001Welcome again everyone. And we're just going to have um Mrs. Diva read the safety message. Good evening and welcome to the March 30th, 2026 meeting of the Patrick Medford Board of Education. In the unlikely event of an emergency, please use the exits located at the front and rear of the auditorium to exit the building. Please be advised that smoking and the use of vape products are strictly prohibited on school grounds. This evening, there will be one public comment portion to the board of education meeting. This public comment portion of the meeting will be open for any topic you would like to bring to the board. Each speaker will have three minutes with no sharing of minutes. Please state your name and address when you approach the podium. You'll be warned when you have 30 seconds
002remaining and asked to conclude after three minutes. Please refrain from discussing this specific students or staff members to protect their privacy. These matters should be discussed with the appropriate administrator. Please direct all questions or comments to the board of education president. >> Thank you. Next, we'll move on to presentations and reports. The first presentation we have is uh coach Steve Colt who will present the record breakers for Colin Jennings, Jeremiah News, and Evan Frasier. All right. Uh good evening everybody. Um, first, uh, today we're here to celebrate not just a successful winter track season, but the incredible achievements of three athletes who push beyond limits and rewrote our record books. First, let's recognize Colin Jennings. Colin had an outstanding season, setting not just one, but two school records. Colin broke the record in the 800
003meters with an impressive time of 20 and continued his dominance in the 1000 meters, setting another record at 237.31. These performances reflect not only his speed, but also his endurance, discipline, and competitive drive. To excel in two demanding middle distance events like this is truly remarkable. Next, we honor Jeremiah Newsome, who dominated in the throwing events this season. Jeremiah hit a new school record in the shot put with a massive throw of 51 feet 10 and 3/4 in and followed that with another record-breaking performance in the weight throw at 52 feet 9 1/2 in. His strength, technique, and consistency have truly set him apart and his accomplishments have raised the bar for our entire program. And finally, Evan Frasier, who delivered a truly historic sprint season. Evans set school set school records in not one,
004not two, but three events. The 200 meters with a blazing 2184, the 300 meters in 3444, and the 400 meters in 50.14. As if that weren't enough, he also set both the meet and facility records at Suffach Community College during the state qualifier meet. That level of performance on such a big stage speaks volumes about his talent, focus, and ability to rise to the moment. It also it is also what earned Evan the outstanding track and field athlete award voted on by all section 11 coaches and given out at the all county dinner. These three athletes have shown us what dedication, resilience, and excellent looks like. Their records are more than just numbers. They represent the commitment, sacrifice, and a relentless pursuit of greatness. Let's give Colin, Jeremiah, and Evan the recognition they deserve for
005an unforgettable season and for setting a standard that will inspire us for years to come. Okay, next we're going to bring up Coachinello to recognize Ashton and Olivia. >> Good evening everyone. My name is Tom Manello. I'm the head coach of the wrestling program at Patchog Medford. Um, we had a great season this year, but is definitely highlighted by the success of these two athletes here. Uh, Ashton Klugitz, uh, whose season started off with on the second day of practice, an avulsion fracture in his hip, and we didn't think we'd we'd get him back. Uh, but he stuck around. He did everything he needed to do. And uh mid January we got him back on the mat practicing and uh we had to get him a a medical waiver to uh be able to compete
006in the postseason cuz he didn't have enough competitions. And uh he was returning to our lineup as already a two-time all league wrestler in 10th grade. He took fourth in the league and in uh his junior year he took he was a league finalist. Um this year he uh avenged his loss to the same guy that he lost in the finals to last year and he qualified for the Suffach County tournament. He was seated 12th uh really because he didn't have a lot of wins in competition the whole year and from the 12 seed he he really dominated the tournament. He only lost in the semi-finals to the eventual sub county champion and he wrestled to take third in the county and uh the top three at each weight qualified for the New York state
007wrestling tournament in Albany. So he's one of 36 qualifiers in division one across all of Suffach County. Um when he got up to Albany he went two and two. He uh he made it to what's called the blood round, which is the the furthest you can get into the tournament with with without actually placing his last match. Uh you know, he gave it everything he had, but he really represented us well, and he had a tremendous season in the time that he was able to be on the mat for us, and we're super proud of his accomplishments. >> All right, our other athlete is Olivia Nell. Um, our girls from Pat Med, they train a lot with us, but they wrestle for Bport on a joint team. A couple of the local districts join up
008there. Uh, the program is growing. Girls wrestling is the fastest growing sport in the nation. Uh, right now there's eight teams across Suffach County. Um, Olivia's on the Bport team with with a with two other schools besides Bport and Pat Med. Uh, she is a returning Suffach County champ. She placed fourth in the state last year. uh she came back this year with with aspirations to win the state. She again won the county. She uh went up to Albany. She lost a very tough se uh semi-final match, wrestled all the way back, took third place. Um today she was just at Newsuesday. Uh she made the all Long Island team with 10 other uh nine other girls from Long Island. So that's uh that should be coming out in the paper next Sunday. Um, but
009she's uh already as a sophomore, two-time Suffach County Champion and a two-time All State wrestler. And uh, you know, she's still got two years left. So, we're uh, proud and super excited to see what she can do in the future. Not yet. You want me to announce Jamie? >> Okay. We had one additional um student athlete that we wanted to recognize tonight who couldn't be with us. Um so Jameson Reian uh who was competing in the 100 meter breaststroke as only a freshman earned all county honors qualified for the state championships placing himself amongst the very best swimmers in the state. Uh what makes Jameson's achievement even more remarkable is that he did it as an individual entry without the support of a full swim team behind him. There are no daily team practices, no
010built-in training environment, no large group pushing him at every turn. Just his own drive, discipline, and commitment to excellence and still he rose to the highest level. At the state championships, Jameson didn't just show up. He excelled finishing as a top six swimmer in New York State in the 100 meter breaststroke. To reach that level is an out is outstanding. To do it as a freshman and as an individual competitor is truly exceptional. Congratulations on an outstanding season. Jameson, >> congratulations to all the athletes. Next, we're going to move on to the employees of the month. So, Dr. Cohen. >> Thank you, Madame President. So, it's my honor and privilege to present tonight's employees of the month. And I must say first that these employees have been waiting for quite some time to be recognized.
