001Well, we can welcome everybody and yes and talk about the recognitions and participation. >> Well, don't you have to ask for a volunteer? >> Um, I asked to have a volunteer run the meeting since the board chair is not here >> and neither is the vice chair. >> Oh, I'd like to do >> No. Oh, but we have a vice chair. vice chair who's been with us for Dr. Acriman, would you run this show? >> I would do that. Thank you for asking. >> Um, so the first order of business is the pledge of allegiance. So, if we could all rise and push the flag, I'm supposed to ask somebody to lead us, so I'm not sure who is here. >> How about Danner? Oh. All right. Okay. Let's do Mr. Danner. >> All right.
002I pledge allegiance >> allegiance to the flag of the >> of the United States of America and to republic for which it stands, one nation under God, >> indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And the next order of business is the um recognition of and participation of visitors and delegations. And the first one on the list is the poet laurate la Laurate recognition. So Mrs. Austin, would you like to continue? >> Yes. So I'm just looking to see if our poet laurate is here. I saw um a couple administrators from the high school. Do you see >> the poet laurate? And could you introduce? >> She is here. >> Yes, our poet laurate is here. >> Would you introduce her, please? >> Absolutely. So, Pitch High School's poet laurate award honors a student who
003demonstrates exceptional poetic craft as well as a passion for raising cultural awareness, inspiring other students uh with their poetry writing. Maria White, class of 2023, was selected unanimously as Fitch High School's 2022 poet laurate. Her poems, Junior Year, Seasons Change, and I am no artist share uh clever and sometimes shrewd tone of speakers shifting from the meeting uh shifting for meaning throughout high school, change and artistic influence. Maria relies on free form freevere form and each poem tells a moving story where the poetic lens can move from an obscure galaxy to the ground on which we stand on in just a few lines. Mr. writes poetry is a positive affirmation of life. We read it and we are changed and we are better people for it. Congratulations. >> I have a question for you, Maria.
004Do do you ever >> I think it's Mariah. >> Oh, sorry. Oh, Maria. >> I'm sorry. I said Maria. I apologize. >> I wrote it down. Okay. Mariah, you have you ever read Furling Getty's work? >> Hey, what? >> Furling Getty. is a he's a a poet out of San Francisco and he just died last year a year just a year ago in January. He was 103 years old. He's fabulous and I I'm a poet myself. So I'd love to exchange some poetry with you. Would you do that? >> Uh yes. >> Okay. All right. That's a date then. I'll get >> Mariah. Did you have a poem you'd like to share with us? >> Um yes. Um, >> I would like to read I am no artist today. >> I am no artist. I
005do not create pictures to take your breath away. I cannot create sculptures that capture your gaze. I will not sing songs that hold your heart. I cannot animate and bring things to life. I am no artist. It is difficult to create a full story with the beginning, middle, and end. My poetic words are not powerful. They hold no leverage. I am no artist. A melody I cannot hold. A beat I cannot repeat. A hum is cracked and the tone is off. I can simply stare in awe at those around me. I am the artist. But you are a work of art who exists as an image of perfection. Those who hold beauty. Those who hold what others lack. Those cracked and broken. Those sad and full bow. You are a beautiful work of art sculpted
006by those whom you have known. A painting one cannot look away from. I am no artist. But I do not have to be one in order to see you for what you are. Perfect. I think >> that's breathtaking. That is just positively breathtaking. I can't wait to hear more. So, >> so we'll get in contact together and maybe we can have a little poet circle. What do you think? >> Is there anybody else? >> Thank you so much, Mariah, for coming on and sharing your poem. >> Thank you for having me, >> Mariah. It's um Mrs. Porter. I just wanted to say it was an absolutely beautiful poem. And um are you going to be performing at like the mystic art center? They used to do something like that where they used to have a
007a poet corner or poet um times when poet the kids could read their own poetry. Have are you going to be doing that in the future? >> Um I haven't heard anything about it really. So >> well Mr. Keller, if if this happens, will you please let us know so that we can um go and support her? We'd love to hear some more. >> Absolutely. Uh Miss Juveno just commented that we're still waiting for word on that. Um but uh we are um we definitely want to share her talents anywhere we can. She's she's a terrific poet. >> Thank you. Beautiful job. Beautiful job. And congratulations, young lady. Beautiful. >> Thank you. there anybody else on the board that wants to say anything before we go on? I hate to leave you. >> Okay. Well,
008congratulations again, Mariah. >> If Miss Mariah is interested in possibly doing a little workshop at the public library, uh I'll be happy to introduce her to the librarian to see if that can be arranged. >> Oh, fabulous. Mariah, take everybody up on their offers. >> It'll get your words out there for others to enjoy. >> So, the next order of business is the Cab Student Leadership Awards. Mrs. Austin, you want to follow up on that? So, I think we should have principal Bass here to introduce the middle school award winners and miss and principal Keller here to introduce our high school group. >> Good evening everyone. I'm hoping that Brilan Duran is present with us this evening. Brillan is an Mr. Russell. Do we know if Brillin's here? I don't see him unless he has
009a different screen name. >> All right. Well, we're gonna we're gonna let's let's move to Elelliana St. Louis in case Brilling should arrive after. I know she was planning on attending. >> Okay. >> Elelliana. >> Yes. Hi. >> All right. Right. So here we have this beautiful certificate which >> looking at you >> which we will get to you as soon as possible. Um so Elelliana is always willing to take on a challenge and she'll motivate her peers to go along with her. She successfully works with anyone and helps other students to reach their personal best. She is diplomatic but will speak up for others with nothing to gain from it herself. She is self-aware, accepts feedback, and is willing to acknowledge her own areas for improvement. She stands up for her beliefs in a
010respectful manner. She is kind and welcoming to all students, and she shows a genuine enthusiasm and love of learning. She is also involved in the school community through her participation in each and every production of the Graten Middle School drama club over the past three years. And Miss Stout writes, "If you have not met her, please improve your outlook on the future of our world by having a conversation with her." Congratulations, Elelliana. Welld deserved. Way to go, kid. Proud of you. A >> wonderful thing. Uh I when I was a principal, I know what this means. So, this is a wonderful thing. You're doing great work at school and you're going to be a wonderful individual when you grow up as well. Are there any other >> awards are statewide? The Connecticut Association of Boards
011of Ed. >> Um, so congratulations. >> This is a big deal. Are there any other board members who want to make a statement? >> You make us proud. Oh, >> Dr. Acriman, I think you can call this meeting to official order now. We have a full house with board members. So, >> I think so. Miss Johnson, you want to Mrs. Johnson, you want to lead me in that? >> Note the time is 610 and I'm calling the education meeting of May 23rd. Um, I'm calling it to order. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay. >> And Mr. Bass, do we have another? >> You certainly do, Dr. Aman. So, um, our next one, Brilland Duran. Brillan is a phenomenal student and a wonderful person. She is a member of both the Graten
012Middle School girls soccer and track and field teams. She works well with everyone and asks great questions in class. She is kind, helpful, and patient. She works extremely well with other students, even going out of her way to help other students when they are struggling. She follows through on every assignment she starts. She is so committed to turning in her best work that one day while working on a project, she was dismissed early, but would not leave her work until her poster was perfect. Brillin is a truly wonderful student and we are proud to have her as one of our cave students of the year at Graten Middle. Congratulations Brillan. Well done. >> And Mr. Russell, is Brillan here? >> I don't see her. No. >> Well, we're just as proud of her if she's
013not here as she is as we would be if she were. >> Hopefully, she'll get the recording. >> I hope so. What's her last name? Can you spell it for me? >> Durian. D U R A N. >> Oh. Durian. Y. >> And Rayen would be R a E L Y N. >> No, that would be Brillin. B R A E L Y N. Brillin Duran. >> You're a lucky guy. Mr. Mr. Bess. We are truly fortunate at Graten Middle to have fantastic students and these two students are fantastic representatives of us >> and you have a lot to do with that. >> Well, I thank you. >> Oh, and now I think we have the CAB awards for our high school students. So, Principal Keller, if you could go take on from here. unmute
014muted. >> I've clicked as >> I'm sorry, I forgot to unmute. I'm gonna start over. Um, our first uh award winner is Maddie Suthers. Um, she's a senior. She could not be here with us tonight. Uh she's playing a softball game uh right now. Um so she would was unable to join us. Uh but she's an outstanding senior who's ranked uh very high in her senior class, a four-year varsity sports athlete for soccer and softball at Fitch. She also served on the student athletic advisory committee and is a member of the National Honor Society. Uh this fall she plans to major in biology or health science in a preysition assistant track at Suffoke University. uh she has the work ethic, leadership skills, personal character, and academic intelligence uh to be our Cave student, one of
015our Cave student leaders. So, congratulations to Maddie. >> Mrs. Austin, I'm going to turn this part over to you, sir, to to run because you know more about this than I do. >> I'm happy to help out in any way. >> I think it'll be smoother. >> Okay. And I think we have a second cave winner at the high school as well. >> That's correct. We have uh Tate Sheerer. Uh is Tate with us? I think he was going to try to make it after practice today. >> So uh Tate strives to excel in everything he does and does not shy away from challenging situations where he's forced to step out of his comfort zone. He's a top student in his graduating class uh ranked in the top 10% member of the football, hockey, and
016baseball teams. He's been selected as a multiport captain and also sits on numerous athletic advisory councils. He plans to attend the US Coast Guard Academy in the fall. Tate has the work ethic, leadership abilities, and personal character and academic intelligence to be one of our CABE student leaders. >> Mrs. Austin, let me say something to Cab. You better come to see me in the writing center. >> There you go. You'll be there for sure. >> Mr. Keller, what is K Tate's last name? >> Sheerer. It's uh spelled S C H E R E R. >> Thank you. We actually have a a list of all the award winners that I'd be happy to send out. And we do have a presentation that includes all of our um you know people that we're recognizing tonight. So
017that will we'll be able to share that with everyone as well. So the way this is going to work is we're going to have the principles at each of the schools be able to recognize their friends of education, their support staff, and their outstanding educator at the building. And I think we're going to start in alpha order, but I think I'm going to let Sam Kilpatrick start us out first with central office for his maintenance department. Okay. Well, I can tell you that after Joyce told me I was going to follow the poet laurette this afternoon, I I was really nervous and after hearing that, I was doubly nervous. That was absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing that, Mariah. And um which now hasn't been any easier because both Mr. Bass and Mr. Keller have
018uh presented some outstanding students, which makes my job no easier. But uh I shall proceed. So uh we I'm going to announce the maintenance person of the year. And I don't know if you can see the certificate, but it is for Scott Reid. And Scott Reid uh has been an eight-year employee with the district in the classification of carpenter. Uh his work as a carpenter cabinet maker is of the highest caliber. Uh when we're given a task here in the maintenance department that requires attention to detail, both the maintenance coordinator and I always look to Mr. Reid first. His name comes to mind. Not only is he fastidious, he also has excellent leadership qualities. Known affectionately uh by his co-workers as the delegator, he is often called upon to organize a project from conception to
019completion. uh while leading a team of technicians through the various stages until the project meets his demanding standards. In short, Scott can be counted on to provide consistent, highquality results while cooperating with others to solve problems. We are happy to announce the 2022 maintenance person of the year, Scott Reid. Congratulations, Scott. >> Thank you, Sam. It's a pleasure to uh serve the board and the maintenance department. It's uh enjoyable daily even with our challenges. Thank you. >> Thank you. Well done. We appreciate you. >> Thank you. >> So now what I'd like to do is we'll kind of go semi-alphabetical order. So we're going to start with Charles Barnum. And I saw Seth Danner, Principal Danner here. >> Um, I was under the impression we had a slideshow. Is that not coming up? >> Yeah,
020we have a slideshow that will come after the entire presentation. >> Okay. So, just we're just going to go in order of friends of education non-certified. Okay. >> Right. >> All right. So, we have um at Charles Barnum, we have Mrs. Julie Warden. Uh, she's been a special support for the students at Charles Barnum, and we are pleased to present her with the Graten Friends of Education Award. Julie stepped up and accepted the role of PTO president and has silently worked in the background throughout CO to make positive changes for our school. The regularity of events, all fundraising efforts, and even the yearbook have returned to the school this year. Starting last year, she led the PTO through a new routine for staff appreciation week. The change was wellreceived with many different interactive activities. Yet
021again, she changed things this year and had us all wearing superhero capes on the first Monday. It's frequently lost in the work, but people often forget that all of these wonderful things the PTO puts together, led by a president, are all done by volunteers. It's an enormous task and puts all of our students and staff at the forefront. Julie does this to make Barnum a safe, caring, and welcoming place to learn and work. We at CB appreciate everything Mrs. Julie Warden does for the school community and wish Julie and her family the best as they PCS to Guam this summer. >> I know Julie's here. Oh, there she is. I minimized my screen. >> Yes, I am here. Um, thank you very much. Um, I I have to say I have to give credit where
022credit is due. Um, I would not have been able to do half of what was said on that list without the help of of my PTO board. Um, Sugene Vanzant, she's here tonight. Um, and honestly, all of the all of her hard work has um has been a blessing to help us and help CB um get get to where we are today. So, um my shout out goes to her. >> Thank you. >> Miss Austin, do you want me to just move to >> keep going? We'll go now to your support personnel recognition. >> Okay, I know she's here as well. It's Heather Pearson. Uh, Mrs. Heather Pearson has made an exceptional contribution to the quality of education for the past 12 years at Charles Barnum Magnet School. Although Heather can work in any grade
023level, her loving personality and demeanor naturally fit in kindergarten to help create a warm, inviting place for our youngest learners at CB. She will go above and beyond during the school day and prior to the school day. You'll often spot Heather as one of the first people in the building. She'll be working on bulletin boards, setting up the classroom, organizing workshop materials, or getting a head start on anything to help make the classroom run smoother. Heather has the natural ability to connect with students. And that comes in handy during any of the challenging kindergarten moments. Anyone working in kindergarten will understand. She does not need prompting and help to help in any situation. She's a true team player and will jump in at any time. Recently, we had a student that was medically uncomfortable sitting
024on the metal chairs in the classroom. How did Heather handle it? Her creat creativity comes through in situations like this as she took her own time and materials to sew a pillow. Mrs. Heather Pearson is an unselfish person that Charles Barnum wishes the absolute best as she moves with her family to Iowa. Congratulations, Heather. >> Oh, you keep losing these fabulous people. I hope they come back to Grten. >> We can ask. Thank you. Um not not coming back. We're going to be moving back home with family and to be with our youngest daughter who just started college this year. >> Well, congratulations and best wishes. >> Thank you. >> Congratulations, Heather. Um, I'll move into the um, outstanding educator and because she's probably in panic mode right now, it's Lori Atkins because everybody else
025has had to say something after it's read about them. Lori, you do not have to speak. Okay, just stay on mute. All right, so Charles Barnum Magnet School is pleased to present Lori Atkins as our outstanding educator. For 32 years, Lori has been an early childhood educator in Groten, beginning in first grade and ending her career in kindergarten, mostly at Barnum, including her student teaching. I've offered to move her to upper elementary grades numerous times, and she runs for me as fast as possible. Lori was born and raised in Grten and as a proud Fitch Falcon. She's a member of the Falcon Athletic Hall of Fame. I believe it's for softball or volleyball or something. While I'm not sure about that, I can tell you that I know for a fact she is certainly not
026in the Hall of Fame for dodgeball. Lori is always up for a challenge, continuously looking for innovative ways to implement curriculum, especially for children with exceptional needs. She never loses sight of the academic and social needs of young children and believes in her heart that they must have a joyful and fun-filled environment to learn and thrive. This is the first experience for many of her students in a school setting. She knows this and makes parents feel comfortable sending their babies to school as her high level of positive energy goes home with the students. Lori is a lifelong learner herself and throughout her career, she has developed the necessary skills to remain highly effective. When she went to college, they did not offer technology classes. During distance learning, she took on these unknown technical skills and
027had a blast completely out of her comfort zone. Mhm. >> I've never seen anyone create a video sitting on a porch make an egg soaked in vinegar look so exciting. All of you would have wanted to try after watching. As some of you may be aware, this is Lor's last year. She has prepared countless children when connected with so many families during her time in Groten. Lor's dedication to students, families, and teaching continues and as a parent as she rarely misses work, meetings, and jumps at the opportunity to have fun with students. She's even joined our hiking club and heads to New Hampshire with fourth and fifth graders this week. That is a clear statement that she has been in the game right to the end. I'll leave you with this quote that a staff
