001GOOD EVENING. TO START, WE HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING. THIS IS ON A CODE OF CONDUCT POLICY. Specifically, the revisions authorized our staff to use metal detector wands to conduct searches of students who are suspected of carrying impermissible items in school. If anyone from the audience or board has any comments to make regarding these proposed revisions, this is the opportunity to do so. I'll now open the floor to any such comments from the board. I promise we're not going to open up the floor. I'll now pretend open the floor that since there are no comments from the board if there are any comments from the public anyone who would like to speak on it seeing that there are none I will now close the public hearing thank you everyone for listening since there was no input
002OKAY. NOW, THIS IS OUR REGULAR SCHEDULED BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING. THE BOARD OF EDUCATION WAS AN EXECUTIVE SESSION IN ACCORDANCE WITH OPEN MEETING LAW 105D, DISCUSSIONS REGARDING PROPOSED, PENDING, OR CURRENT LITIGATION, PARENT BEHAVIOR, AND OPEN MEETING LAW 105F, SPECIFIC PERSONNEL MATTERS, AGENDA REVIEW 3020A UPDATE. IN A FEW MINUTES, I'M GOING TO HAVE OUR SPECIAL GUEST COME UP TO RECITE THE PLEDGE FOR US. AND ONCE WE ASK YOU TO STAND, I WILL THEN ASK YOU TO REMAIN STANDING FOR A VIDEO OF MATTHEW GIGGLIO, JUNIOR FROM NEWFIELD HIGH SCHOOL, WHO WILL SING THE STAR SPANGLE BANNER. WE WILL ALSO ASK THAT ALL STUDENTS WHO ARE BEING RECOGNIZED THIS EVENING. TOGETHER WITH THEIR FAMILIES AND TEACHERS TO PLEASE STAY UNTIL THE BRIEF INTERMISSION FOR PHOTOS, WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE AFTER THE PTA-PTSA. WE WILL GET PICTURES OF THE
003LITTLE ONES, SO IF YOU GUYS NEED TO LEAVE, THAT'S FINE. BUT WE WILL GET THAT WHILE THEY'RE DOING THE PLEDGE. SO NOW IF I COULD PLEASE HAVE MS. CHERRIEL, THE COORDINATOR OF UFBK, JOIN US AT THE PODIUM AND HER STUDENTS TO LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE. IF YOU MAY ALL RISE. All right, everybody ready? Let's put our hands on our heart. Let's face the flag. And let's get ready to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Ready? I pledge the allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Good job. Watched were so good and the Rockets red say does that star spang? Good evening everyone. So the first one that I want to give an award
004to is to hold in Dempsey Holden was described by Ms. Anderson as a dedicated and hardworking student who gives 100% effort in everything that he does. Whether working in small groups during whole group lessons or playing with his friends, Holden always approaches each activity with enthusiasm and focus. He is quick to listen when Ms. Anderson speaks and always helps his classmates clean up politely and efficiently. His respect for both peers and teachers shines through in all aspects of his school day. The next student that I would like to acknowledge is Robert DeRosa. So Robert, as we call Bobby, Miss Oliver describes Bobby as a happy, hardworking, and enthusiastic UPK student at Bicycle Path School. He is always ready to help his friends and teachers, bringing a positive attitude to everything that he does. Bobby's eagerness
005to try new things and his willingness to lend a hand make him a valued member of the classroom community. Congratulations, Bobby. So our next friend from UPK is Gianna. So Ms. Hanson describes Gianna as one of the kindest students that you will ever meet. She is always ready to put others first, like giving up her spot in line so a friend can go ahead. Gianna follows the rules with grace and is a true friend to anyone who needs one. In recognition of her exemplary citizenship, she was honored with Student of the Month Award for November. We are incredibly proud of Gianna. and know she will continue to thrive and shine in all of her future endeavors. Congratulations, Gianna. Next, I have Emily. So for Emily, Miss Grismala describes Emily as a ray of sunshine whose
006infectious smile brightens everyone's day. She's always eager to lend a helping hand to both her peers and teachers. Emily's kindness knows no bounds, and her giggle is as contagious as her positive spirit, making her a joy to be around. Congratulations, Emily. My next friend is Cora. So Mrs. Miss Dole describes Cora as a highly responsible and reliable student. She has made remarkable progress this year and consistently puts in her best effort each day. Cora is known for her kindness and caring nature, always offering a helping hand to her classmates, especially when they are having a tough day. And then we have Logan. So Mr. Cancro describes Logan as a child with a big heart and an even bigger personality. His enthusiasm, confidence, and positive attitude make him a standout member of their pre-K class. Logan's
007energy and warmth truly make him a wonderful representative in the spirit of joy of young learners. So overall, I just wanted to acknowledge Holden, Logan, Cora, Emily, Gianna, and Bobby. They each demonstrate the qualities of dedication, kindness, and positivity that make our school community so special. Their enthusiasm, compassion, and hard work not only inspire their peers, but also make a lasting impact on their teachers and all those around you. So thank you, guys. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Congratulations and thank you all for being outstanding students and making middle country proud. Congratulations. Okay, that's going to be a hard act to follow, but we're going to try. So now for our secondary students of the month, if I could please have Mr. Sorney to the podium. Yeah, so that is a little bit tough to
008follow, but we'll do our best. All right, so it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to Newfield High School Student of the Month for February, Mr. Christopher Kowalski. In this, his senior year, Chris is sitting comfortably with a 95.6857 GPA. He's taken a total of 11 advanced placement and college-level classes, giving him the ability to graduate with more than 35 college-level... college credits. He's a member of the National Yearbook Club, the National Honor Society, the National Technical Honor Society, and the National Foreign Language Honor Society. Though that's all phenomenal, it's not the fun stuff that I and Mr. Graviano really are looking forward to sharing with all of you. Before we go there, here's what some of his teachers had to say about him. Ms. Gill, an English teacher, described Chris as a