011They were supposed to be recognized at the February meeting in the middle of the winter, but we had to shift to remote that night because of the snowstorm that we had. So they've been waiting for a couple of months. We've actually moved from winter to spring. So, these employees of the month were supposed to receive token Pet Medford throw blankets as their gift, but now that we're in spring, we have a beautiful new picnic blanket for spring season. So, they'll be receiving this this evening. So, I'd like to start off by recognizing Ally Mirabel, senior office assistant in the Office of Music, Art, and Cultural Arts. Ally, come on up. Alli's got her whole family here, which is so nice to see. Beautiful. Ally, you received 16 nominations for your tremendous efforts to accommodate all
012the requests through the music and art department. You demonstrate outstanding customer service and do so with flexibility and efficiency uh to ensure all needs of the department are met and all tasks are complete. You have an exceptional skill set and your positive demeanor and can do attitude elevate the culture of the department. In one instance, it was noted that you actually drove a marching band sweatshirt to a student's house to ensure they had the correct size to layer their clothing appropriately due to the weather. That is certainly going above and beyond. We are delighted to celebrate your contributions. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition. So, just sit tight up here, Ally. Don't go too far. Don't go too far, Ally. There you go. Ally, I see, wants to be behind the scenes. Next up is Nico
013Syracusano, business teacher at the high school. Nico, come on up. Nico, you received this nomination for your generosity and helping to secure donations for a colleague in need of support. You assisted in designing t-shirts to be worn by the staff. You absorbed the costs while donating your time and energy in support of this initiative. Giving all the proceeds to your colleague. We use the phrase Patrick Medford family frequently and your efforts emphasize the importance of this expression. This is a testament to who we are as a staff and how we work together to take care of our family. Thank you and way to make a difference. Congratulations, Nico. Please just wait up front. Nico and also this evening we have Angel Rudd, security guard at Medford. Angel, come on up. During this bitter cold winter,
014um, Angel noted that during recess, she observed some students without coats. And after checking with their teachers to see if they had jackets available, you decided to take it upon yourself to purchase some jackets for our students, which is certainly going above and beyond. At the time this nomination came in, it was noted that you had already purchased four jackets for students and rumor had it you were still purchasing some more. So, we truly appreciate your care, your generosity. Way to be an upstander and congratulations, Angel. How many coats have you purchased? 12. Thank you. I invite up Mrs. Kennedy and the board to take a picture with our employees of the month. >> I just want to also uh acknowledge Angel. I love your your name because you are an angel. So, thank you
015for impacting our students at Medford. Greatly appreciated. Nico, I will say Nico on the other hand, little story, but when we had our pep rally this winter season, Nico pushed me off the chair. trustees to win musical chairs. Not that I don't remember that, but even with that, we've acknowledged him for employee of the month. And I know and see you, what can I tell you, Nico? Um, and Ally, I will tell you, it hasn't gone unnoticed the wonderful musical brochures and the updates you made this season. I know many of our trustees have commented on your uh initiative in in bringing both the Spanish and English edition and merging them into one. So, thank you for that. It was uh very well received by the community. Congratulations to all of our employees. Once again
016everyone, congratulations for all your hard work and dedication to our district. Um, next we're going to move on to our exeicio student member report, Miss Charlotte. Good evening everybody. Tonight, I'd like to talk about the importance of building stronger connections between students, especially across different age groups, and how that can play a powerful role in addressing real issues like youth vaping. Catch My Breath is a youth vaping prevention program. It uses a peer-led approach, meaning students teach and influence each other. This is important because students are more likely to listen to people that they can actually relate to. Recently, Patrick Medford High School students had the opportunity to train with Catch My Breath. They got to learn what it is like to be a mentor and how they can use their voice to inform other
017students on the harmful effects of ecigarettes and vape usage such as detriments to mental and physical health. In time, these students who trained will get the chance to visit middle schools and elementary schools to share what they have learned. This program will allow students the skills to make informed decisions about ecigarettes and resist peer pressure. Overall, the goal is to stop the problem before it begins. By educating students on this matter, together we can make healthier choices. Also, tomorrow night, um there will be a vaping and youth workshop held for parents to attend at 6 p.m. with any questions or concerns that they may have. Um on a different note, junior prom is coming up on April 24th, um which will be a great night. And then information just went out about senior prom as
018well with more to come on that. So, thank you All right. Next, we're going to move on to the consent agenda. So, can I have a motion to accept the consent agenda? >> Motion. >> I'll second. >> All in favor? >> Okay. Contentions agenda pass. There were no items removed from the consent agenda for a separate vote and there were no actions arising out of exact session. The policies that are up for um will be circulated for first reading. If there are no changes, the policies will be included on the May 18th, 2026 board of education agenda, which are 5147.15 in the child abuse and educational centering. 6164 Programs for and English language learners. 6164 Programs for English language learner res uh regulations. 6165 admissions of non-English language learners and 911 exeicio student member of
