001I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Good evening everyone. Um, we will start with Mr. with an update for Mr. Carmelo. >> Oh yeah, wait. I'm sorry. >> Just in case. >> Yeah. At this time, it is our public input on agenda and non-aggenda items. I welcome any members of the audience to speak at this time. >> Okay. All right, Mr. Carmela. >> Uh, thank you. Uh, we just had a meeting last week, so I'll just give the same update since um we have a few more people in the audience tonight. Uh so the super superintendent update is uh all year has been about the wine and skill merger which
002uh the good news is that vote passed a couple of weeks ago. Uh and now the planning phases have begun. Uh in my draft three budget last week we talked about um you know adding some positions that will be necessary during the transition. There's a whole lot of work to be done. We're still waiting for the official proclamation from SED, but we expect that this week, and I'll let the board know as soon as we get it. Uh, and we also expect that it'll be July 1st, 2027 that everything becomes official. Uh, Mr. Hotelling and I met with um the architect who works at Gardner Dickson this past uh well, yesterday, I guess it was. I was thinking today was Wednesday. uh yesterday um just to go through the building condition survey the updates that
003are needed in that building and facility uh immediately uh which we know as capital projects go it never really is immediately but u as soon as that July 1st 2027 happens we'll start planning that'll be part of the transition year planning uh trying to figure out what that first capital project looks like remember also in the in the uh budget we're going to have a capital reserve of $6 million uh that will allow for $300 million in capital projects over the next 10 plus years. Uh and some of that a lot of that will be in our buildings, but some of that obviously will be over at Garner Dickinson. So that planning will happen so that we can hit the ground running with a vote the fall of 27 is our plan. Um so uh
004moving full speed ahead uh the really really exciting time for the district and the community and uh you know great things to come. >> Awesome. Thank you. Um, welcome for a community school. Um, at this time we'll have Mr. Canfield come up and give us a presentation. >> Testing. All right. You can hear me, right? >> Yes. >> All right. Fantastic. Okay. Um, before we start though, I would like to just have you turn around. You see that quilt behind you? That was made by two of our teachers down at our Troy Community School. They brought that up. I think that's awesome. Miss Harris and Miss Miller put that together and uh showed it to me today. We finished it. We want to put it up there. That's fantastic, you know. So, I really appreciate
005that. Uh, it looks wonderful. Um, yeah. Okay. So before my first slide comes up really it doesn't have anything to do with the presentation um in a sense the the Detroit community presentation um but I want to get it out there because I think it's going to um blend in nicely. So if we go to the first slide uh do you guys see who that picture is out there? >> That's me with the commissioner of education. >> Oh boy. Oh boy. >> Listen to this. That is what the commissioner had to listen. So, so I don't know if you know this, I am the president of our union. So, they had a big leadership training and workshops and at night they were honoring uh you know administrators across the state and um Betty uh Rosa
006was going to be the speaker but she had to get in and get out. So, they had to change things around. One of the cool things, the unique things, there was a woman being recognized at a Yoners and uh it was Betty's uh fourth grade teach when she was the teacher. >> It was unbelievable. This woman is amazing. I mean, we are in good hands. She's very genuine. Her speech was great. And uh I buffed my way up there to get a picture. I said, "Man, I got to get I didn't get no awards, but I got up there." So, she was there. And here's the great thing. So I'm talking to her. I'm saying, "Hey, listen. You know, from Troy." I go, "Mike," and I'm not blowing you up, John, but I go, "I
007got a superintendent, John Carmemell. He's awesome. My school board is great." And she goes, "I know all about Troy." She goes, "I live in Man." I go, "You live in Man's?" Yeah. So she she's local. So, uh, I said, "Well, you're coming to our school. That'd be great." You know, so anyway, fantastic. And, uh, it just does lead into what I want to start off with. So, I'm going to take my time with the thank yous. It's probably going to be the most uh time we're going to spend on our presentation, you know. So, John, thank you very much. Roy Styles, Adam Hotingailing, and Immran Abasi, you guys are central office. You support our program tremendously. You don't just do it with your words, you do it with your actions. Uh I can't thank you
008enough for everything you do for our students and for our staff. And I know you're always going to the school board asking for things for us, resources, so we can get the job done. And uh really you guys are special to us. So thank you. Uh board of ed board of ed people, you're amazing. Um again, you you guys uh take action with us. You know, I see you at the fundraisers. You're always talking to us. How are you doing? Do you need anything? Uh we see you at um at the uh student graduations. you know, not a big graduation, but you're there. You're supporting our kids, and uh our kids know it, our community knows it, and we really appreciate you guys, and you should really take pride in what you do. You're recognized
