001meeting for March 23rd. Call this meeting to order at 7:00. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance 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. Okay. Now, I will turn it over to Dr. Galloway for a very important announcement. Yes, thank you. I enthusiastically want to thank [snorts] the Board of Education. March is Board of Ed Appreciation Month. You get a whole month. But here's the thing. I just want to thank you for all of the unseen work that you do. Many of you are parents, you work, you have other obligations, and there's no pay. And I'm sending you information. I'm asking you to read information to give me feedback. You sit
002on committees. Uh some of our meetings go well into the evening. You're out multiple nights. And this is just a moment uh when I can say, being the mouthpiece of the district, that I thank you for the time that you put forth. And coming up on my third year here, the incredible support uh that I've received from the board has paid immense dividends that students and families will reap for years to come, specifically in regard to the support with curriculum and platforms that educators can now use to understand if practices are being effective. Those That impact will go on and carry on for years. So, this is just a small thank you from us for everything that you do. All of the unseen work that you engage in. So, I hope you like them. I
003hope they fit. >> Yeah. You want to check it out, Ed? Or I'll check it out for everybody. Oh, look at this, huh? Oh, yeah. Oh, that is feels very waterproof. Oh, these are nice. Very nice. Nice. Oh, that's sharp. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It helps to have an AD with connections, right? And who wears the vest? Broiler chicken. Family without present. Right? Yeah. There you go. Can JP throw it on? There you go. Oh, yeah. A little bit. So, while a month does feel excessive, >> [laughter] >> it is nice to be appreciated. It is nice to be appreciated, and um I also want to take the time to thank all of you. You know, you guys do so much work that nobody really sees. Um taking times
004away from your family and you know, behind the scenes for no pay, and I think we're all doing it. I don't want to speak for everybody, but I think we're all doing it for for the mission that we believe that we can provide the best education, the best experience for the families of Somers. And I truly believe that we're on the path to doing that. And so, I I do want to appreciate, thank all of you. Um I also want to take this opportunity to thank the teachers and the administrators and the custodians and the IT staff and superintendent. Um They are the engine that makes this machine go. And without them, I mean, we can be kind of a I guess a GPS in a sense, but without them, the train doesn't leave the
005station. So, um I do appreciate all them, and I think this is a lot in part to them because they make us look really good and make our job a lot easier than it could be. So, um thank all of you, and and thank you to all the the staff of Somers as well. Um okay. So, >> we thank you for leading. It's my It's my pleasure. You're welcome. I'm happy to do it. Um So, we'll need a motion to approve the minutes. We have two sets tonight. So, we have the special meeting minutes, which >> [clears throat] >> are zero words, so that should be easy. Um from March 9th for the budget meeting. So, um we'll need a motion to approve the minutes for that. Kim, second. JT? All those in favor? Okay,
006that's unanimous. And then, we will now need a motion to approve the minutes from the regular meeting on March 9th. So Gina? So Second with that. Any discussion on those? Okay, all those in favor? That also is unanimous. Uh back to Dr. Galloway for a superintendent update. Great, thank you. So, I don't want to steal the thunder from our amazing students who are going to follow, so I'll temper some of of my remarks uh regarding the high school. But tomorrow night, I will be attending the Board of Finance meeting at 7:00 p.m. to continue the budget conversation uh with the Board of Finance. So, hopefully things go well there. Uh moving on to the elementary school, I'd like to congratulate the eight students who are going to move on to the Connecticut Invention Convention State
007Finals, and that'll be at UConn on May 2nd. We have things like clean bag, the breezy clean bag, can climber, litter eater, safe s'more, cleanest cage, the helper safety, baseball heat, and sharp sock. So, congratulations to them. Uh I'd like to put in a plug for MBA and their Career Day, which will be on May 1st. They are still looking for a veterinarian, someone who does coding or cybersecurity for a living, or an athletic trainer. Um that is on May 1st. They're still looking for to fill those professions. And at the high school, just as a reminder, they're having their junior parent night tomorrow night at 6:30 at 6:30 in the media center. And I will stop there cuz you guys have some really good stuff going on at the high school, but I looked