028member said of Lori and it sums up how she's perceived at Barnum. Lori is often seen as a superstar the way past students react and greet her when she walks by them in the hallway. >> All of us at Barnum wish you the best in your retirement, Lori, and are better educators just by being around you. Please let me know tomorrow if you would like to be added to the substitute list. Oh, you're gonna make me cry. Thank those kind words, Seth. Um, it is a great honor to teach for the Graten Public School System and Charles Barnum has been like my second home for many, many years. We have a wonderful team as you all know and it's just like a big family and it's going to kill me to leave, but I will
029come back. Thank you. >> Thank you. Wonderful job. So, next I'll be moving on to Katherine Kolnowski and Principal Doffany. >> Okay. Our friend of Bratton Education Award recipient is Betsy Gaffne. And I know Betsy is with us tonight. CKMS is proud to recognize Betsy Gaffne as our friend of Grten Education award recipient. Betsy has worked in CK's school-based health center for several years. And she treats all of our students with kindness, compassion, and a reasonable dose of tough love. But it's not just doing her job that makes Betsy our award recipient. Instead, it's all the times she goes above and beyond to make sure our students are receiving the best care. Betsy has devoted much of her personal time to attend our evening events in order to showcase the school-based health center, making sure
030our families understand the services it can provide and help them get signed up. When it's time for flu shots, Betsy is persistent in reaching out to families in order to vaccinate as many students as possible, which helps keeps all of our students and staff healthier. And Betsy has also devoted her time to provide emergency care at our CKMS fun, which is held on a Saturday each year. She wanted to do her part to make sure all of our participants were safe, had fun, and had fun. Betsy retired from her position just a few weeks ago. We are so sad to lose her presence, but so happy for her as she moves on to a well-deserved retirement. I know it's not going to be easy for you, Betsy, but please try to include some relaxation in
031those retirement plans. We're very proud to have you as our award recipient. Thank you. It's um when I came here and was placed at Calvin Konowski, I hadn't even been in Grten before, but it became um an opportunity for me to do what I love in a place that I be learn to love. And I appreciate the kindness of everyone there. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Our support staff award for CKMS is goes to Sugjene Vanzant who I know is also with us this evening. The specialist staff at Katherryn Konowski Magnet School are honored to nominate Sugene Vanzant for the outstanding support employee award. Sugene goes above and beyond every day for her kindergarten students and does anything and everything in specials to support their learning. In music, she participates in all of the
032songs and activities and even donated a classroom set of muchneeded crayons when supplies were backordered. In art, she makes her own project and jumps in to help with the daunting cleanup task. In PE, she always participates in games and encourages the students to have good sportsmanship and play fairly. In media, Sugene always helps the students find the perfect book as well as engages and interacts with the students during readalouds and other activities. And in computer science, Mrs. Vanzant reinforces class expectations, encourages the students and provides kind words and always brings energy and enthusiasm which helps the kids stay excited about their learning. In addition to being an outstanding educator at school, Sugene is the mom of two wonderful children, a military spouse, and runs the Charles Barnum PTO, which she already got a shout out
033for. She's a superwoman in every aspect of her life and does everything with a smile. She has a wonderful personality and her firm yet loving guidance through day-to-day activities has helped so many children grow. The specialist staff and all of CK are honored to recognize such a d deserving candidate. Congratulations, Sugene. >> Thank you. Um, working with all the staff members, especially Andrea Westber, makes things very easy. >> We've had a lot of K recognition so far. Wonderful. >> All right. And CK's outstanding educator for this year is Shannon Foley. Teachers who earn high praise from colleagues are usually described with words such as dedicated, committed, and caring. Shannon is all of these, but so much more. Her classroom is a nurturing place where students feel empowered and encouraged. A favorite book of Miss Foley's
034is Our Classroom is a family. And I would say this perfectly embodies Shannon's perspective on her classroom and her students. Whether it's the first day of the school year, the last day of the school year, or any day in between, she's waiting at the door each morning to greet her students with a cheerful hello, good morning, how are you? Her philosophy is based on understanding each students individual needs both academically and emotionally. She develops warm relationships with her students, holds them to high standards, and helps all of them reach their individual potential. Her love for her students each and every year remains her best attribute. Shannon is also a great collaborator whose ideas and contributions make her team and our school stronger. She cares deeply about her fellow teachers and the teaching profession. Her leadership
035in this area helps to make CKMS a more special place. She always goes above and beyond what is expected in her position, seeking out new information, taking on new challenges, and taking risks to continue to learn and grow. She's not afraid to ask questions or seek advice, and she's always willing to answer questions and offer guidance. She's also a respected mentor to our new teachers. On a personal note, Shannon is just an amazing person and an avid runner. She has a warm, sensitive heart and a very clever sense of humor. Her face lights up when she shares in the joys of her students and her colleagues. She has a great laugh and a positive attitude. We can always count on her to help lift us up when we're feeling the weight of our work. She
036also has the greatest assortment of colored pens to help her keep her notes organized. Just name a color and she can tell you what meeting notes match that color. Shannon Foley is an exemplary second grade teacher and it would be hard to envision CK without her. CKMS could not have a more fitting example to represent our school as our outstanding educator. Congratulations, Shannon. >> Thank you. I am a few words, but I just want to say that I see my CK family as my family, and that's everyone inside of that building, and I go to work grateful every day to work with such an amazing staff and such incredible students. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Shannon. So, I'm going to have um Principal Keller introduce the Fitch High School group. Thank you. Uh first,
037uh we're going to introduce uh Mr. Danny Lee. Uh Mr. Danny Lee is the uh Fitch High School friend of education. Uh Danny has been the Fitch High School Athletic Booster Club president now for two years. Uh during that time, Danny has volunteered to run concession stands for numerous events, coordinate meetings, organize fundraisers, and serve on hiring committees, amongst many other things. He's been a real asset to Fitch High School's athletic department by always putting Fitch High School and the school first. No job or task is too large for him, and he's always willing to help uh for the betterment of the students at Fitch High School. We're pleased to honor Danny with this year's Fish High School's Friend of Education Award. Congratulations to Danny. >> Thank you. Thank you, Crystal Keller. And um you
038know, I think that I've heard people say that it's not a oneperson job, and it truly isn't. It requires the efforts of many, not just the board, the board members I've been involved with, but all the coaches, all the, you know, the athletic director, particularly Mark Romano. um you know we work hand in hand and you know I I hope that in the years to come that the work that we put in place will make the job the task for the upcoming presidents much easier. So um you know not much to say except that this is a great honor and uh not expected at all. you know, the the greatest gratitude I can say is coming from the students when I see, you know, the joy on their face when there's something to cold to
039drink, something hot to eat. So, and uh hopefully the funds that we raise and help them manage will make their uh sports teams continue to grow and prosper. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Actually, Danny, I was going to ask you now if you could stay on for a couple years. >> What Mark says every single day. Um, and now I'd just like to introduce uh Miss Aaron Magcguire who's going to introduce our support personnel of the year. >> Good evening. Melissa Watson is this year's Fish High School support personnel of the year. Melissa, we want to say thank you. Two words that we never seem to say enough of. Hopefully tonight we will. Thank you for the work you've done for the last 17 years at Fitch High School as an administrative assistant. Thank
040you for being our reigning captain, cap for short, of all things special education. Thank you for the last eight years you spent in the school counseling suite. Thank you for the endless phone calls you answer, the countless emails you respond to, and the zillions of Google Docs you've created. Thank you for being Miss Bangler's partner in crime in the front desk of the school counseling suite. I know she wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you for every document we ever made you laminate. And for every piece of paper you helped get ready for the best day of the year, shredding day. Thank you for every inch of the school counseling suite we made you decorate. Thank you for every crazy Friday the 13th or full moon you navigated with humor. Thank you for every
041birthday and holiday celebration we subjected you to. Thank you for every transcript you entered and every honor roll you posted. Thank you for every bus note you called home for and every lamp you turned on in the conference room and Zen room. Thank you for every calendar invite you ever sent. If we had to guess, the number would be in the millions. Thank you for everything you've mastered in Power School over the years. Thank you for taking a leading role amongst the team of administrative assistants in meetings. Thank you for every second of overtime you've done. Thank you for your patience working in a suite of numerous mental health staff and administrators. Thank you for completing every fun task Miss Maguire has ever sent your way. Thank you for everything you've done for every student
042who's walked through the doors of school counseling. Thank you for being the daughter of our beloved Nancy Wilcox. Lord knows she'd be proud tonight and would definitely tell you it just simply runs in the family. Thank you for being an awesome mother and wife. Thank you for loving flamingos and pirates and Jimmy Buffett radio. Thank you for simply being you for the last 17 years. Grten Public Schools and Fish High School recognizes you tonight and thanks you from the bottom of our hearts. What a tribute. >> Absolutely. Thank you very much, Melissa. Our last award goes for the Fitch High School teacher of the year and that is Mr. Daniel Gvenazo. Um, so kind, energetic, hilarious, and dedicated. With these words in mind, Fitch High School is proud to honor its 2022 teacher of the
043year, Mr. Daniel Gonazo. Since joining the English department in December of 2017, Mr. G has been an impactful educator and wonderful colleague. Dan currently serves as the adviser for Fitch Amphora, an award-winning literary literary magazine and teaches creative writing along with sophomore English and Yukon AP English 12. In describing Dan, department colleague shared a cornerstone of the English department. A wonderful person who positively impacts everyone he meets. One of the most helpful teachers in the building, equally as supportive of our students as he is of his our co of his colleagues. Positively enthusiastic all the time. a joy to collaborate with each and every day. When invited to compose a few words about Mr. Givvenzo, a recent graduate described an understanding and helpful teacher who understands that students come from different environments, so he creates
044a learning environment that feels safe, inclusive, and welcoming, making it so students can get help in the space they need to grow. Members of the Fitch and Forest staff easily found words to honor Mr. G. Really chilled and laidback, his room very comfortable to be in. He relates to students and they can be happy in his class. He's really understanding, never intimidating, and is easy to ask questions. During a writing lesson, the vibe in Mr. D's room is inviting, productive, and supportive. A verse to cap capture Dan's inspiring style. And they're actually going to make me read a poem here. Write what you will in whatever style you like. Too much blood has run under the bridge to go on believing that only one road is right. In poetry, everything is permitted with only th
045this condition. Of course, you have to improve the blank page gift. This word describes what Fitch thinks when it hears the name Mr. G, our wonderful 20 uh 2022 teacher of the year. Congratulations, Dan. >> Right as I was about to talk, she was >> Yeah. Well, we want to see the baby now. >> Um, I'm very I'm very grateful to um work at at Fitch High School and I I consider it I consider my job um a privilege. Absolutely. Um and you know, them being in high school a lot of times, you know, we talk about them going into the adult world and and you know, what what they're going to do. Um recently we've been talking about their dreams and one student said to to be successful and so you know many we
046talked about what it means to be successful. Many students say you know to be a billionaire or to be a ML MLB pitcher or a famous movie star or whatever. But um you know we always come back to or I always come back to the idea that success is um one way to measure success is to to find a livelihood that you you truly you truly love and you and you truly enjoy. And um uh you know I think just teaching students to read, write, um speak and think is is only part of my job. But I also really try to um encourage them to be a positive light um in in the community and and oftentimes I try to to model that behavior in the classroom and and be a positive light for them
047uh even despite when I'm not I'm not feeling so positive myself. Um which has been uh this year has been a blessing for me too. So, um, this is this was totally unexpected and, uh, it's a a positive affirmation that I take very seriously. So, so thank you very much. >> Thank you, Dan. >> Thank you. So, next we'll have Graten Middle School and Principal Bass again. >> Okay. Our friend of education is Miss Aaron Casey. So Aaron was an incredible volunteer for our our play uh this fall, the super non-heroes. She graciously volunteered to assist us. She understands that theater is a vital part of education by providing an outlet where shy students may shine, where quiet students learn to find their voices by stepping into other characters shoes, and where young people may
048discover talents in various theatrical art forms they may have never previously known existed. We were thrilled to have a volunteer with extensive backstage experience. Aaron oversaw a crew of nearly two dozen student volunteers, and they immediately got busy designing and creating beautiful set pieces and scenery. Although some of these students had little to no theater experience, Aaron's patience and guidance meant the rehearsals went smoothly and productively, it was no surprise the entire cast and crew quickly grew quite fond of Miss Casey. In addition to attending nearly every rehearsal and both school performances, Aaron very often contributed her own supplies for building our set pieces. Aaron was also heavily involved with costume management, ensuring all costumes were stored away neatly after each rehearsal and performance. Furthermore, Aaron took the lead when pressure was at its height
049during tech week, the week leading up to the show, bringing in food and soft drinks to sustain the energy levels of our young actors, leading her own lending her own audio equipment, taking cast photos, and single-handedly creating a fantastic program for our play. Aaron Casey was crucial to our play success. Backstage theater talent is often viewed as secondary to the craft taking place on stage in front of the curtains. The fact is, live theater cannot exist without behind-the-scenes services and support. Our play could not have possibly been the success it was without Miss Casey's monumental efforts. And for what we wish for that, we wish to commend her with this award. Thank you so very much, Aaron. I can tell you that that our directors truly truly were very appreciative of all you did and
050it showed in those productions. Thank you so much. >> Thank you all very much. I have to say Ruth and Veronica were some of the nicest people to work with. And you know, my son refused to let me um go by my last his last name. I had to be Miss Casey, my maiden name, um cuz he didn't want me he was too embarrassed to let me um to let everybody know that his mom was volunteering. But it was really a special treat to be able to see the kids backstage. um to be able to watch the kids in their own element and you know get really get to know what life is like in the middle school. So I have them to thank. It was it was a really special experience and I appreciated
051it. Thank you all. >> Bravo to you. Bravo to you. >> All right. Next up, our support personnel award winner is Miss Julianne Hallowell. Julianne, my oh my. you know, um I've got some words that that others wrote here I'm going to read, but um I've got to inter intersperse on my own. She she started with us at Cutler and um it was, you know, she had just a little while to get her feet beneath her before we had to move and that was of course in the middle of COVID, right? So, um, she was especially skilled at, um, coordinating and and making sure items were packed just so and and in all sorts of areas of the school, organized and supported the the breakdown of of of Cutler and then moving uh, to into
052Grant Middle for our teachers. She worked on the distribution of student computers during the pandemic, as well as the daily student concerns regarding missing computers, charters, and cases. Julianne works closely with security to in smooth a smooth function of our building. She is a calm and professional voice on the phone and in person when helping teachers, staff, and students resolve problems. Julianne responds quickly and effectively when faced with unpredictability. That is so true. If there's one thing I can tell you about Julianne, she never lets you see her sweat. In the face of the storm, she is the calm. And um I am so appreciative of those moments which are unfortunately not few and far between of everything that she does to keep the front office calm in the face of of a storm. Honestly,
053Julian is available beyond the regular school day. You know, this isn't just a job for her. She makes sure that um if there's a call coming through in her voicemail that that we need to know about uh if she hears of a student or a parent who has a concern, she makes sure that the information gets to the people and needs to so that we can respond quickly and efficiently to questions and concerns. When working with teachers and parents regarding student attendance, Julia Julianne provides an interface between the parent and the teacher, reaching out to find information to keep the lines of communication open to ensure that all parties were heard and attendance integrity was maintained. It is clear to any observer that Julian Hallowell considers her position and responsibilities as a complete picture that
054does not does not end when the last bell rings or the clock is bunched. As the face of Graten Middle, her demeanor, professionalism, and expertise are positive connections for the community in our school. Grten Middle would not run nearly as efficiently and effectively without Julianne. She adds to the educational environment by her positive commitment to the day-to-day operations. And that is so true. Um Julianne is humble. Um I and she is so so deserving of this award. We can't thank you enough for all that you do for us every day, day in and day out. Thank you, Julianne. Well done. Thank you, Mr. Bass. I appreciate the recognition. Thank you. >> Right. Rotten Middle's outstanding teacher of the year this year goes to Miss Anna Salvatore. For those of you who don't know Anna, she