009all over the state. And uh you know, you're recognized on our school as really being uh very supportive, caring, and genuine to our program, and we thank you for that. Thank you. All right. Now, my staff, my wonderful staff, who's over here. They are amazing people. Uh, Stephanie Randall, where are you? Right here. She's a new teacher. We didn't get her on our a list here. I said, Steph, I'm going to mention you. She's a dynamic teacher. We're looking for science person. She is doing an amazing job. My staff is amazing. Okay. I think you I I just I just think you know that. You hear a lot of things. in our brochure, you'll see all of the initiatives that we have. You know, you can't you can't do it without somebody taking ownership of
010those. You know, uh somebody has to take the time to make the phone calls to, you know, get the transportation, to get refreshments, to make sure the students have what they have when they're going. So, we have people that do that. Okay? And I'm not talking I'm talking for teachers, teacher assistants, uh our monitors, our custodians, you know, our nurse, my secretary. Everybody is on the same page, heading in one direction, knowing the purpose of our school. And our purpose of our school is to really get kids to like school. That's our number one goal. We want them to like school. And once we get them to like it, we know we can we got them. Okay? Then we can really work on the academics, work on the attendance. We want them to like our
011school. So staff, I can't thank you enough. Big Rob is back there, our monitor. You know, he's an amazing guy. He does a super job, but I can't thank you enough for all that you do. Thank you. Um, thank you. >> The leadership that's down there, okay? I I can't do it by myself. Uh, I can count on these guys. All right? I can count on Mr. Cartwright. I use his experience. There's a wealth of experience. I can count on him. I can count on Mr. Bimbo. Mr. Bimbo's there from 8 o'clock in the morning to 7 o'clock at night. He does the three to six program dedicated as anything. We have programs for kids, prescriptive programs, so they can become successful. And we you don't have that unless you have committed people. I don't
012care if you're paying them, not pay, whatever you they they're committed to the school and to the students. And I really appreciate what they do. Uh Mr. Oranowitz is our first year principal assistant. wealth of knowledge with restorative experience. Uh an amazing young man. He's got a bright future in education. I'm glad that he's, you know, in our school working with our students and uh I can't thank the leadership enough. Thank you very much for all you do. Okay. So, um I'm going to give you a little scenario how we're doing this today. Uh as you see, we have a circle here. Our school, we are a restorative school. We do a lot of restorative work, all different types of work. We would like to give you a little bit of flavor how that's how
013that works in our school. So, I really appreciate uh Mr. Carmela, Miss Pompei, and Miss Hecman. Thank you for volunteering to come up. Your seats are right there. Jimmy, that's worse than the commission. >> We do this every day. Everybody just text me. I'll give you all the money in my wallet if you go in that circle. >> He doesn't like circles. I know that. >> All right. Thank you very much. Um, >> so what we're going to do is um >> Sam is Sam Moranowitz is going to come up. He's or he's going to do it right from there. Are you going to use this mic here? Yeah. Okay. And we're going to get going, but he'll give you an idea of what's going on. We'll get this thing rolling and then it'll get
014back to me at some point. And uh let's do this. >> All right. >> Thank you everybody. We're excited to share a little bit about what we do each day uh with you all. Um, as a restorative school, we really value human connection and believe strongly that like we're at our best when we're in community with one another. Uh, one of the ways that we foster that sense of community is our tier one community building circles. We do it every morning from 9:10 to 9:20 with our kids. We do it every Friday with our staff. Um, they're tier one circles because they're proactive and restorative practice is over 80% of the work should be proactive. And that really sets the tone and normalizes the processes for when you have to do the harder work, when
015you're doing suspension re-entries, when you're med um mediating conflict, when you're repairing harm. So that's that 20% that this lays the groundwork for. Um we sit in a circle because it allows us all to feel seen and we use a talking piece because it allows us all to feel heard. The microphone is going to be our talking piece for today. Uh we start each circle with our kids with our circle guidelines. So, I'm going to read them to us just so we're doing it just like we do every day with the kids. Uh, our guidelines are to respect the talking piece, to speak from the heart, to share just enough, to listen with respect, to remain in the circle, and to honor confidentiality. I'm going to pass it to Miss Boswell for our check-in question.