008at your presentation again this evening, and I'll stop my comments there not to preempt their reporting to you. So, that [snorts] um ends my comments pending any questions. Any questions for Dr. Galloway? Thank you. And now for my favorite part of the month, high school students, welcome. All right. Goodness. Yeah, there you go. Okay, so some recent activities that I got going on. Um the Music Man play. Uh I went to all three shows. I also volunteered at all three shows. I would say that they were all phenomenal. Um the schedules for next year. We're running We have running courses and sections. Um we're adding food service, trying to add food service. Uh the EC US History class went on the DC field trip. It was a 3 days, 2 nights. We tried to hit
009everything we could in as little time as we could, and I say we did it pretty successfully. I would say 47 of us all had a great time. Um the SAT Academy has been ongoing. It's bi-weekly. It's to improve the scores of the SAT, which we take next Tuesday. Um and then the work-based learning panel uh by Mr. Kozlowski was on financial literacy. It helps students learn about how to like finances and how to manage their money. And then counselor conferences were ongoing as well, where students meet with their counselor, and they talk about next year, and if you're a senior and applying to colleges, and kind of setting the stone about where you want to go. Yeah. These are from DC. Um Yeah, we went pretty This is Hard Rock Cafe. We all first
010day, we all um got there late. We all had a shared dinner. It was very nice. Um Capital Building. We went through in an hour. This is the Smithsonian Museum. Um and the World War II Memorial, [clears throat] I think. Um yeah, it was a great trip. Um it was nice to just be all be together in a new place. Um just spend a lot of time, you know, together, and go to the hotel every night, and just have fun. The kids took a double-decker bus. So, they they did have some eventful moments on the double-decker bus. >> [laughter] >> But everybody uh overall had a great time. Uh this is from the Music Man. This This is the Music Man. Um It was very cool. It was very creative. Um Yeah, they I think
011they had a lot of fun. Um you know, like they spent so much time putting work and like a lot of work into learning the lines, and this I know her. She the person that was playing that role dropped out a week before, and she stepped in and learned all the lines in about 1 week. Wow. Um and you know, it's just incredible what they all do. Uh cuz it's a lot of time dedication out of their schedules. And now onto some sports highlights. We had our Tritone Pink Out Game for hockey on February 28th. We had senior night for boys and girls basketball. Uh Will and Harry Accorsi both got 100 wins in wrestling and Will was also the class's champion at All-State. Uh Andrew Swinsky got 1,000 points in basketball and also received
012an all-conference award. Will Accorsi and Ben Madrigal both got All-State soccer and Ben Madrigal also got All-New England. Addy Tab got recognized for all-conference basketball and spring sports started this past Saturday. Uh and then here's some pictures from that's from Will's 100th win. We have senior night basketball, the All-State banquets, and our athletes recognized for their all-conference awards. All right, and then some upcoming things happening. We have the AP Art New York trip. Uh they head down, go see stuff they've kind of been learning about through the year. Um SAT Academy, which is ongoing still, prepping all the juniors for the SAT upcoming. And the you said next Tuesday? Yep, next Tuesday. [laughter] Um Brain Change the Mind is also going to New York. They do kind of a conference. They learn more about the
013organization as a whole. It helps better our club that we have here. Um SAT next Tuesday. Um we also have the trade fair coming up. Um Mr. K's working hard to try to figure out all that stuff, make sure we have tables for all sorts of fields. Um the Spain trip, where there's select students who have met the requirements of the Spanish credits they needed. Um they go through April break, it's the 2nd to the 11th. Um and then the Yukon chemistry field trip is happening on the 30th as well. Some more upcoming events. We have the NHS blood drive happening on the 1st and I'm 95% sure we can take outside people as well, not just students and staff, so that's better for us, I guess. You get more units than usual. Um AP
014and ECE contracts for next year come out the week of May 1st, which is good. It gets kind of a head start on courses that are offered. Um senior awards happen 27th and then the prom follows the next day on the 28th. And then shortly after, on Monday, senior outing. Uh we get to go to Brownstone this year. Um for free. We raised a bunch of money these last couple of years, so seniors get senior outing for free. >> Where is prom this year? Um Riverview. Riverview. Same place as last year, I believe. Um and then underclassmen awards happen a few days after um where they get recognized for all their achievements throughout the year. And then exams for seniors start the 3rd and then make up days June 9th, the couple days following. And
015then we graduate on the 10th. Haha. Coming up soon. And then underclassmen exams start the 11th and then they get to make them up the 17th. We're not busy, guys. We're not busy at all. >> [laughter] >> Just the season. All right, thank you. And then also do some Does anyone have any questions? Yeah, that's a good Why don't you guys introduce yourselves, so everyone knows? Uh I'm Carolyn Castonguay and I'm a junior. Uh I'm Jonathan Braden. I'm also a junior. I'm Danielle Farkasdi. I'm a senior. Great. And what was your favorite part about DC? Uh Don't tell me the hotel. Like the experience. >> [laughter] >> Like the the exhibits. I liked the uh Washington Monument cuz we were able to see it from a lot of places that we had went. Yep. And
