Putnam Valley Board of Education Meeting - June 12, 2025

001Number three, when embedded in the content of the curriculum, writing instruction is a powerful teaching tool. Number four, the content of the curriculum drives the rigor of the writing instruction. Number five, grammar is best taught in the context of student writing. And the sixth principle is the two most important phases of the writing process are planning and revising. This method is an explicit set of sequence strategies for teaching expository writing that can be integrated into any content. From this course, I learned the specific writing revolution strategies that build the vocabulary and language skills necessary for future success in writing. Throughout the course that I took, the writing revolution faculty presented age appropriate examples and techniques for scaffolding and differentiation. There were opportunities to practice and create activities as well as receive feedback from the writing

002revolution faculty. Following the completion of the course, I have been dedicated to turnkeying the knowledge I gained to my colleagues. I provided an overview during a session at the superintendent's conference day, facilitated several professional learning hours throughout the year, and in the fall led an inservice course at the elementary school to further support our staff's implementation of the strategies. During the inservice course, teachers gathered to engage in a focused study of the writing revolution 2.0 0 text exploring the systematic and sequence strategies it offers for teaching expository writing. These strategies applicable across all grade levels provide a versatile framework for integrating writing instruction into any subject area. Through indepth discussions, educators examined how the writing revolution strategies effectively support the development of vocabulary and language skills while also exploring various scaffolding methods and differentiation techniques

003to optimize learning for all students. Teachers then designed sentence writing activities, incorporating the writing revolution strategies seamlessly into content areas such as science, social studies, and our scholastic readalouds by embedding techniques such as sentence expansion, basic conjunctions, notetaking, and summarization directly into core disciplines. Educators not only strengthen students writing capabilities but also enhance critical thinking, reading comprehension, and overall academic performance. This summer, we will be hosting an additional workshop centered on the next steps in implementing the writing revolution method at the elementary school. We are eager to continue this journey and look forward to building on the progress we've made so far. [Music] Thank you, Carrie. And we'll bring Miss Berdette back up when uh we have some of our student presenters read their writing for us toward the end of the presentation. Um, so

004the writing revolution work is critical because it does set the foundation for how students learn how to write. But as they learn how to write, there are so many different styles of writing and ways to write and ways to use words and mix sentences that students need to learn along the way. And where do they learn these? Where do they learn these skills? But where do they also have the opportunities to creatively use what they're learning in their classroom and these skill-based lessons into authentic writing experiences that they will have throughout their lives. So um the journey that we're on right now is a journey to create the continuum that will help everyone have clarity around what writing expectations are here in Putham Valley. Before I get to that, how did we get there? How

005did we decide we needed this? So I will say it did start a lot um long before I came to um uh Putnham Valley. One of the reasons I knew Putnham Valley and I would be such a great fit is when I was at Boseies in um 2017, Putham Valley was one of the first districts to send a handful of teachers to the writing revolution training that we started there. I was able to secure Dr. Hawkman to come to PNW Boseies locally our region and be able to offer workshops in this method and Putinham Valley was the first to pick that up. Then later when I joined Puthton Valley as a district, it just so happened that they were starting to renew the writing revolution work they had started a few years ago with training

006embedded K8. Every teacher received the book, every teacher was getting training with a consultant that they had hired and I got to sit in on a lot of that work. Um, as we adopted Scholastic and Putnham Valley Elementary School, that was where we started to see maybe the writing needed to be continued in a different way. Maybe we needed different strategies for teaching writing. and we said maybe we need to return to the writing revolution and that is what we did. We said okay let's pick up writing revolution again Margaret um always having the eye for these things and with her wonderful teachers um people like Carrie who are always so inspired and and ready to learn and ready to jump in with both feet as well as Ketta and Kristen who are two wonderful

007writing teachers also part of our writing committee. Um they were all hands on deck to bring that um writing revolution back. But we also said,"Well, what does writing look like across the district? And how are we articulating this to everyone? Where is there some clear direction or message to teachers on what forms of writing we should see at every grade level? How many pieces of writing we should see at every grade level? What are the expectations? Are we always correcting students handwriting or grammar or should there be a point where that should be mastered and we should be able to move on from that?" So that was kind of the impetus for the conversation and we said we really need to develop a clear cohesive continuum that articulates the expectations for writing in every grade.

008So we started to develop the continuum and where we are right now is getting ready to communicate and feedback. This is our plan for what's coming next. But I want to talk a little bit about that committee and what they've done. And I want to start with the person who is helping to lead and facilitate that committee and that's our middle school assistant principal Jamie Zea. So I'm going to invite Jamie Zea to come on up and talk to us about what is the work behind the continuum and what are we doing to develop writing for Putham Valley. [Applause] Good evening everyone. Thank you for having me here. Um, just to let you know, I'm a passionate ELA person. ELA was my um, content area that I taught for 17 years, and I absolutely love

009literacy. So, coming into this work, I actually had two beliefs. One was that writing is a craft that opens up and unlocks opportunities for people. I'm here based on my writing. I know that professionally I needed to write in a certain way to get my message across and I do believe that for students as well. Secondly, I do also believe that every teacher is a teacher of literacy. Literacy expands in every single classroom. Yes, in different ways, yes, in different methods, but we're all teachers of literacy. So, part of the work and where I came into this is having a passion for literacy. And I know that all the teachers that joins me also have the passion for literacy. When we looked at um evidence-based research such as the science of reading and the science

010of writing, the evidence is clear. Students need to be explicitly taught skills in writing across content areas. That is first and foremost. Students also need frequent opportunities for writing in every single classroom. And what that looks like again changes. It is content specific. Sometimes it's an email to a teacher. Sometimes we get lost in text messages, but every single time that a student engages in writing, they are writing for a purpose. They're writing to get their points across. With regard to the committee, we started to examine the relationship between reading and writing practices that we use in our schools. And we were able to identify specific writing genres and strategies being used in the classrooms. And we were looking at how often writing is actually done. Um what it looks like in our curriculum maps

011and what does it look like vertically aligning it across buildings and across the district. One noticing and one trend that we found is that we as a district are consistently writing short answer responses. That's multi-content areas. We are consistently writing argument pieces and we're consistently writing narratives. So those are the three primary ways that our students are writing. We began to document what this looks like for every grade level. And we had a lot of rich discussions based on the evidence. And it was an eye-opening experience seeing kindergarten teachers working with our 12th grade teachers and looking at pieces of student writing. One of our first initiatives was to look at a student who was accepted to a prestigious university and what writing was being expected of her. Based on that, we started to develop

012the idea of who is a Putinham Valley writer, what do they look like, where do we want them to go, how do we help them to succeed, and part of our work was determining writing goals for each and every grade level. what do we want from writers to do independently at each grade level? We also had an interesting um experiment where we examined student writing samples based on one singular prompt across the district and the prompt was who is someone you admire? Based on that prompt, kindergarten students responded in a certain way. 12th graders responded in a very different way. and all the grade levels in between. Students determined what it was that they were or how they were going to write, who they were going to write about, the length of that writing. Um,

013and we had a variety of different genres that were presented. We were able to look at the writing and again add to what we know as teachers of literacy and what the science is saying. So, when we examined student samples um using the singular prompt, I I thought it was a fascinating experiment because all of our kids are writing about somebody that they admire. Most of it was moms and dads. Um but the way that they presented their information was astonishing. For the continuum specifically, this is just the middle school's document for the continuum. Um it is a work in progress. it is something that's going to be looked at consistently. Um, but if you look at grade five and you look at grade eight, that first little um, clip art piece is writing a

014clear claim. So that's obviously based on standards. That's obviously based on what writers are being asked to do in New York State standards for testing. But how does it change? How do we use something like writing a claim and spiral it? So if you look at by the time students are in eighth grade, they're really developing more of a thesis statement rather than just restating and answering a question. We did look at strategies across the district. And for the middle school specifically, we've determined that there are some um pieces of of the curriculum that we want to look at, but we also want to expand based on our knowledge of the research. So, for example, we need more time vertically aligning ourselves in our own building, and I'm sure everybody else is looking for the

015same kind of time in their buildings as well. When we meet together as an ELA department, we're going to establish what the specific writing criteria are for our students and the non-negotiables. For example, the other day I was sitting in our eighth grade meeting and we were talking about student writing and we looked at how does a student write in ELA? The same student right in science and that same student write in math. And each time we looked at the writing, it changed. We noticed that there was a lack of conventions that we noticed there was sometimes even a lack of sentence structure. So what we want to do is establish non-negotiables in our writing cross areas. We want to use the same language across every classroom. So when students are writing, there's transference of

016skills. We also want to partner our ELA department that is want to partner with our science and social studies teachers. We want to make sure that we're starting with our science and social studies teachers who are our greatest literacy supports in the building. And we want to grow what we're doing in ELA and in our ELA classrooms into those classrooms to make it easier for students to say, okay, if I'm being asked to write, it's writing every single time in this way. Again, that transference of information is so important for students to take with them. Thank you very much. So, at this time, I just want to point the board's attention to some sample writing that we have on the tables. Um, they're wrapped up in a little bow. Feel free to open them. Um,

017but I wanted to just give a snapshot of this is a second grade piece of writing. This is a 12th grade piece of writing. We are looking at student writing across the district and trying to align practices in a backwards design model in order to be able to make sure that our students who are expected to write in this way when they get to 12th grade have everything they need as they go through the grades and that every teacher who may not consider themselves a writer in nature themselves un understands those conventions, grammar, mechanics and everything that may um have eluded them since they were last in school themselves. Um, but at this time, I hope this doesn't start right away. Okay. At this time, I'd like you to hear from a few of our

018very own Putinham Valley writers, starting with our first graders and ending with our 12th graders. Our 12th graders really wanted to be here tonight, but it is prom. So, Carrie Dienna, who is also a member of our writing committee, was able to secure few uh three of them to read their own pieces, just excerpts because they are very long, as you will see in the packet. um just a few pieces that they wanted to read excerpts from uh for you tonight. So that will be video, but we'll start with our live and imperson first grade readers. And I'm going to turn it over again to Miss Berdett to show you just what our Putinham Valley writers can do as of now. [Music] Does she need help? There's another arm. There's a trade slide down Carrie.