016All right. >> All right. So, thumbs up if you agree to those circle guidelines from everybody. Awesome. Okay. So our first our first question is um we're just going to do introductions at first. All right. So your name, your position, and um just how you're doing today. And we're going to use our next slide, pictures of M for you to gauge how you're feeling today. Um so I'll start off. My name is Miss Boswell, Alex Boswell. Um, I'm one of the school social workers at Troy Community School. And today I am feeling a definite number one. I'm feeling good today. A little bit earlier I would have been a little bit of a four, but um but now I'm I'm definitely a one. I had some coffee. I had some great things going for me
017today, but I'm definitely a one now. >> Sure. And I also think I think it's if we hold it up higher, it may work a little better. >> You want to swap seats out, Miss Carrie? >> Is this one on? Yeah. >> Um, all right. So, my name is Sam Moranowitz. I lead the middle school team as principal assistant at TCS, and I'm feeling a one. I'm really proud of uh these young men for joining us today, and I'm feeling good. I'm a one. >> Uh, my name is Diana Hecman. I am the vice president of the school board. And um I'm feeling like I for today was a one, but now I might be a three. >> So yeah, you stole mine. Um >> John Carmelo, superintendent of the Troy School District. Proud, proud
018superintendent of the Troy School District. Uh I was a one all day long. Uh really, but seriously, it was a great day today. We got a lot of great stuff done. Always trying to plan for the future and this merger is going to allow us to just uh solidify the future of the Troy school district. So I was one all day long. About 7 minutes ago I became three with a tinge of five. Uh and I will be visiting TCS and Mr. Campfield tomorrow. And then he will be uh number four. Hello, I'm Ebony Conway. I'm the president of the board. Uh I started off as a one today as well and then I kind of went from a three and now I'm like an eight. So, but all good. I'll be back to a
019one soon. >> Thank you. My name is Thomas Dano. I'm the school psychologist at Troy Community School and I'm definitely feeling like a one. Um, happy to be here and I'm grateful to uh have the opportunity to be here and be in the circle. >> My name is Eric. I'm a student at GCS. I was about a one all the way until I got here. Like I'm now I'm now an eight. >> I'm Beth Vanitson. I'm the school counselor at TCS. And I spent a lot of my day between a three, a seven, and an eight. But now I'm a one. >> Hi, my name is Israel Vasquez. I'm a student at TCS. I'm feeling one. >> Uh, in all honesty, you know, there's a lot of intention in starting with like a disarming check-in
020question. It really like serves a purpose and then circles off and like grow in depth, right? So, like starting off with something that makes everybody smile, makes everybody laugh, it makes it uh so much easier to do some of the hard work. Not that we're gonna be doing hard work today. Um, our next question is, you know, we all are connected to TCS in different ways from students to firstear staff to long-term staff to people that support us from behind the scenes. So, our next question is, what is something you love or admire about TCS? And I'm going to go to the left to start. >> So, what I love and admire about TCS first, you know, first and foremost is the students. It's always an honor to see how they grow and how they
021how they um you know just how how they start and then where they end up over time. Um it's also really amazing. Our staff is wonderful. We are a community. You know, we show up for each other. We work together as a team. Um and we go above and beyond for our students. We're constantly trying to create opportunities and try to fill the gaps wherever we can. Um this young man sitting right next to me uh last year participated in a summer program uh where he was helping out with our school garden. Um we were able to provide some jobs for students over the summer. Um and so just to be able to see how the students really show up and the different opportunities that we're able to give them to participate in. We also
022do uh like as a staff we we we cook food for the students, you know, for Christmas, for Thanksgiving. Um we have holiday celebrations where, you know, we all really show up in ways that it really it really does feel like a community and a family. And like Mr. Canfield said, for us to have make make school a welcoming and fun place. We go on field trips, you know, we we get to learning and we do great in the classroom, but um we also make sure that that you know, we're we're whole human beings, that we're taking care of our our whole selves. >> Uh what I love about the school is the sports. >> Yeah, we do offer a lot of sports and I do I love that too. Um I really value our