019the board. Um then we're going to move on to superintendent um and assistant superintendent reports. >> All right. Good evening everyone. I first want to again congratulate all of our employees of the month and also all of our athletes. So uh Charlie, thank you for updating the community and the board on Catch My Breath. So that is a great opportunity for our high school students. I will be also visiting with them in two weeks. they're going to do a little demo presentation before they make their way to the middle school. So, thank you to all of our students and for Mrs. Walsh and Mrs. Rosario for really taking on this initiative and working with our students. So, I also would like to um acknowledge all of our staff and students that were part of our
020middle school musicals. I know myself and many of our trustees had the opportunity this weekend to watch both performances. outstanding. I would say this season the musicals just amazed me and the talents on and off the stage are incredible. So hats off to all of our performance. They were very successful. Um I do want to also acknowledge uh we are working on America 250th birthday celebration. So, we've been in communication with our alliance club as well as many of our staff members and we are excited to kick off many activities to celebrate the 250th birthday of America. We're going to be uh doing some poster contests in April and May at our elementary and middle school levels. I know Mr. Brinkman and Mrs. O'Neal are working with the Lions Club to help facilitate that. We
021have a spirit week that's going to be starting in May. We also have a video that we will be creating. We anticipate doing military appreciation month and writing postcards to our troops. We have food drives. We have the memorial parade and we're also working to um coordinate that our school is represented in the July 4th parade and we're working with the um Lions Club to facilitate that. So, a lot of good activities are on the horizon for our students and really celebrating with our community. I also would like to uh thank Mu Hanley and his team. We did have a presentation from um a Holocaust survivor who came to all of our middle schools. If you did not have the opportunity, we were featured on News12. Amazing opportunity for our students to hear from Mr.
022Newfield who actually was a Holocaust survivor. He was only 3 years old. He's now 84. So for him to really speak to our students was very moving. And we can really uh kudos to Mr. Hanley to getting that set up in our middle schools. I also want to acknowledge um all of our incredible staff over the last few weeks. I know we've been preparing for a lot of different events. I talked about the musical, but we also had some great events happening. Whether it was vocal night, string night, um, jazz band night, every night was something special for our community and I know our music department is really top-notch. When we go to these performances, it's really incredible to see the talents. I also would like to thank um the board of education tonight. The
023board did accept my um notification of retirement from the Patchog Medford School District um effective June 30th, 2026. Um did want to acknowledge to the community that I really have had an honor over the last 27 years serving this community. I've had um so many incredible positions in the district. Ending my career as the interim superintendent has been an honor and a privilege. I also had the opportunity over the last 27 years to work alongside some incredible teachers, administrators, parents, and board trustees. One of the things I say, what my dad used to tell me, find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life. And certainly, yes, it feels like work sometimes, but it has been incredible. Um, and some of the bonds that I've formed over the last 27
024years, um, I'll carry with me for the rest of my life. So I leave the district at the end of this school year with lots of friendships, lots of memories and a deep appreciation for the work that really lies ahead for our students and the Patrick Medford community. So thank you trustees and thank you for accepting my retirement on tonight's consent agenda. That's all I have. I do not think the assistant Okay, Dr. Con >> just want to make one comment based on Mrs. Kennedy's report. I've worked side by side with Mrs. Kennedy for the past 20 years and I can wholeheartedly say there's nobody that works harder or cares more about Patrick Medford than you do and it's been an honor and privilege to work side by side with you all these years. Wishing
025you all the best, Lori. Thank you. Um, next we're going to move on to committee reports with the first being um, buildings and operations. First of >> Okay, we met on March 3rd. I myself was not there uh due to personal illness. But um we went over the bond updates, the athletic projects in the high school, the theatrical programs in the secondary schools and the HVAC projects at Bay Eagle and South Ocean. And everything is going along smoothly, some ahead of schedule. And contrary to Facebook posts, our field will be usable for the spring season and we will be putting temporary bleachers in so that we can use the field and we will be complete and done by graduation. Uh the Bay Elementary capital project update, you can see that on our website in the
026capital um projects little banner on the on the website. The board has approved a new design that can be seen on the website and that was due to the asbestous removal and abatement that we encountered. So, um we cut down the the classrooms from eight to four classrooms, but we put in shared space and we made the most of the space and we are connecting the building and still having an enclosed um courtyard. So, we spoke to the community at length. We questioned things at length. Can we go up? Can we go down? what do we do? What happens if we hit more asbestous? And this is a solid plan moving forward for that building which is uh much overdue. And then finally was the finalization of the interfund transfer projects and capital reserve project
027considerations which Frank is going to be going over in his budget presentation in a little bit. Uh and the next meeting is 5:00 pm Tuesday 4:14 at the district office conference room. Thank you. Next, we're going to move on to finance. Justy, good. >> There was no March um meeting, so our next meeting, it will be a joint meeting with the legislative committee this Wednesday um April 1st at 4:30 here at Saxton. Move. Thank you. Moving on to a districtwide technology. >> We have not had a meeting since our last board meeting. >> Okay. Moving on to extracurricular. >> Next technology meeting will be sometime in the beginning of May. Thank you. You got it. Okay. Moving on to extracurricular. Me, you, me, love of me. Can you put that slide up, please? Thank you.