019Oh, that's perfect. Wonderful. So, at this time, I'd just like to take a moment to sincerely thank my students for coming and for their unwavering dedication and hard work this year in first grade. They have written an extraordinary amount throughout the entire year and their growth as writers is nothing short of remarkable. I am incredibly proud of each one of them. And tonight they are so excited to share their writing pieces with you. And as you listen, I encourage you to look for some specific things from the writing revolution that we've been working on. Um, one being sentence types, looking at different types of sentences. And we've learned the four different types are statements, questions, commands, and exclamations. You're going to notice sentence expansion, whereas we've written sentences, they've asked questions to try to expand

020their sentences. You're going to notice evidence of basic conjunctions, which I think are favorites, right? Because, but, so, um, you're also going to notice that we have been learning about different types of transitions, um, such as conclusions, um, different ways to add, put a conclusion in, writing in conclusion or in closing or clearly. You're going to see them using um transition words to add information such as the word also or in addition. You're going to notice them using a transition for an illustration using for example or for instance. And you will see them with um transitions for time and sequence using words like first, next, then finally. So the first writer I would like to welcome on is Massie Anderson Seagull. So if she can come up. Massie is going to share a piece today

021that came from a writing prompt that she had done. And the prompt was to think about a person who helps others. It might be someone you know or a person you learn about. and she just had to write about that person. So, she began by writing a single paragraph outline and then from there she wrote her piece of writing. Are you ready? Yes. Okay. Has anyone helped you before? My sister helps me with stuff. For example, one time my elf fell and she knew what to do. Another time she helped me with singing. Also, she helped call my dog in because when I called her in, she didn't hear me. Also, when I get her, she cares so much. For example, one time I fell and she helped me up. Clearly, my sister Seoia is

022amazing because she helped people. Thank you, Massie. Our next writer is another first grader. Her name is Kaylee Singleton. So, Kayle's piece of writing comes from one of our scholastic units. It was a writing unit that we had done. Um it was called I think this because developing reasoning in opinion writing and she wrote this opinion piece using strategies and techniques that we've learned not only about the craft of opinion writing but also incorporating the method from the writing revolution. [Music] In my opinion summer is the best season. First, I can go to the beach. For example, I play in the sand and build sand castles. Next, I can go in the pool and cool down. Finally, I can get ice cream on a sunny day and cool down. In conclusion, summer is the best

023season. [Music] Thank you, Kaylee. And our final first grade reader tonight is Went Baron. So Went is going to share a reading response that he had done. As a class, we read an article about thunderstorms and engaged in a series of sentence building activities to reinforce various learning techniques. The final task involved completing an SPO, which is a single paragraph outline. And I provided the topic sentence for them, but then I think in your piece you changed it up, right? And then the students generated supporting details before crafting a concluding sentence. So, are you ready to share your piece? Okay. So, here is Went all about thunderstorms. Do you want me to? I'm sure. Here are things that happen in a thunderstorm. First, the sky gets dark and there are powerful winds. So powerful that

024they could blow down a tree. That is a sign that a storm is coming. Next, you could hear thunder. Also, you could see lightning. You might not see it because it is very, very fast. So, you could not see it. Then, big raindrops fall. um from the sky. Also, the rain could be so powerful that it could probably create a flood easily. Finally, the storm will stop. It will be sunny and the sun will come out. And if you are lucky enough that you could spot a rainbow. Clearly, those are things that happen in a thunderstorm. [Music] Thank you, Went. It's truly exciting to see all of these students hard work come to life in such a tangible way. So, thank you so much for sharing your work. [Music] Uh, Carrie, thank you so much,

025Miss Berdette. Carrie, before you leave, Carrie, before you leave, so when I was picturing the continuum that we've been working on, um, I I didn't expect such high level of writing at first grade. I was thinking, okay, first grade sentences, short sentences. Second grade, she spot run. Second, that tells you how old he is. Sound like they can change. So, um, you know, second grade, maybe two or three sentences by third grade paragraphs. So to see first graders write in different styles for different purposes with what I would consider high level of proficiency. I'm just blown away. These are absolutely amazing students. So and I know they aren't the only three. So Thank you Carrie. and of course all of our first graders and their families for being here tonight to share the wonderful writing

026work you're doing. Um, and yes, Barbara, you're right. It is amazing what this work has done for the writing in our youngest grades. And uh Margaret will even say writing has transformed in the building because of the work that Carrie and others have been doing to really understand and learn the strategies that the writing revolution remember this is not a program writing revolution. It is strategies instructional strategies to improve writing to help students learn how to write. Um, so it really is such a testament to the hard work and just wonderfulness of Carrie Berdett and people who have been supporting her along the way and working with her and all of the teachers she's been able to touch over this past year. So hats off to her. She's incredible and I think we should just

027give her another round of applause. Um, I want to share now our 12th graders. And again, you're only hearing an excerpt of what they're writing for their IB work and the type of college essays that they're sending off to colleges. Um, but they uh they were really excited to be able to share how they are as writers and how you can see where we go from this first grade group and you can only imagine what they will be able to do when they go to 12th grade where these seniors are right now. So, let me hope this works. My name is Jack Fitzar. I'll be reading an excerpt from my higher level essay. My line of inquiry was in what ways does Lin Manuel Miranda use the turntable in Hamilton to enhance the narrative and

028explore themes of ambition and running out of time? What what what does it truly take to achieve greatness? Relentless ambition or perfect timing. The musical of Hamilton follows that of Alexander Hamilton's life from his time in the Revolutionary War until his death. Within this, his relationship with Aaron is explored, starting as friendship to eventual enemies. This focuses greatly on their differing views on paths towards creating a legacy in life. Hamilton believing that determination and fighting for what you want leads to greatness. While Burr thinks one should wait for it, it being the right opportunity to become successful through the use of the turntable at the center of the stage representing both the passage of time and the ever moving creation of America. Miranda creates a visual story through the set design and choreography that enhances

029the narrative and brings these themes of ambition and running out of time to life. My name is Nicholas Rodriguez and this is an excerpt from my higher level essay. My line of inquiry is how use color symbolism in the matrix to explore the separation between illusion and reality. The dual nature of reflections in Morpheus's sunglasses gives a visual metaphor for duality, highlighting that every decision has underlying contradictions. In contrast, the blue pill has a soothing peaceful glow that attracts with the promise of eternal ignorance. Its visual ease serves as an attractive illustration of the familiar, a state in which questions are left unasked and the truth is kept hidden. This decision is complicated further by the story of Cipher's betrayal. In a desparing event, Cipher denies reality by commenting, "I notice steak doesn't exist, but

030it's juicy and delicious." In the moment preceding his satisfaction, the steak is captured in his vibrant blue red cube. Its rare raw feature emphasizes a sensory appeal that is both tempting and meaningful. Normally red in matrix is connected with the painful awakening promised by the red pill. In this scene, the red of the steak is repurposed as he eats it. Psycher declares ignorance is bliss. Transforming the steak's passionate redness into a symbol of engaging in illusion. Rather than a call to confront the empty reality, the red now tempts with the promise of a quick attractive sensory pleasure. This intended change emphasizes how Cipher metaphorically reverses his previous decision by accepting the flu pill's comfort and chooses to remain in the manufactured reality. The striking image of the red snake thus not only emphasizes the intriguing

031nature of sensory appeal but also serves as the visual irony. Its color, which is typically an indicator of truth and violence, becomes a sign of a intentional retreat into blissful ignorance. Through this countless interaction of color and choice, the Wowskis pushed viewers to consider how the attraction of pleasure may blind the search for truth, demonstrating the film's prevailing idea that the cost of self-imposed ignorance. [Applause] [Music] I can confidently say that we will not be sharing any of Dr. Luff's first grade or 12th grade writing samples. You got it. Um Oh, let me pause that. Let me just get out of here. [Music] All right. And that concludes our presentation. I do before we complete want to just acknowledge Shannon Perino of sixth grade, Priscilla Lutz of 8th grade, Cat Schutz and I did mention

032Carrie Duciana as well um as well as Ketta Glo and Christina Arzo of fourth grade. Um those are the teachers that currently make up our writing committee along with Jamie Zucka, Carrie Berdett, Dr. Podesta and myself. So um we are hard at work on this very important work. It has just um it's been so eye openening for all of us and as we've watched the elementary school grow in such an amazing way with their writing. We can only imagine as this work continues and our fifth grader fifth grade teachers have already asked for the writing revolution 2.0 book. So they are eager to hear more and learn more and carry this work forward into the middle school which is just so great. So um thank you for listening and any questions please let me know.

