school choice options in that time period instead of the 1300. And again, we can answer uh questions after it's conclusion report on that as well. Um, and speaking of financial issues with Harvard public schools on March 5th, uh, the city of Cartford HPS Superintendent Andre Council, Chief Financial Officer Caitlyn Richard presented to the Municipal Accountability Review Board or MARB, a projected $22 million uh, fiscal year 26 deficit. And uh the CFO indicated that the deficit is projected to grow at $45 million in fiscal 27 citing flat revenue and increases to special ed cost is the main drivers of that. Uh at the same time however state level preliminary analysis of financial information provided by HPS

122indicates a small surplus this year which includes overall special education costs that are projected to be below budget. These conflicting financial representations on top of HPS's indication of a significant structural deficit have created a level of uncertainty and concern that necessitates an immediate expansion of the state's intervention beyond the initial threeprong review that's done to include a rigorous independent financial audit of Harford Public Schools fiscal position. That concludes my report. That's a lot. I understand we are happy to answer questions. Um perhaps predictably but there was there was there was a lot I guess I I wanted to start it's where you finished with this budget um just to put this context. So the total Harford school budget is what maybe $400, right? So these these differences are >> sorry. So the total as uh

123you know you just indicated I guess the total budget for the Harford public schools about $450 a year. The discrepancy between budget projections that you guys have and the budget projections that the Harvard schools are coming up with are really large. There's something like 10% of the entire budget between a very large deficit I guess. essentially no deficit at all. Do you do you have any sense of what is driving that? I guess in particular given that you've been working with you know we're pretty far into this budget audit and in pre we hadn't really seen an indication of this level of discrepancy for I guess I'm trying to figure out where this gigantic gap between their assessment and your assessment emerged. >> I think that one of the issues that we have now is

124we haven't looking directly at their budget. We've been looking at their financial operations and instead of auditing what they are are currently projecting in and revenues versus expenditures. And again, if that were here when this began a couple of years ago with this three-pronged review, uh it was based on concerned very budget deficits and the effects of those deficits were going to be staff reductions. And it it suddenly now we are in a position again where they're reporting very large deficits. It's very concerning. Hence that's why information was requested from the district that the state looked at and we couldn't verify that not verify that deficit. This is why under you received any uh did you ask them about this number? Do you have any preliminary indications of what? >> Yes, we we do have

125information that was shared um relative to the current fiscal year projected deficit and again there's a lot of um there was a an overestimation arguably with vacancy rate for staffing. There were some as as reported by the district um there are some uh changes in some of their lines uh that have increased uh line items relative to instructional improvements. Um again as Keith had said we weren't monitoring their discretionary budget decisionmaking. We were supporting them build those structures, financial processes by which in particular at this origin were to support for the draw down and effective use and implementation of brand funds from state and federal. This is their full operational budget deficits around. We really need more in order to understand again uh the source of their their claim to be six by the end.

126It's obviously uh important to figure out whether back there is a dent deficit or perhaps not. Um so hopefully we can solve that. Um all right my whole line I'll keep going. Apologize to everybody for delaying our lunch even further. I wanted to uh ask I guess about the the uh this recruitment question. uh where um I guess the I had the letter from attorneys can which is also uh package though I seem to have misplaced it somewhere but basically the issue is that they hired this firm case that that to help them with that I guess I was just um at the same time and you look around and you see that there's a lot of efforts made by a lot of schools in the Harford area to recruit students to their schools um

127you know magnet and otherwise and I was just curious what makes this particularly I as a metric. Are there other districts that are using this? Well, uh, the problem in this case was that Hartford and signator CCP, the conference school choice, which, uh, settled in great detail the the ongoing shift of litigation court has issued a permanent injunction on that CCP, which gives courtear jurisdictional window and pursuant to that, the plaintiffs can go to the court and say hey there this is a material deviation from the agreement and field and litigation and that would that's the whole procedural backdrop the actual substance that whole point of this and Robin of course Robin it's the full expert on chef I could tell you um but the whole point thrust of it was to provide school choice

128to these children that was the largely state supreme court decision back in the 199 act six which held that so we have constitutional ensure that students who are provided with executive education we're not racially isolated so the whole magnet school um colony this colony of magnet school established choice program technical school catch stagement of Hartford they've all been established to be part this uh these opportunities that are available to art But now and part of the agreement is that there's certain percentages that we have to hit with respect to offering availability to these children. If Harford's going and pulling kids trying to pull kids out of there, we're going to impair our ability to uh satisfy our requirement under the court ordered settlement. So given that given that Harford is actually like I said is

129a signatory to this agreement I need to point out to them that um this is counterproductive it could result in the litigation and that they wish to try to get chronically absent kids back in school more power to them that's fine. Uh but it appears from the information we have this is more directed at those kids who have been able to sell chef ecosystem alternative choices and that they're doing so in order to reduce financial uh cost. Can I just add just to clarify your question around who we market obviously and what we're marketing to was the greater Harvard region which includes Harvard students that says you can you have a choice and that choice could be to come to these schools and these are the things that you'll get there if you come. So

130obviously there is recruitment in that context. But there is a difference here of what this contract entails. The direct solicitation of students who are already in choice programs through direct solicitation. And there's a difference between putting up a billboard, showing a video, doing some social media outreach, and contacting kids who have already made a choice and trying to recoup them back to a different option. So there's a difference in sort of the methodology and what that methodology is means in the in the scheme of how that that outreach is effectuated. And if I could just expand, Steph, I'm sorry. That they're also have no problem if they want to try to recruit kids who are not in choice programs are in just alluded to are in other districts. will take kids who Simsberry kids who

131are in Graanby what have you not not there pursuing to the open choice program but rather they're just tell kids they live in Graby they grip students they live in whatever district and you know if aarter wants to try to get those kids having to attend uh schools live in Hartford we don't have an issue with that either in fact I think >> again through just our general marketing approach and that we support we supporting other operators around that marketing outreach. But it's it's direct solicitation. >> If correct solicited students in the Harvard public school system, would that be okay with you guys? >> If they directly solicited Yeah. Let's say a magnet students enroll in Harvard public schools. >> Yeah. We don't that's not the process for how we as an ecosystem outreach to

132families. There's it's yeah >> just trying to figure out I mean to me I guess when I think about school choice it's like >> marketing I mean I agree there's a qualitative difference between reaching out to a student directly and putting a billboard on the bus at the at some level they're both ways of of paying money to try to get students to come to your school. Um, you know, putting uh when I think about as an economist the benefits of school choice, what you really want potentially is you want cities and school districts, regional authorities to be developed in good schools, competing for kids, improving the quality of their programs. Uh, and then telling people about those programs, people can know about them and find what's right to them. And I guess I would

