Huntington UFSD Board of Education Meeting 6/8/26

001Good evening. Today is June 8th. Welcome to the Huntington Union Preschool District Board of Education regular business meeting. Can I have a motion to enter into executive? Teresa one, John 2. All in favor? That's everyone. The rest of the board members will meet us in executive. Welcome back. Can I please have a motion to exit the executive session? We exited executive. >> 634. So, we're entering >> business. >> Okay. So, can I please have a motion to enter into our regular business meeting? One by Teresa, two by John. All in favor, that is everyone. All please rise for the pledge of allegiance. >> Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, liberty, and justice for all. In case of

002an emergency, please direct yourselves to the illuminated exit signs. This is a smoke-free building. Smoking or vaping is not permitted on school grounds. All right, we're going to move right into some of our approvals. Welcome back, Bill. All right, board of education meeting minutes of May 11, 2026. It is my recommendation from Mr. Superintendent of Schools that we approve the board of education meeting meeting minutes of May 11th, 2026. Can I have a motion, please? Kelly 1, Tom 2. All in favor? That is everyone. We have a few FYIs uh 2 through six. Do we have any questions or comments with regards to the FYIs? No. We'll move on then. Moving on to the treasures report. one. It is my recommendation from the superintendent of schools that we adopt the treasures report of April 20

0032026. Can I have a motion, please? Uh, do this. Teresa one. >> Yeah. >> Anyone? I do this. I'm bad at this. You guys know that about me. Anyone? Teresa 2. All in favor? That's everyone. Hold on a second. All right, we're moving on to warrants. It is upon recommendation from the superintendent of schools that the board of education approve the attached warrants which were certified for payment on May 28, 2026 and June 3rd, 2026. Can I have a motion, please? Kelly 1, Jenna Two. All in favor? That's everyone. Let me see if I can put one. >> Yeah, I got something. Now we're moving on to board member communications. I do have a few things that I'd like to discuss. News Day recently highlighted our district among the districts showing continued AP success, reflecting

004the district's commitment to expanding rigorous academic opportunities and supporting student achievement. We are currently ranked in the silver category. Amazing achievement. Thank you to the administration and our district for getting us there and I know that we are continuing to try to get us to that next level. Uh on behalf of our board of education, I want to thank our community for your support of this year's budget. Your vote reflects a shared commitment to our students, our staff, and the continued strength of our schools. We truly appreciate your partnership and trust. Thank you for voting on that uh budget for us. Bill Dwire, thank you um for running again. Welcome back to the board of education. It's great to have you back. Um one person's in and one person's out. Unfortunately, Kelly, I know that

005you are retiring from our board and we thank you so very much for everything you've given uh to our district, to our board. It's been an honor to serve with you. Uh you will be sorely missed. Uh but your legacy will be everything that you did for our district. A lot of positive things that we've done here together. Um and and we truly thank you for all that you've done. Emily, the mic is yours. Unless Kelly, you wanted to say something. All right, I'll mic. >> Emily, >> good evening board and community members. As we head towards the end of the year, the district keeps on hosting wonderful and exciting events for the students at Southtown. They recently had the pleasure of se celebrating two of their most anticipated end of the year traditions, beach

006day and field day. And both were tremendous successes. Beach day provided their students with a joyful opportunity to relax, connect, and enjoy a fun-filled day alongside their classmates and teachers. From sand play to outdoor games and share laughter, the day truly captured the spirit of community that makes Southbound such a special place. Their field day was ac equally exciting. Filled with energy, teamwork, and school pride, students participated in a variety of engaging activities that promoted cooperation, perseverance, and sportsmanship. Thank you to the families who joined them to cheer on their students, creating an atmosphere of encouragement and celebration. South is is incredibly grateful for their dedicated staff for their thoughtful planning, and to their families for their continued support. These events not only create lasting memories for our students, but also reinforce the strong sense

007of community that defines South Downtown. Washington Primary School is counting down the days with the June spirit month countdown. Monday was hat day. Everyone wore their favorite hat. Tuesday was Inside Out Day where they put their clothes on Inside Out. Wednesday was jersey day, the best day out of the week as many wore their New York Knicks jerseys. Thursday was karaoke day. The classrooms and hallways were filled with songs and dances as they sang their favorite tunes. And the week ended with Funday Field Day, which demonstrated the Washington way through their sportsmanship. On Saturday, June 6th, Woodall Intermediate School and Jack Abram School hosted the annual color run and community market day. This well attended event brought together students, families, and staff for a morning of fun school spirit and community engagement. Participants ran, walked,

008and jogged through colorful stations around Jack Abrams School Field, creating an exciting experience for all. Following the color run, families enjoyed the community market day and craft fair featuring f familyfriendly fundraising activities in a craft fair with items created by Woodh Hall's learners who lead students. Proceeds from the color run benefited the Huntington Junior Welfare League, while funds raised through the community market day were donated to charitable organizations selected by our students. The success of the event reflects the strong partnership between our schools, PTA organizations, families, and community members working together to make a positive impact. On June 10th, they will have a celebration of service. The celebration of service is the culminate culminating event of Wood Hall's learning learners who lead program celebrating the meaningful learning experiences, leadership development and acts of service completed

009by students throughout the school year. The events highlights the impact students have made within the school and Huntington community through service learning projects and community partnerships. The celebration will feature a video presentation showcasting showcasing the program and student experiences along with student testimonials high highlighting the impact the program had on them. The event will also include the dedication of the the next TRX benches earned through Wood Hall's schoolwide recycling challenge. The celebration will conclude with with a certificate presentation honoring our grade six learners who lead students for their commitment to leadership, service, and making a positive impact in the community. At Huntington High School on May 28th, the world language department in the high school provided a nice and delicious delicious breakfast to the 59 students who received their seal of literacy across grades 11

010through 12. The students were required to create a portfolio showcasing their growth in writing, verbal communication, listening, and reading comprehension comprehension throughout their years of learning their chosen language. It's great to see so many students becoming bilingual, and being able to reach their goals that they hope to do, such as travel, pursue a job career with more openings, or simply learning a different language. The Huntington High School conducted its spring concerts on May 28th. The band, orchestra, and chorus performed their musical pieces effortlessly after months of practice. The audience enjoyed listening to the beautiful melodies produced by young musicians. On that day, as well, Grand Friends hosted their annual senior prom at Sunrise Assisted Living. 125 adults and 46 Huntington students had an amazing time with dinner, dancing, and a photo booth. The high school

011has been participating in Bride Spirit Week from June 1st to June 5th. Monday was pajama day, Tuesday was tie-dye day, Wednesday was tropical day, Thursday was jersey day, and Friday was rainbow day. It is great to see the inclusivity and sense of community these activities promote and give students the opportunity to express themselves freely in our environment. In the athletics department, the girls lacrosse team had a big win at counties, making them two times county champs. They played against Ward Melville at Stony Brook University. The score was 6 to5 making it a tough and intense game, but our team was able to climb to the top for the win. They they headed to regionals this Sunday at Sunni Brook to play against Masipeka and won with a 9-6 score. Congratulations to the girls for their

012second consecutive Long Island title and we wish them luck for their next game at Sunni Courtland. As we head towards the end of the school year, Huntington has been celebrating the seniors who will be graduating this month on June 26th. On June 4th, Huntington High School hosted their senior departmental awards. They gave recognition to students who demonstrated excellence and hard work within their core departments. On June 9th, seniors will receive their scholarships that they have earned. On the last day of school, the high school will do their annual field day for the graduating class. It is a fun and reminiscing event for the 2026 class to celebrate their last day of high school as a way to look back at all the wonderful memories made in our district. Finally, I wanted to end off by

013saying thank you for giving me the honor to have been the first exeicio student board member in our district. Serving in this role has given me the unique opportunity to serve my community and observe board meetings. I've been able to gain more knowledge on the work and effort in building our school communities. I'm very glad the role of an Exopia student board member will prevail in our district, giving passionate and talented students the opportunity to be part of such an inspiring group of leaders. I'm excited to see what this role will become in the future. But again, thank you so much for giving me your time and faith in me. Thank you, Emily. It was wonderful having you. Congratulations. I know you're going to do great things once you graduate. >> Thank you. >> Other