033Just outstanding. Outstanding. I mean that I and Barbara summed it up. The level of, you know, articulation and and thought process that goes into the first graders writing is it it it's amazing. Uh doing good work. Thank you. Doing really good work. Does this fit with the middle years pro? like is it the middle years program fit really nicely with the so one of the parts of our work next will be to develop rubrics that combine the middle years and IB expectations I should say because IB is a framework um but IB expectations with our own standards and the writing expectations we good good the other thing is is finding a way to let parents kind of understand maybe not the whole 12 years, maybe a year at a time. Okay. Okay. So, this is

034what we expect first graders to produce. So, if they're helping them at home, they have some kind of a guideline of where of where they need to be. Um because a lot of a lot of teaching goes on at home, too. Um, and I'd like parents to have a, you know, a guideline so that they, you know, if they looked down at their child's writing, my own children will say, "It's terrible to have a mother that's a teacher." Um, you know, like what is expected? No, this is this is you can do better than this. This is not this is not what you learned in school or whatever because it's so different than what we the way we learned it in school. So, I would like to make that homeschool connection as strong as possible

035if we're using parents as co-educators. It's a wonderful idea and we can certainly bring that back to the committee how we can best help our parents be aligned with us too. These kids were amazing both the you know seniors to first graders. So, thank you all for being here tonight and sharing your work with us. Um my question is we know that all kids are not at this level and all of our students and there's challenges for some. How are we addressing those challenges? Such a great question. So one of the things um one of the original purposes of the Hawkman method for example was for students who had difficulties in learning. Winward is a designed school was a school designed for special needs learning and that's where she developed this method because it is

036explicit and direct instruction really formulaic in how students learn how to write. So it actually is targeting those students who have the most difficulty with writing. Um building vocabulary is essential to this too so that they have the words in order to be able to make those wonderful transitions and start sentence in different ways and vary up their sentence styles. Um, but the actual structure of the writing instruction was developed originally for students with special needs. So, I'm so glad you asked that question because that is what the Winward Institute was all about and that is what Hawkman was intending to do when she originally developed her method. Thank you. And I have to say like today we had the opportunity, I know Mrs. Phillips is here to attend a haiku um at at the

037Haiku readings at the elementary school and it's just amazing what these kids are producing and the students are producing between that. Um, when we went to Mrs. Odell's second grade class to see what um have their performance as well as the letters that they sent to us just amazing all over. So, thank you for all your work. Thank you. We are so proud and we want more of that really. That's kind of the purpose behind the continuum too is it's great that we write these short responses and it's great that we have great argument essays and expository writing, but where are students writing poetry? Where are students writing creatively? where are they developing a script for a podcast or for a blog or whatever they may be doing as you know um becoming more digital

038citizens. So we really need to also use the continuum as a way to articulate are we writing for all types of audiences and purposes. So thank you. The development of that continuum is just so incredible. Um not just for students who may be struggling writers which we we know based on the quote that you shared um that research shows that writing is harder than learning to read. Um and so one of the things that I want to suggest is that um teachers be able to use that continuum to also enrich students who are writing above grade level. Um so that they're not because of the explicity of the program because it's based on explicit direct instruction which you know that I absolutely love because it's like we're targeting everybody in the room at the same

039time um to be able to really get it. Uh it's researchbased science. It's just absolutely amazing how explicit direct instruction works in the minds of our children. Um but for those kids who are uh a little bit step above that they also be challenged. And so for teachers to be able to move across that continuum no matter what grade level they teach uh is going to help our our children to have that differentiated instruction for the enrichment piece as well which I think is just fantastic. I just want to say that all of this matters so much because writing is the voice of the next generation. And if they don't know how to articulate their thoughts, which is often, if you've ever watched a child write or given a child an ondemand prompt, sometimes they

040get stuck because they can't get their thoughts from their brain to the paper. It's not that they don't have the thoughts, it's that they just can't manipulate that piece of paper. And so, or the computer. And so, um, all of this to say thank you so much and thank you to our amazing staff. um who have been working on this. Uh the fact that you developed this committee, the fact that you have it from K to 12 is just absolutely amazing. Perhaps there can be some type of partnership uh with our new preK program that's coming in so that we can begin to develop those skills early on. Um really great work. Thank you. So, I want to begin by quickly thanking, and no offense to anyone else, but the true stars of the evening.

041So, I'd like to thank Mazy uh Kaye, who I noticed didn't bring any bows cuz I used to steal the bows from her hair and stick it on my head in kindergarten and went. So, thank you all for coming. I hope you guys come back and visit us more often. Uh but you were truly the stars of the show. So, how about one more round of applause uh to Carrie and Jackie and Margaret and everyone else who does this very important work. Again, want to extend my gratitude and uh I obviously need to start using the word clearly more often in my writing. I want to make sure I get that into my next letter. Um but I just thinking back to my own education and my my own children's education and there is no

042way that I or they were writing like this in first grade. Um, and I don't even understand the titles of what the seniors are writing about. So, that's a whole another story. Uh, but it's really impressive work and I think it speaks volumes to the fact that we have teachers across the continuum, all grade levels participating in this work. Um, and Miss Seka, sorry, Mr. Before, uh, is another instructional leader on that team. So, making this all possible across the buildings, uh, it's really important. So, thank you all for being here this evening. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you so much especially to Miss Zucka for her leadership of the committee. She has been helping me to bring the committee together, set agendas, set plans for those meetings. So hats off to you, Miss

043Zea, for the great work you've been doing to help me lead this work. Thank you. Great. Thank you. [Applause] So you guys are welcome to Skidaddle. I know it's getting late unless you really want to hear about the career and technical education program. Can I help you? No, you asked that. Are you practicing? They have a couple years before they have to worry about CTE. I can read and write. Oh, we have a very unbalanced room now. Oh. Oh, is Rob on that committee? That was the best thing I've seen all day. Well, get ready because we have two new stars to show you here tonight with me. Thank you ladies both for being here. Um I'm going to present on our career and technical program. We know how important and valuable this program is

044to us and um I wanted to just give the board a snapshot of what's going on this year. We presented at the end of last year about our career in tech program and presented a student speaker and I wanted to do the same for you at the end of this year along with student speakers. I have two with me tonight which is wonderful. Thank you both for being here. Um this is our agenda for our presentation tonight. We'll talk about our Bose partners, our programs, our current student enrollment and then we'll have two reflections from um different areas of the program and then we'll take any questions that I hopefully can answer in Steve Lowry's absence. Um these are just some facts and figures from career tech.org. Uh and from the Bose website itself. Uh

04594% of high school CTE concentrators graduate nine points higher than the average US rate of graduation. 86% of our CTE students in PNW Boseies enroll in college or technical institutions and nearly 35% will work in their field of study. Our Boseies currently serves uh 1,46 students. They graduated 641 students just last night, which is their largest graduating class in history. I believe next year they have 770 incoming students. So that is again breaking records. They are just growing by leaps and bounds. There are over 40 programs at our Boseies for students to choose from. We'll talk about a few of the ones that our students are in part are part of later on. Um we had 82 students enrolled in 2425 school year this school year 2425. And the Boseies also offers 300 plus adult

046programs from different languages to speak to HVAC to getting your real estate license. There is a lot for adults to do at Boseies do which is great. Jackie the the the number that you just said 82 is is that next year's enrollment? Um, I believe it's it might be this 25 24 25. Do we know 25 26? Have the kids signed up? You know, I can get that number for you. I think Lin Keller is already working on that, but I will I'll double check and I'll send that to the board uh maybe tomorrow. Great. Thank you, Jackie. Um, just some things to know about the Boseies programs in general. Students can attend for one or two years. Uh, they can attend for two or four hours a day. Um and successful graduates can attain

047a career in technical education diploma uh a certificate or region's diploma with a technical endorsement. And um our Boseies provides work-based learning programs which identifies activities that help the um program collaborate with a workplace learning environment for the students so they can actually practice on the job learning and skills. This is a breakdown of the areas in which our students mostly attend. I have another slide that breaks down our most popular programs for our students, but looking at the areas and the fields of study, this is just a snapshot. Um, I'm not naming every single program our students attend here, but you can see that they attend medical assistant programs, law enforcement, microcomputing, small engine repair, HVAC, welding, fashion, merchandising, graphic design. I had the benefit of going to the fashion show just a couple

048of weeks ago where um one of our students Sophia Gabaldi showed off the work that she'd been working on in a catwalk style with some of our own students modeling the pieces. It was really terrific and Boseis held that at the Paramount Theater over in Peak Skill. So they really made it a professional environment and made the students they had a video of the students kind of um like a documentary of their work and how they came to the pieces and the ideas, what their influences were. Um it was really cool to see the things they've learned in the program along the way. So Boseies really goes above and beyond to treat these students like professionals to give them as much professional experience as possible and I feel like it is one of the best

049programs out there for students who are looking to take on a trade or vocational study. Yeah, this is our breakdown. Um cosmetology is our uh most popular program and we have one of those students here tonight. Uh we have 12 students in the cosmetology program, nine students in our culinary program, about auto and that includes auto mechanics and whatnot. Um that is seven students and then law enforcement five students. We are seeing some growth in the microcomputing game design and animation. So Boseies has added some of those really cool 21st century type programs to their offerings and our students are starting to take more of those as we're seeing um in the enrollment. So, I'd like to welcome Bella up to speak a little bit about her program, the cosmetology program. Come on up. And

050I'm going to turn it over to her so she can tell you about her experiences. Great. Hi, good evening. My name is Bella Calvente and I attend Boseies for the cosmetology program. When I was a sophomore, cosmetology gained my attention. When I took my Boseies tour, I knew I wanted to do this for my career. The reason why I chose to go to Boseis was so I can obtain my license right after I graduate from high school. This program has provided me with a lot of knowledge and has given me the ability to make new friends from other school districts. Once the once I completed the program, I will have a big leg up and on other students who will first begin the same program after graduating. The program works on an hourly basis, which