133see I want to make sure that we are on the one hand adhering to our uh legally mandated uh requirements to a bowl of chef but at the same time you know to the extent that Hartford is playing by the rules of the broader region and trying to bring students into the programs they develop it feels a little bit perhaps asymmetric to me. If we want to make sure that they can serve, if the Harford schools are right for some of those kids, then those kids should be able to go there. And it seems I want to make sure we're not handicapping Harford public schools and their ability to to programs, right? Um even if tension there between compliance with chef, but at the same time, I think there is we need to keep both

134of these goals in. So I would just want to make that point. We try to be judicious at least here in terms of balancing enforcement with allowing public school system there's some leeway to over the burden that they so that's my stand I think that you know and as Robin said there's a difference in how apart from public schools wanted to engage in a broad campaign about the the the benefits and virtues of each kids neighborhood school they wanted to fund ads or generally market what they offer as a public school system would have with the hope perhaps that students would stay in their schools in different schools or perhaps even come back. We wouldn't have a problem with that. But it is the the direct approach is going door to doors going to kids

135homes. >> I guess that was kind of my question. Is it just what Harvard does and that it's a problem or have a magnet school went to I mean I guess it hasn't happened but I say that correct or a magnet school hired the same for Harvard public schools but they've got a letter like this one and it's hypothetical question maybe you can answer >> I think that hypothetical is hard to answer I would from my position my answer would probably be yes because it's the the choices been made our our role as partners in the work and even though Craig is not a signatory They're partnering and that partnership has to lead to the benefit of students and you know part of the tension right now is you're now putting families in the middle

136of this you know sort of tension around compliance with the chef mandate and you know in fairness as Mike said the city is a signator to that agreement so that elevates the expectation sure um but I think to your point what we want to have is great schools and message out here's why my school is great and asking them to make that >> right. I think we should be helping families make the choice instead of >> that's absolutely what we want to do. >> Um I realize that the letter um came on or was dated on March 23rd. So perhaps Harford Public Schools is digesting it. Um, but to the extent to which there's been any conversation about it, are we kind of on a path to a a shared understanding? >> Very good question.

137>> Soon to tell. >> Yeah, it's a very good question. Uh, we I have not received any response from superintendent. However, interum we did have a U and and others from the PE as well as representative from the AG did have a uh a virtual meeting with the department of celebration council or a couple of other attorneys in business um just about this in general. He had not yet I had talked to him of course in my letter to superintendent. He had not at read it but I explained to him what was allowed. So we did have preliminary discussion about that as well as other aspects of the ship agreement and uh that we would need to get that's essentially all that happened. >> And I also just wanted to put in the space as

138well that I the superintendent was not surprised by since I personally called him. So he knew that this letter was coming and assured him that any questions that he had that certainly here to work through answering those specific questions with him directly. So I don't think we've gotten anything formal yet found but that that's the process. >> Thank you. >> Going back to Seth's line of questioning, do you have any information of how this company interacts with these families? Given Hartford's current financial situation, it would make sense of targeted marketing from a financial standpoint. But it has there been if supplying general information on the approved programs are publicly or there's questionable tactics being used when interacting with the family. Well, I I think given the fact that the uh the agreement is predicated upon

139the the company receiving a a market arbitrary amount with 192 $25 per student. Um so they have a financial incentive to to get as many students as they can. It was our concern to that financial incentive that it might what lengths it might go to. This is kind of a preemptive letter as far as AR. >> So there's no actual factual data on how they're interaction. No, there was a presentation at the um Hartford board um where the um I believe was the president of the company explaining their tactics and that is like I said direct solicitation where they don't receive that $925 per student transition back to Hartford unless there's their direct contact with the individual family. there's an exchange and then that results in a new moment, >> but we don't know what's

140the nature of that exchange like that interaction. Is it simply supplying information on Hartford Public Schools programs or we've not gotten complaints? You've not gotten any other information about their back? No, not the content of what they're you know what we're obviously not greedy but it's as Mike says it's more the nature of that's a targeted and targeted solicitation of students specifically who are in magnet schools that are within our ecosystem and open choice students. So it's different than we often do target enrollment and in fact any Hartford um to do their marketing on behalf of our system for their school. So that target marketing can be I'm going to have a fair or I'm going to have an event or I'm going to send out you know materials very different from actually calling families

141and doing that outreach. that's never been, let me say it that way, that's never been thick. And it's the qualitative difference does raise concern and has prompted reaction by the operators. >> And I I should also add that in the letter we indicated that we don't have specific information on their messaging strategy. This is really just what we've heard. So it's inviting more conversation to better understand what what is. >> Yeah. Yeah, I mean I guess to me just to follow up to Charlie this idea of inviting more conversation seems evidently reasonable. I think whether it should be allowed or not follow from that conversation depending on how it I guess that might think about this perhaps right. Thank you. Moving on to Bridgeport. >> Thank you commissioner. Good morning board. as an update for

142the um month of April. Um the financial processes and efficiencies that we've been examining in the Bridgeport public schools in their uh current budget has yielded and I I'll start out of the gate with this this time um an estimated $6 million as well as a $2 million in reimbursement rate with the district. the technical assistance team and public works have um really been uh supporting the district identifying and gathering information around special education uh students who are transitioning I think I mentioned this last month uh who are leaving the books if you will due to uh graduation they found cost efficiencies there uh they've identified and looked through a number of individual students determines the degree of support educators found cost savings there. Um in district transportation they've been able to identify which students

143actually leave um could be transferred throughout the district during the school day found a number of savings across all of those areas. They've also looked at some of the reimbursement rates and on the bottom of page 51 I can draw your attention to this um the Medicaid reimbursements uh in the last year as a direct intervention with our technical assistance team that has uh found about a half a million dollars reimbursement rates. They've also worked with the Medicaid provider to uh train up staff members to review funds um that have been issued as a part of the district's health insurance to um save well they've identified 2.2 million and were able to recover $900,000 in individuals who were not actually on insurance within the last 20 years might be associated you know a family member

144that's no longer but still taking claims to the future. So a number of these efficiencies uh that have been identified directly due to the uh work of other technical efficiencies being filed weekly agents with the superintendent to ensure that his team is is gassed in this information um prompting efficiencies that we've identified. the um mayor on the 23rd uh has posted his budgetary contribution uh to the sum of $5 million which is about a 2% increase over contribution from previous years and it may note as you may have read in the headlines that I commit a civil account in the subsequent year. Um the city council will go through their process and we hope to have uh an understanding of where the city may fall uh by latest June 6. There's some negotiation vetoing processes

