001seniors. And this is the ceremony that really kicks things off for the high school, for the board of education, for our seniors when we take a moment this evening in front of the board of education to acknowledge the incredible academic performance of our top 10ers. So, please give a round of applause to our students. [Music] As you know, our students work so hard for their academic achievement, and these students are absolutely exceptional. Whether it's the work that they're doing in the classrooms, whether it's the what they're doing on the athletic fields or the stage, or we heard our musicians just incredible um incredible performances. We know that their success is in large part due to their own determination, their own work ethic, but we also know that a lot of those characteristics that they've received
002have come from their families. So to you, the families of these incredible students who at Suffren Central we are very proud to call our top 10 presenters, we want to thank you for everything that you've done to help your students achieve. Good job giving them the round of applause. Very nice everybody. And of course, we're always so proud of our staff, our teachers, all of our staff here in Suffren Central who for many of these students have seen these students grow up since preK. And many students also come in sometime in between preK and their senior year. It's been fantastic to see you see you grow. And I have been here now for almost four years. And to see your progression through high school has really been rewarding. and to see all of you graduate
003in a little bit over in about two months or so is going to be an incredible opportunity for all of us to celebrate your accomplishments. And the person leading the charge here along with his entire administrative team and the entire team here at Suffren High School is Dr. Paul Adler who's going to lead us in the top 10% ceremony. Dr. Adler. Thank you, Dr. Gunderson. Thank you, uh, members of the board, uh, central office staff and administrators, as well as our own staff and administration. And especially to you as parents. Uh, my own kids are only eight and 11. So, I can only imagine all the years and travel and commitment and all the support you've given through all the uh, wonderful times and tougher times. So, I it's deep respect I have for you
004as parents right now and family members. Um again I want to thank you for joining us. Um these are the students who have worked so hard to achieve the top 10% in the class. Um and the group we're honoring tonight is truly a remarkable one from getting to know them uh personally. They are not simply just high achievers. Uh each and every day they add vibrance and richness and humor and courage to our community and they embody all the aspects of our newly adopted portrait of a graduate. I'm actually going to ask each of them to speak a little bit where they share what their plans are for next year. This can be their college or something they're passionate about studying. I'm also going to ask them of something they're taking with them from suffering
005high. And as you hear them speak, you're going to hear these elements of our portrait of a graduate from their passion for giving back to our community to engaging in critical thinking and problem solving to exploring new interests to showing resilience and communicating collab and collaborating with your peers. Um, so without further ado, I'm I'm just so proud to introduce these students one by one and um and and share what they've given to our community. Um, their impact, your impact will um last with us way beyond uh a couple months from now when you graduate. It's going to last for a lot longer than that. So, we really appreciate them. So, let's give one more round of applause to our top 10%. And I am going to start uh by introducing Ava Bogen. Let's give
006her a round of [Music] applause. Okay. Um, not here. So, we will resume uh with Marissa uh Byron. Welcome Marissa. Hi everyone. I'm Marissa and I'm not committed to college right now, but I'm planning on majoring in business with an interest in accounting. One thing I'll take away from Suff High School is the amazing support system here of staff and friends who have made this last four years so memorable. Specifically, I'd like to thank Miss Piciano for her class AP statistics that inspired me to want to pursue a career in business. Thank you. Next, I'd like to introduce Julie Khan. And I'm going to call Marissa back up for her certificate. Sorry about that. Hi, I'm Julie Cohen. Um, and I'm committed to Pace University. I'm mark I'm majoring in marketing and I hope to