009hardworking, intelligent, and respectful young man who stands out above the rest. His enthusiasm and his love for learning reminded me each day of why I became a teacher. Day in and day out he would participate and contribute to my class. His positive outlook and determination made him successful in many ways. He more than exemplifies a model student. He is the definition of one. Miss Cone, another one of his former English teachers, stated, he is always conscientious, enthusiastic, and always helpful. He relates well to his classmates, but his superior social skills never interfere with his studies. He's actually one of the few students I never caught on a cell phone. He's so incredibly personable, always taking the time to say hello and inquire about my day. He's the kid that makes it all worth it. I
010know I've said it before, but up there with Parker from last month, my conversation with Chris was one of the best I've ever had with a student of the month. For starters, he's a first-degree black belt. In a 45-minute conversation today, and one with me the day before, three pages of notes, he somehow left this out. I found it on his resume and figured it was worth being shared. The next cool thing is Chris is a junior firefighter. Growing up, he listened to stories from his pop-up, who was a volley firefighter-in-chief in Manorville, about the Long Island wildfires. It piqued his interest and went from there. Fast forward to this past summer, Chris was driving and witnessed a fire burning at the Nichols Middle Country Road interchange. With a fire extinguisher in his vehicle, he
011pulled off the road to put out the fire. Shortly thereafter, the Center Reach Fire Department arrived on scene and put out the rest. He's just a good soul, the type you'd always want to have around. At 17, he's taken Firefighter I coursework and is currently exterior certified. Once 18 in June, he will be able to earn his interior certification and then truly will be a Class A firefighter. He has committed to UB, University of Buffalo, and plans on majoring with a dual major in mechanical engineering and aerospace. In asking what he planned on doing with that, Chris explained that he got his first telescope around the age of seven or eight. He was a big fan of space. and loved looking at the stars. As he got a little older, he got a higher quality
012telescope. It was then he was able to see Jupiter and its moons, and at this point, his passion just continued to grow. That now brings us to 2020. We all know what most people think of when they hear 2020. We think COVID, but not Chris. He couldn't understand why no one was excited as he was about the Mars rover Perseverance landing on Mars for its mission. He shared details that I can't remember because he was throwing big technical words around that I just couldn't follow. And I can once second Mr. Graviano with that sentiment. He did go on to share information on the missions of two previous Mars rovers, Curiosity, which is still rolling the surface of Mars since 2012, and Spirit. The passion and enthusiasm on Chris was so clear as he lit up
013talking about all of it. He has since gotten an even better telescope, the Celestron, which allows Chris to connect to his phone. He calibrates it, entering coordinates and selecting time zones, enabling him to capture comets, shooting stars, and planets. He follows SpaceX and NASA and continues to dream of someday being a part of a team of its engineers building the rockets and rovers that will continue to move us into the future of space exploration and travel. Chris, there's a good number of students who will graduate this year having an idea of what they'll major in and what they want to do with that major. I'm not sure how many have the knowledge and passion you have for any chosen field. I truly cannot wait to see where you are in 10 years. My guess is
014either in a SpaceX or NASA facility. My hope is someday you'll be asked to name one of the future rovers you built. I think you should name it Destiny for obvious reasons. Congratulations on being named Newfields High School Student of the Month for February. Congratulations, Christopher. I am going to embarrass you just a little bit because I remember you when you were just those little pre-K students, as I'm sure your mom can and look at you now. So congratulations. And now, if I could please have Ms. Rapisarda to the podium. Good evening. It is an honor to stand before you today as we celebrate an outstanding individual who has truly exemplified dedication and leadership, Kenneth Mejia. Kenneth is part of our Life Skills Work Study Program where he's been an integral member of our community,
015taking on a variety of jobs at local businesses as part of his curriculum. These experiences have allowed him to develop valuable job skills, but it's exceptional work ethic and commitment to excellence that has truly set him apart from others. Teachers and employers alike have praised Kenny for his outstanding effort, and it's clear that he approaches each task with the utmost responsibility and determination. In addition to his work-study accomplishments, Kenneth has become a true leader with the Life Skills Program. He has stepped into a mentor role, offering guidance and support to his younger students and helping them navigate their own paths towards success. His leadership extends beyond the classroom, and it's a testament to his kind and selfless person that he is. But Kent's contributions doesn't stop here. He is a well-rounded individual who remains an
016active participant in our school community. Whether it's working behind the scenes on stage crew for the school play, participating in senior class activities, or contributing to varsity sports, Kenneth has always been eager to get involved. For the past two seasons, he has been a valued member of our varsity lacrosse team. And while he can't play this season, he has volunteered his time as a manager to the team. His willingness to step up and help out whenever needed is truly remarkable. Coach Saragusa stated, I met Kenny through his love and involvement in our varsity lacrosse program. I have never personally met someone so invested in our mission statement and as well as our vision. I would consider Kenny the consummate teammate as he's always beloved by his entire peer group on our team. Ken is our