014board members, >> superintendent. >> All right. Can I just want to say thank you to everybody. Um I just prepared a couple of words and thanks. I'll keep it brief. I know there's just a tiny game later on that people want to get home to. Um so specifically, I want to say thank you to everybody at this table. Superintendent McCoy, Mr. Kusack, Dr. Harris who's not here, and of course my incredible board of ed colleagues. Um, it's been truly an honor and a pleasure to serve in this role for the past six years and um, you've all made the position so gratifying over the years and I know how fortunate we are to have such a collaborative and supportive cabinet and I know that's not a given, but it is a gift and I truly

015um, appreciate the opportunity to work with all of you this closely and I know in so many other districts it's not like that at all. So, it's just been tremendous to be able to pick each other's brains and just work in a mature, professional manner. So, I appreciate that. Um, and I'll just read what I said, but um, I knew immediately that the first year of kindergarten for my oldest, that this district was something special. Today, as my daughters continued to thrive, about to embark on their first and last year at the high school, I'm even more grateful to call this community home. Serving on the board has given me deeper insight and appreciation for the people, passion, and pride that make this district so ex exceptional. Just look around this room tonight. It's filled

016with vibrancy, achievement, dedication, and kindness. We've got a whole South Down contingent celebrating their incredible principal and our athletes over there. So, it's just amazing to see the community come out to support each other, and that's what makes Huntington so special, I think. Um, you're all the embodiment of what Huntington stands for and why we're all so proud to be a part of the Huntington Schools family. It's been an absolute honor and privilege to serve this community and our amazing students. Go Blue Go Blue Devils. Go Knicks. And I'll be forever rooting for you guys from the other side of the tables. Thank you guys. So, I have some comments for you too, Miss Donovan. Uh, good evening everyone. Tonight, it is both a privilege and an honor to recognize an exceptional member of our

017board of education, Kelly Donovan, as she concludes six years of dedicated service to the Huntington School District. She has proudly served as an audit committee member from 2021 to 2026, where she helped to provide oversight of the district's financial practices, internal controls, and risk management processes. She also served on the district-wide safety team for from the 2022 to the 20 2022 to 2023 school year through the 2024 2025 school year and the wellness committee in the 2526 school year. A native of nearby Northport, Kelly and her husband Dave have proudly called Huntington home for more than a decade. They were really smart, so they moved to Huntington. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in communications from form university at Lincoln Center and began her professional career in New York City following graduation. Kelly built

018a successful career in marketing with several nationally recognized organizations including Harper Collins, CNET, and Yahoo before co-founding the small business Craft Tree in Huntington Village and is now the owner and instructor of the Bar Method. Her commitment to education and community service has always been evident. As the parent of two daughters currently attending Finley Middle School and Huntington High School, Kelly has been an active and engaged PTA leader, serving in numerous roles from corresponding secretary to co-president and chairing countless events that strengthen connections within our school community. She also served on the arts and education committee and the Heffy board. Throughout her time on the board of education, Kelly has been a thoughtful advocate for students, families, and staff. She has brought a deep appreciation for the district's academic ex academic excellence, extracurricular opportunities, and

019rich cultural tra traditions to every conversation and decision. Her leadership extends far beyond board meetings. Whether at athletic events, concerts, performances, or school activities, Kelly's presence consistently reflected her unwavering support for our students and school community. She has dedicated countless evenings and weekends to ensuring that Huntington continues to provide exceptional opportunities for every single child. Kelly, your service has left a lasting impact on this district. On behalf of the entire Huntington School District community, thank you for your dedication, your leadership, your compassion, and the tremendous amount of time and energy you have devoted to our schools. While we will certainly miss your voice and contributions on the board, we know your commitment to Huntington will continue in many meaningful ways. We wish you and your family all the very best in the next chapter ahead.

020And we thank you for the legacy of service and advocacy you have left behind. Kelly, I just wanted to say on a personal note that when I first came onto the board, you were a sounding board for me. I felt like I could always call you. Um, and something that most people don't know about Kelly because she looks so like, you know, petite and she can be fiery when she needs to be. And that is something that I not only appreciate um, but I will miss about you is when you feel like you need to be a bigger voice, you have consistently been. And I also just want to comment, you know, there's there are a lot of conversations that happen obviously in executive session. Kelly always asks the most important questions and it's always

021something that I've never thought of. Um I wish I had thought of and I will miss that insight that you always bring your level-headed approach. Um and I just want to congratulate you on your retirement and thank you for all the service to the board. We got you a little something. >> All right. So now I will move on to Emily Herrera Rivas because you don't get to go without some comments either. Um tonight we would also like to recognize and thank our very first exeicio board member Emily Herrera Rivas for her outstanding service and leadership this year. As the student representative to the board of education, Emily did an exceptional job keeping us connected to the student body by thoughtfully sharing updates, accomplishments, perspectives, and news from across our schools. She approached the role

022with professionalism, insight, and genuine care for her fellow students, helping to strengthen the connection between the board of education and our school community. Emily's accomplishments both inside and outside the classroom are truly remarkable. A four-year high school, a four-year high honor role student and recipient of the AP Scholar Award, she has challenged herself academically through numerous advanced placement courses while also demonstrating a deep passion for civic engagement and service. She earned the prestigious platinum level sil seal of civic readiness, participated in the New York State Assembly's Puerto Rican Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute, and has been an active leader through the New World Club, tutoring peers, volunteering in the community, and even competing at the county level in wrestling during her third year on the team. This fall, Emily will attend Cornell University to study government.

023And we know she has incredibly she has an incredibly bright future ahead. Emily, thank you for your leadership, your voice, and for representing the students of Huntington with such distinction during this historic for first year of the exeicial board member position. We are so proud of you and wish you continued success in all that lies ahead. Okay. I would also like to acknowledge a school board member. Uh each year the New York the New York State School Boards Association Board Excellence Recognition Program is designed to acknowledge those school board members who strive to continually expand their governance knowledge and skills. This year, one of our board of education members earned one of their board excellence recognition awards. This recognition is achieved when members accumulate points for participating in NISBA trainings, workshops, events, and activities. And

024this year, NISBA is providing a board mastery certificate of recognition to Xavier Palasios at level three where he has accumulated 250 points. He will be recognized in NISBA's on board newsletter. He will receive a commemorative pedfogio, a certificate of recognition, and a free registration for a one-day seminar. Congratulations, Mr. Palasios. >> There you are. Congratulations. And I surprised him, which was the best part. Um, I would also like to thank the community for supporting the budget with an 81.1 passing rate and an 85.6 proposition passing rate. Uh we really do appreciate your support and we know how important um this district is to everyone in maintaining our programs but doing it in a fiscally responsible manner. Uh I would also like to congratulate Xavier Palasios as he returns to the board of education next year

025as well as Bill Dwire on his appointment and return back to the board of education. Thanks for being here tonight, Bill. As well, >> this is where coming in second is still pretty good. I'd like to congratulate Rachel Huth for earning a special third place prize and $2,000 cash stipend in the environmental engineering category of the uh Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, which took place in Phoenix, Arizona. Regeneron ISF brings together the world's most promising young scientists and engineers to showcase research with real world impact. Through this competition, Regeneron and the society are fostering the next generation of STEM leaders who are helping to solve real world challenges to improve our world. Miss Huth's project was titled Design and Evaluation of an Energy Efficient CO2 capture system utilizing sodium hydroxide for ammonium bicarbonate fertilizer

026synthesis. That sounds super smart. And let's give her a round of applause. That was quite an accomplishment. In the area of fine and performing arts, a big congratulations goes out to all of our students on their wonderful spring conference, spring concert performances, the wonderful filmmaking students for a terrific film festival at the cinema art center. The entire art department on a phenomenal phenomenal art and fashion show. There is a video on the website if anyone hasn't seen it that highlights that fashion show and the art show. Uh the parents, students, and community were so impressed by the amazing artwork on display. So congratulations to all involved. We also attended the Bash Awards with our video broadcasting program on May 21st and learned a great deal to continue to enhance our program in the future. And

