001Good evening. This is a regular scheduled Board of Education meeting. The Board of Education was in executive session with Eric Levine in accordance with Open Meeting Law 105D, discussions regarding proposed, pending, or current litigation, student legal matter, and in accordance with Open Meeting Law 105F, specific personnel matters, Section 913, and agenda review, and in accordance with Open Meeting Law. 105 H the proposed acquisition sale or lease of real property or the proposed acquisition of securities or sale or exchange of securities held by such a public body but only when publicly would substantially affect the value thereafter new real property tax exemptions TO MINIMIZE DISRUPTION DURING THE STUDENT AND STAFF AWARDS RECOGNITION SEGMENT, PLEASE REMAIN IN THE MEETING UNTIL AFTER THE PTA REPORT. A VERY BRIEF INTERMISSION WILL OCCUR AFTER THE PTA REPORT FOR THOSE WISHING
002TO LEAVE BEFORE THE SECOND HALF OF THE MEETING. PLEASE DO NOT ENTER OR EXIT THE DISTRICT CONFERENCE ROOM WHILE A PRESENTATION IS IN PROGRESS TO BE RESPECTFUL OF THE PRESENTERS. AT THIS TIME, I INVITE MS. LEONARD. principal of hawkins path elementary and dr. oaken holtz principal at hobo corrode elementary together with their fifth grade students and kayla axon sophomore from newfield high school who will sing the star-spangled banner to the podium and we ask that you remain standing until after the pledge of allegiance and the star-spangled banner are recited Good evening, it's our pleasure to invite our amazing fifth grade students up to lead us in the pledge. At Hawkins Path, we have Annika Condella and Joseph Teague. Good evening. Dr. Unkenholtz are very proud to have our students lead us in the pledge this
003evening, and we thought what better way to talk about our amazing schools than highlight the word of the month, perseverance. Perseverance. In fifth grade, things start getting way harder, like when you're stuck on a huge long division problem or trying to learn a skill in gym class. When you don't give up and keep trying, even though you want to throw your pencil across the room. That's called perseverance. Perseverance is a super important skill to have because it teaches you that being smart isn't just about getting the right answer immediately. It's about not quitting when things get annoying. If you learn how to keep going now, you'll be ready for the big stuff in middle school and high school without getting stressed out. The yet rule. It turns I don't get it into I don't get
004it yet. Handling the grumpies. It helps you stay calm instead of getting upset when a project goes wrong. Winning feelings. Nothing feels better than finally finishing a big project after working at it for weeks. It builds your brain. Every time you struggle with something hard and keep going, your brain actually grows new connections. It's like taking your mind to the... All right, we just want to give our students their certificates to thank them for being here this evening. And for their perseverance. Monica. We're going to stand together. Come up here for a quick pic. It is Wacky Wednesday, and we always do a joke. Joseph, ladies, come on back up. Why does no one like March? Because it's always madness. So one of the things that we wanted to do was talk about perseverance of
005your principals here, what we had to do to help our PTAs raise money. There's a great company, Boosterthon, that we teamed up with and we've raised over the past, Ms. Leonard's done it for four years, I've done it for three years, close to about $50,000 per school for our PTAs to go towards arts and ed. We were able to tie in the Boosterthon to perseverance because we had to persevere to reach our goal. And in doing that, Dr. Unkenholtz, I then followed his lead, thought of a very creative incentive, which was... To sleep in the school overnight if they raised a certain amount. You said, ooh. I didn't know that a 70-year-old building would still creak and be spooky until about 12 o'clock at night when I heard noises. It was scary. So on that
006note, after talking to Dr. Unkenholtz, I realized I'm not doing it. And then I thought, we have to make this goal. So I announced to the students that I would do it only if some of my faculty and staff would stay with me because I was not staying in the building alone. So I stated to them that I knew they weren't going to be able to do it. You can't do it. There's no way you're going to make this amount of money. And the fact that I was going to sleep at the school with the teacher's incentive, we persevered. They did it. So I wanted to make this entertaining for the kids and so that they would see that I was actually doing, that I was there at the school. So I've done this before
007with my quails. If any of you have been here before, you've seen the quails that we do every year, which they will be coming up. So you can enjoy that excitement. I decided I was going to use my YouTube channel for this now. And so I pushed a card around with the Chromebook, videotaping me going through every single classroom. borrowing something to help me for the night because I needed food. I needed refrigerators. I took stuffed animals, toys and stuff from the classrooms. I didn't remember who it was, so I just had a big lost and found outside the next day. So that was what I ended up doing, and here's just a quick excerpt of one of, at one point, there was... If you care, there are two 20-minute videos, one upstairs and one
