001[Music] for e e e today is th Thursday May 16th 2024 this is a regular meeting of the Waterberry Board of Education we're going to start off with a silent Prayer Dr Ruffin do you have any remembrances tonight yes Madam president members of the board in a moment of silence this evening let us remember former members of the Waterberry Public Schools education Community who have passed away Maria aroyo retired par professional at Wallace Middle School passed away on April 28th Virginia Centier retired cafeteria manager passed away on May 12th let us keep them and their families in our thoughts and prayers pre of allegiance to the flag Michaela and Dante would you lead us I pleas flag United States the stand na vice president BR presid commissioner Prius commissioner iron here commissioner Jackson commissioner Navaro
002here commissioner O'Brien here commissioner Orso here commissioner Sano commissioner vanstone president Hernandez here number four Communications commissioner O'Brien may I have a motion I mo i motion to receive and place the on file Communications as listed second discussion all in favor I I oppos abstain motion carries number five cab leadership award presentation assistant superintendent Jay gopy good evening president Hernandez vice president Brown our student Representatives Dr ruffen and our parents who are here with us this evening our student Representatives we are here this evening to recognize our students uh for the cave leadership award the cave leadership award is designed to honor Connecticut middle and high school students who exhibit exemplary leadership skills this evening students are being recognized for their willingness to take on challenges capability to make difficult decisions their concern for others
003ability to work well with others willingness to commit to a project diplomacy ability to understand issues clearly and their ability to honor a commitment the first students that we will recognize this evening are from Waterberry Arts Magnet School the students are Patrick Ola Silva and Nicholas ASAT uh with them is their administrator Mr Joseph n good evening even everyone good evening good evening superintendent Dr Ru president Hernandez our human capital department and all of you parents Guardians loved ones of our recipients it gives me a great honor tonight to be a part of this and issue of the recognition to two wonderful students here at Willams our first one Mr Nicholas aaat is a young gentleman who shows strengthen his academic abilities and many many leadership qualities academically he continues to give his best effort
004in all subject areas working diligently on his own as well as with others he is always ready to face a challenge and has the perseverance to carry through and meet those challenges Nicholas congratulations on your recognition was such a producer and direct our next recipient from the water B Arts Magnet School unfortunately is in the middle of preparing for a performance that he will be starring in in 10 minutes across the way at the large dance studio so if anybody would like to go over admission is free but um it is a small venue congratulations goes to Patrick Olivera Silva Patrick shows artistic and academic passion and all things whams he is a vice president of the senior class and an extremely talented dancer choreographer Patrick is an established leader in our school and is
005always looking to take on roles and become involved in performances and events at whams congratulations to Patrick and I'd like to congratulate all the recipients wonderful job everybody thank you thank you Mr n oh Patrick is here and here he is awesome good luck tonight Patrick uh the next school is Carrington school the students who are receiving Awards this evening are Jason Hernandez Martinez Kaylee ol Olivio with their principal Mrs Miss Karen Rena good evening our first recipient is Jason Hernandez martinz it's with great honor that we um honor him tonight so I will just say Jason is a pleasant and responsible young man who participates in class discussions and leads by example Jason is a great friend and always offers his help Jason is a member of Carrington's chess club over the past two
006years he is currently a member of Carrington's inaro basketball team and he's played for Waterberry police activity league as well he's a takes his academics very seriously and he puts forth his best effort all the time he plans on attending waterb Career Academy next year congratulations Jason the next recipient is Kaylee olivo Kaye is dedicated in a motivated student who leads by example she's a student who takes her academic seriously and always strives to do her best she's quick to help her peers and she has become an intricate member of our school she has worked tirelessly and as a member of the yearbook committee band and has been a cast member in last year's musical she has very big dreams and aspirations for herself as she plans on becoming a veterinarian all right so she
007has a bright future ahead so we wish her well and congratulations Kaye the next school is Crosby High School the students receiving Awards this evening are Justin arll and Sophia Coello they're here with their principal Mr vera good evening president Hernandez uh vice president Brown Bo of Education Commissioners Dr Ruffin my name is Michael Vero principal of Crosby High School and we are so proud of our 2024 cab recipients our first recipient is Sophia Coello Sophia is one of a small cohort of seniors that graduated last Saturday from Post University with their Associates to grade she's been able to balance her academic workload participate in several extracurricular activities and even work parttime Sophia is the vice president of the Crosby High School National Honor Society she volunteers at her church and she is part of
008Crosby High School's Upward Bound program most notably she is also a member of the Crosby High School life smarts team where recently they placed third at the national competition in San Diego California wow she currently is ranked number two in her class and she will be attending the University of Connecticut stores in the fall we are so proud of Miss Sophia koella our next recipient is Justin arello Justin is a young man of Dominican nationality who moved to Waterbury when he was 11 years old from the Bronx New York Justin makes Crosby High School a better place every single day his positive attitude and genuine care for others is infectious he is a member of the student council boys volleyball team and participates in many community service projects He is a true asset to the
009Crosby community and he will be attending albertis Magnus in the fall Justin arell a 2024 cave recipient from Crosby High School the next school is dougen the students receiving awards are Kiana Carter and Essence Smith with them this evening is their principal Mrs djovani good evening I would like to introduce to you Kiana Carter who has been unanimously chosen as dougan's seventh grade cave Award winner she is simply delightful and leads by example and Shar determination her pairs know that they can turn to her for guidance and support her teachers know that she can be trusted beyond measure hiana is a successful athlete as well she plays tennis volleyball basketball and soccer Kiana is on the student council and performs her duties admirably congratulations k I now present to you Essence Smith Essence has been
010chosen as a cave award recipient for douin dougen School's e8th grade class this future CEO is blessed with the remarkable ability to lead motivate and delegate she is always offering assistance to both staff and students she is willing to re-explain expectations and notate which students are absent from the room and reliably follow up to keep everyone on track we are eager to see what the future holds for The Talented Miss Essence congratulations the next school is Gil Martin School the students receiving awards are shander perab and Amar Ortiz with your administrator Mrs Curley cologne good evening everyone chandar is an eighth grader at gil Martin Elementary School who truly stands out from the crowd his love for academic success and overall achievement shows in all that he does chand's favorite academic content area is math
011and he desires to become a doctor at the end of his academic Journey when ask what he thinks is the most amazing thing about himself he stays that he both loves to take on new challenges and never backs down from one especially when it results in learning from something new his peers would describe him as motivated smart and chill or in other words calm chandar enjoys playing with his younger sister Tina reading mystery novel novels and playing fortnite from time to time Mr Campbell his Ela teacher describes him as diligent dedicated and full of perseverance Miss serif and his Math teachers Shar that he is a conscientious young man who loves a good challenge it is clear to staff and students AEL Martin why chandar is truly deserving of this award our other recipient was
012unable to be here with us tonight but he is Omar Ortiz and he is also an eighth grader aiel Martin this young man is nothing short of outstandingly amazing hailing from a large family consisting of eight siblings Omar has a notable desire as the youngest brother to make his family proud though he excels in all his academics and specials course Works he notes that mathematics is his favorite content area when he complet his career Journey he desires to be an engineer who owns his own business Omar is a Golden State Warriors and Baltimore Ravens fans whose friends would describe him as brilliant loyal and determined Mr Pratt his social studies teacher says Amar one of the hardest working attentive to detail and mindful students I have known he never backs down from a challenge and
013when presented with one does not shy away from attacking it from multiple angles congratulations to Omar the next school is Kennedy High School um the students are Manuel demage and Jillian Santos Manuel and Jillian are both not able to be with us this evening because they are both being inducted into the National Honor Society at this time at Kennedy High School um so I'm going to read the remarks from their school uel is described by one of his teachers as a natural-born leader he goes above and beyond both in and out of the classroom in the classroom his inquisitive nature is the impetus for lively discussion and challenging disc course outside the classroom Manuel is the type of student that other students naturally gravitate towards and his consistently supportive manner was noted by more than
014one classmate he is also the captain of Kennedy's soccer team congratulations to Manuel in their second student is Jillian Santos Jillian is a perfect example of a student leader energetic compassionate and selfless Jillian is an influential member of the Kennedy High School Community she is involved in both the service Key Club as well as the National Honor Society she challenges herself with a coar load full of advanced placement in Yukon early college experience classes her infectious enthusiasm and everpresent positivity make her both a great example for her classmates as well as someone who is trusted by both students and the staff at Kennedy High School congratulations to Jillian Santos the next school is northen Middle School their students receiving Awards this evening are Aiden khaw and zo kones Fernandez with them this evening is assistant
015principal Mrs Jennifer Egan and Mr James Simpson assistant principal good evening everyone uh president Hernandez vice president Brown and fellow Commissioners and Dr Ruffin my distinct pleasure tonight to introduce hail canun Fernandez as the 2024 cave Award winner and Miss Rosa her math teacher writes the following she's an exceptionally driven student who approaches her studies in a very unwavering enthusiasm and tackles each task with remarkable persistence in our math class she not only comprehends complex topics but also offers profound Insight during our discussions her academic potential knows no bounds and I'm certain she'll achieve great success in any field that she chooses to pursue ze's impeccable respect for others and consistent ability to meet expectations sets her apart as a model citizen among her parents and teachers she radiates warmth compassion readily extending a helping