017biggest cheerleader, often grabbing me in school to tell me how excited he is and how he's looking forward to us winning. Not only is Kenny a tremendous young man, but he finished his two-year career with three goals against his former school, Brentwood, which made him very excited. While we hope to teach young men like Ken toward his teammates the power of perseverance and meeting every challenge with his great attitude. He's a valuable team and in competition and his leadership. Thank you Kenny for being a part of that program. Looking ahead, Kenny has a bright future. After graduation, he plans to continue working for the Middle Country School District. He's already completed the interview process and will begin working as a part-time custodian before the end of the school year to transition into a full-time position
018next year. His commitment to his work and his community will undoubtedly pave the way for other students in the Life Skills program, showing them that they too can achieve meaningful employment and become an active, positive contributor to society. As his administrator, I couldn't be more proud of all the many accomplishments, Kenneth, that you have achieved throughout these years with us. Your bright and eager personality is truly infectious. Whether you're cheering on your peers, offering a helping hand, or working hard in the classroom and the community, you're shining through. Kenneth has a way of inspiring everyone around him to be the best, and he's consistently being a sense of optimism and drives that brightness into our school. Kenneth. Thank you for being such a huge part of our program and our school and inviting every embodying
019everyone with and striving for success We strive to instill in our athletes and our students as you have instilled in us You've been an inspiration and we are incredibly proud to have you as part of our team and our school You have made a lasting impact and we look forward to seeing all the wonderful things you will continue to accomplish Congratulations Kenneth on being our February student of the month for center each high school Congratulations, Kenneth. If I could now have Mr. Kachidis to the podium. Good evening. It is with great pleasure that I introduce seventh grade student Chloe Pastore as Dalton Middle School's February Student of the Month. Ms. Veritzen said, I had the pleasure of teaching Chloe in sixth grade. She was a model student. Each day, she would come to school with
020a big smile and positive attitude. She demonstrated strong work ethic, consistently exceeding expectations. She could always be counted on to help her peers to participate in class discussions. She was an excellent listener and a strong role model for her classmates. In addition, Chloe would frequently offer to help me with classroom tasks around the room. Ms. Cranenberg said, One fond memory that I have of Chloe from sixth grade ELA class was how she would intricately weave an entire story from our word of the week. Each week, we would learn a new word, and students would have to use that word in a sentence. Chloe would take that word and all the previous words before that we learned and create an amazing story. Her classmates and I always looked forward for her to share her creative tale.
021Ms. Gray said, I was thrilled to see Chloe's name on my roster this year. And after having her brother Shane and Mason as students, I wasn't disappointed. Chloe is the sweetest young lady who has competence and she often acts out social studies skits in front of the entire class with charm. She is an amazing student and because of her I have so many terrific social studies videos that I will use with my classes, all my classes until the day I retire. Chloe's overall average for her sixth grade year was a 97.8 and Chloe's average for first and second quarter this year was a 98.8. Outside of the classroom, Chloe is involved in many activities. Chloe's a member of the Dawnwood 7th grade chorus. She participates in the singing club, the board game club, drama club,
022sign language club, and art club. Chloe also attends dance class twice a week, and she volunteers at her church when she can. When I met with Chloe, I asked her what does she like about Dawnwood. She says, I like the teachers, I like all the clubs, and I like how everyone accepts everybody. When I asked Chloe who she admires, she said, my mom. I said, why? She said, she's just amazing. One day I hope to be a mom like her. And I have to say, Chloe's mom, and as well as her whole family, who I know very well, are all amazing. In the future, Chloe hopes to write Broadway shows, because her whole family loves drama, and she just loves to write. Not that kind of drama. Chloe, thank you for all the amazing things
023you do, and congratulations for being Dawnwood Middle School's February Student of the Month. Congratulations, Chloe. If I could now please have Mr. Bennett to the podium. Good evening. The Selden Middle School Student of the Month for February is 8th grader Laura Fecteau. Laura is very well regarded by her teachers, and they were very complimentary when I asked about her. She was described as a conscientious and diligent student and an outstanding student who takes responsibility for her learning. Mrs. Kovas, Laura's physical education teacher and coach, stated, and I quote, Laura is a perfect example of what a student athlete should be. She leads by example and is a positive influence on those around her. Not only is she a great athlete and PE student, but she is also an excellent student in the classroom. Watching her
024be a leader and star on the field hockey field this past season makes me look forward to the next four years coaching her. She is an asset to her school, teams, and community. Mrs. Kovas is right. Laura does very well in the classroom, and she has demonstrated that since she first set foot in Selden Middle School. She finished her sixth and seventh grade years with an overall average of 98.8 and 98.6, respectively. She also began this year with an even 98 average for the first quarter and continued to excel in the second quarter. Laura is a very busy middle schooler, but somehow makes time for various athletic teams and clubs. She plays midfield for our field hockey team and forward for our lacrosse team, and outside of school, she participates in kickboxing, jujitsu, and gymnastics.