008downstairs. Vinny, we don't have Wi-Fi in the elevators, if we could get that. I lost connection, which caused a big problem at one point. I started getting texts. Your feed went off. No, she just had some yucky brown bananas. Looking for snacks. I don't want that. Let's see, what else do they have in here? Stuffed animals. When I get upstairs, that's going to be hard to find stuffed animals. You know what? I'm going to use a pointer tonight so I can point things out. Okay, thank you. Ooh, I just saw what I could use as a little nightlight at some point. That could be like my little nightlight tonight. I'm going to take this, too. I hope all the teachers are taking notes of what I took from your room because I'm not going to
009remember what I took. I'll just put out a lost and found table like for the kids. But the kids never come and get their stuff from the lost and found. Just parents, so you know. I had to make my own little skit in each classroom that I went into. And now, Ms. Leonard. There's 50 more minutes of that, so check out his YouTube channel. He's very proud of it. I have to say, I did watch it all. It was extremely entertaining. 1,500 views. It's very popular. This man is famous, ladies. Don't forget it. Get his autograph before you graduate. So I was very motivated by Dr. Unkenholtz's activities. Luckily, I had some partners in crime with me, so our video highlights a couple of the shenanigans that went on at Hawkins Path. That was all
010for one night. That's my card. Yes, I love it. That's awesome. Think of how cool you both are and your staff and your teachers for having YouTube channels and making it fun. Thank you. Now for certificate of appreciation, if I could please have Jamal join me at the podium. Did you leave it on? Okay. This is a certificate of appreciation for Jamal from Center Reach High School for participating in the Longwood Annual Legislative Workshop Breakfast. He asked our question, and I am thoroughly impressed with you, and I know that this will not be the last time he's here. His advocacy is something that I admire, especially because every time that I've listened to him advocating, he's always advocating for someone else. So you make Middle Country proud, and I hope that you... You always continue
011to advocate wherever you go in this world and we're very proud of you and thank you. And now I'm going to present certificates of pride for our Scope Service Award winners. Ms. Feldman and I had the pleasure the other night, the 23rd, we went to a dinner to celebrate a few of our employees that were awarded the Scope Service Award. So if I could please have. Mr. Sabini, fourth grade teacher at Jericho Elementary School. Miss Lisa Myers, transportation supervisor. And the one, the only, Miss Melba Pabon, administrative assistant at the district administration office. Again, it's... Takes a village and we are very fortunate here in middle country our staff that we have from our teachers our Administrative staff our custodians our security guards everyone here really keeps this school district running day in and day
012out and We thank them for all that they do and all that they contribute to Middle Country here and they were all so deserving of this award and it was really an honor to join them at the dinner and get to know them a little bit in chat and just hear all the reasons why they're being honored. So we thank you and thank you for all that you do at Middle Country and you're all very deserving of these awards. So thank you. And now for our PTA-PTSA report. We do have Hawkins Path PTA here tonight, so if I could please have Ms. Kaufman to the podium. Good evening. My name is Ann Marie Kaufman, and I am Hawkins Path 2526 PTA president. We kicked off the school year with Fall Picture Day and our annual
013back-to-school barbecue catered by Rudy's Bar and Grill of Patchogue and supported by our dedicated PTA volunteers. We also successfully reintroduced the Miss Chocolate fundraiser. We also welcomed back our teachers and staff with tea and cookies. In October, we had our Fall Book Fair and our annual Treat Street. Students also enjoyed the pumpkin patch provided by Woodside Nursery of Patchogue as part of our Halloween festivities. In November, the kids had a great time participating in the Holly Rock Game Show. We ended 2025 with a ton of holiday cheer, including our annual flapjack breakfast with a special visit from Santa, our holiday boutique, and each child received a small holiday gift from us. We welcomed 2026 with the return of Boosterthon, promoting student wellness while raising funds to support our school. We raised over $15,000. Our top
014student was principal for a day. Once again, congratulations, Miles Pasterna. He gave everyone no homework along with extra recess. And as you know, since we exceeded our goal, Ms. Leonard and staff stayed the night. We had our summer special dance in February. Right before winter break, we had Jester Jim amaze the kids once again with his juggling tricks. This month has been very busy. We had our Spring Picture Day, kicked off PARP, Harry Potter is our theme, Lucky Her Wingo Family Night. We are currently wrapping up PARP with our Spring Book Fair this week. We are especially excited to welcome Emmy Award winning author Mark Kessler, who inspired our students through his presentation based on Data Drawer. In April, we look forward to supporting our 5th grade committee at their first annual basket auction. We