023community. I value all the relationships that we get to make with our students. Um, and really seeing them grow sometimes from seventh grade through 12th grade. It's just like a whole journey. Um, I just I really value all of our staff members and the support that everybody brings to one another. Um, yeah, I just love it. I love TCS. >> Um, something that I admire about TCS most definitely the staff, especially my favorite senior citizen right here. THANK YOU, Z. >> UH, I love TCS for the relationships that we build. Um, it's a smaller school and there's just so many opportunities to to build these relationships, whether it's it's field trips or clubs. Um, and even even with the staff, um, we have a lot of fun as a staff together. And just when you
024see students start off at our school for the first time and you see the nervousness and just the unease of like a a new change in their life and then uh probably like the best is when you have a student who's doing so well that like their their grades are good, their behavior's good, their attendance good, and you start thinking, do you think you might want to go to maybe like the high school next year? And no, I really like it at Troy Community School. This is, you know, where I want to be. This is where I feel successful. And that's just uh yeah, it makes me feel good that we're doing the right thing for students. >> Um, one thing that I admire about the school is that you guys seem to meet students
025where they are. Um, you offer a lot of great programs to keep um the the students interested in wanting to come back. Um, and it's a lot of out of the box thinking for the things that you guys offer. >> Uh, what I admire and value, is that what it is? What I admire and value about TCS is uh I think first thing that comes to my mind is the staff. So uh Jimmy already said it, but um we pride ourselves in the whole district I think in making decisions for students and that goes uh for the board as well. Everything we're talking about, we're always trying to do it for students, but uh the staff at TCS really epitomizes that and you are the model for making sure that every decision you make is
026for the students and for their success. So that's what I value the most. >> Well, he stole my answer. So, of course, um, yes, I admire the dedication of the staff. I don't think I've ever seen such a close-knit group. And the dedication and the amount of time and the effort and everything that you do to make sure that your students are successful is like nothing I've seen before. So, I think your staff is fantastic. >> Thank you. Um, it wasn't an easy decision for me to come to TCS. After 12 years at school, too, I felt really at home there. And what I love about TCS is how quickly I felt at home joining this team. Uh you know the relationships with the students and being welcomed by the staff. So I love how
027quickly it felt like family. >> So right now we are going to remain in the circle. Okay, just to be clear. But I'm going to suspend the talking piece. is optional. >> Um, I'm going to suspend the talking piece and hand it hand it back over to Mr. Canfield. He's going to be just going over a few slides to present on some data for our school. >> Why don't you usually >> Oh, yeah. Okay. But while while he's doing that, um, we're going to pass out a copy of the slides and another copy of the brochure. Um, so that when Mr. Canfield is done talking about you know this information we are going to come you know come back to using the talking piece and the question will be what stands out to you what's
028something from this information that that stands out to you so just to be prepared for that question coming up >> fantastic thank you so number one uh academic improvement again what we look at are the students grades prior to coming to our school and to where they are now we do this every year and we and you can see there's a significant increase. Kids do the students that come to us perform better academically uh when they're with us and they have made improvements and that is from grades 7 through 12. If you look at our tenants, same thing uh you know tenants is the biggest issue. Uh again we talked about making our school a welcoming school, a a place where kids want to be. Uh and again those numbers that we have, you know,
029um it's kind of been, you know, around the same numbers, but again, it's something that we battle all the time, but they're always still making an improvement in attendance from when they came when they started with us to where they are right now. Uh what you should notice is that our enrollment went up. Um you know, in 22 23 we had 128. We have 180 kids now in our school. And there those are kids that need those services. And uh so we're still meet meeting meeting the needs of our students both academically and with attendance. This is data I always love to show is the regents because I still remember not getting kids to even come into the building to take regions. Um you know we look back in uh 2013 27 kids uh taking