055is a special education teacher extraordinaire. She works uh in the ABA, she's an ABA classroom teacher. Um there is so much I can say about Anna. She is so conscientious. She's caring. She is passionate about her craft and she is fiercely dedicated to her students. She fears no challenge. I I have witnessed countless times in which many people would have run in fear from the situation she was facing. But because she is so dedicated to her kids, she never backs down. She is a leader. She um she works with a number of pair professionals. Um she's a leader and and a great collaborator with both um her special ed colleagues and regular ed colleagues and staff. She is truly a team player and she's an advocate for her kids. Anna is truly outstanding and um
056I would hate to see where our students would be without her. Bravo to you, Anna. Many years to come. Way to go. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. I truly thought uh Mr. Bass was punking me when he told me this was real, but um it's always a team effort. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Anna. So, now we'll move on to Northeast Academy and Principal Cheney. All right, good evening everyone and I will start with our friend of education award and this year's recipient is Lauren Post. I'm almost certain Lauren is here. Northeast Academy is pleased to announce Lauren Post as the recipient of the 2022 friend of education award. Warren is a parent in the NEA community who many teachers and faculty members have grown to know over the years. The PTO
057has undergone a changing of the guard in recent years and Lauren has remained a constant among the executive board staying on as the treasurer, excuse me. Her insight and experience with PTO events have allowed newcomers to stay afloat and connected to past practice. The annual spaghetti supper coming up in about 72 hours is a huge hit at Northeast. And Lauren annually manages the basket raffle, an enormous undertaking in and of itself. Lauren also manages the yearbook at Northeast, a task even more daunting to accomplish considering the lack of events we've held the past two years. Despite the obstacles, Lauren has worked with our provider to continue to produce a highly engaging and exciting product for the students and staff to take home come summer. Lauren adds to the NEA community as a whole through other
058contributions as well. She is part of the Girl Scouts group that functions out of NEA as well as Girls on the Run, an afterchool club for kids. Both of these programs involve a fair number of NEA students and help foster teamwork and commitment at the youth level. We are fortunate to have people like Lauren Post on our team. She gives back to the school community and we are so appreciative of her time and her efforts. Thank you, Lauren, and congratulations. >> Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I've been part of the community at Northeast for 10 years now. Um, next year is my last year and it is definitely bittersweet. I really appreciate the recognition. >> See, Lauren thinks that she's leaving, but we uh we do not intend on letting her go,
059but we'll talk about that another day. The next award uh is for our non-certified personnel winner, and that goes to Tracy Bowen. I'm almost certain Tracy is here as well. I think I saw Tracy T-Rex Bowen on her screen name. Northeast Academy would like to honor Tracy Bowen as the 2022 recipient of the non-certified personnel award. Tracy was a paraprofessional for a number of years at NEA before transitioning to a building substitute role to start the year. As we returned in September of 21, each school was faced with the challenge of navigating distance learning for those in quarantine while the majority of students sat in their seats at school. When it was suggested and essentially decided that we would use a building substitute to meet the needs of these kids, we knew that Tracy was
060the perfect person for the job. Tracy takes great pride in everything she does. She is a planner, an organizer, and someone who works diligently no matter the task. The initial days and weeks of the 21-22 school year required strong communication, and Tracy was up for the job, working tirelessly as the liaison between our classroom teachers, students, and families in quarantine at home. Tracy went above and beyond. She organized grade level specific readalouds, met with kids individually to check for assignment understanding, and consistently tracked student attendance in a manner which helped classroom teachers closely monitor their students with ease. Most recently, Tracy has stepped up and just completed a long-term substitute role in a third grade classroom where she quickly hit the ground running to keep students progressing in a safe and respectful environment. Northeast Academy
061is a wonderful place because of people like Tracy Bowen. She stepped up immensely this year and is so overly deserving of this year's non-certified personnel award. Thank you, Tracy, and congratulations. >> Thank you. Um, I appreciate the kind words. I'm just a small piece of a great team there at NEA. So, thank you guys. >> I told you I was going to put you on the spot, Trace. I know you did. You did. >> All right. And the teacher of the year for Northeast Academy this year is Mrs. Aaron Doer. I know Aaron is here with us. On behalf of her colleagues who nominated and voted for her, I am happy to announce Mrs. Aaron Doer as Northeast Academyy's teacher of the year. In a building full of deserving individuals, Mrs. Doer emerged from the
062pack and we are proud to see her earn this accomplishment. The education field has experienced a plethora of challenges in recent years. Many teachers have been faced with the reality of attempting to close larger gaps than ever before, both academically and socially. Resilience and perseverance have been needed more now than ever. It is with those factors in mind that I truly commend the work of Aaron this past school year. She would probably agree with me when I say that this year has been the most challenging one of her 20 plus years in education. But Aaron has met those challenges with strength and advocacy. She has not backed down and when faced with hurdles, Aaron has continued to find ways over and around them. Aaron has worked overtime to support the needs of her students. She
063has gone to bat for kids in her class through ongoing communication, parent meetings, CSTs, PPTs, you name it. She has assisted in the development of numerous student centered plans, always keeping the needs of the individual child at the forefront of her of her mind, excuse me. She's been able to maintain the healthy balance of individual student needs and whole class needs simultaneously and that is a testament to her resilience as an elementary classroom teacher. Interestingly, Aaron has welcomed quite a few new students into her class this year. Some way back in September and others sprinkled in along the way. This task has grown increasingly more difficult in recent years due to the pandemic. With that being said, Aaron has done this exceptionally well all year. She's been quick to identify students learning profiles, advocate for
064their needs, and be proactive with parent communication. She has placed an emphasis on the social and emotional adjustment for these children as they transition into new environments, helping them develop meaningful relationships with new peers in the classroom. I consider myself fortunate to call Aaron a colleague. She has been a mo a model of grit and persistence for many of us within the NEA community. Her students are her certainly her priority and it shows. Congratulations, Aaron. This accomplishment is very much deserved and we're all super proud of you. >> Well, thank you very much, Ryan. Um I really appreciate this. Um I am so thankful to be at NEA. I've been there since the day the doors opened. Um, it's a wonderful school with, um, an exceptional staff. I work with amazing people. Um, I couldn't
065have gotten through the last few years without my team. They've been amazing. And then the kids are just, they're just awesome. I love working with the kids. It's really the absolute highlight of being a teacher. So, thank you again. >> Thank you. And we're going to move on now to um looks like Fame's River magnet. >> That it is. All right. Good evening everyone. I did see Kate Channon who is our friends of Graten award recipient. I think she is here. I will get started. All right. So, themes of magnet school is enthusiastically honored that Kate Channon is our first Friends of Graten Award recipient. Kate has been a sensational volunteer sorry my alarm to themes River Magnet School even before the doors even opened last summer. She proactively outreached to me about starting a
066PTO from scratch, not a simple task. We met in the summer to plan how to get it started, brainstormed fundraising and other ideas to grow the PTO. Once the school year began, Kate was an integral part of helping us get the word out to recruit parent volunteers. At our first PTO meeting, Kate took on a leadership role, bringing in her expertise as she had been part of a PTO board in the past. She became the famed PTO secretary and helped guide the new members as to how to set up an agenda and run a PTO meeting. Kate also took on the very tedious, very huge paperwork needed for becoming a nonprofit 501c3. Thank you, Kate. In addition to PTO, Kate has helped to organize successful pie and cookie fundraisers, bud butter braid fundraisers, helped in
067our first PTO book fair that is in person, assisted students with planting at the seedling station for our Earth Day celebration, organized a Dennis Pequat Nature Center field trip for fifth graders, helped organize a bake sale, set up a staff appreciation breakfast, and unpacked a very useful toaster oven with which the PTO donated to the school. And Kate has always come to every meeting, any volunteer opportunity with a new and fresh idea to share and all there to support the magnet Thames River Magnet School community. Thank you Kate for your dedication, your hard work and support and helping to contribute in making Fames River School's first year a great place to be. We will miss you next year, but get ready. Peter Rotten Middle is going to get a sensational volunteer. Congratulations, Kate. You're on
068mute. We can't hear you. Sorry about that technology. Thank you so much, Jamie. I was so happy to be able to help out and to finally be able to use my corporate law background. So, that was it was kind of a win-win. >> I might have to go back to work. It was um it was obviously a team effort and we were just so happy to be able to support the new schools and and to see the kids in in action again. It's it's was so hard to be away from from school and and it's so nice to be back in in in person and and being able to to volunteer. So, thank you so much. It's it was a great opportunity and I was so happy to be there at the River. >> Absolutely
069appreciate everything you've been doing. So, thank you. All right. Um, we have our non-certified personnel and Tom Bing Bigum is also here. So, I think he is. I thought I saw him. All right. So, Themes River Magnet School is absolutely thrilled and honored to have Tom Bingham as our noncertified personnel award recipient. Tom is a true asset to the Thes River community. Being the head custodian of any building poses many challenges, but adding a brand new, not yet completed building to it takes it a bit to another level. Yet, Tom did not skip a beat. When teachers unpacked their mountains of boxes and realized that they needed to purge a bit more, or when I decided to move many kidney tables from the ground floor to the third floor, Tom was there to gather boxes
070and shimmy tables with me into the elevator. Then on Labor Day, when one should not be laboring, Aida and I decided we really needed to continue setting up the building, Tom came in with us and helped set up, move, and label calf tables. Thank you, Tom. each day, despite equipment not fitting through a door or furniture being delivered, locks being installed, taking on technology that sometimes just did not want to cooperate, and being the only day custodian with over 500 students, Tom was calm, flexible, and always available to help accomplish any task. Special job, brainstorm ideas, problem solve, whatever you need, whatever time it was, whatever you faced in the new building, Tom was there to take care of it all. In the winter, we discovered that the sidewalks and parking lot at themes did
071become a bit of an ice rink. So, Tom was on it and turned it into more of a beach. He got to school extra early despite the extreme wind, bitter temperatures, snow, and ice to put a lot of sand down to ensure the safety of all coming into the building. In addition, Tom's cool, kind demeanor and can do pivotal was pivotal to us when we had to set up two vaccination clinics, a blue ribbon ceremony, an Earth Day celebration, and we when we had to get ready for ready for the Secretary of Education coming. In addition, he's always there in a pinch whether there's a leak, a crack, a spill, or even with a ladder to help a student who was able to go up the playscape. But having coming down was a bit of
072a challenge. So Tom just kind of rolls with whatever comes his way, getting the John job done thoroughly and professionally. Congratulations, Tom, and thank you so much for all that you've done this year to help us start our school. Congratulations. All right, I'm gonna keep going. Okay, so we have Corey Ma. And I know I saw Corey for our teacher of the year. Hi, Corey. All right. So, we are thrilled, proud, and honored that Corey Ma has been recognized as our first teacher of the year at Themes River. Before coming to Themes River Magnet School, I knew Corey as an energetic techsavvy uh teacher as I served alongside of him on many district committees, including the start of TK and of course, as we all watched the live stream from his classroom of baby chicks
073being hatched. However, it was not until this year as we all came together to start Themes River Magnet School that I truly got to know what a dynamic, creative, passionate, out-of-the-box thinker, detailoriented, problem solver Corey truly is. Corey's tech-savvy ability has been incredible in helping all teachers, staff, and me. He goes beyond the expectation of being a building and instructional tech. He took the lead on electronically setting up the whole school scheduling of parent conferences so that it was seamless for parents and teachers. After receiving PD on the new Prometheium boards, Corey willingly offered additional Prometheium board training for small groups of teachers or even one-on-one during his own lunch and specials times. But Corey didn't stop there. On top of that, he created YouTube tutorials to provide even more userfriendly tips. In fact, Corey
074is always looking for more tips and efficient ways to use technology to help in his classroom as well as to organize the massive amount of district meeting notes, data, magnet ideas, and curriculum work such as making a helpful Padlet. Most recently, he actually found a better format using Wakelets from which she quickly shared the updates with teachers and another more efficient way to schedule parent conferences. Thank you, Corey. Moreover, Corey helps me with school website and continues to look for ways to connect with parents and community through a mind and classroom dojo. Making connections is what Corey's all about for his students. It is top priority. He creates an environment that is intellectually and socially safe for his kindergarteners. Students feel comfortable taking risks academically and socially with his engaging, very hands-on lessons. Corey celebrates
075accomplishments and creates special memories for students, such as changing his entire classroom to show the mischief when a leprechaun came. The looks on students faces as they pointed to plastic dinosaurs from the ceiling and the green water in your sink was priceless. Corey is tirelessly dedicated to advocating for students and their families, ensuring all of their needs are met. In the event of a student accident, Mr. Ma is prepared. He purchased extra clothing in various sizes with his own money to have on hand or even just a variety of snacks at the ready. During the vaccination clinic, Mr. M was definitely ready with a high interest Pete the cat stuffed animal to help work his magic to calm the nerves of his students. Helping in any way is what Corey's all about. He's ready to
076jump in at the beginning of the year with anything we needed. He brought in large sign boards and created signs to help parents navigate their way around this very new, very large building. When I have been called away during dismissal announcements, Cory is there to jump in and take over and he has been really helpful in taking any initiative and idea and planning various school events both schoolwide rather and with his K team. This is just a small snapshot of Corey's passion, commitment, and professionalism. Thank you, Corey, for everything you've done to make this year best positive experience at the Ames River Magnet School. Congratulations. Yay. And also stay tuned. There will be live streaming apparently with some more chicks hatching. Congratulations, Corey. >> Yes, in about two week uh three weeks we will I
077will have that all posted that everyone can watch their chicks be hatched. All five of our classes are doing it. So, and we'll be sharing it on our website. So, thank you so much. Uh, I'm truly honored and yes, it's it's a village. There's so many wonderful staff at Thes River be behind the scenes and you know, I can't do it without everyone's support and all all the wonderful staff uh here in Grten as well. You know, it takes a village as Susan says all the time, it takes a village, you know, and we have a great village. So, thank you very much. and another member of the K team. We're really giving shoutouts to our kindergarten staff and paras and support. So, um, last but never least, Mystic River Magnet and, um, Principal Wheeler.
078Great. Good evening, everyone. Um, I'm going to get started right away with our friends of education award. Um, Allison Zerilus, I know she's here. All right. So, there she is. Perfect. Um, we are pleased to announce that Allison Zerilus is our Friends of Education recipient at Mystic River Magnet School for 2022. Words cannot express how kind and thoughtful Allison is to everyone that she meets. We are so fortunate to have her and her children at our school. Allison takes on many roles at Mystic River Magnet School. She is our PTO co-chair as Jamie said, our first. Um, she is our community coordinator and she is a frequent volunteer. As our PTO co-chair, she has been instrumental as our school has merged with various staff and families this year. She helped to organize very successful school
079fundraisers. She saw that our in-person book fair was a huge hit. And as of as of late, she has been organizing a group of volunteers to work within our school community, something that we haven't had in many years. Her commitment and dedication to our school has been paramount as we have navigated the CO 19 protocols and opened a new school. Just recently, she has taken on the role of community coordinator, and thank goodness for that. We spent the majority of the year without one, even after several postings. We were thrilled that she was eager to step up and step in when she learned about the vacancy. In her short tenure, she has helped to update volunteer training forms, organize treats for our staff for staff appreciation, and is pitching in to help with clerical work
080throughout the week. Alison is an amazing mom to three very active boys, all of which attend Mystic River Magnet School. We are proud to have the Zeroless families as members of our school community and are truly appreciative of all that Allison does to help things run smoothly. Our school is a better place because of you, Allison. Thank you all for everything that you've done. >> Thank you. This is definitely an honor. I um was very active with SB Butler and when we you know merged and you know became a bigger community at Mystic River, I knew that we needed to have leadership and get those families involved and I've been pleasantly surprised at how tremendous of a community our school has and I look forward to more fun stuff in the future. >> That's super.