027I believe tonight are the Hunting Tony Awards. So as information comes in, hopefully we'll get some updates that we can share out. Uh, our upcoming event is June 15th for the senior music showcase at Huntington High School at 7 PM. And lastly, in the area of athletics, I would just like to acknowledge um that tomorrow Huntington seniors Banny Suck Cona and Jolie Weiner will be recognized as scholar athlete award recipients during an afternoon ceremony at town hall. I'm sure Jolie's here tonight, right? I'm sure she is somewhere over there. Um, Huntington Town board members will speak about one male and one female of the graduating class from each town high school and the senior's academic and athletic achievement. So, congratulations to both Jolie and Benny. Uh, and the 58th annual Blue Devil Senior Athletic Award

028ceremony will be held on Tuesday, June 16th at 6 PM in the auditorium. More than 100 seniors will be receiving awards. Scholarships in the amount of $22,000 will be presented. Freshman track star Lena Sullivan will perform the national anthem and senior star of the stage Lily Wazoski will be singing a song as well. And we also have three seniors who will speak about what wearing a Blue Devil uniform has meant to them. Last but not least, I just want to mention that this summer we will be hosting regional summer school which is something new for Huntington. The courses will take place at Finley Middle School for students and the regent review and regent exams will take place at the high school for students in Huntington and the surrounding area. And on a to end on

029a good note, I would like to report that we are ready to proceed with two bullet grants from Assemblyman Steve Stern's office uh for Huntington for the robotics club in the amount of $10,000. Let's give that a hand. as well as $50,000 for the expansion of academic programs at Woodh Hall and Jack Abrams Intermediate School as we enter the next school year. Thank you to Assemblyman Steve Stone. Beth, can I piggyback on your comment about the robotics um donation just because we have a large uh contingent of students here and I just wanted to let you know how that $10,000 donation for the robotics um donation came about. And this board is very involved in advocacy. We travel to New York State frequently up to Albany um to advocate for our kids. And that whole

030conversation came out of a kid at a robotics competition advocating for the robotics team. Um and the impression that that child left on me um actually it it spurred me to have that conversation up at the state level about how um important it is to give equal opportunities to all students. and because that one child spoke up, that robotics team is getting $10,000. So, just you never know who you're going to talk to. Um, always act professionally and advocate for yourself in a professional manager manner and you'll never know what's going to happen. So, congratulations for students speaking up for themselves and continue to do that. >> Thank you. >> Anyone else? >> All right. At this time, we will go into our public commentary. Public commentary is open to residents and employees of the

031Huntington District. Speakers are limited to three non-transferable minutes per person. There will be a maximum of 30 minutes total for all comments. We will open it up again for a second public commentary toward the end of this meeting. Priority will be given to comments related to today's regular business meeting titled items for discussion and action. Public commentary is a time dedicated to sharing your thoughts with the board and your input is valued. It is meant for expression rather than dialogue. So, please understand that direct discussions with board members or administration will not be part of public commentary. When you approach the podium, please identify your affiliation to the district, whether you're a resident or an employee of the district. Use the form at the podium to sign in and please refrain from naming any student

032or employees of the district. Public commentary is open and as I said, we will have a second one. All right. If no public comment, Terry, or is somebody coming up? Oh, all right. We'll go to our next uh items for discussion and action. I'm going to do a little bit of introduction for that the next group of young ladies who are in attendance here today. Um I've had the pleasure of being on the sideline and watching them do what they do. They currently sit as seventh in the country for public schools. Uh, an amazing feat, something that I don't think any one of our lacrosse teams has ever done. They're back-to back county champs, back-to- back Long Island champs, and they're heading to the Final Four um Friday morning uh and then to compete again

033Saturday morning for that state title. Good luck to you guys. I'll be on the sideline again. Uh, and I think this is for Bethn. Okay. Tonight I have the privilege again two years in a row of recognize an extraordinary group of student athletes whose accomplishments have brought great pride to our school district and community. I hope when you're playing you hear that group of of kids. I think there actually are from Southtown that have chance that they've been practicing throughout your game. I hope you hear them because it brings such joy to us to see the younger kids in our community watching you and cheering you on. That is what community is all about. Uh so I would like to ask everyone to join me in congratulating our Huntington girls varsity lacrosse team on capturing

034the Suffach County Championship with the exciting 6 to5 victory over a talented Ward Melville team which was a true nailbiter. We were so happy it didn't go to overtime. I'm sure that you were as well. uh advancing to the Long Island Championship. And what a great victory yesterday. 8 to4 for a while. Then it was 8 to5. Then it was 8 to6. And when the pressure was on, you guys scored again and made it 9 to6 and really ended the game. And what a joy. What a joy. This championship was the culmination of a season defined by hard work, perseverance, teamwork, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. Throughout the year, you have consistently demonstrated resilience in the face of challenges, confidence under pressure, and a determination to achieve your goals together. Your success extends far

035beyond the scoreboard. You've represented Huntington with class, sportsmanship, integrity. You've served as outstanding ambassadors for our schools and role models for the younger students I just mentioned. To our players, I would like to thank you for your dedication, discipline, and heart that you've brought to every practice and every game. To our coaching staff, thank you for your leadership, your mentorship, and belief in these student athletes, helping them reach their full potential both on and off the field. And to our athletic director, thank you for fostering an environment that supports excellence and creates opportunities for students to thrive. Congratulations to all of you. Your achievement is a testament to what can be accomplished through hard work, teamwork, and a shared commitment to success. We wish you continued success and victory as you participate in the state

036semi-final game on Friday, June 12th at Sunni Courtland as you take on Suffurn. And now what I'd like to do is call each of you up to personally wish you the best. I'd ask you to come up onto the stage, walk across so we can take a nice picture with the board as well as the Hols team behind us. I hope Mr. Mr. Hoops is there ready to take a nice picture. Even though you should probably get in one of these pictures, Mr. Hoops. Uh, don't you girls want Mr. Hoops in one of these pictures? Yeah. Right. Okay. All right. So, we are going to start in I I'm not sure of what order. So, just get ready, girls. Uh, we will start with Olivia Puchio. She's not here. Okay. Leighton Evans. Valentina Puchio number

037seven, Jolie Winrider. Number eight. No, she's on your e Grace Gordon. Number nine, Bridget Callerie. Number 12, Ava McDonald. Number 21, Juliet Johnson. Number 24. What an amazing goalie she is. Yay, Juliet. Claire Delo, number 26. Ava Ben Svena, number 28, Isabella Palasios, number 29. Madden Calb number 33. Cassidy Harris number one. Sage Sashiari number three. Shayen Gilroy. Number four, Grace Callerie. Number five, Bryce Gilroy. Number 11, Caitlyn Pcell. Number 13, Grace Oliva. Number 14, Briana Pcell. Number 15, Mia Johnson. Number 16, Kate Cordon. Number 17, Nora Golden. Number 18, Grace Klein. Number 19, Kira Larson. Number 20, Leah Zipovich. Number 22, Cameron Smith. Number 23, Emma Bart. Number 25, Carolyn Mitech. Number 27, Violet Palasios. Number 30, Andy De Joya. Number 40, Emma Martin. Number 45, Charlotte Kindleman. Number 50, and Abigail Arelt, number

03852. And now I would like to bring up your amazing, amazing coaches who look so calm, cool, and collected on the sideline. And it's really unbelievable how uh coach Meg Marinelli keeps her cool running up and down the sideline looking like everything's just going dandy throughout the entire game as we're all jumping and screaming on the side. So, let's welcome head coach Meg Marinelli, >> Chris Taylor, who is so invested in this game at every moment. He he only cracks a smile when it's over and they won. But what an amazing job the two of you have done leading this team this year. I would also like to call up assistant coach Lauren Blackburn who is running around the entire game making sure the kids have everything that they need. I also believe our volunteer

039Lauren Schwaj is here. Maybe she's not. Okay. Well, let's acknowledge her as well. And all of this isn't possible without an amazing trainer. Our trainer takes such IMMENSE such great care of our students. When anything is going on with them, he is there to help assist, make sure they get the best treatment possible. Come on up, Jod D. Simone. Thanks for everything. All right. And Mr. Hoops, you're going to give Mr. Stein the camera and you're going to get up on stage for the first time in a long time. Come on, Mr. Hoops. Let's do it. One picture. You could do it. Thank you all so much for coming tonight. Best of luck at Courtland. We know you're going to bring home the wins. >> All right, where are we now? This evening, we are

