HBOE - Regular Meeting - 10/21/2025-ORG

001Good evening everyone. Um, my name is Shante Brody and as chairperson of the Harford Board of Education, I hereby call to order the October 21st, 2025 regular meeting. I wish to extend a warm welcome to everyone present and to our television viewers. The board superintendent and I are pleased that you have joined us as we celebrate achievement, review information, and make policy decisions related to the effective operation of Harper Public Schools. This is a regular meeting and all items that will be discussed or voted on this evening have been posted as required by law. As a Harford Board of Education, we are here to set goals, listen to reports of the superintendent, and tonight Dr. um Connie Ratley sitt sitting in for our superintendent, approve budgets, contracts, and personnel appointments and make policy for the

002district. We are not here to make management decisions or solve the problems of individuals. Management is the responsibility of the superintendent. The monthly meetings of the board are open to the public. They are a time when the board conducts its business of governing the school system in a public arena. The regular meetings are not meetings with the public. Therefore, comments from the audience will be confined to the time designated for the public to address the board. The quorum and courtesy are important elements in effective public meetings. Please silence your cell phones or communication devices and refrain from talking while others are speaking. Since it is legally mandated that proceedings be accurately recorded, I may have to ask for order periodically should noise begin to interfere with our recording capabilities. I am pleased that you have

003taken the time um this evening to join us. We are very proud of this school system and thank you for your interest in the Harford public schools. Now this will be read in Spanish. Superend. Educ. Harford. for the Hartford. Thank you. And at this time, we're going to have a presentation um which will be led by our deputy superintendent um Dr. Ratley. Thank you, board chair. Good evening. I am proud to share tonight that we are recognizing our top 10 readers for the 2025 summer reading challenge. I know it's suddenly October and we wanted to make sure that all of our readers and families were able to celebrate in this occasion. The summer reading challenge is part of our boundless partnership, a unique collaboration between Hartford Public Schools and the Hartford Public Library that began

004over 10 years ago. This year, we had a total registration of 2,259 students who read for 1,21500 minutes. That's over 20 hours of reading. [Applause] Congratulations to our schools, all of them, and especially those with the highest summer reading registration, which would include Sand School with 300 students registered. I'm sorry, 318 student registered. And kudos to our school with the highest summer reading participation, Batansis Learning Lab, Magnet School, with 289 students participating. [Applause] Just a little more information about the program. This year's theme, one city, many stories, beautifully captured the richness and diversity of not only our city but Harford public schools, places of learning where different cultures, backgrounds, and experiences come together to create a vibrant, dynamic community. This challenge highlighted and celebrated that diversity, inspiring our students and our families to explore new

005stories, ideas, and perspectives. I want to extend a special thank you to the dedicated team of Hartford Public Library librarians who worked to plan the summer reading challenge and all of the amazing organizations who supported the challenge. Thank you to Miss Marie Jerry, the chief operating officer of Hartford Public Library, for being here with us tonight to recognize our amazing readers. At this point in time, I ask the board to meet us down front as we congratulate each student and the family members and hand them a certificate while taking a photo. Yes. All right. First, Arya Bolero, where are you? Come on up. And family, congratulations. Excuse me. [Applause] Yeah, the principal can join. >> Yeah, just right here next to the >> Oh, beautiful. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so

006much. >> Next we have Charville Dioar. >> Yes, >> Canella. Thank you from Canella. Thank you. >> Congratulations. Kim, you could join us. >> You know, I'm joking. >> You're not a performer or anything. >> No. >> Thank you. Congratulations. >> Next, we have Ary Gupta from Betans Learning Lab. We can do whatever the dad wants. >> Make sure you can see my Congratulations. [Applause] [Laughter] >> Got it. And next we have Phipe Jimenez from Montasauri Magnet at Annie Fischer. [Applause] principal. [Music] Yes. We have Dealis Lozano and her sister is here as well. Milanise Castillo. [Applause] They are both from Betans Learning Lab as well. next year. That's why >> and we'll be sharing all these photos with the schools and the families. Got to get the librarian in there. >> Thank you. Congratulations.

007>> Next is Darif Rana from Betans's Learning Lab as well. Congratulations. >> These are working on your phone. One more time. >> Thank you so much. >> And yes, we have Vivana Batina. Glad you could be here tonight from Montasauri Magnet at Bath Shelter. I like these phones. One second. Thank you. And that's all for the ones who are here. Yes. I'll just mention as we're making it back to the deis that the the three students who are not able to be here tonight are Akanch Siobhan from Betans Learning Lab, Rahi Siobhan from Batansa's Learning Lab, and Viduran Var Varinage from ESM. Oh, good. Okay, we come on. I'm sorry, guys. They are here. Come on down. [Applause] I'm glad you could be here. >> This is >> What about is a There you go.

008>> Great. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you. And now we're moving into public comment. Mr. Mills, [Music] we as a board in collaboration with the superintendent and district, sorry, and district leadership are committed to cultivating a culture of excellence at all levels of HPS. We thank you for taking the time to attend tonight's meeting. We appreciate you coming out to learn more about Hartford Public Schools and for sharing your thoughts and concerns. We have established a protocol to track and respond to concerns raised. We want you to know that we take your concerns seriously. And to that end, staff will follow up within 48 hours if follow-up is required via the preferred method of contact the speaker has indicated on the sign-in sheet. As a reminder, you have three minutes to speak. At the

009two-minute mark, the bell will ring, letting you know that you have one minute left. At the second bell, please wrap up your comments. Now, this will be read in Spanish. Hartford. Joe Toner. Good evening, Madame Chair, board of education. My name is Joe Toner. I am the executive director with the Connecticut State Building Trades Council. And I think more importantly for this meeting here tonight, I am the co-chair of the labor management uh committee for the Hartford building uh school construction program uh which has been successfully going on for over 23 years and creating thousands of opportunities for Harford residents. We're a little bit in the building trades. I want to speak directly probably to you folks about our Harford residents. We have over over 200 Harford residents working on these projects every single day.

010For the last 23 years, if you drive through the city of Harford, onethird of the construction workers on these projects are Hartford residents. We successfully have enrolled over 1300 Harford residents into the unionized construction industry in during the conception of this program. I'm being told that the administration on the back of a cocktail napkin is looking at trying to do some type of redistricting or consolidation and has put these pro these school programs on pause. This is not only detrimental for the students, especially our great readers that were here earlier, right? Uh they should have the state of art state-of-the-art facilities like everyone else through the state of Connecticut, but it's also detrimental to our families here in Harford. The average wage of a of a construction worker on these projects, a Harford resident, is

011over $80 an hour. They're sustaining wages. There's no other projects in the city of Harford, any of these housing developers that are coming in from out of state, hiring unscrupulous contractors, and exploiting the workers on every single one of these housing projects in Connecticut. Our folks don't have the opportunity to work on those projects because of their union affiliation because they will not work for less. It's important that we represent not only the children but also the residents that live in this city. This program has been successful. It's creating great great opportunities. Matter of fact, we have second generation folks working on these projects alongside with their parents. And with the administration currently with the federal government, with the attack on brown and black people, our brothers and sisters, it's more important now to make

012sure that we have an opportunity for these folks to have a safe place to work to have a voice heard on the work at the workplace and get paid what they deserve. We also have a program called the Building Trades Training Institute that is located on Sergeant Street in Hartford. That's doors are open seven days a week. literally five, but seven days a week, I'll say, because we we'll take anybody at any time. And their their mission is to make sure that disadvantaged and non-traditional people have an opportunity to get into the unionized construction industry. We want to grow on the 1300. We want to keep the program going and we look to you folks, the responsible party here, it looks in the city of Harford to make sure that these programs continue, not only