145that may occur. Uh we've continued to push the district uh and uh engage them in conversations about advocating on their own behalf. the $5 million as part of the AMAC uh committee meeting where they would be doing with the city the plans for projections of um expenses and uh in order to be able to access the $5 million that was allocated or proposed to be allocated to uh education. We have continued to monitor and the district, if you all recall, at the end of last school year, there were about 120 vacancies in the district. Got that down to 41 as a result of our uh weekly and bi-weekly communications with the districts to recruit and retain staff. Uh they've hovered at around 40. Uh currently the the number is 44 right now but we're also

146advocating and trying to build out those systems to ensure that we don't enter into the summer with a similar especially as this the transition time a lot across the state. We are turning our attention to professional development with the district. um we've identified that this is now the time that they need to be planning about what they're going to do with staff uh in preparation for the summer months, which is often a good time to do that work as well as throughout next year. Um so we've solicited from the district in uh what their focus areas are. We're leveraging the expertise of our teams here to identify what we have resourced to support. um and we'll be meeting as soon as the second week of April to work with the district to help them scaffold

147out educators across the district. There's been some notable progress in the efforts that um our team here has supported the districts to lift up their district uh attendance review team. Uh they've been having a great deal of success show um a reduction of chronic absenteeism across the district by 2.6 6 percentage points comparative to February to February of last year. Um there's been a significant uptake in their number of home visits to no 39 to over the last few months. Um has been on a monthly basis has been um an excellent increase. So, they've had a lot of uh positive outcome from engaging families and students uh to get them back into the classroom. And uh I'll finally note in support of the Bridgeport Board of Education um there was a letter that was um

148sent to us by Victor uh Perez who inquired about or updated us essentially on their progress bylaws and certain evaluation and administrative policies relative to the role of superintendent district. and uh the board chair was intimating that the board planned to postpone the search and extend the contract with the current interim superintendent. Um and what we would like to see uh is that certainly they continue to make progress towards uh revising those bylaws and policies, but they don't delay. We need to make sure that they are in action around the search for a permanent superintendent, whomever that may be. And we have kind of um instructed that we would like to see that progress establishing the search committee and the search firm by June 1 of this year as well as finalize those policies which

149they are currently under under progress towards. So that concludes my report um for >> question. I I just want to note that following up what uh Charlie said about chair essentially articulating what uh Charlie just said to the law it's becoming very popular across the state but nonetheless so we are we are communicating and working with them process That's Charlie. Yes, thank you. Gave me a microphone because my my aging vocal cords just work on that. I'm glad to hear that you're still following up on the super superintendent search. But just, you know, a comment that June 1st is the goal now, right? Just to bear in mind that and I've been involved in it's 50 60 superintendent searches that pass that the pool of candidates uh reluctant to do a midyear change unless they're

150in trouble in their own district but they're reluctant. So then right now March is the season when it primarily happens. The earlier you can get started on getting into that season, the better off you are. You if you wait too long to the year, you actually lose candidates that might be a good match. So if it's June 1st, if I just want to bear in mind that your goal is to have somebody in place February 1st, it might be uh a reluctant pool. I mean a pool of people who just would say, I'd love to go to that district, but I'm not leaving my district in the middle of look at the time. getting start early. I think it's a great idea because I I know how things get delayed. We we attorney McCain and

151I met with the district at their urgency to get this process started. They knew back then January that they could proceed with the hiring of search. Still has not occurred. So, uh we are not leaving room for that delay. We want to see some action on And if I may, I have a somebody has a followup on that question. In the budget piece, uh, Mayor Ganamus put in 2% >> 2% of the previous year's city contribution to be correct. >> Correct. Thank you. Uh my question is what are the actual fixed costs for the district going from one year to the next as far as teacher contracts and the contracts and expenses and student population because it could be 5% and getting a 2% uh yeartoyear overage is not going to difference. It'll go backwards.

152>> I appreciate that question. And I think we'd be here until dinner if I were to expl explain. Um, but essentially, yes, you're right. We focused a significant amount of work with the district on identifying those fixed costs that were the main drivers of their operational budget. Certainly, there's a a large portion of state and federal funds that also contribute that aren't necessarily a part of the city's portion of the contribution. So, um, when we look at a 5% to, um, $5 million 2% contribution, we are looking at how that is bearing against the other sources of revenues for the district. Um, I I I can't answer off the top of my head each individual. We know that. I would have to look back at some of my inision, but you're you're exactly right in

153identifying that main drivers can anticipate um a natural prediction of what the district is going to be comparative to how how much the increase is necessary. Uh that that's reserved for the the mayor's decision. >> Right. Uh thank you team. Final presentation. Uh it will be fast. Uh it's an update on threat of education. >> Very brief. Uh good afternoon commissioner and vice chair Benham and members of his implication. Today we're providing an update on our special education system review highlights grounded in the commitment of last year potential for students with disabilities. This work focuses on four key areas. That's leading with vision, improving infrastructure, activating strategies for instructional impact and ensuring effective accountability and improvement. Uh together these efforts are driving greater coherence across the system and more efficiency and support for districts uh

154students and our families. I'm going to introduce Barowitz, our division director who oversees the day-to-day operations of the Luros to uh speak a little bit more in regards to the actions that we've been taking for the grant. Just as Katherine faculty joined us last month, so the table as well, a big part of the work. Good afternoon everyone. Uh this slide should look familiar to you. Across the top of the graphic, we have all of our tour identified areas. Just wanted to mention this is a very busy time of year for the department as whole as well as our districts related to fiscal pract uh procedures. Our ital application at the federal level is active now and for public comments. We've been making rounds with our interest holders and uh gathering feedback and input for

155our submission in May. Similarly, our local districts are building process this month um for applying for their own IDA grant applications and our teams are reviewing those as well as the additional funding that has come into the state. Um so quite a bit of work and we're working to ensure that those activities are aligned and prioritized for our districts. Um so what what I'd like to highlight briefly today is to ask we do have several steps taken to address um the recommendations of across these board areas. We have a activities related to prospects called process mapping scheduled for later this month which essentially takes a guidance document from concept for publication and working to map that process not only in the bureau of special education but across our partner a uh department in the agency.