007become a real estate agent. Um, something I'm taking from Southern High School is definitely um the support and encouragement I get from my amazing teachers. Um, without them I probably wouldn't succeed. I would also like to thank my mom because she has support me um all the way through. Thank you. And now I'd like to introduce Ava Epstein. Hi everyone, my name is Ava Epstein. I will be attending the University of Florida to study political science. I would like to thank my friends, family, and the support system at Suffurn. Specifically, I want to thank Mrs. Edelman for helping me create the Jewish Heritage Club. Her support went a long way, and her commitment to the club is something that I'll never forget. So, thank [Music] you. Next, we have Dash Gelardi. Uh hello, my name
008is uh Dashardi. Uh I'm not committed to college yet, but I plan on uh studying business management. And I'd like to thank a couple of my teachers, uh Miss Minnik, uh Mr. Whan, and Mr. Diamond. Now, I'd like to call up Caitlyn Herdy. Hi, I'm Caitlyn Herity. I'm going to the University of Buffalo for nursing. And something I'll be taking away from Suffren High School is the opportunity to participate in the New Visions program. Um, and I'd like to specifically thank my wonderful teacher, Miss Coffee, who has supported me throughout this year. Thank you. Next, we have Samantha Jacobson. Hi, I'm Samantha. I'm currently uncommitted, but I plan to study math next year. And I'd like to thank my AP physics teacher, Miss Ghetta, and my AP calculus teacher, Mr. Schwarz, because the class helped
009to reinforce my love for math. Thank you. [Music] Like to call up Jay Jaffy. Hi, I'm Jade Jaffy. I haven't committed yet, but I'll be majoring in cello performance. Um, I'd like to thank Mr. Marter. Um, he's really helped me build my confidence and my creativity over these last four years, and I'll take that with me for the rest of my life. Next we have Violet Coohl's. [Music] Hello, my name is Violet Kohl's and I just committed to University of Massachusetts Amherst for journalism. Um, and I'd like to thank all the teachers for making learning become kind of more fun in this high school. Specifically, Mr. Holla with all of his outdoor labs and the field trip. Next, we have Anna Lawless. Hi, my name is Anna Lawless and I'm committed to James Madison University
010for engineering. And the one thing that I'm going to take away from suffering high school is definitely the friendships I've made along the way because I know that they're going to last post high school and post [Music] college. Next, we have Lean Lynn. He's here tonight. We'll give him a round of applause anyways. Okay. And we have now Aya Mandelle. Um, hi. I committed to the Indiana University and I'm going to major in business at Kelly. Um, I'd like to thank my family and all my friends here because these relationships are going to last long past college. And then specifically, I'd like to thank Miss Pomeato, Mr. Hala, and Miss Anunziata for amazing lessons during the classroom. Thank you. Next, we have Bin [Music] Moresy. Um, looks like she's not here, so we'll move on.
011We have Lev Nuttleman. Thank you so much. Hi. Um, I plan on pursuing entrepreneurship and I think the thing I'll take away the most from the school was Mr. Whan's AP world history class where uh he gave me five minutes of class time each time before class started and after class started to teach me and have uh interesting conversations. Thank you. Next we have Carolina [Music] Orish. Hi, I'm Karolina Orch. I'm not committed yet, but I'm going to major in mechanical engineering. And I'd like to thank my math teacher, Mr. Schwarz because his passion for math really made me more passionate about math. [Music] Next we have Dylan Pomeato. Hello, my name is Dylan Pomiato. Um, this fall I'm going to be attending uh Harvard University and I will be and I will be um
012dual concentrating in planetary science and music. I think one thing I'm going to take away from Southern High School um is first I want to I want to thank my mom um Mrs. Pomeata as both my English teacher and just shaping me as a person, but I also want to thank um Mr. McCarter and Mr. Schwarz for how they've both taught me so much in the respective classes and shaped me as a person and are going to help me a lot going forward with the lessons they've taught me. Thank you. Thanks, Dylan. Next, we have Elelliana Panov. Hi, my name is Elelliana Panoff. I am currently uncommitted, but I'm going to be studying musical theater and journalism wherever I go. Um, one thing that I'm going to take away from Suffren High School was a
