001Oh, good. Recording in progress. anything crazy afternoon. Hey, it's 7 o'clock on Thursday, May 15th. Let's call the Wilton Board of Education regular meeting to order. Um, has everyone had a chance to review the agenda? Is there a motion to approve the agenda? Motion. Thank you, Pat. Is there a second? Thank you, Lori. All in favor? Unanimously. Um, comments from the public. The board has set aside time at the beginning and end of regular meetings for public comments for members of the public to share their views on matters involving the Wilton public schools and to help inform the board's decisions on such matters. Two minutes will be allotted to each speaker and a maximum of 15 minutes to any one subject. For the record, please also give your name and address. The board considers the
002views of citizens in its deliberations and welcomes and appreciates public comment. The board listens to public comment thoughtfully and with interest. The board, however, generally does not respond to public comment during board meetings by offering commentary or answering questions. The board also invites commentators and the public to contact the board or the superintendent directly with any specific questions or comments. The board through the chair and the superintendent may respond to questions and comments offered during public comment or share directly. and in responding may also direct members of the public to the appropriate staff member for a response. Are there any comments from the public? There any online? Thank you. Um, consent agenda. Has everyone had a chance to review the consent agenda? Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? Oh, thank you. I'm
003going to take Nicola and then second, Pam. Thank you. Are there any questions or comments on the consent agenda? Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? Motion. Yep. Well, we already all in favor. Pays unanimously. Um we have a lovely evening to start off with some reports and recognitions. Yes. Right. Oh, I just want to thank um Chuck for being here tonight and um Kevin said he's off with a bunch of superintendent up at Harbor, you know, gathering all new and fun things for us to do here. Yes, he's been sending them to me. So exciting. Um so I think the first up, right? Yes. We have Gabrielle Ko from Cave who is going to present an award to the board for your efforts around communications. You welcome you. Let me go over
004behind you if you don't mind. That way Oh, sure. Whatever is easier for you. Hand it off to you. Oh, okay. Thank you. Um they're bubble wrap. Not going to take them out right now. Okay. Um so, thank you so much for having me. I'm Gabriella Ko. Nice to see you. Um I'm part of the board of directors for the Connecticut Association boards of education. Um I'm on the board of directors as the city representative for Stanford. Um also serving on the board of it over there. And it's my honor tonight to present to you um these awards. Um I'm going to look at my notes here a little bit. So please don't mind me. Indulge me with a little bit of history. Indulge I hope you indulge me to share some history on the
005award. Um so CA has been honoring districts with the award of excellence for educational communication since 1975. Um in 2016 the award was reame renamed in honor of longtime cave staff Bonnie B. Carney in recognition of 47 years um working on education specifically on educational communications. Um and so this goal for the award is to identify um hardworking people in public school. Um, excuse me, I'm running around. I'm like tired. Um, for continuing effort to communicate effectively. Um, and the award tonight um is specifically for the computerenerated project MDTV, the Miller Driscoll Morning Show. Um, secondly, also for the newsletter Wilton by the numbers and lastly for the website Wilton High School um, school counseling hub. So, um, very grateful to be here with you all to celebrate this, um, and let me know if
006there's any way that I can continue to support you, um, as a board of director on CAVE. And I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon, um, into the conventions coming up in November. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. And it's really an honor Um, next we have student leader award recipients for K. Yes. And each of our principles are going to present them to their respective students and families. Maybe we'll start with Toby. Okay. I do have a little a little something to say for about each of our fantastic recipients. So, um, Kurt and Jason So at Middlebrook um it's a full staff endeavor in selecting our students that we recognize student leaders um teams make the nominations but the staff actually votes students these awards. So we're really excited about our
007recipients this year. I'm gonna start with Tess. That's Gibbons. um is described as enthusiastic, determined, detailoriented, and a leader. Her classmates say that has always thinks about others first, and that if she ever sees someone is upset, she takes the time to help them. She's friendly and personable with all people, including the teachers and staff. Tess is a member of our SEAL advisory group, the eight yellow student advisory council, and is also a web leader. She's not afraid to take risks. She answers questions, and she always contributes to group discussions and projects. Tess enjoys playing soccer, basketball, and tennis. She loves hanging out with her friends and her siblings, and her teacher said even her twin brother. Tess has earned mostly A+ grades. She always has a positive attitude and a smile on her face.
