001Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat up here. Heat up here. Heat. Heat. Heat up here. Heat up here. Heat. Heat. me. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, hey, hey. Heat. Heat. N. Hey, hey, hey. Heat. Hey, Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Good evening. I would like to call to order the March 24th, 2026 South Windsor Board of Education meeting. Please stand if you are able and join as Mr. Mackey leads us in 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. Thank you, Mrs. Manelli. Roll call. >> Yes. Mr. Armstrong. >> Mr. Cowwell >> here. >> Chairman Corsy >> here. >> Mr.
002Mackey >> here. >> Miss Mley here. Mr. Marks >> here. >> Mr. Nettles >> here. >> Mrs. Shaw >> here. >> Miss Hanoway >> here. >> Nice job. >> Thank you. And now Mr. Marks will read the district's vision statement. The South Windsor public schools promotes an engaging and dynamic culture of learning that prepares students to achieve their own individual excellence within an emotionally safe environment. Educators will foster students academic, social, and personal growth. Our students will demonstrate critical and creative thinking, self-direction, collaboration, adaptability, kindness, compassion, and civic responsibility. The South Windsor public school graduate will possess a learner's mindset, exhibit resilience and social consciousness, and be empowered to participate in an everchanging global society. >> Thank you, Mr. Marks. And Mr. Nettles, can I have a motion to approve the minutes? >> Uh, move
003to approve the minutes of the February 25th, 2026 special meeting. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> Um, any opposed? abstensions. >> All right, let's see. Dr. Carter, do you have anything under communications from yourself? >> Yes. Um, as you may be aware, March is Board of Education Appreciation Month. Each of our nine board members is a volunteer. They are not paid for the countless hours they give to our community. Beyond regular board meetings, members attend special meetings, budget meetings, serve on subcommittees, attend school events districtwide and advocate for investing in our schools. Board members are champions of our school district, and their support and positive energy filters down to all of our students and staff. I encourage members of our community to take time to thank board members for their service. I also want
004to recognize our two board of education student representatives, Sakai Kennedy and Sydney Maine, uh for their service to the board. Um in front of each uh board member and student representative is an embossed notepad stating, "May you be proud of the work you do, the person you are, and the difference you make." All nine of you truly make a difference in the lives of our students. Championing the board's ed board of education's budget and the services it provides to our children and families is just one way that you make a difference. I thank our entire board and our student reps for all you do to assist our students to dream, achieve, and inspire. Thank you for all that you do and for being such a such a great board and just I have so many
005things to say about this group of nine people, but I I won't go on. But um it's it really is a pleasure to work alongside all of you and um you may not always get to hear it, but I can tell you when I walk in the hallways, teachers pay attention and they see your support and it means a lot to them. So, thank you. >> Thank you so much. Do we have any communications from our student representatives? >> Yes, thank you. On Monday, March 16th, Eli Terry held its fifth grade chorus and instrumental music concert. Students and staff celebrated St. Patrick's Day on March 17th with a whole school assembly featuring performances from two Irish Step schools. On Wednesday, March 11th, Orchard Hill celebrated Global Play Day in conjunction with International Mother Language Day
006by featuring games from around the world. Parent volunteers visited to teach students games from their cultures as well. On Thursday, March 19th, Orchard Hill organized or recognized World Down Syndrome Day by rocking their socks. students as staff were wore mismatch socks to raise awareness and donated new socks to the VFW in support of local veterans. On March 14th, author Hana Martinez Neil visited PRS to share her stories. Last week at PRS, the Girls on the Run program began teaching girls to build confidence through physical activities. PRS also held its third annual readathon and on March 18th, the fifth grade put on their band orchestra and chorus concert. On Monday, March 2nd, Pleasant Valley also had the honor of hosting Hana Martinez Neil. And Pleasant Valley is grateful to the PTO for sponsoring and to the
007ELA ELA leader Kathleen instructional coach Katie Beldin as well as libraria media specialist Miss Okconor and Mrs. Lorac for their thoughtful planning. At Timothy Edwards Middle School, the Temp Science Olympiad team put their hard work to the test on March 14th at the state championship in Coventry. They competed against nearly 20 teams from across Connecticut and team A took home their overall first place rank. They also took home medals for first place in four events, second place in five events, and third place in three events. Team B placed fourths in two events. The all the teams worked very hard. Also on March 14th, the the Temp's Jazz Band Ensemble headed to Clark Terry Jazzfest at the University of New Hampshire. After a great performance, the jazz ensemble took home the award for outstanding musicship in
008the middle school division. On World Down Syndrome Day celebrated on March 21st, Temps partnered with TE families, student council, and PTO to host a veteran sock drive. On 319, all students and stouts were invited to the Rock Your Socks. They also hosted a kindness door decorating contest for the students. At South Windsor High School, the Black Student Alliance hosted a very successful Black History Fair after school. It included panelists, a cross word puzzle, and delicious foods and desserts. On March 7th, over 50 South Windsor High School students competed in the National History Day Regional Championship competition at the University of Connecticut. National History Day is a researchbased program in which students present original work through performances, papers, exhibits, or websites. The top four entries in each category advance to the state competition at Central Connecticut
009State University with top finishers moving to the national level. South Windsor High earned over 15 medals and multiple state qualifiers. On March 5th, South Windsor High hosted its annual Relieve the Stress Fest in the cafeteria. Sponsored by South Windsor Youth and Family Service and the SAD Club, this event encourages students to explore healthy strategies for managing stress. >> Thank you both. Do we have any communications from board members? All right, seeing none, we will move on to our um hearing of visitors. All right. Is there anyone that would like to speak to the board tonight? If so, when your turn comes to speak, please start by giving us your name and address. Please remember that the board does not respond to public comment. Each person should limit their comment to three minutes and the total
010amount of public comment will be limited to 15 minutes unless extended by the board. Just a reminder, there will be a second opportunity for public comment near the end of our meeting. Most importantly, this is your opportunity to be heard and the board's time to just listen. We will keep track of the time and we will let you know when you need to quickly finish your comments. Do we have anyone who would like to speak to the board tonight? Anybody? That's fine. We understand. We'll hear from you guys in a little bit. All right. Moving on. Mrs. Shaw, um, can I have a motion uh for donations? >> Move to approve the following donations. 1,274 and 1469 to Orchard Hill Elementary School from its PTO. Second. >> All in favor? >> Any opposed? Any absentions?