013moment from last year where I was nominated as a finalist in the Roger Reese competition for outstanding soloist for my role of the baker's wife and into the woods. Um, thank you. You guys don't have to stop. Um, something that really stood out about this experience was that my amazing amazing one of my amazing directors, Mr. from Marter, too. But Mr. Schwarz drove to New York City and bought a ticket to see the show, even though I told him that I was 100% not going to be a finalist, but things took a turn obviously and he was able to see me make my Broadway debut. So, thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Chris Patel. [Applause] Hi, my name is Kush Patel. I haven't committed anywhere yet, but I do plan on majoring in biology
014on a pre-med track. Um, something I'll take from Suffurn High is definitely my memory of multicultural night. Um, it truly was an amazing experience and it showed me how diverse and unified our community really was. Thank you, I'd now like to call up Eloise Pad. Hi, I'm Eloise Penady. I'm going to be going to Sunni Jio next year to dual major in um teaching students with disabilities and childhood education. Um, I would like to thank the entire math department, but especially Mr. Schwarz. I've had him for two years, and it was the best two years of math that I've ever had. He's a great teacher with a lot of passion. I hope to have that same passion for math in college. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Andrew Priest. Hi, my name is Andrew
015Priest. I'm still deciding between Georgetown, Stonybrook, and Swarmore. Uh, and I'm planning to major in physics so I can become a physicist, maybe. Um, and unfortunately, I also couldn't decide between just one thing to take away from Suffren. So, three things that I I'm going to remember fondly are being involved in the music program, the robotics team, and Stir. I've learned a lot in all of them and had a lot of fun. Um, and they've all profoundly shaped the person I'm growing [Music] into. Next, we have Kayla Quinn. Hi. Um, I'm Kayla Quinn and I'm currently not committed to college, but I'm planning on majoring in either in biology and health sciences. Um, one thing I took away from Suffren is the science department, which helped me like steer my career. Um, and um, I
016would specifically like to thank Mr. Holla, Mrs. Aniata, and Mrs. GA who helped me so much in my journey and thank you. I'd like to now call up Andrew [Music] Ralph. Andrew just came from a tennis match. And they won. Uh my name is Andrew Ralph and I haven't committed yet, but I'm going to be uh studying computer science in college and from Suff High School. I'm going to be taking all the lessons my teachers have taught me, whether it was Mr. McCarter with music or Mrs. Gat with physics and Mr. Quinn who uh introduced me to computer science and coding. Um, I hope to continue to uh keep playing just like they've all taught me. And also uh also like to shout out my friends and family and uh the whole tennis team. [Music]
017Yeah. Uh oh yeah. Uh shout out Liam Olive. I'd now like to kill uh call up sorry I'd like to call up Lindsay [Music] Rivera. Hello, my name is Lindsay Rivera and um I will be attending Ramapo College of New Jersey next year and majoring in business management. And something I want to take from Suffren High School is the ongoing support of every teacher that I have had in my years and um every day I could see their genuine care for my growth as a person and as a student and I'm very grateful for the community here. Thank you. I'd now like to call up Alexis Robinson. Hello, I'm Alexis Robinson. Um, I just committed to UMass Amhurst and I'm going in undecided, but um, I would like to major in neuroscience. So, um, I'm
018thankful for um, all the leadership experiences that I've gained at Suffren High School through different honor societies. So, yeah, thank you. [Music] Next, I'd like to call up Nia [Music] Robas. I'm Nia Robles and I will be attending Pace University this year for nursing. So hopefully in the near future I will be working in an ICU or a NICU. Um uh I would like to thank all the staff and uh uh my friends throughout this entire journey who have supported me immensely and two teachers I would like to thank personally as Mr. McCarter and Senorita Fagger for helping me build my own confidence within myself and my own abilities and capabilities as a person. So thank you. I'd now like to call up K Saber. Hi, my name is Kay Saber. I've committed to University
019of New Haven for forensic science, which is science and law together. Um, and I'd like to thank basically all my teachers. They've all been really helpful, but especially uh Mrs. Barisella for giving me opportunities like digging a mock grave on school property that we'll be actually excavating in a month or two now. Thank you. I'd now like to call up Melanie Sanchez. Hi, my name is Melanie Sanchez. I'm not committed to college yet, but I'm planning on majoring in biology on a pre-med track. I'd like to thank Mr. Karini, um, Mrs. Amado, and Mr. Hala for their fun and interactive lessons. Thank you. I'd now like to call up Ethan Schwarz. Hi, I'm Ethan Schwarz. I'll be attending Duke University, uh, most likely majoring in economics. Um, one thing that I'll be taking with me