025She is a former member of our Science Club and Plant Club and is a current member of our Home and Careers Club and the National Junior Honor Society. Laura has been a member of the Boy Scouts since they started including girls in 2018 and earned badges for bird sighting, environmental science, oceanography, and fishing this past summer. She also enjoys drawing and painting, but my favorite thing about Laura is her favorite band, Guns N' Roses. Laura is joined tonight by her mother and her brother Dylan, a seventh grader at Selden Middle School. Laura, your thirst for knowledge and infectious positive attitude is inspiring. Those traits will serve you well as you continue with your education and work toward a career in marine biology. It is an honor to name you student of the month. Congratulations. Congratulations,
026Laura. WE WILL NOW HAVE A BRIEF INTERMISSION SO THAT THE STUDENTS THAT WERE RECOGNIZED THIS EVENING CAN HAVE THEIR PHOTOS TAKEN WITH THEIR FAMILIES, TEACHERS, AND PRINCIPALS OUT IN THE HALLWAY BY MS. PABON. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GIVING US A FEW MINUTES TO TAKE SOME PHOTOS WITH THE STUDENTS THAT WERE ACKNOWLEDGED THIS EVENING. WE NOW HAVE TWO SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, THE FIRST BEING INSTRUCTIONAL OVERVIEW ENL. Excuse me, world language presentation. So if I could please have Ms. Pacifico, Director of World Studies, PK through 12, to the podium. So good evening. Thank you for this opportunity to present to you updates on the world language and English as a new language departments. So similar to our other core area presentations, here's our agenda for the evening. I'm actually going to begin the presentation with
027our world language department. So New York State divides world languages into two groups. We have our modern languages and our classical languages. So modern languages are languages where there are living native speakers, such as Spanish, French, and Italian, which we offer here in middle country. And classical would, of course, include things such as Latin, which does not have any living speakers. World languages in New York State are actually, there's two anchor standards, one being communication and the other being cultures, and then they're broken down into additional standards. So for communication, there's a standard of the standards of interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational skills, and cultures are broken down into practices and cultural comparisons. So another element that the state provides as guidance to teachers in designing world language instruction is something called the four elements. And
028these are called the context for cultural communication, language functions, language skills, and cultural knowledge. And those are all indicated by the colored pinpoints on this particular visual. So these elements, along with the standards, help teachers to develop their unit and lesson objectives. And they provide some sample standards here. So for example, in... a Spanish 1A class, you would expect students to be learning about comparing and contrasting school in the United States to school in a target language country. So world languages are different than our other core area subjects in that these standards are not grade banded, rather they're banded by proficiency level. And those are marked by different checkpoints, which generally occur over two years of study. So we have checkpoint A and checkpoint B, which are specifically assessed through the FLAX assessment, which I'll
029talk about a little bit later. And then checkpoint C typically are our college and AP level course offerings. Here we have our timeline of the implementation of revised world language standards, which started back in 2021. This included the renaming of world languages from Lote or languages other than English. And the state in this timeline has provided quite a bit of professional development support and resources. And here in middle country, we've been engaging in curriculum writing with the support of our chairperson in world language, Richard Martino. and we'll fully implement these revised standards by the 28-29 school year. Another piece of guidance or a resource that the state has provided to our world language teachers are the themes and topics, and these apply to all of the checkpoints. They provide a vehicle for, you know... demonstrating
030language proficiency through content. So there are four overarching themes that applies at all checkpoints. And then there are those topics which apply to different checkpoints. So for example, such as clothing, you might see at all of the checkpoints, but at checkpoint A, students be looking at, you know, talking about basic dress, what would they wear for particular seasons. But in a college level class, they might be looking at something such as the impact of fast fashion through the target language and its impact. So obviously at checkpoint A, students are talking about their immediate experiences and by checkpoint C, students are supposed to be using the language to explain things outside of their immediate worlds. Here we have a sample unit and this is again another guidance document that the state has provided as part of
031the rollout of those new standards in this particular unit for Spanish 1a The teachers through curriculum writing designed this revised unit. This one happens to be on transportation So students look at things that such as means of transportation within target countries. They look at how geography impacts transportation How you can navigate in different communities and in another important element of these revised standards is the use of authentic resources. So you could expect students to be listening to interviews with native speakers from different countries that speak the language, looking at advertisements, things of that nature as part of those authentic resources. Here we have a couple of snapshots of students at Selden Middle School. So following what we did for National History Day and with the science wind energy symposium, they brought in students to do
032some, present their research on Hispanic Heritage Month. So they can still study the culture while learning the language. These presentations happen to be in English, but they're really meant to develop a connection to the speakers of the languages. Here we have just a few more snapshots of some of our students engaging in some authentic hands-on learning, interacting and engaging ways in building that love for language learning. Here we have our world language curriculum, slightly unique in that students actually begin their study of world language in seventh grade and then after eighth grade they take the first checkpoint assessment. And then they would take that second checkpoint assessment in 10th grade if they wish to earn an advanced regents diploma. As I indicated before, our 11th and 12th grade courses, that's when we begin our study