040pleased to provide an update on our district-wide goals and the progress we have made throughout the 2526 school year. These goals were established to guide our work in four key areas: academic excellence, the student experience, operations, and family and community engagement. As you will see throughout this presentation, our focus has remained on creating the very best educational experience for our students while ensuring that our schools remain safe, welcoming, fiscally responsible, and responsive to the needs of our community. The evidence and artifacts shared tonight reflect the dedication and collaboration collaborative efforts of our students, staff, and administrators, board of education, families, and community partners. While there is always more work to do, tonight's presentation demonstrates meaningful progress towards our strategic priorities and highlights many accomplishments that we will that will continue to benefit our students in

041the years to come. We're going to start with academic excellence with Mr. Cusack. >> Good evening everyone. Thank you very much and I'm happy to report on our first two goals. So um the first area of focus academic excellence. As you can see the goal was for this year to empower all students with the foundational and advanced skills, competence and adaptability needed to thrive in the the evolving demands of postsecary education and the modern workforce. So there's a lot of information here. I'm not going to read all of that in the interest of time of course, but just a couple of the highlights. Um, in terms of our uh intermediate school planning, there were a lot of meetings throughout the year uh with principles and administrators uh districtwide to align our educational programs, facilities, staffing,

042and transportation uh for the two intermediate buildings. As we move into our new phase, uh, a lot of curriculum development has occurred over the course of the year where we've initiated curriculum writing projects uh, for the innovation lab and learners who lead programs at Woodh Hall and Jack Abram schools among many other curriculum related projects that we've had uh, over the course of the year that have come through uh, the approval process and more uh, on the way. Our project-based learning work uh has focused on a number of teams of teachers who have worked with a Finnish expert in project-based learning. Uh his name is Peter Eello and that's through a grant that we've been using and um we're looking to try to expand that over the coming year um as we work with the

043intermediate schools and districtwide on uh project-based learning initiatives. Um and that'll continue throughout the summer. Our administrative team uh across the district has conducted over 400 walkthroughs of classrooms this year and um we've kind of crunched the data throughout uh the the course of the year, the midpoint of the year and just recently so that um we can go back to faculty with some feedback and our walkthrough protocols were connected to both the Danielson rubric, our QTEL training that's been happening across the district and a number of different items that have come from the administrative team and we're looking to always try to refresh and refine that process. Um 400 walkthroughs over the course of the year is a good deal of data. Um and we share that back with the faculty and we help

044uh inform our uh professional learning and professional development um by way of that data as well. So our PD has um kind of focused on that and um our work with uh English language learners, our special education students and um also working on um AI integration and learning for our staff uh as well through our targeted PD. And we're looking in the future uh for next year to offer some opportunities for um our faculty to lead PD in a more um robust manner where teachers will present um ideas about things that they might like to uh show their colleagues and then colleagues will be able to sign up for that. So that'll be something new for the spring of 2027. Uh we've done a lot of work curriculum wise this year I think across the

045board and um we've looked to uh to work on some of the initiatives that the that New York State is requiring for us uh in terms of personal finance in grades 8 and 12. And across the board we've uh had a lot of curriculum writing that's been happening throughout the year and also that will happen over the summer. We've expanded our courses that uh hold college credit I think almost exponentially this year um in the areas of physics, digital journalism, cyber security, and a host of other courses as well. Um we've piloted a number of different programs. You'll hear about some of those tonight from Miss Ragazine who will be up shortly. Um, and we've looked to uh continue to grow our curriculum writing again for the innovation lab, the lead program, and all of

046our project-based learning initiatives. Just to touch on um the student experience that is um our goal is to ensure equity, access, and enrichment opportunities for all students through developmentally appropriate practices that meet their diverse needs and foster growth. Uh we've worked quite a bit on PBIS throughout the district in every building. Each building has its own flavor to PBIS. Um but we all are kind of marching lock step in that this is a way for students to really understand um very clearly the expectations of school in every different part of the school and the rewards that come with that when when things are going well. We've implemented across again across the district this the uh statewide cell phone uh policy and um have done a lot of work with restorative practices as well. We're actually

047really seen as a model for other districts uh across Long Island and in New York State. uh I've had the opportunity to present on restorative practices to a lot of other districts and that has been um that's been a real joy for me but it's also nice to see that our district is a frontr runner in that regard. Um and we continue to work on our community circles and advisory. Uh we're in the process of gathering feedback from all stakeholders, students, faculty, parents, um and trying to always um reshape, reimagine, and um make sure that those uh programs are working uh to the best of our ability for all of our kids and it's a meaningful um experience for for all of them. And we've also tried to in uh continuously infuse uh best practices

048in terms of traumainformed practice. So many of our uh staff members, both teachers and support staff, have been trained in um in working with students who may have had uh some form of trauma. Our evening high school uh program has uh seen some enhancements this year. There's been uh guidance and advisory and food service support to the evening program, which has been a real enhancement. Um and uh we uh have really focused quite a bit on mental health both through PBIS and also um in connection with our with the cell phone ban. Uh there will be as you many of you know um some upcoming work with parents and faculty members uh focused around the book the anxious generation. We've really had a lot of interest in this and I'm excited for those uh sessions

049to take place uh beginning next week. And so that brings me to operations and Miss McCoy will talk about that. Thank you. >> So Dr. Harris wasn't able to be here this evening. So I am going to present on operations. Our slides are a little bit dense because we know this will be posted on the website and if we kept them too brief people wouldn't have all the details of the things that took place this year but we aren't going to read each one. Um I meant to mention that at the beginning. Uh so the goal for operations we will enhance and ensure the safety security quality of food services and equitable resource allocation across the district fostering a supportive and well-resourced environment for all students and staff. So um this really serves as the

050foundation the operations of the district that support every aspect of teaching and learning. This goal area focuses on ensuring safe and secure learning environments, maintaining highquality services, utilizing resources responsibly, and planning strategically for the future. Throughout this year, we have continued to strengthen our systems, enhance safety measures, and make investments that support both our students and staff. This year, we made significant progress in strengthening district safety and operational readiness. We completed required water testing and remediation efforts, expanding access to bottle filling stations, updated district and building safety plans, and implemented required cardiac emergency response protocols. In addition, staff participated in CPR, AED, and CPI training, ensuring that our schools are prepared to respond effectively to a variety of situations while maintaining compliance with state requirements. Uh we did implement code blue teams in each building

051to support these initiatives and our teaching staff. I just want to mention as many of them are here this evening were so willing and excited to lend a hand in this particular area and we have really vibrant uh cold blue teams in each building now that are very supportive. Um and Mr. Stein of course provided the training and conversation surrounding this initiative. And now I'll call up Mr. Hender, deputy superintendent to talk about family and community engagement. >> Good evening. So the last area focuses on family and community engagement. Our goal here was to actively engage and empower all families as partners in their child's educational journey. Fostering meaningful bless you. Fostering meaningful involvement, inclusion from early childhood through grade 12. So, uh, some of the things that we've done is we provided many, uh,

052parent events, uh, through PBS training, STEM, reading, math, and cultural celebrations. Each building had their own unique flavor of what they were going to celebrate and what they were going to do as far as parents and students after school. They've been well attended. Um, we've also improved some feedback. We make sure that after we have uh one of these parent events that we ask for feedback not only from the staff but also from the families to make sure that we are um continuing to bring in people of interest of topics. Um as well we did data triangle results received and we reviewed those with the principles in January. We have partnered with many outside organizations and we distribute job postings throughout. Um, not only do we just post internally on OLAS and internally in our

053system, but we make sure that we really send a broad range of recruitment. Some of those things include uh going and speaking at many colleges, local universities, telling them the reasons why Huntington is such a great place to work. Um, and we really truly believe that we do have the best staff. Um, some of them are back there right now. Um, we also make sure that we include many student teaching opportunities. Um, Mr. CQAC works around the clock to try and bring in student teachers um from all different organizations that this way they can they can work with our students um and some of them we've actually hired back which has been fantastic. And we have also um provided many um we've had some job fairs as well as we've been posting in local communities

054for some of our non-instructional positions to really get individuals from Huntington to work here in the district. I know that you've also seen some of our wonderful media packages, the videos that we've been broadcasting because we really want to showcase how wonderful it is to be here in Huntington and all the unique um uh opportunities that we have. I know that sometimes the press isn't always favorable with Huntington and these videos are really we want to bring in um and make sure that individuals really realize what happens within these walls and within these buildings because it really is a terrific place to be. And lastly, um we are going to continue to uh hire as many alumni as we possibly can because if you've walked these halls, um you definitely know how special it is

055to be here and we want to make sure that we capture that. Last year we had the ability to hire nine former Huntington Union Free School District alumni and this year we're on the pathway for four. Um and it's really great to kind of bring them in and see them grow. As you know, they've sat here. I've actually taught some of them. That's how old I am. Um that we've been able to bring in and and hire. So, it's really been it's been great. Are there any comments or questions? >> You know, these uh accomplishments don't don't just happen by chance. They're results of thoughtful planning and a lot of dedication. I know that our theme at the beginning of the year was let's be allin and this is a true reflection of being allin.