011Thank you so much. And Dr. Carter, can we start with the first item on your report? >> Yes. At this time, I invite Mrs. Brochu and Mr. Huck to the podium. Good evening, Dr. Carter, Chairman Corsy, and members of the board. Thank you for giving us of this opportunity tonight to spotlight Eli Terry's peer mediators. It is my privilege to introduce this program which reflects our commitment to developing students who embody our portrait of a graduate. These student leaders are trained to facilitate respectful dialogue, resolve conflicts, and foster a positive school climate. Through this work, peer mediators are engaged in their community, empowered to lead, and grow as socially conscious individuals who value empathy and respect. They also build resilience as they navigate challenges and support peers in problem solving. We are proud of the
012positive impact these students have on our school community and their growth as compassionate, capable leaders. At this time, I'd like to introduce Terry Huck, our E um Eli Terry social worker, who'll share a little bit of more about his work with peer mediators in the district, as well as introduce our very own peer mediators. Thank you. >> Hello, and thank you for having us here. It's wonderful to be spotlighted. I'm very proud of this program. Been doing this program for about 25 years, even though I'm only 27. I started young. Um, super super excited to be here and have the opportunity to show what these fine young students do for our community. They are a integral part and a really really important part. Um, we were very lucky to um I'm very supported through uh
013my administration and my supervisor to get the peer mediation program started at two other elementary schools. We hope to keep growing that. It's been really, really powerful and we have a great team that helps keep it running. So, thank you to all of you and thank you to the parents for bringing your students in here tonight. So, I'd like to start off with our peer mediators. >> Hi, my name is Sawyer Parakio. Good evening, Dr. Carter and members of the South Windsor Board of Education. Thank you for inviting us to speak tonight. We are the peer mediators of Eli Terry Elementary School and we are proud to represent our school community tonight. Hi, my name is Hi, my name is Owen Urek. Peer mediation is a program where trained fifth graders help other students solve
014conflicts peacefully. Students can come to us to talk through problems in a safe and respectful space. This program is run by Mr. Hawk, Mrs. Mrs. Lker, Mrs. Levertu, Mrs. Dilva, Mrs. Vancaspach, and and advisers. Our program is open to fourth and fifth graders for most of the year, as well as third graders later on in the year. Any student who is having a disagreement with a friend or a peer can request immediation. We talked them. We helped them work toward a solution they both feel good about. We applied to become peer when we were in fourth grade. We needed teacher recommendations and then we participated in interviews. 10 students were selected based on leadership responsibility and learning skills. Before we began mediating in October of this year, we received special training to build on our
015leadership and communicational skills. We learned how to follow a structured script so every mediation is fair. We learned how to stay neutral, listen carefully, and ask thoughtful follow-up questions because mediations do have to go off script sometimes. >> Hi, I'm Stella Ingman. During mediation, each dispute speaks without being interrupted. We guide the conversation and help them explain their feelings. Then we help them create a solution they both agree on. Hi, I'm Callie Lodge. After a mediation, we follow up to check on how the disputants are doing. This usually happens one to two weeks after a mediation was done. Some of the things kids have said about mediation is it resolved the problem. We were able to listen to each other and nobody was judging me. We had more space and we could understand each other
016better. It helped solve the issue between me and my classmate. I got to share my feelings and it helped us both agree and be friends again. Peer mediation works because students often feel comfortable talking to other students. We don't decide who is right or wrong. We help students communicate, understand other perspectives to a conflict and solve their own problems. My name is Juliana. Being a peer media has taught us empathy, leadership, and problem solving. We've learned to stay calm even when situations are emotional. These are skills we will use for life. Our peer mediation program strengthens our school community. It helps students feel heard, respected, and supported. Thank you for believing in student leadership and for supporting programs that build kindness and responsibility in our schools. If you have any questions, we'll be happy to
017answer them. >> Thank you all so much. >> Do we have any comments or questions from the board, Mr. Armstrong. >> Yeah. Could I ask you fine folks, if a student has a problem, how does it get to the media? How does it get to your level? Does a teacher report it? Does another student How does that work out? >> Um, it works out. We have forms around hallways, bathrooms, and Mr. Huck's office, and students can fill out a form and leave it with Mr. Huck and they can write the other disputants and their names to know who we're looking for and what the problem is. They can fill out where the problem has occurred, what has occurred and yeah >> and just out of curiosity um how many students or how many problems have
018you dealt with this year? Uh we eat deal sometimes with a lot and sometimes with little. >> Most of the year we don't really get any. >> Yeah. So about 34. >> That is firmly in between a little and a lot. >> That's great. Any other questions or comments from the board? Mr. Mackey? >> Yeah, I was just wondering, maybe I missed this. Is it start at a certain grade that they can start being a part of the program or how does that work? graders and then later on in the year it's open to third graders. >> Great. And I think just because parents were trying to take pictures, don't get don't forget to get a picture of the group before they can put it in the newsletter. >> Yes, Miss Beny. >> Um, when
019you're doing peer mediations, is there also an adult in the room at the same time? >> Um, yes. We either have Mr. Huck or Mr. Silva um in the room at the time like helping just in case like things get out of control and they can tell us what to do. >> I just want to add to that that nothing has gotten out of control. So I've been very fortunate just to be doing emails, but >> that just means you guys are really good. >> That's fantastic. Um, I was wondering does do any of you have like a favorite solution or a skill that you've learned being a mediator? There's something that you're like, "Oh, this is really helpful or this works really well." >> Nothing. That's all right. >> Well, you guys, you got
020one. I mean, one of the skills is just following the script because if we try to take things off script, I mean, it might just go wrong. Also, the things we say might not just make any sense to anybody. So, I like to stay on script and that helps us stay focused and serious. >> That's amazing. >> Yeah, I know. We could learn from that. >> We have a script. >> Thank you all so much for being here. Oh, Dr. Oh, just wanted to thank um our students for being here tonight and thanks for all you do to help Eli Terry uh be a great place for all kids. Um and thank you Mr. Huck and Mrs. Brochu for being here tonight. We appreciate all that you do and stick to the script is great
021advice. >> Absolutely. >> All right. Thank you so much. >> All right, Dr. Carter. Yes. At this time, I invite Mr. Carl Reichley to the podium. >> Card act to follow. Um, good evening. I'm Carl Reichley, live at 151 Windsorville Road. I am your representative to the Rockville High AST program, Agriculture, Science, and Technology. And I'm here tonight just to give you a brief update of what goes on um a few statistics and uh to tell you I've worked with them. You're getting a great bang for your buck. Um the program over there there's currently uh six students from South Windsor attending. There's three freshman, two sophomores, and a junior. For the 26 27 year, there have been 65 applicants through other towns and South Windsor and 45 have been accepted. There are four from