015can't wait to celebrate our teachers and staff in May, as well as field day, where students and staff will enjoy a catered pizza lunch together and receive custom t-shirts. As we approach the end of school year, we are planning exciting year-end activities. Each grade will receive a summer send-off gift from the PTA. We look forward to celebrating our graduating class of 2026 as they move on to the middle school with a special gift. The one thing we take pride in is giving back to the Hawkins Path community. Our family fun nights, we have everyone bring a non-perishable item to help the families in need within our community. We are incredibly grateful for the continuous support of our Hawkins Path families. Thank you. And on behalf of the board, we thank you and all of the
016PTA volunteers for all that you do for the students. So thank you. We're now going to have a brief intermission, so if anybody is unable to or doesn't want to stay for the second half, now would be the time to do so. We do thank you for attending this evening. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to take a brief intermission. We are now going to have a special presentation Instructional budget overview overview, excuse me. So I'm going to now turn the microphone over to mr. Singer assistant superintendent for instruction Did you start the stopwatch Jim? Good evening everyone. I appreciate the chance to share details about our instructional budget planning for the 2026-27 school year. While the upcoming slides will necessarily have a lot of numbers on them, I will also be
017highlighting some details about the programs these proposed expenditures would fund, as well as some accomplishments and some goals. As we prepare for our 12th annual STEM celebration coming up on Monday, May 18th, it is noteworthy that an inquiry learning initiative that began with third graders during the 2014-15 school year is about to yield the third class of middle country graduates who have completed capstone experiences at all three levels. Now that the New York State Education Department has adopted the portrait of a graduate, Middle Country students are perfectly positioned to demonstrate mastery of 21st century skills through the inquiry learning process they have been mastering since elementary school. What started as a single project and one celebration has grown to four capstone experiences and annual celebrations of student achievements in both STEM and humanities. What began
018as an inquiry learning experiment at the elementary level has become part of the fabric of what it means to become a student in middle country. Our core elementary program provides instruction to over 3,700 students in kindergarten through fifth grade across 151 classes in eight elementary schools and two kindergarten centers. This number makes Middle Country the third largest district on Long Island in terms of elementary enrollment. The core elementary program is supplemented through the Title I, II, and IV grants, providing professional learning and collaboration opportunities for teachers, and support special events like our district-wide humanities expo and STEM celebrations. Please note that these figures do not include specials like art, music, and physical education or special education as these costs will be addressed in later slides. Serving nearly 4,900 students in grades 6 through 12 across
019two middle schools and two high schools, our secondary program is expanding student opportunity through the adoption of New York State seals and endorsements. At present, we offer the Career and Technical Education, CTE, Individual Arts Assessment Pathway, IAAP, and the Seal of Civic Readiness. each providing a 4 plus 1 graduation pathway for students in addition to diploma recognition. Looking ahead to coming changes in graduation requirements, we are currently at work building the seal of biliteracy endorsement to provide an additional opportunity for students to demonstrate skill mastery in this new framework. We have fully implemented an inquiry learning curriculum strand with all students completing capstone projects at both the middle and high school levels and are proud of our middle country students representing us in regional, state, and national competitions. Turning our attention to the secondary departments,
020we begin with the LA. In addition to providing core ELA instruction each year in grades 6 through 12, students have access to three elective courses and four advanced placement or dual enrollment courses, offering access to college credits for students while still enrolled in high school, giving them a head start on their post-secondary education. As a foundational skill for students to fully access and engage in the other disciplines, And, as a core skill needed for a non-negotiable Regents exam, literacy remains a key focus of our secondary instructional program. In mathematics, students receive targeted instruction in grades 6 and 7 to prepare them for enrollment in Algebra 1 in 8th grade. This universal acceleration provides students with added time in their high school careers to access higher-level mathematics through advanced placement and dual enrollment courses. Elective courses