016hand to classmates in need while prioritizing her own personal development furthermore she doesn't shy away from challenges she Embraces them wholeheartedly she willingly lends her expertise to support struggling students and occasionally assumes the role of teaching classes showcasing her leadership abilities additionally her genuine concern for the well-being of others is quite evident as she regularly checks in on students that might be feeling low moreover Zeal Ste fast commitment is demonstrated throughout her punctuality and conscientious completion of tasks both inside inside and outside the classroom um and for me she's really a great great kid great Charisma always has a smile on her face she really laughs at all my jokes and she's really really a great kid the sky to living she's going very very far uh a great ambassador of nor Middle School in
017the Waterbury Public Schools zeal good evening everyone president Hernandez Dr ruffen fellow Commissioners student representation and parents thank you so much for allowing us to come tonight and celebrate our students Aiden Aiden is an outstanding student eighth grade student who has worked hard to achieve much success in many aspects at school he is highly motivated shows a great concern for others and is always willing to take on challenges he is a tremendous person who exhibits Great Character Aiden works very well with others and is very supportive here you can see this both in his athletic abilities and commitment in the classroom he also works with others to run the school store efficiently Aiden is an exceptional student he has that allaround combination of wisdom leadership qualities and great academic skills he has Boundless Energy and
018the ability to persevere he is out without he is without a doubt a true leader very proud of you the next school is readed school the students being honored this this evening are Aiden sorry uh Bianca lean di Diaz and Danielle quas Rodriguez with them this evening is assistant principal Kimberly ma good evening I have here our eth grader Bianca Leia um she Bianca shows leadership qualities in and out of the classroom her boldness and eagerness to learn have helped her achieve a high academic standing she enjoys her social life and is very welcoming to those around her she is very excited for high school and she will be attending ker for next year and we're very confident that she's going to do great things in the future so congratulations and this is our seventh
019grader at Reed Danielle quas Rodriguez Danielle has been a great asset to our school this year she has showed maturity when having to make difficult decisions and we commend her for that her eagerness to participate and help her classmates learn is recognized by all of her teachers and her laugh is contagious and she is a pleasure to have in class um from all of her teachers so congratulations the next student is from our State Street program and it's Anthony Wright with him this evening is Mr Ben gerain assistant principal good evening it's my privilege to recognize Anthony Wright tonight as our c leadership Award winner Anthony is currently enrolled as an eighth grade student at State Street program over the last year and a half since enrolling at State Street Anthony has made tremendous progress
020both academically and social emotionally despite encountering personal challenges he has consistently exhibited an unwavering determination and a positive attitude Anthony is a leader in the classroom as he's eager to learn he consistently performs academically and serves as an example for his classmates at State Street Anthony stands out through his class participation communication and dedication to achieve the goals he has set for himself Anthony has a great sense of humor and an engaging personality that he shares with us daily his determination to stay on the right path while thriving in an environment that poses many challenges and influences that may and influences makes him a model for other students to strive to be like Anthony has success y completed his time with us at State Street and will be attending either willby high school or ker
021attack in the fall congrats Anthony our next winners are from Wallace Middle School helina loronzo Estes and Antonio Kohl's with them this evening is Melinda Gro the academic Academy supervisor good evening Dr ruffen president Hernandez vice president Brown secretary Sano adoro Commissioners family and friends it is my honor to present the cave student leadership award to two truly extraordinary our first recipient of this prestigious award is Antonio Kohl's he is described by his teachers as a positive role model who works well with others Antonio is active in many extracurricular activities and has emerged as a leader in our school community he works to ensure representation for all students as the Wallace student council Equity chair Beyond this he helped shape the next generation of student leaders as a mentor to fourth and fifth graders in
022the Academy's Mentor program he's also the lead Ambassador in the academy ambassador program which welcomes guests for special events and provides School tours for incoming students Antonio congratulations on earning the cave student leadership award we are so proud of your right what she saying be Elena Elena luran Estes is our is also exceptionally deserving of the cave student leadership award last year Elena founded the Wallace chess club which brought chess into the lives of dozens of our students and culminated in a tournament with a team from another District serving as an academy Ambassador Elena welcomes new students and visitors to our school this year Elena was elected Wallis student council president her meetings are exceptionally efficient and 100% student l under her leadership the student council has taken a much more active role in The
023Wallace Community they've organized dances celebrations of various cultures pep rallies and numerous fundraising events congratulations Elena you have a remarkable future in front of you and we cannot wait to see the Imaging contributions you will make to our world the next recipients are from Waterberry Career Academy they're Destiny Langs meline Molina cardas and with them this evening is assistant principal Mr Peter flamming good evening Dr ruffen president Hernandez Commissioners coach vanstone um I could speak for hours about the contributions and accomplishments of these two students but I'm just going to say a few words first I'd like to talk about meline mine Molina was recently named the recipient of a prestigious questbridge match scholarship an award worth more than $200,000 to attend Vander Vanderbilt University for the next four years costree mateline has always been
024motivated to help others from the thrill she remembers to teaching her own mom new words to the spiritual lift of providing moral guidance to the students in her confirmation classes the voices she cultivates working collaboratively with her friends on class projects but meline also knows the importance of helping herself finding Motivation by Challen challenging herself to be the very best it is this balance a balance that she believes might not have been possible without one fortunate move to waterburry years ago that has meline Molina poised for great success at vanderville University and Beyond next I'll talk about Destiny Destiny Langs is the perfect embodiment of what it means to be a cave leader since freshman year at WCA Destiny has challenged herself to take the toughest classes in school and has thrived she is witty
025and intelligent and thoroughly prepares for every class that she takes she has accomplished economic and volunteer Excellence that has allowed her to be named a part of the National Honor Society Destiny chose to make a difference in her school Community by becoming one of the two student Representatives on this board of education her qualities as a leader are unmatched and will serve her well as a college student next year at Howard University congratulations Des our next recipients are from Wendel Cross School they are are Alexia Rodriguez Aiden Ruiz presenting uh reading um their reports this evening is their principal Donna Cullen their assistant principal andrewy and a special guest Gina Antonio one of their teachers good evening everyone it was an honor and a privilege to be the kindergarten teacher to these two amazing students
026who have remained best friends since I had them in my kindergarten classroom and I'm so proud to share this special night with the B of both of them um I'm pleased to present the cave award to an outstanding leader at our school Alexia Rodriguez Alexia has been a leader since kindergarten she possesses so many beautiful qualities that every teacher hopes for in a student she is kind and caring to all of her classmates and teachers as a middle school student she is always respect to everyone and because she is so responsible Alexia is chosen to do many special jobs at our school such as greeting families at the door during an during open house volunteering for Afterschool activities and assisting me with my prek students she is always patient and very kind while working with
027the younger students at Wendel cross I am so proud to present the 2024 cave award to Alexia Rodriguez our next cave recipient for mundle cross is Aiden Ruiz since kindergarten Aiden possessed so many qualities that led me to believe that he would become the leader that he is today Aiden was always respectful to his teachers his classmates and all staff members because he is so responsible Aiden is often chosen for various jobs at our school during open house he greets our families at the door and escorts them to their designated classrooms he assists our young students every morning and brings them where they need to go Aiden is also an excellent pre helper aen volunteers at many school events and wears a smile on his face while doing anything that is asked of him Aiden
028is also a member of the Waterberry Police Explorers I couldn't think of another Middle School Boy more deserving of the 2024 cave award congratulations our next students are from Westside middle school they are ariani Martinez elante Harmony Rodriguez Angel Martinez with them this evening are their principal Mr Peter McCaslin assistant principles Mrs fuchi and Mrs manini good evening president Hernandez honorable commissioners of the Waterbury Board of Education and Dr ruffen ariani is a member of the seventh grade class at Westside middle school she is a very conscientious student and curious learner ariani exemplifies the Westside core values of Pride respect Integrity trust and honor she maintains excellent grades and high standards for herself is a leader in the classroom works well with others and is a friend to all she always displays a positive attitude
029even when faced with challenges she has a bright future ahead congratulations good evening our first recipient is harmony Rodriguez she's an eighth grader at Westside middle school and has consistently achieved High academic achievement during her time at Westside Harmony is the head of the year book committee which demonstrates her ability to take on a challenge and her gift to work with others Harmony accomplishes all tasks with a positive attitude and is a resource for many pairs Harmony is always respectful and willing to take on a challenge to ensure success Harmony will be attending Career Academy in the fallaw congratulations our next recipient is Angel Martinez he is also a member of the e8th grade class at Westside middle school he exemplifies westside's core values of Pride respect Integrity trust and honor Angel is Vice President
030of the student government Council and has spearheaded many initiatives in our school School Community Angel is also a proud member of the Westside baseball team Angel's leadership abilities and commitment to Excellence are admirable angel will be attending ker Technical High School in the fall congratulations and the final school for this evening is Wilby High School their student award recipients are Kalise Dixon Jasmine bogga with them this evening is principal Dr Michelle Baker good evening and thank you this evening will be high school's thrilled to nominate senior Jasmine Boga for the cave student leadership award Jasmine's outstanding academic achievements exemplified by her membership in the National Honor Society in her status as our Adams High honors and AP program student truly set her apart Jasmine's Excellence is particularly evident in the area of Science and History