008And when Tessa's peers were asked to comment on her, they said, "She's always kind. Even if she's involved in something, she drops it to help you. If you're in a bad mood, Tess will cheer you up no matter what. And she always puts others before herself." So, congrat congratulations to Tess. up is Royce Richards. Royce has positive spirit and he has spirit in all ways, whether it's for the team or the whole school, whether it's celebrating a holiday or celebrating any kind of music venture. Uh Royce is always showing his spirit. His classmates share that he has a positive attitude. It makes others happy. He has a great sense of humor and that he's bold. Royce volunteered to deliver an Oz talk to his entire team. Think of a TED talk when you think of
009Oz talk. He's a conscient conscientious student who perseveres, always making an effort and he's always willing to ask questions. He loves music and he plays is six correct? I think it's probably more than that. Instruments. Um he's been part of the Wilton High School marching band since he's in grade five. Last week we had our concerts at Middlebrook and Royce performed at each grade level concerts as well as the festival on Friday. He's part of the pick brew crew for the Big Fish production. He also enjoys flag football and video games. He's a big Ohio State and Philadelphia Eagles fans. He's had a great year. He earns mostly A grades and his peers say that Royce is always a good friend. They can always rely on him. His positivity is contagious and he's always there
010to help others any time. He always puts others before himself, especially if you're stuck in a situation. Congratulations, Roy. Thank you. And last but not least is Spencer Shaw. Spencer says he always aspires to do his best. He is also a web leader. He sets a great example for his peers academically, taking challenges that are offered and always excelling. He's invested in the eight green community. Anytime there's a team building activity or games or decorating fundraisers, Spencer is always leading the way. He's involved in many activities, GSA, theater, the literary magazine, student advisory council, but he always honors all of his commitments. He's the student representative on on the district climate committee, and his voice is really um appreciated and heard in that venue. Spencer is creative and artistic. He is a visionary artist and
011his art will be displayed in Middbrook for years to come. He is honest and he has a strong moral character. He's thoughtful and empathetic. He knows about current events and uses his knowledge to connect to and contextualize class content. He attempts to lift the level of the students around him. He always greets teachers and asks about their day. Spencer always looks for ways he can help others. He's always respectful. He has a heart of gold. And Spencer's peers say he's creative and he comes up with the best ideas. He always finds a way to use his talents for the benefit of all. When you have a conversation with him, it is pure joy. He is a ball of sunshine. Always positive. Congratulations. Take note, Dr. O'Donnell. Thank you, board chair Duca. Well, firstly, congratulations to
012Tess, Royce, and Spencer for all that you've done. We can't wait to have you at the high school. I'll do we met recently on the climate team. So, uh, um, Courtney, just stand up if you would as I say your accolades a little bit here. Um, we have Courtney Allen here. We are honored to present 20125 winner. Courtney is a remarkable individual brimming with curiosity, resilience, and an infectious sense of humor. She continuously impresses her peers and teachers with her dedication to her learning and her commitment to her community. These two attributes are particularly evident in her founding of the children's book drive initiative in 2023. Her efforts resulted in over 2,000 children's and young adults book being collected and delivered to the Luis Muno Smile School in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Courtney also mentors girls in
013fifth to 8th grade through her involvement in the Miz President USA, a girl civic leadership program that motivates and prepared girls to aim for the highest civic leadership positions. Her work with the local Fairfield County chapter of this organization so impressed the directors that she was selected to oversee communications and outreach and serve as president of the student advisory board. Get ready for this now. Courtney's academic and extracurricular accolades stretch into the dozens with recognition in everything from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation to the National Honor Society to multiple awards won on the Wilton High School debate team. As if that were not enough, she maintains a 4.0 GPA while taking an astounding six AP classes. She also took five AP classes in her junior year, scoring fives on every single exam. We are proud
014to have such an intelligent, compassionate, independent, dedicated, and creative student at Wilton High School. I present to you the board of education, our very own Courtney Allen. Well done. Some of you know Tanner Schm. Tanner is as we speak out competing on the lacrosse field. They have a game tonight. So um in abstentia I'll uh read the honor for Tanner and I'll ensure that he gets his certificate and uh that the board of ed honors him. Um it's not here. Uh, we are honored to present Tanner Schm as a 2025 CAPE winner. Tanner is an extraordinarily well-rounded, driven, and humble individual whose commitment to his community, academic excellence, and athletic achievements are evident throughout his time at Wilton High School. Tanner has founded not one, not two, but three studentrun organizations dedicated to service. Wilton
015Workers connects students to local community members who need manual labor and odd jobs. And Tanner oversees the scheduling of over 40 of our students. As a sophomore, Tander founded the Wilton chapter of Feeding 500, which has raised over $30,000 toward the goal of providing 500 meals annually to the Open Doors shelter in Norwalk, Connecticut. As a junior, he founded Fitness for Freedom, which raises money for active duty soldiers through fitness related activities. Tanner is also an academically gifted student who maintains a 3.9 GPA while serving as president of our National Honor Society. He accomplishes this while playing on the varsity lacrosse team, coaching for WilinR basketball, and refereeing for Wilton Wreck football. Tanner's love of sports has honed his discipline, resilience, and teamwork skills, which complement his strong work ethic, and his ability to balance
016a wide range of responsibilities. We are proud to have such a multifaceted, driven, resourceful, intelligent student here at Wilton High School. I present to you Tanner Schmout. Tanner reached out to me before the meeting and he said if we could, he has a brief thing. He is incredibly honored to receive the Cab Leadership Award. One of the key aspects of being a leader is to have the willingness to take on challenges. I owe much of this aspect of the incredible to the incredible faculty and staff of the Wilton public school system. An honor. Ever since I was in kindergarten, my teachers have believed in me and motivated me to be my very best. For that, I am eternally grateful and I couldn't have asked for a better experience these past years. Thank you, Wilton. Um,
017and it wasn't it wasn't actually in Courtney's letter, but he too is a varsity tennis player and just rushed over from a match that she had. I think it's Fairfield, right? She almost didn't make it, but she's very quick and so she's deeply involved in athletics, too. We're very proud of the students and congratulations to the middle of our student. She really made it. I'd like to invite each families if they want to come up and we can get a picture with your, you know, in front of the Wilton public schools with your award and um we'll make sure that you get a copy of it to memorialize. [Music] Please principal Nicholas, can I put you in charge? Sure. Royce had to get back to um the pit. Can we get everybody in your work?