021at the high school level provide options for exploration of special interests and access to math-based capstone research opportunities. Students enroll in mathematics during each year of their high school attendance to ensure that they maintain the practice of mathematical reasoning through graduation to foster readiness for their post-secondary plans. Through careful curriculum writing and arrangement of pacing guides in grades 6 and 7, we are able to enroll most students in biology for their 8th grade year. This paves the way for access to advanced studies through dual enrollment and AP courses in high school. In addition to courses leading to the New York State Regents examination in biology, earth science, chemistry, and physics, students can choose from a menu of elective courses as either a course selection, or to explore an area of interest. A focus on providing
022research opportunities has led to engagement with the Wartmeadow Heritage Organization Long Island Sound Study, Stony Brook University's Offshore Wind Energy Symposium, and increased participation in high school competitions like the Long Island Science Congress. Social studies teachers engage students in developing the skills needed to better understand their world through gradually increasing complexity from grades 6 through 12. All students engage in an eighth grade capstone project built on the National History Day model, providing an opportunity for students to present their research locally and the opportunity to advance to higher levels of competition. In addition to this core instructional program, students may choose from two electives and seven advanced placement and dual enrollment courses. Through carefully structured and embedded research projects, student in the leadership or contemporary issues electives complete a portion of the requirements for the New
023York State Seal of Civic Readiness, entitling them to a diploma endorsement as well as a four plus one graduation pathway. Students began instruction in world languages in seventh grade, choosing between Spanish, Italian, and French, with the opportunity to earn a credit toward graduation by the end of their eighth grade year. Over time, we have observed a steady increase of student interest in studying Spanish, while enrollment requests in French and Italian have declined in recent years. Once in high school, students can continue their world language journey as a popular pathway to earning an advanced Readence Diploma and then may challenge themselves with up to two years of dual enrollment or one year of dual enrollment followed by one year of advanced placement study in their language of choice. Given our students' performance and interest in world
024language study, and in anticipation of and in alignment with the New York State Portrait of a Graduate, we are working on fully implementing the Seal of Biliteracy with the Class of 2029, our current ninth graders. This will serve as an endorsement for students who demonstrate mastery in both English and a world language. ENL teachers, as English is a new language, provide both primary ELA instruction and standalone ENL language acquisition to 657 active English language learners, along with ongoing support and accommodations for 265 students who have scored at the commanding level on the New York State NYSASLAT exam. English language learners come from diverse backgrounds currently representing 20 different home languages with the most common being Spanish, Urdu, Bengali, Turkish, and Creole languages. Starting in the 2026-27 school year, we will be initiating a transitional bilingual
025program for students with a primary language of Spanish at the kindergarten level. This program will support academic growth in the content areas while students develop mastery of the English language. You may notice on this slide that indicates a $0 allocation for textbooks and resources and for materials and supplies. This is due to the careful use of grant funding to provide supplemental resources and materials. Teaching assistants play an important role supporting instruction across a wide range of settings including reinforcement of academic intervention, facilitating access to library resources, maintaining student Chromebooks, and direct classroom support in both general and special education settings. In each of these roles, teaching assistants serve as a force multiplier, allowing teachers to amplify their impact on the students they serve. Our special education department serves over 1,600 students with IEPs from K-12