081We do too. Thank you. >> Okay, so moving on to our um non-certified staff award. Um that is Mrs. Pette Gilman. Um I know she's There she is. >> There she is. >> Pette, great to see you. I'm glad that you were able to get things working. Um Pette and I have been talking back and forth. She cracks me up about Zoom. So I'm glad she's there and she's ready to go. Uh my to nominate Pette Gilman for the non-certified staff award for 2022 at Mystic River Maggot School. First and foremost, Pette is one of the hardest working people that I've ever met. She's usually the first person to arrive in the parking lot every day. In addition, Pette is a very impressive work ethic and this shows in her performance as a paraprofessional at
082Mystic River Magnet School. She has worked for many years with many students throughout the Graten Public School District. 45 years total. Yes, I said 45 years. In her current assignment, she is providing academic and social emotional support to a grade four student. Pette knows the power of building a strong relationship with her student. She spends time getting to know who they are as a student, what their strengths are, areas that they struggle, and what really interests them as a learner. Her students thrive due in part to her devoted attention to detail, consistency, and dedication within her role. Pette wears many hats at Mystic River. In addition to working with students during academic blocks, she holds down the fort in the lunchroom. She has become the four square queen at recess and she is there for
083any student that needs a helpful hand. We are truly blessed to have Pette as a member of our school community. Our school is a better place because of her. Congratulations, Pette, and thank you for everything you do. >> Thank you, Mr. Wheeler, and everybody at the Mystic River Magnet School. I appreciate everyone. Thank you. >> Thank you, Pette. >> Okay, so this is what we're here for. We're going to be honoring our distinguished educator, Hillary Bouty. Um, she is one of our kindergarten teachers. Another big shout out. There she is. I think Hillary, we're the only two still at school. I should have come down to your room to read this to you. Uh, I'm very very thrilled that Hillary Bowy has been chosen as both Mystic River Magnet School's distinguish distinguished educator and Graten
084Public Schools distinguished educator for 2022. It could have not been given to a more deserving person. Hillary is a truly a master teacher with a command of curriculum, pedigogy, and interpersonal skills. Anyone that knows Hillary can attest to the dedication and commitment that she has for her students. Not only is she a fierce advocate for all students, she gets to know them, their families, and truly makes connections so that she can meet their needs to the best of their ability. Hillary is by far one of the hardest working, intelligent, and caring people that I know. Her passion for life and selflessness can be only matched by her day-to-day work in her classroom. We are very fortunate to have her as part of our school, our school community. Hillary's passion for children and teaching is evident
085in everything she does. She is a true hands-on practitioner. Her lessons provide high levels of engagement, student discourse, differentiation, and is above all student centered. Her students thrive in the safe, nurturing environment of her classroom. Hillary integrates technology in her daily teaching and adjusts to the everchanging academic, emotional, and social needs that occur daily in a kindergarten classroom. She pushes herself to develop comprehensive individual reading plans that are designed to implement specific and articulate academic interventions that help students make significant growth. When you walk into Hillary's room and her kid in her kindergarten room, literacy comes to life. It is truly remarkable watching the daily orchestration that takes place in her room. She creates wonderful learning opportunities that infuse play bring joy to learning for all of her students. Hillary is a very versatile educator,
086demonstrating her ability to instruct a wide variety of students, including those challenged by AD by ADD and ADHD, developmental delays, learning disabilities, and other health conditions. She can assess students unique needs and tailor her teaching to accommodate diverse interests and provide individualized support. She once said to me, "I don't stop until I don't stop trying until something works." This is a perfect sentiment to her ability to work with students that struggle with severe behaviors. She has an innate ability to persevere until a strategy is successful or a behavior plan is tweaked many times to make that student successful. This is by far one of the hardest things for educators to do and she does it seamlessly. Lastly, Hillary is a true playmaker. I look to her teacher leadership as a means to grow our school
087climate, stretch our teachers to seek professional growth, increase student achievement, and integrate our families as part of our whole school community. Although Hillary may now officially hold the title as Graten's outstanding educator, we have known all along how truly remarkable and special she is to Mystic River Magnet School. Before I close, I also wanted to share that Hillary's reach goes way beyond her endeavors and accomplishments at Mystic River. She is also an Advent marathon, an Advent marathon runner. She's a kidney donor. She has two little girls at home and she is now in the process of getting her PhD. Hillary, congratulations for being chosen to represent our district and our school. We are all extremely proud to call you a colleague and a friend. Congratulations, Hillary. >> Congratulations, Hillary. You represent the finest of the
088finest of them all and Graten Public Schools is certainly so proud of each and every um member of our community that's been talked about tonight. But thank you very much and congratulations. >> Thank you so much. Um, Steve asked me to prepare a few remarks, so I hope you don't mind if I take a few minutes of your time. Um, so thank you, Steve, so much for those kind words. It's very humbling. Um, and thank you for inviting me to this celebration of Graten students, educators, staff, and volunteers. I would like to thank my school administrators Steve Wheeler, Paul Depatawa, and Sher Sable for their unwavering support throughout this difficult inaugural year at Mystic River Magnet School. They successfully joined three separate staff into one new building while navigating the everanging policies of CO, continuing
089to put our students needs first. I would also like to recognize the dedication of my fellow teachers of the year, Lorie, Shannon, Aaron, Corey, Anna, and Dan. Your passion and commitment to the children and youth of Grten is evident. Thank you for all you do on a daily b basis, both in school and behind the scenes, the seen and the unseen. I'm confident that you all can agree with me that while we are the ones receiving this high honor, we're merely the representatives of deserving teachers and staff surrounding us daily in the trenches. Mystic River, this is truly a team effort and honor. Additionally, thank you to Superintendent Susan Austin and Assistant Superintendent Phil Piaza, as well as the board of education for your ongoing leadership and support for the staff and students of Graten
090throughout the turmoil of the past several years. I have been fortunate to spend 16 years as a teacher in Grten Public Schools, working in five different elementary schools. When I entered this profession at the age of 24, I had no idea how much I had to learn. I now go into every single day with my eyes wide open waiting to see what my students will teach me that day. Because no matter their age, their demographics, or their academic performance, each of our students has something to teach us. Perhaps they teach us about their community, about their world, about our world. Or perhaps they gift us with a lesson about ourselves. One of my proudest moments working in this district was the formation of the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee. Approximately 100 staff members, including myself,
091eagerly join this committee in hopes of doing the hard work to dismantle the policies, practices, practices, and systems that perpetuate injustices. While our our district has undoubtedly taken the imperative first steps in its mission for social justice, my hope is that our future and the future of our students is that we step out of our comfort zone, willing to have difficult conversations with our staff, administrators, and students. But our work doesn't stop there. We must be willing to step outside of the comforting walls of our schools and into our communities, engaging with families and community members in their own neighborhoods and environments. It is only then that we can begin to build reciprocal relationships with our families. Relationships that honor the immense wealth of knowledge they bring to our schools, relationships that inform our curriculum,
092program, and materials, and relationships founded on mutual respect and trust. As we move forward and navigate the unknown together, it's my hope that we fully embrace and commit to the opportunity in front of us to promote equity and justice. Progress cannot occur while maintaining the status quo. And I am honored to represent Grten Public Schools as 2023 teacher of the year as we embrace the discomfort of change. Thank you for your time and for this incredible honor. >> Thank you. So, I'd like to be able to um really do a a thank you al together. We we don't have cake. We're on Zoom. It's not the way we typically do things, but Rebecca Bas um who is our communication coordinator kind of spearheaded this next tribute, which will be put on the website and on
093our Graten Public Schools um Facebook page. And thank you to our principles for sneaking in pictures and for Mark Russell for gathering some music. So, Rebecca, you can um play this for us as we end up our thank yous to all of our wonderful staff and friends. [Music] Oh [Music] la. [Music] You've been so kind and generous. I don't know how you keep on giving. For your kindness, I'm dead to you. [Music] For your selflessness, my admiration [Music] for everything you know I'm [Music] bound to find you forever [Music] La hey, you've been so kind and generous. I don't know how you keep on giving. For your kindness I've been dear to you. [Music] And I never could have come this far without you. [Music] for you. You know I'm bound to thank you for
094it. [Applause] La. [Music] Oh, I want to thank you for so many gifts you give love and tenderness. I want to thank you. [Music] I want to thank you for your generosity, your love, and the honesty that you gave me. I want to thank you. Show my gratitude. My father, my respect for you. I want to thank you. Oh, I want to thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you all. We just so appreciate you and I know this board does and thank you so much for all that you do for each other and our students and families. It was a glorious evening. So I I give everybody tribute for that. It was wonderful. And thank you Susan for leading us through that. So Mrs. Johnson, what next
095in terms of Roberts? >> So I comments from citizens >> say that. Oh no. So we just go into that. We don't have to. >> Yeah. Yes. >> Oh, okay. Very well. All right. Follow the agenda. >> Just Okay, great. Thank you. >> Okay, here's my favorite thing to do. I have to read out loud. >> Do you want me to read it, Andrea? >> Oh, that would be fabulous. Thank you. >> I'll read it. Comments from citizens are must refer to agenda items and other subjects of concern that lie within the jurisdiction of the board of education. This is the portion of the agenda where the board welcomes comments from citizens. Each presentation should be limited to five minutes or less and citizens should, if possible, submit written comments. Presentation should be related to
096matters pertinent to Graten. Board members will only ask questions in order to clarify the speaker's presentation and cannot respond during the comments of citizens portion of the board meeting. Citizens should state their names and addresses for the records. >> Thank you, Rita. Mrs. Johnson, do we have anybody? >> Me? >> I'm sorry. Say that again. >> Not through me. >> Okay. Um, and we did >> just ask the audience. >> Okay. Is there anyone? >> She put their request in the chat. >> Oh, okay. Thank you. >> The chat. Oh, uh, this is Mike Whitney if you can hear me. I have a I can speak. >> Thank you. >> Should I go ahead? >> Yeah, go ahead, Mike. >> Okay. Thank you. Uh, first of all, I just want to say it's wonderful to
097to hear all the the outstanding students and staff and and teachers, administrators. It's a it's a great meeting to listen to. So, I enjoy that every year. Um, and I I sent a letter earlier today with my written comments, but I'll just summarize it here. Um, I'd like at this meeting, I appreciate it if you discussed how to better deal with the surging CO 19 levels in the schools and community, and I include the the data, but as you all know, the rates are are very high and still climbing higher. Um, Legite Health District issued on May 20th the public health alert. Mask indoors in public, strongly recommended. I think it'd be very helpful to the school community um and helpful to kind of curving some of the the spread if um the superintendent could
098put out a um an email and a um corresponding like uh phone call uh to the school community. There was an early email last week, but that was before it went to this next CDC high level. Um along with that, I know that the school system has a large supply of N95 masks. What's not clear to me is um whether that's accessible to the students and staff and um and if they know how to get that. So if that should be communicated clearly if it hasn't been already because we we definitely know that mass quality matters. And so these are straightforward measures that I think are urgently needed. Um I'll also say that the board of education like all others in the state still has the authority to require masks in schools. um though it
099doesn't seem like that's a direction people can take that it is I think um worth talking about and um I view a mandate would actually help further reduce the spread. So that's one topic. It's the most important one I have here in terms of urgency as well and a public health issue. Um the second of three items is I saw that uh you'll be considering a policy on gifted and or talented uh student program today and I read through the policy and I really like what I hear and saw that the it includes a statement that the district shall provide educational opportunities for the gifted and talented that include a broad spectrum of learning experiences. in your discussion uh tonight about that, I'd like you hopefully talk about what existing opportunities there are and and
100and what future ones there will be because at least the elementary level um uh parents and students are presented with um uh website information from forget what it's called um the Connecticut Associates for for gifted but it'd be nice to pair that with Graten Public Schools specific specific information either in web form or or documented because I think connecting the the dots between um talented and gifted and what the school system already offers and then maybe you'll see some holes where it needs to offer other things will be really helpful. Uh and then the third item was is just a followup to uh an issue I raised about honors orchestra not being offered at Fitch for next school year. at a previous board meeting a couple months ago. Um, at that time, Superintendent Austin responded
101that the situation would be fixed. I'd just like to say there definitely is progress because it now appears the 2022 2023 program of studies for Fitch. Um, but I hear that it's not yet in the system, the power school system as an enrollment option and I'd just like to update on that because it's obviously an important offering for for our students. And along with that, um, it's just in terms of what's on the web. There's really not much on how someone is what it takes to be eligible for an honors orchestra or what it takes to be recommended. And and having those guidelines just kind of clearly in place and stated would be helpful to all. So, uh, thank you for, uh, listening to my comments. I'm sorry I'm not on video anymore, but I
102I had to drive and do some parental chauffeuring, but I'll I'll I'll keep listening to the meeting until I switch out to another one. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mike. Is there anyone else who'd like to speak? >> Well, in that case, we'll move on to the response to comments from citizens. Is there anybody who wants to address anything now? Maybe Susan um Mrs. Austin you can um re you know at when you have time reply to some of about the band and >> yes actually I kind of followed up on everything. Um it was really laid out very well and there were some good reminders for us um as Mr. Whitney had reported. But all of these things I'm kind of using to um guide those next communications. There were some great suggestions especially
103on the website so that parents really understand you know what is it that differentiates let's say an honors orchestra or an honors anything compared to a college level. So we I will follow up on that and get back to Mr. Whitney and the public. >> Thank you. And what about the the mask is issue. Yeah, that's >> so he I did send out that um at that point the CDC um was strongly recommending maskearing if you had three or more students in a classroom um have COVID and um so that's a practice procedure that we're um you know asking parents at the um administrative level um in the buildings. I've actually noticed a lot more maskearing, even myself, but we did a walkthrough at Fitch last Friday and Liz Porter and Matthew were there and
104we did see many more masks. Um, and I think people are more cognizant. While it's not mandated by the CDC, it is certainly strongly recommended and we are keeping track of those numbers. We're reporting them out. They report kind of instantaneously as we receive them. So, I would encourage families to go to that website um to see where we're at. And u Mr. Whitney's right. We just kind of went into that red zone. We were watching it closely. We were in the yellow, but we have gone into the red zone. >> And Susan, when you went through the building, was that the masks were they just among staff or did the students >> No, it it was equally split up between staff and students. >> Thank you. Okay. and we'll talk about the gifted and
105talented. >> Yes, we will. >> Great. So, then on to the >> I think Beverly and Liz have questions. >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> That's all right. I'm just watching your screen for you. >> Thank you. I just saw that. I don't know who was first, so I see. >> Oh, Liz. >> It's It's fine. Beverly, why don't you go? >> Okay. Uh Susan, have you been keeping track of the COVID cases in the school system? >> Absolutely. >> Um minuteby minute. And so we have charts and graphs and we have a a particular part of the website. I might have even put the link for you in the board notes, but I can put it there again so you can actually see what we're seeing. So, as soon as a case is reported, it
106instantly gets, you know, put on this site on our own Google doc and gets sent into the state. So, we're still doing all of that. >> So, what are you seeing? >> Um, point of order. Point of order. >> I'm sorry. I'm sorry. >> We could be discussing this. It's not on the agenda. >> Thank you. >> So, I think we have to wait till later. >> Sorry. >> I just don't want to get into trouble. Okay. >> I was going to say the same thing as Beverly. So, >> and Rita, did you have >> Rita, can I ask you? >> No, I just didn't think we should be discussing it. It's only the response to comments from citizens is just if there's like like something, you know, if you read the little blurb here,
107if we just had a question for Mike or if Susan, you know, had a quick answer to something that had come up. So, but we can't have a discussion about it if it's not on the agenda. >> Thank you. >> So, can I ask a question of Miss Joan? can't stop you. >> I'm here. >> Joan, is there a time is there a place in our agenda that we can ask these questions or do we have to put it on for another um meeting? >> You have to put it on to another meeting. >> Okay. Thank you. >> We could do it at the end, right? You can have comments from board members at the end. Information and proposal, non-aggenda, non-action items. Joan, can't you add it to the agenda with a twothirds vote or
108something like that? >> Yes, you can. >> Okay. >> And I just saw Rebecca Bas put up that the CO data is available at the Graten site. She's put up the link and you can find um the link right on the homepage. So, we've put it in several places and she's added the link for anybody who's on and wants to check that out. >> Right. That's excellent. Thank you. Okay. Is the student representative here tonight to give us a report? >> I didn't see him and I know that for next year we're going to try to double up on the number of um student representatives. They certainly get very busy at this time. >> Yes. >> Excuse me, Andrea. I think you missed my hand. >> You did. >> Go ahead, Matthew. >> Thank you.
109I'm not going to discuss something. My understanding of Mike Whitney's request as as I processed it was I think he was asking what metric uh what's the threshold metric at which we communicate and at what frequency we communicate with the parents about the need to uh recommend masks. If I misunderstood I apologize. >> Why don't we we delegate that to another discussion? Can we do that, Mr. Joe? Mrs. Johnson, >> I think to do a thorough job, I would like to be able to bring the team around. I see another comment from Denise Doolittle, who's definitely help spearhead some of this work in, you know, tracking um cases and enhancing mitigating strategies and following those guidelines. So, >> so we'll move on to the superintendent's report then. >> We can add that to our agenda,
110right? a a discussion about the increase in COVID in our schools or something added to the end. >> I we've got a pretty long agenda. So, I would I said I would prefer be being able to bring back a more comprehensive >> Okay. >> Look at that with the staff so that I we do it justice >> and and send it out to everyone. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> All right. So, you all received an end of the year activities and um if we start from the bottom of the page, June 17th is our graduation date for our seniors. We're really excited about that. 6:00 pm and we're hoping for sunshine, not too hot, just right temperatures, and we'll all be there with bells on. Um the middle school promotion um ceremony is on the 14th
111of June and that will be on the turf field. I don't know how many board members were able to be there last year but that's also a wonderful occasion and principal Bass wanted it on their field on their turf for that because it really is a moving up to Fitch High School and they'll get their day in the sun on the field the Fitchfield in four years. Um, in addition to that, we've had lots of band and orchestra events at all of our schools. I think Northeast Academy just this past um week had the fourth and fifth grade and I think they filled the auditorium at Fitch High School and the parking lot. Um, they always do such an amazing job as do all of the elementary schools and our middle school and high school.