056Thank you. Thank you for your hard work. >> Thank you. >> I was just going to say something similar and you know I love the button on the website now that says why Huntington. And I think if you pay attention to these four areas of focus uh that you also spoke about so eloquently and I appreciate the hard work that you have put into this presentation, you see uh the dedication that every single one of you uh shows towards these areas of focus. And after completing my first year on the board, um I am amazed at the commitment by the the staff um just showing up to a board meeting to support uh their principal and and everything that you have implemented here. Uh and I appreciate all all that you put into it. So,

057thank you very much. >> Thank you. And in a similar vein, uh, looking at all these different areas of focus, um, one thing that really came out and, uh, struck me was, uh, Mr. Hendra just talking about bringing in, uh, fellow Huntingtonians and graduates. Um, people at this table up here wouldn't be here unless we cared about our community. Uh, and, uh, since being on the board, it's clearly evident to me that the, uh, district administration is here for the town, for the community. Uh it is not just some job uh of being an administrator. We are all in. The girls that were here before and the people that are here uh right now kind of prove that. Uh and um you know I'll never stop being a cheerleader for this uh this town. And

058uh area of focus number four, family and community engagement. I can absolutely tell you that ad administration, the board and every member of this uh school district uh takes to heart everything that is said. Um and uh it is it is all taken into account and put into practice and um that wouldn't happen without you folks. So thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> All right, Mr. Cusk. All right, so now we are on to our next presentation. Uh Mr. Cusack will be doing the introductions. All right, this is the science one. Perfect. All right, good evening once again. Thank you. I'm going to be up here for a while. Like there's a whole bunch of them. So, I'm mindful of the time though. Um, but I do want to uh say a public

059thank you to uh Miss Daniel Ragazine who's been serving as our coordinator uh grades uh 7 to 12 for science. She has jumped in with both feet, both hands, everything all at once. And it's a lot of moving parts. Um she's done a phenomenal job. And so, uh, tonight she will be presenting, um, really two two presentations in one, which, uh, encompasses our 4th through 8th grade curriculum that we are, um, seeking your approval for this evening. It's, uh, on the list of a number of different, um, courses and uh, and curricular um, pieces that that we have uh, on the agenda. So, um, this has been an extensive process and so without further ado, I'll leave it to Miss Ragazine to tell you a little bit about it. Good evening everyone. Um, so, uh,

060our goal here with the, uh, science curriculum was to align the instruction with the new NISL standards in New York. Um and some of our goals were to ensure consistency between the two intermediate buildings um through use of a common curriculum. In the past, there was a different curriculum that was used in Wood Hole and in STEM. So, uh with the changes that are being made next year was really important that we had a common curriculum in both buildings. Um also with the continuation of this 6th to 8th grade middle school grade band is very difficult in our district because Finley does not hold a sixth grade. Um, so one of our really big goals was even though it's not going to be in the same building, that the continuation of the curriculum be from

061that middle school band, sixth through 8th grade. Um, so back in December, we started with phase one, which was a vendor presentation. We had three 1-hour vendor presentations with open sedate learning, tci, and savis. Uh, we had a lot of people in attendance. uh seven administrators, 18 teachers um with at least two representatives from each grade level as well as special education and ENL support teachers to make sure that we get the full the full breath of the the need. After the initial review, teachers evaluated and ranked the three pro uh programs using the same rubric. The rubric included criteria like curriculum features, student materials, instructional support, technology, and parent connections. And based on the results of the evaluation, the committee determined that both TCI and SAVIS would move forward to the pilot phase. So

062that begins phase two, the pilot. We had at least two teachers per grade level uh participating in the pilot process. So that's two teachers for fourth through 8th grade at least. This included also uh a handful of support teachers, ENL teachers jumped on board, dual language teachers and special education teachers so that we could ensure diverse perspectives and that and that all student needs were represented. Prior to each pilot, uh the participating teachers received curriculum specific training and access to teacher accounts and then the student accounts were synced to support full classroom implementation. We piloted each curriculum for five weeks across those four through eighth grade bands. And following each pilot cycle, the teachers completed a detailed Google form providing feedback um which evaluated student engagement, ease of implementation, which was really important for the

063teachers, accessibility and differentiation, which helped with those ENL and support teachers in there too. alignment to the standards, quality of instructional resources, and overall just effectiveness of the program. The results were that TCI and SAVIS were both very strong contenders here. Um the programs were presented to the team with a tenative plan to utilize one program across grades 4 through 8, but as the presentations and pilots took shape, the differing needs of the intermediate classes and the middle school classes also took shape. So at the conclusion of the pilots, it was determined that the best fit for grades four through six was actually TCI, while SAVIS appeared to be the better choice for grades 7 through 8. So we could talk a little bit about each TCI and SAVIS. So why TCI for grades four

064through six? I'm just going to highlight some of the things that the teachers really liked about it. So, the high student engagement for sure. TCI promotes active learning through hands-on investigations, phenomenabased lessons, and interactive FET simulations that keep students motivated and engaged. Um, the strong instructional support. Teachers really like that, especially in grades four through six. There were ready to use instructional resources, presentations. Um, the fourth and fifth grade teachers really liked investigation notebooks. I think the students liked those, too. They could be like little scientists in their in their notebooks. Um, and then lastly, accessibility and differentiation. And I I have a slide coming up where I could show you just how easy it is to differentiate the TCI. Um, so they start with a unit story line and a phenomena. They go through

065lessons, some hands-on investigation, they make sense of the lesson, and then they go back to the original phenomenon. So, um, it's it's really like a journey through these science units, which which is really fun for those fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. Um, so on this slide, I just wanted to show you, um, I I just took a screenshot. I logged in, took a screenshot. In the bottom left, there's a word English. Does everybody see it? Bottom left. I clicked that and I changed it to Spanish. And the same exact web page, what I was just w looking at in English was changed to Spanish. I think I went backwards by mistake. Um, so the the ease at which um >> the anchoring phenomenon >> for you. Oh, you're doing it. Okay. >> Um, so the

066ease at which you can change the entire interface from one language to another. For dual language is really helpful for ENL teachers. It's also a really great support. Um, and in here, I didn't show it, but there's also um different le uh reading levels. So, if a student needs a lower reading level, the teacher can assign a lower reading level. So, the teachers just really enjoy the ease at which you could differentiate. Can you help me out? Okay. Yeah, you can play. Thank you. TCI brings science alive, built from the ground up for NGSS and Common Core standards. engages students with phenomenon-based storylines and challenges them to solve realworld problems. In our forces and energy program, students solve engineering problems and plan investigations about forces, Newton's laws of motion, kinetic and potential energy, thermal energy,

067heat, and the thermal properties of matter. In unit 1, lesson 3, effects of forces, students are challenged to design an investigation to collect evidence that confirms Newton's second law of motion. Students will have to meet specific criteria while working with constraints to assemble and build their Hall's carriage launcher. After the investigation, students reflect on what they've learned to explain the lesson phenomenon using Newton's laws. What happens to the wrench thrown in outer space? TCI's investigations help students make relevant and lasting connections between science and their everyday lives. Each investigation is effortless to conduct with step-by-step instructions, guiding questions, and a complete set of materials. Everything you need to bring science alive in your middle school classroom. So, I I like that video a lot because the kids are designing their investigation. They are designing it,

068which is which is really what NISLS is all about. Um, there's a lot of engineering design standards that are in there that that TCI really covers with with their investigations. Um, so then why SAVIS for grades seven and 8, the seventh and eighth grade teachers really liked the user-friendly resources. Um, a lot of them are Googlebased. So they convert the resources right into a Google doc, right into a Google slide um and right into their Google classrooms which um the Finley teachers use and made it really easy to implement. They also said that the investigations were engaging and hands-on and that it provided a lot of strong instructional supports um such as student workbooks, station cards, readings, review videos, presentations. And I think really what the seventh and eighth graders like is the ability to

069edit them to the way that um they've been trained to kind of um deliver that science education. The editability of it is is really what they liked uh the best. So Savis uses the 5E inquiry uh model which is engage, explore, explain, extend and then evaluate. The anchoring phenomenon in the plate tectonics topic is about the gap that divides Iceland in two. >> Students are prompted to observe and create a model that shows how they think this gap was created. Students might suggest water erosion, a meteorite impact, or other ideas. Students will revise their models as they gather more evidence in the experiences of this topic. I don't know where the sound is. >> So this is how you edit uh sorry this is how you >> the Himalayan mountains grow about 1 cm taller.