051motivates students every day to show up so they don't miss hours. One of my most favorite things I've learned this year was a hands-on experience while working with mannequins. We do so many things like hair cutting to perm wraps. Many people think Boseies is just a way to skip school, but I believe it's the total opposite. When you really have a passion, Boseies is a great opportunity to learn such at a young age. Since my first day at Boseies, I can say I've learned a surplus of information in such a short amount of time. With 2 hours every day, I am able to learn and retain the information I'm taught with no rush or stress. Boseis is a great opportunity for people who want to learn more about their trades before leaving high school. Boseies

052has been a positive and helpful experience. I am very grateful to be able to continue next year and I can't wait for all the opportunities the cosmetology program has in store for me. Bella, how many kids were in your class total? Uh the you know when you would attend for the two hours, how many other students were there with you? Uh there's 22. Okay. Wow. Wow. That's incredible. Yes. Cool. Yes. Thank you guys so much. Thank you. And now I'd like to welcome up Savannah. Come on up, Savannah. Hi. Good evening. Um, my name is Savannah Simmons. I go to the Oh, sorry. Sorry. Um, I go to the law enforcement program at Boseis. Um, it is a two-year program which the first year it is law enforcement and the second year it's criminology. So,

053um, I'm going to skip a little bit ahead and then go back. Basically, um, what we learn in the whole law enforcement program is we learn all about like penal laws and stuff like that. Um, we learn handcuffing. Um, sorry, I'm kind of like licking. We're learning like a bunch of different types of um just laws and I've learned a bunch of like amendments and stuff like that. Um and then next year um which is kind of different from like learning like law and everything, we're going to be actually learning like the criminal like the brain of um like criminals and like why they like do things and stuff like that. So, it's more it's a lot more harder that year, which is why that you have to get introduced into um the law enforcement

054program like to then go into criminology. But what I love about my program is that um what Bella said, it gives 2 hours, which I think is so much more beneficial to the 45minut like even which I think is better. God bless you. Um, I think it's a lot better the two hours because it definitely gives so much more time to actually like understand the skill that you want to learn and like give it it gives you like just a lot more time and like I feel like that's a lot like that's really important and I've met so many different people that like from different schools that like I just wouldn't have met, you know what I mean? Like I just wouldn't have met them and like I really don't know what I would do

055without those people that I've met. Um, and it's just such a great program. Like I really just like it's such a great program. I love my teacher. He's the best. He literally like every day I come into school. Um if I'm stressed about something like here in this building, I love it here, but if I'm stressed about something, I can just take the bus ride and go to Boseis and it's completely different people. You know what I mean? Like you can just be your own person. you can start over new with like new people, meet new people, be like a different like just whatever like you want to do. Like you can literally it's just so freeing and like I just genuinely love it there. Um, so yeah, and then my plans for next year

056are to go on to the um criminology route of that and I don't know what I'm going to do for senior year, but I hope that the law enforcement program will hopefully help me. Um, so we take a lot of tests in that class. Um, and sorry I'm kind of blabbing, but it he my teacher basically told me that by now we're ready to take like a sergeant's exam. Like if we were to take a sergeant's exam right now, all of us would pass because of how much knowledge we have learned this year. I really wish I wrote down some things. I'm sorry about that. But we have learned so much this year in such like a small time. And it's crazy. And I'm so excited to learn about so much more next year. So,

057thank you. And I was wondering if you guys had any questions. Thank you. So, Savannah, did you find uh the the scheduling here you were able to still go to Boseies? There was no problem. You were able to get all your classes. So, with that, um for my classes, I now have cuz like it's like the 2hour periods like so before I go to class, I have before I go to Boseies, sorry. I have two per like two classes and then I have lunch. So, I really like that because it seems like shorter. It literally seems like a short day. And um my like my um guidance counselor helped me just kind of like figure that out, you know what I mean? So, what I'm doing is this year I took um English, history, and

058science. So, I'm I take criminalistics um which kind of like also helps me with that. And then um next year I'm gonna be taking English at Boseies which is another thing that you can do. You can also at Boseies you could take an English take um gym as well. I don't take a gym but you could take gym there. Um and then I'm taking um my math next year. So I'll have all my credit. So you have the flexibility to go to Boseies and also attend and I still also have a free period. Okay. To do like if I wanted to do an extra class or something. Cool. So yeah. Good. Are there any more questions? You both did a great job. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you so much for being here,

059girls, and sharing your experiences thus far. Um, and that concludes our CTE presentation. Any questions that I can answer or get answers for you about? Yeah, I was at the graduation and uh, you know, they always do a superb job. There's so many kids. It was incredible. The only thing they have to do is and Jackie, I spoke to you about this. They got to fix the parking. You can't get in there. It is tough. It It is It is tough. But we just established there was almost 700 kids. I know. Think about that. 700 kids graduating. Wow. And parking at the the elementary school. Yeah. It it is a successful program. And you know recently uh I don't know if you you saw the article in the New York Times but the trades are

060becoming a real focus for many of our young people because that's where the money is today uh getting out and getting those trades and many of the uh the trades involve college so they get this basic background and then they they can move on to a higher level but uh I I think Boseies is just it's one of my favorite well you know that I it is wonderful it's a wonderful place to be and I think we just got a note from from the crowd that it sounds like we have 50 students as of right now enrolled for next year. So that number could change as the summer goes on and students enroll with us, but um right now it's 50. Okay, that's great. That's good to hear. Thank you. Sasha and I did a

061tour recently. Um they talked about how many internships are available for the students and I thought that was also amazing. Yes, it is wonderful. Those work-based learning experiences are so important and um students really get a lot of hands-on professional experiences where they're working with um local businesses and even corporations to be able to learn what they need to learn about working on the job. So, it's excellent. Thank you so much. Thank you. I know that last year was the first year that uh the CT programs had to turn away students and that just speaks to uh the number of students that are interested in these programs and I I want to commend the work that they did in terms of increasing they doubled the size of many of their programs. That's great to hear.

062Just to try to meet the need and still there were students who didn't get their first choice this year. Um so they're doing a tremendous amount of work there to build capacity to meet the students needs and then know they're doing a ton of work around internships. Uh to Bella's point she leaves uh certified uh what is certification so certification bearing programs and a big push is now college credit programs. So I know many of the CTE programs offered through Boseies uh will now allow students to earn college credits and then leave there with college credits as they continue on uh into college and career. So that's all very exciting. I was going to ask Isabella if she has any suggestions for my hair. I don't know if a perm a perm wrap is going

063to do anything for me, but um I I wanted to commend you too. It's it's not easy to get up here and speak in front of a bunch of adults you don't know, but you both did a fantastic job and it means a lot to hear not to take anything away from Miss Lavine, but it means a lot to hear directly from the students and your own experiences. So, we greatly appreciate you guys taking the time uh to be here this evening. So, thank you. Thank you. If you have any suggestions, you can just shoot me an email. Should we finish the presentation? Yes. before we go back. Sure. So, our last presentation is just a second reading of the extreme heat conditions. Uh this is based upon the NISPA policy. It's a state required

064policy and it is hopefully a policy we will never need to access. Uh being one of the very few school districts with central heat and air conditioning, uh we should never find ourselves in a condition in which uh temperatures approach these levels. But like I said before, it is a required. So we uh have uh refined and uh this the NISSBA policy and it's up for adoption this evening. So if there's no questions I think we can continue moving. Good to go. Okay. So now uh the student representatives are not here tonight. Um right now they're dancing now. So they can't steal your thunder. Dr. left. You have a lot to report. I can picture Aiden doing the running man right now. Maybe not. Don't tell him I said that. Uh, all right. Good evening

065everyone. So, I want to begin by sharing some of our major achievements and recognitions that the school has received. And as we have warned, it is not a dull time of year. So, there's been a lot happening. Uh I'm very sorry she's not here for this piece, but if you uh rewind a couple meetings, I demanded that Putnham Valley be recognized during the Metro Awards, especially our own board reps. Uh so I'm happy to announce that the 2025 Metro High School Theater Awards Ceremony that our student board of education representative Haley Kron won the Metro Award for the outstanding female acting performance for her portrayal of L. Woods in the theater works spring musical Legally Blonde. So, I feel like someone at the Metros was listening when I demanded that happen cuz then it happened.