156And then later this spring in May, we have activities related to our talent mapping which will help us align our activities and the expertise and capacity we have not only here at the department also with our partners um within certain we're excited to move forward with the assistance of additional capacity in the legal office. Our 22 position is um we have candidates identified for interview and are being scheduled currently. And our next slide shows an update of our dispute resolution activities. As mentioned last month, our quality of complaints received continues to be on rise. In March alone, we received complaints. That's roughly two times that we typically receive from past years. Uh this is a time where I'd like to acknowledge and stand up our investigators in the month of March completed all of the

157investigations within the 60-day timelines. The next graphic shows you our ongoing pie chart where we continue to um have 99 out of 103 complaints within this cycle that have been on as mentioned in our previous presentations. two of those wave reports were from the previous year. So, we're really proud of the efforts that our staff has been undergoing under Katherine's leadership um as our bureau chief over the last year and also wanted to mention that our team is anxious to um increase our capacity. We do have three recaries that we're in the process of replacing and interviewing as well in addition to the legal decision. We're happy to answer any questions. I also wanted to mention that we do very closely monitor the themes for districts that are cited in the complaints where there are

158corrective actions. It helps inform our training and professional development for the 2627 school year which we're finalizing our process with our partners at surf as well as the rice alliance and other partners like the parent center who's in our training and bringing >> Brian thank you and to the team I know they worked very hard on this and I want to just underscore what Ryan mentioned Yes, we're required to be compliant with the uh the complaints and the timeline, but we really need to uncover uh right kind of the root causes and the issues that we're finding because that's really addressing the root cause issues uh that we need to take actions on. So that's really it's not only about checking the box to say we're on time, but what are we learning and how

159we you utilizing that information to make sure that we can address those issues so they don't continue to reoccur as complaints coming back through the system. But I thank you all. I know this has been hard work and I work very much. Thank you. >> Commissioner now 1210. Uh I'm going to choose to keep going because I think we can finish uh our meeting everything. Uh item eight uh and these items all require action. So item A, renewal of state charter explorations win state. Can I get a motion? >> So move second. I'll be moved in second and son. Thanks Afternoon chair move the microphone a bit closer. >> Good afternoon vice chair here commissioners board members. It is my pleasure to present to you Explorations Charter School. Opening in 1997, Exploration's Charter School has

160provided the Northwest African community with 29 years of service. As a school serving grades 9 through 12, 77 students with 49 students coming from Torington, Exploration remains committed to its mission of meeting the unique educational, social, and emotional needs of its diverse students, populations in state, nurturing, and non-traditional environment. Since its 2-year convisional charter renewal in 2024, Explorations has operated under a comprehensive corrective action plan addressing chronic absenteeism, academic achievement concerns. During the charter process, exploration's progress was evaluated across the four standards outlined in the executive summary. school performance, stewardship and governance, student population, and legal compliance. Notably, the school has demonstrated a strong commitment to continuous improvement by successfully addressing systemic special education compliance gaps identified during the initial site visit. As of the renewal evaluation, Explorations has achieved full compliance with individualized education

161programs for all of its students, reflecting the school's responsiveness to feedback and dedication to serving students with disabilities in accordance with the state and federal requirements. While Explorations demonstrates notable strengths, including a 12point increase in its accountability index from 45.3 to 57.7, a strong six-year graduation rate for high age students at 62.6% that nearly matches the state averages. resolution of special education compliance concerns and deeply meaningful impact on student lives. As evidenced by family testifying, the school changes lives and saves lives. Its overall next generation accountability index remains below state and host district. Priority areas for continued action include addressing persistent chronic absenteeism at 41.1% compared to the post 176.8% and state 17.2%. Closing the achievement gap between students college and career readiness course taking which is at 95% and exam passage rate at only

16219.5%. maintaining special education compliance through ongoing monitoring and capacity building, strengthening long-term financial viability, and enhancing recruitment strategies for multilingual learners and students of color. Based on the this evaluation and strong community support evidenced through public testimony and stakeholder interviews, the CSD recommends a three-year charter renewal from July 2026 through June 2029. subject to five specific conditions designed to strengthen exploration, student attendance, outcomes, academic achievement, special education service delivery, and ongoing compliance monitoring, governing practices, and demographic representation. At this time, I will present to you Jim Johnson, the executive director and principal, as well as the governing council chairperson, Sierra Hayes. Good afternoon. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Commissioner Russell Tucker, acting chair Harris, uh, Vice Chair Benham, um, and all members of the state board of ed, Dr. Hughes, Dr. Jenkins,

163Felicia, Tena, Alexa, and all of the members of the Charter Renewal Site team. As Dr. Jenkins said, my name is Jill Johnson, and I'm the very proud executive director at Explorations Charter School. It's an honor to be here today to represent our school. I'm about to complete my 12th year in this position, and prior to becoming the school leader, I taught mathematics at the school for eight years. Today I'm joined by Sarah Haynes, our board co-chair. This year we serve 77 students from 10 different towns covering three counties. Our special ed population is 39% over double the level found in our post in sending districts. Our special ed students come to us from five different districts. 26% of our students have 504 plans. 69.5% of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch. 18% of

164our students identify as LGBTQIA+ with most students sharing that they have never never felt safe in school before coming to explorations. 75% of our students are classified through the state edsite secure early indicator tool as high needs. I'm here today full of gratitude that explorations has been recommended for a three-year renewal with complete understanding of the areas identified for improvement. This recommend recommendation represents acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication of my team along with an appreciation for the unique challenges that our school faces. The explorations team is dedicated to working to meet any challenge headon and partner with the state to do what is best for all students. Before I begin to outline our plan for addressing our corrective action and plans for continuous improvement, I would be remiss if I did not take

165a little time to discuss the process that we went through this year. From start to finish, our entire team found the process to be very comprehensive and transparent. The team assembled to visit our school involved included some members who had been on other site visits and while here they offered feedback on the areas of growth that they had witnessed over the years. Between the date of the site visit and when we received our renewal visit report we engaged in numerous conversations with members of the turnaround office charter team and other members of the CSD to provide clarification on topics. His team offered support and helped us to begin the work on our plans for continuous improvement. These opportunities for two-way dialogue have resulted in stronger than ever partnership between explorations and the charter school office

166and they're grateful. An area of identified need of improvement is our rate of chronic absenteeism. Over the last few years, we've received considerable support from the state department of ed and attendance works. We have and continue to put in place practices to address student attendance. Analyzing data available to us through EdSight Secure, we have identified that the most most of our students who are experiencing attendance issues have a significant history of attendance challenges. Moving forward, our focus will be on student engagement and relationship building both in and out of their classroom. Working in partnership with the turnaround office and members of the state department of education, we will create a detailed three-year comprehensive three-year chronic absenteeism plan designed to increase student engagement. Clarify attendance misconceptions for families and communities. Identify barriers to attendance and help