033of our college courses and our dual enrollment AP and world language courses. Here we have our assessment data from World Language. What's unique is that we are required to assess students, but we do not have Regents exams in World Language. The state allows for locally developed assessments. Middle Country happens to partner with the New York State Association of World Language Administrators, and they oversee what's called the FLAX Consortium. So we use their assessments, which obviously our standards align. Similar to Regents' Exam, teachers have that data in order to promote mastery. And from year to year, we look at trends within questions where students maybe need some more support and in designing some of those revised assessments which are reflective of those new standards. Here we just have a couple of samples of the rubrics that
034are used to assess students on two of those, two of the tasks on the FLEX exam, one being the interpersonal, so that's an individual one-on-one speaking component that students have to complete as part of the assessment. The other is a presentational task, which they do in class. In addition, there is a reading and writing component on those two assessments. We of course have many achievements to celebrate in world languages. Even though students aren't required to study beyond Checkpoint A, we have very robust enrollments in our college and AP courses that are offered in partnership with Suffolk Community College. Many of our students are recognized for our world language honor societies. The teachers have engaged in quite a bit of professional development with the support of our chairperson of world language. And that also includes teachers
035who recently presented to their colleagues at superintendent's conference day. So one of the sessions was on the impact of AI and how they could particularly use AI to Adapt authentic resources so it might be written at a college level But how do you make that accessible to? Seventh grade students so that they can look at some of those authentic resources Using the language they know at the proficiency level that they're at And then of course, part of our action plan is to leverage what we've accomplished in world language. So one of the things that we are currently doing as a district is exploring the New York State Seal of Biliteracy, which could be an endorsement for our students. And of course, we are looking at the rollout of the Portrait of a Graduate, and you've
036heard a lot about that from my colleagues in previous presentations. And just to give you a snapshot here. of what's required to earn the New York State Seal of Biliteracy. Essentially students have to demonstrate mastery, high levels of proficiency in both English and a world language. So how most students will earn the seal is by coursework and through a culminating project which is very similar to our capstone project. So if we are going to offer this, we can most likely leverage what we have in capstone already here in middle country, and then build out a similar program on the world language side for our students in order to provide for them the best support in earning that CL. Again, here's our visual of the portrait of a graduate. All the stakeholder meetings regarding the rollout
037of new graduation requirements have involved discussions of the seal of biliteracy remaining an important endorsement for students on a New York State diploma. We anticipate that we'll still offer world language courses and most likely assessments for students to be able to demonstrate those competencies or proficiencies that New York State is rolling out. Now I'm going to move on to the English as a new language program and ironically enough as President Chirac told the students about opening the floor one of the things we have to be very careful of with our English as a new language students is using lots of colloquial expressions that they don't necessarily understand They don't have literal meanings So so in Our English as a New Language program, we have a quick snapshot here just to show you the diversity and
038scope of our program here in Middle Country. Much of our program requirements in enl are driven by new york state's part 154 regulations and many of the components i'm going to highlight for you tonight are part of Those required components and we have to report those annually to the state through what's known as the comprehensive l education or c report And there's going to be a lot of acronyms I promise i'm not going to quiz you on all of these And I apologize if I don't fully explain all of them as I go through this part of the presentation So in addition to those Part 154 regulations, NYSED also has what's called the Blueprint for L or MLL, so that's Multilingual Learner Success. And part of that framework includes components such as standards-aligned instruction, professional
039development, the aforementioned CLL biliteracy. In addition, we have components such as the home school connection and assets based approach to ELLs and required assessments. And as I talk about those part 154 regulations, they actually dictate how we screen and place students within the E&L program. So that starts at central registration where all students are filling out what's called the home language questionnaire. They do that in the language of their preference. And then from that... home language questionnaire we decided for giving the nice hotel which is in New York State identification test of English language learners and that will determine whether or not a student is going to qualify for enl services Here are the various E&L proficiency levels. So similar to what you saw in world language. And these are going to determine the students'