031where her passion and dedication shine brightly Beyond her academic prowess she has consistently displayed exceptional leadership skills Jasmine became an integral part of Wilby high school and our community participating in cheerleading volleyball and softball team her position of senior year Captain is a testament of her natural ability to inspire and lead by example furthermore in her senior year she assumed the role of student council vice president showcasing her commitment to both academics and extra extracurricular involvement Jasmine's multi faceted achievements and Leadership roles make her a truly deserving person for this recognition thank you and lastly we're ecstatic to submit our nomination for the cave student leadership award to our senior Kalise Dixon since kise transferred here in her sophomore year she's been a valuable member to the wiby high school Community kise demonstrates remarkable leadership
032across various academic and extracurricular Avenues and she exemplifies excellence in every role she undertakes throughout her years here kis has been in our Adams High academic honors program AP program as an integral member of our student council culminating this year in her presidency additionally she holds the esteemed position of Captain within the cheerleading team serves as a student representative on the board of education leads Deca as its president and holds the vice president role in our National Honor Society kiss also uh serves as a member of our principal student advisory Council where she gathers with the administration all the goals for improving our school climate at will be kaliss is an independent learner an analytical thinker and a problem solver she possesses exceptional social skills and has a great sense of humor and truly embodies
033the willbe high school portrait of a graduate thank you this concludes a presentation of our Cade Awards can we have one more round of applause for all of our Cade award thank l I'm here D I made the item number six uh public address for commissioner Arlin I I have a motion yes I motion to suspend the regular order of business to hear from the public second discussion all in favor I oppose as motion carries roxan Bush all right so today I'm here I'm sure some of you know my face I'm here to just follow up on the task force meeting um as you all know there's been some issues of Safety and Security in our schools um April 23rd 27th of 23 lesea Nance brought a loaded gun into um Crosby um summer 2023
034the task force was created and meetings were held three hours a few t uh for a few weeks um 2024 in February there was a knife brought into Wallace Middle School few weeks later um the end of February we had a task force meeting followup I just want to preface that what was presented at the most recent task force me Force meeting in February consisted of information that was already sent to us via email months ago so I think it's fair to say that most of us were led to believe that the meeting would be to discuss updates to the safety and progress reporting on the task force rather than reiterating what was already sent in the email um but unfortunately we were met with the same results that were already sent via email and
035no new information was presented um during the task force meeting when some of us um were asked asking more probing questions to get clarifying answers regarding what the progress was following the task force we were met with um defense and disregard for our questions um some individuals were seemingly unwilling to answer questions um members had and we're not able to provide any quantifiable results um specifically specifically Margaret O'Brien at one point during the present presentation um asked us to be quiet and yelled at us for asking clarifying questions she said be quiet so that they can present the quantifiable results that you're asking for we be we we shut up we stayed quiet and we never got those quantifiable results so till this day we still don't know what those quantifiable results are um like
036I said those quantifiable results were never presented we were given the same information that we were given via email months ago um I'm not sure if they didn't know what was going to be presented I don't know if they didn't know that the next slide would not have any quantifiable results or if they just wanted us to shut up either way it worked because here I am three months later still seeking those answers um same with M micheles Bellin um she was unwilling to answer questions um from numerous task members and had a totally unprofessional demeanor for for a communication specialist um she wouldn't answer any questions and her tone was disrespectful and nasty um during the meeting we were all seeking new information I'm pretty sure that's goes without saying if you're sending an
037email with information you're expecting people to read it there's no reason to have a meeting about the same information that was already resent sent if we confirmed receipt the task force at this point does feel like a waste of time um while I did enjoy myself during the meeting we haven't seen any results um and the most concerning part for me is the fact that at a of all of this nine people voted yes to putting Dr Vera Ruffin back in office um despite her very evident failure as a superintendent leader and failure as an integral role in our City's educational success despite the fact that she earns more than $250,000 a year that's more than five times my salary and here I am asking for answers to questions that I've asked months ago um
038I've been sitting here for an hour um and as you see all the parents left because nobody's ever here when it matters only matters on Facebook only matters on Waterberry talks I may not be able to make it to every Mo board meeting but I watch the recordings and I stand by everything that Kevin Egan has said um truth is a very hard pill to pill to swallow um and that's a fact we don't all want want to hear about ourselves um sometimes it sucks when you get called out on your inadequacies um but it's hard for people to um you know stay quiet about these issues I want to thank Mr stone for your willingness to speak the truth and despite how uncomfortable it may be or how others may feel about it everything
039that you have said I when I watch these meetings I've agreed with so I appreciate you um I want to say thank you to Mr Egan for being the voice to those who are bullied into silence um and quite frankly I watched the meeting I'm sicken that the race card was pulled especially you know in in a situation like this where we're supposed to be professionals it's a slap into the face to the face um for those who are truly oppressed and at $254,000 plus doar a year you're not oppressed um I want to thank the mayor for seeing through the facade um we appreciate you more than you know this is the first time in a long time we're feeling heard and I'm hoping that the veto stands and I hope moving forward that
040the parents start sticking around for things like this because celebratory things are not the only thing that matters in this city um so that's all thank you oh one more thing um I am it does say on here that um questions can be referred to the administration for review and response I would like quantifiable results to what we've discussed during the task force as well as a status update to the requests for metal detectors thank you Paul Kash good evening m of the board Dr ruffen my name is Paul KES and I reside at 413 Harper Ferry Road the actions of this board whether intentional or by oversight has turned a simple contract negotiation into a major deaco the quality education of our students is no longer the priority defending a position proving a point
041and holding your ground is now the priority everybody has been heard from all opinions have been expressed and now we find ourselves in a controversy that must be resolved Martin Luther King said that a genuine leader is not a Searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus he was speaking not only to being persuad a you student and I've had finals and things so um but I have kept up to date with everything that's going on and I just wanted to say a few words so last week I had the opportunity to attend the mayor's luncheon to discuss the state of the city and when we talk about the city we must also acknowledge that our educational system and our students play a big role in the state of our city now and in the
042future we have a school system that is under staffed overwhelmed and underappreciated the plans that the superintendent have to late some of these problems are years away from being implemented if ever so our teachers and staff will continue to feel unsafe in their schools when Kevin Egan says that teachers are threatened and harassed it's because they are daily teachers and staff are injured breaking up fights teachers hear the words you or I don't have to do anything you say on a daily basis it seems that there are less consequences for these students every day in fact they get rewarded behave three out of your seven classes you get a reward you get Dunkin Donuts you get a coffee our teachers try their best to do their jobs but because of many behavioral issues they can't
043more time is spent trying to stop aggressive students than actual teaching and it's the rest of the rest of the students that want an education that suffered our children read below grade level and our children have problems with basic math many can't spell and too many believe that they don't need to focus on school because as they have told me they will be Tick Tock famous in the last three years there have been no improvement to the scores and that is a huge concern it's nice that diversity equity and inclusion has been a focus for the board of education however Dei means nothing when our children can't read or comprehend at their grade level Dei means nothing when we are promoting students that should be held back Dei means nothing when we are using unqualified
044te people to substitute in classes a few weeks ago charges of racism were thrown around is it now racist to want a safe working environment is it now racist to hold students accountable for their work and their behavior is it now racist to ask the Board of Ed to listen to the concerns of your teachers as a minority and a person of color Puerto Rican Ando I take offense to the racist card being used with no evidence to back up those charges personal feelings are not evidence personal feelings are not fact I say to the board members to reject any talk of racism that talk is meant to cause Division and a divided school system will never work this school system and this city does not need the division that has affected others all around
045the country lastly I would like to say that unless you have been in these school and have been told by students watch your back have been called a by a student and come home every single night feeling completely defeated then do not question what these teachers are saying I'm a parent in the school system and everything that I have said tonight I have either experienced myself or I have witnessed thank you drew mcweeny oh my last name is McQueen I don't know if I spelled it correctly or that's me uh good evening everybody uh last last month's board meeting was a disgrace from board attorney Joseph Britain failing to do his job in making sure board procedures are defined and in place to miss Hernandez's inappropriate and unprofessional Persona when the mayor was both respectfully
046and politely asking for clarification as to such procedures to someone who spoke last meeting blowing smoke up our rear ends as usual before I get to that I would like to say that on a few points with this person from last meeting I actually agree I hope that the Department of Justice sues that hell out of the waterburry board out of the Waterbury School System I'd like to take it a step further and say that the department of children's and families should charge every single School administrator all these people with educational neglect and the reason why I say that is because I know you all read my April 1 article from the Republican American and I'll read you a little bit again so that you can refresh your memory it is abhorent for every school
047administrator in this city to allow 20 students in kindergarten classrooms let alone with the paper reported as 36 in some classrooms this is a gross violation of the teachers contract and is a form of educational neglect because according to State Statute specifically the operational definitions of abuse and neglect document policy 223 neglect is quote when a child is being denied proper care educationally how can one teacher effectively teach more than 20 students properly adequately and appropriately guess what the answer is folks you can't further the fact that there are par educators running classrooms in some cases with no certified teacher is also grounds for termination and the fact that no administrator is doing anything about it should be grounds itself to fire everybody in Waterberry and this is precisely the dirty water that this person