030the regents. Again we had 57 kids take just take the regent exam. um you know we have close to a 60% passing rate. We tell the students if you go to our regent review classes you're going to pass. Okay? A lot of gaps in our students academics. But if they go to the regent review classes you're going to pass. And and I tell them this if you don't go you're not probably not going to pass. So I appreciate what our teachers do. They do a great job of preparing our students to pass the regent exams and uh the discipline again it's declining and one of the things that we look at we don't look at our total suspensions we look at students who have been suspended one or more times and there is a decrease
031in both the high school and the middle school and again remember our our uh our numbers have gone up so we've got more students in our And I believe that is it. Yeah. So I'm going to hand it back over to Mr. Oranowitz. >> Cool. So we heard um a lot of great information from Mr. Campfield and we also have the brochure that we're going to give everyone in the circle just like a quiet minute to glance through before we ask our next question. So just take a moment and review that. So, as you can see, we do a lot of great work in our building. Um, our next question is just what stands out for you? Just one thing you want to highlight from either the slides and the data or the brochure that's
032in front of you. >> All right. Um, one thing that stands out to me, uh, is our our excellent programs, uh, especially, you know, our driver's education and our our some of our school clubs. Um and also our restorative practice uh you know we're building it more every day uh every year and we can see that it has had an impact on our students especially with um you know our increasing our the sense of belonging that our students have in our school but also how they resolve conflict with one another um and how we've seen a decrease in the amount of you know our school population that has experienced uh any type of suspension that we've been able to work through things differently with more students this year than any other year because of how
033we're continuing to grow in that direction and and we do need to continue to build it every year, you know, with your support and um but that's, you know, we're heading in a really good direction with that. >> Uh what stands out to me is the staff here. They're um all they I feel comfortable with every staff in the build um in TCS building. >> Um there's a couple things also that stand out to me. One is if you've been to these meetings past couple years, you've seen a brochure and every year the print gets smaller and smaller because we have so many great additions. Um but for me, you know, it's it's the back, it's the fundraiser. Um this year we surpassed like I don't know by at least 40 maybe 30 kids of
034how many people we were able to serve. So we were able to serve 69 students um and their siblings and that included you know all of Christmas for them all the warm gifts like clothing and you know bedding some parents needed towels you know whatever it was we were able to assist them. We were also I was noticing the numbers at at Christmas time was 145 students that we were able to give warm hoodies to. I'm glad I added extra to my order because since then all of our new kids have gotten some, too. Um, and obviously I really thank all of you for supporting us who've come to our fundraiser. Um, I love seeing your faces every year. I am so eternally grateful for Peter Marks who donates to us every year as well.
035Um, and we just, you know, we really feel the love from you guys. Thank you so much. >> Um, something that stands out to me, I will say, is the 3 to6 program cuz it's like if you get into a situation, 3 to six will help you get back on track. >> Thank you. >> Uh, something that stands out to me is our PBIS program. Uh, so, uh, this is our second year really doing it hard, like really hard focus. Um, and students can collect um over three points per class period for showing um being responsible, respectful, safe, and then bonus points for participation or whatever the teacher wants to highlight. And so they can trade in those points either on Fridays during lunchtime, we have a whole cart full of goodies, mostly snacks, uh,
036that the the students enjoy. And, um, they get really into it. So Fridays, uh, if I got down there like a minute late, it's Thomas, where were you? how many points do I have? So, um and then on um the end of every month, we have raffles in our gym and students can uh trade in their points for raffle tickets and it's YMCA memberships, bikes, um tablets, uh just various things that have been donated to our school. So, and those are um it's the same thing. Students get really hyped up kind of like how our staff is during your presentations during our PD days. It's the it's the same thing. Uh, I would never easy time. >> You know how our staff is loaded, >> but we get loud in the gym and when students