040programming, the level of scaffolding they're going to need in the general classroom. And then in addition to the NYSATEL, there is the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test. So students must take that in the spring. It's essentially a four-day test. One component is speaking, and the other three days are integrated listening, reading, and writing. And those scores determine how we schedule students in the following year and whether or not they're going to exit the English as a New Language program. Here is our district-wide enrollment data. I share this with you just to show you the range of proficiency levels that we have across the K-12 spectrum. All right, and this data is reported regularly to New York State. So it's reported regularly within our district every month. This is collaboration between
041the E&L teachers, central registration, and the buildings to ensure accuracy because this data drives things such as our programming, accountability, and I'll talk about a little bit later on, our Title III grant funding comes from some of this reporting data. ENL has an instructional component. It is considered core area instruction. It's not supplemental services. And if you're a student at those entering and emerging levels, you actually get two periods of instruction K-5. So the first period is standalone ENL, so basic interpersonal skills, communication skills. Also developing academic language. These tend to be smaller groups, more one-on-one conferencing, time spent with reading and writing support. And then all of our elementary students get a sheltered pull-out period of E&L, ELA with a dually certified E&L and ELA teacher. Those teachers use adapted units and lessons from
042HMH that were developed through a standing committee that we have with our... elementary E&L teachers. They are also using a reading program called the Independent Reading Level Assessment through the American Reading Company. I cannot understate the amount of the work that the elementary teachers have put into this program and curriculum writing. And almost all of our elementary E&L teachers have also engaged in letters training. So Dr. Siegel mentioned that in her presentation. So that's for teachers of early reading and spelling. So they're really maximizing these programs. through the lens of the science of reading and best approaches to teaching reading to English language learners. Our program at the secondary level is very similar. One of the major differences is that students in ninth through 12th grade, if you're entering an emerging student, you get a
043second period of standalone E&L. Obviously, the language demands are much greater by the time students reach the high school, so they need that additional instructional support. And then our secondary E&L ELA, similarly, it's a pull-out class sheltered instruction with an E&L and ELA teacher. Duly certified teacher and a lot of their units are thematic because we understand that for example ninth graders are probably taking living environment So they'll do a unit on environmental issues on they'll do a unit on human rights because these same students are also enrolled in global history And we have curriculum writing committees like we do with all of our other content area subjects Another required part of this program is professional development for all teachers, not just E&L teachers. We have a standing E&L professional development committee. They develop presentations
044that are delivered at faculty meetings. So these happen every other month. And then they also... send out what they call the tip of the month, which is an easily digestible piece of professional development advice for their colleagues. And they maintain a Google Classroom with all these resources. And we probably have well over 300 faculty members that are part of that classroom, which is very robust. And another part of that program is, our program is the home school connection. So we have quite a few programs right now in the district that help to communicate with families whose first language is not English. PowerSchool translates all of our report cards or progress reports into the preferred language. Our new website is able to be, is translatable into the most high incidence languages. And here's just another few
045examples of some of those language supports that we provide to our families. so the first picture is an enl parent night that our enl pdp committee held back in the fall we talked about the home school connection on how to access your child's academic records how to provide support at home thank you to dr ricovi for helping to get a lot of these pocket translators out to teachers so we have them in all of the buildings right now within special education and now the enl teachers have them and it facilitates that two-way communication with families with sometimes with our newcomer students. And another program that we're very proud of and it's very widely used in the district is a program called Talking Points. So it's a two-way messaging platform. So you, I as an English
046speaker can send a message out in English and if the parent happens to speak Urdu, they will get the message in Urdu and they will write back in their home language and it will come back to me in English. So facilitating that two-way communication. It's important to note that many of the programs we're talking about are supported through our Title III grant funding. So this is a source of supplemental support for the services that we provide. There are allowable expenditures, so things such as educational programs, professional development, parent and family engagement. Our allocations are based on a statewide formula that can change from year to year, and the grant is actually broken into two parts. So one is the L. allocation. The other is the immigrant allocation. Yeah, no, it isn't. It's supplemental. So for
047example, we have to provide core instruction, but we support things like after school extra help for students because that is considered to be supplemental. You know, we have our district report cards with something like and we have language line but talking points is a supplemental program that we have to engage our families with. So as I mentioned, we have an assessment component. We have to as part of. Our accountability measures administer the nicest lot every single spring. And then we use that data both to plan for instruction and also how to schedule our students in the following year. We, of course, have additional data from I-Ready, our reading program that we use within ELA, and our state and local assessments. So you would find our high school E&L teachers looking at things like ELA data