028Wasn't sure. Um, so at our meeting we did discuss um our mascot. Um, so we do have two logos as you can see. So we have two to present to the board tonight. Um, we have the one with the buffalo on the top and the one with the buffalo on the side. We could use both. we could use one. Um, we know that sometimes some people might use different ones, so we didn't know if both options and what the board um wanted to decide or pick or do both. And I just want to add that the bottom one was first shown to the committee really just the bottom one and then a little later on the top one came. So the committee did recommend the bottom one, but we what we kind of came up
029with is that for different different types of clothing, different like one one or the other might look better, you know, either vertical or horizontal on either a t-shirt or a hat. So the recommendation or some of us were kind of thinking if you guys are okay with both then we could you know different sports teams or music or clubs could choose which one they want to use. >> You mean the from the top and bottom? The bottom one looks more >> Yeah. It would be the same. >> Yes, we have five students on our uh committee. So, they were very vocal about what it looked like and going back and forth and Yeah. You're okay. >> Thank you. Um, also at our meetings, we also talked about making um a fight song and a chant
030song. Um, so they're looking in a fight song. You know how like most of the schools have like a fight song or chant like a pop belly song that you play during the games. Um I know that some students in our music department are coming up with something like that to kind of write it themselves. Um and then the pep band was a great idea. So they're looking at maybe to bring the pep band into the sports programs somehow. So they're looking into that. And then we um they broke into groups and then we're going to break into groups again um next week. our next meeting >> continuing to talk about art. >> Oh, go ahead. >> The next thing was an art showcase. So, we're looking at where they can have an art students
031can show off their art and they're looking at different places that they can hold the um art showcase. They want to look into making it more like a market kind of vendor fair kind of thing for them. Um, next we're moving into instructional and student support program. >> Okay. Uh, we had our last meeting on March 26th. Um, we continued our discussion on the development of a new uh, elementary report card, our primary school report card. Um, what we did during this session is we examined the results of a survey uh, regarding the development of a new report card and what that looked like. um we came to, you know, we as we were looking at the the numbers, we found that there was inconsistencies with how many assessments were given and um weights. Uh
032so what it really led into was another discussion on the necessity for a or a framework for a new um grading policy for elementary schools. Um and what does that look like? Uh how are we going to group the grades? Is it going to be different? Uh we want to do standardsbased. So all these discussions kind of followed. Um also just the logistics of it. Uh is our current system going to be available to do it? Uh we saw that there was issues with our e school report cards with uh developing uh standardsbased report cards. So uh just a discussion we're going to follow up with our next uh meeting which is you know that one. I'm good with dates but >> April 23rd. Thank you so much. That's all I got. Thank you. Next,
033we're going to move on to legislation. >> Uh, we met on March 10th. >> Um, we discussed we debriefed a little bit on the Longwood legislative breakfast that happened this winter and congratulated Devani. He did a really, really good question. He he represented the district really, really well. Um, we talked about some of the priorities that were shared at the breakfast and feedback from our legislators. Uh we talked about um uh project labor agreements. We have some questions that we're going to try to get some uh more information about from uh uh Mr. Mr. Frank over there uh on our uh joint meeting um on Wednesday. Um uh there's more legislative actions that are needed regarding electric bikes and scooters for enhanced safety and individuals in the community. Um uh what regarding the charter school
034resolution, we're still working on that. We got it right here. Um we're going to talk about that a little bit today, but I uh I'll talk about that later. Um there are uh there's consensus that the board of regents should be the sole authority responsible for the decisions and that this legislation, this um um resolution um to um um have community members that are affected by the charter schools be the people to vote on whether the charter school could go forward or not. Um this is um vape shops um legislative breakfast. Senator Dean Murray indicated that he was working on something related to the vape shops. Uh specifically the one located next to Medford Elementary. I'm looking forward to hearing from him uh about what that uh what that might be. Um it is a
035fact that um vape shops, smoke shops, just regular resell stuff shops, if they have um uh um there Department of Health will go in and check for uh things that are prohibited to be sold to minor sold at all, if there is material that is uh uh uh behind like in the back room, it is not considered available for sale. So, if there is cannabis cartridges in a vape shop that they're not supposed to be selling cannabis in, but it's in the back room, the Department of Health can't ding them on having cannabis available because it's in the back room. It's not available for sale. So, that's a fact that's a thing that uh we're going to where we've been pushing a little bit about can we get that looked at and maybe changed to
036support the Department of Health so that they have some kind of leverage on that. Um um over a hundred members of our uh teachers union, the PMCT members attended a fixed tier six rally in Albany. Um um and uh Councilman Neil Foley announced that the town board uh we submitted a letter in support of this has submitted a tap application to hopefully get some sidewalks, crosswalks, bicycle striping and traffic signals along Buffalo Avenue. Um this is very welcome. Uh generation citizen class at the high school and our committee have been advocating for this for a very long time. Um and uh we discussed the need for additional sidewalks and snow removal just generally. This was a rough winter for kids in roads. Um um yeah and our next meeting is on the 1st. Uh it's