070This is how you translate languages and also accommodate for um auditori. So those same accommodations are in SAVIS as well. Um so just for the sake of time I want to show you some of the data that we collected. So on the top is the TCI program on the left is grades four through six and on the right is grades 7 through 8. So you can really see which grade bands preferred the TCI, which was the four through six on the left. And then in terms of SAVIS, I mean the it's they're obviously very favorable programs because all of these scores are very high. Um, but SAVIS, it was really the seventh and eighth graders that that preferred the SAVIS program on the right. So on the top on the left was TCI grades four

071through six and SAVIS grades 7 through eight in the bottom right. and that was data taken straight from the Google form. Um, so the teacher feedback was overwhelmingly consistent across grade levels and it was pretty clear that grades four through six teachers strongly preferred TCI science and grades seven through eight teachers strongly preferred the SAVIS experience. Um, so upon board approval, we would enter into phase three, which is the implementation. And um I've been speaking with Brendan a bit about how to um go through the next phase of this with curriculum writing and um some uh professional learning teams and TCI and SAVS will both include professional learning and ongoing teacher support. So um they they'll be able to support us. Um in terms of what we're looking for, it's grades four and five really

072want those consumable science journals, which I agree. I think the kids really feel like little scientists with their with their science journals. Um, grade six really was fine with just um the digital component. They they have it currently at at um STEM in sixth grade, so they're kind of used to it. Um they will grades four through six will also receive science kits with materials for those investigations with replenishments as needed. Grades seven and eight will receive the initial science kits, but because there is a Finley Middle School science budget, we'll replenish it with that as opposed to buying the uh replenishments through SAVIS. Um, grades 6 through 8 want that digital access, but again, all print resources are available on those interfaces. So, some teachers that prefer the paper, they can print them out

073off that website. Um, and then both platforms provide Spanish language instructional materials and support and those printable resources. So, in conclusion, both curriculum platforms were were wellliked by the science teachers in grades 4 through 8. Um, they provide engaging hand hands-on and phenomena based learning experiences for students in grades four through 8 that are NISL standards aligned. The pilot process demonstrated clear grade level preferences and based on teacher feedback, classroom implementation, student engagement, accessibility, and alignment to Nissa standards, it's recommended that grades four through six adopt TCI science and grades seven and eight adopt status experience science. Uh this decision reflects a thoughtful collaborative process that was about four to five months long. Um and we believe that these programs will provide um high quality science instruction and student success across our learner populations. Um

074and then on a personal note, this process provided a really great professional learning experience for me as the new coordinator of science. It allowed me to deepen my understanding of all of the things that went into this like curriculum writing, budgeting, implementation, planning, crossbuilding, collaboration with teachers. I was meeting teachers and administrators that I I really had never met before. Um, and working alongside the district leaders. So, the opportunity to work alongside all of these people that went into this is um something I will certainly carry with me as I continue to grow in this role. So, thank you. questions. >> Question. Do you foresee any issues um bridging from TCI to SA to SAVIS from sixth to 7th grade? >> Yeah, that's a great question. So we actually have our professional development schedule out

075for next year where sixth, seventh and eighth grade are working together um in in one professional development so that the sixth graders can bring the the TCI with them and the seventh and eighth graders will bring the SAVIS and we'll make sure that all of those standards are met across grade bands. Um but yes, there's a there's a little bit of backwork that needs to get done on the you know on the back end to make sure all of those standards are met. Um, but we we have a PD in place for next year. >> I just want to say I appreciate the how you use kind of an empirical analysis here to find out which one uh works for each of the teachers and that you're not just trying to shoehorn one particular program

076and just for the ease of uh saying we have one program. Uh, and I appreciate taking the time to do that. >> Thank you. If no one else, thank you. Great presentation. >> Thank you. >> Thanks very much. And again, Mr. Agazine did yman's work with us. It is not easy to pull all that together, all those people opinions. Um, and so uh it's it's been great working together on that though. Thank you. I have one more uh presentation to go. It's going to be short. I promise. >> You're almost there, South. You're almost there. Good evening once again. So, um, this has been a two-year process that we're coming down the the final stretch. I wanted to just take a couple of minutes to give you an update on uh the work that we've

077done with uh K to6 report cards and um we've over the last two years brought together a number of different teams. Uh this has been a process that's involved probably over 40 people uh give or take over the last two years and as Danielle said about her uh you know involvement with with the pilots and everything. This has been instructive for me coming from a secondary realm to get my uh hands in in the weeds of uh the K to6 report card world was definitely new and exciting for me and um and I'll I'll tell you a little bit about it. So our timeline for uh changing up and and refreshing our K to6 report cards started last year with phase 1. The last time that the K to6 report cards were updated was in

0782013. And so of course there are new standards now and a lot of you know things have changed. And so we were looking to create uh report cards for each grade level that would reflect uh new standards and um and other some other updates as well. So in uh 2425 school year uh one of the first things that M. McCoy said would be uh part of my charge is to uh to do this and um whenever I share that with colleagues in other districts they they uh gave me like a little evil laugh something along the lines of like okay great uh good luck with that you know because not everybody agrees uh when it comes down to to these things. But I will say one of my takeaways has been that everybody who's come

079to the table to work on this cares a lot about this and I think that's an ongoing theme that we've been talking about tonight. Uh that all-in aspect. Everybody came to roll up their sleeves and to really take a very careful look at what we do, how we report it, and how we make sure that parents, kids, and and staff members and and faculty are all working together uh to toward progress. And so when we started last year, I was very fortunate um and very grateful to colleagues across other districts in the county. we were able to look at 16 different examples from other districts to sort of pick and choose what we liked, what we didn't like, what would work for us. Um, one of the things that we came away with from those

080teams was that ours was actually pretty good uh compared to a lot of other districts, but it certainly did need um a refresh. So uh that was uh over the course of last year a number of different meetings with uh with team members and we started to craft our own uh version of the K to6 report card. This year uh we've included a number of other teams that brought together art, music, PE, library, ENL teachers, special education. Um and we did the same process again. It was kind of an iterative process where we took a look at these 16 different districts and then looked at our own and started to craft uh our own report cards and then put all of that together. Later on in the year um we uh worked pretty uh diligently

081on um going line by line through our report cards to align with all new uh next generation standards and the science of reading. and we brought together uh I was very grateful for a number of parents who came together as a focus group to talk about what they would like to see in these report cards and I shared the drafts with them and took some feedback and um just in the final phases of implementing uh all those different pieces of feedback and then we will be shipping this off to e school to work on uh some of the formatting over the course of the summer. There were really three pillars when it comes to what uh we were looking to do as we came together. Uh one was to maximize instructional time. So the probably

082the largest uh change and that'll take some getting used to um is that we are looking to move to a trimester system uh K to6. I think there are a lot of benefits to this and the vast majority of report cards uh standardsbased report cards that we looked at were a trimester based uh report card K to6 and so that would be probably one of the larger uh pieces of change that we would be seeing. It definitely lends itself to getting to know the kids better before putting something on paper. Uh but I do think it also comes with the caveat that our communication to parents does not start um you know for the first trimester period that communication starts right away. Um and so if our first you know formal report of student progress