018Can we get us all in? Can you get us all in? Sorry. Can I What's happening with this hang in there? Thank you. Congratulations. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Okay. Thank you so much. Congratulations. Thank you. Just I just I become a thing. board chairs report. Just briefly, I want to thank the community for coming out and voting in support of the budget. Um, over 15% of the community came out, so it's a larger turnout than usual and the margin of support was over 75% which is also larger and um than normal. So, it really is a testament to the work of the district and staff and everybody sitting around this table. and I just want to thank the community for their continued trust and partnership and uh support. So, thank you. Um, do you
019have a superintendent report? I just like to I'll echo your comments. Congratulate you guys in particular for all the hard work you did and shephering this budget through the process and really probably the best budget cycle I've been through. So I think it's going to you guys. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Um next up is financial report. Hi, how are you? Good. How are you? Good, thank you. So, uh the end of the year is almost here. Um so we're working hard to close out the year. Right now, everything looks like it's in pretty good shape. Um going forward, we're going to we've noticed this year that there was an uptick in overtime um substitutes is always an issue, but we did address that in the budget for next year. Um trying to increase
020that a little bit and we had those discussions during the workshop. Um and of course electric is everybody's issue right now, right? So, um, Jose and I are looking to do, um, uh, some energy surveys and kind of see where we might be able to come up with some savings for that as well, uh, for next year. Um, now that we have a budget, um, we're starting to get ready for that as well. We're starting to prepare for next year and getting um everything set up in the systems and and looking at opening up the year hopefully um so that orders can start going in so we have everything for the start of the school year. So that's pretty much where we're at. Does anybody have any questions about anything in particular? I just want
021to congratulate you and your staff for all the work that you've done this year and um really shephering us through and um it's been a great year without budget freezes and things being managed and um you know um forecasted in a much um greater detail and um the attention to the data. So I just really would like to thank you and your staff as well. Well, and that a lot of that goes back out to the schools as well because the schools have been really partnering with us to make sure that we didn't have to do the freeze this year. So, that was very helpful. It's so nice to have somebody full-time dedicated to the school year. Yeah. To be able. Yes. So, thank you. You've been a tremendous addition. So, thank you for all
022your work this year. It's really been remarkable and made a huge difference. So, thank you. Thank you. Any other um questions for Lala? Thank you. Um, next up we have a STEM program update. Yes, we have Fran back with us and I think she has some friends with her and Melissa and we stand at the STEM program development. Welcome back Fran and friends. So good evening everyone and thank you for having me um and you know uh giving us the ability to share our progress on this really very exciting um project that we've undertaken over multiple years. Um I do have with me um Dr. Jamie Korn, who has been part of the process throughout um the curriculum meetings as well as um our planning meetings this year. And you're going to hear from a
023um student leader, Will Almstead, who um we'll talk more about it, but um very impressive. Uh just got back from a national competition in robotics, I think Texas. He's in Texas. Yeah. Um, so he'll talk a little bit more about that, but we have a lot of talent in this uh district and um he's going to talk about how uh what he's been doing and a lot of our students who are interested in this area have been doing that um is going to work really well with what our planning has been. So, um, you're all probably familiar with the fact that this has been a multipleyear endeavor, um, and started way in, you know, the actually even before the 2023 school year. Um, we, um, underwent a curriculum review, um, which went for a couple
024of years actually because we realized that there were so so many different aspects to it. We started with, um, looking at computer science. when we looked at STEM pathways, it was a much bigger um area than we had in you know we had thought of. Um and then within the last year which was my last year here um you know basically in the capacity that I was in um we had recommendations in terms of you know moving forward with um courses in STEM specifically in robotics. Um so with those recommendations in the spring of last year, we undertook um the summer and the beginning of this school year with planning what what does the curriculum look like? What are the courses look like? We had uh a number of course proposals as you may remember
025um and we had a robotics as part of like the new courses that were um developed and approved uh by the board of education. So at that point uh we began a process of um it you may know with robotics it is um an area where you ca you need supplies you need lots of stuff you know you need the robotics right and you know we we've had a lot of conversations so we went through a process of looking at grants because it is an area that the community is very very interested in um and so we also looked at that as well as uh planning the design of what is the learning environment look like. Um, and we're going to talk more about this, but we're really looking at a fall 2025. When school