167identify additional supports for families. focus on months with historically high rate of chronic absenteeism and predict prepare additional supports and activities for students and their families during these months and provide monthly and quarterly updates to CST including presentations to the accountability and support committee. We're also focused on decreasing thereasing the gap between exposure to and exposure to career readiness coursework and results on college and career readiness examinations. Over the past two years, we have greatly increased opportunities for college and career readiness coursework for all students through our college partnerships as well as offering dual enrollment courses in our building. While working in partnership with STE, we will create a three-year plan which will develop a process for tracking instructional fidelity and consistency. Work with staff to ensure connectedness to post-secary opportunities. Work to ensure that

168these opportunities are included in instructional units. Establish key performance indicators using data teams and PLC's. Analyze assessments results to inform instruction and identify additional support and report improvement updates to CSTE and the accountability and support team. During the renewal process, two IEPs were found to be out of compliance. An immediate corrective action plan was implemented and through a strong partnership with our sending district both both IEPs were brought to compliance meetings were held to document the details. Moving forward, explorations will work with CSD Bureau of Special Education to create a detailed plan which ensures operational and legal compliance for the provision of services for students with disabilities. This plan will include a procedure manual which will identify steps that will be followed once a disabilities is accepted to explorations. Steps that will be followed should

169explorations determine the need to refer a student for special education evaluation. Communication procedures to ensure that all teachers are aware of accommodations and modifications identified in the IEP. review of differentiation practices and modifications as part of the teacher evaluation process with all teachers and a procedure to address corrective actions that may be uncovered by exploration staff or during any desk audit process. Exploration's administration will work with our governing board to update both the board policy and procedure manual and the accounting policy and procedure manual. The renewal process identified minor modifications that would result in better alignment with the school's best practices and promote more effective outcomes. The board policy and procedure man manual will be revised to clarify roles and responsibilities of the board and its subcommittees related to school oversight, finance, and other school

170matters. Part of this update will detail reports to the governing board by administration at its monthly meetings. The accounting policy and procedure manual will be updated to address observations made as part of the renewal visit. In addition, a summary of revision dates will confirm the annual review of this manual. A committee of the governing board has recently updated our employee manual. Prior to voting on the acceptance of the updated manual, the committee will ensure that current policies related to cash handling, travel reimbursement, salary advances, and private use of school facilities are included in the document. The board chair will report to CST status of the information implementation update of the board and accounting publishing procedure manuals and employee handbook and provide documentation to the state board. A plan for continuous improvement will be submitted which

171will detail and outline our recruitment and retention strategies for multilingual learners and students of color. This plan will be developed in partnership with the state department of education. We have engaged the services of translation service to ensure that all communication with families is delivered in their native language. Our newly developed marketing club includes students from different racial, ethnic, gender, and gender identity, disability status, and socioeconomic backgrounds. This group works in partnership with school administration and a marketing professor from CT State Northwest, strategies related to the recruitment of students with a focus on students of color, Jeremy. Progress updates and our fully shed plan for continuous improvement will be provided to the CSD turn around office charter school team and charter renewal cross functional team including an update to the CSB the SB accountability and support

172committee. In closing, Explorations is a unique school with a 29year history of supporting and educating some of our area's most vulnerable students. We will continue forward working tirelessly to create and implement our plans for continuous improvement. Thank you for your time, your dedication, and your continuence. Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to speak this afternoon, even while your might be rumbling. My name is Sarah Haynes and I'm a co-chair of the board of directors at the Explorations Charter School located in Winstead, Connecticut. I becameing member of the board because I believe in the difference Explorations Charter School makes in our community. Not just for my two special needs children who would not have graduated if it wasn't for the school, but for so many of the students we served. Exploration Charter School is a

173rare gem in the northwest corner. This small school becomes a community of those who want acceptance, safety, some second chances, and most importantly, the feeling of success. Our entire board is dedicated to supporting our school. At our monthly board meetings, data related to attendance, chronic absency, absenteeism, academic achievement, financial status, and policies is presented, reviewed, and discussed. We continue to work collaboratively with our administrators to think outside the box to meet the needs of our unique school and its students. Yearly, we meet with our auditor who meets a comprehensive presentation. We hold by-yearly meeting board retreats to give space and attention to items that need longer attention than our monthly meetings can handle. We continue to address the challenges of chronic absenteeism by brainstorming and reviewing engagement strategies. Our brainstorming has led to activities and

174partnerships for the benefit of our students. We work hard to try to meet the unique needs of our individual students. We continue to support the needs of our students by continuing to work with professionals on topics related to curriculum development and differentation. We're reinforcing our strengths and continue to develop any areas of weakness. As you're aware, our school is not the typical school. We're a second, third, fourth, final chance for some of these students. At the same time, we're a choice destination for others who desire adventure-based opportunities and small classes, personal relationships. Students who have struggled in their homeschool for various reasons come to us looking for a fresh start. As hard as we try, we cannot erase the prior years. We can only work hard to build upon them and move forward. We continue

175to work with board on track and other professionals to make sure our policies and manuals follow the best guidelines for our school. We're constantly reviewing and re reviewing and revising to stay with the times. As part of this year's renewal, we will focus on ensuring that our EPM, APM, and all the other acronyms and employee handbook are thoroughly reviewed and updated to ensure legal compliance and the policy support student success. This year we are partnering with a professor, as Jill said, at the Connecticut State Northwest to help create a marketing club for our students. These students are working on various marketing strategies and creating campaigns to attract new students and represent the community we live in. We look forward to continuing to improve and grow. We thank you for all of your generous support and

176look forward to working with you on this three-year re Are there any uh other comments? See none. All those in favor of accepting the recommendation, please signify by saying I. >> I. >> Post extensions. It is so. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Item B, renewal of state charter for integrated day charter school in Norwich. Can I have a motion? >> Second. >> Probably moved and second. >> Thank you. Integrated Day Charter School has served the nor the Norwich community for 29 years since opening in 1997, fulfilling its mission to provide in partnership with his children, families, and community a safe, flexible, and academically challenging learning environment that meets the unique social, emotional, academic, and physical needs of each child. Currently serving grades preK through eight with 364 students 82% from Norwich in Green

177Day Charter School provides vital educational opportunities to a diverse population where 52.7% qualify for free or reduced price meals and 11.3% receive special education services following its 5-year charter renewal in 2022. Integrated Day completed the this renewal process one year earlier at her request of the turnaround office demonstrating the school's commitment to continuous improvement and strong operational readiness. The school's 2024 2025 next generation accountability index of 65.2 continues to significantly surpass the whole district average of 56.5 reflecting a consistent pattern of outperformance for ELA mathematics science for both overall and high students which has been maintained since 2018. Particular strengths include exceptional product absenteeism for limited at 12.8% 8% compared to the host districts 21% and the state 17.2 two, outstanding on track to high school graduation rates of 95.3% and maintaining discipline tier one