112So, kudos to all of them. But there's quite a comprehensive list for board members if they'd like to attend any of these events or, you know, I think it's a a a sheet that we can also put up on the website for others to see. >> And Susan, I noticed that um the two two things that I wanted to attend were not there. And one of them is the honors night at the high school. That's not listed. >> Oh, that's this week. I think it's Wednesday. I don't know why it wasn't listed. Hold on. But I can I can get that for you. I think there's an honors for both the middle school and for the high school. >> It's not there. And also the um the honoring of a a citizen who has been
113supportive of the school then and the breakfast is always at the Coast Guard Academy and I did not see that. >> Are you talking about for military volunteers? >> I'm not sure. ary partner volunteers when we do it with the military superintendent leaison group >> at at the coast guard academy >> right we're not doing that this year just because of the spike with co I talked to Miranda next year >> okay I'll be there thank you >> and I did find that um well I'll get back to you on that other >> are there any other end of the year events that that >> I don't know Joyce has reached out to all the principles multiple times and this is the data that we've gathered. >> Good. All right. >> Should be the um
114the >> what is it? The awards ceremony at the high school is not on here. >> Right. >> I wrote that down to get to you >> for both the middle school and the high school. The actually the awards for 8th grade are June 9th. >> You're right. They're here. >> Yeah. And I can't see any hands up. So, if are there any other questions? >> Okay. And we we'll move on to the assistant superintendent report. >> Okay. I'm going to share my screen uh just to show you a little bit about what's going on this summer. Um I shared it at the CO um and you did receive it uh in your packet, but I'll try to go through it. Can you guys see that? Can everyone see that? >> Yes. Um, and I'll
115continue to try. I meant I I did have a copy of this that has some contact information. So, I I did promise you that. So, I will update it and get it out to you. Um, but we do have our special education extended year uh summer school going on. Obviously, uh Denise Dittle has has a lot to do uh with that. Um, but you can see that and I I I won't read it all to you because you guys can read, but you can see the dates there and um it I do I was able to list uh which food services will be provided uh each day um at our elementary STEM camps. Um Christina Post and Ben Moon are in charge of those happening at Charles Barnum. And you can see there's a couple
116sessions running from 9 to 12. Uh and students receive uh some food that day as well, some light snacks. Uh at the middle middle school steam camp, uh Carrie Carter is the director of the uh middle school camp that's happening at GMS. Um students get breakfast there every day as well. uh at Fitch High School. Um Adam Diskin is the admin in charge and uh Joe Araresi is the director of the Fitch summer school program that happens uh throughout the month of July and into uh August. Um just I think it was the day we had the CO I we had learned about the aluminum falcon robotics summer camp. So there's some more detailed information. uh Sherry uh Fus um is sort of organizing all of that. You can see the different sessions and the
117time they're running. That's happening at the river magnet. Um three different sessions happening. You know, I think each I believe each week or each session is a different level uh from beginner to advanced. Um I noted last time as well um and I've uh I continue to to meet with Ernie and and find out when um when u those 12 sites are going to be identified. Um but just as a reminder, there will be 12 sites available um to all students 18 and under with breakfast and lunch provided free of charge. Uh so we'll have locations and times um for that as well. Um and as of now, you know, people will be able to gather. It's not a drive-thru. I guess it was a drive-thru uh in the past couple summers. So, um, so
118students will have the opportunities there. Um, >> and we can't even bag it and and grab and go like we did in the past. They really have to have that snack at the place where they are. So, those those >> where did that mandate come from, Susan? >> That is through his I think his um I don't know. I I'll have to find out, but I I believe that's through the um food service um committee or through the state. And I'm sorry, I just wanted to share one more thing. You know, this was this is uh something we just received. This is hot off the presses. I received it about an hour before the meeting uh started. It's a brief overview of the Blues and Beyond program that I spoke of at the CO uh
119their summer program. Uh there's aspects of it that are, you know, um most of it is live and in person and they do have some interactive video segments as well. Um as you can see here, it's a fully immersive program uh that's led by worldclass professional musicians that we've been working with um who teach the story of African-Americans and the roots of American music um highlighting both the historical and the musical legacies. Again, I won't read this whole thing and I will get this out to you so you can read it, but it really is a great it's been a great program for our students at Graten Middle School. So, we're happy uh to bring it um for the summer as well. Um you could see that it's an interact I'm sorry, interdisciplinary and uh
120culturally responsive program that supports students grades 3 through 12. So, throughout the district. Um this is just a brief overview of of all the all the pieces to it. As you can see, it not only hits the common core standards and some college and career readiness, but it also uh incorporates the musical standards, uh social emotional learning, uh social studies through the lens of music, um and like I said, integration into inperson or distance learning platforms, uh should it be necessary. Um and and obviously the highlight right here that I'm circling, you know, is gen is this final 90minute performance with the Blues and Beyond House Band. anyone who was able to um attend that. Um at the school at Fitch High School, the kids actually write the music and they write the lyrics uh
121throughout their their time there and then it's performed by a real live band. So it's so it's really exciting for the kids to see their to see their music and their lyrics brought to life. But again, we'll get more information as to exactly um when what the dates are for this, but this they just sent out to us uh this afternoon in preparation for the summer program. Well, can you tell me can you tell me how the um groups are configured? If it's 3 through 12, how are the groups configured? >> Yeah, Andrea, I'll get you that information. I'm not really sure. Um I was happy to see that it expanded to all those groups because we've only traditionally been using it at our middle school. Um so I'll get that information and I'll pass
122that along um >> to the board and to the public. >> Are there any questions from the board? Rita, that I saw >> you did. >> Yes. Um, you know, I think this is wonderful. There's a lot going on, but I keep wondering when we are going to address our elementary students and possibly some middle school students who may be having difficulties in reading and math. >> Yep. if I >> when you know just just the STEM camp is uh for a week the end of June and then again the at the beginning it just doesn't seem to be enough to me and I was really hoping that we would have a real tutoring session where kids could really that maybe you know want to move up to the next level or struggling a little
123bit could um have some help. We we we couldn't agree more and and we do have that it's not listed on that on that summer camp sheet but um we did meet with the math specialists in the literacy specialist just last week um and so we started setting the parameters and the positions have been posted for for summer tutoring so I am happy to report that and that'll be open to everyone although the the buildings themselves and the specialists will be identifying students um through their grades and through their ongoing assessments uh for students that they'll reach out specifically to certain families for students students that they think it'll be most beneficial for um and those sessions will be in their their home school because some of these you know for for students just to
124only get to Charles Barnum might be difficult. >> Yep. We we have arranged it so they can um do the tutoring at the at the home school um or the school closest to them and also online you know if that's if that's just like we did last year. So it's going to be between the teacher and the students that they're assigned. um they'll be able to see whatever works for both the uh tutor and for the student. So um so we're excited about that. Right now that like I said it's been posted and we're going to um wait to see what the numbers are in terms of staff that we have and then um we'll look at that. We'll look at the group of kids who have signed up or have been identified and split
125them up accordingly. So I'll continue to give you updates on that. We also provide transportation um to the camps from the homeschool um from neighborhood hubs for the middle school and high school kids. So we really know that access is important and all kids should have access so we make it happen. >> Thank you >> Bey. >> Thank you. How's you mentioning um tutoring online? How successful was that? >> The the feedback from both the students who did it last year and the faculty was that it was tremendously successful. Um the students were focused obviously they were used to the online um learning um from the time uh through the pandemic and it really made it convenient for a lot of parents and a lot of students to to be able to do it. Even
126you know some kids even did it while they were on vacation. Um and it it also made things easy if if things changed at the last minute to reschedule um the they use the online platform. So from both from both the students and the um and the tutors they found it very successful. >> Did um progress in the level like if they were at level three did they go level four I mean we judging success? Well, what in the conversation with the specialist, you know, we asked that about the jump and we didn't necessarily see a jump from level to level, but what it did help kids do is maintain where they were. Uh, students who might have struggled and might have fallen backwards were able to sort of keep their head above water. Um,
127and of course, that's a big step in itself. Um, we're going to do a better job this year in terms of tracking those kids who who received the tutoring as they move throughout the year. But but what this specialists were telling us was that they really saw the difference in terms of the kids' confidence moving into this year and they were able to sort of not necessarily jump a level because again I think the deficits created by COVID, you know, were great. Uh but they were able to help those kids um gain that confidence and stay at the level they were if not increase slightly. So instead of having a double whammy with a COVID slide and a summer slide, we were able to really get them back on track for this year. And we
128you will see in our FNPs and in our um Lexia rapid assessment some of the growth that we've seen over the year. So that data they're finishing up those assessments as we speak this month and probably even into June and that information will be coming to the board for you to take a look at that. >> Okay. Yeah. because I haven't seen any assessments yet and I think when I first got on the board I asked for some data, you know, and I never received any yet. So, I'll be looking forward to seeing that. But, uh, Phil Phil, that's a great way to measure success is, you know, they stay level, they gain confidence, even if they don't jump up a grade, if they stay where they are, you're maintaining them, that's great, too. So,
129thank Yeah, I thought those were great observations by our teachers. Yep. >> It keeps them reading books all summer and doing math, too. >> Are there any other uh questions for Mr. or Dr. Fatson? >> Well, then I think it's Ken Knight. >> Well, Ken Knight is taking a much needed vacation that graduated from college. >> Oh, I have his sheet. So, I have the um you know, starting with the object code for um FY21. Um actually, it should be 22. >> It is 22. >> Um I don't know why it said 21 on the sheet. So, um I think he had reported just um at the last CO that we were at about $141,262. So, as we're wrapping up the year and final um purchases are made being made, um he also has a
130game plan for how to spend any unused funds and that went through the CO as well. >> And will there be any further reporting on on that at the next? Well, I think we will keep we will keep you reporting on because things change kind of dynamically um from now till the end of June. So, we'll keep you a breast of where we are. Um and then of course the um when you look at the medical information, the health insurance report, you see that we are um a little more in the red of actual costs compared to budgeted costs in the month of March compared to in February we were um our actual costs were less than what was budgeted. I know Lori Leine is on the on the call if she wanted to add
131anything. And then she's going to help us get through our OPED report. >> Are we able to post that so that everybody can see it? Not not just the board because we have it public. >> Um I apologize. I do not have it. Um Lori, would you have that report? >> Hi, good evening. Unfortunately, I'm not at home, so I'm not in front of my computer at the moment, so I'm not able to share it. >> But, uh, can the public find this on the website? >> They need it. >> Um, what what's going to happen is it will go in with our minutes, so it'll all be included and it's already on the website with the agenda. So, any attachments that we have would be on the website with the agenda. >> Okay, great.
132>> Good question. And then Lori, did you want to speak to the OPED? >> Sure, I can I can speak. That was attachment number five, I believe. >> Yes. And this is the um annual actuarial report that we receive each year. What it does is it defines the town and the board's um actuarily determined pension contribution for the budget year. Um so that is a a the board is familiar with this report. They've seen it um previously in previous years connected to our budgeting process. So this is the report that came in to define our contribution. And so it splits it out between the total town, the total board of ed, and then the grand total. It looks like >> that's correct. and our um contribution is on the line that is labeled um I
133think it's is it a ADV abc thank you so that is um under the board's column that is our uh required contribution for the budget year and that's what Ken would have used in the budgeting process >> are there any questions I can't see Any hands? Okay. >> Anybody have any questions for Lori and I? >> I guess not. Okay. >> Thank you, Lori. You're very welcome. Have a good evening, everybody. >> Maybe maybe we could just say what that contribution is. >> We're still there. Yeah. Well, >> I'm here, but I don't have the document in front of me. Susan, do you have >> It looks like it's 1 million166,350. >> That's right. Thank you. When Ken comes back, can he go over this with us? >> He certainly could. >> Thank you. So
134we have the next one is the reports and information from the staff. So building Oh, it's buildings and grounds. >> Where's Sam? >> Sam should be on here. >> I am here. Good evening again. >> So uh a quick uh update on school facilities. uh regarding the uh Mystic and Things River Magnet schools. Uh we're working to wrap up the punch list for both of those schools. And uh I've had uh Kelly Nelly uh who is with Arcadus. She has forwarded those two punch lists on to uh Mr. Weightoff uh and the finance committee. So, we'll be looking at those at the next finance and facilities committee meeting and go over those and uh rest assured that we'll be uh pushing that forward to get those all taken care of and and cleaned up as
135quickly as possible. Uh, additionally uh at Mary Morrison School, uh we are uh awaiting comment from the uh fire marshall regarding moving into the building uh for robotics uh and treehouse. And there is a possibility we'll have another group in there uh possibly ECAP might be moving in there as well. So we'll be talking to Susan about that further and determining whether that those three groups will be going in there shortly. But we we we're just waiting for the fire marshall make a couple of comments on questions that we had. Um so once I have that I'll I'll let you know that we're ready to move forward with that getting robotics in there. uh at Fitch High School. Uh just last week, uh we had the crane there and we were able to install the
136uh new HVAC unit that we got through uh the uh SR funds um at the uh vintage section of the building, the 2800s or or what might be called the business wing. uh that was installed last week and uh the wiring was finished up and they are running that to make sure that everything is running uh smoothly. Now uh the second unit, what I call the main unit or or the big unit which uh does all of the office spaces and the new section of the building uh that one is uh still um in transit. It hasn't arrived yet. We're waiting for it to arrive and as soon as it does arrive, we will in install it. So, um that is uh still on its way. Uh regarding uh summer building usage, uh the next
137item, uh as Dr. Piaza noted, um there are lots of activities in all of our schools uh between camps, parks and wreck, summer school, etc. our both our custodial and maintenance staffs are gearing up uh for the challenge of keeping the buildings clean, getting our uh maintenance projects done uh while kids are using the buildings, students are using the buildings and uh prepping for the new school year at the same time. uh each each summer uh the entire the custodial staff goes through every classroom or every room in every building and do a toptobottom thorough cleaning of every room. So uh with the amount of uh usage that we're going to have this year, it will be a challenge, but uh Mr. Gaston uh who is our custodial uh supervisor assures me that uh we'll
138be able to get those done in a timely fashion. So that's it for my report. Thank you. Any questions? I'd be happy to answer. >> Are there any questions? I I just want to attest to what Sam said and um I know as through my experience as a as a principal how the custodial staff works in the summer and they are to be congratulated and and of course you Sam for for your leadership. Okay, I think we're done with that. And now on to committee reports. And I'll tell you from uh a conversation I had with Erica today, we're planning for our June meeting because we discovered that the committee uh the policy meeting was scheduled for the same night as the middle school promotion. So, we're not going to be able to do that.