026year opens next year, we'll be able to actually open up a learning environment, a STEM lab, as well as the new course and um, the whole program. So, we're really excited about what's coming. Um so what I have been leading as a consultant the um process in a sense of you know getting us to that point of like opening um day in in the the fall. um we formed a committee that's a subcommittee and it's been really just for the the the you know thinking behind what's needed and um ensuring that we have a STEM lab that's state-of-the-art and that you know we we will be able to um use and expand upon. We've had uh four comprehensive meetings. Um we evaluated um what was needed in terms of infrastructure um looked at what technology
027was needed um what the requirements of you know what are the new STEM labs look like and then we ensure that all of that we were talking about really in fact aligned with our curriculum. Okay. Um so our purpose essentially was to develop this learning environment that is going to foster these STEM skills that are so important and are so um they're so integrated. You know, you hear a lot about AI. Um the STEM skills and robotics and AI, they basically are very much intertwined, very important um in terms of going forward. They align perfectly with um the vision of a learner. Um some areas more than others in in terms of the entrepreneurial design thinker. However, problem solving, there's just so many aspects of it that actually go back to what vision of a
028learner is all about. Um, and all of it, you know, whether you're talking about design thinking, um, you know, the different projects, actually creating the robots that you'll talk about in a second, the fabrication, um, is hands-on learning. It's, you know, project- based learning, problem based learning, and all of course we're fostering digital fluency with this. All right. So, I'm going to start by like the going into the nitty-gritty and talking a little bit about the process and I'm going to have you guys talk a little bit about these areas if you can. When we met as a subcommittee, we talked about what is this um space look like. Um and there is a space that's been identified um for this redesigned, you know. Um if you can imagine what um this district did with
029our library learning commons where we had you know your traditional libraries and then we reimagine them into what they are now as learning commons. Um we kind of took the same approach. Um but the actual room that has been designated as the new STEM lab looks a little bit different than our old traditional libraries as you know you might think. So would you like uh uh Amy, would you like to talk to about that particular space? Yeah. Um so right now our custodians are living in that space. Um but we're going to have a significant renovation over the summer. We have identified a new home for them as well that they're happy with. Um and as part of this, we went out and visited several area schools. Ridgefields I wasn't able to go to and
030then Glastonbury was it. um and looked at their STEM and/or steam labs just to get some ideas for what we might be looking for and used a lot of that information in our thinking about what that would look like. We've also had subcommittees to work on different parts of it, whether it's the furniture, the technology piece, and then kind of all come back together to as a bigger think tank to make some final decisions and make sure that we have a state-of-the-art room to come to support all this great learning that's going to happen. So, we we identified different um areas of that room that um we're focusing on. uh we talked about actually you know we we have whiteboards and I think you've you know heard talk about this in in different classrooms but
031this is a perfect room for this. So having like that those wraable surfaces that students can plan um are really important um in that whole collaborative problem solving robotics workstations. So with robotics, you need you need the robotics, but you also need like a field, you know, where you're actually, you know, doing your your your work. Um, you need the presentation space, interactive digital displays, and then the furniture needs to be flexible like it needs to be on wheels. It needs to be um collaborative and so and storage was a big big like conversation. So where are we putting all these, you know, little pieces? So that was the tables themselves you'll see like have like some storage uh but you know there's an additional um storage that's going to go along with this. So
032that there were like all these different areas that we had to like you know take and so now you see like this is a rendering of the um the space and the design um that there's a field as you can see see at the bottom there uh for the robotics. There's um going to be a display area. Um the tables themselves, those are actually what they look like. Have um kind of like an industrial type of, you know, look to them, but they um have a surface where four kids can come around the the table and and work on on the robots as they're building and and problem solving. Do you want to speak to it at all? So Will has been uh just so I I can I can just like sing his praises.