048last meeting said is happening and it has been already dirty and finally there is much resistance from the white people in power there are also people in the minority in power too that are just as resistant now let me dismantle quickly the nonsensical arguments first this person said Kevin Egan is on his racist Shenanigans to get rid of the black superintendent I would like to remind everybody that Kev Kevin eagan's job is to represent all teachers as the union president because of this job inherently he is going to call out dubious or not dubious performance whether he intends to do it or not because again he represents teachers Kevin Egan really has no power if you think about it last time I checked Kevin Egan is doing his job and the last time I checked
049the power is given to the good old girl of Waterberry bur a Ruffin next someone devised a survey that was sent out to all the Waterberry teachers and school administrators with deliberate intent to use it as leverage against the superintendent which was another claim made by this person I would like to say that number one you cannot prove intent and number two this person knew anything about surveys which clearly she does not because she thinks that the state department of Ed has accurate information she would know that a survey is specifically designed to elicit respon is good or bad from people and eliciting responses about something is e e e education and politics we were honored to have few moms who joined us as well thank you very much Mr Brown and the entire staff
050and all of the wonderful students and volunteers who came to participate in this great event Crosby life smarts finishes third in the country we were very proud of that Mr Baro mentioned that earlier today the crossbeat LIF smarts team finished third in the 2024 National lifes smarts Championship from April 18th through 21st in San Diego California they qualified for the event by by winning the Connecticut state championship in February life smart competitively tests students knowledge of five topic areas consumer rights and responsibilities environment health and safety personal finance technology and work place pres preparation the team is coached by Kelly Donahue and members are Sophia carello Ash deito Gabriela Francis who is the captain Jasmine Garcia Coronado and Madison Whitlock we're very proud of our students and very proud that Crosby has taken this initiative
051on for many years and our students have done so well meteorologist Joe Fury visited Washington Elementary School the fourth grade students in Washington enjoyed a visit from meteorologist Joe Fury the surprise visit was inspired by Angel a fourth grade student who is deeply interested in meteorology Angel is Joe Fury's biggest fan and watches them every morning on News 8 Angel aspires to be a weather forecaster what a great way to meet person in in person will be mcjr o c change of command this is always one of my my very favorite spots to go I'm so very proud of the U Marine Corps Junior ROTC at Cross at at um wiby high school willby held a ceremonial in Maytown to transfer student leadership of the program to the next year's classes and during the ceremony
052student leadership and the mcjrotc instructors recounted this year's accomplishments and solicited new ideas for growth in the coming year Crosby recycled fashion show that looked absolutely amazing the environmental Club at Crosby held their first ever recycled fashion show students and staff designers work together to create echo-friendly and sustainable outfits what a successful display of creativity Early College High School students graduated from Post University 11 Early College High School students were awarded associates degree from Post University at postgraduation ceremony on May 11th which was held at The Palace Theater this is our fourth year of the Early College High program and this is our very first graduating class Waterberry public schools will hold a senior recognition ceremony for the Early College High School students class of 2024 on Wednesday June the 5th at 5:30 pm at
053Veterans Memorial Hall congratulations to all of the graduates and Mel is one of those Wallace Middle School wins vocabulary Bowl State title Wallace Middle School won the Connecticut state championship of the vocabulary.com vocabulary board uh vocabulary Bowl on 2024 spring season this was their first time participating in the competition and students mastered 13,450 words while it's placed 21st nationally among elementary and middle schools thanks Waterberry host New Haven Civic B um the Waterberry Regional Chamber hosted the 2024 New Haven County Civics B at Veterans Memorial Hall for Waterberry public school students qualified for and participated in the competition which was for grades 6 through 8th academic Academy eighth grader Adriana Bueno won the competition which came with a $11,000 scholarship and a birth in state B on June 18th W uh W cross 8th grader
054Muhammad Abraham finished in third place and won a $250 scholarship congratulations student students teacher appreciation day was celebrated on May 7th thank you to all of our outstanding teachers and Educators par professionals staff and colleagues for the huge impact that you make on students each and every day your commitment to our students and to our community is unmatched and we truly appreciate you national school nurse day was celebrated on May 8th Waterberry is grateful for all of our School nurses and all of the efforts to meet the needs of our students today your support of our students to stay healthy to stay in school to stay safe and to be ready to learn is greatly appreciated thank you to all of our nurses waterbear Public Schools Juniors present the Global Leadership initiative projects we're very
055pleased that our students participate annually in GLI 11 Waterberry High School juniors presented their culminating projects for the Global Leadership Institute on April 29th at um actually they presented it not at T school they actually presented it at nbcc uh GLI mission is to develop a generation of global leaders with genuine concern of world problems and GLI is a competitive and rigorous program that brings students from Taft school and Waterberry Public Schools together for shared learning experiences it was really wonderful to hear their projects and to see how they can problem solve and I I do believe that although this is very challenging times I believe the young people are going to be prepared and equipped to be able to CH to handle all of those challenges uh and to do so in a way
056that will make us all proud uh Commissioners and student Representatives this concludes my announcements at this time any questions for doctor okay item eight president's comments I just want to congratulate all the cave winners tonight um and the graduates from Post University with their G degree Michaela is one of them so congratulations to you it was a great event I it was nice seeing 11 of our students get an associates degree before they even get their high school diploma so it was was it was really nice to see so they're a step above um and that's that's all my comments for tonight student Representatives comments good evening president Hernandez vice president Brown Board of Education Commissioners and Dr ruffen my name is Michael Holmes and I am representing Crosby High School I am currently in
05712th grade and I'm a member of the Early College High School I recently graduated from Post University with my associates degree in business management it has been an honor to serve as a Cosby representative on the board of education for the last two years this fall I will be attending I will be attending Central Connecticut State University and I will be majoring in biomolecular science with a minor in business management I aspire to be a doctor of veterinarian medicine or forensic path pathologist Dante and I are are here to talk about all of the positive things that are going on in our school the students at cby high school have contined their programs throughout the year and have accomplished some amazing things Grade 9 through 12 students have just recently successfully and completed successfully completed
058the PSAT and sat primarily results have shown increase in our students SATs performance in both math and evidence-based is reading writing and writing we are really proud a big reason for this was the work of the students and teachers not only did the teachers Provide support during the school day but they also worked with students after school to make sure that all students were prepared our ninth grade student our ninth yeah our grade n students have shown Improvement all year long they have dedicated a remaining they're dedicated to remaining on track they have tried we have tried our best to celebrate nth grade students accomplishments freshman year is such an important year trust me I know all our life smarts team record a third place finish at the Nationals competition in San Diego California this
059[Music] April we have inducted another class into the National Honor Society this month on May 1st we inducted 19 Juniors into the National Honor Society Our Community Partnerships continue to grow Ion Bank Angelina's Pizza the school based Health Center St Mary's cjr just to name a few have been very supportive Angelina's Pizza has even put the Bulldogs Pizza on the menu it includes a buffalo a bulldog Buffalo and barking bacon we gave all of the Board of Ed members a gift CER certificate to try a bulldog piz for um Board of a appreciation on Saturday May 11 11th um Early College High students received their associat degree from Post University at their main campus graduation ceremony at The Palace Theater it is a historic day for Early College High School in the City of Waterbury
060students are really working hard to finish the year strong so many great things are happening at our school I would like I would like now to turn it over to my fellow representative Dante who has some great news about things that are happening at Crosby good evening president Hernandez vice president Brown Board of Education Commissioners and Dr Ren my name is Dante and I'm also representing Crosby High School I'm currently in the 11th grade and serve as an intern on I am bank at Crosby I'm also a member of the track team and earthday club I'm I'm very excited to be a Crosby representative on the board of education for the next upcoming year this spring we have some very exciting news in relation to Crosby Athletics we have an exceptional turnout for our spring
061Sports the boys and girls track team have will combine over 60 student athletes the baseball team and the softball team have recorded many victories and continue to grow to show great sportsmanship and teamwork both tennis teams are going to the NV tournament on May 20th m is one of our great girls tennis players and our new boys volleyball team recorded victories over Kennedy and will be and had a great first season please follow our school on Instagram at Crosby High School you will get to see all pictures of our great events recently including our Spring Fest our trip to see Hamilton in New York City and what we did for our teachers during teacher appreciation week we want to give a shout out to all of the staff at Crosby Mr Verno the administrators all
062of our teachers we appreciate the work that you do on a daily basis in the weeks to come we look forward to many things tonight is our Spring Concert happening right now at the new Crosby Auditorium our prom is this Friday night at 6 pm at the ARA our Awards night is scheduled for May 28th at 5:30 College acceptance day is June 4th at 9:00 a.m. and we will take our final exams during the second week of June wish us luck and we have June 11th circled on all of our calendars we will be celebrating with the Crosby High School class of 2024 as they graduate at The Palace Theater we hope that all of you know that without the your support many of these amazing things have going on at Crosby would not be
063possible thank you in conclusion we want to give our support for limiting the usage of cell phones in schools we feel that it it will make a difference and students will be able to concentrate more at times issues arise because the things that are texted are shown to other students throughout the school day we ask that full thought is put into this change as it will affect how our schools operate if you truly believe this is the best decision we support you fully thank you for putting extra focus on learning it will prepare our students for college and for the career of their choice any questions for our student Representatives I have one does my ticket Inspire to buffalo chicken pizza I don't think I don't think it expires you can go anytime thank you