037a joint meeting with uh um finance and that will be here at 4:30. >> Thank you. That's a good se segue into our charter school resolution discussion >> which I think I would like to table because um un I mean we have this resolution the the charter school language resolution whereases and therefors um um and I thought we were going to have it written in official language to adopt. Well, yeah. So, I think what we did was we sent that like the the letter suggested that we put our lawyers put their eyes on it. Um, and they did and they changed it quite a bit. >> They did. >> So, I don't know if we could look at it again and maybe Mr. Tulin, is there a deadline for that letter to to to have
038to be in by? Okay. >> Okay. So, we're okay if we waited a couple weeks to clean it up. >> Perfect. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, so I the conver I guess the conversation I would have here very quickly is do we want to uh say have this resolution that charter schools divert public funds from budgets of school districts and that ultimately um advocating for legislation requiring that charter applications be approved by local voters of impacted communities. ities prior to submission of the relevant state chartering entity. And either additionally to this action or a separate action that we are advocating that um that the regents be the only uh authority ad uh approving charters. Currently it is the regions and it is Sunni um and Sunni is very Sunni is very liberal with the approvals
039and uh uh regions not Sunni. >> Does does NISPA have didn't we talk about this with the NISBA? Do they do we not do they not have a resolution about charter schools? I I thought like we came across it this this time but maybe it's not as specific. It's not very specific. >> Did we pass something? I I thought we did. >> Well, what what that what that would have been was asking uh was was acknowledging that NISBO would advocate for that. >> We can we can stand as a district and say we really feel very strongly that this should be a thing. >> Okay. So then are we doing this as a district or because the I think the letter that we got back was saying that we're calling upon NISBA to advocate for
040it. So are we asking >> very specifically asking NISBA to do that and I think it can't hurt to also send it to um the legislators and to uh our regents and just send it everywhere that people need to have any kind of authority over who's who's making that. Okay. Okay. Thank you. >> The next is um the library. I don't know if any want to bring that up or Lori, you just go ahead. Just think about >> um there's just been a lot of conversation. Um, a lot of parents, you know, have concerns about, I think, maybe just not a full clear picture of what library is going to look like for students in that K to2 um range. And so, one of my questions was, I know that um we're adding PE, another
041section of PE, but I also know that our students in grades 3 to 5 already get PE three times a week and still have library. So, could we maybe just get some clarification? Um, I think parents need to hear um what that's going to look like for their kids. Um, just to clear up any misunderstanding, potential misunderstanding to make sure that our kids in K to2 are still having access to library and what that will look like for them. Okay. So, part of that visual um we outlined what a potential schedule would look like for K to2. So, it's important to note that um while we do have physical education mandates for elementary and that we're trying to become more in compliant with that, we are starting to add um for next school year, second
042grade will have physical education three times a week. Um which leaves the only grade to not have three times a week, third grade. With that said, um K grades K 1 and two will have a rotation of library. So, they will physically meet with a a library media specialist once every other week. This will be districtwide. All seven buildings will follow the same suit. That does not mean that on the weeks that they're not meeting with the library media specialist that they the the teachers will still have the availability and the ability to go to the library or they can invite in um we have three uh instructional tech um teachers that work in the district to support our library media specialists. So the teachers will have the option to either meet with um this
043uh tech specialist in the library, invite the tech specialist into the classroom. Um but there is some flexibility with on the weeks that the teachers are not or the classes are not meeting with the library media specialists, they have the ability to either visit the library with their classes, bring them in, check out books, whatever it might be, and or work with this our inte uh instructional text specialists as well. Um, so we are not diminishing the availability to the library. We're just on a rotation of of the library media specialists, but the library and this will be a conversation that I have with the elementary principles as well to make sure that the elementary teachers are still bringing their students to the library on the weeks that they're not meeting with the library media
044specialists. So, a question that I have um I because I know this came up a lot this year for a lot of our kids that were going every other week, we would be off on a Monday and then that would be their week. So, when we're planning, is there a way to make sure that classes that >> go, let's say Monday is a big day that we're out. Maybe that's a class that goes every week to library because I think that was where this really started. We had some kids in kindergarten that were going six weeks without ever having an opportunity to go. So, is that something that we can be in touch? >> Absolutely. Yes, we had a lot of Mondays off this school year, which was um not our usual, but yes, um
045in conversations with the elementary principles, we will make sure that those um who have the weekly availability with the library media specialists are the ones that might happen to be on a Monday. If those are, you know, now that the calendar is posted, we do know when our holidays will be. Um, so I I will work more closely with the elementary school principles this year to ensure consistency, ensure the teachers are still bringing the students to the library andor working with the instructional tech um and also uh being mindful of the holidays on the calendar. >> Okay, thank you. >> I just um would like to expand. So in essence really we actually added a special. So every other week the kids are actually gaining one extra special than they actually had this year. So