020from Sovereign High School is going to be my experience with the boys tennis team. Uh in my five years of playing tennis, I want to say I've been in at least like 15 tiebreak matches. Each of them uh showing me the importance of mental toughness and resilience. And I think the ability to stay locked in during those matches, get in the zone is something that's transferred to my academics. Thank you. [Music] Congratulations. Next we have Lillian Smith. Hi. Um, I'm committed committed to the University at Buffalo for a BFA in musical theater and environmental science. And uh, one thing I'm going to take away is the skills that I was able to learn with, uh, challenging classes that I had the opportunity to take with, uh, some of my best teachers that I've had. U,
021Miss Minnik, Mr. Mr. Whan, Mr. Diamond, Mr. Holla, and the themes reoccurring themes team. Thank you. I'd like to call up Laura Stein. Hi, I'm Lara. I'm committed to Bingmpington University and I'd like to thank Mr. McCarter for all of his dedication to the pit orchestra, Mr. Diamond for encouraging my love of writing, and also all of my friends and family. Thank you. Next we have Eli [Music] Schwarloff. I'm Eli Swirloff. Um I'm going to be going to Princeton University next year for mechanical for mechanical and aerospace engineering. Um one thing I think I'm going to take away from Suffren is just the absolute passion that all the teachers here at Suffren have. Um, but I want to specifically highlight the music department here at Suffren. Um, I don't know, it's a special breed of
022teachers. Um, where they all care so much about their students, about the program, about our development as not only musicians and students, but as people uh going through life and uh I've become a lot of who I am because of the music department. So, thank you to all of you guys. I'd like to call up now Nicholas Tanelli. [Music] Uh, hi. I'm Nick Tenelli. Um, I'm undecided where I'm going to college. Uh, but I have an interest in business administration. Uh, one thing I I learned from suffering high school was how important uh being consistent in everything you do is. Um, and I'd like to thank my friends and family. Uh, and a big shout out to Mrs. Kern and Mr. Scott Kaplan. They helped me in everything I did. Uh, and boost my confidence
023and stuff I did. Thank you. [Music] Next, we have Daniela Tribiano. Hi, I'm Daniellea Tribiano. I'm going to Wesley University next year and I plan on majoring in neuroscience with on the premed track. And my favorite memories at Suffin High School have been AP seminar with Miss Minnik and playing field hockey and lacrosse with my best friends. Next we have Katherine Tully. Uh I'm Katherine Tully. I'm going to University of Maryland for accounting. And one thing that I'm going to keep uh with me from suffering high school is the passion that I've learned for my teachers who have all cared about me so much throughout my journey and who've been willing to help me every step of the way through like hard lessons um and also just through life. Uh one teacher I want to
024really highlight is Mr. Schwarz, who I've known since seventh grade, uh, because of marching band, and he's just been a really great help in me developing as a musician, but also as a person. Thank you. Next, we have Natalie [Music] Welby. Okay, we're going to move on. Uh, and now we'll call up Jessup Whitehurst. [Applause] Uh, hi, I'm Jessup. I don't exactly know where I'm going to college yet, but I'm probably going to go for mechanical engineering. Uh, I guess I'd like to thank some teachers. Uh, Mr. Schwarz for calc, Mr. Johnson for chemistry, and Mr. Marina for physics. And shout out to all my friends. Since I moved here four years ago, I made a lot of friends and it was nice to, you know, move into a great community. And uh special shout
025out to the lunch crew every single day. Favorite time of the day, every day. And uh yeah, thank you. Thanks, Chess. I'd now like to call up Lawrence Angrill. Hi, I'm Lauren. I'm going to the University of Maryland to study engineering. Um, my one thing I'm going to take away from Southern High School are the memories I made both in the classroom and getting being able to play the sports that I love with all of my best friends. And finally, I'd like to now call up Cynthia Jiang. Hi, I'm Cynthia Zang. Um, something I'll take with me is my memories of PIT orchestra. And I'd like to thank the suffer music department and especially Mr. McCarter for making it such an enjoyable experience. [Music] Okay. Are we missing anyone? We got everyone. Okay. Um I'd