013for the children, but for their families. And I thank you for the time. >> Angelica Maddox. Okay. Hi. Good evening, chair and members of the board. As you know, my name is Angela. I am a parent. I've been in the blue ribbon commission. I serve on the parent caregiver engagement panel and I'm a coach for Harford Paint University. I thank you for the invitation to your recent meeting even if it just came a couple of hours before it started. So, I wasn't able to attend on so such short notice, but I did submit my submit my feedback by email. yet it hasn't been acknowledged yet. The volunteer policy and its implementation are not working as intended. While Raptor approves volunteer using any form of ID or even just a photo with no social security number,

014you can just put put a placeholder. Um those same volunteers are later met with hesitation at the school. They are asked for an ID at the door even though they've already been approved. And if they can't produce one, they're turned away. Once inside, there's no orientation or clear instructions and no preparation, leaving everyone confused. Just this week, I had a group of fully pro approved volunteers show up excited and ready to help, only to be told to sit still and do nothing for hours. We literally did nothing. Um, it felt like we were being treated as a risk just for being there. The atmosphere made it seem like our present was a burden instead of a benefit. staff cited confidentiality and safety just to justify being unprepared even though our volunteer group has scheduled way

015in advance. I want to remind everyone that Title One calls for allowing parents to volunteer in ways that are meaningful to them and that its purpose is to involve disadvantaged families in their children's education. This policy undermines the mission that mission by limiting volunteers to only those considered qualified and placing selection at the discretion of individuals. Another concerns that parents are disenfranchised for simply advocating for their child at the school. Families are being sidelined for mere minor reasons and the language used to define what counts as inappropriate behavior or detrimental to the school environment needs to be further clarified. Lastly, this proposed policy places the burden of liability onto the val the volunteer even though there are exciting um existing laws that protect them once they are recognized by the board. So, I ask if

016we're not officially recognized, please let us know because we can take our children to another school where we are actually valued as a family. Thank you. Michael DS board members. My name is Michaels. >> My name is Michael DS. I live at 74 Rosemont Street in Hartford. And um I'm happy to uh speak before you this evening and see Dr. Ratley again. Um, I uh I'm also want to congratulate the two people, members of the board that uh are now members of the building committee. Um, chairperson uh and uh board member Wilson. And uh and I'm glad to see that the as president of the Harvard Federation of Substitute Teachers, I'm glad to see that uh one-third of the building trades union in Hartford are uh that work on a public school building site sites

017are are union members and trained by this uh uh building and trades uh council. And uh I also want to remember that I'm on uh Barbara Street in Hartford. There's a uh empty lot. It was filled with it was a uh occupied by a school that has since been torn down. And I just want you to remember that a school needs to be built there. That's Wish School. Um, also I'd like to uh um remind you that also the the state has uh authorized uh $30 million for afterchool activities and I hope that Hartford gets a good portion of that. Um and uh we also would like to know uh hear from the superintendent get the latest procedures on the sick days that were um mandated by the state. Thank you Millie Arcinez. [Music] Good

018evening everyone. Madame Chair, honorable members, families here tonight with their kids um doing a terrific job in reading. Dr. Ratley um doing an amazing job with this whole right to read and the whole curriculum thing that we've been um partnering on for a very long time. So, I hope to continue that with Harford Parent University um in this work. But I just want to say one thing tonight with all that said, right, you have a volunteer policy that's before you tonight. And we can make this really great by having parents around the table and making this a real robust family input all around it. Making it strong so that families can feel valued all across Harford. This is not easy work. I understand that. But you know, as we as Hartford Parent University and yeah,

019we have history here and we we've been called anywhere from funding, you know, we've organized for getting more funding for Hartford Public Schools. We've been called for the reading campaign from Hartford Public Schools and also from the state that's looking for our leadership as well. But for the one thing, volunteer policy, we're not even thought about and we have anou. We have anou with Harford public schools and we're building volunteer structures in the school and it's not going to be easy sometimes. Yeah, we're going to have to come out to you guys and say this is what we're experiencing because we have nowhere else to go. But that's okay as long as you accept us to the table and we could do great work together. And I remember a time 25 years ago that we

020were all at the table. We had the family engaging committee meeting with parents all around us under Sharon Stallings because she believed that parents should be around that table. We had a special education committee with parents on that committee. So it doesn't matter the capacity of parents, right? Any parent, whether she has a college degree or whether she doesn't have a degree, it doesn't matter because her child, she's entrusting the board of education with her child. so that that child can be able to compete globally. Right? So, I ask this board tonight to really think about that. We haven't even had a chance to even digest this yet. What parents were a part of this? Who were they? We're your partner and I hope that you entrust us not only for funding, organizing for funding,

021but also on an important policy as this one. Thank you, Alonso McGre. Good evening board members. Um, my name is Alfonso McGriff the third. I was born and raised in Harford, Connecticut. I still live in Harford, Connecticut. For the last 25 years, I've been developing and sharing a program called Conscious Conversations through various platforms, including radio, television, weekly in-person interactive meetings, and more recently on social media. I've also interacted with high schools, colleges, universities, businesses, organizations, and correctional facilities. This includes speaking with atrisisk youth, educators, and staff. The conscious conversation's approach to harmonious and productive verbal communication has evolved into a book called the roots of a tree the genesis of a conscious conversation. This marks the culmination of a nine-year project that divine defines my area of expertise, which is helping people understand why

022and how to have a healthy discussion nationally and internationally. Too many arguments among young people and adults have led to tragic consequences. Our trueisms are, I speak with respect and humility. I listen with compassion. I seek understanding. and I keep an open mind. Freedom of speech is a trending topic, particularly in light of recent developments in politics, higher education, and social media. Presently, we're fighting for free speech without including civil speech. I say civil speech is the pathway to free speech. Key benefits of civil speech include becoming mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally healthy, developing an understanding of life affirming behavior, improving the quality of our conversations, and reducing conflict, and increasing safety, security, and personal peace. I am currently on the ground floor. Soon, I will present my program nationwide. As a personal development consultant

023born and raised in Harford, Connecticut, I would like to introduce my program to students and staff in the Harford public school system. I am here to find out how we can make this happen. I'm interested in being part of the solution to conflict and confrontation beginning in Harford, Connecticut. You have a a a flyer um and on the front is the cover of the book. on the back are the symbols representing the 31 chapters, the 31 short chapters of the book. So, if you're interested in that, and also I would just like to say if there's anyone representing the board who would like to take the book and review it and check it out and share it or pass it along or whatever, I have a copy of the book here. Uh, if somebody would

024just let me know. Thank you very much. Mike Susy [Music] good evening. Um so um the first thing I want to do is I want to actually thank the u thank you guys for um last week not last last month last meeting I came out and I was speaking about the parking lot and the next day the office my school's office had told me the next day somebody came out uh and the quote was oh wow it's as bad as he said it was so however I hope that's not necessarily the final thing because of the fact that um I know within the first week the lock got picked and um you know as staff we would like to be closer to the school because we know that if we were in any other school

025in Harford, we would actually be there would be a parking lot um not a third of a mile away and most likely on campus. So, um I like the solution now, but I don't want that to be the end goal. I want to see like actually get improved. Um the second thing I want to do is I actually want to shout out also the school. Like I'm wearing this shirt. So for the Harford Marathon, we had three different teams from our school. Um staff, we had the principal, we had a few teachers, a few security officers actually come out and run in the Harford Marathon to the fact that we actually had three different relay teams. Um, and it was actually really cool. Anytime we crossed the finish line, they would say Huffford Public High