033Um Will and uh we have another student. We have students on the committee. uh they have been invaluable um just you know I'm sure you you know this but they have been invaluable in terms of the feedback and some of the work um will came to one of the committee meetings and brought his own uh 3D rendering using CAD of course um so we had um you know that as a conversation so do you want to talk to like what some of the needs that we so when we first identified what we needed to buy and purchase for this room we really thought back to the engineering design process which is used by all engineers. It goes from design, brainstorming, then you go to build, you're testing, prototyping. So we want to design the room
034around those different six, seven steps that you usually see in this cyclical design or engineering thinking process. Uh so Fran or Miss Kar talked a lot about the different uh tables and the furniture and all that different aspects. So we wanted to make it kind of a room into a circle just like the engineering design process where you're going from the tables then you're going to whiteboards you're going into the field testing your code going back and keep on going in this loop so that you're thinking like an engineer so we can produce students who once they graduate have that same type of thinking skills and are prepared for that type of environment. So it's more than just the space and the stuff as you can tell there was a lot of thinking about how
035is learning going to happen within that space. Um the equipment was also a conversation we started actually at the end of last year having um you know different um platforms uh if you may um in terms of like what are the you know robotics um systems that are out there. Um we landed on VEX for a number of reasons. Um but the VEX systems that we are buying um are aligned to standards. They actually have um PD um teachers can get certifi certified. Um there's licensing that's act so it's nice because you get this kit. It's a super kit they call it, but you get a lot of the different elements that you need in order to you know run robotics. So we thought that that was good. Um okay. Now, we couldn't do this
036without community um support and uh Wilton Educational Foundation provided $50,000 towards this um this whole uh project. Um and we believe it was a generous contribution and it really has now helped us make this whole vision a reality. Um, so I just felt that, you know, we needed to recognize and and um, you know, let you all know that that it it were it not for Wilson Educational Foundation and and their generosity, uh, we wouldn't have all of the aspects of this room that we do have now. So, um, okay. So, I basically thought that it would be important for you to hear from our student um in terms of like um some of the things that are going on. Um Will will talk to, you know, his thinking in terms of the STEM lab,
037but also some of the things that he's been involved in um throughout the community and I'm gonna give him the the next two slides basically. Um, so I'm the captain of the robotics team at the Wilton Library and I mentor several other robotics groups in the um, town. So I think uh, I brought some perspectives from also students of the Wil High School that were important to the committee. Uh, the first one is improved accessibility. A lot of students like myself take music courses or other um, electives that prevent them from taking STEM courses. So we shortened a lot of the classes to just a semester as we did with robotics to make them more accessible which can be seen in the enrollment in them. Now uh we also want to expand our extracurriculars. We're
038adding a robotics team back to the high school next year. Uh and then with this STEM lab uh I've been working on renders with Mr. Planton the engineering teacher at the high school and Miss Compar and Miss Mirror and math teacher as well uh to make those renderings and see those needs. Uh and then we're uh we've also worked with track site and other different organization in just expanding robotics beyond just the classroom. Um so if you'll go on to the next slide, uh here's just a photo collage of some of the different um robotics outreach that has been done not just by my team but all the different organizations. You'll notice a list of uh different organizations of robotics in Wilton. Uh we have we're going everywhere from uh robotics of the Wilton Library
039where we currently have two teams that I captain and mentor. We have at trackside uh we have a team and we're expanding to a battlebots team as well because the capital of battlebots robotics is in Norwok. Uh we have several clubs at the high school that I help run from and uh several of my friends also help and we're always looking for new activities and uh trying to expand uh the scope of robotics beyond the classroom because there's just an insane amount of interest just after going to the international competition this last month. We've had 30 new applicants to just one team alone that I run. So it's just the interest is there. So we not just applying academically but also supplying it out of the classroom is really really important. So how did how
040did you get interested in this? I've been working with Miss Kar since uh fifth grade third grade third grade a long time. Yeah. Um so she first got me interested through the uh IST uh program which he presented at the ISTY conference with us. Um might have been fifth grade. I think that was Yeah. Uh yeah, it it was absolutely amazing. We impressed because of Will. Is that you winning right there? Yeah, that was us winning the state championships. That's pretty great. this year. So, just with uh the our robotics team at the library is called Singularity Technology. And this year we've uh our budget has been close to $30,000. We've had over 1,800 hours of outreach, community outreach through all our events, uh impacting more than 17 countries and just thousand over 10,000 individuals.