026like to again uh remind you just how wonderful our students are. You just saw it and um they're off to doing some amazing amazing things in the future making us so proud. So, one last round of applause for our top 10% and we are going to ask them to come up um to take a group photo. Uh Mrs. Jenny Merles here from the district will take the photo. So, don't worry parents, we will share this. Uh but we want everyone to come up here. Jenny, where do you want them? Up here. Okay. Two rows up here. And bring your certificates. You want to move this push it back. Thanks. [Music] Thank you, Dr. Adler, so much. And thank you to all of our students, to the parents and family members who are here. Thank you
027for all that you have done to make your children excel here at Suffren High School. We are truly proud of them and thank you for taking the time to come here and celebrate with all of us their incredible achievement. Please take a few moments, grab some more dessert and snacks on your way out. The board of education is going to resume its meeting in about 10 minutes. You're more than welcome to stay, but we understand that you may have other things to do as well. So, thank you so much everyone. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We're going to start the meeting in about five minutes. Good evening everyone. We're going to get started in just a minute. So, um, if you're here for the meeting, please take your seats. Mr. Don, I apologize. Sorry. Sheruk,
028how are we doing? Good. Okay, five seconds. Okay, beautiful. Everyone, Jabingo, swing around, shows the sunset. You don't get this view just any old. Okay, very good. All right, good evening everyone. We are recalling the regular meeting of the Suffrage Central School District Board of Education for Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025. Uh may the record reflect that all board members are present except for Mr. Paul Shapiro. At this time, everyone please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the standyice for all. Okay. 1.08 is student report. There's Tija. Yay. Okay, great. I did lose my voice a little bit, so sorry if I sound a little raspy. Um, so I hope everybody had a great spring break. Um, everybody got like time off. I
029had such a nice break and but I'm kind of excited to be back and see everybody. So yeah, but a lot of things are happening like in the next couple weeks. Um so tomorrow after school there's an Arbor Day event from 2:15 to 2 to 5:00 and they prepare tree and the teachers are distributing trees to elementary schools to plant in their own like backyard and front yard. So that's really cool and like special for the elementary school students. Also, tomorrow night at 5:30 there's distur symposium and students get to teach their research projects that they're doing research projects that they've been working on um all year and that's going to be happening in the library. Uh also Thursday at 700 p.m. is the art it is the national art honor society induction where juniors
030and seniors will be that are eligible will be uh getting inducted into the art honor society. And then for the science honor society induction, it'll be next Tuesday, April 29th. And then next Thursday at 6 is the Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society induction as well. Um, also next Thursday is decision May 1st is decision day. So that's when the last day, one of the last days that students can uh put down like commit to a college. So, the high school celebrates by kids wearing their college merch to school and showing off the college that they're newly committed to. So, that's going to be really fun. And at lunch, there's um places to take pictures with your friends. Usually, people go outside, so that's going to be a lot of fun. And also, next next
031Saturday is an SAT exam at 8 a.m. here, except for high school. And then AP exams are also starting May 5th. And yeah, that's all I have for today. And I was wondering if it was okay if I got a snack from over there, but I didn't want to like have a snack. But yeah, that's all I have. Thank you. Thank you, Tij. Yes, please get a snack. You deserve it. Glad to hear all the wonderful things that are happening. Uh and glad we're here. We're on the home stretch now. Um and good luck to everybody on their exams. Uh whether it's AP, SAT, or whatever else you have um scheduled. Um, we're now going to move on to the minutes of the regular meeting of April 1st, 2025. Has everyone had an opportunity to