026School, like the second oldest high school in America. Um, and you know, hearing that from the crowd and I actually get a lot of compliments when I see this where people are like, I went to Harford High and um, so which is really nice. Um, and like I think I said that I was gonna make today like a positive one, a positive because I went over time last time and it was a very message. It's just the only maybe negative message I have is the fact that I hope that this parking lot is not the last step that we find something a that's a little bit more sustainable, not necessarily a band-aid. Um, but I do want to reiterate once again how thankful I am that there actually was a response because sometimes I do

027sit here and I I feel like I'm just speaking and nobody's listening and that actually proved to me that you guys were actually listening. Thank you, >> Rachel Taylor. Good evening. My name is Rachel Taylor. I am a Hartford Public High School alumni and mother of three Hartford Public School students, uh, including my youngest, Benji, who has Down syndrome. I also founded a Hartford special education, uh, parent teacher organization last year. I'm here to ask you to take seriously the problems with how Hartford serves students with disabilities and make it a top priority to develop a system that serve serves students with disabilities with the dignity and care they deserve. As I'm sure you are aware, um, Hartford Public Schools currently spends just over $14,000 a year per student with disability, far below the $23,000

028statewide average and barely a third of the $38,000 the CRE system charges for Hartford students with disabilities who are placed there. The cost of outofd transportation rose 91% over the last two years. This means that Hartford Public Schools spends an inordinate amount amount of money paying for students with disabilities to go out of district while underserving students with disabilities in the district. The answer cannot be to tell parents not to try to outplace their students because a parent's job is to fight for what their kids need. Rather, the question is, how can Hartford Public Schools make itself the first choice for Hartford parents of students with disabilities? How can the services provided to students here be so good that no parent would want to go elsewhere? I believe the first step must be to look

029honestly at how things are right now. Through the SEPTO, I have had the chance to hear stories from a large number of families about their experiences seeking services for their children. I'm sorry to say that a majority of those experiences are negative. The common throughine among many parents I hear from is feeling like the goal of Hartford's special ad ed education administrators is to deny their children services. They say that the children's needs are minimized. Interventions that are not working are described as working or just needing more time and researchbacked interventions and supports are dismissed. I know one family who having had this experience with their child for four years felt forced to move out of their house in Hartford and into an apartment in West Hartford in order to get the child the interventions

030they needed in West Hartford schools. This family did not want to leave the city, but as parents, they felt that their number one responsibility was to do what was best for their kid, and all the meetings, emails, and discussions they had had with special education administrators in Hartford were not accomplishing that. Their story certainly is not unique, as the high number of families seeking open choice or outplacement shows. There are many caring and wise educators, attentive parents, and self-aware students who could and should participate in designing the top-notch special education system our children in Hartford deserve. I hope that you will make this task a top priority this school year. Thank you, Terren Blue. Good evening board members. My name is Terrence Blue and I'm the executive director of Developing the Future, an organization which

031um works with autistic children and individuals within the community. What we choose to do is bring awareness to the community through sports. We're connected with Active City and the initiative that I run is Spectrum Sports. Um my question is how can create how can we create a platform where active city and the participants of active city that have these initiatives can gain access to the schools where we can share the information within the school system what would which would increase participation of the program active city I think has been in operation for the past four years I've been actively working with them for the last three years um the particip participation. While it could be more, if we had access to the schools and we can share the information that we do have, that would

032help a lot. Oh, and I don't want to take up your three minutes. I just wanted to have a simple question. Thank you, >> Cloud. What Good evening board members. How you guys doing today? >> I am Claude Watt the third. I'm the district electrician. I'm also the Eboard member for local 566. That's all custodians, buildings and trades and food services. Um to piggy to piggyback off the first speaker talking about the trades, how I actually got into the trades was I was a New Haven resident like you guys have new visions. I had transitional high school and being a part of that program got me to be electrician. And when I came to Harford public schools, I knew I was going to sit there and take a pay cut. I took a $60,000 pay

033cut coming here because I had a I have a daughter that I'm her person. And so it was more important for me to sit there and um be able to be there for her versus going out and getting the money because I'd be on the job site with the biggest, toughest dude you've ever met in your life. And a lot of times they would sit there and they would go home and the kids would just be like, "Dad, just give me the money." And I was like, "You're only a child at some point in life for only but so much of a time." They're only a child for only what do we call like 18, 20 years. And so I felt like that time period was important for me to be that as a dad

034for my children. And so I just want you guys to know that I am more than just a number here. I am a person. I sit there and 87% of my union are Harford residents. And when you sit there and you play with our money, you play with not only what affects us, but affects our children. And so why are we the we're the lowest paid people in this district, but yet they always target us first. We are health and safety. We are uh community. Um, when there's a problem, you guys will never know about it because we I have solutions to sit there and correct any issue. We show up when nobody's around 2 o'clock in the morning to sit there and because it's our duty to sit there and make sure these kids

035go to school, have a safe place to be. And we we take pride in honoring that. And so we just in that regards is pay us our worth because we are more than just that type of number. We are more than just an individual. We are more than just four numbers on the thing. Um, and thank you so much for your time and safe travels home. [Applause] >> John Walton. >> Good evening, Dr. Bradley. Good evening, distinguished board members. Good evening to our Dr. Tanzu, our superintendent, in his absence. Um, I'm going to just indulge me a little bit because October 14th was my birthday and when you get older, you begin to feel it more important to be able to speak your truth. So, just indulge me a little bit. First, uh, I want

036to just say that we want to target some positive goals with this board. Our youth program to work year round is one of our target programs. uh the youth board members, we would like to see them brought back to the to the board so that they can stay involved. And the legislative uh task committee, we we think that's important. It's an important conduit to actually advocate for the larger picture of money and funding for Harford public schools. And we would also like to see and bring back the Harford Public Schools podcast so that when we have real issues, we can have those real conversations and then we can involve the public into those real conversations and and and get a real perspective from both sides. Now, I know the superintendent is watching. So, Superintendent Dr.

037Tanzo, you gave a charge about changing the culture and climate of Harford public schools. And I know this board has been with that charge because you put a man in place that had that charge, but there's some unfortunate things here. Not everybody has taken that charge seriously. And how you get culture and climate change. Well, how I see it, how you get culture and climate change is you begin to hold everybody accountable at the same level because that's how you're going to really communicate true change. Now, let me start by saying this. I have some excellent relationships with some of our uh management team on the other side. Excellent relationships with them and I respect them. But the system is broken and we need to start surgically repairing that system by removing the pieces that

038are broken. And some of the pieces that are broken is their view of us. As you heard my colleague say, uh he's more than just a number. Well, we are. We're partners. A collective bargaining agreement is a partnership between management and labor to serve our community. And who do we serve? Well, we serve who you see in the audience, the children, the ones who got the awards earlier, and the ones who sit with us that are Harford students. That's who we serve. That's who we work for. I know you believe in that. I believe in that. But there are pieces of that management team that don't understand that. and we've got to correct their thinking. You know, I would be lying if I came up here and said that I don't have a selfish motive

039of my uh union to express, which is we're under contract negotiations. And they, you know, public, I really want you to watch something because this is how business is done in many areas. When you're under contract negotiation, they do specific things to keep you from talking about it, stripping you of your voice. So they create documents to to have you agree that you should not discuss contract negotiations because the mask is that things are more suitable and workable when you keep things in private. I think that's a terrible perception. I think that's a terrible approach because if you were so righteous in what you were offering to your partner, then you would highlight it as you do everything else that makes you look good, right? You would say, "I'm willing to pay the 87% union