046it's important to note that. Um regarding your question regarding fourth and fifth grade, that's a contractual obligation that's actually in our teachers contract that fourth and fifth grade teachers get an extra prep each week. So that's not something that could be changed. So that is in our contract. It's been like that for many years. So fourth and fifth grade looks different than all the other grades based on our teachers contract. So that is why our fourth and fifth graders it is set because that's a contractual obligation. >> Any other questions regarding library? All great questions. Hopefully we answered some of, you know, concerns that you've heard out in the community. >> Next, we'll move on to public comment. Well, Mr. Leva, can you just read the guidelines? If you'd like to make a comment to
047the board of education, please direct all comments to the board president. Come up to the podium. Please state your name and your address. And you'll have three minutes. will be warned at 30 seconds remaining. Anybody like to make a comment? >> Good evening, Pam Peterson. Um, I just wanted to >> Hello. Um, and I don't know I don't know if I mentioned this at the last meeting, but um, the pep band was phenomenal at our basketball games and we were discussing possibly having it um, at our spring sports outside too. It really um, it really did bring um, pep to the to the games, but it it did bring up morale and um, you know, as far as them even creating their own um, spirit songs, they were they were really good. it this is
048what they do and they were they were impromptu with everything they did. It was phenomenal. So I definitely um would hope that we can continue that. Um and um I wanted to also talk about the fields. So I I just came off the field. Um the the bleachers are there. The fields are in use. The scoreboards are working beautifully. Um and Huntington came and and you know we were speaking to a few parents and they were just saying how beautiful our area is and how they can see it. Nobody felt inconvenienced that, you know, we had to walk around a site. They they were able to see um what it was going to look like. So, it was nice to hear that because, you know, they they were kidding. It was a long drive and
049now a long walk. But either way, they um they were they were very impressed with the field use and um and it is being used, so it's very nice. And um the last thing I wanted to say was um Lori, I'm going to really miss you and you did a phenomenal job this year. Um, and I just wish you the best. >> Just state your name and your address. >> Hello. Good evening. My name is Amanda Serber Gonzalez. um a dogwood lane east patchog. Um I'm a fifth grade dual language teacher as some of you may know. I'm also a mother of two bilingual children in our district. I'm here because I love dual language. I love what dual language gives to our students and families. I love what those students and families put into
050this program and give back in return. My years of studying multilingualism and language acquisition have only bolstered my support and belief in this program. Dual language is special because it serves English language learners, native English speakers, and a third often overlooked group into which my own children fall. Heritage speakers who are both English proficient and culturally tied to Spanish. I'm concerned that by removing the program from Bay, students from each of these groups will be directly affected, leaving insufficient spots for our English side and Spanish side students. When asbestous was found at Bay, where my daughter attends, our district was presented with the problem. Its solution is to make room at Bay by closing the dual language program there. That is 25% of our dual language program gone over the next six years. The bay
051construction problem has quickly become a linguistic and cultural responsiveness problem which deserves adequate evaluation, analysis, and further discussion. In response to this asbestous, the district rightfully assembled a team of experts, including engineers, architects, district leadership, Mr. Maz, you've done a fabulous job explaining where we are with all this process. Um, and even the DCE was consulted to find an answer. Please before cons before before collapsing 1/4 of our dual language program, I implore you to call for a moratorum and include your bilingual education experts of directors, teachers, and families by creating a committee that will explore an alternative, culturally responsive and effective solution that will support our program. Dual language and transitional bilingual programs do not have the same goals or outcomes. Dual language is considered an additive program which values the development in bilingualism
052by literacy in two languages where transitional bilingual is considered a comp uh compensatory or a subtractive program that oftentimes leads to language loss in that second minority language in this case would be Spanish. I just want to end with a quote that learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things but learning another way to think about things that was spoken by uh Flora Lewis. Just please consider I understand this is a complex issue. I do I love this program. I love working for this district. Um but I just I you know beseech you to consider a moratorum assemble a bilingual education committee. We have plenty of experts and wonderful people who know a lot about this. Um, and please give this program and its families the time and consideration it
053deserves. I thank you so much for your time. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you. Anyone else would like make comment? Hi, good evening. My name is Casey Stewart. I'm at 216 West Avenue. Um, and I'm here just a mom um concerned about the elimination of the dual language at Bay Avenue. I currently have one daughter already in the program and she is thriving. Love, we don't speak Spanish at home, but she is having such a great school year. the the principal, the teachers, the PTA, we are absolutely loving loving loving Bay. Um I'm an alum go04. Um and one of the reasons why we wanted to come back and settle in Pat was for the dual language program which we didn't have available when when I was going through. Um and just to see her