041So we're always looking to just expand not just in Wilton but across borders as well with robotics. It's great. Just great. Very exciting. Yes. Just amazing. Great pictures, too. Yes. So, I just wanted to kind of give you an idea of like where we're headed. So, like I said, um in the fall, uh we will be launching the new learning environment, the new STEM lab in what is now the do you call it the custodial room? Um something like that. Okay. But that is gonna it's going to look totally different. Right. So, we're going to be launching a uh section of the robotics course that we presented at the beginning um of the school year um when we looked at new courses. Um what I've been saying even at the subcommittee as you all know
042these things take time to build. Um so I said build it and they will come. Those of you that remember these uh movies, you you remember the field of dreams. So, right. So, build it and they will come. And that's what we're doing right now. Um and we're hoping that, you know, the following year we're able to add a couple of sections, maybe do more advanced curriculum and, you know, 2027 and beyond really, you know, have uh multiple competitions and um expanded course offerings. So, you know, we have a a multi-year implementation um vision as well as we we go forward, but we needed to start with where we are right now with having that space, having it properly um you know, resourced um and uh you know, beginning with with the the robotics uh
043course in in the fall. So, we're really very excited about it and thank you all for your support this entire time. Of course. How many kids do you have signed up for the I don't know about 15 I believe. Does the the team in the course walk together or separately? I'm sure there's some students that are in the course that will be part but but it but they are you can do you can do both or either. Yeah. And we have separate materials for each. Right. So part of what we did with actually purchasing because we didn't want the class materials necessarily to be the competition materials because sometimes that becomes problematic. We're buying different robotic kits. Oh, so they'll be So that's great. So those so they can competition class can have their needs
044and there can be access for the clubs outside of the club. Exactly. And there's enough space. There's a lot of space needed even for club. Yes. No, I saw the space. I think it's a fantastic space. The space is great. And just the evolution of education, how that was once the shop room and now, you know, it's going to be the um, you know, robotics room and cars are turning into, you know, engineering feats of robotics and computers. So, it kind of just shows the the evolution in that respect. Exactly. Yeah. Any questions from Are you a junior now? Yes, I'm a junior. And what what do you think you're gonna go study at? Um, robotics automation. Could you just talk about your time in Austin and what that was like for you? Uh, yeah.
045We went to Houston. Oh, sorry. And it's I'm part of You'll actually see I'm wearing the sweatshirt right now. Uh, first is the other global organization other than VEX that runs large competitions. I've been doing their programs and I've been helping out in their programs since uh middle school and uh we uh there are two really important aspects of there's the robot itself but also the outreach. You'll notice I presented a lot of those outreach statistics but um making an impact is really what matters in robotics right now just so that it gets heard and it gets known and that that interest is generated so that side by side is really important. Uh as for our experience in Houston, it was a ton of fun. We met teams from all over the world, Romania, everywhere.
046Romania has a great STEM program surprisingly. Wow. Uh they had all of our teams placed in the top. Uh and it was really interesting to see all these teams and we had a couple of me uh issues ourselves for the first two days of the competition. But just going through that problem solving method and just going back to the presentation with the classes, teaching that skill of going through the entire engineering design process really important for in the- moment situations like those like we had to face in Houston. No panic, just a thoughtful just you have you have to work you have to work as fast as you can but also make sure you're not missing any. Exactly. Good for you. Yeah, really quite impressive. Yeah, really, really. And thank you for, you know, not
047only your outreach, but helping, you know, shepherd the program through the high school and really kind of being that student connection to u making sure that, you know, the classroom works and the clubs work and it's really, you know, providing what you guys um need to be successful. So, I look forward to, you know, peeking my head into the classroom in the fall and and seeing how you guys are doing and having you back and seeing how and are you going to be on the new high school team? Are you going to do that team, too? Including that team. Are you going to split your time between us in the library? No, that's really great. Thank you so much. And Fran, thank you for really um shephering this um through and making it a managing
048process. And thank you to the Wilton Education Foundation for all they um they do for our schools and our kids and the meaningful contributions that they make. Will did were you the will that slept outside in a tent for a year? You really are exceptionally do that just as a a thing to do? Yeah. over COVID. I guess we all went a little crazy during So, you just Yeah, I'm a scout, so I wanted to keep up my good sleeping outside. Wow, you're quite a remarkable person. Yes, you are. Back at the table for another story. Thank you. Thank you all so much. Thank you. Thank you, Will. Thank you, Fran. Nice to see you again. Nice to see you. Um, next up, um, for review and discuss is the, um, open choice enrollment recommendation.