083is further down the line that gives us more time to work together with parents if there's something that needs to be changed or fixed or or enhanced. Um and so that that trimester system gives us that. Another thing that we sorted uh picked out from our um report cards was that there was some language that could be enhanced to uh foster a growth mindset. So you'll see um in some of the uh examples that I'll share with you some updated language that shows um that whatever goes on paper is not the end of the story and um the there's work to be done always but we look at it in a in terms of a growth mindset. um and enhancing the parent communication by way of updating those standards and finding a balance between educe

084speak and and things that parents can um digest and and work with as well. That is definitely a difficult balance to strike when you throw in the science of reading and the pillars and different uh next generation standards but also something that everybody can work with at home as well. Um, so that'll take some communications over the summer that I'm I'm going to be working on for parents to really have a clear understanding of everything that we're looking to uh to share with them through these report cards. And so uh just very quick uh snapshot here, the current system uh is a four marking period uh system and we would be moving to trimesters. Uh there are some pieces of our four-point grading scale that are a little bit deficit language based. I guess you

085could say it's that might be a little harsh, but uh moving toward a growth mindset to um you know more of the you're not there yet or you're there and you can still do this. Um those are pieces of of the language that everybody across our teams felt was very important to show our philosophy through our grading. Um and another fairly significant change is that we were looking to in sixth grade move to a transitional report card where there are still standardsbased re reporting but also a numerical grade uh which transitions well to seventh grade. Well, one one thing that we found in many of the districts um report cards that we reviewed was that the um sixth grade was more of a middle school um model. For us, moving to a straight middle school

086model didn't seem to fit, but having a hybrid model where there was numerical grade and also standardsbased grades uh seemed to make the most sense for us. Um and so the again the um the standards that you'll see in these report cards are reflective of new standards. Um again just more about the trimester advantage. I think it does give teachers more time to get to know the kids and um and to work with parents and students as they progress. Um and it also aligns with some of our benchmarking. Um and so we're not like benchmarking uh three times a year but grading four times a year. it seems to be uh in better alignment across the board. So uh this is an example of some of the growth mindset language that we're looking to implement

087uh in our current scale. Like for instance, level two does not meet minimum grade level standards. Sounds pretty harsh. It sounds like there's a period at the end of it. There is a period at the end of it. Um in the new model working towards grade level expectations with additional support. It's not really just semantics. It speaks volumes to what we believe about kids and their growth. Um it's not just words. There's there's a philosophy behind this. And so I think this will help us to um to realize that in the grading that we do in in the uh current level one demonstrates little evidence of knowledge uh and skills for this grade level. Again, that's very harsh and depending on the grade level, that could be um you know, something that we're not looking

088to uh to put forth as far as our philosophy is concerned. But saying does not yet meet grade level expectations. Again, that one word makes uh a big difference, I believe. So line by line each of these report cards has been touched um to align with uh our the new standards, next generation standards and also with a clear focus on science of reading. Um and so that has uh been the uh the case in across all grade levels in all of the the core subject areas. Um, and we're looking also to uh include areas for all of our special areas. And another addition and another change um will be that the library and technology standards or um computer science standards will be reflected in these report cards as well. And so our library media specialists

089will have a hand in the report cards as well. Um and so again the uh just bridging the gap from elementary to secondary the grade six report card would be uh somewhat changed uh in format so that um there would be uh numerical grades in combination with uh standardsbased grades and this will require some training on eSchool and some uh embedded uh professional learning in our grade level uh meetings throughout the the first portion of the year. The layout looks pretty similar. I think it's a little bit better. Um, messing with those lines myself is very frustrating. I'm looking forward to eh doing that for us once we finally get that into their hands. But um, there's space for teacher comments. There's um there's areas for a lot of different information to share with parents.

090And the layout will be familiar but enhanced. It's small, but um I can just point out a few different areas that I've kind of covered here. This is a draft version, like a fin almost final draft of our um report card for grade two. And so you can see the um the performance levels, student consistently exceeding uh grade level expectations. Student consistently meets grade level expectations. Um my eyes are going. I can't vote. I can't um zoom in on that, but as I mentioned before, the uh standards uh two and one um have more of a growth mindset language to those. And um we also uh felt as a team that attendance was important to to focus on. And so there's a statement there regarding the attendance and our attendance numbers um for absences and

091tardies is front and center right on the first um in the first area of the report card. So that uh that's one of the first things that parents see and it's definitely something that we know as a team and as teachers if they're not in school it's very hard to make that progress and so we wanted to focus on that and make that a priority. Um and then again in area four here uh the library media specialist would have a hand in the um in the grading as well and we met with them and everyone was very much on board with that. Uh and as you can see at the the bottom uh our uh our statement from our strategic plan is there also showing our philosophy every time we send grades home. Um so

092it really is a whole child approach. every area is covered as far as um academics, special areas, um social and emotional learning and uh I do think that this is a product that will will help um communicate with families in a very clear way uh the progress of their children. So our next steps are just uh really finalizing those those final edits and trying to incorporate as much um feedback as possible. Again, not everybody agrees on every line item in every uh grade level in every report card. I don't know that that's ever possible to do, but this was one of the most collegial experiences that I've had. I've been in the district for 15 years. This is my 30th year in education and bringing together over 40 people to a common goal. Um this

093was a wonderful experience for me. It was a lot of work for everybody, but um it really was was very um inspiring to to be a part of this. Uh we're looking to again we'll be working with eh school throughout the summer to implement these. Uh there'll be a number of parent communications of course to share out all the changes that we're looking to make. Again, I do think that they're familiar enough where it's not uh, you know, a complete change, but it's it's significant enough that it will require quite a bit of explanation for parents so that everyone um feels comfortable with what they're going to be getting home uh over the course of next year. And then there will be planning for faculty uh learning so that everybody's comfortable with this well before

094the first reporting period. I do want to thank uh all of the teachers, administrators, the parents who collaborated and helped on uh with this process. It was a large number of people in the interest of time because that game is already happening. I'm not going to read them all off. Um but that's a lot of people. I am very grateful to everybody who put their heads together with this and my parent uh focus group. uh that was really um we spent uh some time together to go over this line by line um and they gave me a lot of great feedback which I'm trying to uh you know finalize and implement. So uh as our statement and our vision and our mission says together we succeed. Uh we do see in this new report card

095more uninterrupted time for for deep teaching and learning, more time to get to know the kids, uh some growth uh mindset type of language, and a clear uh way to to convey all the new standards to to parents in a way that's going to help them, to help their kids, and to help us uh as we work together. So, thank you very much for your time, and I'll take any questions. I'm glad you like it. It's like the first time many of you are seeing it, right? So, I >> just wanted to say one Oh, go ahead. Sorry. >> I just wanted to give a quick thank you to you, Mr. Kuzzac, and the entire committee who worked on this. It is fantastic. I'm sure it was a heavy lift, but also a collaborative one.