054flourish is amazing. Where my concern is is that I have a younger child that we held back this year um who would have been in kindergarten and been in school with his older sister, but we held back because he just wasn't quite ready and we wanted to put him in the dual language program. So, we felt like he needed that extra year to really flourish and develop his skills. And we've been practicing. Are you excited to go on the bus with Gemma? Yes. I can't wait. um you know we go to school things he tags along as the young you know the sideline sibling and he's meet met all the teachers and everybody's so excited to you know when are we going to have JJ as well you know um and my question is to
055you is have you ever attended a parent gathering at the school where they invite you to come in? Has anybody ever gone to one of those like a mothertime tea or dads and donuts or holiday things? Okay. Have you ever been there and a parent not be there and seen the social emotional impact on that child? Oh my gosh. Breaks my heart. Breaks my heart. And my concern for being a parent with two kids with potentially in two different school district or two different schools is that how am I going to be in two places at one time during that during that th those those special moments at school that we want to be there for. So, I'm asking when you're setting up committees or thinking about ending the dual language program to consider those
056younger siblings and how it's going to affect the whole family of the the well-being and the social emotional impact of those children. Thank you. Anybody else? Next one. Oh, >> can we just clarify for the public what's going on with dual language and that it's not just an asbestous situation? >> Yes. So I uh certainly can respond to that and Miss Marone jump in if you have anything to add. So I had the opportunity to actually meet with our teachers that are here today. So thank you for joining us. So one of the things for the community to understand is the do language program. We're shifting it to Medford for multiple purposes. One um one of the concerns at bay is we have three sections at a grade level. And one of the things we
057have spoken about was the fact that the one side that's not due language there is they stay with each other for six years. There's there's no flexibility and the kids are actually almost in a quasi self-contained program for the the six years. By moving the program to Medford, we offer four sections at a grade level. And it go does give more flexibility at bay for the general education students that they can really mix up between multiple classes over the six years at a building. So that was one of the reasons that we look because some of the concerns we also received from the community is that they didn't uh like the fact that that one class stayed together for six years. So we've also heard that from the community that sometimes there's just not there
058there may be some conf uh you know conflicts and personalities with the students and there's nowhere else to place the students if we only have one section. Additionally this year I shared with our staff that we had 27 families on the English side that um requested to be in due language. And it is important to understand for the community, our our dual language program is not a guarantee. It is a lottery. So just because one student received it one year does not necessarily mean that your other child could get into the program because it really is based on a lottery. So that's one thing that sometimes parents do not understand that yes, one student can get in, but two years later, depending on how many people look to get into the dual language program, another
059child may not get in because the seats have to be given to our um ENL students first. That's the law and that's the part 154 regulations require that. So, I do understand that parents um do love the program at bay and I appreciate that. I think one of the things for us is when you have 27 students and they're split between two dual language, you do not have the number of English proficient students in either program and the that also is not great for the program because the other thing we spoke about is that throughout the years we do lose some students to the do language program. So the numbers we see historically some students choose or select to remove themselves for the from the program for various reasons. So with 27 English proficient students
060this year in our kindergarten cohort that's really one section of due language that would support all of our English proficient families. There is no need for two programs. And as I said that's the trend that we've had. So when you go to do language down south, um our river community, sometimes they do have children in both schools because they may um select to go into the do language one year and their child goes to do language and then maybe the next year their child doesn't get in. So, it's not unusual in our community that you may potentially have children in two different schools cuz we are unable to run a program in every school. We have seven schools. That's that's how we run due language. Our Tmont families experience that because not all of their
061students may get into due language. And you may have one child that goes to Tmont, one child that goes to Eagle. And that is also the way we structure our special education department. We do not offer the continuum of services in every one of our seven schools. And sometimes parents will have split students. If one child needs inclusion and another child does not, sometimes elementary schools split. Is it the best? No. But with seven buildings, it's impossible for us to offer every program in every building. and sometimes parents do have to make those choices. Um, so with that being said, we are scheduled to have four sections of kindergarten at Medford next year. two of which will be dual language, two of which will be general education, and we're also creating a transitional bilingual program