066Um, but well welld deserved and I'm glad that she received that credit. So, a little bit about it. The Metro Awards was held at the Performing Arts Center at Sunni Purchase. to draws over,300 attendees from 71 school districts across Westchester, Putnham, Rockland, and Bergen counties. I think it's funny how Bergen snuck in there. The ceremony is filled with a variety of performances of students in attendance, including our other student board of education rep, uh, Marissa Katuro, who performed in the opening number. So, congratulations to those two ladies and the entire cast and crew of Legally Blonde. [Music] Some other exciting news we've recently shared P Valley Middle Schools officially met the requirements for IB authorization. So congratulations every single person who contributed to make this happen, especially our two IB coordinators, Mary Kay and Stephanie,

067our building administrators, Jamie Zea and Travis, and of course our own Mr. Jackie Leavine, uh, who led that initiative from its inception throughout the authorization process. So, we're happy to embrace the fact that we now have two IB world schools, both Putnham Valley Middle School and Putnham Valley High School. Um, [Music] so as we have discussed in the past, the Putnham Valley High School is now taking on the second phase of the middle years program. So, that work is beginning um next school year primarily. We have a coordinator in place, Miss Cat Schutz. And really over the next two to three years, you'll see the middle years program in Pton Valley High School take off and lead to authorization as well. Uh again, it's been a busy week. On Monday, uh Miss Lavine, myself, and

068David Spittle were able to travel to New York State Education Department where the Putham Valley Central School District was awarded the 2025 New York State Green Ribbon School Award. Um so that we were one of two schools across the entire state. Typically this recognition would be awarded in Washington DC at a national event. Um unfortunately as we were watching the dismantling of the department of education we were hoping to get in under the wire but we received our letter that the reception has been postponed indefinitely. So unfortunately we will not be recognized in Washington DC at least not anytime soon. Uh but New York State wanted to make sure that they recognized us. So we were able to attend a board of regions meeting. Uh our own regent Wills was there and she shared a

069presentation and shared some of our application and gave us this nice award. So it was a very wonderful occasion and it's really a recognition of the hard work of many individuals who were no longer with the school district. Um, this work began back in 1996, 1998 when the first geothermal wells went in. And really all we've done is continue that legacy of sustainability, bring it forefront and center to our students through educational opportunities and continue to expand the sustainable energy sources that we have in our campus. Much thanks to the help of David Spittle, whether it be solar panel arrays or continuing to transform our elementary school into entirely geothermal. Thanks to the uh voters of Putnham Valley, that'll be able to happen. And we are we were working with representatives from the facilities planning

070committee and the New York State Education Department because we still believe that Putnham Valley Central School District will be the first entirely geothermal run entirely on sustainable energy across the entire state. So until someone proves me wrong, I'm going to keep saying that, but they even in facilities management, they didn't know of any other school district that was able to celebrate that. So, um, that was a nice award, a nice recognition, and obviously that work will continue. So, a sports update. We did have um a a state sendoff, even though it was a little premature, but we squeezed it in before all the kids went home for regions exams. But I want to congratulate Abby Ehauskin and JP Patterson for earning spots in this uh spr in this New York State Championship for sprinting as

071well as Putnham Valley High School baseball team who won their first sectional title, won their first regional title and will at Friday, tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. uh participate in their first New York State semi-finals. So if they're uh victorious tomorrow evening, they will play at Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Uh and that will be for the New York State Championship. and Abby and JP will compete also tomorrow morning in Middletown for state championships in track and field. That is amazing. Busy busy times. Our Pony Valley Middle School held their career fair which took place last Wednesday on 6th floor. Uh middle school counselors Mel Melody Ortiz and Christina Magro were vital in making the connections with community members, coordinating the event and creating passports for students to fill out during the event. It was a

072great success giving students a fun and engaging opportunity to explore a wide range of career paths. Students were asked thoughtful questions, interacted with professionals from various fields and participated their participation in meaningful impact in opening students eyes to possibilities in helping them connect classroom learning to real world applications. And I know we have a whole list of everyone who was there, but I'll uh I'll defer to you for that. Okay. You want me to read it now? No, you can do it later. So, Mr. Mr. Melo and myself were able to attend the Hudson Valley Chamber of Commerce scholarship breakfast this morning and we were happy to be joined by a Putnham Valley student and his family. So Sean Carol was the Putnham Valley's recipient for that scholarship. It was a nice breakfast. We saw

073students from across the region and they got up and said a little something. They even gave Shawn the mic. I warned him. I asked him if he had his speech ready. He laughed at me. I don't think he thought I was serious. Uh but when he went up there he had to say something. but he did a fantastic job and uh we were very proud of him as we are all of our students. As we had mentioned, we are not uh we are without our senior reps tonight because they are at the prom. So that is taking place right now. We just a quick update our universal prek uh lottery. We had our own bid opening. Jackie reading off the bingo cards and uh Jeie sticking them in the bright spots. I was smart enough

074to take the one job that was on the other side of the cameras which was typing the numbers in. So, uh, I think it was a huge success. I was sorry that there was obviously some families who did not get in. I was thankful that there was such a large interest in the program and just a reminder for those that were selected have until the end of June to complete the registration process. We also have a healthy wait list in case we're able to expand the program or if any spots open up. Barbara, Jackie, and myself attended the Westchester Platinum School Board Association annual meeting and roundt. So, an opportunity to hear from districts and representatives from across the region, talk about some of the initiatives and advocacy work that's taking place, and hear from

075a keynote speaker. Some of the many things that have been happening. I'll just run down the list. The high school held their senior awards ceremony. It's always amazing to see the total amount of money that's handed out to our seniors. Our high school had their second annual IB banquet, which held up in the library. I know many of the board members were able to attend as well. Then we had our high school underassman academic awards. Our eighth grade students had their orientation as they get prepared to enter 9th grade. That included our garrison students who will be joining. They were here as well as well as the parents. That evening we had numerous band and chorus concerts. Pretty much any grade level you name, they've done it. Fourth grade and up, we've had band and

076chorus concerts. Our elementary school held their sustainability fair. So Miss Bros and Miss Bruno, thanks to them for making that happen. It's been a busy day at the elementary school. Yesterday was the elementary school colonial day. Today was the Revolutionary War reenactment. I was hanging out with the blacksmith for a while. I asked him about what his thoughts on the forge and fire are. I'll keep those to myself. Um, but it was amazing to see him using traditional equipment and tools and making that all possible. And I know the students enjoyed it. We had our haiku celebration today at the elementary school. So, thanks to all the third grade teachers. And Miss Phillips is here. Uh, Mr. Melo held the parent cell phone webinar. So, uh, webinar for high school parents to provide feedback on

077what will be the upcoming statemandated cell phone ban and, uh, we had our CTE program recognitions. We spoke a little bit about that. I know Dr. Payne was there as well as Sam. And, uh, Jackie was able to attend the PNW Bosey's fashion show. So, just a public service announcement. Here you go, Sam. I had it already. Uh, we have two things that are out for public hearings that are out for comment on public hearings. the public hearing is scheduled for uh June 26th and that is both the district's updated code of conduct and the district safety plan. So those are both available on the website and uh if you have any please take a look and then if there's any public comment June 26th would be the time for that to happen. Just looking

078forward there's more to come. Uh some of the upcoming events uh tomorrow June 13th that is tomorrow right? No I believe tracking what day it is. So, tomorrow, June 13th, we have our Flag Day celebration at elementary school. We also have our kindergarten show. That's always a crowd favorite kindergarten show. Nothing cuter than 5-year-olds up there singing and dancing. And our elementary school has an end of year picnic that I know is open to the entire community. So, tomorrow, like any other not adult day, as I mentioned before, our track and field candidates as well track and field athletes as well as our high school baseball team will also be competing tomorrow, Friday. The following Friday will be our high school graduation. Wednesday, June 25th, our elementary school moving up. And Wednesday, June 25th, our

079middle school moving up. And then a quick reminder that elementary and middle school students will have half days on June 26 and June 27th. High school students are obviously already in their regions week. That's all I have right now. That's a lot. That's a lot. Okay. Thank you. Um, all right. So, we're going to move to new business. Okay. Resolved on the recommendation of the superintendent of schools to appoint Kirstston McGovern to a 4-year probationary term as a special education teacher commencing on September 1st, 2025 and terminating on August 31st, 2029 in the 10-year area of special education at the high school on step one masters of the PVFT salary schedule. Miss McGovern's special education K K12, excuse me, initial certification is pending. Uh, New York State Education Department approval. Second. Questions or comments? All

080in favor? Opposed? Abstensions? The resolution passes. Number two, please. resolved on the recommendation of the superintendent of schools to appoint Melissa Clemens to a one-year leave replacement position as a special education teacher at the elementary school effective August 27th, 2025 through June 30th, 2026 or sooner at the discretion of the board of education on step 2 MA of the PVFT salary schedule. Second questions or comments? I just want to acknowledge that Melissa is here this evening with us. uh she has filled a variety of roles over the last couple years here in Putham Valley and we're thrilled that she will be joining us for another year. So once they're done voting I'll say congratulations. All in favor? Opposed? Absentence resolution passes. Congratulations. If you're here you get embarrassed. Congratulations. welcome you again. We saw her

081at the haiku celebration today. So, uh, number three, please resolve on the recommendation of the superintendent of schools to appoint Jenna Gargano to a one-year relief replacement position as a general education teacher at the middle school effective September 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2026, or sooner at the discretion of the board of education on step 1 MA of the PBFT salary schedule. Miss Gargano holds childhood education 1-6 initial certification and students with disabilities 1-6 initial certification. Second. Questions or comments? Is she here? No. All in favor? Opposed? Abstensions. The resolution passes. Number four, please. resolved on the recommendation of the superintendent of schools to appoint Teresa Hayisen to a long-term substitute teaching position at the elementary school effective um August 27th, 2025 through November 19, 2025 or sooner at the discretion of the board of

082education. Miss Hisonen holds nursery K and 1 through six permanent certifications. Second questions or comments? We just welcome Miss Hay Bisen back. She's a retired teacher from Father Ali and the opportunity came in to um so Theresa Bourke took her role when she retired and now she's going out on maternity leave. So we welcome her back to her old classroom with her old partner teacher uh for 10 weeks. So that's amazing. Yeah. Yeah, it's great. Thank uh all in favor. Opposed extensions. The resolution passes. Number five, please. resolved on the recommendation of the superintendent of schools to accept the resignation of school monitor Patrick Young from the district effective June 27, 2025 as per document 2025 attached to the agenda and official minutes of this meeting. Second questions or comments? All in favor? I opposed

083extensions. The resolution passes number six, please. resolved upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools to approve the second reading of policy 8113 extreme heat condition days as per document 201-25 attached to the agenda and official minutes of this meeting. Second questions or comments? All in favor? I opposed extensions. The resolution passes number seven please. This is a really long one. Whereas all conditions precedent to the financing of the capital project herein after described include compliance with the provisions of the state environmental quality review act SECRA as a type 2 action pursuant to the regulations thereafter have been performed and as such it has been determined that the capital project will not have any significant adverse environmental impact and whereas at the annual district meeting of the qualified voters of Putham Valley Central School District