049Um, you'll see there's a briefing summary from Kevin in your um, materials. It notes that um the superintendent's recommendation to open a maximum of three kindergarten seats to Norex students participating in open choice for the following 2526 school year. Um key point is that um our first two years of participation have been very successful. We presently enroll 10 open choice students and anticipate that they will return next year. Um next year one student would be in third grade, four students would be in grade two and five would be in grade one. All of them are doing very well at currently at Miller Driscoll. Um next year including three um open choice students we including the three open choice students we would expect kindergarten enrollment to be around 250 um students. Um with 14 sections of
050kindergarten the average class size would be 1718. Um the average cost of adding an additional student is marginal and it's not the actual per pupil cost. Um and the um Connecticut um state department of education provides a grant of 3,000 um per student um which we have been um faithfully receiving since our inception into the program. And transportation is provided by the rest at no cost to the receiving district. And um should out of district students require special education or related services, the sending district um pays the amount equal to the difference between the cost of the services and the grant provided by the state department of education. So this is a review and discuss um everyone's welcome to um um um comment now. Also think about it, send questions in. um it'll be um
051for a second um discussion and then um vote at our next meeting. So I emailed Kevin asking him if we have a student in in the in the program now, right? And there's a sibling that they would that the family would like also to be enrolled in the program coming in. Does that does that sibling have to go into the lottery or is that someone is that something that can happen just because we have a relationship with the family when child is already in the program? How does that work? So I think we'll have to I can't speak to how it works. So I'm glad you have the question it gets asked. I'm sure Kevin will ask. I know that um enrollment in the program is done through um CES and not through us and
052they handle the application process. So um I'm sure they have a process that um deals with um sibling and sibling priority would be my you know we don't have any current initial um understanding but not to my knowledge but um we'll make sure the question gets logged and answered. So did we have someone skipp right? H no no. Um so there's and so we've been in so there's the first year um we had kids come in and there was a student who came in kindergarten and first grade. Okay. I was like in third or Yeah. So that's Yeah. So that's what it So that first year it was split between the two years and not just bringing in a kindergarten. Yeah. No. So no one's left. So no one's left. No. Um and we expect
053you know gun to return next year but clearly it's still their choice. Um but once accepted into the program um they can maintain their enrollment provided they meet the requirements of residency in Norwok through grade 12. So I invite if anybody else has any questions um and Pam will make sure that your question gets gets answered and um answered for the whole group and we'll put on the question chart so can the public can see it as well and um during the next two weeks if anybody has any other questions they want to address to um Kevin feel free to do so and it'll be on the agenda for our next Um, okay. Next item is the draft 2526 BOE um meeting calendar. So, you know, this is one year's ending, another one is beginning.
054Um, it tracks very similar, you know, always to that first and third um Thursday of the month. Um you'll see the um budget process is already laid out for next year including um I think the evening um budget workshops works well this past year and that will be repeated again for um 2026. Um the only thing I just wanted to bring everybody's attention to is um that first Thursday, August 21st meeting. Um I've scheduled um a board retreat to happen from 6:00 to 7 prior to our first regular meeting just to give us a chance to all get together and um agenda plan and just meet before the start of the next um school year after the summer. And that's not a usual timing. um anybody um and we also made sure that um these
055meetings don't abut those Thursdays don't abut against the holiday so it should um all work out but if anybody um has any questions we'll do um put this on the agenda for the next item for next meeting for a vote next for um discussion um is um a draft public school 2627 district calendar um proposed calendar. Um it has one less um half day and this year we um had that discussion during the professional development saying that we were restructuring that a little bit. We took one away um and the calendar was altered a little bit to make sure they were um um scheduled in a way that was more conducive to professional development and teacher and teacher and classroom needs. Um it is my current understanding that our spring break is aligned with New
056Cananan. Nobody else is out yet, but we are, you know, in alignment with New Cananan. Um others haven't released um theirs yet. Um and um other than that um you'll notice on the the second side of it, it also lays out holidays and awareness and heritage information um for um community awareness and understanding and also to help um teachers um manage their um testing and um homework schedule. And we can um if anybody has any questions about this, we can happy to um discuss any um questions. So there's there's shorten days and then there's one that's complete. There's no school on the 3rd of November. Is that Yes. Because it's vote. Is that the election day? That's election day. That's right. Okay. Yes. So election day, the school the kids don't come, right? But teachers
057have professional learning. Yes. Yes. Yes. Um I remember when election day we used to have like parents parading through the schools but those days are long gone. Yeah. Yes. And this will be on the um agenda for a vote at our next meeting. Ruth I can't remember if I asked this look at 25 26 calendar but the for the the four days that we shortened for K through8 conferences. Yes. Have we is is there anything we can do to make those more efficient over days and not have four days? It's tough to do that given the volume of parents who usually show up. I do know that Kevin is very interested in reimagining parent teacher conferences, but I think that's going to require an awful lot of care with the teachers. Um, I don't think