037uh when they do win, they feel really um really excited and uh so yeah, PBIS really stands out. >> Very nice. Um, something that stands out to me is the number of your after school um, activities, especially the new ones. Crafting club, the fitness club, those all look very interesting. So, it's nice that you guys add new ones all the time. >> Are you allowed to have more than one? >> So, uh, Thomas's hair stands out to me. I mean, it's fantastic hair. Um, I have two real ones. Um, so a couple people have already said it. Ebony just said it. Um, this year at the beginning of the year, uh, we talked about raising the bar and that's something we again districtwide are proud of that we're always trying to get better. As good
038as we think things are, we're always trying to get better and and TCS, you guys do that better than anyone. You're always trying to add Mr. Campfield. I can't have a meeting with Mr. Campfield without him making me get my pad out and write down just last week I wrote three things down that he wants. Uh so he's always asking for he's always asking for stuff. They're never for himself. They're always for the students. They're always for the staff who will indirectly uh make it for the students. So I do uh that stands out for me all the time that you're always trying to get better. But then in the slide um I know what Jimmy's talking about right when we first started this program and the region's exams weren't really in the mix. And
039now every graduation, I mean, not we have our regular graduation, but your your individual graduation ceremony and hearing about the kids going to college and getting scholarships to college and all the things they're planning on doing. And those regions exams that you showed are what what makes that happen. So, um, you know, you have a lot of outside of the classroom stuff that you do that's fantastic and great, but it also ultimately leads to what we're here for, which is school and learning. And they're doing that, too. and and because of all the staff and how hard everybody's working. So, that stands out to me. >> Um I'm going to go with um what Beth had said as well is that fundraiser for the kids is amazing and the support and the amount of people
040that come out to support it and all the things that you're able to do to help the students and the families. and you just have a tremendous amount of programs to support your students and it's great. >> Thank you. >> Um, as we strive to be like more and more of a restorative school, we want like a high level of accountability and a high level of support. So, I think the 3 to6 program is like a built-in um high level of accountability for students and mistakes and they get to continue with their learning even when they're suspended, which I think is really amazing. I also want to spotlight um our number of field trips has been awesome and it's a great way for the kids and staff to connect. >> All right, thank you everyone
041for participating in our circle. This is um something that we do on a daily basis at our school. You know, like Mr. A said earlier, every morning all of the students in our school participate in a community building circle. Um and that contributes to so much more of of what we do and we come together for circle for other things like conflict resolution and um and circles that repair harm. Um, so that also ties into our equity goal this year, which our equity goal has to do with um restorative practice and um increasing access to restorative practices by collecting monthly teacher input on restorative practice to ensure that um at least 90% if not more of teachers report consistent use support and administrative restorative followthrough by June. So, we're every month um doing monthly surveys
042and kind of measuring where we're at with moving forward with restorative practice and doing a good job on our our follow-through with things in our process. >> All right. >> Okay. Good. Okay. So, hey, super job. That was excellent. Hold tight. Uh we're going to end this on a great note. Uh so, again, um we usually have our 12th graders speak at this time. Uh but we're going to save those guys for our graduation ceremony. And we have two uh young students here with us who have really made some great strides and we asked if they'd be interested in presenting and they said they would uh with a lot of help from their staff. And I just want you two guys to know how special you are for doing this. You're stepping out of the