062because right now based on our enrollment and in speaking to our director Francis Cardinis and Miss Marone, there is a need for a transitional bilingual program for our K1 students and that will give us the opportunity to also create that program as well. So that's a quick summary. I'm also scheduled to meet with the Bay community on Wednesday to continue this conversation. So, they will also have the opportunity to ask some questions there as well. And again, I I want to echo as I said, do language is an amazing program. It it is something that we take great pride in. It's something that many districts come to see our programs. So, it we are not dismantling the program. So, I hate to hear that out in the community. We're shifting it and we're making some
063changes to the program to offer both a dual language and a transitional bilingual program to meet the needs of an everchanging student, you know, demographic and our population and the needs of the students that are entering our buildings. >> Okay, thank you. Um, moving on to board comments. Trusty Kuban. >> Um, okay. I just want to one start by saying I hope everyone has a wonderful spring break. Hopefully it warms up. Um, and I just wanted to take a moment to say Mrs. Kennedy, it really has been, you know, my first year on the school board. It has been such a pleasure um, working with you. I know that um you haven't said this, but I know as a parent, you probably saw my name come across your desk several times and you know, dreaded
064picking up the phone because um you know, like most parents, I've what got me here is I want to be an advocate for my kids and all of our kids. So um but it's been such a pleasure getting to work with you. I think you've done an incredible job this year and I really wish you um the very best in everything that you have, you know, coming to you in the future. Um thank you. >> Okay. Um first off, I'd like to congratulate our athletes uh on their great season and what they've done so far this year. Um thank you to the teachers who we honor tonight. Uh Miss Kennedy. Well, um I'm sure there's going to be a lot more to say and to do and to celebrate, but um I do want to
065say thank you for all that you do and all that you have done and you will be missed. Um and we'll get back to that later. I also want to thank everybody who came out tonight uh to advocate for their children and the programs that they thought were important. It's very important to come out here and tell us. We need to hear your voices. So, thank you very much and I do appreciate it. It takes a lot to come up here and say something like that. Thank you. And I hope everybody has a wonderful spring break. And that's except for me. And then I just I'm kind of unprepared tonight. Um but it is great to see more people and more faces here in person and not behind a computer anonymously. It's great. So I
066appreciate that. Uh ditto to everything uh that Trustee Kuban and Salazar said. Um, I do want to also just echo what Miss Kennedy said. I feel like I haven't been home in a month because we've had so many meetings and so many plays and so many concerts, but um they were all equally fantastic. Uh, Miss Kennedy and I were ranking the middle schools and we're at a three-way tie this year for our middle school. Yeah, we're definitely at a three-way. There was none that shined up. They were so different. They were all equally awesome. Um, I also want to self-promote plug here. Um, the kids went over to Five Towns, the art students went over to Five Towns again this year and um, a a child who happens to be mine um, won best in
067show animation for the third year in a row. And it's just such a fantastic day for all of our kids, the photography kids, the media kids to have their work up there. Um, and I just want to thank the art music department for that and then the athletes and everything everybody else said. And yeah, we could really use spring break right about now. So, have a good one. >> Uh, thank you, Lori, for your decades of service. >> I'm not saying goodbye. Oh, now you still have a long time. >> There's still a year. There's still like a lot of time, but congratulations on your retirement. And thank you. Um, thank you all the Bay parents for coming. I'm the parent of a dual kid a very long time ago. Um, and yeah, his teacher's
068nodding. Um, I understand the passion that you feel about this program and we're we're we're the the the board and everybody feels equally as passionate about the program. It needs to stay. It needs to be fixed. It needs to we need to accommodate as best we can wherever we can and there are imperfect solutions. Um um uh but we're keep talking and we're all going to keep working on fixing this. Thank you very much for your for your for your words, for your time, and for your advocacy. I appreciate it. We all appreciate it. Um uh congratulations to the athletes and congratulations to our uh our our employees of the month. We got some great people. I went to a fundraiser this weekend. They won't get into very much about it, but watching what our
069community did. Amazing. Thank you. Okay, so I ditto what everyone said. Congratulations to everyone that was recognized tonight. Um, congratulations on your retirement. I'm not going to say goodbye right now either. Um, and thank you for everyone who came out and came up to the podium and let us know what you're thinking and your thoughts and all the things. So, thanks everyone. Have a great spring break. Thank you. Uh, yes, congratulations to Lori. Um, we'll have our final say on the last board meeting, June 30th. Um, also on April 20th at the next board meeting, we will announce the new superintendent and the community will have a chance to meet them and do a little meet and greet. So, I'll pause the meeting so that you can get to know the new superintendent. Um, I
070just um thank you for everyone for coming out and voicing your concerns. We have heard you. We have listened. Um, congratulations to the athletes and to the employees. I will say based on the music, I didn't get to see the musicals due to other um events, but um I will say the pops concert was amazing and the talent and the level that we have of our students that really played out was awesome. And um I just want to say wish everyone happy Passover and a happy Easter. So we are going to adjourn this meeting and then go into the budget meeting. We could take a two minute break, but I can turn this meeting first. So, can I have a motion to adjourn this board meeting? >> I'll make a motion. >> All in favor?
071Okay. So, the meeting was adjourned at 8:23 and then we'll give about five minutes before you start. Perfect.