026through in-district programs with another 135 students at out-of-district placements and supervises services for another 255 students under the age of 5 through CPSC. Services are provided through a range of programs providing students with the least restrictive environment in which they can achieve success while enjoying the fullest possible school experience. Specialized programs like Unified Basketball provides an athletic experience for students with disabilities who are unable to participate in the general athletic program at our high schools and Best Buddies Clubs at both the middle school and high school level. provide students an integrated experience with peers developing athletic, social, and motor skills. Special education services are subsidized by the IDEA 611 and 619 grants. So the figures on this slide reflect only the district portion of these programs and services. Health instruction is provided to all students
027in grade six and again in grade nine. In physical education, students at the high school level choose from a menu of activities each quarter. Next year, some PE sections will be designated for athletes who are looking for extra conditioning aligned toward their chosen sport. At the middle school level, there are fewer choices, but teachers still seek to group students by their self-selected level of competitiveness whenever possible. The underlying goal of health and physical education is to prepare students to take responsibility after graduating. for developing a personal health plan incorporating fitness, activity preferences, dietary choices, and understanding of the risks associated with drug and alcohol abuse, and social-emotional competence. Students begin receiving instruction in art and music in kindergarten and become eligible for vocal and instrumental programs beginning in fourth grade. At the high school level,
028ensembles expand into two levels in orchestra and three levels in band and chorus. Middle Country hosts a NISMA festival annually and is proud of numerous students earning all-county and all-state recognition. At the high school level, art students may choose courses from four disciplines and may choose to challenge themselves through five advanced placement and dual enrollment courses. Students begin their career and technical education experience in grade 7 with courses in entrepreneurship and family consumer sciences or FACS with a technology course added in grade 8. At the high school level, students have access to course offerings in business, FACS, and technology. We also host a cosmetology program at both high schools, providing students who complete two years of study with a New York State cosmetology license ready to start a career. In total, students have 34 courses
029to choose from, with seven incorporating embedded capstone research projects, and five providing access to either dual enrollment or advanced placement credit. Proud as we are of these programs, we are continuing to explore even more opportunities for students to leave high school with career-ready 21st century skills. Reflecting a 20-year commitment by our Board of Education to provide the youngest learners in our community with a true universal pre-K, one in which every resident four-year-old is guaranteed a seat, our youngest learners engage in a play-based curriculum designed to nurture both the social and social-emotional and academic foundations of school readiness. They do this in a mix of full and half-day pre-K classes. Here, 473 students are served across 20 district staffed classes and 10 classes at community-based organizations. Grant funding exceeding $4.5 million is supplemented by $1.8 million
030in district funding to support this program. With over 100 individual teams, we engage hundreds of students each season in our athletic programs. Thanks to close collaboration between coaches and the teachers and administrators in each building, scholar athletes, those who maintain a 90 average across their classes during a season, consistently make up 45 to 50 percent of each team each season. This year, a reallocation of resources within the department has allowed for the creation of a flag football team in response to student interest. Goals of our athletic program include developing teamwork, communication, a commitment to something larger than oneself, and above all, resilience in the face of challenges. Students may be unable to attend school for a range of reasons, including medical, psychological, disciplinary, or temporary placement by the Committee on Special Education. When this happens,
031we continue to provide instruction through either one-to-one tutoring at home or through the HISA program, providing instruction to groups of up to five students using a district classroom. Students may be assigned to home instruction for as little as a few days to as long as a full academic year and in some cases serves as a hybrid placement for students taking part of their program as traditional classes. You will notice zero allocations for textbooks and supplies as these are provided through each of the underlying departments. For students who are considered at risk for non-graduation, the Alternative Learning Center provides a second chance. Each year, about 30 ALC students successfully graduate, while most of those remaining choose to return to the program for the following year. Running from 3.45 to 6.40 p.m. Monday through Thursday, ALC provides