043out of the box. You're taking a chance and it's a good chance and you're you're supported and loved here by everybody. and uh we really appreciate you doing this. So, the first person we're going to have up here is 8th grader Israel Vasquez. Correct. Come on up here. >> Good evening. Good evening. Pres um President Ebony Poneway Conway and members of the board of education and superintendent John Carmelo and deputy superintendent Roy Styles. My name is Israel Vasquez Car and I am a eighth grade student at Troy Community School. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you tonight. I am here to share what I have experienced as a student and a young man growing up in Troy and how important TCS is for future students. Before I attended TCS, I had I had
044a lot more trouble focusing in a bigger classroom. I got into trouble every day because I couldn't focus. My grades were low. I was getting into more fights and I was distracted. I was more focused on more social stuff. The teachers didn't have as much patience or spend as much time with us. They were they were quicker to get mad at us and they would lead me to get mad again to more conflicts with the administrator. I feel like they didn't meet my needs. They didn't feel genuine or authentic. When when I learned I was going to attend TCS, I was mad. I hadn't heard anything about the school, so I didn't know what to expect. My mom knew Mr. Campfield, and she thought the school would be a good fit for me. After being
045at TCS for 2 years, I I know it's a good learning environment. I like it because the teachers take time with students. They treat everyone with respect, give a fresh start. Even after a problem, I feel like I learn I am learning a lot. At first, I didn't think I would like the smaller class sizes, but it really worked for me. I'm learning a lot, a whole lot. Math has gone easier. I can focus better. The teachers seal me and make sure I understand the concepts. This is the first school I like coming to. From the PE teachers to my core teachers to the cafeteria staff and janitors, they all ask how my day is going. They all got they all got a good heart. They talk to us like family, let you know when
046you're falling behind, and they make sure we care about how we're doing. And they care about what we do outside of school. They keep us accountability. accountable. The the adults make me feel like I belong here. They make me feel welcome and like I don't um I can be myself and I don't have to pretend to be something I'm not. Every teacher makes me feel like this. I'm doing well at TCS. My grades are much higher. I even earn student of the month in January. My mom is really thankful for what everyone does for me. Every time we have a parent teacher conference, we enjoy time together. We laugh and connect instead of film. We want to hurry up and get the meeting over with. We enjoy enjoy the time so much that we keep
047talking with each other. Finally, if I can speak to incoming students, I will tell them this is a better community for you. They're going they're going to take time. You will love this school. The teachers and staff stuff will happen, but keep your cool. Take your time. Take accountability and show respect. Show the respect. You want to get back. Take your time to get to know the teachers cuz they care. Thank you for having me the time. Thank you. Thank Thank you for giving me the time to share my experience with you. Thank you all for believing our school. >> Great job, Mom. >> Good job, mom. Good job. >> Okay, wonderful. And uh Zire Fenty is going to bring us home. Zire's on his way up here with Thomas. I just want to say
048a couple things. Uh this young man came in here as an eighth grader. He's an 11th grader right now. He's grown tremendously. I mean just it just tremendously. He's on track. Um when he came here with his mom, I mean it was a really emotional intake. one of the most emotional intakes I ever had. Uh, but I'm very proud of him and I know he'll do a great job and Thomas is here to help and support him. Here we go. Zire. Good evening to the board and to the audience. My name is Zire and I'm an 11th grader at TCS. I began at CCS in the eighth grade. My school experience was crazy before coming to Tro Community School. Before I came here, I was getting into a bunch of fights and I literally had
049to carry bricks with me on my on my walk home on my walk home to stay safe. I was told I wasn't going to be none. I faced trials and tribulations such as homelessness and TCS has helped me get through this. When I first heard I was going to school, I was told that it was a school full of full of bad kids. That the admit told me that it was a ALP for troubled kids. They made it they made it sound like >> Okay. Um, and they made it sound like I was a bad kid for getting sent there. That made me feel very surprised because I had no idea that I would be coming to TCS. When I started here in 8th grade, I realized >> that I was not a good kid.