032review the minutes? Good. Do I have a motion to approve the minutes? Mr. Curran, second, Mr. Frasier. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Anyone opposed? Any abstensions? Okay. Very good. Let's move on to superintendent's comments. All right. Thank you very much. Good evening, everyone. For those of you that had an opportunity to be here a little bit earlier, we had the great privilege of celebrating our top 10enters here. Um, a group of students that just absolutely excel academically. Um, and we're very proud of their accomplishments. Students going off to some great places next year, uh, including Harvard and Princeton and a variety of other really exclusive colleges. Just the future is bright for our suffering high school graduates and we're so proud of the work that they've done. We thank their families for
033their support and most importantly the teachers that have worked with our students every single day from prek all the way up to their senior year. You heard some of the students provide some testimonials of teachers at Suffren High School. But each of them can talk to you about the experiences that they've had in their elementary schools and middle school that have just propelled them for incredible trajectories for after they graduate. So, I'm very proud to see these students leave Suffren High School in such great shape. Um, we are just a month away from our third annual One Suffren Day. I can't believe we're going to have the third annual One Suffren Day and Color Run Celebration this year. It will take place on Sunday, May 18th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This will all
034be on our website. Um, and it's going to take place at Suffren Middle School. The morning will be filled with a wide variety of activities hosted by a variety of academic and extracurricular groups, our physical education and athletic department, and local community organizations. There will be food trucks, music, and lots of ways to have fun. We'll conclude the morning like last year with a onemile color run that is just an absolute blast for everyone who participates. Visit our website to register in advance for the color run, and we hope to see you there on May 18th. And also I would like to thank uh the Suffren Rotary for their ongoing support of our students particularly the work that they do for Arbor Day. Arbor Day is coming up this week as Talijah mentioned. Um some
035of the events are taking place tomorrow and Thursday at a variety of schools. Suffren Rotary really does a nice job of um helping our district celebrate Earth Day, Arbor Day. Um and really that partnership is something that we greatly value. And of course, I also very much look forward to the stir presentations tomorrow that are going to be taking place in the library here at Suffren High School. And if we time it right, there'll be another beautiful scientific sunset outside. So, uh, thus concludes my superintendent report. Thank you. Thank you very much. And now we're going to move on to public participation. This is on action items only. Action items are on our agenda tonight. Uh, item 2.01 01 through 2.14. Is there anyone here from the public who is here to speak on an
036action item? Seeing as there are none, we're going to close that portion of the meeting. Uh before I ask for a consent agenda, are there any action items that any board member would like to pull? Okay. Very good. Uh do I have a motion for consent agenda to approve action items 2.01 through 2.14? Mrs. Hodgej. Second, Mr. Kern. All in favor signify by saying I. Anyone opposed? Any abstensions? Okay, very good. Then we are going to move on to uh item 6.01, which is board member comments. Do any board members have any comments tonight? No. Okay, you do. Very good. Good evening, everyone. I um am not going to be able to take the place of uh Mr. Shapiro. However, I'm going to take a stab at it. I was asked to remind everyone about
037what the budget vote. Yes, the budget vote as well as two uh school board seats that are coming up. So, that's on May 20th. Tell your friends, family members, neighbors, and whoever else you can think of, but bring them out to the polls to vote on our budget and two school school board candidates uh at that time. So, that's all I have. Thank you. Very good. That was a very authentic impersonation. Um uh I would um like to uh congratulate again all of the students who were here tonight for the top 10% and their families. Um thank you so so much for your support of public education. This is really one of the most uplifting evenings that we have where we get to hear um what has really left an impact on so many of
038our seniors. And it is just so wonderful and heartwarming to hear about the teachers, the programs, uh their friends, their sports, what's influenced them at Suffren High School and and how um how fulfilled they were by being here. It's great to hear. Um, and uh, I would also like to acknowledge um, our own top 10% which is our district clerk, Heather Campbell, because tomorrow is administrative professionals day. And Heather makes the world go round as you know. And so we have um, a special gift for Heather to say thank you. Um, although really we should say thank you every day because you do wonderful work for us and we appreciate you so much. Um, and yes, everyone, please remember to um check your registration, make sure you're eligible to vote in the school board election