032approximately 65 students the opportunity to take up to six classes and can also grant elective credit for students who are working during the day through a work-based learning program. Secondary students have a wide range of co-curricular clubs to choose from after school, allowing them to explore a range of interests with like-minded peers. While co-curriculars use the activity buses, transportation costs are not reflected in this slide, which only shows advisor stipends and associated material and supply costs. When thinking about our mission statement, it's easy to see that these words describe perfectly how we would want someone meeting a middle country graduate to describe them. So while we're ending on the mission statement, we could just as easily have started with it, since it is present at the beginning, the end, and throughout our work, crafting and
033delivering an instructional program for our students. Thank you. Do any board members have any questions or comments? Mr. DiBenedetto? Mr. Singer, thank you for your presentation. A part of the instructional planning process, how many students do we have attending BOCES for the CTU application program, and what is the approximate cost of that for the district? I don't want to quote an exact number. I believe it's around $100. We'll have to get that number for you and the full price per student. Can I just follow up with that? With the $15,000, Dr. Jarvis, does that include transportation or is that an additional cost? Any other questions or comments? Thank you, Mr. Singer. Board commentary, Ms. Miller. This weekend is the musical Les Mis at Center Reach. Opening night is on Friday, well, this Friday at 7
034p.m. There are also two shows on Saturday, one at 2 and the final show at 7. Also, the National Honor Society at Center Reach held a blood drive last Thursday. It was extremely successful. Our initial goal was 50 pints of blood. We exceeded this goal and were able to reach a total of 106 pints of blood. This sets a record for Center H for the Blood Drive. Thank you to everybody who donated and not only shared information with others, but we were able to secure a great scholarship for the seniors. And finally, the Middle Country Girls Flag Football Team has their first home game this Saturday. I'll be there. At Newfield, it starts at 11. This is the second game as a program, so any support is really appreciated. Thank you. Thank you. Are you
035playing or are you just attending? Oh, well, you have to say that. Mr. Blake. Okay, thank you. So for this month at Newfield, we started off the month with our Women's History Month celebration, which went very successful. We had one of our longtime teachers, social studies teachers, speak at the event. That was earlier this month. And then as for events that are still yet to happen, like at Center, we also have our spring theater performance going on, which is Bye Bye Birdie. I believe there's one show on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm pretty sure there's supposed to be two on Saturday, but I think one of them got canceled. And we're also having our spring blood drive on Friday. Usually our goal is to get around 100 pints of blood,
036but now our goal is going to have to be to beat Sunree. So I guess now our goal is 107 pints of blood. Yeah, and Ms. Montana was telling me about it. And finally, tomorrow evening we have our Senior Citizens Dinner, which involves putting on a free performance for the senior citizens of the Spring Musical. That's good, too. Sorry. Thank you. That'll be all. Thank you. Mr. Hallig? Yes. Mr. DiBenedetto? Yes. Ms. Mann-Rodriguez? Yes. Ms. Haggerty? Yes. Ms. Feldman? Yes. wants to get home early mr. Feeney I'll pass as well we have our minutes from the regular meeting on March 11th if there are no comments or edits we'll accept the minutes as they are great I need a motion to accept the consent agenda instruction there are no action items this evening pupil personnel
037services personnel instructional personnel classified ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. SUPERINTENDENT REPORT. 26-3-SR-8, EDUCATION LAW 913, EXAMINATION. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. 23-03-SR-9, CONSULTANT SERVICES AGREEMENT. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? OPPOSED? Motion carries. And 23-03-SR-10, use of facilities agreement. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. Policy, there are no action items this evening. Correspondence, just make sure you're checking your emails, you're RSVPing. If anything changes, let myself or Stephanie know. This is our busy season, busy time of the year. So between the nine of us, we should be able to make a good showing to support our students and staff members at events. So please, I thank you in advance for the... event you'll sign up for and thank you for events that you have already attended unfinished business new business committee reports
038mr feeney Yes, the Educational Advancement Committee met on March 18th. Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Jonathan Singer thanked committee members for submitting articles on artificial intelligence and classified them into falling within the categories of AI literacy, AI ethics, and transparency about AI use that the committee will focus on. Dan Kachidis, the principal of Donovan Middle School, then described how he used the AI tool CLAWD to discuss with the staff strategies to increase student mastery. Gemini, the AI tool used in the district, was used to change pictures of his family, create lockdown drill notes, and he used Notebook LM to make a flyer for the staff on the Dignity Act by creating the questions for a conversation between two people. Teachers have reacted positively to these tools using AI. Craig Onkenholz, principal of Holbrook Road,