064Dr rton thank you madam president at this time um I would like to ask Mr Alini um to uh introduce and to bring forward uh slam um camp and an explanation of something that's very important to all of a board to answer questions about Roberto Clemente International dual Language School uh the progress that we've made in um in the work that we need to do to be able to apply for uh the the school to be built and expanded upon and the team has done a lot of work and we want to thank slam for uh meeting with us on a regular basis and look forward to the presentation that will be presented to the board tonight thank you Dr Ruffin good evening um president Hernandez vice president Brown um Board of Education members Crosby
065High School's Board of Education uh Representatives Dr Ruffin um I'm here with Kemp morhart from slam collaborative our designer for uh Roberto Clemente International dual Language School uh We've made quite a bit of progress um in the past couple of months uh Dr ruffen um some other uh people in our central office um Wendy John's um Miss fenis we've met uh Miss Dr Schwarz we've met and made some design changes some uh Corrections and some things that we we needed to see in this themed school and slam uh collaborative has put something together for us we'll take a look at some preliminary drawings this um this will go in front of the board of alderman next month uh for the approval of the resolutions there Bond authorization and uh public hearing this is a very
066successful school as everyone knows and we want to continue this and watch this go through through uh grade eight um and I'm going to let Kemp take over now to give you an idea of what the building looks like um and then we'll answer any questions that you may have thank you uh good evening um Madam president and mam president the balance of the board Commissioners uh it's my pleasure to be here my name is Kent morhart I'm a principal of the architectural firm the slam collaborative um pleased to be back in Waterbury uh we have designed a couple of your schools over the years Gil Martin and Career Academy so very happy to be helping you with with this next project um what we've developed thus far uh is a draft Ed speec that
067has been uh presented to superintendent and staff for review and final review uh I'm going to walk through today the space program the architectural space program and then some planning diagrams that we've been developing part of the Grant application requires an approved EDP speec it requires um a feasibility conceptual level design and Associated cost estimates for that design to then round out the Grant application uh We've produced a document is approximately 60 or so pages long uh the contents include an introduction project rationale uh the space program and enrollment expectations and educational activities and program area descriptions as well as building system descriptions a description of interior building environment such as air indoor air quality um Ada accessibility those types of things as well as a site program for uh the parking requirements bus loop
068requirements drop off parent drop off requirements and playgrounds and other things uh a briefing on sustainability and the expectations for the project from a sustainable perspective as well as Community uses um what we're going to focus on today with our presentation is the space program just to give you a flavor of U of what's planned for spaces in the building this is just a a cover of the heads speec report um in summary uh we have broken down the Space Program into 10 different categories um Administration special education academic classrooms specialty learning spaces media center and library Food Service Visual Arts Performing Arts physical education Athletics and building support um on the right hand side you'll see the the various values aggregate values for those different department departmental programs uh for a total net program
069of of 56865 squ Ft uh and then we based the U the full size of the building based on what we call a net to gross ratio uh and we're using a 66% net to gross ratio which is uh fairly typical for a school of this size um for a total building size of approximately 86,000 Square fet could get a little bit bigger than that as we continue to lay it out um as um Mr Albini mentioned it is a prek to8 program for two classrooms per grade uh with a Spanish and English classroom for each grade level in the building um these are excerpts from the draft report that are greater detail for the those breakdowns of the summary I just ran through uh there's a lot of detail here I'm not going to
070go through all the lines however is an Administration program that is broken down into a main office of approximately 2195 Square ft uh a nurses Suite of of approximately 845 square feet and a counseling Suite of about 880 square feet there is a uh educational spe educ excuse me special education program of um a few resource rooms a sensory and therapy room uh of about, 1500 square ft and then uh academic intervention services spaces of approximately 2780 Square ft please stop me if you have any questions on this as I go through uh the academic classrooms is where the bulk of the program is as you would expect uh we have two classrooms per grade from pre prek through uh the sixth grade and then um at the seventh and eth grade levels we have
071uh discipline based classrooms for those grade levels uh we also have some support space for the academics as well as two science labs one being a classroom lab and one being a flexible science lab for that space in addition to that we have specialty learning spaces in the form of a cultural room and a community room uh and those are very specific to this program this International dual language program where they uh celebrate the cultures of the the Dual language uh and and also in the uh specialty learning spaces we have a stem experiential lab with a tool storage and project storage space associated with that that space looking at the library and media center um we have a total allocation of space of just over 3,000 square feet uh this library media center was
072developed based on uh precedents at both um W cross and and Gil Martin since we designed Gil Martin we used that as a precedent as well um and it was uh reviewed with the educ the U edpc Advisory Group that we worked with food service is also based on uh past precedent it is based on a four uh wave lunch scenario uh so we have a cafeteria that will support about 150 students at a time for 2400 square feet and then essentially uh your standard kitchen and support um regimen of spaces for a total of 5120 ft for that department uh the Arts we have both Visual and Performing Arts um we have approximately 2300 square feet of uh visual art spaces in the form of two art classrooms one for the lower grades on
073the on the main level and one for the upper grades on the upper level of the school um the music and Performing Arts we have a general music and a band classroom as well as a platform that's associated with the cafeteria as you typically have in your k8s in this in the city um to support performances uh and rounding out the program we have a physical education program for a uh what I term to be a middle school size gym it's a basketball court of 50 by 74 so it's a gym of uh 5,400 Square ft and we also have an allocation for bleachers Within in that space for about 120 seats uh and then uh various storage room storage rooms locker rooms and offices associated with the physical education and then finally building support
074um whether it be the custodial office and custodial workroom as well as storage requirements and gender gender neutral restrooms throughout the building are are allocated there at 3455 squ ft any questions on the program before I get into some of the planning I did neglect to add Mrs Thomas Cella was an integral part of this the principal presently at the school so she had quite a bit of information and input here as well okay hearing no questions uh just a picture of the school as it exists today on beerav um it consists of the uh the building in the Forefront foreground of this photo is a three-story building built in 19 19 29 and then the building kind of in the distance in this photo is H the addition that was put on in the
075the late 50s early 60s um it is currently housing the program there are approximately 16 or so classrooms on three levels you can see the basement level is the older 1929 structure um on the far left of these plan diagrams and then the um the 29 structure takes the same footprint in the other two uh images but then you can see the 59 uh addition excuse me 62 Edition uh to the north of that and that includes a a gym cafeteria multi-purpose space um currently um we do plan to reuse the bulk of this building in the new design uh the only pieces being demolished are on the far right uh plan image where you see Two Silhouettes Of Gray uh for the where the main entrance is currently in front of the gym and
076then the narrow piece on the long side of the gym is uh planned for demolition approximately 2,000 feet of demolition to make way for U more space moving forward you can see in the in the image on the far right there the parking lot to the north of the existing school that's the area of expansion you have the most room to work with to to expand the building there there's also a uh an old Cotton vent on the pro property that is planned for demolition uh later in the process and that that portion of the site that little L that or top of the te that goes off to uh South mid Street will become a new parking lot and drop off looking at the site diagram I'm sorry I rotated this 90 degrees from
077the previous image because it fit better on the slide uh but you can see Beacher to the top and you can see the white footprint in this building footprint is the are the ex existing buildings that will remain and be renovated and then the um the beigy color uh are representing the additions would be a fairly substantial addition approximately 45 to 50,000 square feet to the North and then a smaller addition to the south of the existing gymnasium for the music program you'll also note a uh a pulloff bus lane uh right off of beer Avenue that is to the uh west of the school and that will have a queue for approximately nine buses um the existing parking lot to the south of the existing school will be redeveloped slightly to uh to accommodate
078more parking and a little bit better flow um and then there'll be that new Loop Drive you see on the lower portion off of South maid to facilitate a parent drop off as well as staff parking um and I believe we have approximately 85 spaces maybe a little bit more on the the overall site you'll also note uh the playgrounds to the northern portion of the site which is the far right hand side there is a uh preap playground and then there's also a excuse me there's a prek playground um just north of the the circular drive and then there's a a k playground K And1 playground to the North and then there's there's another U two through five playground to the south of the small beige Edition so we do have three playground areas
079planned for this uh for the site you can see that it's a quite a tight site um it's only approximately 3.4 Acres so it's a lot to get on to a relatively small site looking at the building planning you can see the um the the vertical line approximately a quarter of the way from the right uh reprs the demarcation of the 1929 structure and then there's another line right next to the blue the larger blue um block of space near the main entrance that kind of represents the limit of the 1962 structure uh and you can get a sense of the um volume of the existing gym which was is planned to be converted to a new cafeteria platform in the purple uh the cafeteria in the aquacolor with the server and kitchen below it
080um to the left of the cafeteria is the music Suite in purple and that includes a band room uh some instrument and music storage as well as practice room between in those odd shaped spaces and then a general music class classroom to the uh south of that um to the right hand side of the cafeteria we have a new gym with Locker space um and to the far right of the plan there are two prek classrooms 2K classrooms and two first grade classrooms um the pink area to the top of the plan is a New Media Center on the main level uh that light blue area on the opposite side of the main entry is the administration suite and then as you march down the corridor to the left um we have the nurses Suite