022South Windsor who have applied as freshmen. Two of them have been confirmed. Um the status of the other two isn't sure, but there'll be at least eight going. And typically what happens is in March of the year um the seniors from the program will come talk to you tell you about their experiences good bad and different what they loved and what they didn't and uh from what I see and talking to people it's been a great program and the things that they do there are um all agricultural related somehow or another whether it's through agrome mechanics teaching people how to work on machinery, equipment, tractors. They've got a great great new program, new lab, an aquaculture program. Um they've got some tanks and some fish and some crustations and turtles. They do a a fantastic
023job with it. They've got animal science programs on showmanship, teaching about livestock, uh plant science, um a floral design, um it just goes on and on. there's uh we get together as a group and there's two representatives from every community um by state statute that attend that are representatives and I think there's 14 must be six or seven towns and we meet probably four or five times a year as a group um good diverse group of people u other than that um I just want to let you know that You're sending them students and you're sending them money and it is a great program. I never went to VOAG. My brother went there and graduated in 79 and been some huge changes since then and we talk about it and stuff, but uh other than
024that, if any ever want to attend any of the meetings, please reach out to me and let me know. We'd love to have you as a guest. Um, they're usually within an hour you're in and out. Down to business. With that, if you've got any questions I can answer. >> Thank you so much. Do we have any questions, Mr. Marks? >> Well, thank you for the presentation. It does sound like a great experience. How is this opportunity marketed to students? >> They have they come and meet in uh I believe 8th grade. They've got flyers around and they will come and interview students. You have to fill out an application and uh it is more thorough than I would have imagined. And you've got to write an essay and why you want to go um
025what what you're looking to do, what what you're looking to get out of the program. And uh not everybody cuts it and that speaks well. Um, and if you don't get in the first time, you can always come back and apply for your sophomore, your junior year. >> And then have we seen greater interest over time? I know Dr. Carter last year hosted a vocational services and uh and the trades seminar. Have we seen any renewed interest or increased interest over time? >> Um, like I say, there's four students this year that have applied. two of them have confirmed and the status of the other two. So, um that's helpful. >> South South Windsor isn't the biggest sender of students there. You know, there's more rural communities that send more students, but um they've got
026a great staff. I've interacted with the staff and uh they do all kinds of fundraisers. week ago they had an auction and uh my brother was the auctioneer and I asked him I says what did you auction off pies he says pies they had pies and we auctioned them off and uh just to give you a little update um the kinds of things they do is uh January 31st they they held a farm bureau annual breakfast with the students they celebrated FFA week, Future Farmers of America. In February, they had chapter public speaking classes for students to learn about public speaking. Uh they had a night at the Capitol on March 16th, 18th. Um they've got Cobalt Skill Mechanics coming up on the 24th. Um they're busy up there. Multitude of things and it's not
027just farming that you would normally think of. it reaches, like I say, the aquaculture program is uh they just put in quite a bit there and it's building and it's the future. >> That's all I have. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Armstrong. >> Yeah. Just when when the students write about what they want to get out of the program, just out of curiosity, what do they usually say? >> I couldn't tell you. Um, I just got appointed to the board in October. >> Uh, this January was the first. Um, I've had interaction with them, but I haven't seen any of the paperwork and I don't know the students. I don't know the name of any of the students that go there. Um, and that's a good thing. Um, but thank you. Appreciate it. >>
028Thank you. Oh, Mr. Caldwell. >> Yeah. You said what is it? 65 total students. >> 6 They had 65 applicants this year. 45 have been accepted. >> Is there a total is there a maximum number of students that they take? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Yeah. And I think the 45 that they've accepted um throughout the year is all they'll accept. They're full to capacity. >> That's good. So good. that they've got to have seniors graduating to make room for freshmen coming in. >> So, I would assume it's it's done on different levels like freshman, sophomore, junior, senior. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Different course levels um getting back to it. >> Excellent. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. It's really great to hear um the options that are available to our kids in
029our school system. So, we appreciate you being here, >> Dr. Curt. >> And Mr. directly. I just wanted to personally thank you for um representing South Windsor. You are also a volunteer and we thanked our board members tonight. So, we will thank you as well. Um I um taught at Rockville High for about five years. So, I'm a big fan of this program. I'm familiar with the program and before I was a teacher, I was subbing and I used to love it when I get to sub in that program. Yeah. >> So, um we're we're pleased that we have some students for which this is a match. Thank you for your for your volunteerism. >> You're welcome. And uh I just want to make note of uh I like coming to whopping school. Um I
030went to first through fourth grade here before they built Elite Terry. This used to be the cafeteria. This is where I started. And uh when I heard that the board meetings were at Who School, I says, "Yeah, I know where that is. I'll be there." So thank you very much. Like I say, if anyone wants to attend any of the meetings, reach out. Let me know. I'd be happy to. Thank you. >> Appreciate it. Dr. At this time I invite Mrs. Simino to the podium. Thank you, Dr. Carter. Good evening, Chairwoman Cororsy and members of the board of education. I am proud to be here tonight on behalf of the K12 literacy department to share information about our curriculum, provide highlights of our successes over the past five years, and to outline both our short-term
031and long-term goals to further elevate teaching and learning in the area of literacy. I am fortunate to work with knowledgeable and innovative and innovative team. And I would like to recognize and celebrate what our ELA teachers do to teach and inspire students in classrooms across the district. The graphic on this slide is South Windsor's teaching and learning framework which serves as a core document for the English language arts program vision. In K12 classrooms across the district, students actively participate in the literacy community through rich language experiences. Teachers use evidence-based instructional strategies to address individual learning needs and foster student ownership of learning while gradually and complete increasing the complexity of text and literacy tasks. Students construct and communicate meaning through discussion, written responses, and extended composition. Through these experiences, students develop their literacy skills to
032be prepared for success in today's world. The mission and goals of the ELA department, as articulated in the prior literacy curriculum review on October 2020, remain comprehensive and serve as the foundation that we build upon today. First and foremost, we strive to cultivate reflective, critical, and creative thinkers through meaningful literacy experiences that integrate reading, writing, listening, speaking, and viewing in authentic ways. As a department, we design instruction aligned with the ELA Common Core State Standards, which increase in challenge and complexity from kindergarten through grade 12. We use datadriven decision-making informed by our variety of assessments to refine curriculum and instruction to meet the needs of our students. South Windsor elementary schools implement a comprehensive approach to literacy instruction that includes explicit teaching of phological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. As part of this