050It's not true. >> It's not true. >> I was always in fights and not doing what I needed to do. I was skipping class, not doing my work. Uh, at that age I was trying to paint an image of being a bad kid. Now I realize I do not want to paint myself that way. Now that I'm in 11th grade, I've stopped letting other people's opinions affect my life and I've stopped giving into the drama and gossip in in the past would have really gotten me into trouble. Because I've been able to do this, my grades are fantastic. I tried to work hard in all of my classes and I'm not in the hallways trying to skip really at all. Which if you know Zire, being in the hallways and skipping class was a big
051part of middle school and early high school. >> I want to stay in class now because I've grown tired of getting in trouble. It's fun to be in class. It's fun to learn. And I realized I was missing out on a lot by not being in class. You You got the rest, right? No. >> Give it one more try. take back over. >> A lot of this is because I've been able to build good relationships with my teachers. My teacher, my relationships with the adults here are great. I want to shout out a few people specifically. First, Mr. Canfield because he helped me get through some serious stuff that I was going through. I want to also shout out to Mrs. Anderson because she helped me like ELA and has shown me how much I
052like poetry. I am also close with Thomas. I I look at Thomas as a big brother. He always helps me with some serious stuff and I care about his advice. Mrs. Taylor deserves a shout out as well. I really like his class. He helps me like history. He helps the kids stay engaged. This school overall helps with opportunities for us students like getting a job. They always they always help with homelessness and getting kids into shelters, too. Our school helps kids realize their potential. And my teachers and the other staff members work so hard to help us reach our goals and shape us into the best we can be. All right, you got to the younger kids part. You got it. to the younger kids, I would tell the students that like any school, we
053have our ups and downs. Because you're a new student, conflict may come up because people are trying to figure you out. My best advice is to ignore it all. It's not worth it. Focus on yourself and focus on your schooling. It is way more important than any other craziness that may happen otherwise. Finally, to the board of education, my school is a place where myself and my peers are meant to be. Our teachers and staff are always here to show up for us and help us succeed where others would where we where we otherwise would have failed. Thank you for your time and for hearing my story and my growth. Have a good day. >> Great job, Tier. Again, thank you everyone. We can, we will end the story. Thank you. Super job. and two
054and three. >> Excellent job, guys. You guys really did a great job speaking. You should be very proud of yourself. >> Okay. Um, Questar resolutions motion on the floor for consent agenda items one and two. Discussion. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion on the floor for approval of minutes from April 15, 2026? >> Second. >> Discussion. All those in favor? >> I >> opposed. Superintendent recommendation human resources staff matters unclassified and classified under unclassified motion on the floor for consent agenda items 1 through six. >> Under discussion I would like to congratulate Sabina Dinardo on her tenure once again. Thanks for continuing to be here. Sabina, how many tenures is after you've been the longest non-ear tenure person? All those in favor? >> Congratulations. >> Thank you. >> All those in favor? >> Opposed? >>
055Under classified motion on the floor for consent agenda items one and two. >> Second. >> Discussion. All those in favor? >> I >> opposed. Under superintendent recommendations programs motion on the floor for approval of item one as listed. >> Discussion. All those in favor? >> Opposed? Under superintendent recommendations, business finance motion on the floor for consent agenda items one through three. >> Discussion. All those in favor? >> Opposed budget vote and election motion on the floor for consent agenda items 1 through 4. >> Second. >> Discussion. All those in favor? >> Opposed. Board resolutions. Motion on the floor for consent agenda items one and two. >> Second. >> Discussion. All those in favor? >> I >> opposed. Okay. So, just a reminder, um, we have our budget information PTO meetings coming up. They're all listed
056on our agenda for the dates and places. Um, under Troy Triumphs, this Friday marks the opening of the district art exhibit on display at the Arts Center of the Capitol Region with an opening reception from 4:30 to 6:30. The exhibit will be on display on May 13th. Also on Friday, the select choir and jazz ensembles from both Troy Middle School and Troy High School will perform beginning at 6 p.m. as part of Troy Night Out. Be sure to stop in and support our student artists and musicians and enjoy refreshments courtesy of the Troy Teachers Association. Our spring concert season kicks off next Thursday at school 18 with performances from band, orchestra, and chorus beginning at 7. Concerts at the rest of our Troy schools will be held throughout the month of May, concluding with school
0572's concert on May 20th. And next Friday, Troy High will celebrate decision day. The class of 2026 is invited to represent their college or career choice with signs, shirts, hats, or any other branded swag. This day showcases the variety of pathways our students will take after graduation, including college, the trades, or military service. Stay tuned to our social media for photos from this fun annual tradition. And last, but not least, we would like to congratulate Mr. Abasi on his new adventure with Aubony. We will miss you. Thank you for everything you've done for us and good luck. >> Motion on the floor. Oh, sorry. Future board of ed meetings will be May 6th. We'll do the budget hearing and meet the candidates if necessary. And May 20th, we will certify our budget vote and election.
058Both meetings will be here in the Troyer room at 6 PM. Uh motion on the floor to adjurnn the meeting. >> All those in favor? >> Have a good night. >> Thank you.