081in in light blue and then a conference room to support the administrative program as well as a few offices a little bit further down the second grade classrooms are on the far left uh at the top of the page and then there are some support spaces below those classrooms there is the plan for a new two new elevators for this building one that is um about Midway down the existing building footprint to uh navigate that Central Corridor set of stairs that you see in the plan and that that elevator will n navigate not only the multiple floor levels in that portion of the building but also that uh Corridor stair in order to make this building completely Ada accessible uh I think that rounds out this oh I I didn't talk about the cultural room
082and cultural work room which are the two orange spaces right opposite the administrative space uh the way this layout has been designed is to have a cross through main Corridor um from top to bottom so on the top is where the buses would unload and students would come in from from the bus lane that would also serve as the main entrance to the building during normal operations and then directly across from that on the bottom of the page near the gym would be the entrance point for students being dropped off by parents in the in the loop that you saw in the site plan U and that would be a locked entrance during normal business hours and the main entrance would be off of beer that's the intent moving up U uh just looking at
083the lower level um briefly so that that the main level that you were just looking at uh the lower level is relatively small and we have support spaces primarily planned for this custodial offices um storage rooms we do have the teacher work room and teacher dining down in that location uh currently and then looking up going up one floor um starting on the left is the seventh and eighth grade classrooms the the larger four larger rectangles in the orange color and then we have some additional administrative um program on this level for oversight with a small conference room and a assistant principal's office the yellow represent some special ed and support spaces um and then the two other additional orange classrooms are the sixth grade classrooms so essentially this is the six through eight wing
084on this level um when we get more to the middle of the plan the darker orange are the the two science rooms the the purple next to the science is the upper level art art room and then the light blue just below the the art room is the uh counseling suite and finally rounding out the plan uh we do have that stem and experiential lab in the kind of um pinkish color and then we have uh second excuse me third fourth and fifth classrooms in the far right hand side of the plan I believe that rounds out the presentation there any questions commissioner Oro uh quick question um how much is being re reimbursed by the state is it the 78% or because it's a refurbishing we're still working on those exact numbers but um
085we're we're recommending that this project uh pursue a space waiver with the state to allow for full reimbursement to your your allowable rate great thanks k I say we are attempting to offer as many uh uh options for the students here Visual Arts Performing Arts Athletics uh two very well equipped science rooms uh support rooms so we put in as many of the needed items that one would expect in a in a new school and an up to date you know 2024 classroom and building so we're trying to put as many of those things as we can in there Adam vice president Brown good evening I'm really excited I know we we sat at a table in the mayor's conference room oh what six weeks ago and all of a sudden you have all this
086work really appreciate it very well thought out I'm very excited about it I just had a question in terms of we had talked about maybe expanding some pre School classes there is that going to we're still working on that component so we're going to have two prek classrooms here of course yeah uh but the pre prek building that we're hoping to someday have there would be if and hopefully we would be able to acquire that other adjoining property from the arch dasis then something like that could come to wait for that okay good and the other question I had is terms of uh environment Energy Efficiency has is there anything uh going happening within that realm yes we have that listed in the U in the edpc the the project will be required to beat
087the Connecticut high performance building standards by Statute um and and the that that uh standard is actually referencing now the building energy code uh which is actually getting quite stringent so you will you can bet that it will be a very highly performing building let's hope they give us more money so that we can do that right that would be built into the be good right thank you very much that going to be open just for the morning times so my question is are there two entrances dur in the morning are there two what ways to get in in the morning so is there one way where the buses are only going to be and then if a parent is dropping the student off they'll drop off on the other side yes correct that's the
088plan so it's it's important in school design to separate those two traffic patterns right U for safety and so the intent is that the students coming from the with the buses would be coming from the uh the west side which is the top of the the page coming into the main entrance and then as I mentioned on the plan you can see where the main entrance is between the the light blue and the pink there's that Corridor that comes straight through and then that that entrance on the lower side of the floor plan would be the secondary entrance that would come off of that that Loop Drive off of South M and that would be the uh the parent drop thank you so that would work for drop off in the morning and pick up
089in the afternoon as well so we we would be able to split that that traffic into two areas on two streets good thank you sounds good any other questions all right thank you thank you very much thank you item number 10 Comm the whole vice president Crown ladies and gentlemen I move that the Board of Education approved to file a priority Grant application with the commissioner of administrative services for the proposed Roberto Clemente International dual Language School project second discussion all in favor I I opposed abstain motion carries vice president Brown uh thank you uh item 10.2 I move that the Board of Education approve the preparation of schematic drawings and outline specifications for the proposed Roberto Clemente International dual language school project second discussion all in favor I opposed abstain motion carries 10.3 vice
090president Brown I move that the Board of Education approve the establishment of a building committee for the proposed Roberto Clemente International du language school project set committee shall consist of Latoya Latoya Ireland Elizabeth Brown Jacqueline Jackson Roco Oro and Melissa Serrano adoro second discussion all in favor I I opposed abstain motion carries vice president Brown 10.4 thank you uh 10.4 I move that the Board of Education approve the educational specifications for the proposed Roberto M International dual language school project second discussion all in favor I oppose abstain motion carries Dr Ruffin thank you president Hernandez um at this time uh I would like to uh ask uh our director of security uh Dan um Barry as well as the deputy superintendent Dr Schwarz um as well as our coo Mr Alini to discuss the progress
091and the updates so far on the Yonder BS and I do believe that we have a consultant who is virtually available to answer any questions the board may have uh as a precursor to this um there there has been a lot of work done uh in the area of of safety security various committees and we uh we follow through and all of the recommendations to visit other school districts we did that um and through much dialogue and the uh and through what the committee was actually able to see in practice um the team came back had multiple conversations at our monthly meetings and decided that they were going to look more into the Yonder bags which uh provided um non cell phone usage during the school day but still allowed students to have the phone
092but not using it during the school day uh there was a lot of discussion the team had conversations with several people including uh the city side and there were recommendations that were made we met with principls of the schools that may be uh involved in in this and uh now the committee or now the team is going to present you with what they've learned and What U we believe um we want to propose to good evening uh president Hernandez vice president Brown Commissioners Dr ruffen um thank you for allowing us to present to you tonight uh we've met as a team several times we've met with the under Representatives as well and tonight we brought the Prototype uh regarding the the pouch and the Locking System to you so you can see it uh live
093and in person I also worked with the team to put together a small packet here uh that gives you a little bit more information than what we were able to provide last time uh to you so hopefully uh this will be of of use for you the obvious is the the pouch the Locking System the unlocking system the protocols that go around it um how it works in every school is something that uh will need to be uh derived for each individual school and be tailor made um yet there will be commonality throughout the district for how we operate so we don't want um one high school to have a completely different protocol than another High School while at the same time we need to be fluid on where we put the Locking mechanisms unlocking
094me unlocking mechanisms um who has them in their uh in their possession and who doesn't um and so where it's located will be individualized for each each school if this is resolution that's passed tonight um theander will work individually with the team um and assistant superintendent uh J gopy will also work individually with each school and each leader to make sure that the operations of this works along with the team as well uh and and we we talked a little bit about this last time uh this also uh if if the resolution's passed and we start this um partnership with Yonder not only does it come with the student pouches and the unlocking magnets and storage totes and hampers it actually also comes with policy and implementation support we would look to after this resolution
095if passed tonight um I would then Rec make a recommendation that we go to a policy committee and talk about the um the the policy regarding electronic devices to make sure that it's uh matches the use of the of the Yonder bag and um and would also come with training contact communication templates customer success support and um uh one-on-one support for each individual School uh I say that with the with the idea that um we look at this Yonder uh pouch not as a brand new policy but we do have an electronic device policy currently in the district the Y pouch helps us abide by the actual policy that's already in place that we're not doing a great job of abiding by as a district and so the way we're kind of you know positioning
096ourselves is to say let's give every let's hit a reset on this because we know we're not uh um following this policy as best as we can let give everyone an opportunity to use something such as the pouch to be able to say okay now everyone knows what the protocol is students families just as importantly as the staff and have protocols around how to make sure that we implement this policy with fidelity and so we're looking at the pouch as a supplemental tool to help everyone abide by the policy not something radically different uh that we um and to just keep ignoring the policy basically is what seems to be happening in many cases and so um in your packet you also see the impact of phone free schools you see the um Sur Surgeon
097General warnings and different warnings about the impacts of cell phone use not just at school but in general for adolescence the mental health the AC performance and behavior um and uh and the impact so far in the over 1,200 schools that this is in so we are by far the first to do this uh I also attached the pricing sheet that we would going we'd be going by and we would be implementing this would be the third option it's it's um it would be districtwide for grades 6 to 12 which also includes our pre- 8 schools um as I mentioned earlier uh we uh tonight is the resolution but if the resolution passes I just want to let every the board know that starting tomorrow morning there would be a thought exchange sent out to