033structured literacy approach, teachers provide evidence-based instruction with multiple opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate mastery. Instruction integrates reading and writing across the curriculum and ensures student access to highquality authentic texts and writing tasks. Strategic smallroup instruction and independent practice provide scaffolding and immediate feedback tailored to individual student needs. Through data informed practices and targeted interventions, we ensure that every student receives the support needed to reach their full literacy potential. Some highlights include expanding the implementation of the K5 Bookworms reading and writing program, partnering with two professional learning organizations to offer robust and differentiated professional learning based on the science of reading, strengthening our literacy interventions through implementation of research-based protocols and programs, and hosting events to build a love of literacy. This photograph shows the partner reading portion of the Bookworms program. Students reread
034the text that they have read corally as a class to their partner, building fluency and comprehension. Our students engage in a variety of literacy activities throughout their school day. In this example, kindergarteners share their writing with the class. Students are explicitly taught how to write in three distinct genres: narrative, explanatory, and opinion. Teachers participate in professional learning on a variety of topics. In this photograph, our literacy how mentor demonstrated how to apply structured literacy principles in small groupoup instruction. Teachers had the opportunity to debrief these lessons and plan for how they will apply what they have learned in their classroom instruction. This is an example of how our elementary schools build a literacy community. The Cozy Up and Read event is when students from across grade levels choose their favorite books to read and discuss
035with each other. Jumpstart's Read for the Record, the world's largest shared reading experience, was held on February 26th. This year's book was See Marcus Grow by Marcus Bridgewwater, which explores the themes of curiosity, discovery, nurturing, and growth through the eyes of Marcus, who learns from his grandmother in her garden. South Windsor Public Schools is fortunate to be able to participate in this event yearly, and each classroom receives a copy of the book to be enjoyed for many years to come. As you have already heard from our student rep Sydney, this year we had the opportunity to welcome Wana Martinez Neil in partnership with the PTO's at all four elementary schools. Wana is a recipient of numerous accolades as an author illustrator and is a New York Times best-selling illustrator. At each elementary school, she shared
036her life as a writer through three assemblies, had lunch and answered questions with a group of students, and signed books. These photographs are from her visit across our schools and include a display of Wana's picture books that students created to welcome her and decorate the gymnasium for the assembly. At Timothy Edwards Middle School, literacy skills and concepts are refined and deepened. Students engage with increasingly sophisticated texts and construct meaning in response to both literature andformational texts, strengthening the critical thinking skills needed to meet the Common Core standards and the Smarter Balance assessment expectations. Students apply literacy strategies and respond to texts in order to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences. The unit titles listed on on this slide are listed by grade level and revisions have been made at each grade level to ensure
037that the units are engaging, authentic, and based on the standards, particularly on the shifts that take place at each grade level to eliminate redundancies and continue to accelerate student learning. These photographs are from our TE ELA classrooms that show literacy in action. Students are engaging in authentic research, writing, and reading tasks that develop the portrait of a graduate attributes of resilience, engagement, social consciousness, and empowerment. TE also features a writing center named Writers Inspiring Tomorrow comprised of 15 writing tutors that are specifically trained to support their peers with improving their writing. At South Windsor High School, students work with complex grade level literature andformational texts, often analyzing and synthesizing ideas across multiple sources. They examine the relationships among literacy, language, and culture by reading and responding to texts that represent diverse perspectives. Teachers continue to
038emphasize effective communication through both oral and written expression. This instruction supports a development of the analytical and communication skills necessary for success in college and careers. This slide contains our course offerings by grade level. We have revised the curriculum of each course. All college prep courses are based on grade level expectations and and tax with appropriate scaffolding. At the honors level, students are expected to perform at levels beyond their grade level expectation, often at a more accelerated pace and with additional requirements and more independence. We are continually refining our courses from the text that we read to the learner tasks and assessments. The ELA teachers work collaboratively to write curriculum, share best practice, create and analyze assessments to ensure a shared grade level experience in a given course. These photographs illustrate the variety of literacy
039experiences in our South WSOR ELA classes. First year English honors students use technology for analysis and collaboration. Grade 11 AP students engaged in a Socratic seminar and 10th grade students in American literature prepared for a mock trial debate based on The Great Gatsby. The South Windsor public schools have responded to decades of research informing the science of reading. As a result, we have shifted to a structured literacy approach with a renewed emphasis on vocabulary, syntax, and morphology instruction. We continue to explan expand our implementation of the bookworms program to support this work. Our literacy instruction is grounded in a wide range of appropriately complex, highquality texts across multiple genres. Rather than relying on level texts, all students have access to grade level materials with appropriate scaffolds to support comprehension and vocabulary development. In addition, we
040have strengthened the vertical alignment of instruction, particularly at the secondary level to ensure coherence and progression of skills across the school year. Our literacy intervention model is based on acceleration rather than remediation, enabling students to close literacy gaps as efficiently and effectively as possible. Our ELA program short-term goals are as follows. to continue to refine and implement engaging literacy instruction based on the common core standards in science of reading research to continue to embed explicit instruction and multiple opportunities for students to practice skills aligned to the Smarter Balance and SAT assessments to continue to employ datadriven decision-making to adjust instruction, differentiate learning, and determine students who need additional support and enrichment to accelerate literacy achievement through the MTSS framework, providing targeted literacy interventions using evidence-based protocols and resources. Lastly, we aim to increase the volume
041of reading and writing at all levels, ensuring complexity, representation, and authenticity to build students skills as readers and writers. The definition of what it means to be literate is constantly evolving with new literacies such as mult multimodal texts and AI. As our definition becomes more comprehensive, our instruction needs to adapt. One of our long-term goals is to move beyond traditional literacy instruction and adopt dynamic innovative approaches grounded in research to prepare students to be literate in a global society. An example of this shown in the this photograph is the use of vertical spaces for collaboratively collaborative literary analysis. Another long-term goal is to ensure that our ELA instruction is both horizontally and vertically aligned to create a comprehensive framework of literacy learning. This alignment is critical to creating a guaranteed experience at each grade level.