016when we actually went there, unfortunately it was freezing and it was freezing wind, but we went. We did a night tour um at the Benjamin Franklin or FDR. One of the memorials. It was a night tour and we could see the Washington Monument and it was just very beautiful. Um and yeah, I just I I enjoyed being right in front of it and then seeing it from far away just to see Mhm. You can see it from pretty much anywhere. Great. Any other questions? No. All right, thank you guys. See you guys Monday. Great job. >> [applause] >> That was a very warm guest. Okay, opportunity to add or delete agenda items. Sound like it, so we'll need a motion to approve the consent agenda. JT, second. Second. Ann? Uh any discussion on the consent
017agenda? Are you raising your hand there for you No, I'm just Oh, okay. Um okay, all those in favor. That is unanimous. >> [clears throat] >> Okay, there was no old business, new business. Uh we have a class explorations in Algebra 1 um that is being modified. So, if anyone has any questions, uh the curriculum committee's here to answer them. So, it's a pretty exciting opportunity. Um the uh course currently is taught over 2 years, right? So, this is now creating more opportunity for students to take the course over 1 year. By taking the course over 1 year, you can get more math in, right? So, not just more math courses, but the content that you cover will better prepare them now for things like the SAT. So, that would help towards our school overall
018performance there. Um and then also if they want to take higher level math courses, they start to realize they like math, things like that. It gives them the opportunity to take those as well. Um so really exciting. It's a uh the curriculum's aligned with the state of Connecticut model one curriculum. Uh so, all standards aligned, it's updated. Uh it's being taught in other school districts as well. Uh so, there's support there. Why Why is it currently 2 years? I think a lot of schools uh historically when kids struggle, especially in Algebra 1, they broke it up into 2 years. And we've tried that model, I think across Connecticut and other states as well, and realized that maybe that didn't really have the best impact on students. And so, they're finding other ways to get them
019support that they need while taking the course over 1 year and not falling more behind in math Right. by taking over two. Um what happens so some kids are currently in Algebra as eighth graders now. So, how does this What do they do? So, this won't impact them. They still take it over a year. This is for the students that maybe would take it in high school. Okay. Um you know, that were maybe at weren't ready for it in middle school or that freshman year. Got it. Yeah. Can I Can I add on to So, it's not it's not in every student. It's we're running one section. What it is is it's a prioritized list of content from Algebra 1 that supports students to move through to Algebra 2, but we take all of the
020supplementary um standards out. So, that the kids have a more targeted focus on those priority standards. Um and they can go at a slower pace. So, that's basically the essential skills needed in order to complete the It is completely the essential. Yeah. And I think this will make sure that they've had the all the material before the test. So, in the past So, in the past when when you talk about if you had we had Algebra A and Algebra B. And that means that they split Algebra over 2 years, that also meant that they got what two credits for for a single course, right? Over those 2 years. But the other aspect is is SAT performance is dependent on your access to higher level mathematics. If a student spends freshman, sophomore year in Algebra 1
021and then take geometry, by the time they're a junior, they're they are not set up for success on SAT in any way, shape or form. In fact, they end up behind Mhm. and at a significantly lower number than other students that have had access to that higher level math. Right. And I think solidifying those foundational skills in Algebra 1 helps them to maybe be in a better place to take higher math classes before they graduate. Sometimes they just get it with that repetition in high school. Um and before they were running out of time to take that. So, this is just the first posting. So, we'll vote next next meeting. Um okay, committee reports. Curriculum. We're going to schedule our next meeting likely in April. Uh the date's yet to be determined. Okay. Policy. Uh
022we met tonight. We'll have a couple policies to uh for first posting. And then our next meeting will be May 11th at 6:00. Okay, planning and finance. Um we're still on hold. I guess we'll probably know more tomorrow. Okay, salary negotiations. We are in the midst of negotiating with the the custodians union, so that next meeting is the 30th. Um we're looking forward to it. So, hopefully we'll get that wrapped up and uh moving on. Building committee, that's also me. So the grant has been approved. Now the next steps are that the state has to review the plans. Once we get approval of the plans, we can go out to bid. We get authorized to go out to bid. Other than that, the the asbestos test came back. There was only a little bit on