139I'm waiting for responses from the committee themselves. we may be able to um to select another date that will accommodate us. So, I sent that email today. So, curriculum, sorry, I'm here. So, um we met on Monday, May 16th, just last week. And what we started was the beginning of our uh the review of the program of studies at the high school. And we there was a number of questions that we went through that we were able to answer and others that Dr. Piaza was given charge to go find the answers of to. Um so he has a list that he's going to have to work on. Uh we also um were not able to get through everything because the uh we went through the the program of studies quite um thoroughly. What we are
140anticipating to do um is to also make sure we do an audit at this time. So we're matching curriculum to uh the uh posted uh course descriptions within the program of studies. So, it's just something that uh we had planned to do earlier and so we're going to be continuing with that. Our future topics um include the review of graduation requirements, the review of the Grten Middle School program studies, and we're having u at our June 13th meeting, we're having a discussion with um about college prep versus basic classes. So, um, that's June that's that's on the docket. So, um, I also want to say that we're we are because of of recent occurrences, the the committee does not have a full staff. So, there's just the two of it's just myself and Dr. Acriman
141that are on this committee. So, um, we're hoping that once we get back to full strength, that would be wonderful. Um, but if anybody has any, you know, recommendations or would or interest, please don't hesitate to pop in. It's always good to see Matthew. He's there. So, I appreciate that. Um, future dates, we changed a couple of things just to let you know. Our next date is June 13th, and then we will be meeting in July as well as August. And I have a whole docket of of of um the new dates. So, I'll make sure that gets out to all of you because we were we really find that our work we we want to be a little bit um more focused because we did get a number of of our meetings were cancelled
142due to whatever circumstances there were like holidays or whatever. So, um Phil, did I miss anything? Andrew, did I miss anything? >> I don't think so. >> No, other than we we're going to be also reviewing a lot of the curriculum that's been written during the school year at the 13th meeting as well. Thank you. >> Updates and new classes. So, I I will get you that list and I'll get you the documents um ahead of time. >> Yes, there's um this one class I think was at the high school was the meteorology class. >> Yes. >> And so um but we're working like I said we're working with um pro to make sure the program of studies matches the um curricula. Beverly >> Liz, I would love to listen to your meeting or join
143in. Not join the committee, but you meet way too early for me because I work and I don't get off and work till almost six o'clock. So that's why I don't join in. >> Beverly, if you have any questions or anything or you want us to find something, don't hesitate to email me. Okay. >> Okay. >> Thanks. Dean D. >> Yes. Thanks. >> Let Am I unmuted? Okay, good. Cool. Let me know if this question is out of order and um I've missed a couple meetings here and there and uh if somebody could clarify for me uh when and how did we dispose of Latin and the curriculum? I Susan, why don't you address that because I don't think we have disposed of it. No, >> but it's not in the it's not in the
144in the program. So, when I say disposed, I'm not I'm not including the tail end, for example, my daughters in the program, the grandfathered uh uh program. I'm talking about Latin a new Latin from here on out. That had been a discussion. It questions have been raised before. I don't see it in the program. I'm not going to say that I was surprised. But when and how did was the decision made to scotch Latin alto together? >> My suggestion is you put that as an agenda topic to be discussed. >> Very well. >> We will Dean. Thank you very much. We'll add that to our next to June 13th. Hopefully it doesn't get too long. Thanks Dean. >> I can't see any other hands. So, are there any other questions or comments? Okay, then we'll
145move on to finance and facilities. >> Yes, good evening. So, we uh met on May 3rd. Uh we discussed the uh outofd district student tuition rates. We reviewed the end of year unexpended funds that we just that Susan just summarized. We uh uh delved into the health insurance reserve update. Um we discussed field use and overusage uh status of any outstanding items at Mystic River and Themes River Magnet Schools. Uh we received an update on the solar panel purchase agreement. Uh we discussed the timeline for the bus contract negotiations and we discussed the combined GMS and FHS uh buses. All of those minutes are available on the Graten Public Schools website. >> Any questions or comments? >> A comment. >> Go ahead, Matthew. Uh Jay, I listened to a uh public radio program on the
146future of electric vehicles in school buses. Is that anything that uh could be brought up as even to explore the possibility uh given that we pay for the fuel as well as for the service? >> I'm told that given that our buses are on duty for 12 hours a day, I spoke to someone who works in the industry. They said it's not feasible. Uh you have to also include that even though the buses are on duty 12 hours a day, some go even later than that. >> So um you know obviously we can we can ask STA for some new technology and how much that'll cost uh you know uh to make them all new bus. contract is up. Obviously, we'll incur a considerable additional uh fee, but we certainly can add it as a
147future agenda item since it's not on our agenda to discuss tonight. >> I understand. >> Yes. Um >> um yes, I um Jay, there I was going to mention that the state now has uh funding for the schools to electrify their buses and towns can apply for the funding. Um I think it's actually by 2035 that all buses have to be not not to use the diesel or gas or whatever they use. So um I think it's something we really have to discuss. And in between um bus runs the buses could be charged. They're not, you know, moving constantly. Like after one run they could charge and then again another time. But I think by 2035 all buses have to um be powered by electricity. >> Okay. We can certainly add that as a future
148agenda item. As I said, my personal discussions are that the technology isn't there yet. >> Yeah. Well, hopefully it'll come. >> Could Could I uh add a comment, please? I I don't know how to raise my hand other than I don't see it on my screen. So, um, I did receive information from the state of Connecticut, uh, regarding, uh, electrifying school buses, and I did forward that on to STA, and they were going to attend some of those, uh, uh, uh, seminars regarding, uh, electrifying school buses. So, their their uh, management uh, team will be looking into that. >> Thank you, Sam. But but I think the grants um for for our state the districts could apply and it they're competitive and so I think as soon as you can get in um you know
149ask and asking for the funding would probably be great. >> Anybody else any other questions or comments? Then we'll move on. Negotiations. >> Hey communications. Oh, pardon me. Who's running this meeting anyway? Me and you. >> You want to go to negotiations? Fine. >> Go ahead. >> I just um we had uh and Matthew and I had a meeting today uh last month. I was not in attendance. So, and Matthew is the is the constant. Thank God. Um but just want to give you a quick update. Um there is going to be a communication survey sent out to all of our parents within the next week. Um Rebecca Bees had on with us today and we kind of tweaked it. We asked her to be able to identify more specifically about trends, you know, like
150what's your greatest, you know, to be able to rank different things. And it's for not only for um their school, but also for the district. And parents will only have to fill out one survey. I don't care if you have 15 kids in the in the school system, you only have to do it once. So, that's going to be very helpful for us to get that information and to see what how our parents are getting the information. One of the things that we're looking at is to have a an app that will connect all the pieces so they don't have to go through and do all these different things. So, I want to just say I think that's really exciting. I want to, you know, commend, you know, Rebecca and Dr. Piaza because they're really
151leading this charge. Um the other thing is is Clint Kennedy came on and he's telling us that by the end of the school year we they have gotten the new laptops for all the teachers and so by the end of the year all teachers will able to take home a brand new laptop and to be able to learn that they're doing um he's actually got uh one- on-one coaching so that people can learn how to do you know take and figure out this new technology or new new piece and there's PD that's going to be available to all of our teachers. Um, that's just a an overview of a couple of things that are going on, but there's uh one of his main goal is to make sure that we are um that all of
152these changes and things that are going on are sustainable. Even as ESSER funds are going to be going away in a few years, his primary goal is to make sure that our technology piece is sustainable. So >> can I just add one little adlib about teacher laptops? When Mike and I came in, that was the one of the first things we needed to do. So that the first roll out and this is the second roll out in my tenure. The first roll out was something like 20145. So those computers lasted a pretty good while. >> Yes. But what's really really good coming from a teacher point of view is and I know there's some teachers on is that every teacher will have the same technology and that is so essential that we every there's there
153isn't this oh well I've got something old and I've got something new or it it is across the boards equal and that makes me the you know the retired teacher here um very very happy and I saw Corey Mott put his his thumb up too and I can understand. So, you know, kudos to them, but also kudos to making sure that we are sustainable. >> Yes, I get the verbal. So, >> and I think Clint made two other comments that I think were just wonderful to hear. Uh, the old laptops the teachers are going to be turning in are all going to be refurbished and made available to our students. >> Yeah. >> And the hope is to have a Prometheium uh board in every room. It is a new and improved technology which will
154make learning a lot more accessible to our kids. >> Thank you, Matthew. I had it on my list. I didn't say it. >> Rita, I saw your hand up. You have a >> um No, Matt Matthew answered my question. >> Okay, good. Good. Okay. Negotiations. >> That would be Susan, I think, right? >> No, it's us. We're Yeah. No. Um we we we've been meeting with the with the teachers and we have another meeting about um schedule C I believe Thursday evening. That's right. >> Thank you. >> The uh the the teacher and uh GA liaison with the board of ed. >> Well, there's one before that Andrea learn. >> Oh, how could I forget that? >> Sorry. Yeah, learn. We had a a a wonderful meeting last week. Um let's see there. Unfortunately, the
155state did not increase any magnet school funding, but they did give all the rest in Connecticut $1.2 million to share to help support mental health and also they increase funding for bilingual state um education. Um there was also another bill that um was passed by the legislature that certain towns in the state of Connecticut is going to receive um their magnet school tuitions will be paid for by the state. New London benefits from this um grant but um and there were just probably Harford, New Haven, Bridgeport, but not Graten unfortunately. So, we will be paying our own magnet school tuitions. Learn um is still we are they're adding on to the Ocean Avenue Learning Center in the hopes of um you know having more classrooms so they can um we have a long waiting list
156of students that um would like to go to the Ocean Avenue Learning Center. and we had a preliminary discussion of the evaluation of the executive director and also a discussion about all the different summer school programs that are going on throughout the learn region. Um most of them were focusing on closing the learning gap from um and also because of the isolation created by co. >> Thank you. Then we have the um town council RTM and board of ed. Susan, would you speak to that? Because I wasn't able to do that. >> I don't know that um we've had that liaison group. That's the town and the city council, >> right? >> RTM and board of ed. And I don't know that they've selected a date yet, a day time yet. So I don't I
157put a question mark because I have not seen it on the calendar. seems to be cancelled. >> That would be why I wasn't there. >> That's why you weren't there. >> So, Susan, what about um the AGSA? >> That's us, Andrea. >> No, I know that, but I don't know. >> Yeah, we have a meeting on uh Wednesday at 4 o'clock. >> Oh, we do? And I'm not able to meet to meet with you because I have a Martin Luther King, >> right? >> Okay. So, that's our next meeting is Wednesday at four o'clock. Right. Okay. Now, Graten Scholarship, that's Liz. >> Yep. Just to let you know, um Graten Scholarship gave out $43,000 worth of scholarships this year. Um which you will hear the highest u amount we given out was I think $4,000.
158So, it was really quite uh quite a number of students. I I'm sorry. I don't have the number. I think there were 42 students that received everybody who applied received some form of a scholarship between $500 up to $4,000. And those people will be announced at the awards assembly. >> Very nice. Thank you, Liz. >> And the awards for the high school is May 31st at Fitch High School. But I'll make sure we add those dates to the the running record and and send that out. >> Good. Thank you. >> Thank you. Any questions? I can't see anybody's hands. Okay. Athletic Fields, is that Jay? >> Yes. Um, Athletic Fields hasn't met for many months as the town council decides what they're going to do with the U former Claude Chester property. >> Okay. And
159the state council on educational opportunities for military uh children has we've had our two meetings for the year. So now, Rita, walk me through this through the action items. So So we we get a a motion for the consent. Um, >> excuse me, Andrea. >> Yes, >> I have a I have another report. >> I have a report that's that's been left off the list. >> The uh library had three items on their on their main meeting agenda that intersect with our school district. The first is they're prepared for the summer reading program. They pulled together the lists with our faculty. >> Um, Matt, could you stop for a moment? Is that a committee? >> Oh, >> I don't think so. >> I don't see it on the agenda. We have to go by the
160agenda. >> Can I ask that the library be placed on the agenda for for me for school business? >> You you could suggest it at the end of the meeting as a future agenda topic. >> That's fine. >> Right. That's when that goes at the end of the meeting. >> Hey, you just need a vote to um ask for a vote for the consent agenda. >> So, >> and then that covers >> that covers all of the things that are listed under there. Correct. >> I'm sorry. I did not catch who second that. >> Dean Jay White. >> Oh, I thought Dean. >> Thank you. Okay, >> you might want to thank Mr. Goyle. >> Oh, oh, oh, thank you. I haven't done this in so long and I didn't expect to do it tonight,
161so I didn't have a lot of time to rehearse. Um, so we we the board thanks Mystic Oil Company through the who through the Exxon Mobile Educational Alliance grant has donated $500 to the Rotten Middle School to be used toward any purchases made for maintenance and support mental health science education. And Rita, would you like to go on from there? >> I'd love to. And we also and we'd also like to um thank the Strategic Deterrent Coalition who donated $2,000 to be used by the Fitch Falcons robotics team. That's wonderful. And also the the Strategic Deterrent Coalition has donated $2,000 to to be used by the Fitch Falcons music program. Well, thank thank you very much. >> I agree with that. And I I hope anybody who has trouble reading out loud uses me as
162a model because you know with all the education courses I've taken and the degrees I've I've achieved, I still can't read out loud. So um you know just I'm hoping that this is an inspiration for somebody else. So um old business um and and is there any old business? I don't see excent agenda. >> Okay. Motion for the consent consent agenda. >> Just say how many are in favor? >> All those in favor? I >> I >> Okay. Post. >> No. stained. >> Motion passes. Okay. >> Great. >> Now on to old business. >> None. >> That was easy. New business. >> Okay. So there's discussion >> and possible action regarding >> No, somebody has to read the motion first. >> Oh, >> I'll read I'll read the motion. >> Okay. >> Um the motion
163is to approve the field trip request to Montreal and Quebec City scheduled for May 26, 2023 through May 30th, 2023. >> And there's an attachment attach attached. Well, we've already seen all of this. I think we need a second. >> I second the motion. >> Yeah. >> Discussion. >> Okay. Discussion. Rita. >> Yes. Um I'd like to hear from someone to tell us why the rules for our policy was were not followed and why this was submitted so late. Um it's it's my feeling >> for next year. >> It's for next year. So we um we need to approve this. This is going to be a whole year from now for 20 to 25 students. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> And are they going to be doing fundraising for the cost of this? It would just
164one of the teachers comes on and explains it. >> She should be here. >> Hi. Hi everyone. >> Thank you. >> So I am Hi, I am Erin Montgomery and I am a French teacher at the high school and I am back again. Um last year I was back at this time um to have the trip approved and um it was approved to come back and then when we came back to school this year we came back with masks. So I thought you know we best postpone until next year same time. So that's what I'm doing now. We waited through the year. Um, I decided to add in um, Montreal because that's a big university town and I think there's some history. There's a science center there. So, I I was trying to incorporate the
165the steam thing, give something for everybody and students will miss two days of school. However, it falls over the Memorial Day weekend. So, I think it's a great time at that point. AP testing, IB testing has passed. Um, so if students want to study for their final exams on the bus, that is an option for them. Um, but I I was thinking that um I'm not sure that they're going to want to do that. Um, however, I just think it's a great time of the year. It's a great time weatherwise. Um, there are some other trips going on um in the summer, but they're a lot more expensive. Um, as far as fundraising, I would definitely like to do some fundraising and a movie night. Um, but we have to be careful with the fundraising
166for like equity issues. Like you have to kind of spread it to all students. Um, and that's kind of hard because we know that there's, you know, a difference in our need with our population, our demographic that we serve. But I I really don't know how you can't spread the funds across everyone who wants to go. Um I've never really grappled with that. When I've traveled with students before kind of any money that I have raised, and this was in one of my former districts, all students had access to that money. So it wasn't sort of like this particular student got money and this student did not. Um, so if you have any suggestions on how to sort of spread the wealth, if you will, um, from the fundraising across um, the demographic of the
167students who would like to travel, I am so open to that um, because I want to make sure this is an equitable situation. Um, Montreal and Quebec are much more coste effective than going to France. Um it's just it's really hard for families to you know swing um that kind of expense and you know I understand. So um what are your thoughts? >> Well you've done this trip before right Aaron? You've taken kids on this trip and I think it was a very valuable trip. >> Yes. I've done this trip not in Brten but in a former district. Um, and when I did uh fundraising in that district, we spread the money that we raised. We did some yard sales where we had, you know, kids that were interested in going on the trip. They
168brought in stuff from home. We did some, like I said, yard sales. We spread that money kind of across the entire group. Um and then when I traveled with Grten um the fundraiser once again um when I traveled with the middle school went across the entire group as well. So I think we talked to administration and also colleagues who are also doing this to see what's the best way so that all kids have equal ac access >> right and I think the you know 11 $1200 cost is reasonable for everything that the students get. Um, you know, I I wish that all students could afford it, you know, um, but we know that quite often, you know, that's it's just not financially feasible for every single family. And I wish >> I think that's something
169we need to discuss with the administrators to to figure out how if a child wants to go on this trip, we can make sure that happens. >> Yeah. Right. >> That would be wonderful. that the the principal has a fund that that >> would would take care of that. >> And this sounds like a wonderful trip. Sounds great. >> I see Bev Washington has her hand up. >> Yep. >> Thank you, Susan. Uh it would not only be for this trip though, Susan, it would be for the all those other trips that are going on. Hawaii and where else are they going? Portugal, I forget. But um to make sure students can go on all those trips because those trips cost more money. And I am in favor of um the fundraiser the money raised
170from fundraising is distributed equally across the board. So it just reduces everybody's cost. >> My question is right now I I'm I'm not absolutely sure but I'm pretty sure that you cannot go into Canada anyway. So my question would be, do the kids have insurance? If if the trip next year is canled because we cannot go into Canada, do they get their money back? And is that going to be a big problem getting their money back? >> So that's actually that's a wonderful question and that actually um that same question has come up with um prior trips and um that's something that I would have to work out with Explorica. But if students cannot go into Canada for whatever reason, I mean, if they can go in and they they're immunized, then that's one thing.