042Lastly, our ELA program serves strives sorry strives to develop the attributes of the portrait of a graduate and every student through literacy instruction that intentionally develops students engagement, empowerment, resilience, and social consciousness. In order to move beyond traditional literary literacy instruction and adopt innovative approaches, we will engage in highquality professional learning. We will revise our curriculum using the knowledge that we have acquired to focus on deep reading and authentic engagement from all students. Finally, we will implement this in our daily instruction and collaboratively debrief and reflect upon the results. In order to ensure vertical and horizontal alignment, we will complete a comprehensive analysis of the ELA curriculum and investigate how the expectations build within and across grade levels in conjunction with data analysis from multiple assessments. We will identify gaps and areas for acceleration in
043order to develop students who exemplify the portion of the graduate. We will intentionally create inquirybased learning opportunities for students to develop and reflect upon their development of these attributes. Now, I would like to take this time to introduce you to our literacy team. At the elementary level, we have four literacy consultants which provide coaching and instructional support to staff. In addition, we have 12 literacy interventionists and six literacy para educators that provide literacy support to students. These staff members are invaluable to students literacy development. At TE, we have an amazing team comprising of 12 ELA teachers and two literacy interventionists. This is our dynamic team at South Windsor High School of 15 ELA teachers and one literacy interventionist. We are very fortunate to have a community that supports and champions public education. We thank everyone
044here for the commitment to literacy in South Windsor public schools. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much. >> You're welcome. >> Questions, Mr. Armstrong. >> Yeah, I've got two if you don't mind. I'll take them one at a time. >> Sure. >> Thank you for that, by the way. Appreciate it. >> Oh, you're welcome. Um, for a novice in reading instruction, could you explain this? Probably to answer this would take two hours, but we'll go with two minutes. How about that? >> Okay. >> Could you explain to us what how the quote unquote science of reading impacts both what the teacher and the student does in the classroom? >> Okay, so that's a great question. So the science of reading is based off of decades of research and it really just highlighted the importance
045of teaching things in an explicit and systematic fashion. And so the the five areas are frenmic awareness which are really about the langu the sounds of language and the components of language and that's like the usually like a K2 um real focus and K to2 um phonics um which is decoding words and the sounds in words um fluency and comprehension and vocabulary and I what really was happening is across many across the country really um they were noticing that there weren't very significant literacy gains and that was because of the curriculum that was not in a systematic and explicit taught in a systematic and explicit way leaving a lot of gaps for students. >> Um when when I in the ancient time when I was in high school we used to read novels. >> Is
046that still practice? >> Yes, we do still read novels. We're currently looking to, as one of our goals, I mentioned, expand um the volume of of reading and writing um it across all of the of our ELA courses. Um we do have novels, we have book clubs where students can choose books that out of a a set. Um and we do have different uh informational texts and shorter um like short stories and poetry and things like that. >> Thank you. And my second question is how important is the literacy dis uh instruction that goes on in other disciplines >> such as so um I'm a social studies guy by the way so that's where I'm coming from. So like in social studies there's a lot that goes on in in literacy. >> How does that
047work in with what we are doing? It is critical and you know every teacher is a teacher of literacy because in order to learn something you need to have you know um an awareness of be able to read, write, speak and just the awareness of syntax and language. Um so that's critical that students are you know practicing their literacy skills and that literacy is across all content areas. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you >> Mrs. Manila. Um, I have a couple of questions, so I'll take one or two and I'll come back. All right. Um, thank you for the presentation. Thank you. And you're very nice to listen to. Um, I have a question. Um, the slide present presentation on um, the grade levels. It seems like there's like um, like a few
048courses offered in grade 9, 10, and 11. Um, and a whole bunch of electives and seniors. So is um is there any chance of like getting the freshman, sophomores, and juniors like more involved in like more electives that they can take and be in language arts? So there are some core classes that we we um are required to um have students take. We're continually looking at our course offerings and seeing um you know what is the best fit for students. The reason why there are more courses in 12th grade is because those are some of our electives that are only offered for one semester. >> And so students can double up and and take a couple of different um electives as as they choose. >> I know the answer. >> All right. And and journalism
049seems to be a popular um course across um all four grade levels. Is that is that what you're finding that that's is that something new or is that a trend that's coming up? >> So that's a a course that's open to students from 9 to 12. The students that are in journalism also take an additional English course as well. So, they have to fit that into their schedule. And we have uh I think 35 students in our journalism program for next year. >> Very good. And um um the do they they used to offer like a humanities class to like freshmen which combines social studies and language arts together. Do they do they still do something like that? >> Yes, the modern world seminar. >> That's what that's called. Yeah. All right. Right. I'm old
050so that's thing. Right. Um can you explain Can I keep going? Go for it. >> All right. Um can you explain difference between balanced literacy and structured literacy? You may have done it already but could you do it again please? >> So um there's well there's like some shifts in both of the approaches but basically structured literacy is about providing grade level text to all students with appropriate scaffolds. In a balanced literacy approach, we relied heavily on leveled texts and so students would not necessarily receive complex texts. Um, and we and that's extremely problematic. Um and so when you know the science of reading was was shared and announced across the country um there was a lot of research that showed that students that are in level texts really don't ever close the gap and