040who who we represent, who this board represents, who the management team is supposed to be working for. We're willing to tell everybody what we're willing to give them because we're willing to pay them as partners. But the reason they want to keep it quiet is because they don't want you to know what they're willing to give us, right? I remember a couple board meetings ago, I said, "We walked in the door and at our last contract negotiation, and they came through the door with zeros." Now, how do you offer 87% of the union members who live in this city who you were sworn to work for and it's a privilege that you work for them and get paid what you get paid? They then offer them zeros. So, you know, my aunt owns a business

041and she says, "Tell me what you're worth." You, a person is worth more than a zero, especially the people we're charged to to serve. Right now, I'm bound to agree to not talk about specifics. So, we'll talk around the specifics so that the public understands how business is done. So when they when they when they come in the door and they offer you something and if you're so desperate public to take the offer, which they think our members are because not only are we the forgotten, but we are the have nots, right? Not educated, not certified, not as important as the people who hold master degrees, doctor degrees. And there's no disrespect to those individuals who work for that. But we're not as they're not important because all they do is they serve food or

042they deliver something or they clean up something or or they or they fix something. So they're not important. That's that's that that's a sad way to approach how you how you come into a partnership. But are they worth something? Are those children worth something? Because I guarantee they want their children to have opportunities. And I want my children and my union's children to have those opportunities as well. So, how could you live with yourself? How could you look in the mirror and think that you were being serious when you decided to offer your partner something you wouldn't take yourself? Because if I recall, when we went through COVID or when we went through uh any deficit, I never saw anyone from the management team take a pay cut or a give back. but they offer

043something that they wouldn't even take themselves. Now, what's funny, uh, like you know, I when I first came into this, and please indulge me a little bit more. When I first came into this, one of the charges that I had to do was I had to take over my union because I realized that my union had some corrupt pieces to it that was in bed with management and they had corrupt components. That's why we got in the mess we're in and we continue to be in the mess we're in because there was a lot of corruption. So, I said I was going to clean up my union and bring back the respect and and and and what we needed to be respected back into my union. And I did that along with my me my

044leadership team's help. And when we did that, we ran across members and and non-members that work in our in our school district who we said, "We want to advance the youth program to be with the trades." And you know what? had one of the guys say, "I don't care about those kids. I'm interested in myself. If I have to work with children, I'll leave this district." See, those are the pieces in my union and in management that we have to surgically remove. They're not capable of seeing this system that we have grow. They don't care. They're here for themselves. And so they don't want a personal investment. So when I started cleaning up my union and started saying we need to get and you saw a mass exodus of people in my union who don't

045feel like I feel because the first thing I do is I put our kids first cuz I live in this community. I own a home in this community. I'm a taxpayer so I want to see my tax dollars go where they should go. So you started seeing mass exodates out of my union with people who thought like that. And now that I cleaned up my union, I came to the table and I said, "Now we want to hold management accountable the same way I hold ourselves accountable." And the behavior is that we have to protect our brand so much that we can't be honest that we have bad apples on that side and the structure is broken on that side. The structure is designed >> I will thank you for indulging me. and the structure

046is designed for failure. I want this board to put pressure on who you have assigned to treat us like the partners we are and be serious because if they aren't serious then I know there are other entities that are watching that want to see this not work and we don't want to have a school system that doesn't work in all facets of our school system. I thank you for your time. I thank you for your indulgence. Shout out to you, member Perez from Kagwas. My daughter's family is from Kagwas. And I thank you u uh member Mills. I did go over my time, but you were patient this time with me. Appreciate you guys. Thank you. We're going to move on to reports. Um I'll be um brief with my report and I'll actually use

047my report to um blink bring um clarity to a few things. Um, I do want to address the um um comments made um in regards to um the trades tonight. Um into our construction um we actually um from the state of Connecticut, we got our grant for construction approved um a couple years ago. So, for the three schools um that were supposed to we were supposed to start construction on this year 2025 um we're actually on an extension right now um to we must start construction on those um schools um by June. So those three schools because I I did misspeak yesterday in the um Harford school building committee. So the the the three schools that are a year into um well into their design um that have architects and managers and all of that

048is Moland um Parkville School and Mcdana. So, those are the three schools um that are um that need to start construction by 2026. But the other three schools that also received um um a pause on up our upcoming schools is Sans School. Um and I always get it um mixed up. So, we have SANS and and please be because I was on a I was on a rampage about what schools and what schools are now and I was um mistaken and this light is so bright up here. Trust us on that. So, Sans Sanchez and help me out because I have it here. I just can't read it. It's so bright. Cuz I know I could call out the six schools, but I always say them um in in reverse. >> Chair, is it bachelor?

049>> No. Wish Wish is not on pause. So Wish school is not on pause. So um Sanchez, Sans, and Bachelder are the next three after um Molyand Parkville and Mcdana. So I want to be clear because there were some comments I made about administration um um pausing construction. They were not talking about the Harford Public Schools administration. um they were talking about the city um of Harford. Um that's where the pause is coming from. So I just wanted to clear that up so there is no misunderstanding. Um to those school communities um what happens is when you do not start construction when the state when you tell the state you are going to start construction, you lose those dollars that have been set aside for your construction project. So that's what's in um in jeopardy

050at this point and I wanted to be clear on that. Um I also wanted to bring mention to um and it kind of relates to um the speaker one of the speakers tonight um the comments made about um special education. Um, I know everyone always see um when we release our budget um we do all we always have a deficit and we're always figuring out um things we have to cut for our school system um that our children do pay the price for um in that reduction. So, what our um chief financial officer um Miss Caitlyn Richard um presented in committee is that we had um so with our $30 million deficit, there's a a correlation right to what h what we pay out um $30 million we pay for special education for um Harford

051residents but not Harford public school students. that comes along with transportation. Um we have to um pay um tuition to um special education providers. So for students who um live in the city of Harford but they do not attend Harford public schools due to the choice system, we still are responsible for paying those bills. So just if you can imagine a school system um with Harford residents and then there's other school system that Harford residents go to that we have to pay for and then we have to cut for our school system. That's the result of a a choice system um that was created um that the state of um Connecticut was sued. So Harford Public Schools is footing the bill um for a choice system that we do not control and we have um

052we we have struggles with. So I'll end with saying that our board um is becoming more educated. We've had a couple sessions just so we can understand um this system a little bit better in regards to um us operating um under um the restraints um that we're under because we are not a party to law to the lawsuit. But we definitely um feel it more than any um other um town in this great state of Connecticut. So, I'll end my report with with that. Any um questions or um concerns that anyone has about my comments um um c Santiago at Harartfordschools dot or you could email her and I'll try to um respond best as possible. So, that is my report. I didn't know if um if Dr. Ratley if you were reporting this evening.

053No additional report. Just celebrating the students earlier. As a reminder, um you can find um all of our reports including committee reports, student reports, all attachment videos um in the meetings agenda on board docs. Um all committee and workshop meetings are livereamed as well as viewable after the meeting. Um the YouTube links are saved in each meeting's agenda on board docs and we as the board highly encourage the community to view the meetings and read the reports when possible. And again if you have any um um question or um comment um you can contact our board leaison Christina Santiago at cantiagoforschools.org. or so with that said, we will go on to our business agenda. So, I don't know if anyone needs to start coming down for item 4.1, acceptance of funds and contract approval for

054the Urban League. It's kind of dark in here. We >> have Miss Val Algra from our strategic partnerships office standing in for Janelle Hookah. Thank you, Miss Algra. >> Hi, everyone. So, I'll read the motion when we get the lighting um figured out. the motion um that the Harford Board of Education authorizes the superintendent to accept funds in the amount of $100,000 from the Nelly May um education foundation grant. Furthermore, that the Harford Board of Education authorizes the superintendent to execute a contract with the Urban League for the term outlined in the contract ending June 30th, 2026 at an amount not to exceed $277,000 800, excuse me, two $277,840. Do I have a motion? >> So move. >> Second. and I'll um pass it on to Miss um Valerie Algre. >> Allegre Algre. >> Yeah.