058we'd be ready to make a significant change next year. Do we know how many roughly percentage of parents take those meetings in person versus off the top of my head? I do believe from what I understand is that parents at the elementary level do take advantage of that opportunity to talk to the teachers. I just don't know how many to look virtually versus I can get that information for you. Yeah, I think the what I've heard from parents is that it's very difficult to do the data. Yeah. For a lot of work and I think we brought this up last year as well. Yeah. And and honestly for teachers it's having been in that situation um it's pretty tough to teach those those half days. Everything is all kuruffled. You know, you're getting a kid
059for one, especially for the the specials. You'd get a kid on the Wednesday and you wouldn't see him again for until after Thanksgiving because of the way the cycle works, you know, for some of these drop schedules. So, and some of this would also require some contract negotiations. Yes. That's the other thing is if you did evening, you'd have to get back. Yeah. So there's lots of like moving pieces that have like you know you know do other districts do evenings do other districts they would they would give teachers off u if they did like two nights of evenings they would give teachers off a full day and get a sub kind of thing no just like it would be a day off like it would be a so in where I came from before
060in Granch we had evening conferences but it was part of the contract it was negotiated yeah we don't currently have that in this contract right So I think you know so if you had an evening contra conferences did you have to give up something for the teachers during the day or is that just part of their job? Just part of their job but there's a compensation element to it through the contract. So yes were there just a certain number of nights they could do it like two or three? I think we did two. Two the teacher and it usually started about three. Yeah. And then just work into about seven or Yeah. the teacher compro the teacher contract is up for negotiation. Is this something that could be like raised with the teachers? Like how
061would you Yeah, I it could be. I prefer to Kevin to decide whether or not I mean this has been going on for a number of years now. Well, I think there's an a lot of there's a lot of pieces to it and I think some of it also is, you know, making sure that whatever we put in next is something that we want to, you know, ensure is kind of the right way to move forward over many many years um to come. So I think that um you know we can certainly have a more directed kind of conversation with it and I know that um it has been on our radar to talk about and do and try to put some type of focus groups together and like talk to teachers and parents and
062try to figure out a way that assist a way and a system that kind of works. It's important contact I I think with the teacher I think for a parent to actually sit down face to face with the teacher because they're not in the building anymore the way they used to be. So it is an important time for that those you know those two stakeholders. Three days aren't enough for the amount of parents that want to meet the teachers. So the te the teachers end up having to schedule during you know prep periods and during other times early morning school because they just can't accommodate that much time. So I think no matter what like it's very difficult to set aside enough time to meet with every single parent. Yeah. Um, so I mean, not
063that I'm saying we should get rid of it, but I think there could be a reimagining. Yes. Yes. Of how we approach parent teacher conferences, right? Like I think it's a very um antiquated system. I know I agree with you. I I think it's hard in this world and in this in these days to do it the way we're doing it, but it is an important thing for the stakeholders to actually have a conversation in person. And I think there's a lot of parents that uh probably not that every kid doesn't deserve the time, but there's also probably a lot of parents that may require more time than other parents. So I think that's also a challenge. Yep. I would suggest we take a cue from our STEM student and think about this in terms
064of going through a design process, being very clear about what our goals are. Yeah. Um brainstorming some ideas, maybe testing some of them out, getting some feedback and Yeah. Right. Yeah. And it's really trying to, you know, make something that works moving forward in a in a meaningful way for both teachers and parents and students and families. So it has an educational purpose there. Yes. and it helps move, you know, with goals and um you further along and maybe also honor the differences that families and students may have. Yeah. And needs. Yeah. Can we ask Cab too if there's other schools that have reimagined different models? I think Kevin has been researching it. Okay. He's been much more involved in that than I. So maybe when he comes back, we have a deeper discussion about
065that. Yeah, definitely. And any other um questions about the or specific to the calendar? Do are all of our surrounding districts making this decision before the end of this school year? Because we often seem to be one of the first districts to make the decision and that wasn't such a popular decision with the parents in the last year. and if there was something we could do to avoid so we're always trying to like walk a fine line between giving like parents and families I know there's always a request to give them lead time to be able to plan accordingly and you know make vacation plans or family plans um plan you know college visits and all and and and the like and have the calendar out and going um I think like this past year
066was a bit of an anomaly where we were just off sync with you know surrounding districts And once in a while that happens even if we know it happens even if it's known in advance because it might be you know the right the right choice for our district. So um but I think because of that we are kind of you know looking at it more um closer in in time. Um so like new Kanan is already out and we know that we're we're in um sync with them and I think others are still kind of where we are in their planning process. I think teachers also appreciate and having that set schedule and and yeah anything else I have on the calendar. Okay. So we'll push this over to an action item for um our
067next. So tonight there are no action items and comments from the public. I'm hearing none. I just want to bring everybody's um special attention to BOE special meeting on Thursday, June 5th at 6:00 p.m. That will um the special meeting starts at 6:00. Regular meeting will be at 7, but it's when we're honoring um retirees and um community members. So, we will start at um 6:00 p.m. and it will be here in the lower section of the U library. And then we have canceled our June 19th meeting. Um and um graduation will be on the 14th. Thank you all and um 801 meeting a judge.