171But if um the country says, "Look, you're not coming in without, you know, a COVID test or being immunized, then we'll have to sort of, I hate to say, broach that when it happens." Um, but all trips are sort of kind of in this fence situation. um with um the COVID restrictions if that I don't know if that's making any sense, but it would be hard for me to say that right now. Um any travel company is always going to recommend that you get travel insurance, you know, in um in case you should fall ill, you know. um travel insurance. >> Are they getting are our students getting travel insurance? So, when I reach out to parents and families about the trip once it's approved, and I would think that um you know, I can't
172speak for other um folks that are traveling, but we I would recommend highly that families get travel insurance. Something comes up, you know, their their child is ill, they can't travel, then they get their money back. Um, so >> I know in the past there was a trip that was going to go prior to COVID and I know that Dr. Gineer um had worked with the travel company to make sure that students were able to get their money back because it was right before COVID hit, the trip was planned and so forth. So I would only imagine that if we can't enter into Canada that the travel company would say, you know, you can't do it. we're going to refund your money. So, that is something I'm going to have to um kind of tackle
173with them as we go through this procedure. Um but that is not going to you're not going to know that at the last minute. You're going to have plenty of notice for that. The other >> you might even be able to reach out to them now, Erin, and just, you know, note these questions and ask them for that clarification on that. things have changed over each year that we've had co and restrictions have gotten tighter and then looser. So I understand that it's >> but that's an that's an excellent question and um you know it's one that I know we ran into that in the past. Um so maybe um do you recall Susan when Dr. Ganer had that issue? It was with the Cutler middle school trip and COVID had hit and I know
174he worked really hard with the the company to get the money back. I heard >> I just don't want to put us in that situation again. So I think if we can ask questions ahead of time, >> right? Right. >> What are what are you know what will the company do for us? >> Right. Right. I completely understand that's not a situation anybody wants to be in. Um, and we certainly don't want to lose money, um, or have any students, you know, families lose money. Um, so I will ask that question. Um, I have a feeling it's going to be sort of open-ended. Um, because I think I feel like everybody is sort of experiencing this right now, but I can ask that and then get back to you. Um and then if you want
175to make a decision on this, you know, pending that answer or however you want to um move forward, you know, with >> just like to say real quick, Erin, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but um >> generally the um just as as the board is looking at this particular trip and has looked at the other trips, u generally what we've seen is that the uh travel insurance will cover students for individual issues that will arise uh per student that uh they cannot make the trip. But I do want to say that these educational trip companies have been very good if there is a restriction on travel or the trip cannot go. Um they've they've done a nice job in terms of offering refunds. Um oftentimes there is a small deposit that goes that the students
176will lose off lose out on but they will get the majority of their money back. Um so that's that's generally been the policy. we will follow up to make sure we understand exactly and and make sure the the parents understand exactly what they're paying for and how that will work. But uh but these uh you know often times the travel insurance is for the individuals um got sick right before the trip have the travel insurance that covers them as opposed to the entire group can't go because they're closing the border. Um that's a whole separate thing. So, I think that uh uh but we'll certainly make sure that the parents understand um and that we know the company's policy in regard to that. >> Magguire, can you get back to us on please? >> Bey
177would you say that again? >> I asked Missia, right? >> Montgomery Montgomery. >> Montgomery, I'm sorry. Um, >> sure. I can definitely I can definitely get back to you with an emailed answer or I can um, you know, I'm not sure if there's a decision now or you want to make a decision once I get back to you or how you want. >> I'm good. I'm with that. No, just give to me with u what the tour company says. I can make a decision now. I don't that's not going to affect my decision. >> That's yours. just want the parents to know, you know, everything up front, >> right? And I'm I'm kind of anticipating that as a question be just because of the times that we're living in um with, you know, COVID. I
178I definitely um anticipating that that will come up um when I meet with parents. So, um I definitely want to have um some more concrete answers to give them. But in terms of the travel insurance, I always like Mr. Kellaher said it's always a good idea to have that in case something else should should arise. >> And Erin, you can't >> Thank you. >> I'm I'm unfamiliar with travel insurance and that sort of thing. And there's no such thing as like a group travel. It has to be individual. So what happens is when you sign up through Explorica or whatever travel agent travel group you're going to use um there is a separate travel insurance that you can get and then you know if something is to happen you know your child is sick and
179can't make the trip then you're able to get back the money >> just like any other >> Yeah and it's a always a good idea to have that. >> Okay thank you Matthew I saw your hand up before. Do you still have a question? >> Uh, no. I sent a note to Mr. Keller with some information. >> Are there any other questions? >> Okay. So, I'm assuming now we're ready to to uh to take a vote on this. Is that correct? >> Yes. >> So, and Liz, you read it, right? Is that correct? >> Yep, I did. Do you want me to read it again? >> No. >> I think we can move on. Okay. >> Okay. So, all in favor? >> I How many is that? I don't know. I can't see. >> I
180think it's a minute. We are. >> Sorry. >> Okay. Opposed. Um abstained. I do believe that passes. >> Yay. All right. >> Have fun. >> Thank you very much. Okay. So now um the second one who who would be willing to to read the second one? Rita, how about you? >> Oh, okay. I was going to ask to have this tabled, but anyway, I'll read it. To approve policy P6172.1 gifted andor talented students program as a first reading. So, it's a first reading, so I can ask my questions after. >> Second. >> Okay. I think that was Elizabeth. Are you Are you >> I'm seconding it. >> Yeah. >> Okay. All right. So, discussion comes now. Right. >> Right. >> So, Rita. >> Um, yeah. I don't under quite understand a lot of it this
181policy. I can't I don't I don't understand like on the the second page C new transfers to Graten who have formally been identified should be considered as gifted in Graten. I I think they should be considered after the PPT like everyone else in Grten. Um you know depending on what district they came from. There's just a lot of things I don't understand about the math scale scores and the ELA scaled scores. what all this means. It's >> So, can I >> would like to hear from somebody to explain it to me? >> Is is Denise here? >> Denise is here. >> And by law, we need to identify our students as gifted and or talented. It's a law. >> Um and there are procedures that we can put into place. So, what you received in
182your handout um along with our agenda was a policy written um that you know Denise and the team took a a great deal of time looking at and um and also regulations we've had in place. We have been identifying gifted students. Um we haven't done probably as good a job on the talented part. So, um we've really looked to um Dr. Dr. Joe Renulli and um Dr. Reese up at Yukon um for their you know they really want run the national center of gifted and talented at Yukon. So um I'm going to ask Denise if she can um speak to the policy and the regulations and what we do for our kids in Graten. >> Thank you Susan. Um good evening everyone. Uh what we have done with the policy and the attached regulations is
183try as closely as we can to follow the um the guidelines that the state department of education have put out um in March of 2019. Um they're guidelines for districts to follow for the identification and um planning of services for students who are gifted and talented. And we tried to follow the six gifted education uh programming standards that are recommended um by the um National Association for Gifted Children and those are learning and development assessment, curriculum and instruction, learning environments, programming and professional development. So the policy does um identify children in grades four and six. However, due to the um the COVID pandemic and the um fact that we've had a hybrid schedule the past couple years, uh we are also identifying students in grades three and five. Um that's number one. Uh number two,
184we are using the ESBACK scores. Um but the the main point I want to make is that we are using multiple measures. uh because the one of the most important factors in identifying children who are gifted and talented is using multiple measures of um of assessment. So we're looking at not only and this is really just for the gifted um component children who have high intellectual capability. We're not only looking at um at ESPback scores and at the students scoring in that high band uh but we're also looking at um a teacher checklist that's developed by Joseph Renulli um that has characteristics that are commonly um exhibited by children who are gifted and talented that provides input from the teaching team. Uh there's other criteria that we have not included in the exact policy and
185regulations. It's in a packet that we give to the teachers. Um there's worksheets for them to look at curriculum based assessments uh for them to look at um interim alternative assessments and some of the assessments that we use um in uh higher level math classes. So there's a variety of assessments that are used for gifted in terms of talented. This is where some of our PD comes in. We have teachers developing rubrics to use in the identification of children who are gifted in the creative arts. Uh we also have children identified as talented I'm sorry in uh musical and drama and this is really supported through our magnet theme. Um and this work is ongoing during TLI days and during department meeting days. Um the policy does go on and um give teachers guidance in
186terms of that identification process um because the identification process does need to be done through a PPT meeting. Um and then I I wanted to respond to what Mr. Whitney had asked in terms of um some um information about the opportunities that our children have once they're identified as gifted andor talented in the curric. Um and I would uh re I will reference again the state guidelines for gifted education and talented education. Um we we strive to incorporate many of their recommendations which is number one differentiation and it would be differentiation in depth and complexity of the curriculum and that would be in the classroom for high intellectual um ability children uh or creative students. Um, sometimes this looks like curriculum compacting or personalized learning, but it does include acceleration into more advanced classes for
187particular subjects. We are fortunate that we're able to provide that for several a small group of students at Grten Middle School with the middle school high school being on the same campus and having a similar schedule. That's something we hope to expand in the future. Um, we also work with teachers around grouping students and providing advanced level readings and problems for problem solving. Um, and then lastly, uh, we're working with teachers in terms of professional development to continue to develop rubrics for the identification of students in the dramatic, musical, and visual arts. So, I hope that answered some of the questions, but I'm certainly um happy to answer more. Did you mention um the use of Otis Lenin our piloting the Otis Lenin assessment which is really yeah more of a >> a spatial reasoning
188>> another measure that we're looking into we have a committee right now working um with Pearson Education to look at the use of um a a a standardized uh group uh ability test um specifically the Otis Lenin version 8. So that's something that um we're gathering input from um our administrative group and our teacher specifically our school psychologists and school counselors who attend most of these gifted and talented PPTs that would provide us with another measure. >> I'm going to let uh Rita follow up. >> I think Beverly was first. >> I thought you had your hand up before though. No >> okay Beverly. >> Beverly. Thank you, Vita. Um, Denise, thank you for your hard work on this policy. My only question is as I read through it and as Vita stated, if I'm
189a ordinary person would not be able to understand this policy, >> right? >> I mean, even when I'm reading it, I'm like, what does all this mean? Is there a way to I mean, when you write policy, are you writing it for the community? Are we writing it for the school district? And my other question is, is there a way to write this policy so a parent can understand what the policy is? Because I don't I would understand all this stuff. Yeah. The the reg Thank you, Beverly. the the regulations really are for the school leaders to follow because there is a process that we're required to go through that is a bit prescriptive in terms of identification. Um, in terms of uh making some changes so that maybe it's it's a little bit easier
190for parents to read, we can certainly do that. I just wanted to note that this is a new requirement for all boards of education as of July 1. Um, so we didn't have a lot of policies from our neighboring districts to follow because a lot of districts are in the same position as we are in terms of uh creating something from scratch for July 1. But we can certainly go back and make it a little bit more um a little clearer for parents and add some of the components in terms of programming. I would actually say, Denise, we have purchased through Connecticut Association of the Gifted um parent manuals and teacher manuals that are given out of the PPT. We've actually done some professional learning for our teachers to understand how to really meet the
191needs of gifted kids in the classroom. Um, and we think that's very important. I think the way our curriculum is written and the way we do teach reading and writing and math and science that it really allows for that personalization. They're reading at their level, they're writing, they're getting instruction where they are, not just what everybody gets. So, it's really important for all the needs of all the kids in classroom. Um, and then we have these intradist magnets and esteem my magnet middle school and that is all very conducive. My middle masters was in gifted and talented and I ran a program in New Kanan for many years and the work that I've seen over the years since 199 something um has really showcased that instead of having pull out programs what we need to
192do is more schoolwide enrichment and really breaking it out with the core and in small groups you know situating small groups in different ways within the classroom. So, um, the old models are not, you don't see them any longer. Um, but I think the way that we're approaching it through our enrichment, even in the summertime, you know, I created a summer stars camp that was really based on gardener's theory of multiple intelligence, and the ones we're running are very similar, and they do engage kids, all kids, but I think those are, you know, within the classroom, within the day. And then of course what the board has done in giving generous funds for afterchool enrichment and we've always focused on STEM and fitness and the arts as kind of our three go-tos. So I'll want
193to see that really rejuvenated as you know we get further and further and see co hopefully in that rearview mirror. But I think the things that we are doing for kids are probably the best practice you can do in a district. Susan, are we still doing differentiated teaching? >> Absolutely. Probably more so than ever before. I call it personalized teaching. >> I'm not sure that that uh all all of that was wonderful information, but I'm not sure that it answered Beverly's question, which is I can't I can't understand this. I would um you know >> so I said the materials we give the parents are written for parents and they're really we can actually get a copy for the board members to see but we have one for teachers and we have one on how
194to address the needs of the gifted child and how they do get identified um with these multi multi-measurements where persons >> where I was going where I was going with that was to uh in essence to refer to something that Rita asked about um the PPT and I'm thinking that at at the PPT level that's where the principal and the um the gifted and talented teachers can really get across to the parents what what this means and if we're having a gifted or um a PVT for someone with an existing uh um give me the word uh Denise for the name >> disability. Yes. No, the the paperwork itself, it's just a confir >> an IEP. Yeah. With an existing IEP, the parent will be familiar with that to begin with. And then we can
195explain to them how we're going to implement it and what changes may have to be made given our the the resources in our >> That does take place though, Denise, right, for everything. Oh, >> absolutely. Sure, it does. >> Yeah. and and the discussions are very um individualized in terms of you know what area the child is excelling in and how the teacher um is going to best meet their needs either in the classroom or in the creative arts. Um so so those conversations definitely happen at the PPT. Um this is the time of the year where we are um holding those meetings. I have had parents call me uh with questions uh because this is the first year that we've really focused on the talented component of gifted and talented because as Susan has
196said, we're very well poised with our magnet themes in all of our schools um to to start looking at children who excel um in musical arts, in drama, uh in creative arts, in visual arts. And teachers are embracing this Thank you, Rita. >> Would the um students let's say who is excelling in the visual arts or um music, would they be able then to be like put ahead in the lottery to go to one of our magnet schools that you know focuses on those talents. >> They're they're primarily students who are excelling in their current magnet program. Um we have students being identified as talented in uh specific instruments like the violin. Um there are some schools that are sending students uh to state competitions uh and to state uh performances because they excel in
197specific um w with specific musical instruments. And now we have >> we have two schools. We have Katherine Konowski which is you know arts in the middle of the steam and northeast >> and then northeast which is music and >> um >> and then we have at grten middle we have our blackbox theater >> and we have students working in that that arena and um >> well but but my other question is this policy I believe cave probably has come up with something that's a little more easier to understand and if you could reach out to them and maybe you know because even when you look at this wording under number five you know the district shall utilize guidelines developed and prompated by the state department of education for provide I mean just the whole
198thing just sounds very artificial and it doesn't sound like anything any of our other policies >> didn't didn't this uh language come from CABE >> yes we did use the CA model policy it was very very brief and we didn't really feel it gave enough information for people to have a good understanding of this process. So, we did use the um the admin the regulations to really describe our process in our district um and how it's based on the Connecticut guidelines. But I do think I do think there are some components to the regulations that are a little prescriptive in terms of the PPT process that we could potentially um eliminate uh but still send that out to the principal so that they had that guidance. It probably doesn't need to be in the um
199directly in the regulations. And just a reminder, the board sets policy and regulations are really designed to do our to take our processes that are in place. But if if it's a little confusing, we can certainly tighten that up and work with our principles >> to make sense of that because they need to understand it. >> Yeah, I would appreciate that, Susan. >> Absolutely. Yeah, we can certainly do that. >> Thank you, >> Jean. >> Thank you. Um, I'm going to relate for a moment my experience. I have three kids. My middle child was in elementary school identified as gifted. We got the call. I came in. Um, your child is gifted. Something we already knew. We didn't have to use any legal standards. He was definitely different. He remains different. It's about a 10
20012 years ago at this point. Uh, but it was emphasized that just because he was identified as gifted didn't mean that the district had any obligation to provide any resources for that. They simply were obligated to identify him. And I read this policy. They realize that it tracks state law. The policy is very long uh very long on identifying and how we identify. What really matters is and for us for our family we frankly to be honest didn't expect the district to shower us with any sort of you know we knew what he was. knew what he was into and we felt that we could probably supplement I think as all parents should try to do supplement what the kids uh do in school. Um you never want to park your kid in school and
201just leave them there. U that's that's not all their education. So you know we took that one in stride but I am concerned about the provision even though it's not it says right here you know not obligated but on the other hand you know there may be some want to make sure that we're actually going to be doing something there is a bit of a skittishness given typical American culture to level uh we like our heroes but then we really don't uh when I was in school I think we can all attest to this um you know the kids that were the nerds right? Social life zero. They had to make movies out of it. It's really only in the last couple of decades that we've come to appreciate the people who were, you know,
202carrying around the calculator and the pens in the pocket and the slide rule and the tape on the glasses and the stereotypical nerd kind of a thing. I'm not saying that's all what all the gifted kids are, >> but uh those kids had those kids had a tough life. uh you you you sort of wanted to tamp down your own intellectual abilities if you had any uh because you didn't want to be a social outcast of any sort. Some kids frankly couldn't help it or didn't care. Uh I I'd like to uh see that we do promote people if they have talent, if they are gifted to promote that because some families have the ability to supplement and other families do not. Um you know, so >> I'm saying we do a lot for kids.