178status throughout the renewal period and strong community support as evidenced by 117 attendees and 40 testimonies at the public hearing alongside the thriving weight list of 677 students. While integrated day charter school demonstrates these considerable strengths, the seven points decline in the accountability index from 72.2 to 65.2 attention along with mathematics academic growth at 47.9 versus the state 62.3 achievement gaps between high needs and non- high needs across subject areas. In a recent decrease, the suspended rate of 1.9% to 7% Hispanic and Latino students experiencing disproportionate rates of 11.1% and the under representation of multilingual learners at 7.4% as the school continues to refine recruitment strategy for this population. based on integrated K charter schools overall strong performance, exemplary community partnerships, exceptional operational practices, and consistent academic achievement exceeding the host district. The CSDP recommends

179a five-year charter renewal, a maximum term for July 2026 through June 2031, subject to four specific positions addressing continuous academic improvement with a focus on closing achievement gaps. ongoing monitoring of school environment, annual fiscal status reporting to maintain financial stability and enhance recruitment and retention strategies for multi. At this time, it is my pleasure to introduce Debbie Allard, the executive director, and Brandon Hyde, the governing council vice chair. >> Good afternoon, everyone. Um, I first want to thank Commissioner Russell Tucker and all the members of the state board event for being here today and listening. Um, and I also want to extend my gratitude to the members of the CSD turnaround and charter office for their steady guidance, thoughtful feedback, and genuine partnership through this process. Dr. Jenkins and her team have both been generous

180and precise with their time, always centering what is best for students. We've long felt the unwavering support and clear communication of Luja Kanti and that consistency remained evident throughout this process and beyond. The renewal committee approached its work with diligence and care examining every facet of our school from climate to instruction to finance to stakeholder voice. I would also like to thank board member Bonnie Burr for making the trip to South Eastern Connecticut to preside over our public hearing back in October. My own journey began with IBCS in the early 2000s as a graduate intern. Uh I went on to teach at a third and fourth grade classroom and then I took a professional detour to Miami and Mobota. Uh proof perhaps that while you can leave IDCS, it does not leave you. Um I

181ultimately returned, as you can see, drawn back by its unmistakable pulse to serve as first a sixth grade teacher and then the assistant director and now the director. Um, stories like mine though are far from unique, which is why I shared it. That in many ways is the point. IDCS is more than a school. It's a community that endures. The numbers, while impressive, are simply the visible evidence of something deeper. A 97% teacher retention rate, 89% for PAR educators, and 96% for other non-certified staff. A remarkably low student attrition rate of 1 to 2% annually over the past five years. a weight list as you heard exceeding 650 students. 17 current students are the children of alumni and six staff members once sat in our classrooms. This is a testament to the long-term sustainability of

182our school which has become a foundational institution in the region. a class of 2025 whose 42 students collectively spent 275 years at IDCS, including 16 students who attended from preK to 8th grade, accounting for 160 of those years. The decision of these families to remain with IDCS for a collective 275 years, is one of the most rigorous evaluations of our success that we could ask for. and more than 870 original student research projects completed each each year. Shameless plug, our research nights are March May 27th and 28th. I highly recommend that you come. I know we've had attendees prior. Um these numbers aren't accidents, though. They're the result of intentional, sustained effort. A school steadfast in its mission yet responsive to the evol evolving needs of the community. Walk through our doors on any given

183day and you'll see learning is alive with purpose. Students engaged in service projects that benefit lo local organizations, families participating as true partners, classrooms where inquiry is encouraged and thinking is challenged. Of course, data tell a compelling story but cannot quite capture the spirit of a place. They cannot measure the care, the resilience or the quiet daily acts of dedication that define IGCS. 30 years in the making. This is a school built by people who believe that education can and should be done thoughtfully, intentionally, and admittedly a little different. Now, we're also cleareyed enough to know that a little differently does not mean perfectly. In fact, the charter renewal process offers a rare and valuable gift that other schools don't get. The opportunity to reflect with honesty, to celebrate strengths, and to refine where needed.

184As I prepared for today, two words came to mind. Flourish and finesse. There is much at IDCS that flourishes. And there are areas where finesse is both necessary and welcomed. We are grateful for the commendations and recommendations provided. And I'm pleased to share that we have already taken action on each of them. Some refinements have been immediate, particularly in the area of finance. Updates to our fiscal policies and procedures handbooks approved at our February board meeting include clear documentation of cash deposits, the addition of no pay advanced language in the employee handbook, a reduction in the board authorization threshold from 20,000 to 10,000 and strengthened procedures for audit review and response. In short, fewer ambiguity amb ambiguities and more accountability which are never a bad combination. Other areas of growth require sustained thoughtful effort, especially

185in teaching and learning. In response to feedback, we've already taken steps to make learning more visible through standard aligning for charts, vocabulary, word walls, and targeted professional learning. Looking ahead, we are investing deeply in mathematics instruction. While our community thrives, we recognize that our math outcomes must more more closely mirror our students potential. That is why we are partnering with Ed Advance beginning in the 2627 school year to support the development of a cohesive prek to 8 math vision. This work will focus on problem based learning, meaningful discourse, universal design for learning and the strategic youth use of math language routines all in service of ensuring access and excellence for every student. Alongside this, we will develop a one to three-year plan to strengthen instructional practices and outcomes in mathematics. In English language arts, we

186have applied for a grant through the Buff Foundation, a proponent of charter schools, and are optimistic about joining the Connecticut Charter Literacy Consortium. This opportunity would allow us to deepen our use of evidence-based practices, strengthen instructional coherence across grades preK to 8, and engage in meaningful cross-et network collaboration. While our measurable goal is to increase proficiency and reduce the number of students performing at level one on ESBAG, our true aim is far more ambitious, full literacy for every student entrusted to us. I would be remiss not to mention the role of our facility and the grants that support it because a well-maintained, thoughtfully designed environment is not merely a backdrop for learning. It is an active participant in it. These investments ensure that our physical space reflects the same care and intention as our instructional

187programming. I'd also like to briefly reflect on the commendations we received. Words such as instructional routines, independence, community building, goal setting, responsibility for learning, effective arts instruction, and family engagement appear throughout the report. These are not incidental descriptors. They are in many ways the vocabulary of IGCS itself. As we approach our 30th year and understand the importance of holding fast to our founding principles while continuing to evolve, the commendations affirmed we are doing just that. Nearly three day decades ago, IDCS was founded on the belief that education should be delivered thoughtfully and with intention. Today, our story summarized in the re renewal report proves that belief works. Renewal is more than a procedural step. It is a green light for us to deepen our impact, refine our instruction, and continue serving as a beacon of