039and the budget. It's very important. And um tell your friends like uh Mr. Frasier said, it's uh get out there. It's a great day. Um and now we are going to move on to our second public participation section. This is on any district related business. If you're here to speak on any district related business, please approach the lectern over there. Please keep your remarks to three minutes. Uh please do not mention anyone in the district by name, whether student, staff or teacher. Is there anyone who is here to speak from the public on any district related business? Yes ma'am. Please approach. And um also if you would please um give us your name um before you speak. Thank you. There we go. Hello. Good evening. Ivonne Reasonz, pronounced as in the reason why I'm here.
040Um, as parents, it is difficult to see our children go through needless hardships such as in the case of excessive and unnecessary exams that coupled in this post-pandemic world and unfortunate normalized stress of school life. The World Health Organization reports a 25% increase in mental health issues overwhelmingly in academic anxiety and stress. The New York State Education Department has taken several steps to address the mental health of students and over testing. Since 2014, it is no longer required to take two history regions to earn a high school diploma. That includes advance. In 2016, the state education department directs superintendents to quote review grading policies to ensure fair and equitable practices that do not have unintended consequences on students end quote. In 2023, the governor of New York approved an expansion of school-based mental health services.
041We want to commend the efforts of Suffren's director of counseling and the development of the well-being interns that gauge mental health of their peers across the district. In 2024, just last year, Commissioner Rosa, believing in the well-being of students is a fundamental role of schools and understanding the toll of wasteful testing and the loss of valuable instructional time has revised the state graduation requirements. Whereas we could applaud these epic reforms at the state level, we're disturbed not to see these changes consistently here. Despite our ch despite our child having passed the global history regions and passing the ELA regions in January, contradictory to the state directive, the bake of instruction here provided the following Curt response. Quote, your child will still sit down for both exams. There isn't an alternate solution. End quote. Any native
042New Yorker here knows that once you take a regent and pass it, you don't have to take it again. It is mentally abusive to force students to sit again for a test that they've already passed. The injustice of some toxic teachers, mediocre pedagogical practices, and this dismissive response has led to the unintended consequences of the mental health issues that the state wants districts to avoid. As parents, we request that the board to review and update a number of policies from permission slips with misinformation on visiting singing prison to outdated school handbooks that are incoherent nor align with the state education department. By providing accurate information to our children and their families, you can begin to generally and thoroughly address the mental health issues students face here today. Thank you so much for your support and
043cooperation. Thank you very much. Thank you. Is there anyone else who is here to speak from the public on any district related business? Okay. Looks like not. Um then we are going to close that portion of the meeting and move to closing comments of the superintendent of schools. I have no further comments. Thank you. All right. Uh at this time uh there will be a motion to adjurnn. Oh, forgot to take out my next meeting date. What's your next meeting? Anybody? May 6th. Thank you, Mr. Kern. All right, our next meeting will be May 6th. Uh and I think we back here and I we are back here at Suffren High School. Yes, we are. All right. Oh, that's right. We're going to be celebrating tenure staff. Okay. Uh, thank you everyone who was here
044tonight. Uh, once again, congratulations to all of our students. Thank you again for food services for putting on an amazing spread as you always do. And, uh, do I have a motion to adjurnn. Mr. Frasier? Second. Mr. Kern, all in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Very good. And we will see everyone back here on May 6th.