084Putnham and Westchester counties New York the school district held on May 20th 2025 Five, a proposition was duly adopted authorizing the board of education of said school district to un undertake the con construction of improvements to the improvements to and reconstruction of school district buildings and facilities including at Putham Valley Elementary School, alterations to the nurses office, installation of ground source heat pumps and plant upgrades, and an additional playground area, certain improvements to Putinham Valley Middle School, site improvements including pavement paving, drainage, lighting and sidewalks, replacement of certain heating and cooling equipment, Certain improvements at Pton Valley High School site improvements include paving and drainage, roofing replacement, installation of roof mounted photovoltaic systems, and other incidental improvements and expenses in con in connection therewith at a maximum estimated cost of $13,494,000 and that $10,994,000 or

085so much thereof as may be necessary shall be raised by the levy of a tax upon the taxable property of said school district and collected in annual ual installments with up to 10,994,000 obligations of said school district or so much thereof as may be necessary to be issued in anticipation thereof and the expenditure of 2,500,000 of capital reserve fund monies therefore and whereas it is now desired to authorize said class of objects or purposes and to provide for the financing thereof now therefore be it resolved by the affirmative vote who have not less than twothirds of the total voting strength of board of education of the Punham Valley Central School District, Punto and Westchester counties, New York, as follows. Section one, the construction of improvements to and reconstruction of various school district buildings and facilities,

086including at Pton Valley Elementary School, alterations to the nurs's office, installation of ground source heat pumps and plant upgrades, and additional playground area, certain improvements to Pton Valley Middle School, site improvements including paving drainage, lighting, and sidewalks, replacement of certain he heating and cooling equipment, certain improvements at Putham Valley High School, site improvements including paving and drainage, roofing replacement, installation of roof mounted mounted photovoltaic systems, and other improvements and expenses in connection therewith is hereby authorized in and for the Putham Valley Central School District Puthaman Westchester counties New York at a maximum estimated cost of 13,494,000. Section two, the plan for the financing of the afor 13,494,000 maximum estimated cost shall consist of one the issuance of 10,994,000 serial bonds of said school district. hereby authorized to be issued therefore pursuant to the provisions of

087the local finance law and two the expenditure of 2,500,000 of capital reserve fund monies hereby authorized to be expended therefore section three it is hereby determined that the period of probable usefulness of the A4 said class of objects or purposes is 30 years pursuant to subdivision 97 of paragraph A of section 11.00 00 of the local finance law as a school construction project eligible for the aortionment of aid pursuant to subdivision 6 of section 3602 of the education law. Section four the faith and credit of said Puthamin Valley Central School District Pman Westchester counties New York are hereby irrevocably pledged for the payment of the principle of and interest on such bonds as these same respectively become due and payable. An annual appropriation shall be made in each year sufficient to pay the principle of

088and interest on such bonds becoming due and payable in such year. There shall annually be levied on all the taxable real property in said school district a tax sufficient to pay the principle of and interest on such bonds as the same become due and payable. Section five. Subject to the provisions of the local finance law, the power to authorize the issuance of and to sell bond anticipate anticipation notes in anticipation of the issuance and sale of the bonds here and authorized including renewals of such note is hereby delegated to the president of the board of education. The chief fiscal officer. Such notes shall be of such terms, form, and contents, and shall be sold in such manner as may be prescribed by said president of the board of education, consistent with the provisions of the

089local finance law. Section six. All other matters except as provided herein relating to the bonds herein authorized including the date denominations, maturities and interest payment dates within the limitations prescribed herein and the manner of execution of the same including the consolidation with other issues and also the ability to issue bonds with substantially level or declining annual debt service shall be determined by the president of the board of education the chief fiscal officer of such school district. Such bonds shall contain substantially the recital of validity clause provided for in section 52.00 of the local finance law and shall otherwise be in such form and contain such recital in addition to those required by section 51.00 of the local finance law as the president of the board of education shall determine consistent with the provisions of the

090local finance law. Section seven, the validity of such bonds and bond anticipation notes may be contested only if one, such obligations are authorized for an object or purpose for which said school district is not authorized to expend money, or two, the provisions of law which should be complied with as of the date of publication of this resolution are not substantially complied with and an action, suit or proceeding contesting with such validity is commenced within 20 days after the date of such publication or three. Such obligations are authorized in violation of the provisions of the constitution section 8. This resolution shall constitute a statement of official intent for purposes of treasury regulation section 1.150 other than as specified in this resolution. No monies are or are reasonably expected to be reserved, allocated on a long-term basis,

091or otherwise set aside with respect to the permanent funding of the object or purpose described herein. Section 9. This resolution, which takes effect immediately, shall be published in summary form in the official newspapers of said school district for such purpose, together with a notice of the school district clerk substantially in the form provided in section 81.00 of the local finance law. Outstanding. Outstanding. [Music] Outstanding. It's a good thing we don't pay Moren by the word. little expensive and all of these people should like take the writing course. I was thinking the same thing throughout this whole time. Clearly clearly lots of sentences. We need to send them back. Clearly a word A4 after like that is not a word. It is evident that right. Okay. We have to do a roll call vote. So all

092in favor I I I I I Okay. And now in welcome. And number eight, Sam. That's Janette. Janette. Yeah. Resolved or authorized adjustments as per document number 208-25 attached to the agenda and official minutes of this meeting to the restricted general operating fund reserves pending the annual audit resulting from the 2024-25 remaining unexpended general fund appropriations and revenues. Second questions or comments? Grace, anything to add on this or any comments? Okay. No. Okay. All in favor? I opposed abstensions. The resolution passes. Okay. Did we skip anything? Are we good? We're good. Are we in the right place? Yeah. Okay. So, I'm going to open it up to public comment on any topic. She's first. She's running. Yay. I'm tall enough for this. Welcome. Hold on one second. Courtney, you just got to introduce yourself to

093the mic and the camera, right? Um, hello. My name is Courtney Hill. Uh, Juan Hall and good evening, Dr. Loft and members of the board of education. As previously stated, my name is Courtney Hill and I'm a freshman attending Valley High School. Excuse me. Just move the mic a little closer to your mouth. I can't really hear you. Yeah. Help. Go ahead. What? I just said move the mic a little closer to your mouth. Yeah, there you go. Okay, that's good. How's this? There you go. There you go. All right. Um, as previously mentioned, my name is Courtney Hill and I am a freshman attending Pine Valley High School. It's wonderful to be here with my classmates, uh, men on this t Thursday evening on behalf of our high school and middle school Mandarin program.

094Uh, while like I mentioned multiple times, I do have a name in English actually. Um, as a Mandarin student, we are given Chinese names in the seventh grade or chini. So for three years I've been called a Chinese name by my teacher who we call Lumlash that I have the freedom of creating. Kochin is a name I take a lot of pride in. It reminds me of my progress while taking this course and how truly far I've been able to come. Sadly we recently got the news that the Mandarin program is coming to an end. As a student taking this course, I hope to shed light on the benefits of this program's continuation for high school students and the amount of enthusiastic middle schoolers who gained interest after we introduced it to them a few

095months ago via presentation. I wish to discuss my progress through taking this class and the opportunities I've gained through learning Mandarin Chinese. I've been taking Mandarin since September Joya of 2022 or Ling or Arian. So far, I've gained extensive linguistic and cultural knowledge. As a western society, we tend to not have a fantastic grasp of Eastern culture, but learning about Mandarin and the Chinese culture has really given me a more open worldview and perspective. Our projects and learning is extremely interactive. to note. We made clothing websites to learn about clothes and currency. We made menus to learn about food. We designed houses to learn about rooms and furnishing. And this is just a minor percentage in the comparison to how interactive our projects are and how the interactivity was able to teach us a lot

096more real life applications. And I must say Lamala is an utterly is utterly fantastic as a teacher. And I couldn't present that enough. She has been able to immerse us in this whole new language and culture so seamlessly. She is truly top-notch and goes above and beyond for us and has for the past 3 years. Thus, I wish to respectfully request that the board consider the continuation of the Mandarin program for our district's middle school and high school students. Shisha, thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Thank you. Nihow. Everyone, sorry you're going to have to go the other way. You can go pick the mic up a little higher. Nihow. How's this? Much better. That's good. Hello, Dr. Left and members of the board. I'm very thankful to be able to be

097here and share my thoughts alongside my friends and peers. My name is Brandon Emanuel and the Chinese name I chose when I first started the class was Minglong. For the last three years, I've had the honor of being taught by Mrs. Lum lum lasher as well as me and my classmates have learned and experienced so many things from her over the last few years and I'd love for the opportunity for other students to learn and experience what we did which is why we've come to talk about the discontinuation of Mandarin Chinese as an available class for students sorry middle school and high school by extension are the paths and choices students make to choose what they want to do in life and these classes help prepare them and could show them what they may want

098to do. Removing one of these choices from students seems incredibly unfair. Both to the people already taking the course and the people who wanted to take it. As someone who's taken Mandarin since I was able to pick a language class, I can gladly say that I've learned and experienced so many things that other students should get to learn and experience as well. With this in mind, me and my peers would really appreciate if you could at least reconsider your decisions. But either way, thank you so much for listening. Thank you very much. [Applause] Good evening. Um, my name is Nadia Amin. I'm the co-president of the education foundation. I'm actually here with my son, Ysef. My other son, Mehmud, he is also one of the Mandarin students. And one of the things because I am