055Good evening everyone. Thank you for letting us be here in front of you today. My name is Valerie Allegre and I'm the partnerships and community school manager for the district. And I'm pleased to be before you tonight to revisit the community schools contract and to seek approval for um including Weaver High School. at Weaver High School was not a part of the initial approvals in August because it followed a distinct separate selection process. Um, as you just heard, this is braided funding approach that will dedicate $177,000 from NHAP funds and 100,000 from a Nelly May grant um to the contract. To identify the lead agency for Weaver, we initiated an RFP process, a request for proposal. The RFP was released in June 30th. Um, and it included a pre-proposal conference that was held on July

05615th. This was to address um, any questions that may have come up from the CBOS that were applying and we're submitting bids. Um, and there was a submission deadline of July 29th. So working closely with the city's office of procurement, we established a diverse evaluation committee and it included parent representation staff from the contracts department, data teams, um strategic partnerships department and a public ally fellow. The committee reviewed and scored all the applications um the five organizations with the highest scores then advanced to an in-person interview process by the committee put together and as well as um the leadership team from Weber. The ultimately Urban League received the highest score overall. They stood out amongst finalists due to their extensive experience working with high school students and um the robust plan to provide comprehensive wraparound

057services. Um and yeah, do you have any questions? I also have Karindia from Urban League as well with me. >> What's your name so we can address you appropriately? >> Karindia Richardson. She's the youth programs manager from the Urban League. Um, thank you for being here. I thought I saw some lights go on and off. Any questions, >> Mr. Walker? >> Thank you, Chair. I'm really just going to voice um the question that uh Portman Brody you brought up about uh trauma informed practice. So, I'm just wondering if you have um a more sense of response of how you may deal with um uh trauma-informed um engagement with students and and families. And so, let me just leave that question to you. >> Since he's saying I said it, can I say it right? >>

058I'm like, so I know all that the Urban League does. that's not in question. My concern, and I'm going to be transparent about it, and I was called prejudice um or biased because I'm a Weaver grad. Um um I know um the support that the school needs, right? And I was a little concerned about your what I view as your expert expertise. Correct me if I'm wrong. and I wanted to ensure that um the things the school needs the most support on um that you're able to provide. Um I know in committee you described some things that you were going to um work on and and put in place, but I was thinking immediate. I was just dreaming that day one they ready. They about to go in and start solving all the issues from

059the the principal and assistant principles because I know they know what they need. So my concern was just of being as ready as possible um to support because they've been the students have in the school has been without support for a while um for some months now and even the principles you you guys can chime in to help at least I'm trying to feel comfortable with what's being presented that we're going to get versus what is needed. I just had a little concern based on what was presented in committee. Uh thank you for both of your questions and for your clarity. Um Urban League specializes in education, employment, housing, health and justice. I know you are aware trauma informed practice and training is not our area of expertise. Our role as lead community partner is

060to be the conduit to help to deepen relationships to help to deepen partnerships and to help to deepen service delivery for the students, for the staff and for the families in need at Weber Public High School and for our and for ourselves as well. Um we've have a history of partnering with agencies small and large across the city and based on the need that arises we tap into that partner and we're open to learning more as well. Some entities came and expressed um interest earlier in the meeting and we wanted to know more about who they are so that we can connect after and so that we can broaden our referral system and broaden our reach and our scope so that we can attend to the needs of the students of the parents of the

061school as the needs continue to arise. Um on day one, will we have everybody hired? No. But upon approval, the jobs will be posted and we our plan is to hire within the first 30 days. However, we'll need to reassign and realign what our current staff is able to do. Prior to November 1st, we'll start to have a series of kickoff meetings with the administration and including some lunchwave, not recruitment, but lunchwave soft interaction into the lunch waves at the school so they can start to be familiar with our phases. We can start to be familiar with theirs. And our prim our primary goal is to start to be integrated in the culture and the climate of the school. Each school's personality is different. Each school's needs are different. and the students their faces change

062with each four years as the students come in and come out. So that is our goal to start to be um boots on the ground the first day as needed and then to hire appropriate appropriately so that we can fully service the school within the first 30 days and then throughout the rest of the school year. >> Thank you. Did anyone else have any questions? Um board member Tatum. >> Thank you chair. Um if there is someone who participated in the interview process, I I would just like to um offer them an opportunity to share what about Urban League stood out to them uh from from that process. >> Good evening uh everyone. Uh Joshua Hall, assistant principal Weaver High School. Uh I was here just a couple of months ago talking to you about

063another uh significant partnership that we've had at Weaver High School for a long time and and absolutely looking forward to this new partnership we now have uh with the Urban League. Um and I want to thank uh Chairman Brody for that question because that's something that we talked about and and really thought about uh the the the urgent and pressing needs that we have at Weise School, but oftentimes we lose sight of of what we want our students to be. Um and I think Urban League, the Urban League is uh uh specifically positioned to provide our students with a vision of where their possibilities can be uh through their uh workforce development, uh through working with our families on on on home ownership, uh financial literacy, that holistic approach to really moving our families, our

064students, and our community forward. We thought they were best positioned to do that. And so that's what elevated them above all the other uh great partners that were there. I mean, don't get me wrong, everybody really did a great job, but uh we're thinking about uh where we want our community to be, and Urban League from our vantage point uh did that for us. [Music] >> Thank you, Mr. Walker. >> Um thank you, Chair. Uh so um I want to ask a question um that leverages Urban League's strengths and and um AP Hall you you mentioned the talents and skills that Urban League has. So is there I guess as you envision this program moving forward, is there ways in which students that you've reached through the school program can be funneled into u programs

065that Urban League currently offers? And are there ways that students then get bridged beyond just the high school days to to leverage what Urban League offers currently? >> Absolutely. Um our goal is to be integrated during the school day during the school day and out of school time as well. Uh we have programs for high schoolers, for adult learners, for their parents uh through uh adult education, through workforce development as well. So, actually next week during our trunk or treat, our agency will be there tableabling and we're not necessarily pushing programs, but we're pushing presents and presents either through treats or through school supplies and stuff. So, we can have some warm interaction with those and that they can see what we do outside of the school building, outside of polo shirts and t-shirts and

066outside of the classroom. We can help to be the family's agency and connect them to the services that they need. So yes, they'll be able to in integrate with us during the school day outside of the school day with enrichment. We have field trips. We also have partner leadership programs that we align students to. There was a young man um today at a different school and just kind of talking asking what he likes to do outside of school. He mentioned basketball and there's like this junior Celtics basketball league happening which is amazing and it's new and it's in Windsor. It's not in Harford, but it has access for Harford public schools. And we don't offer basketball in our agency, but that is our job to help funnel and refer people to the the elements that

067can help them to be their best selves and enhance their quality of life, whether they are a high school student or part of the an extended family. >> Yeah, thanks for that response. >> They're expecting a question from me. Yeah. If if for the weaver graduates, we be looking like you straight. I'm looking at Christian like we good. >> True. >> I'm so sorry. >> We got a bad reputation. >> I have one. If you want one, I have a question. No, I'm just joking. Um I would like to hear a little bit more from Weaver's standpoint, the expectations of the program. Um, we talked about during committee I asked you about what does the daytoday sort of look like and that expectation comes with planning and so forth obviously but I'd like to hear

068more about what the expectations for Urban League are when it comes to the daytoday like is it ramping up to an everyday situation um after school program and so forth. What is that expectation? That that's a great question and it's and it's funny you asked that question because we are just uh in our admin team earlier today talking about and thinking about how we're going to move that forward. But I'm invite my principal Tiffany Webbley up here to talk about that. >> Appreciate it. >> Hello everybody. Um as a former Weaver graduate myself, um I see where we all are going and and I'm I'm glad that we're having the conversation to talk about what Weaver students need. Um, as graduates, we know what we received. We know what we wanted and we want we