203we un and we understand better about gifted. We've done a lot um of you of professional learning for our teachers and we'll continue to do that and I think it's building relationships in that classroom and teachers really getting the kid too and what they're interested in. kids have much more choice in the projects and we'll have um you know you've seen in fifth grade at Northeast and all the schools they're looking at expositions for fifth grade expositions in 8th grade these projects in um 10th grade so kids really can tackle a problem and you know it can be a personal project it can be a community project and they can really you know take their research skills and have some choice so we're doing so some things so much better Dean and I would hope
204that we continue to improve what we do for kids so that nobody feels like an outcast for their talent. They need to you know we need to appreciate that you know um >> yeah for us it was very instructor dependent. Some some instructors saw it and worked other instructors saw it and it was beyond their their ability and you know which is fine you know their instructors come in all shapes and sizes. So it was we it was very instructor dependent what was done with him. Um and ultimately it was you know kind of up to us to to supplement which is again we didn't expect the school system to shower us with with resources. But I do remember being told point blank we are obligated to identify but we're not obligated to do anything
205about it. >> I've heard that language too but I think we're moving forward with this. What do we do for our kids? >> Yeah. Indeed. >> Well, if you really if you really look at what we have done, we have magnet schools throughout the district. We have an international balaria program which which is designed to to uh instruct in this manner. But it gives students power. It gives them authority. And I think that um as you said Dean, in the past decade or so, all of these things have come to the four and Graten has has moved forward to to meet them. So, I'm I'm thinking that this since this policy has to go in on by July, I'm thinking that uh if we need to move on it tonight, that's my own personal opinion
206and because and we've had rich discussion over it tonight and we know that um Susan is going to get the admin administrators together with Denise and if and go over it and make sure that it it's going to be carried out. I have every conf confidence in in that >> and I'd really like to be able to share those tag documents with you too because I think you'll see that the wording is much clearer about what can be done for kids and you know I want to make Go ahead Denise. >> Oh Dean I just want to say one more thing to address your question about your experience. Um it does state in the policy and I just want to bring to your attention that in the common Connecticut's common core of teaching. It does
207address uh a teacher's you know role is to differentiate instruction. That is something that administrators look for when we go into classrooms to do observations and when we conference with teachers. So that is something that is the role of the teacher and it is a very important part of our uh work with teachers. So then it would be part of the evaluation process. >> Yes. >> If if Yeah. If I could make two more points. One is my kid was good. Even though he had specific interests, he was good at pretty much everything he touched. He could uh you know, he was musical, he's body movement, calculus, you name it. So I bet you a lot of these kids come with more than just one >> Oh, yeah. >> one gift or one talent. It
208could be mathematical and musical. >> Um the other point uh the other thing I want to ask is >> have we do we have any feedback from parents of gifted and talented students? How satisfied are they? Are they um you know what what would they be looking for from the school district? Not saying we can or willing to provide it, but do we have any feedback or are we kind of working in a vacuum so to speak? We we know what the law is. We're going to do the following. But what about the families? What are they saying? >> I think the the families who have students at Graten Middle School that are able to take higher level math and science courses at the high school are very very pleased. Um and I think that
209um that parents really at the lower grades work more closely with the classroom teacher. uh because that's where they can have those rich conversations about um higher level text, units of study that are more personalized, um accelerated readings. Um that that's really happening more one-on-one with a parent uh and a teacher at the elementary level because then of course, as we said earlier, we have the um the IB and the honors programs at the high school, >> NAP too. NAP >> Beverly Beverly Beverly, your hands up, but you're muted. Beverly, do you have a question? >> Yeah, I know. Me, too. >> I'm sorry, my phone was ringing and uh I'm sorry about that. Um Denise or Susan probably in the high school we have all different level classes. We have honors co well I
210don't know about honors college AP. In the middle school we tend to only have different level classes in math. Is it possible in the middle school to have uh different level classes like in English and social studies and science? It's really not necessary because we really do differentiate and give kids the right books at their right level and the writing process is also personalized. So, we're very specific. The only time we really um give an additional um a different kind of curriculum is in um math 7 which is advanced but it's really the same core curriculum that all seven is doing but they have um a swifter pacing guide. they have additional projects that they do. Um, you know, >> could also be in the world language, right, Susan? For students who are in a
211um, you know, who have taken world language for several years and are in a in a more advanced world language course, >> right? Well, the ones who've definitely gone to the high school from middle school have been science, math, and world language. I believe >> you're saying we don't need to do it so much. >> No, no. I mean, I I really feel like we're meeting their needs. And, you know, when you start to differentiate like that where you actually put them in different classes, what will what happened to us at Fitch High School when I got here was that they had to really eliminate the basic classes because when you'd walk through the kids who were in the um basic classes were our kids of color. And, you know, we really want them to
212have all the opportunities going from elementary. So, you don't want that leveling to happen early on. It it wouldn't really result in tracking again. >> It does. >> Yeah, it does. And so, and you know, >> as for myself, I'm torn because there are times when tracking is necessary and there are times when it's um absolutely a negative thing to have happen. So, Rita, >> well, since Susan brought that up about no more basic classes, I have to disagree with you about that. Um, lumping everybody in college even when they don't want to be in those classes and the and the the basic classes, whatever you wanted to call them at Fitch, they were very small and the students got so much attention. Now they're in these big supposedly college classes and so I still
213have an issue with that and I would >> I would welcome you to come on a walkthrough and you can see it differently when you see it with your own eyes. >> Yes, I have one more. >> My students actually went to Fitch. So >> I know but this is a whole new F. That was years ago. She's got to come for a walk >> and I still want to talk about this a minute. So this is for elig criteria for students in grade four and six to be identified. >> Thank you. >> If you're in third grade, you're not identified till fourth grade. Is that what this is about? >> Well, yes, because we um for the intellectually gifted, we're using ESPback scores and the third graders are taking it now. So we receive
214the scores in the summer and the teams look at them in the fall and then they're identified in fourth grade. >> Okay. When my children were there, they actually did um they didn't go through the PPT and everything. They actually had a school psychologist do an IQ test and they started in third grade because you were in the program by fourth grade. So anyway, I was just curious. And then so once you're labeled that in sixth grade, it goes on through seventh and eighth. >> The designation stays with the student throughout their school career. >> Okay. >> It's typically not something that changes. motivation, effort may change, but that innate um giftedness doesn't typically change. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Oh, are we ready to vote? >> Is there anything else? Oh, wait. Beverly, you
215have your hand up and then >> I can ask my question later. I just wanted to know once once they identified then what happens? Uh or they just identified and that's it. Are they getting anything special once they get identified? But um Denise can get back to me on that. >> Okay, Rita, do you have anything else? >> No, I put my hand down. Sorry. >> Okay. >> All right. So then I guess we're ready to vote. Correct. All in favor? I It's two of us. >> Do you want to do a roll call vote? >> Yeah, I think so. Well, I can't see everybody. So, uh Mr. Antifus >> abstainate. Okay. Um, Mr. Whit, >> no. >> Mr. Schulman, >> we can't hear you. You're muted. >> My apologies. Yes. >> Um, this is
216uh Bogman. >> I'm a no. >> This is Washington. >> I'm a no. Okay. I'm a yes. Who did I miss? >> Me. >> Oh, well then. Go. >> I'm a yes. >> Okay. >> I'm a yes. >> Great. Mrs. Johnson, did you get that? >> I think it failed. Well, >> three yeses, three nos, and one abstension. >> So, where are we with that? >> Doesn't pass. >> It fails. Oh, well then I don't know how we're going to handle this, Mrs. Dittle, but we will. We'll find a way. >> Yeah, we'll go we'll go back to policy and we'll make the requested changes and we'll come back >> right by this by July. Okay, >> that's okay. >> All right, we'll get it right. >> Thank you, Denise. A lot of hard work
217went into this. I know. >> Yes. >> Okay. No, >> we appreciate the feedback. So, we're moving on to new business. >> No, we still have an action item. >> We do. >> Yeah, it's on page three. >> Yeah, that's what she said. New business. >> Oh, I'm sorry. I I'm Apologize people. It's getting kind of >> more policy. Yeah, I you know I I know >> and I was just wondering if we should is it possible a possibility of tableabling the rest of this meeting or >> I thought of that but really when you look to see what's here it's it's nothing much >> pretty quick. >> Okay. >> And do you all have a time limit on your meetings? >> No. Because you always seem like you're in a rush to end the
218meeting. >> It always seems like you're in a rush to end the meeting. I thought maybe there's a twohour time limit there. >> No, >> I think we do our best work within a certain amount of time and then we get tired. >> Yeah. >> And my suggestion for next year if we're looking for Well, I guess we'll have to wait till the end. [Music] >> Andrew, we can't hear you. >> Oh, I'm over here. I'm going to read a lot discussion and possible action regarding a first reading of policy P11 2.3 access to Oh, you know, I think Liz is right or whoever said it that we may Why don't we just table this? >> Really? It's a It's such an easy one. >> Oh, really? Well, then >> okay. So >> I'll read
219the motion >> to approve policy P112.3 access to information as a first reading. >> Okay. >> Second. >> Okay. >> Seconds. >> Can I orient everyone? >> Yes. >> So this is really our FOI and we did not have a policy. So this is straight from CA. We had um a lot of regulations and if you can look there's some blacked out. There's some that were redlined. There were some that we added. So, what we did was we actually went with the we went to the town to see how they deal with FOI requests and what their costs are related to that. We worked with the director of technology, Clint Kennedy. A lot of times people are asking for a zip drive and to download, but it takes a lot of time from our personnel.
220So, we could never charge them for the time it takes for people to do that work. So, we have a nominal fee for that. Um, but like I said, it's the policy that the board votes on and it's the regulations that the staff has to create to make the policy work. >> So, um, it's kind of a short and sweet policy straight from Cabe >> that people have the right to ask for this information and we have to provide it. So, how they want it can come in print, it can come in, you know, now it can come in a diff all different ways. So, they can have it printed out, they can have it on a zip drive. Um, and you know, we've had several requests this year. I think I have a couple
221zip drives still in Joyce's office from people who've asked and never picked them up. So, >> I remember this this um this policy. I I think it's pretty clear and straightforward. So, so My mind is just asleep. So, uh, so we've had the motion. Did we have a second? >> Yes. >> So, we can just vote on >> we had we had discussion. Any questions? >> Okay. All in favor? >> I think that's everybody opposed. I'm >> abstaining. >> Oh, okay. >> I don't abstain enough. >> Okay. Um, motion has passed. So, letters of communications and comments to board members. Any any go through? Dean, do you have anything for that? >> Oh, I feel like I've been away a long time and I forgive I ask forgiveness for people who try to contact me
222and maybe haven't gotten me. The one thing that I do want to mention is selfplug but also plug for Fitch. A Fitch graduate happens to be my number one son. Just graduated from the University of Arizona. >> Y >> Eller College of Management with a 3.873. He was looking for a 3.9 but he made magna. >> If anybody remembers him, he probably wouldn't have been written up as somebody who was destined to actually get a gradepoint average like that. But he became very focused when he left Fitch uh and uh and shot for it. I think he was one seminar short of of the of the sum. But uh I'm gonna say good job Fitch. >> Congratulations to your son. >> He I will say he did feel that he was at that school that
223far away. He was with a lot of other kids from all around the country and he felt himself pretty well prepared as relative to the a lot of other students that he met including a lot of kids from California. >> Very nice. Mrs. Vulman. >> Yes. Um I had the pleasure of doing a walkth through with um Miss Mrs. Austin and also with Phil and we went to Northeast Academy and the Mystic River Academy and I was so impressed with both schools and to see the students in the classrooms and chatting with them was wonderful. I also attended a Fitch girls lacrosse game on the new turf field at the middle school. They played against East Lime and when I was there they were winning but then they lost at the very end. And then
224I went to see a tennis match against Lyman Memorial. That was wonderful. It was a girls tennis match and it was senior day and it was just great to see the kids out there and how you know the baseball field was practicing down below and it was it's just beautiful. The fields are gorgeous and it's it's so nice to see them all there at the high school. Um I had what comment um we were talking with some people and we were talking about the Fitch Hall of Fame for athletics. um which happens every year. They, you know, nominate people to be in that. And we thought, wouldn't it be nice if they had a Fitch Hall of Fame for students who are successful, who have done something, whether they're artists or gone on in the
225medical field or whatever, achieve something. You know, it'd be nice if that we could have something like that to be recognized. those students at Fitch that you know have gone on and done well not just you know the ones that did well in high school but after >> very nice >> thank you >> Mrs. Washington. >> Um, no. I just, um, I get the email from the parent with her daughter. I don't know if it's a daughter or a son at the Valley School, >> right? >> Um, Susan, you got that email. >> Um, >> I think Kim forwarded to you and >> Yes, I did. >> Is there any resolution to that um, situation? Yes, I was able to have Sam's help on that. >> Okay. Can you send me an email about that?
226>> Give me an update on how that was resolved. >> Okay. Thank you. And my other question is um um some of the par professionals were talking about um celebrations like when we have nurses week and teachers week and I don't know if this is true or not but they said when it was the teachers week the teachers had grinders and sodas. I don't know who provided it, but when it was their week or whatever, they had nothing. And they said, >> "Well, they always get something from me." And I've been very creative with saying thank you from videos to to montages to to, you know, music. And that's what we do based on what the board has requested me to do. if the GA um graten um you know education association provided something. I'm
227not sure. I know that on teacher appreciation week though the PTO's always do a lunch but usually it's for all staff. So it's not like teachers get it and staff doesn't. So I don't know what they're speaking about. Well, if it if it come I guess they're speaking if it comes during teacher appreciation week, then it was mainly for the teachers because it didn't come during par profofessional week or custodian week. No, we have to be more >> everybody partakes in that Beverly. The PTO does it for the whole staff. >> Okay. Well, maybe they shouldn't do it during teacher appreciation week then. >> Well, I I just want to >> kind of a tradition in the schools. They've done that for years and years. >> Okay. All right. I'm just bringing it up because
228people have brought that up to me. >> Yeah, >> Mrs. Porter. >> Yeah. Um, I wanted to give you an update about our middle school students that competed in Connecticut History Day. Unfortunately, our young ladies did not place at the state level, but they did, you know, they were very much uh did a very nice job representing themselves as well as the as Graten public schools. So kudos to those two young ladies from the eighth grade um Trish Schneider's kids. Um also I was with Matthew and Dr. Piaza and we did and Susan we walked through um did a walk through through Fitch which was really kind of fun to go home again. It was really kind of nice. But what was really exciting to me was to see the engagement by the students and
229all the different modalities of and teaching styles that I was able to observe in a number of classes. So, I wanted to, you know, kudos to Fitch High School staff and but also to the Fitch High School kids because we weren't just in um we didn't go and pop into highlevel classes, you know, like AP or IB. We were in college prep level classes and they were really quite engaged and they were really fascinating. Um, and I I just wanted to say I really enjoyed it. So, um, we're Matthew and I are working on like a little write up to go up on the Facebook page and because we're on the communications committee as well, we're going to, um, see if we can get some pictures and stuff to show like Christina Scala's kids were
230doing something with, uh, light and, uh, camera shutter speeds and stuff like that. Well, I'm talking old school, but, you know, you get the idea. And it was really quite fascinating. So, um, it's just been really good. So, thank you, >> White. >> Yes. I just want to mention that I w uh toured Dr. Charles Barnum School. Um and I want to thank um Christy Post and Mr. Danner there. Um you know, you could be having the worst day ever, but if you uh visit an elementary school here at Sore, uh they're doing great things there. And I also was able to uh do a walkthrough at Academy and um Mystic River uh Magnet along with Rita and um again, you know, they're they're all a little bit different, but they they all have this
231energy and um I just want to thank everybody that we uh we met with uh for taking the time. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Shman. >> Thank you. Uh I too went with Jay visiting the uh Charles Barnum School on the walkth through and was invited by Mr. Danner to come and experience the discovery breakouts on Friday afternoon. It was a fascinating program. There were 11 different breakout groups. Uh Christie post took me around. Uh just had a wonderful time there. Uh with regard to gifted and talented policy, I would take it as a great favor of those who have any ideas for improving the policy if they would share them with the policy committee so we can take account of your ideas and suggestions. And finally, I found the awards tonight to be
232phenomenal and we need to do that every year. You probably done it before, but could we have a special meeting for that so that we can have our work meeting be two hours and not have a three and a half hour? >> You beat me to it. You beat me to it. >> Here. Here. >> I'm gonna I'm gonna talk about that on suggested agenda items. Um I I have I have nothing to report. I know I missed somebody. Who did I miss? going once. >> Jay, >> no. So, >> everybody Okay. All right. >> Oh, yeah. Dean. Yeah. >> Dean. Yeah. Didn't >> spoke first. >> Yeah. >> All right. Um >> and now we're on advanced planning. So, policy is canled as is finance. >> See, this cow is still on. There's I
233guess there's this you can read this for yourselves. >> Yes. >> Right. >> So suggested agenda items that Matt, you and I are in the same corner. I I've always thought that this should be devoted just to the staff and that we should um have our our working meeting either it would I guess we could have the the committee of the whole um I don't mean that we could have the regular board meeting postponed to state next week in the future >> or have it during a committee of the whole committee of the whole meeting and still have our regular board meeting so we could pass things. >> Yeah, that's a that's a really good idea because yeah, >> you know, we typically are around two hours and sometimes two and a half. This is
234a long and when it's in person sometimes it can even >> take more time when you get the cake and the you know and people say hello to each other and I'm hoping we'll be in person next year. >> Yeah, I do too. And that gives you a chance to really communicate with people and not say, "Well, come on. Let's get out of here because the the board meeting is next, you know." >> Right. Right. I like that idea. >> So I I can't >> I'll make a motion to adjourn. >> No, wait, wait. Please, please, if you >> Oh, something. Sorry. with with regard the committee reports. I would like us to add the trails committee which is a committee that's not on the list to that thing and I would like to add
235a >> Matthew I think we took it off because we don't have anybody representing us. >> Yes, I was appointed to it and I've been attending. >> Oh great. Well, there >> and and uh the library while we don't have a library committee, I think that the work of the library and the work of the school board handshake in so very many ways and I I appreciate the need to stay focused on our agenda tonight. I thank Jay for that. At the same time, I do think that there's information that will be useful for the two institutions to share. So, please let's make that a topic for discussion if we could add that to that list. That would be for the CO, right? >> Wherever you feel most appropriate. >> Okay. All right. I can't
236do it. So, who's doing it? >> I'll make a motion to adjourn. >> I second it. >> Any discussion? >> Good night. >> Have a great weekend. >> Thank you. Good night, everybody. >> I think it's Friday. >> I know it's not Friday yet. We have a whole week ahead of us. Good job, Andrea. You carried us forward. We got it through. Um, have a good night. >> Good night. Good night, Mark. Have a great night. >> Good night, Sam.