188what is possible in Southeastern Connecticut public education. I ask for your support in voting in favor of renewing our charter charter for the maximum duration so that the next generation of IDCS students can continue to learn with purpose and IDCS can continue to be a cornerstone of the Norwich and greater Norwich community. Thank you. >> Good afternoon, Commissioner Russell Tucker and distinguished members of the Connecticut State Board of Education. I was asked to keep this brief, which I'm sure is appreciated now more than it was initially. My name is Brandon Hyde and I am an active community member in the city of Norwich and a father to a current student at IDCS as well as a recent uh graduate now attending Norwich free academy. I have the honor of serving as the vice chairman of

189the IDCS governing board and sit on several committees. Having an enjoyable experience attending the Norwich public schools as a child, I was hesitant when my wife first suggested we look at IDCS for our children's education. That all changed upon my first visit to this amazing school. The energy and sense of community is overwhelmingly apparent the moment you walk through the doors. The school has continued to have a positive impact on my children and my family throughout our entire experience. The sense of community, diversity, and support is unmatched in any other school. I am proud to be part of the IDCS family and appreciate the positive role it has played in our family's life. I look forward to the continual growth and strengthening of our school. I would like to ask for your support in voting

190in the favor of renewing the charter for the maximum duration so that many more families can have the same experience that our family has had. Thank you for your time and consideration of the board. Any questions, comments? Okay. In favor of the motion to approve integrated day charter school in Norwich, please signify by saying I. >> I close abstensions. The eyes have it. Delations. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Item C, the adoption of the uh Connecticut Educative Reparation and Certification Board's uh 2026 proposed revision of the regulations of Connecticut State Agencies Section 10-145D-615. Five. >> So moved. >> Okay. Moved and seconded. >> Thank you. Um this is uh the last part of uh one of the regulations that um LPDC is they set us to wait in our last meeting and we

191brought back to our board for further conversations. It's really the last part of the figure bulk that we've done and we pointed out the prep program once left. Um so we're really just looking for uh we were just removing a section at the end and then to allow to sunset and um the portion was reduced at the end with the original just uh going into duration of educator certification may be extended for an additional year by the commissioner of commissioner's design for good cause um I'm sorry not for good cause upon the request of the employee agent and just stop being there it's really just a clean up of the language uh confirming it to make good morning. >> Those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> I. >> Post. It is so ordered.

192Thank you very much. Moving on. The motion for item D, adoption of the Connecticut Education Preparations Certification Board's proposed statutory and regulatory provisions establishing alternative pathway to special educator certificate. >> Second, please proceed. >> Thank you. Um so as part of our work the certification board means we're looking at providing flexible pathways um to certification in this case flexible pathways to uh professional certification. So as we know public act 2441 had removed the provisional. So we go from initial to professional within about a 10 year span and looking at how we can go about taking that and it's been just getting a not just getting but getting a master's program uh to move to the professional certification. What we've added in here both the legislation and the supporting regulatory language is that there are two

193additional alternatives added in. So, we're keeping the master's degree and adding a total of 30 credits in an appropriate subject matter area beyond requirements of initial uh which provides more flexibility and then complete a total of nine credits in an appropriate subject matter area beyond initial certification in addition to pulling the national board. These will be two additional lines back in to the original and providing some flexibility in choice for the candidates from profession. >> All those in favor motion >> extensions carries. I just want to thank the policy development committee for meeting with us and having really um good conversations around the work that we've been doing and providing us food for thought to bring back to the board and make an adjustment possible. So thank you so much. We appreciate it. >> Thank

194you. Be consideration of certification for Terrence Colin for 305 elementary education prek through six. Can I get a motion? >> So second Good afternoon, state board of education members, and thank you for your time today. Mr. Tannis Collins is seeking a waiver for certification testing for the practice institute of elementary math tests to be issued an initial educator certificate endorsed for elementary education prek to six. However, Mr. Collins has not been able to demonstrate minimum content knowledge in mathematics either through practis 2 or through current relevant coursework. Teachers need to provide rich instruction in the key areas of focus in mathematics. They also need a deep understanding of the learning progressions in mathematics prospering so they can help students build new understanding on the foundations built in previous years. Therefore, after a comprehensive review of

195Mr. Collins's credentials, the current certification requirements, and the expectations for teaching mathematics in elementary grades. The CSTE cannot recommend that the SPE approve the requested waiver for an initial educator certificate endorsed for elementary education endorsed grade five. I'm happy to answer any questions you have. Thank you. Um, I do know I heard your presentation earlier and uh and I did read your recommendation. Um the recommendation coming from other agencies that carry any weight that I mean it's part of your report where you say Craig strongly supports his candidacy highlighting his strong instructional skills and deep commitment to student success. >> That's correct. And we wanted to make sure that we created a an overview of his whole self as an educator. Um but our a just our office our agency cannot recommend because discrepancy >>

196because of that score. >> Correct. Because we understand that you know with the 305 elementary 1 through six he can be responsible for teaching mathematics um as a part of of that certificate. So we could not recommend and he because of the the scale score of 13 138 it's 19 points below the passing score which does not qualify him for practice bridge or is well beyond the standard error of measurement passing. >> Is there an alternative for this man? >> So I mean technically there's alternatives. Yes, there's a couple and we could you know break down the mathematics test which we have done and if you wanted to compensate with say coursework so the grade would be much minus or higher we could definitely recommend after that or based on his experience as a grade

197six ELA teacher we could create a pathway to the middle school English certification for him we have past foundations of reading as well as the reading language arts portions of the elementary tests so we're confident his skill set lies in that middle grade English reading language arts area >> English >> correct >> not for math >> that's correct >> we can create a pathway that way and we've already talked to Mr. Mr. Collins about this pathway as well. Um but we said you know he he requested that we bring this in front of the board which we were happy to do. Um but we're also in regular communication with him. So in the event that today happens without a recommendation then we will work with him directly to create a pathway to the middle school

198of English. And he also has a master's degree in technology education. He also is teaching um technology education this year. So we could definitely also support him in adding an additional endorsement in technology education as well once we get that three English endorsement complete. >> So he has some options. >> That's correct. That is correct. Yes, we we found option that we want. We do not we don't want this to discourage him and we also want to look at him as the whole educator but just because of what we know with our standards as well as you know requirements or certifications. We just could not recommend anything. >> Absolutely. And I'm glad that they there's some options and I understand that we have to give tests as a building administrator that I was for many