023like piece of duct work or something. And now that the roof is cleared with snow, they're going to they're going to do the asbestos test on the roof. >> [clears throat] >> So. And the next meeting is the next meeting. I'll check that. Okay. I can't remember. We'll get back to you on that. Okay. CIP? CIP, I do not have the date for the next meeting. Do you have that, Steph? Not it won't be until the fall at this point because we've already passed our proposed projects on to the board of finance. So the next step the next one will be September, October. So we're we're kind of done. Yeah, unless there's something that comes back where the CIP has to schedule a special meeting. Okay. Great. The next H-back meeting is scheduled for April
0247th. April 7th. Thank you. Craig. Yeah, so I was able to attend the March 18th meeting. It's there's a lot of information over two hour period. So I'm just doing a general summary, but if anybody has any more specific questions, hopefully I can answer them. The primary focus was the open choice program this time, which serves over 2,000 over 2,000 plus students [snorts] across 27 districts. And they're continuing their mission of increasing access to diverse high performing school settings. The presentation highlighted strong student outcomes including national scholarship recipients and statewide recognitions. >> [clears throat] >> As well as expanded support such as instructional coaching, family engagement, and college and career programming. There was a key discussion centered on the special education funding within open choice. And it was I mean there was a cost discrepancy
025that was pretty significant between the special education on average for special education funding, which is about $44,000, and then in the magnet schools it's $22,000. It's half of that. Um So currently the receiving districts hold the IEP responsibility. So you know, Summers you're we own you know, the IEPs and the cost can be significantly higher than you know, appreciating that. Legislative conversations are underway to better align financial responsibility with the service delivery as well. So from a financial standpoint, on another end the council unanimously did approve several budget updates including a $15 million line of credit to support operational stability and increased program demand. Finally, the [clears throat] Craig leadership did emphasize ongoing legislative advocacy particularly around magnet school funding and encouraged districts to share success stories and support outreach efforts. So that's my summary
026of that meeting. Great. Thank you. SEF? I was not able to attend the last meeting, but I will say that their big spring fundraiser as of today will be on May 2nd at the Iron Fox. So they're working on getting live acoustic music and entertainment and all the tickets will be digital >> [snorts] >> and for sale soon. And I do not have a date on the next meeting unless someone else No. And the tickets >> [clears throat] >> $50. $50. buffet dinner. For a buffet dinner. Thank you. Great. All right. Advance calendar speaking of budget updates. Tomorrow night we have the budget hearing at town hall at 7:00. So if anybody can make their way over there, I think all the support that we can get is is beneficial. And it all matters even
027if you don't think it would matter. People [snorts] in the seats really um really it does make a difference. Um So I'll be there, Gina will be there. I'm saying I'm going too. Cheryl will be there. Ann will be there. Dr. Galloway's going to be there. All right. Stephanie? Yes. Stephanie's going to be there. All right. We're going to get a whole section. I'm going to bring in pizza. Yes, I like that. All right, then we have the trade fair at the high school on the 2nd of April. That's going to be in the gym from 8:30 to 10:30 in the morning. We have the PTO meeting on the 8th. Spring vacation. We already mentioned the annual event for SEF. That's the 2nd at the Iron Fox. Now we get into Capstone, the spring version.
028That's going to be on June 2nd from 7:30 to 2:00 in the gym at the high school. >> [snorts] >> Capstone is great. I would recommend getting over to that as well. Um That's the the graduation day already. Coming fast. Coming fast. The 6th of or the 10th of June. Graduation day for the seniors. Um So this is the first one that we're doing before the rest of the school is fall. Yep. So that we can do it if you've gone you've done the 180 days on the schedule. So this is very helpful for advanced planning for families, for travel arrangements, for everything. So I'm just glad that we finally were able to do that. Yep. And then barring some fluke, we have the 17th will be the last day of school. Um Let's hope
029it Let's hope it stays that way. >> [snorts] >> So Okay. And no board of ed meeting on the 2nd Monday in April. That's right. So the next time we'll see each other is April 27th. 4th Monday. 5 weeks from now. Right. We're going to have to Face Face Time or something. Yeah. Okay. Audience to citizen staff and students. Nobody. Okay. So we'll need a motion to adjourn. So moved. Sorry. I was looking at but I heard her. It's my turn to talk. All right. Second Cheryl. All those in favor. >> [laughter] >> That is unanimous. So we will adjourn at 7:26. What time is the meeting?