096Um, and I I know it's a positive shift. So, thank you so much. >> Thanks. Appreciate it. >> I also wanted to just say how excited I was to see this presentation and read through this. Um it definitely seemed like it was a lot of work, but I think it'll be well worth it. Um I I've thought for generations now we are doing it kind of wrong in K through six and this district has really um been at the forefront of making some really huge changes. Um and this really kind of piggybacks onto the strategic plan and our intermediate plan and everything that we've been doing. So it really feels great to be a part of this community. were all sort of swimming in the same direction and really you can tell that this cabinet

097um and this community and these teachers they're are all very collaborative and you know as we've said time and again uh not to toot our own horns here but you don't find that in a lot of other districts so thank you for this I'm really excited and I can't wait to see the results of of this >> thank you I think that the student learning experience really improves by effective feedback and not just the grades so it seems logical that we're doing this to go to a trimester semester. Do you foresee any issues going from trimester back to the fourth semester once they hit high school? >> I don't think so. I think the the quarter system for secondary really is is pretty natural. Um it just seems like uh this is a good fit

098for K to6 and quarters work well for for the secondary. Uh it also works in terms of courses that are like a half year or a quarter year um where you don't necessarily see that across the board, but you do see that in in secondary. So I think um transitioning from one to the other um shouldn't shouldn't really be a problem because the courses themselves sort of match that uh that system. Thank you. >> I just want to thank you Mr. Cusack for this presentation for also working with Miss Ragazin on another amazing presentation for the science. I know how much work goes into all of this. So the work from both of you from our principles, our directors across the district and our teachers on these projects that were all big lifts across a

099long period of time. Very much appreciated. And also thank Mr. Hender for the presentation earlier. This really is a a team effort and all of the work that everyone's putting in across the district from teachers to admin to cabinet is is greatly appreciated. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Anyone else? Thank you. You want to stay there or you want to come back because you're up next anyway. >> Yep. Moving on to curriculum and instruction. Mr. Kuzzk again. It is upon recommendation from the superintendent of schools that the board of education approve items uh cse and CPSCE items as delineated. I memorized it finally. Look at that. >> Your mic's off. >> Channel one, Kelly 2. All in favor? That's everyone. >> All right. So, I have a number of courses also. We can go

100in whichever order. Sorry, my my laptop. Uh, >> I can do it. It is my recommendation from the Superintendent of Schools that the board of education approve the English 12R course for implementation beginning in the 2026 school year. Can I have a motion? >> I have uh I have descriptions for you. >> Okay, good. So, the English 12 course um integrates literature and composition to strengthen students reading, writing, and critical thinking skills while preparing them to demonstrate proficiency. On the New York State English Regents Examination, students will analyze and compare diverse literary works, including texts commonly studied in senior English electives. Writing assignments include argumentative and analytical essays and at least one research paper empa emphasizing organization, textual evidence, and academic writing. The course is designed for 12th grade students who have not yet demonstrated

101proficiency on the region's assessment. All required texts are already part of the department's collection and no staffing changes are required. >> Motion, please. Anyone? John 2 questions, comments, all in favor? That's everyone. Okay. All right. So, >> you want me to do the next one? >> Yeah. The next one uh those are science uh grades four to six and uh Yeah. So, the next one is our curricular resource proposal which is bring science alive grades four to six. We already heard a whole presentation on that. So I don't >> Yes. That is upon recommendation from the superintendent of schools that the board of education adopt the bring science alive program for implementation in grades four through six science beginning in the 2026 2027 school year. Can I have a motion please? Gentle one Tom 2

102questions comments? All in favor? That's everyone. >> Thank you. Uh our next uh curricular resource is experience science from SAVIS which again you heard from Miss Ragazine shortly uh before. It is upon recommendation from the superintendent of schools that the board of education adopt the experience science curriculum SAVAS program for implementation in grades 7 through 8 science beginning in the 2627 school year. Can we have a motion please? John one, Teresa 2. Questions, comments? All in favor? That's everyone. >> Great. Um, our next uh proposal is history alive, the world through 1750 for grade 6 social studies. This is from TCI. The TCI World through 1750 engages students in the study of early civilizations and global interactions from prehistoric times through the midentury mid- 18th century through inquiry based instruction, primary and secondary sources, geography

103skills, interactive activities and writing tasks. Stu students examine the political, economical, economic, cultural and techn technological developments that shaped societies across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The program promotes historical thinking, civic understanding, collaboration, and evidence-based analysis. The curriculum is fully aligned with the New York State grade six social studies framework, and supporting uh supporting geographic reasoning, chronological reasoning, comparison, contextualization, and primary source analysis while integrating literacy skills aligned with New York State standards. Adoption of a new text was necessary because the previous 2008 edition uh is no longer um available and uh replacement uh was needed. Additionally, the expansion of the dual language program uh requires Spanish language instructional materials and the Spanish version of the program was piloted successfully along with the English version of the program and this demonstrated students ability to

104access grade level content while continuing language development in dual language. It is upon recommendation from the superintendent of schools that the board of education adopt the history alive the world through 1750 program for the implementation in grade six social studies beginning in the 2026 2027 school year. Can I have a motion please? Jenna one Kelly 2. Questions comments all in favor that's everyone. >> Thank you. Our last one is uh two Latin textbooks for AP Latin. This is plenty 20 letters and suggested companion texts and that's the 2025 version and Virgil selections and suggested companion texts also 2025. The revised AP Latin curriculum includes new required literature selections by Virgil and Plenty. These texts along with compar companion workbooks and teacher guides provide the required Latin readings, vocabulary support, glosseries, and AP style practice assessments

105to prepare students for the examination and deepen their understanding of the literature. Adoption of these materials is necessary to meet updated college board requirements. The resources were reviewed by five world language teachers and the director of world languages and ENL services, Miss Marov, and were successfully piloted with students during the school year. It is upon recommendation from the superintendent of schools that the board of education adopt plenty 20 letters and suggested companion text 2025 and veral selection and suggested companion text 2025 for the implementation the AP Latin course beginning in the 2026 2027 school year. Have a motion please. Annie one John two questions comments all in favor that's everyone >> thank you I'm gonna stop talking now >> thank you >> all right we're here it is upon recommendation from the superintendent of schools

106that the board of education approve personnel items on schedules 2 3 5 6 8 9 10 11 13 16 19 and 22 >> you trying to get somewhere we have a motion please Jenna one Tom two all in favor That's everyone. >> I have a few announcements. Uh the first, the board just appointed uh Miss Ragazin as the chairperson of science, grades K through 12. Nice job. Welcome to this new capacity. Additionally, we have a few probationary appointments. We have Miss Sabrina Emirates, who was just appointed as a physical education teacher in the elementary level. Congratulations, Miss Sarah O'Brien, special education teacher at Huntington High School, Miss Melissa Tusano, a special education teacher at Huntington High School, and Miss Alexis Weinberg, speech therapist uh for the district. Additionally, the reason why we still have people

107in the stands here is because the board just appointed um two actually three administrators uh for tenure. Um so when I call your name, if you can come up, I have a little blurb for you and uh some flowers as well. So first and foremost uh tonight we are pleased to recognize Miss Gilamottwig on the granting of tenure as principal of South Down Primary School. Miss Amad Urwig has dedicated herself to fostering a nurturing and supportive learning environment where students, staff, and families feel valued, connected, and supported. One of Miss Amad Irwig's greatest strength is her ability to build genuine relationships with people and make everyone who walks through her doors of South Dun feel welcomed and appreciated. Her warmth, compassion, and commitment to collaboration have helped strengthen the sense of community within the building

108while keeping the focus on success and well-being of every child. Congratulations, Miss Ahmad Irwig, on this significant milestone. Additionally, the board just granted uh Miss Janine Delgado um chairperson of special educations grades 7 through 12 tenure. Congratulations. Throughout Miss Delgado's probationary period, she has demonstrated exceptional leadership, compassion, commitment to ensuring that every student receives the support um they deserve. Her collaborative spirit, deep knowledge of special education, and dedication to students, families, and staff have made a lasting impact across our district. Congratulations on this well-deserved milestone. And lastly, Dr. Harris is not here tonight, so we will celebrate her upon her return at a future board meeting. >> Uh, we're on to business, and I think you're filling in for Dr. Harris. >> That is correct. It is upon recommendation from the superintendent of schools that

109the board of education approve items I through P on this evening's business agenda. Can >> we have a motion, please? Teresa one, John 2. All in favor? That's everyone. All right. And there are no donations today. Move on to public commentary. Same rules apply. This is the second public commentary of the evening. Okay. Uh, closing remarks by board members. >> One sentence. I just want it on record that I'm thankful for everyone at this table as we wrap up my and John's first year on the board. Everybody's wonderful. All the presentations were wonderful. I know we want to get out of here. >> You know, it's customary for uh our our board to reelect a new board president, new board vice president every three years. This is my third year. I'm concluding my three years

110as president. I want to thank you all for having selected me the last three years. It was a pleasure and honor to serve you guys. I hope I did a great job for you. Uh and I apologize for having forgotten everyone's name because you know that's what I do. All right. Um and you know what? I'm going to have Kelly close us out today. >> My gosh. Okay. Um requesting a motion to adjourn. >> There you go. >> Uh Teresa and what's your name again? Um, X and um, >> all in favor. >> That's Thank you, guys. >> Thank you, Callie. >> Have a great night and happy summer to everybody. Congrats.