069know what we want to give to others. Um, so we sat and we thought about that. We Weaver does not need another body in the building to just be a hall monitor, something like that. But as AP Hall mentioned, it's truly about what can we give our students beyond high school. Um, so looking at like what are our after-school programs going to look like? What are our Saturday going to look like? What type of workshops can we provide to our students to ensure that they are thinking well beyond high school? Um, trying to shift the culture at Weaver about college going and college graduation, things like that. And we know that Urban League provides opportunities there with the college tours with just helping to elevate the black and brown students in Hartford. Um, going further,

070we talked about moving beyond just the band-aid fix and like fixing or helping to build on individual students at Weaver right now, but more of the generational um, focus. Um, how can we help to elevate our families? Um, because we know it's not just one student coming to Weaver. It might be one student currently at Weaver, but we have a family that might be bringing five students through over the years. So, how are we helping them to go through GED programs, helping to educate them, helping them with home ownership, helping them with financial literacy? So, that is what we're thinking about and how can we infuse all of that into programs that we have at Weaver. Right now, thinking about our Saturday Academy, what can that look like for both our students and our families?

071Um, so it's more than just a school day. Yes, we want academic tutoring um and that kind of support, but I'm thinking or we as an leadership team at Weaver, we're thinking beyond that and how do we truly enrich our students lives after school? I hope that answered the question. [Music] >> Miss Ter Ledger, >> I am not a Weaver graduate. So, right. But, but it's okay. I I have friends who are Weaver graduates. Um I serve on the board with Weaver graduates. Um so my question is um with regards to the abundance of programs that the Urban League has and you're looking at servicing these young people, are you and you're looking at also into the future how the Urban League can really help these students propel into young adults. Are you considering perhaps

072internships or perhaps employment sustainability so that once they graduate they can have um careers? Um there's some type of mentorship with regards to partnering with other community organizations. Uh yes that is part of our our plan and internally through our agency we try to funnel um individuals and families through pathways. So like she said there may be a student at wafer but they may have a family who has younger siblings. The same in our program we may have a young person who may have an aunt or uncle who's in need of some of the services. Um and the young person can come and start in our youth development program and be funneled to our workforce development program. We have a financial opportunity center that helps with career coaching. That helps with financial coaching. And then

073that eventually leads them to thinking about starting a happy and healthy family. Have them start thinking about asset building towards towards home ownership. And if they start early in the process, they're getting building blocks along the way to have a stronger foundation to help build a better quality of life for themselves. So with our departments inside the agency, each of them have built strong alliances with other entities in the city. So Capital Workforce Partners, OP, Compass Youth Builders, um and we've had other previous internship programs, apprenticeships, and externships as well to provide students with a holistic view for where they may see themselves so that they can get a preview before they get into the world or before they choose a major. Let's have a behind the business tour. just talk to some other business

074partners and um consider other programs like Bank of America Student Leadership Program or Traveler's Edge to get you some um hands-on experience or have real interaction um real dialogue. We have a ask the professional segment as well where you can ask the pro, ask people who look like you or look like people in your family, what is it like in your job? And our students are having an interesting time um now with the hot seat activity where you sit in a chair, we put on a timer for 60 seconds and they get to ask you any question. And one of the first ones was can you dab for us? So they're trying to see how cool you are first before they get to the real questions about your job, what was your college life like?

075Where do you live? What's your favorite color? And they want to know some of these things before they know what did you major in? Is that relevant to what you're doing today? So we're trying to give them access and options outside of just being on a campus or just being in a building. finding out what does it really take and providing assessments also so that they can see what may be aligned with their interest, what may be aligned with their learning style and their assessment so that they can have assets to build their personal brand and stand firmer on all of the things that they can offer outside of one type of um subject matter expertise. It may be something pulling their on their hobby uh class that they're well in and they may be

076able to tap into entrepreneurial exploration as a teen before they even get to college and choose their career. So, we don't want them to think about just having a job. What can you offer the world as a constructive citizen before you're even 18 and can vote? You have something to offer. And we want each student and each family member to start to identify and peel back that layer because we are all always becoming I just want to say thank you. Um that your response demonstrates cultural competency which was which which is definitely a concern that I have um in some of the programs that we are approving. So thank you for that. >> Thank you. >> So I don't see any other um lights. I didn't know you have your president and CEO of the

077Urban League that's here supporting. I wanted to acknowledge him coming up coming to this special vote um this evening. So Chris is good. So we good. So again the motion on the floor is that the Hartford Board of Education authorizes the superintendent to accept funds in the amount of $100,000 from the Nelly May Education Foundation grant. Furthermore, that the Harford Board of Education authorizes the superintendent to execute a contract with the Urban League for the term outlined in the contract ending June 30th, 2026 at an amount not to exceed $277,840. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I. >> Any nays? Any abstensions? The motion passes. Thank you. Thank you. And if I can plug something really quickly for all the Weaver grads and everybody else here, um we do have the opportunity,

078Weaver has the opportunity on October 28th through Mazda um for everybody to show up. It's called Just Drive. And the opportunity to raise $10,000. Um so if everyone, every adult who has a license over 18 can pop over to Weaver from 1 to 6:00 p.m. um and just drive a Mazda car for about 10 minutes. um that every drive is $50 up to $10,000. So if you love Weaver that much, if you all can come over and support, that'd be amazing. Thank you all so much. Thank you. So we will move into item 4.2 2. Second reading and adoption of policy 1212, school volunteers. The motion that the Harford Board of Education adopt policy 212, school volunteers. Um, do I have a motion? >> So move. >> Second. >> Thank you. So, I will um

079invite um comments um and discussion from our board policy chair um Miss Ruth Fortune. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um this is an update to a current policy last modified in 2004 to bring in alignment with current practices. Uh the most recent revisions clarify applicable policies that apply to volunteers. Um it lists categories of volunteers and it adds an appeal process to the district safety team if a volunteer request is denied. Um we do have additional comments that we received um from one of the parents who testified today. So we as a board decided we do want to adopt this policy with the idea that we can go back and revise it even sometime before the end of this year, but we want to have a more up-to-date policy since this was updated last time over

08020 years ago. Thank you for that. Does anyone have any um questions, comments regarding this policy? Mr. Tatum, >> just a brief comment. I'd like to lift up the um comments that were made earlier about about process and and a desire to involve more parents in the day-to-day business of the board and getting more parent involvement on committees and things. I think that that is a shift in practice that as a board we should really commit to and um you know think that this policy is is worth moving forward and and I appreciate the commitment to continuing to look at it as needed. Um, but I I just wanted to acknowledge that I think we could be doing more as a board to involve parents in the um day-to-day roles that we have. >> Miss

081Strata Perez, >> thank you. I just kind of wanted to say something very similarly. I'm glad that, you know, we're passing it because we need to make sure that we're updating it, but also open to the reality that we can strengthen it with the partnership of families um and and and their feedback. we've implemented some of those feedback, but to know exactly what how it's being there's a there's a policy and then there's a practice, right? So, making sure the policies right and making sure the practice itself when it's being implemented is also accurate so that families feel that they know they feel that they are part of the process, right? Because they are going to be going into buildings and we want to make sure that the policy is um that they're part of