051don't read on uh grade level. Um, another component would be adding in more explicit instruction on vocabulary and on morphology, which is how words, how the parts of words you can approximate, like learning Latin and Greek roots to approximate a word's meaning. And we're actually teaching that explicitly in um, South Windsor public schools now. >> Very good. Right. Um, I come from a math background, so I'm doing math. We do building thing in classrooms. So we use vertical boards all the time. So our kids are up and moving all the time. So to see that in language arts um was very exciting. >> Yeah. So we had some teachers that saw it in math and decided why don't we adopt this for ELA and they've been using it very successfully with kids to analyze text
052>> and everybody goes around they have a gallery walk and they they add to it whatever. >> Yep. >> And um my last question um can you explain the difference between an interventionist and a consultant? Yes. So, a literacy their literacy consultant and a literacy interventionist are both certified positions. Uh, a literacy consultant has an advanced degree through the state of Connecticut um in in the area of literacy. Literacy interventionists work directly with students and literacy consultants work primarily with adults. >> Very good. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Mr. Marks. >> Thank you. Well, thank you for your presentation and all the work that you do. Um, I remember in senior year they used to offer an AP uh literature course. Has that been replaced with the Yukon academic writing and then I
053guess what are the differences in those two courses? >> Um, I'm actually I can't speak to that because I've only been in the district for a year and a half. >> Um, so he hasn't been out of the district for that long. Well, that's a little one. >> Um I I do know that there was an AP course that was offered in 11th grade that was um is now the AP Lang course. >> Okay. Thank you. Um and then when now Mayor Zimmerman was on the board, he used to ask our curriculum specialists when they used to come to the board, considering it's budget season, what do you need? um because it's obviously very important to fully fund our budget as we've been discussing with the council right now. So, I want to pose the
054question to you and not necessarily for this year, but for for next year and the years following. Um what do you need? Are we doing anything now that we that we're not doing that we should be doing? Are there any gaps that we should be filling to make sure our students are best prepared? I mean, we always have we always have a wish list, but um I think if you're asking if I if we had additional money to to spend in the area. >> Money was no object. >> Oh, wonderful. Yes. I think you know um I I would definitely look to investing money into some enriching experiences for kids like going to see plays and um bringing authors every single year. um we do it every other year which we're really grateful for. Um
055and you know I think having uh another interventionist at the secondary level would be really helpful. Um so I think that's how I would answer that question. >> That's that's awesome. Thank you. Um and then my final question is considering that art artificial intelligence has probably affected language arts the most of any subject. I assume social studies and math obviously have yeah math too have their own respective challenges with that. like can you maybe discuss how that's changed the curriculum and your your foresight on things? >> Yes. So the ELI staff has really taken AI in different it really used in thoughtful ways to really enhance students learning in terms of having AI serve as a coach or serve as a colleague. Um AI should never be the final product. It should be part of
056the learning process. And so it's really important that teachers plan for some sort of assessment or transfer of knowledge to an authentic task such as like a Socratic seminar for example. So using AI maybe to prep or using their peers with AI and but then holding students accountable for you know meeting the the lesson objective and the success criteria without the use of any tools >> and they mostly I don't know if this is a question for central office you but they mostly use magic school and are they explicitly prohibited from using chat GBT and Gemini and Claude and all the other AI bots? So, they don't exclusively use Magic School AI. It is our primary AI tool that we've invested in as a district because there are a plethora of controls that we can
057have on the back end as opposed to um chat GPT. We do not use student information in chat GPT because of the way that information is stored. It's available on the net. We never put any student information in those um tools because and they also don't follow our state's privacy agreements. So there are a list of two or three approved tools that we can control see what students are doing there related to our Google suite of tools. So notebook LM and Gemini. So we've shared with teachers they can use as many AI tools to help support their work. But in terms of the work that we do with students, we do limit that. so that we can manage it and make sure it's being used appropriately and in alignment with our curriculum and instructional goals.
058>> Thank you. I just have a follow-up question. I was going to ask about the AI also, and everyone here knows that I tease Mr. Markx with the utmost respect and love. Um, my follow-up question, um, and I think there's a lot of kind of concern about how AI is affecting literacy, um, and what trends we're going to see down the road. Um, could you talk more about the opportunities for, um, just kids with pens and pencils and no Chromebooks open? And are there um requirements within the curriculum for them to have that opportunity where they're not just kind of taking information in from a million sources and they're really just using their brains, their hands, and and show showcasing what they've learned. >> Oh, absolutely. Amazing. >> Yeah. I'm in I'm in classrooms K12
059um across the district and I see you know teachers really intentionally using technology for a purpose and I also see teachers intentionally not using technology for a purpose. So I still see writing in journals. I still see um you know ondemand analytical paragraphs. I still see reflections that are written. I still see essays that are written. I still see written feedback and communication. So that is something that is really still critical and valuable and we need to make sure that that's a priority in our classrooms. >> I definitely agree. Thank you so much. Um Mr. Armstrong, >> just to keep on the AI kick here, um, this is probably an unfair question, but what would you say to the schools, and there's schools in colleges that are doing this that are, for example, going back
060to pencil and paper exams >> um, uh, in college, back to the blue books, is that an I think they're trying to fight off AI by doing that. Is that what would you say to them? Well, I think that it is really important to know what you want in any learning environment. Know what you're teaching, what you're expecting students to produce or meet the standard and then what's the best vehicle or tool for that. So, I am in support of ondemand paper pencil for things. Absolutely. Um, if that's the best way to to measure student mastery. >> Thank you, Miss Shaw. >> Hi. Um, just a quick follow-up question again on AI. Um, as a parent, what resources are there available for parents to kind of help navigate students who are using these new tools?