048because the students have to take the ELA exam as part of their graduation requirements as well. And then this is just a couple of tasks from the NYSES lab just to show you the level of complexity of the language that students have to demonstrate to be able to exit the program. So the first one is a listening task from our first grade exam. The second is a speaking task, so they're taking something academic, and then they have to speak about what they heard and read about in that particular speaking task. This particular seventh and eighth grade sample you could likely see on general ELA regions. And then this last one from the 9 through 12, you know, it's an integrated reading and writing task. So very similar to kind of a DBQ type prompt. And,
049you know, obviously how students would perform in this would, you know, it's a demonstration of proficiency. So a lot of this data in the E&L department is warehoused through a program called Elevation. And you can see on the right side, it's just a compendium of this particular student's data that includes their I-Ready scores and your state test scores on the NYSAS slot. But another important feature in the top left is all of the E&L teachers put in modifications for their students that the general education teachers have access to. So what's gonna best support that student? So in this particular case, the teacher's recommending that the student has multi-step projects, they need an extended timeline just because of their level of proficiency and need for support. and then down the bottom if teachers want to engage
050in additional self-directed professional learning they could go through these self-paced modules through the program of course we have many achievements as the program has grown we have adapted we now have a program in 12 out of our 14 schools so essentially we have neighborhood schools we've done a lot of curriculum writing to adapt to hmh at the elementary level we have reformulated our classes at the high school our enl classes in high school to have a newcomer program because we saw a particular need there but using existing staff um so just rearranging how we were offering those courses of course at the elementary level we have a very robust reading program and a lot of the resources that i've talked about here are things such as talking points have really supported our l's and their
051families of course you know As with any program, we need to prioritize and leverage the resources that give us the most growth and support for our students. So we are constantly reevaluating those things that we will continue into the future year, particularly as we, over the summer, plan for those Title III grant applications. And as with every presentation, we conclude with our mission statement and the research that indicates that the bilingual brain can actually do these things a little bit more creatively, effectively, and empathetically. So thank you and questions. Thank you. Do any board members have any questions or comments? Mr. DiBenedetto, then I'll go to Arden. Ms. Pacifico, thank you for your comprehensive. summary of the E&L and the world languages. Just a quick question to regard making our students more competitive and able
052to communicate globally. Have we ever looked into a elementary based world language program? A FLAS program? No, we have not. Not to say that there's not interest, but we know we have not traditionally, and many districts do not offer, there's a handful of districts that offer FLESS. I don't know, and some districts will do like an exploratory program in like fifth or sixth grade year where they'll get a little taste of each language so when students make their decision when they have to take a world language. But as with any program, we have to think about where the staff support for that would come from. But it definitely would. But we have a lot of students who are heritage or native speakers of other languages. So what was super fascinating is when Selden did their
053presentation, more than half the audience of students raised their hand to indicate that they spoke or had another language spoken in the home. So we definitely have the capacity on the back end right now to talk about that seal of biliteracy, which is something we could definitely offer. And that has been brought up before. Yes. Let me just go to Ms. Bricey and then I'll come back to you, Ms. Haggerty. Ms. Bricey. Yeah, I'm sorry. I just wanted to say that this is something that we should be dealing with when we talk about to our legislators This is something they talk about our changing enrollment, but they don't even know what's changing Yeah, and this is really something all these languages and how they keep on saying we're losing kids and we should be closing
054schools But they don't realize the challenge that we're having with kids And I think that was something that was brought up at the legislative breakfast. Yeah, I like and we are middle countries changing demographics is very similar to our our schools on the long island particularly in suffolk county so it's not unique to us so you know when we took the students to albany they actually were big advocates for programs like enl and special education which they understand well that peers need more support so i think i would like to see it on our legislative agenda yes ma'am our students did um yeah i'll talk about that in a little bit but they did bring that up that was a topic so that conversation is starting even amongst the legis um the elected officials but
055we can definitely add that to our agenda thank you miss hagerty Again, thank you for that very comprehensive yet rapid presentation. Sorry. No, not an apology. See, I broke the rule. You're supposed to speak slowly enough for our audience to understand. So if I went too fast, I apologize. It was very understandable and very efficient, and thank you for that. I know, I know. One question and then just one comment. When I was looking at the slide headed FLOX assessment June 2024, I was just struck by the 32. percent mastery in Spanish A, which I guess is high school. High school, yeah. So those are students who have to retake generally or students who maybe have moved from somewhere else outside of New York State where that requirement doesn't exist. So they have to meet