082that conversation. So, I'm glad that we're passing it with the intention that we can that we can further analyze it and edit and bring more parents perspective. Um, and that we're also paying attention to that pol like the actual implementation of it to make sure that we're not running into some of those issues that they that they named. Um, in terms of like what happens when you actually get to the building. Um, so I think that both of those things just wanted to highlight that. I think that to your point we uh to board member Tatum's point we could do a little bit more of like yes we're getting their feedback but how can we be a little bit more proactive about getting that in advance as part of whether committee meetings whether however we

083decide to integrate that um I think it'll make the process more robust um and similarly to the parents they have shown up right in terms of like asking for more advocacy they've shown up with their kids with their families with their community members and what an important part to make sure that they're part of this process too because it's so integral to their ability to be in buildings, which I know has been an issue in general for parents and community members. So, I'm glad that we're passing it and glad that we're open to more and glad that we're um and thinking about really committing to how we can incorporate that feedback and that those parents earlier on as we're going through this. So, appreciate that. >> Thank you. So I I did want to um

084and I don't know if it's a question but I know that there is a daily operation right that happens in the school and it is absolutely wonderful that we have a community that's saying I want to come in I want to volunteer but I do want to ground um that within the structure of a school day. Um there are opportunities that the school looks at like it's an opportunity, but then there's on the other side there's folks that saying I want to help. I want to help. So I don't know how that intersects, but it has to make sense, right? um what a school um community um and leadership saying they they need um has to match with what individuals are saying they want to provide. So, I don't know. We have um Attorney Wilson

085here. Um but I don't know if that's like one of the um pain spots. Um and I don't know who else could speak to if if anyone could tonight. But there are cuz I know as a parent I would be like this is what I want to come into school to do, but the school might be like um that's actually what we don't need because we we want it to run smoothly. We want it to be a partnership. We want all of those things. Um, and I don't I know some schools might do it better than other schools, but I don't know are we able to speak to that a little bit. Good evening, board members. Uh, absolutely I can speak to that a bit. Um, I I I would like to start by just

086saying the goal with this particular policy wasn't to discourage uh volunteer, but it was actually to encourage volunteers in our school. I think this is a classic example when we look at the policy that's before the board tonight, how this policy has grown from first to second read. Uh uh what we what we see um uh attached to the agenda uh and the black writing was what was the policy what we had um and the red are additions to the policy. We we typically um are using time after the policies pass to work on the administrative regulations. Um what the what the board is seeing here today are is a whole new administrative reggg that is packaged with the policy and what I would offer to some of the comments that were shared tonight. Um

087I I think um a strong read of the policy um has an appreciation that the policy has additions that were shared from our parents, from our public comment, and from the conversations we had as a school district with our with our um parents who wanted to volunteer in our buildings. Uh Chairperson Brody, to your comment, um and what you shared out earlier, yes, the work needs to continue. Um and there's absolutely and there's a piece in the policy that talks um uh about um we talk about screening and then kind of like what are the roles uh that a building principal might need in a building and that could look different from building to building. Um I think in in conjunction with our executive director Janelle Hooker with building principles that's work that can continue

088but I think we have the framework to make sure that there's we're intentioning we're having intention and matching um the uh what you voice as something that needs to be an ongoing conversation. >> Thank you for that Mr. Walker. >> Uh thank you chair. So, uh, um, Attorney Wilson, I think I wanted to, um, emphasize, um, you brought up regulations and maybe, um, uh, other documents. Um, what's come out of this discussion and other policy discussions is the need to have clear visibility. My recommendation is let's have a policy out there. Let's have the regulation seen. Many times the concerns people have is information that's in the regulations or in lower level practice documents. They don't deserve to be in the policy, but because they're only reading the policy, then they have questions and they

089don't understand how it's going to happen. And so, I think we can serve our parents and community better by just letting it all be visible. So, there's a policy we're working on, but people can see the details of the other documents, then questions are answered. And so I would invite you to help us understand how we can off offer visibility to the relevant documents. So when we go in these conversations and discussions, it's all visible for people to see and hopefully then it begins to draw a better picture as to how this is all going to work. Do you have comments? >> Yeah, I I think um great point. Uh, I I will capture that this is a classic example of of of of attempting to do that. Um, I think there's a way to

090look at a document that's grown from a paragraph to about four or five pages to include the regulations as a school district trying to deduce more red tape to your ability to volunteer, but actually it's in response to all the questions to your point uh that we would get on what does a screening process look like? Is there a pills process? So, there's a need to explain that uh to your point. So there's visibility on how the process works. So this was an attempt to add any additional hurdles um to uh the request to volunteer, but more to be uh more explaining on how the process welcomes you uh in volunteering. Um I hope that answers your question. Yes. And I I think the way you explain it, it would be great as we do

091this next time so it's more visible to people that here's why it's here and and so forth. And I do want to just say for the for the record too, um there was a good faith effort to incorporate all the comments and clearly there more comments and more feedback. So I'm excited that we're going to continue to work this. It's a living document and so I I certainly would invite as was said tonight more feedback from engaged parents and thank you for that um response. >> Can I add one more point to that? Uh I you know I would like to flag that uh before we begin any school year we're very intentional about looking at all our policies. So you know as the policies jump up on the board agenda I want to flag

092that we've been having these discussions for months prior to this and I think that's an important point when we talk about the feedback that we're trying to elicit as a school district as before we come to the board with policies edits. These are ongoing conversations that don't happen the month before we're putting a policy before the board's agenda. When we talk about getting feedback from our community, that's long-standing work uh that's happened throughout the school year and then the work becomes at what point during the school year is it on the board's calendar. So these conversations are not a month conversation. They go back some time and then we do the work. We get the uh the model policies. We engage with uh you know members of the community uh members across the school district

093who are subject matter experts and we come up with the working document. Uh so I just want to flag that that these are not things that we're seeing after three weeks of work. Uh this work has started some time ago. [Music] >> Board member Darto Ledger. >> Thank you so much. So what I wanted to just kind of put out there is that um this is not to single anyone out. It's not to single parents out. It's not to target anyone. It's to make sure that our students are safe. It's to make sure that our staff members are safe. And also, it's not just for parents to volunteer. This is for whether teachers are retired or um you know, you have storytellers who want to come in and read to the children on a regular

094basis or you know, someone who wants to come and do gardening with the students. anything that can provide enrichment, anything that it's it's an all hands on deck. It takes a village. So, we just want to make sure that our policy is up to date, that it's safe, that it keeps everyone safe, and that there is transparency because when something goes off, such as, for example, Raptor, if something goes off, that's not us. That is not um a a security officer, special school officer who's saying, "I don't want you in the building." That those are measures, safety measures that are put in place to make sure that everyone stays safe. [Music] >> We're good. >> Um >> Okay. It might be more of a comment than it is a a question um concerning what the

095parent experience actually looks like um after they follow all the appropriate protocols and they've been approved as a volunteer. What are those next steps for that parent? What is it going to look like when they get to the school for their first time? Making sure that all that needs to be outlined clearly for them, which I'm not saying it is, but it should be. and then that there is actually a plan in place once they actually get there because I would hate for any parent. A concern was raised earlier about parents who did get through. They're in the school but they're just sitting down and they're not doing anything. Um I I'm not sure if there's anyone that can speak to from an administration standpoint what the um what the plan is for the volunteers

096for each principal, each school. Obviously, it will be different, but knowing that um there's a schedule possibly parents come in um or any volunteer comes in that they have an agenda or they have a plan in place for them to actually um support the school. >> Yes. I'll call forth um executive director of instruction Monica Kenyon who can give an idea of what some of those steps are that are already in place and how we can build upon them. Good evening. Yes. So, in response to that, every school has a different method, but um in the beginning of the school year, they ask for accompanying field trips or accompanying events in the school, whatever that may be. And yes, so there would be um since we have family service providers, usually the first person of