061Like, we're just as new with the AI tools as our kids are, and they come home, they ask questions, and we're learning with them. So, what resources are available for parents to kind of dwell into this new AI? >> Yeah, that's a difficult question. Um I think you know whenever you're the you know teachers have their own expectations in terms of AI use in the classroom which is usually posted on an assignment or posted in Google classroom and so I think you know reaching out to teachers is you know in terms of like what the expectations are for particular assignment is always helpful. Um but in terms of like students AI use like on their own um I would definitely just have some conversations. is I mean my kids my kids are only three um
062so I'm not there yet but um I would have conversations about your your student in terms of ethical use of AI and being a critical consumer um and knowing you know what is your goal in using the AI and is the is the AI doing the work for you or is it part of the learning process that you're going to then put together an original product of yours. So I think just talking about ethical and responsible AI use Thank you, Mr. Mackey. >> Hi, thank you for coming. I appreciate I got a few questions to kind of go off uh what Mrs. Shaw said. I think u one of the things that I know in my district that we are doing especially we are working with the library media center on a combined project to
063talk about like reliable sources so that when we work with AI, how are we teaching them not only what the right information is, but what sites they can actually trust when they're looking at this. So, I don't know if that's something we would look at in our next review or something that we I do think talking about or teaching about misinformation or reliable sources and where the right ones are to get that information is something that they need a skill they need to learn how to do because it's not going away. So, we can't fight it like some of the colleges are doing. We have to kind of embrace it with some educational knowledge behind it. But, I just think that's something that we could probably look for uh towards as a district. Um I
064know that we are piloting and and correct me if I'm wrong on this piloting the bookworms program. >> How do you feel that has been going and how are the teachers and which may be different than your view of it going? Uh if you could give a little review on that. >> So when I go into bookworms classrooms what I see is kids engaged in again complex grade level text with the teacher. It depends on which lesson I go to because there's like two different modules in the bookworms program. Um but one of the modules is um shared reading where the teacher is um and the class is corally reading together and then the students are partner reading. So I'm really seeing a lot of repetition in reading which shows which research shows build students
065fluency, their vocabulary and their comprehension of text. students are writing every single day in terms of uh written responses to what they're reading. And then in the ELA portion, they either have a genre based writing lesson which kids go through the writing process or they have an interactive readaloud where teachers are asking really high-level questions and students are grappling with the answer with a partner in sharing out. So the the book rooms classrooms are very interactive, engaging. There's explicit vocabulary. I love seeing especially in kindergarten because the kids are using all of all of these highlevel words that you would think that they would never know and they're posted up on the board and the kids are reading the text and saying, "Oh, that's just like the text that we read here." And and using
066those words appropriately and in context. Um so I'm I'm really pleased with the bookworms um lessons and and the implementation in the classroom. It's a heavy lift and the and the teachers are doing a phenomenal job. With that being said, no one program is going to be perfect ever. And we need to make sure that we are having the time to be able to plan lessons using the program that are specific to our students needs. And um it's always going to be the teacher, right? The teacher is always going to be that driving factor in in literacy achievement, any achievement really. you did a good job of um speaking for the teachers in a nice nicely polite way because I feel like uh maybe it's a little bit more of a challenge uh this new
067program from what I'm hearing to teach because it's also when it's new and if you're not and hopefully and I guess this is maybe for our our admin team is when we get a program like this how much uh professional development goes into this for them to learn a new program to then implement it because I'm sure the teachers here and everybody when it's something new it's kind of thrown at us sometimes s last minute we're supposed to pick up on it and then go, "Oh, now we're the experts teaching these kids." When really we're like, "We don't know what the heck's going on either." So, uh, I don't know if Tracy or Miss Peterson. >> Sure. Um, so we are very fortunate here in South Windsor that we have a great deal of professional
068learning time, especially for our elementary teachers. So I would say I would dare to say that the last two years their professional learning has been dominated by science of reading and bookworms PD which have been parallel experiences which I imagine sometimes can be overwhelming but we've this is why we've committed to several years of that kind of professional learning to ensure that people feel supported they understand how the program works so we've brought out Bookworms professional professionals here in person and virtually to make it more accessible. But we also partnered with literacy how is what um Kathleen mentioned earlier which is honestly in our state one of the more recognized literacy professional organizations actually participated in writing the legislation around the right to read. And so we provided that PD not just for people who
069are implementing bookworms uh which is really mandated K implemented it K5 for continuity for teachers but also piling on for our middle school and upper elementary school teachers some of that professional learning so that they will know what students have received prior to um being in their classrooms so that they can systematically build on that learning. And as Kathleen said, have that alignment between skills so that students are growing each year appropriately. >> Thank you. Uh and I know Mr. Marks talked about the future of what we if we had dream money. Um but let's I'll pose the question of now. So we have we have two uh positions that we have put forward through our budget. Um if you didn't get those, how would that hurt your staff? Look at her face. I wish
070that's on her and not me. Uh uh what would how would that be if they cut our budget or reduced our budget is what they like to use. Um go ahead. Sorry. >> So the class sizes would be I don't I don't even know if I could fit all the students in a class without the additional FTE at at the high school with the with the you know rising nth graders. >> All right. I I appreciate that. I think it's important for us all to hear that and more importantly for the people at home that need to hear that. Um, and my last thing I I I just want to say that I I think as a parent who whose son uses uh the literacy um reading teachers and and and all that um programs
071that we offer, I think that we have done a really great job because I think back and I'll be honest, it I struggled with it for a little while and clearly we did not have the programs that we have now and the resources that our kids have now, but I've been, you know, personally impressed with Um my son does not care for reading and and at home it is a struggle >> but from uh when we talk to his teacher and his and his reading teacher and him about what he's doing in his day I think it's they they're doing something differently than what we're doing at home because he does not come home with the same um anger that we see sometimes. Um, so I I think that's a kudos to the teachers and
072the staff that have to continuously um let's stop pretending that they have a little course, you know, a case load. They got a lot of kids. Um, and I think it's hard to keep the positivity and it's it's hard to keep kids engaged when it's not that fun to do. So, I think that they're doing a really great job. I do think that what would be your suggestion and I and I just know that my wife and I kind of struggled with this is who do we contact first if we are having questions about his reading if or questions about writing and all that stuff. Is it would you suggest that we go right to the classroom teacher and I I mean at the uh elementary level the classroom teacher or is there um the
073consultants that >> I would first go to the classroom teacher absolutely and they they work very closely with the literacy consultants and the interventionists so they can provide you with you know a really holistic view of what um what your student in terms of their strengths and the the areas of growth. >> Okay. Yep. And I and I my last thing is I a lot of times when we have people come present they have other people. You did this all on your own. I think it's very impressive. >> Thank you very much for taking all our questions. I appreciate it and welcome to the Is this your first time presenting to us? I apologize if I'm wrong. >> Yes. Yes. It's the first time presenting. >> Welcome to South Winds. >> Thank you so much.