098all parents students and staff of um students in grades 5 to 11 because those would be our incoming sixth to 12th grade students um and just a a quick survey and thought exchange on some Concepts around not if this is a good idea but as this if this resolution passes we take that as our um as our go-ahead to start this so we want to hear about what are your concerns what are you worried about and we want to use that to be able to design professional learning communication so a thought exchange would go out tomorrow we would immediately submit documents uh through the purchasing department using the bid waiver and then uh we would all we also have a meeting set up with Yonder if this passes for tomorrow to discuss our immediate next
099steps to work collaboratively as a team um we would close that thought exchange next week and uh we would eventually get to the point where we have policy meeting make any changes as necessary uh create um an uh uh a design entry and exit plan that is tailored to each and every school uh we would have to also design professional learning for all administrators throughout the summer uh including their August return we would also have to include professional learning for teachers uh for when they return obviously as well so that we are all on the same page for what the expectation is uh for implementation on August 26 August 26 obviously students would come in uh they wouldn't have the Y bags with them so it would be a little different that first day and
100so we would have to create the all of the protocol and um specifics on how that first day looks like Yonder would help us with that because they've done this before and then August 27th will be the first real um implementation of okay now everyone has the bags let's work on uh how this how this works and again the Y Representatives have have said um repeatedly that uh it can be anywhere from 4 weeks and anywhere anywhere from four weeks to about 3 months until it becomes habit within the school so those first four weeks to 3 months is really establishing that habit of we have a cell phone policy this pouch is really to help establish your ability to abide by that cell phone policy if not um that will that will take place
101if the policy is not abide to by and so um with that I think the team has really come together in a short amount of time to put together a tight timeline but a doable timeline um Mr Alini has brought the the example here I don't know if you want to put your phone in and and kind of take it away and then from there we'll be happy to answer any more questions that you may have thank you Dr Schwarz so this is this is a a could be a temporary desk demagnetizer or you can mount it on a wall there is also a portable demagnetizer that could could be used as well uh we don't have a sample of that but this is something that would be used um it's a very durable bag
102it it holds actually we tried and fit two phones in here but it wouldn't just be a cell phone that would go in here we would be looking at earbuds we would be looking at SmartWatches they're all basically the same thing for communication because the phone will operate in here if I have you know earbuds in I can still talk so that's not going to work so you need all that and it does fit in here and what you do is just put it in and uh push the button that's it I'll pass it around it's it's magnetized can't open that then you just put it on the demagnetizer push the button and it opens up and you get your electronic devices so the intent is and we we know that this is a lift
103for schools uh this is certainly different far different than any procedure we put in in place thank you um so but let's face it cell phones are impeding learning is hindering good behavior um hindering instruction by the teachers so um we feel this is a this is a viable option it certainly has some history behind it as experience um this company is in cities that are even larger than ours uh Springfield um Boston uh so it it can work I think I think Hartford a Hartford school has it so it is an option and what we're trying to do is develop a culture here of when you come in you're focusing on education and that's where we're attempting to do that's what this is uh the object of this and this is what we're going
104to if it could work in those cities uh we don't see a reason why it wouldn't work here but it is going to take some getting used to uh and if you remember at our last uh I think it was at willby willby meeting it was brought up and so uh you get some student action uh you know reaction to this and we're going to get some parent reaction to this but we think they're all solvable problems that's what we really think they are may cause some inconveniences but I think uh the overall objective will be attained and then I think there's a a given benefit here Mr brry any you want to add to that the company itself uh formed in 2014 right now they're in 3,000 schools 600 schools on the east coast
105and like Mr alvini said they are in Boston uh looking to go into Springfield um the other cross across the country Las Vegas so it is a it is a product that does have experience behind it um the company does come in like Dr schwar said with um support to roll it out as well as to help with policy and with any other issues that we have and I just like to add as Dr Ren mentioned earlier that the administrators did have the opportunity to express their voice and their opinion on the Yonder pouches and and overwhelmingly the administrators across the secondary levels prek-8 the middle school and the high school principls uh I think this is a great idea to have in their schools if the resolution is passed the company will come in
106and the schools that will have this which are 13 other the schools here in Waterbury they will assist prior to the roll out with examining the arrival the dismissals at the school that all factors into helping each school they have an educational Le on of sorts that helps with that and they'll be the Leon with the company but they will help to kind of guide us in each particular school what the best setups are so it'll roll out because not every school's the same in terms of arrival and everything else so those factors come in but with their experience they'll be able to help us with that for a smooth hopefully a smooth uh wrong commissioner Orso couple of questions um when you're talking to this company are they guaranteeing you delivery of these pouches
107before school ends uh they said um anywhere between three four weeks for delivery because you know we have our process that's gonna take a little bit a little while and this might be very very preliminary but are you going to require these students to turn their phones off before they put them in his back is you going have not they're going to be ringing all all day long yeah that that's going to be the expectation and we know that that's not always going to happen but I think most students actually they they mostly have it silent to begin with to be honest but yeah I I'm not sure what the point is of having it ring if you can't answer it yeah right um but it would be the expectation but we anticipate this like
108anything to establish a habit it's going to take a while but that would be the expectation yeah and Dan did did you did say that there's schools in Las Vegas that have this I I'll volunteer to go check it out if you're I'll go with you that's it thank you commissioner just just a one followup they are a so source so they have they have provided that paperwork thank you any other questions vice president Brown hi I know we did answer a lot of kind of the challenges to this uh program being implemented last last uh meeting at Wilby we did discuss some of the challenges I would just hope hope that you know when we look at the policy and enforcement um I just hope you really do need the administrators and the teachers
109in the building to see themselves as part of the enforcement because there has been some miscommunication recently that it's up to the board of education to enforce the policy so I I just hope that we're clear that if this is implemented that we have all stakeholders you know the buyin from them uh because it's been a problem in the schools and the teachers are I think they they they like this idea but I don't think it's going to work unless everybody is on board especially the parents I I'm really concerned about the parent Outreach and how we're going to get there buying um I don't know what the other school districts did and maybe the expertise of the company espe especially with multi lingual parents um I I just think it's going to be a
110challenge and we might have to look at the calendar our calendar to see if we H if we have enough time to kind of implement these this strategy because this is this is going to be chaos in the first week or two weeks I think it's going to be chaos I hope it's not but I can Invision a lot of push back and a lot of kids you know I and I just think the the first couple of weeks of school are if this is a whole focus on this phone policy it's going to disrup disrup disrupt the educational the academic climate in the schools so I think we have a lot of work to do before this is going to work we need you know the kids need to be need to understand why
111we're doing this the parents there needs to be a media campaign uh you know I just think that it's it's not enough to do you know surveys it's we really have to talk face to face and get people to understand this is about academics this is about safety we've heard from the police chief over and over social media during school and out of school time is one of the leading factors to the fights and to the to the uh animosity in some of our schools so I I'm I want to be optimistic but I think it's going to be a very very difficult Challenge and I don't think we're going to rush it I don't see how we can have this ready for the beginning of the school year I would be very pleased if
112it was but I just given our experience with cell phones in the school now and the push back uh and the disruption that some classrooms are experiencing and maybe Jade you can I mean you're in the schools all the time with the high schools I mean do you think we would have the support of of people um Madam vice president I I absolutely do think we'll have the support you've raised a lot of uh valid and true concerns of the reality of what we're seeing in the schools with the cell phones and the issues that they are uh bringing to the Forefront with students in the way that they're communicating with each other and um I wholeheartedly know that the administrators are in favor of this I think this would be a a huge um
113benefit uh to all the schools and instruction and having our students and our teachers focus on the instruction and not have to police cell phones all day long with the students okay thank you I I with you we've gota got to try something different uh and uh you know let's work together to make it work I may add on to that too commissioner I I think that um I don't I don't think we could start this like the second month of school I think that'd be much more difficult than the first day U once you once you start school and you get used to using the cell phone every day and then you're told month in so I agree with you I think that it is a tight timeline uh if we in this room
114anticipate that it is going to be zero conflict and nothing like then I think we're already losing because we're not on the same page there is going to be conflict I don't know if it's chaos but it will be there'll be conflict and of course when um you implement something new but again we're seeing this as a tool to help abide by a policy that already exists there's a policy that already exists and we need to help people have an opportunity to abide by that policy that includes teachers and administrators to have something to say other than put your cell phone away like there is now a tool and an expectation districtwide of what to do but I I think that um I think we can we can certainly do that with the support of