039then informed the group about his use of AI for resource development. With state math assessments coming up, one of his teachers used ChatGPT to create worksheets for review for the state assessment, setting up a 28-page packet with the state standards. The process was refined at a faculty meeting, and the result was that students grew in their scores on the assessment. Rachel Ndombera, Director of Science, and Ed Miller, Newfield Science Teacher, discussed the leveraging of AI for instructional support by creating review material and graphic organizing. Ed described his use of podcast reviews, performance-level descriptors, and identifying the verbal patterns in Regents' tests. The value of teaching students scientific coding was then mentioned, along with the creation of a new club with a connection to Brookhaven National Lab. Ray Sabina, a fourth grade teacher at Jericho, then
040described all the AI tools that he uses in his classroom, including Gemini, Google Workplace, and Notebook LM. He illustrated the creation of a graphic depicting the timeline separating Abraham Lincoln from Martin Luther King that provided the students with an interactive graphic organizer. The importance of the use of appropriate prompts was then emphasized to use AI effectively. A brief discussion then occurred regarding student plagiarism. and the use of ai and our next meeting is set up for april 29th thank you any other committee reports liaison committee reports follow-up board discussion public input at our march 11th board of education meeting we had six residents provide public comment three speakers an alum and two parents of children in our district spoke of the importance of our teachers and the need to have a settled contract in place
041As we said in prior responses, we agree. Our teachers are important. We respect and value their work. We also respect and value our community. We need to have in place a collective bargaining agreement that can be sustained. We are committed to maintaining competitive benefits such as family health care and retirement. Middle Country cannot afford to continue 100% of the funding of family health care in retirement for MCTA members, a benefit that only a couple of districts on Long Island continue to offer. In Middle Country, every other employee contributes to their family health care in retirement. In fact, what we are hearing from many community residents is that they too contribute to their family health care in retirement, and we're surprised to hear that our teachers do not. A SPEAKER MENTIONED THAT MANY OF OUR TEACHERS
042DID NOT RECEIVE A RAISE THIS YEAR BECAUSE THEY ARE WORKING UNDER LAST YEAR'S CONTRACT. TEACHERS WITH MORE THAN 21 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE DID RECEIVE ON AVERAGE, LESS THAN, I APOLOGIZE, WITH LESS THAN DID RECEIVE AN AVERAGE OF A 4% SALARY INCREASE. TEACHERS WITH MORE THAN 21 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE DID NOT. A SETTLED CONTRACT WILL BRING A SALARY INCREASE TO THEM. MIDDLE COUNTRY HAS A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE SALARY SCHEDULE. WE HAVE VERY FEW TEACHERS LEAVE FOR TEACHING POSITIONS IN OTHER DISTRICTS BECAUSE OF SALARY. OUR TEACHER RETENTION RATE IS HIGH. We are hopeful that a mediator who looks at teacher contracts in other districts, contracts of our own employee units, and at our financial standing will guide us in respectful, meaningful conversations that lead to a settled contract. We know that negotiation is a process. We also know
043that we are and have been ready to have meaningful conversations. The fourth speaker represented a foundation that was created to support middle country families in need. She also spoke of the importance of our teachers. This speaker reinforced what we have been saying. We, the MCTA, and middle country must work towards a settlement that continues instructional programs and can be financially sustained by a hardworking community. A COMMUNITY IN WHICH 46% OF OUR STUDENT FAMILIES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR GOVERNMENT SUPPORT. THE FIFTH SPEAKER WAS CONCERNED THAT HIS CHILDREN DECLINED TO UTILIZE FINGER SCANNING FOR MEALS THAT THEY WOULD NOT RECEIVE FREE BREAKFAST OR LUNCH. HE HAS BEEN ASSURED THAT THAT IS NOT THE CASE. THERE IS NO CONSEQUENCE ATTACHED TO DECLINING. THE FINAL SPEAKER WAS CONCERNED ABOUT APPROPRIATENESS OF REMOTE INSTRUCTION FOR EARLY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN. We do
044hope that we don't have to turn to remote instruction because of snow days, but that may be a decision that has to be made in the future, hopefully not this year, if we fall under the required number of school days. Ms. Larkin, public input for this evening. Thank you. This evening we have one speaker. Just to be reminded, each person, the speaker this evening, will have three minutes to speak. I will let you know when your time is up and advise you that your time... is up. When your time is up, please wrap up the sentence, finish your comments. You may submit your comments to the Board of Education via a district clerk. Please conduct yourself in a civil manner. And since the Board of Ed meeting is a meeting in public and not a