074Thank you for the opportunity. >> All right, Dr. Carter. >> And thank you, Mrs. Simino. And I'll just say for someone who's been here only a year and a half, she's had a huge impact district-wide um and I am stopped by staff members unsolicited to just talk about the support they feel um from Mrs. Simino and the professional development that we do. So, >> thank you so much and I apologize. Sydney, did you have a comment? >> No, that's totally okay. Um I don't really know if I'm allowed to do this, but I wanted to offer for um the students perspective. I just wanted to share that I have loved having the experience of being in the South Windsor High School English program. Um I took AP Lang last year with Mrs. Flashbart and I
075loved it. I've never felt more prepared for college and all the papers I'm going to have to write. This year I'm with um Miss Frasier in senior honors English. Never felt both as pushed and supported in a class. And you know, as we're in the formal operations stage in our high school, it's so important like with abstract thinking. So, I just really appreciated your presentation and I appreciate the program. >> Thank you so much for sharing that, Sydney. That was really great to hear. >> All right. Um, Dr. Carter, I think Are we still on your reports? Perfect. >> Yes. Um, and and yes, and Sydney, thanks for sharing those those insights. I'm glad you put your light on. Yes. >> Um it's good to hear from the student perspective and um coming up there
076might be a topic you're interested because it has to do with the last day of school. Um >> but at this time uh we're going to turn things over to Mr. Murka. >> Thank you, Dr. Carter. Uh good evening, Chairwoman Corsy and members of the board. Before you this evening is the third budget status report of the year. At this time, there is a positive unallocated balance of $184,668 made up of $133,232 in benefit funds due to lower than anticipated retirements and unemployment costs for the year. $4,286 in available supply funds and $47,168 in program balances due to fewer students enrolling in virtual language courses and a reduced need for professional nursing services. As mentioned at the last budget reporting, personnel accounts exceed the budget. The current deficit balance is $264,423. I am requesting that
077the $133,232 of benefit funds be transferred to these accounts to offset these expenses. I anticipate that the remaining shortfall will be covered with planned FMLA leaves occurring later in the school year and from other salary accounts that may become available. The special education expenses are currently expected to exceed the budget by approximately $100,000. I am requesting that the 4,286 in uh available supply funds and the in program funds be transferred to these accounts to offset this shortfall fall. I anticipate that the remaining balance will be covered by additional unallocated funds that become available through the remainder of the year. Regarding our health reserve industry standard is to maintain a health reserve balance equal to 25% of the year's projected claims. Currently, our balance stands at 20%. And this concludes my report. Thank you. >> Thank
078you, Mr. Chara. Do you have any questions from the board? >> All right. Um, Miss Yano, do we have a motion? >> Yes. Uh, move to approve the FY26 third budget status report as presented. >> All in favor? >> Any opposed? Absentions. Thank you very much. And do we have a personnel report? Thank you. Well, good evening, Chairwoman Corsy and members of the board. Included in your packet is a brief personnel report. As noted, I've received one resignation that will take effect next month, and that'll conclude my report for this evening. >> Thank you so much. Moving on to unfinished and new business. Um, let's see. Mr. Armstrong, do you have the big motion of the night? >> Sure. With regret. No. U move to approve the last day of school for all students as
079sta and staff as Friday, June 19th, 2026. >> Second. >> Any discussion? comments or concerns. >> No question. >> So, she didn't care. >> Fantastic. All in favor? >> I. Any oppose? >> Mr. Marks, >> I do have a single question. I obviously fully support this. I'm not voting against this. I don't want kids with pitchforks in here next meeting. But I I had a question since I know this date is June 19th and at that point as the teachers in the room know um teachers complete all the curriculum at that point. Are we doing anything that week or in the weeks before that to promote Junth and to educate our students about the importance of that date? >> Yes. Um now that well once the board votes tomorrow morning I will be sending out
080a communication to families and one will be a communication from me announcing that the academic calendar has been reduced by two days thus making it the last day of school. There is also a letter from Mrs. Peterson who talks about Junth and answers some questions um about why we can be in school and how the what the law says and um what what we're what what you'll read in the letter um is that hon or about June 9th each year we're going to teach about June uh that way it never gets forgotten or skipped if we don't go to school through June 19th. This is the first time that June 19th has fallen in our school year since it was adopted as a federal holiday in 21. So, we felt that it would better ensure
081the students learn about this topic if we didn't tie it to the date exactly. Um, similar to this is very similar to Veterans Day. We're in school. It's a federal holiday, but we're in school and we do have um lots of learning that goes around uh that that day. >> Love to hear that. Thank you. >> Thank you. Mr. Armstrong, did you have something? >> All right. I do. >> All right. So, Mr. >> is that last day going to be a half day then? So the 19th would be half day. >> There's no half day. Is there half day on that Wednesday, too, or No, >> I don't think so. I don't I think because we went into another week. >> Okay. >> It wasn't listed as one on the calendar. Um this is
082precluding us from going into the fourth week of June. Um and I think that Wednesday was not identified as a as a half day, >> but it is our intention for that Friday would be the half day. Okay. >> And as for teachers also, Dr. Carter? >> Yes. All right, everybody ready to vote? Okay. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any absentions? Passes. Fantastic. Um All right. Um board members do have, I believe, four um board of ed policies in their packets. Tonight is the first read and if there are any questions or comments we can discuss at next month's meeting. Um moving on to commit uh committee reports. Do we have any reports from committees? Seeing none. All right. Also seeing none um in the audience for public comment. We will keep it moving.
083Does anyone have any items for future agendas? Mr. Marks, >> I have a quick comment to our student reps. First of all, thank you for participating. Um, I've always felt how important is obviously to have the student perspective and to have our student reps be more involved in our meetings. So hopefully you'll feel more empowered going forward to continue to speak up. But yeah, thank you guys. >> Agreed. Thank you. All right. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? >> Second. >> All in favor? Have a great night.