099quite an evil parent, uh, I took my son to Chinatown because I said if he's taking Mandarin, let's see what he knows. My son was able to haggle with someone uh to get the price on chopsticks that he wanted to buy. Now, I also am I will say that I am a pain in the butt parent and I'm like, "Honey, what is this? What is this?" And he's like, "Mom, that's in Cantonese. Mom, that's in Korean. Mandarin is not the same. I can read but in a different language." So, because I didn't actually believe him, we do what any other parent does. And I was watching a sea drama and I watched uh When I Fly Towards You. And so I watched it with the captions on and then I sat down with him and

100I'm like, "Oh, what are they saying?" And the fact that he could actually translate that for me without he didn't have the captions there. Shows me how much work Mrs. Lum has done and how important that is. Now, it's not just me that's absolutely amazed by Mandarin because I've been told that it's the parents that want Mandarin, not the children. But there was a petition done in the middle school by two students that were unable to make it today. Meliss uh Maria Frederick and Cheyenne Ogden. They got 20 signatures of students that have committed to Mandarin because they were not given the option. And they said if they were given the option, they commit to that class. So I said, "Okay, if these kids are ready, let's see what our elementary school students want." And

101that's why Yousef is here. Mhm. So I did a a survey of the entire fourth grade of who want who would want to do Mandarin in sixth grade. And we and we had about 20% of the fourth grade, which is around 30 kids, which is enough for a full Mandarin class. And I took I took Mandarin since kindergarten up until this year where yeah up until third grade and this year mand and there was no Mandarin in the elementary school. I was very disappointed in in not having Mandarin as it was the highlight of my week. And and [Music] so I did tell you that it would be inappropriate for him to tell you be tell the administration that when they discontinued Mandarin in the elementary school, the students were told that they were going

102to have Mandarin when they got to middle school. Now these kids are facing an additional disappointment when there is documented interest on the level of the students. Then we saw how wonderfully our high school students have performed and I think the one thing that we haven't told you guys is our IB students scored amazingly high. I think we even had some sixes if I'm not mistaken. And remember the IB is an exam that scored at a seven. And so getting a six on the IB is amazing. And we have the vast majority of our students do not get sixes and sevens on their IB exams. and the fact that our Mandarin students did it shows you that this is a successful program. It's a program that we've invested so much in and it's a program

103that we should not lose. Thank you. Thank you Dr. Thank you. [Applause] So I would like to begin by thanking you guys for coming and speaking tonight, especially our students. I know it is not easy uh to get up to a mic and speak in front of a bunch of strangers and the 1.3 million people that are watching on the cameras. I mean, the one to three people that are watching on the camera, sorry about that. I have five people. All right. Five people, right? We're we're exceeding expectations. Uh, but I do uh congratulate you on coming forward and being able to speak on behalf of a program that we all care deeply about. One thing I want to clearly state for the record. Uh, Mandarin, our discontinuation or or weaning off of the Mandarin

104program has absolutely nothing to do with Miss Lum, Miss Lum's teaching, uh, her style. It's it is in no way uh saying anything about the teacher who has invested so much into this program. So it is not Miss Lum that we are getting rid of. Uh it is a phasing out of the Mandarin program. Now a quick little history here. Um this is a program that Dr. Wills or Regent Wills started with the seventh and eighth grade with uh distance learning. But it was a program that we believed so much in that we invested in the elementary school Mandarin program through partnership of Boseis. Uh that was something that was done with many of the individuals that are here. We went out and fire found and hired a Mandarin teacher, Miss Lum, which is nearly

105impossible. Many of my colleagues were like, "Where did you find a certified Mandarin teacher?" Uh again, showing that what our level of commitment was for this program. Um and unfortunately as we've monitored it over the years uh what we see o time and time again is there's higher levels of interest in seventh and eighth grade where we have classes of 16 to 18 kids in seventh and eighth grade uh which is great but when they go from 8th to 9th grade the attrition rate is significant right 18 kids sometimes becomes eight and then after 9th grade the eight become five and the five become three. And I won't put you guys on the spot how many kids that are left in your grade from what started, but I'm sure that you've lived a similar experience,

106right? Your Mandarin class in middle school had many more students in it than what you currently have in your class now. And I think um so we've continued different ways to incentivize students. We've worked with MissUM to find opportunities to for that to push in and for students to be introduced. I what I was holding out for was that first cohort of elementary school kids who had been exposed to Mandarin from the beginning. And I was like, "This is going to be our breakthrough, right? This class, these kids, they know it. It's familiar to them. They're going to be interested in it." And when we went to bring Mandarin down to sixth grade this year, um I think there was six students that signed up for it. So that's a little odd because Hold on.

107Just let me finish then you go because no one's going to be able to hear you. Um, but we actually had, it was built into our schedule, uh, Mandarin for sixth graders for this school year, and it was going to be a survey of the program and then really go into, uh, Mandarin one and seventh and eighth grade, the same structure we have now. And that really was the the point of like we can't, we also have to be financial stewards of the community, right? And taxpayers are paying for teachers salaries. So when we have teachers that have two kids in a class, three kids in a class, four kids in a class, five kids in a class, it's really hard to sustain that from an expenditure standpoint. The other point that I wanted to

108make is that we are committed to providing some uh transition period for like the students that we saw here this year. So while we're not introducing new students into the Mandarin program, we are continuing to support the students, especially those high school students that we heard from this evening. So, Miss Lum will continue to teach a high school level course next year. And what we plan on going from there is there is an like we started with a distance learning course, there's an IB authorized distance learning course that would be available for these students in their junior and senior year and that would help bridge the gap if they wanted to continue with an IB diploma or um graduate or just continue with Mandarin throughout their high school years. So, we want to make sure

109that for kids who haven't invested as much um as as these students have. I think what we saw here was what we hoped every student would get out of the program, like I'm amazed that these students can read and speak the Mandarin language. Um and our hope was that there would be 20 other students next to you and that unfortunately has not been our reality um so far. So, uh that that is just sort of what has brought us to this point. Um, we've had some years where we haven't run Mandarin, like there's currently no eighth graders taking it because there was no interest in seventh grade the year before. We do have a cohort in seventh grade. Those students will also be provided the opportunity to continue earning their Mando and run credit next

110year. So, will be teaching. Hold on. Just come up to the mic when you can speak just otherwise nobody else can be able to hear you. I'm so loud that everyone can hear you. I don't actually need a microphone. Um, but here's the thing. The rising sixth graders, they've said that they weren't given a choice. That's why they created a petition. So, I think there's a big disconnect here because these students are coming forward. It's not me coming out here. I'm coming here because the students have said something. And that's the whole thing is if you have a group of rising sixth graders that have a petition for like 16 or 20 kids that have committed to Mandarin, that interest is definitely there. And those are the students that were exposed from the very beginning.

111And now you have fourth graders. The your 20% of your fourth grade is interested in taking Mandarin when they come into the middle school. The interest is definitely there and I think that we have to give them that opportunity. I think you you've invested so much. You found a Mandarin teacher. And I will say one thing, my daughter Hubsa, she graduated. She was the first person to graduate with an IB diploma and science research. She did IB French. She went to Morocco, which is a franophile country. They laughed at her French. They said, "Stick with Arabic because your French sucks." And that's with that's just saying that our language program when we have a good program where you can go into Chinatown and haggle for a price, you know that language program is working. And

112getting rid of something that works is not financially responsible and it's not fiscally responsible. This teacher is not teaching just the high school students. She's teaching in the middle school as well. So making it fiscally responsible, it's there. The demand is there. The teacher is already there and our students are successful. So cutting this program is actually what's financially irresponsible. So I would add that our students are highly um beneficial or have greatly benefited from the program and nobody's taking anything away from that. What I'm saying is for 5 years we've had interests in the middle school that disappears when the students get to the high school. This isn't based upon one cohort. This isn't one class that made foreign language. Remember once you hit 10th grade you finished your requirement for foreign language. Every

113single one of our foreign languages have a decrease in interest as you get past 10th grade. That's not that's not exclusive to Mandarin. And look at your French class. How many students are in IB French? It's a handful of students. So, are we going to get rid of French next? Well, if if the French numbers look like the Mandarin numbers, they answered yes. But there's far more students enrolled in French. In fact, many of our many of our students who leave 8th grade who leave Mandarin go into French in the high school. Again, the district had no intention of getting rid of a program that we invested so much in. I think the what we saw here this evening was our hope. But at some point when a teacher is teaching classes of two kids,

114three kids, four kids, we have some responsibility to the taxpayers to say we need to look in another direction. I I want to jump in for a second uh because one of the unintended consequences that I think are not being talked about right now is the fact that if there is a class with two students, three students, four students, it means that other language classes are then lopsided because students have to get language credits, which means that Spanish classes and French classes and whatever other languages we choose to offer in the future may be overflowing at capacity where that money needs to be relocated to a particular language. My uh encouragement, suggestion, wondering is uh because I hear you students and I think it was incredibly courageous of you tonight to come to this microphone

115and advocate in a very respectful way um for something that you believe in, something you love, something that has touched your life, that is culturally um just amazing and wonderful and different. Um and that's really exciting to see that we have our students, some students who are in the grade of my daughter. My daughter would never get up to that microphone. And so I commend you tonight um for doing that. And I think that we need to listen uh and understand that there is a a population of students who do want this program to continue. My son, who is currently in fifth grade, benefited greatly from the Mandarin program that we started in the kindergarten uh garden uh cohort um a few years back. Um and all I would say is this um exposure matters.