199years. I understand that. But what data connects that a if you pass a test you'll be a successful teacher. there's not much but is there data connecting those two I mean you have we also have to look at that too and and that's why I'm I was just concerned and I'm glad that you mentioned and stress the different pathways that exactly and and also too just so you know we have researched um every area of every assessment and you know this this demonstrates there the educator's content that knowledge. So if Mr. Collins say if we would have said hey we're looking for a course in geometry we're looking for a course certain we could also through cce recommendation could accept coursework in lie of the testing as well like just for recommendation purposes yes >>

200hearing none see none all those in favor of the uh recommendation please signify by saying I those opposed please have the same rights extensions. >> Sorry I feel like we have to we >> talk to me folks. >> Sorry. So let me let me talk in the hope of getting us towards a a resolution to this matter. Um so I share some people say is um skepticism actually >> your microphone up. >> The microphone is hopefully on. uh everyone else is going to talk too loud compensate by talking more quietly perhaps precisely the wrong context. In any case, I I only I ech I I share Glass's concern about the predictive power of of these tests designed in text content knowledge or performance. by you know the board long enough to represent studies that we've

201commissioned uh in relation to that and frankly in a statistical sense not being particularly impressed by that relationship feeling pressed now to deny the certification I understand you are under an obligation given the standards that you have so this is not a critique of what you've done um it is hard for me to vote no to someone who is currently in effect you know appears to be uh operating effectively as a teacher, right? Um I guess I would want to know before I can vote yes on this like would there be negative consequences in like what what will like is this a certification that's being sought so he can sort of so that uh Mr. Collins can continue to develop as as a teacher? Would this this wouldn't jeopardize how would this if we vote

202yes, how does this affect his career pathway? So voting yes meaning that you vote yes doing him the elementary we can acknowledge and accept his experience as a grade six English language arts teacher to create a pathway to the middle school English endorsement set >> but that would be a different process >> we we'll have to look through I believe we believe it's about we we didn't do the full um analysis yet because he wanted to do this first and said after but from from the cursory a review of his credentials. It's about two courses in a test. >> Courses and what? >> Two test middle school English. >> That's just a cursory. >> What is he doing right now? >> Um he's currently from from my understanding um he's currently serving as a long-term

203substitute um as a technology education teacher. In fact, decided not to keep him in the English language arts division for this school year. They definitely fully support his candidacy. It was really a district policy issue versus anything to do with um you know they they fully support his candidacy and definitely want to keep him on staff. I wanted to make sure that that was captured in the report as well. >> What happens if we vote no? So if you vote no then we'll issue at the direction of the board we will issue the initial educator certificate endorsed for elementary education. That's the power through that statute that you have or you will have to issue a certificate >> exactly endorsed for elementary. >> That's saying we're ignoring practice school. >> You will be ignoring everything

204else that's been presented to you. Yeah, >> this is Amanda just sharing. uh because it truly is a balance and I understand the stories here and you're not being we're not saying you're not understanding the challenges but it's a balance between the support that we believe our educators need to be the people they need to be in front of our students and what our students need really is what we're saying right and in this particular situation not being able to do the practice bridge there are opportunities and options that we need to work through and and I I agree that we have certification board that's looking in total in totality around what we need to do in moving forward. However, your action matters uh in terms of uh the educators that were saying we need

205to be highly qualified that our students can get the support that they need uh as they need them. And so we've taken the step to create a bridge process that says if you fall below a certain amount and we know the struggles there are things you can do to get there and there other opportunities that's there as well. So, it's not about not understanding the challenges that's here, but you are making a decision uh regarding again uh the supports that we need that our educators may need to get to where they need to be and what our students really need every single day in our classroom and highly qualified teachers who can support them as laid out here. So, that is that's the decision that you're making. That's >> good. Let me ask another question.

206Um what happens if we postpone this motion to our next meeting? Anything can happen between now and our next meeting. It can >> the the options and opportunities have been presented to the candidate in terms of what can happen and whatever supports that can be provided. if we're talking about getting to math, the ability to do that, but there are other options that's available. So, you're not closing off your options that's available. Uh so, I'm not sure what happens between now and a month's time uh for the candidate to come back to you and say or for us to come back to you and say uh that I'm now prepared to do what you're being asked to do. >> Thank you. That's very helpful. So it seems as though the point here has to do

207with Mr. Collins scored on math, right? I don't want I don't want to oversimplify it, but that's >> and lack of mathematics course work on official traits, >> right? So it was like lack of course work coupled with a test >> correct score test result. So to our acting chair's point, I think is there an opportunity for Mr. Collins to repeat a math test in one month's time. So that there is um is that a possibility for the from our last convers from my last correspondence with regarding that he was not interested in taking the test again. He stated it multiple times and um we had sent um a flyer for joining a uh like a a prep session a virtual prep session specifically for this course and I you know he told me he

208could attend but he was not going to take that. So yeah, that was was great correspondence. I can ask him if he'd be interested. I mean, he is here. I can ask him if he'd be interested in doing that. But from our last um correspondence, that's what was acting chairman. I'm calling the question. I'm calling the question. >> Okay. Has been called. Those in favor signify by saying >> or please raise your hand. Maybe that's two, three, >> six, >> seven. >> Aaron seven. Those opposions you said yes. Item nine anything under financial status. Uh well the the appropriate I did came out as you know and taking a look at that it's face Laura items for education the budget is still >> yes I believe that's true the governor's budget had originally given the

209department million additional dollars the budget that came out of the appropriations committee gave us another $30 million Um, and so in totality we have $60 million in new funding that we did not previously have. >> It goes through right on to consent agenda. Um, there only two items there. It's uh it's anyone from the board on any item. >> So I don't want to pull an item from the consent agenda, but I would encourage you to take a look at figure two at some point of education which shows theation adjusted per expenditures on uh figure two of application report that packet at your leisure. Uh we often hear that education spending is going up and up and up and up. Um figure shows that it's basically been flying panic since 2018. That's it. Thank you

210for including it. If I may, I I'm in agreement that I don't want to pull it off the agenda, but I do think that at some point it is worthy having a discussion because the condition of education, what is in this report really could be used as an impetus for the actions that statement education would take. And I do have some questions about some data that could supplement. So I would say I think we're voting on his accept receiving the report. >> I'm fine with that. I would like the opportunity perhaps through the academics standards and assessment to have a further discussion on this. It is an it's important information that should be public >> and we thank you very much uh Dr. Ptop and we normally make this a discussion item as well. I

211talk about it in doing it. I put it on consent only because of the amount of things that we this morning but we'll bring it back for this session and Ajit and team will talk about a lot of this dating in this report. So in public I know the press wants >> great >> I look forward to talking more about you at that time. Okay. So, nobody wants it any except >> so moved. >> All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I I >> motion carries. Uh we have no items for discussion. >> Okay, I'll entertain a motion. We we are meeting in room J for legis. You are