097contact where they would come in and talk to them about the events that are happening during the year, what they want to sign up for, what they want to um be able to participate in. And so there would be a plan of sharing the dates, sharing the events, sharing what is it that um parents can also support in because many times parents have things that they want to share for whatever reason. Um, and since we have many schools that are themed in in different areas, so that would be something that would be shared um, as part of volunteering and it's uh, there's some parents that just come in the first day and say, "I want to I want to be a volunteer." And there's other times where during parent teacher conferences or um open house

098where we're where schools are say are asking parents we would need your support during the year and these are things that are happening if you have something that you would like to come in um reading to the classroom any things like that. So the parents would sign up for these events and there would be communication regarding that. Um there shouldn't be a time where a parents just and they could be sometimes the parents like listen I'm you know I'm available today. there's anything that you need for me. So but try to be a little bit more organized that way and there's like I said all the schools have a family service provider in which they are saying is there something that I can come in and and support with today and there usually always is

099a need in the school for something right for the parents to support in but in a more organized way and like I said since we do have you know 39 schools it is it does vary depending on elementary school, middle school and high school. Uh but there is a um a process in which each school the parents would be able to know what I can support and in what way? >> You good Mr. Ledger? >> Yes. Thank you. It's just something that came to mind um with regards to volunteers. If we share and I don't know if you are able to answer this question but um say we share information with regards to a volunteer opportunity an activity that's taking place in the community and parents or you know individuals want to go with students

100and we're not the ones who are doing any background checks or anything like that because it's not our event but if it's an event out in the not on school property, not something that's organized by Hartford Public Schools. How would that play out? Like who would be if if something, you know, god forbid were were to happen? Um who is liable or is there a provision that protects us? Um who's protected in that in that circumstance? [Music] I'm going to say how I understand the question because I think there's um I guess the question I would have is so is the person volunteering to be a chaperone that would make them are volunteer they would have to go through the regular screening process to chaperone. Um so that's one response. Um the question of and

101you also raised a question of liability. Um, is it based on the the the chaperone that we screened and cleared? I apologize to ask, but I want to make sure I'm answering your question, but it's it's kind of like it it requires some responses for me to be able to give an adequate response if that makes any sense. >> Yes. So, my question, let me phrase it um in a different way. say that we put out we share information about an activity or an event that's taking place in the community and individuals attend. You know, students, um, parents attend this event or activity that's taking place and something happens, ne something negative happens. Who is held liable? Can that can that come back on us or as Hartford Public Schools because we shared that event

102shared that information for that event? I'll say this um liability can be a very complex thing to talk about uh in a space and it's so factdriven. Um what I can say is as a school district for individuals we screen to be with our children absolutely we probably own the liability on who we are allowing to have access to our children when we're having a conversation about what might occur probably that is not ours that becomes a wider conversation right there's a conversation about who we provided what staff we provided to attend the event and did they do what was expected of them as staff members as volunteers during the course of that event and then there's also Alo a conversation about what happened at the event um and what responsibilities of the people that

103through the event um were there fidelities to their protocols and the expectations that the individuals attending the event should expect in something that if something were to occur but this is very fact specific. So so that's my general response to something that could go in so many different directions. What we know as a lawyers is that anyone could sue you for anything. Um right so the question of liability really becomes fact-driven as to what happened and who bore what responsibility uh for the actor >> thank you so much [Music] okay the motion on the floor is that the Harford Board of Education adopt policy 1212 school volunteers all those in favor signify by saying I >> I >> any naysay abstensions. The eyes have it. The motion passes. The policy is adopted. So item 4.3

104and thank you both. I don't know if you're staying for the next one. Item item 4.3 um first reading of policy 5111.3 protection of undocumented students and I'm going to toss it right back over to our policy chair um Miss Fortune. Thank you Madam Chair. Uh this is a new policy for Hartford Public Schools. Um it is being adapted from the CAE model policy and CAVE stands for the Connecticut Association of Board of Education uh Boards of Education. This policy itself is relatively and purposefully broad. It states that district personnel should not take shall not take any steps that would deny students access to education based on their immigration status and other general policies of the district, including the district's general stance on ICE personnel not having access to buildings. I should emphasize that this

105policy encompasses more than just ICE trying to access buildings. It is for keeping our students safe in our school buildings and who can enter school premises with respect to law enforcement broadly. Uh specifics on how district staff should handle ISIS presence or addressed through regulations and district procedures. A memo was sent by our superintendent on August 29th regarding ICE district protocol. What I will say is this is truly a new policy for us and it is a first draft. We intend to make additional revisions and because of how sensitive this is and how dire the implications can be if this policy and and the following protocols and uh regulations are not really practiced with fidelity. Our intention is to look at the policy and also regulations and protocols very closely and also discuss practice and

106how they are to be implemented from inception quite literally from someone rings a doorbell in a school. How do they identify themselves? How are our SSOs buzzing people in? And if there was to be a breach in that, what are the next steps? Who are being trained? What is the training? So, we're looking at this very comprehensively. This is a first draft. The next reading will likely have revisions that we'll have redlinined um and discuss. We invite anyone in the community who has an interest in this to attend the next policy committee meeting where we'll be discussing this. Um if you want to be able to actually participate versus simply watching, uh just reach out to Christina Santiago. uh we can share the YouTube uh link with you so you can not just the YouTube

107link but the zoom link so you can actually participate um and we we will take as much input as um folks are willing to offer and we do have people who've shown an interest in this uh already and I'll open up to any other questions does anybody because this is the this is the um the first read so we're not voting or anything Um >> Mr. Walker. >> Um thank you, Chair. Um just just a comment um to to add on to what um the policy chair just um expressed. This is um this is an exact um example of why the regulations and lower level documents need to be visible. So when we have this conversation, we understand where different concerns need to be placed. They don't all need to be in the policy, but

108they do need to be somewhere within um the hierarchy of documents. And so um that's all I want to express here. So between now and then, I would appreciate maybe being able to see them, understand them because I think it would help that conversation. Thank you. Thank you. And I I hope that some when we're looking at this stuff, I spent four years working in the school. So, from that from that lens, too. Um it's it's a lot. Um cuz you're responsible for young people. You're responsible. Some people are responsible for teaching young. It's there's so much. So, in all of the policies, I hope that we're knowing the responsibility of the folks that are in the building cuz we we ask a lot of them and then we we implement and we we're asking

109for more and we want to be realistic about those things. So, I just wanted to lay that there. So, thank you um um Mr. Wilson. We're going to um move into our consent agenda. So 5.2 appointment of um Harford School Building Committee members. Um per statute, the chair must sit on the Harford School Building Committee. Um um the motion reflects that this as well as appointing um board member um Steven Wilson. Um Corey Mills, board member Corey Mills will remain an alternate um to the chair. 5.3 it the second reading and adoption of policy 5141.28 sudden cardiac arrest. This is a new policy for Harford public schools uh adapted from CABE model policy. Um note that the Harford public schools um has been following cardiac arrest prevention guidance as required by um the CSD. This

110codifies it in the HPS policy in 5.4 second reading and adoption of policy 5141.7 student sports um concussion. This is a new policy for Harford public schools adapted from CA policy model. Um Harford public schools has been following the concussion education plan and other guidelines from the state and the CIA since 2015. um when new regulations were put in place. Again, this is codifying it into our policy. And 5.5, approval of minutes from um September 16, 2025. Um any comments or or questions on the consent agenda? Do I have a motion to vote on the consent agenda? >> So move. >> Second. All those in favor signify by saying I >> I. >> Any naysay abstensions? Um the eyes have it. Um the consent agenda um was passed. So at this time the October 21st

111um 2025 board of education meeting is adjourned and thank you for joining us.