116And so perhaps we can explore um in any given year where the demand of Mandarin is try to continue the program for those particular students who would like to uh continue in it. But what I would also say is that if possible, and I don't know that it's feasible, but if miss some of Miss Lum's time could be dedicated to bringing Mandarin back to the elementary in addition to the Spanish program that we introduced this year, um maybe that would create more exposure to them begin to feed into that program. And so what I think we can do is perhaps be creative about some solutions to ensure that uh all of our students are getting things that they need that they've poured into that they've spent time into. Uh what I certainly don't want to

117see and I don't believe this is going to happen because of what you mentioned Dr. Lu about the virtual program but um is students having poured into a language and then having to shift that language. I don't believe that that's something that we would want to see happen. Um but maybe there is a way outside of the box thinking that we can you know look at the students currently enrolled will continue. You have said that Dr. Love that that's that's correct. The high school students will continue the middle school students will continue through Mandarin one. Right. Um but that's typically when they conclude their eighth grade year of Mandarin is when we typically see that drastic drop off. So there for those students currently in seventh grade, Mandarin would not be available for them in

118high school. Perhaps we could, but the current high school students would have, right? Perhaps we could ask the students why uh the students who are choosing a different language path. Perhaps we could ask why that's happening. Um that's that would be feedback for us to determine why it is that there's such an interest in in middle school, which truthfully may have been fed by the program that we did in elementary. Um the students who are currently in high school did not receive that program because my son's cohort was definitely the first cohort that we had that. So, um I'm imagining that that step, uh assisted us in growing the numbers for Mandarin, but now that it's not no longer there, the numbers may actually decrease going forward. Uh unless we try to figure out a

119way to put Mandarin back in the elementary school, which again was a phenomenal program. Um I think that we just we need to absorb this. I don't think that we're um in any way, shape, or form uh you know making any decisions tonight about any of this. Uh, I think that we need to listen to our students, to our families, um, and perhaps come up with a creative way to offer more opportunities for our students to continue in Mandarin. The one thing that I do want to add is that with Miss Lum, do we are we guaranteed that she's going to stay? Because if she's not a full-time teacher, she doesn't get full-time benefits. And if you have such a high demand for a Mandarin teacher, are we even going to have a teacher if

120we don't give her a full-time position? That's something to think about as we try to wind down the Mandarin program as well. So, we may say that we won't we're not taking away Mandarin, but it may be taken away because we won't give our teacher a full-time position. Something to think about. But thank you guys. Thank you, Dr. [Music] Good evening. My name is Joe Ferraro and I don't have anything really heavy today. Um, I do want to make a recommendation to Sasha that well timed baked goods and flowers helps you to not get the reading that is so long. But more importantly, I wanted to mention that uh on the heels I shouldn't say on the heels uh in the same time that we were seeking out our library vote that uh passed and

121we're thankful for that. Again, uh we um have embarked on our I guess 5-year plan for long-range planning for the library. And in that uh part of that process is reaching out to community to uh invite input on um the town in general, what is expected of the town, what kind of things the the town and what the library's role in that uh can be and whatever partnerships can be developed. Um, I'm here primarily to um uh ask uh for involvement from the school district in partnership to kind of advance uh the mission of uh what's next for for the library, what's next for our town. So, um we're hopeful that and you will get um official kind of letters, invitations, etc. to sit down and have conversations uh brief conversations and we'd like to

122make it open to uh the community. We will have uh we'll get to a you know m multiple stages of this um to to get input from the community um through surveys etc and general meetings. uh but interviews and uh connections with administration, with staff, with board members because multiple perspectives of our town and where our town can be can and where together we can connect and help our community. I just um imploring you that you will u engage with us in that when you are given the opportunity. Thank you, Jeff. Thank you. Great. Anybody else? Okay. Um, upcoming meetings. So, our final meeting for the year is scheduled for June 26th. So, two Thursdays from now and then we have our board pre-orging scheduled for July 1st. Okay. The June 26 meeting, does it

123start at 7 or does it start earlier due to the um No, because of the hearing. Well, we'll just do the hearing at 7:00 like 6 6:30 6:45. Okay. And it's set. Okay. Thank you. That that that's a Tuesday, correct? July 1st. Are we meeting July 1st? Yes. Uh Tuesday then. Okay. But is it regular board meeting before? Do I have to be there? 26. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. And we need to be here early for that. Okay. Uh board members, anything to say? Just a lot going on and and the events have just been terrific that the elementary, the middle school, the high school put on between the awards ceremonies, the concerts, uh the reenactments, uh Tom Chapen, that Tom Chapen concert was just that blew me away, man. Very emotional. Everything and and

124this is this is our district. This is the school I went to and and to see it progress and I I Yeah, just outstanding. Outstanding. Um the reenactors when I was speaking to them today um the gentlemen that were there from whatever whoever they work for um said a lot of districts have stopped doing the reenactment, but it's such a powerful um event. It is to watch to watch teams of four and five students put up these canvas tents, you know, driving the stakes in the ground. I was sure one of them was going to hit themselves with the hammer. Um, you know, I mean, just the the whole thing, you know, who was the corporal, who was in charge of the group, and just the whole learning experience was amazing. Um, and I'm glad

125there was a bit of irony today because as they were down there learning how to use the musketss, we were holding a lock down drill 10 police officers in front of the building. So, we made sure to warn them all that if they heard any musket shots or saw students holding musketss that it was in fact part of a reenactment, please did not react. According to um uh Dr. Lu had mentioned the career fair. I felt um Sasha and I both um were there as careers. Sasha as a registered nurse, I as an educator and a board member. Um Dr. Left is right. The students had great questions. They were very interested. But to me, I was so impressed with the number of community members that came out, volunteered from 8:30 to 12 talking to

126four different groups of students. Um, lots of students. Um, and so I I I just wanted to to kind of give the community who's listening, the five people now that Dr. means people are listening today. Um who they were and and the careers that they talked about. So um Callus Hayes talked about finance. Um Brooke Donahghue and her husband talked about Valley Day care and their preschool. Uh Brent Wa Wascasser talked about science research. Alice Bilio talked about public health um at the Putnham County Department of Health. Joel Paulo was real talked about real estate. Chris Hendershot talked about he was an certified arborist um which is was really fascinating for the students. Um Sharon Aguo was a member engagement manager for the World Trade Center Association. Um Liz Micah talked about research and development

127products. Uh Dan Barbudo um electrical technicians at Duchess Community College. Eric Peterson um talked about PBS um public broadcasting. He had some really great things for the kids to see. Uh Luke Wadney, musician, actor and writer. Adriana Arriza, financial adviser and planner. Allison Hey, program director for a global educational nonprofit with a focus on sustainability. Julie Npalitano, photography and business owner. Jessica London, banking and commercial loan officer. The kids were very interested in the banking person. I saw the lines there. Maybe they were giving out good good uh huh toasters. Candy money money. Uh Natalie Amison, theater performer, director, and anime voiceover artist. Cool. Um Matthew Hey, chef, casino dealer and head hunter. It was cool. Stephanie Russo, doctor of aiology. Karen Carroll, nursing and healthcare leadership. That's wonderful. Anton Paloka, IT infrastructure department. Guy

128Cohen, statistician. And you'd think that would be really boring, but he had the kids laughing. He was funny. Um, Gabe Caputo, detective, talked about law enforcement. Um, Emily Ahern, traffic designer and nonprofit arts administration. Christina Dalva, data literacy and metadata services at Memorial Sloan Ketaring Cancer Center. And Brendan Kennedy, technology semiconductor industry microchips. Is he the one in this? Yeah, he wore a tieback suit. He wore a tieback. Yeah. Head to toe. Head to toe. Um, and I don't know who the I don't even know which one of these people is the one that had the 3D goggles. Yeah, there was I was waiting for them to walk into walls. They really enjoyed that, too. So, like these are all people that volunteered from the community and I really am grateful that they stepped up

129and that they're here talking to our kids and giving them real life examples of um the world of work. World of work. Um really cool jobs like Yeah, really over 30 anime voiceover. I mean, really cool. She is cool. She also um did something with the descendants. I mean, the kids were all over. There was a real estate agent there. I've like literally never met anybody who was more charismatic in my life. He had the kids like lined up like every single boy I had ever like stood there for like an hour talking to him. You had a guy in a Tyveck suit. It was incredible. Guy Cohen had a statistic that was like 89% of statistics are made up. It was hilarious. I mean, it was just incredible all over working himself out of

130a job. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and then to switch gears, um, I I just have to say listening to Dr. Lu's superintendent's report that all the things that are happening in this district from the ground from our youngest students to our oldest students, all flows from leadership. And I have to say, Dr. Dr. Lu didn't mention himself, but all of these things were things that he has pushed for, encouraged, and and his leadership in this district is really, really valuable to me and should be to everybody in the district. So, agree flows from the top. Well said. Uh, okay. There's two quick things. Um I mean you going back to what's it called? The the green award we received two school districts in the state received this and we were one of them. So that's that's

131very impressive. And um the other thing is athletic awards. Did you mention that? Next week, Wednesday. So our athletic awards ceremony and hall of fame induction is scheduled for next Wednesday, June 18th, beginning at 5:00 p.m. in the pack. And it will not be 4 hours. No, we have shortened it drastically from its inception. The first year was a little long, but it was our first time doing it. It was very long. We made great improvement last year. You did and Mr. Web has got he's all on it. I'm sorry. Should be even better this year. We're learning. Okay. Um like four hours. I'd like a motion to convene an executive session. So move. Second. Um all in favor? I there will be no um work done after the executive session. Thank you all. Thank

132you for coming out guys. Thanks for coming. Thank you. Thank you.