045public hearing, the board does not respond to public input. Any necessary follow-up will be noted, provided at either the next board meeting via correspondence, or you may be contacted directly. Please know that the Board of Education does not permit public input involving individual district personnel or students. And if you wish to discuss such matters involving personnel or students, you should present your comments and your concerns to the superintendent during regular business hours. The speaker this evening is Matthew Lombardi. Mr. Donovan, the last time I saw you, I was about 13 years old. I told you before the meeting, I was reciting. the Band of Brothers speech in Mrs. Grimaldi's English class. So it's been a long time, but it's great to see you. And some of you I went to school with, and some of
046you we were in college with, and it's great to see you all again. I only have three months, three months, right, imagine? I only have three minutes. So I'll keep it short and sweet. My mother was once a school board member here many years ago in the late 1990s, early 2000s. I helped her campaign. I was about 12, 13 years old. And I still have probably some of the sunburn wounds from standing out in Unity Drive in the hot sun in May. From the email I sent you a few weeks ago, sadly, mom passed away from some pretty severe stage four ovarian cancer. And while she was on the board, On her deathbed she had said that the proudest moment she had ever had was helping me get the education I needed. Otherwise I never
047would have went to college. My parents came out here in the late 1980s. I was about five years old. And I went to Holbrook Elementary School. And the first thing my mother ever did when she got involved with this district, my father and her, helped build the Castle Playground on Holbrook Road. Now that playground no longer stands, but the memory of what a community and teachers can do together when driven does stand. And I got to tell you, it's hard not with her here, but I knew that the teacher is not having a contract for, I think, over 270 days. She would want me to be here tonight to speak on their behalf. And as this young lady had just said a few minutes ago, it takes a community. and the teachers to work together
048to get that contract. And I can remember not knowing how to read, not being able to complete a sentence, and I can still remember my mother working with me every night. She went back to school, became a paraprofessional of this district, became SEPTA president, got involved because of my special education. I was diagnosed with dyslexia when we came out here. And even on her deathbed, by the time she was elected... to the school board in the spring of 1996, which is amazing. It's 30 years to this date. Here I am, her age, now doing this, when 30 years ago I was sitting down watching her work. And I know if mom was here tonight, she'd say, Matt, go get them and do your best. Because it is a community, and it takes the community and
049teachers to work together. It's not easy. And I know everybody on this board wants these teachers to get a contract. What's fair for the taxpayer and what's fair for the union worker. Nobody on this board, I can pretty much tell because I know you as I grew up with some of you, Mr. Donovan, you know. You know, I'm a little younger. And go Rangers, by the way. All right. You can have it your way. But I know if she was here tonight, she'd want me here. And for a boy who would barely read by the time he came to this district, we moved out of Brentwood because she realized this was one of the best districts. for special education. And by the time, late 90s, early 2000s, by the time it was time for me
050to graduate, which is my picture, my mother on the school board at Newfield High School, the proudest moment besides helping get a contract for these teachers in the spring of 1998 after five years of being without a contract, as she said on her deathbed, she helped do that. Not bad for a kid from Brooklyn who came out here with a high school diploma. Went back to school, worked for the district, and then ran for the school board. And you'll have to forgive me in this picture. I was a lot thinner. And please forgive the long sideburns. It was the early 2000s, and I was going through a really bad Carson Daly from TRL phase. And believe me, I did not have his swag even then. But I believe in the teachers of this district. Because
051without them, I wouldn't be who I am today. And I would never have gone to college, got on the dean's list. Got a 3.8 average and was a valedictorian candidate at St. Joseph's University. So I thank what my mom did for me, and I thank every single teacher in this district, and I thank this community because I believe in it. And as my mother would say, as she said many a times when I was a kid, and I could struggle upon struggle upon struggle of learning to do my timetables, complete a sentence. I'm sorry, Mr. LaVarie. Time is up. Sorry. Thank you. Thank you. I need a motion to adjourn. Move it. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you and good evening.