115the team here um and the administrators and the teachers within the school and just so you know uh beond the survey uh the expectation will we talked about having those unique individual teams at each school that would include teachers administrators and there is an expectation there to address that Community within that school from um that administrative team so there will be conversations at the school leading up to this uh so that it's there not a surprise in August just wanted to let you know thank you commissioner O'Brien thank thank you madam president um a couple of things one I have more faith in the parents I think they're going to like this a majority of them don't want the phones in the school mostly with the younger kids they sneak them in I know that
116because I've got a couple of adopted grandchildren that seem to sneak their phones in um the parents don't realize it till it's too late um when it comes to educating the parents I was looking at page two that you gave us and I think that's a great educational page um even if we could get it in another language also for our parent parents because it lays out the concerns I think a lot of parents do have and they just don't know how to talk to their kids about it um I think that would be one great educational tool being used and I think that with everything we've gone through with the task force I think this is a good step forward commissioner Arlin thank you Madame President yeah so I just have a few uh
117questions now once if these pouches are used once the student students uh get into the classroom or put them into the pouch where will the pouches be are they going to be able to still have their pouches on desk so they can see a pouch or is there a bin that you're going to put the phones in and one more other question does the lock unlock every pouch for that one classroom so good questions um so I I don't want to tell you something that could change based on because we have to work with the company first to figure out what works best in Waterberry I can tell you that there are districts that um you walk into school they you physically put the phone you open up the pouch you actually use the magnet
118when you walk in the school to open the pouch and then you put your phone in and people say all right thank you keep going and then there are schools where uh where you do that and then you walk to class and you put it in a bin when you walk into class uh from our conversations initial conversations with Yonder um they seem to think that letting the students put their phone in the pouch but letting them keep it on their person seems to be the most effective way to do it because you have your phone and you don't feel that you don't feel that separation from it and so they said over their course of of uh work with school systems that seems to be the most effective is let let them keep it
119on them on the person um and let them um um go throughout the building with it because then at least you don't have that separation in addition for when students aren't complying um where right now in our policy the phone is supposed to be taken um at least if you have the pouch you have your phone on you and that's much better situation for most students than having your phone taken away and so that separation is also a deterrent from not using the pouch uh which they have also found over their course of implementation in other districts so I would say right now the the concept would be to let students keep the phone with them throughout the day and uh and and um but yet if there is a a cell phone um uh
120that is that is seen throughout the day that cell phone would be um taken from the student whereas right now it's more like put it away um with the pouches it would be uh uh be taken okay great and to be clear they're not going to put their phones in um the pouch once they get into the class it's once they enter into the school so that's a good uh question so again each school will be a little bit unique when talking to our prek principles again you know each school you have to talk to the administrators you got to think about each one uniquely it's very different when you go into Gil Martin than when you go into Crosby obviously and so some of the prek principles were saying um you know this might
121be a little bit easier just to do okay everybody's in the classroom it's Home Room goil Martin it's like all right let's put our phones in our pouch let's you know and the teacher kind of can manage that and there's also a relationship there a little bit differently at those prek-8 whereas at Crosby do we really want students to go into their first period and then have a conflict with the teacher about getting their phone into their pouch so um this is where that unique setup in the conversation um we would want all preat to operate very similarly in high schools and middle schools um so I could see a mix of that whereas the high schools uh would definitely be the expectation as you walk in initially that's what we were thinking and then
122maybe in the preka might look a little a little different just to give you an honest answer sounds good have a 15-year-old and I can't wait commissioner Orel thank you first of all I'm in favor of this resolution we we were invited to U um teachers union meeting for a question and answer session and and one of their large concerns was cell phones in the classrooms and when this was brought up off the pouch and and there had to be 200 people there you know 200 teachers and and they just want something like this so I I could say 100% the teachers are going to be in favor of this and and they're going to want this and especially uh you know for for the safety reason for the safety person and and one of
123the things that we have to make sure we do that is we enforce this with uniformity from school to school we don't want one school to handle it one way and another school hand it different handle it differently we want it to be very uniform throughout the district by great level by high school and high school you know the the prek k8s may be a little bit more manageable uh middle schools as well but um but you want everybody to have the same uh way of doing business with these Yonder pouches commissioner O'Brien thank you madam president uh quick question what about our students that use their phone for diabetes have we thought about how we're going to handle that yeah there's there's been discussion about that you know right now the main focus has
124been implementation at large but there are solutions for individual cases uh um such as such as okay any other questions so that we're clear everybody has to buy in there has to be uniformity yeah across all schools that use the Yonder bag as well as the administrators and teachers with the understanding of how this is going to roll out so my question to you is what is the foreseeable problem if a teacher is sitting there on their phone and the kids have their Yonder bag with their phone in it uh yeah and so that's a it's a great question and uh we we do see that when we're in school sometimes and um it's the expectation coming from the administrators in that building and they need to make sure that they're very clear with their
125staff all members of their staff that they should absolutely lead by example and um the administr are leading by example and setting the tone of the school and they have the same expectations for all members of their staff teachers and support staff that it is not appropriate that you are on your cell phone uh when we are you know aggressively trying to have um uh a solution and assistance for how we can prevent our students from being on the cell phone so that um enforcement comes from the school administrators and the expectations that they are laying out for their teachers that they should absolutely not be on their cell phones um they have to lead by example and set the example for the students because they will be watching and uh they will have issues
126if you're you know having them lock up their cell phones but we have our our staff on their cell phones thank you any other questions thank you thank you 10.5 thank you uh I move that the Board of Education approved the following resolution supporting the implementation of the Yoder bags to wit whereas the Waterberry board of education is committed to fostering a focused and dist action free educational environment and whereas the use of student personal electronic devices in school has been shown to contribute to distractions reduced academic performance and decreased student engagement and whereas the use of Y Yoda bags will assist in the enforcement of the board of education's electronic device policy and provide a solution to minimize classroom distractions by securely locking personal electronic devices during school hours allowing students to focus on
127their studies and now therefore be it resolved that the Waterberry Board of Education supports the implementation of Yoder bags in all grades six through 12 classrooms to reduce restraints and enhance student Focus second discuss all in favor I I oppose abstain motion carries item 11 does anybody wish to remove an item from the consent calendar hearing none 11.1 committee on finance request approval to participate in the healthy food certification program per CG S10 d215 F 11.2 committee on finance request approval of the food and beverage exemption statement for the healthy food certification relative to cgs1 d221 Q 11.3 committee on finance request approval to apply for the School Readiness and child daycare for year 25 continuation funding Grant and subgrant guante selection 11.4 committee on finance request approval of amendment two to the professional service
128agreement with Waterberry bridge to success for before and after school care 11.5 committee on finance requests approval of amendment five to the professional service agreement with comier Consulting LLC for teacher and administrator professional development for Commissioners Network schools 11.6 committee on finance request permission to apply for the US doe Congressional funded Community project Grant 11.7 committee on finance requests approval of a transfer in the 2023 24 general fund budget 11.4 committee on finance request approval of a transfer in the 2023 2024 capital budget 11.9 committee on finance requests approval for the new CTE game design and development curriculums 11.10 committee on curriculum request approval of the new financial literacy curriculum 11.11 committee on building and school facilities use of school facilities by school organizations and or city departments 11.12 committee on building and school facilities
129use of school facilities by outside organizations and or waivers commissioner Oro may I have a motion okay sorry um make a motion to accept the uh consent calendar yeah second discussion all in favor I I oppose abstain motion carries item number 12 nothing was removed 13 committee and finance commissioner Oro ladies and gentlemen I moved that the Board of Education approved to apply for the Connecticut State Department of Education arpa summer mental health support grant program FY 25 26 second discussion all in favor I opposed abstain motion carries superintendent notification to the board um commissioner O'Brien may I have a motion I motion to receive and place on file the superintendent's notification to the board items 14.1 through 1410 as listed second discussion all in favor I oppose abstain motion carries committee on chair reports
130does any committee chair Lon or other representative have comments or updates they like to share vice president Brown yes very quickly uh I attended the uh C uh legislative update uh Wednesday and it is um available on the cave website and I do have a paper copy that I'll give to um uh it will be available on the cab website as well as I think they're going to email it to us a lot of a lot of new legislation that will impact us one one in particular which I was surprised now you can only suspend a child for five days you can't suspend a child for 10 days so I think that's going to be a something that we have to deal with because I think that was one of the issues that the teachers
131were were telling us that there's no consequences well the legislature just told us we can only suspend them for five days so that and then there's a whole bunch of other legislation but I think it you know we should look at it and and and see how it impacts us thank you anyone else area chair Mr vanstone no thank you madam president I just have one from uh Waterbury br's success last night uh were able to meet with uh Gil Martin parents and teachers to form a parent teacher organization but we're going to be calling it a chapter and this is just to get parents Educators and the students um to form uh meaningful relationships oh nice okay M van Stone can I have a motion to adjourn I motion we adjourn second discussion all
132in favor we are adjourned thank you everyone thank you e e e