056their language requirement. Is this like an outlier? It is an outlier, yeah. So, you know, like you're talking about students who are repeating Spanish. after two years of study at the high school or have come to New York State and don't have those world language requirements met. And then just one comment. Again, thank you and all of our teachers for their efforts in making this work. Just sort of anecdotally, I am always impressed by how many students of the month who come forward with these impressive academic records were not native. English speakers here in high school or middle school speaking a different language. So apparently this is an extremely effective program. And I thank you for that. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. And now for our second special presentation, our 2025-26 budget
057development. I will now turn the microphone over to Dr. Rella. Sorry, I just lost my screen, but I think I can. I think I can use this. So we're going to talk about the 25-26 budget. So the topics tonight that we'll be discussing are the comptroller's fiscal stress designation that is issued once a year, the reserve balances, the expenditure for the 25-26, the drivers, the estimated state aid, at this point the estimated tax levy cap, and then what our current gap is between our proposed expenditures and our proposed revenue, the next step, and some financial advocacy. So I know it's really small, but if you can look really, really close, look for middle country, you won't find it on the list. So this year, I'm happy to report that we received no designation from the
058comptroller. While it is something to celebrate in terms of looking at all of the perspective and all the districts, when you rank the districts, we do rank number five out of 122 in terms of points that have been given to us. So while we're not on the list, we still have some work to be done. So what is the fiscal stress monitoring system? It is designed to identify issues that school districts have with budgetary solvency or the ability to generate enough revenues to meet expenditures. School districts are given a fiscal stress score based on several factors. Those can include year-end fund balance, operating deficits, the cash position, and reliance on short-term debt for cash flow. This year, there were three school districts on Long Island that were identified as having significant or moderate or susceptible
059stress, and 119 districts were identified as having no designation. So you can see that although we did achieve the no designation ranking, we did get points assigned to us, and we're at the 21.7 point level. We'll get into that in a little bit, what that means. So this is our five-year history. You can see that starting in 2019-20 up until now, we have been going on and off the list every other year. So what does that tell us? That tells us that we have some instability and that even though this year we were taken off the list, we still have a lot of work to do. So the points that we did get... What happens is they identify areas, and then depending on the level of severity, you're given points assigned to that. The more
060points you're given, the more susceptible or the more stressed you are in terms of financially. So we received 21.7 points. What does that break down? This year we received 6.67 points as an operating deficit. We almost came in almost... you couldn't have really got more equal to our expenditures and revenues we were within three hundred thousand dollars we spent 270 million so we were pretty close to um not relying on the reserves however we did run a slight deficit so we were assigned points total fund balance as a percentage of gross expenditures um there'll be some charts that we'll look at in a little bit that will describe or show you what this actually means and why we're giving these points but um the comptroller would like us to have more fund balance when you
061look at a percentage in terms of fund balance to gross expenditures we also were given points From a cash position so from the comptroller's standpoint They would like us to have additional ability for cash as a percentage of our liabilities So we were assigned points there and then cash as a percentage of monthly gross expenditures They would like us to have a higher percentage. So that's how we're getting points assigned to us So I know these charts are a little bit small to see. The first column is middle country, and the important one to look at is the third column, which is all of Long Island. So if you're looking from left to right, I know it's really small, but it goes middle country, all schools, Long Island, large downstate. So really the first and
062the third columns are really on the charts to look at. So the first one, unassigned fund balance as a percentage of gross expenditures. You can see our bar chart, like our bar is pretty low. The comptroller is really looking for us to have a much higher unassigned fund balance. So middle country has a 3.2%. And when you compare us to Long Island, Long Island on average has double at 6.3. So then if you look to the chart on the right total fund balance as a percentage of gross expenditures We're at nine point two percent and when you look at Long Island Long Island's average is three times as high as that overall fund balance well I don't think we would go to the three-time level because then we would be probably cited for having too
063high fund balance. But I do think that our balances should be a lot higher than they are. They don't give you a specific. Basically, how they break it down is unassigned can be up to 4%. And then with each reserve that you have, there is a certain recommendation within the reserve. So sometimes you can have five times the amount of the annual expense. So each district is going to have a little bit different. But when you add up all the reserves and all of the unassigned, then you will... This is what they're talking about when they're talking about all of your fund balances So what I can tell you is that the comptroller is not satisfied with what we have because they're assigning points to us if we weren't being assigned points if it was
064higher we wouldn't be assigned them So then the bottom left is operating surplus deficit. We're pretty much on the 0% because we did have a slight deficit. It was a couple hundred thousand. Whereas on Long Island, the average generated a 5.4% surplus. And then on the right, bottom right, cash as an investment to your current liabilities. We are at 84% and the average of Long Island is at 196%, which is more than double. The last two is cash as a percentage of monthly expenditure. We're at 72%, and the average of Long Island is that close to 200%, which is more than double, like two and a half times currently what we have. So the comptroller is in that one looking for us to have a stronger cash position. Overall, to the right, the fiscal stress
065score, this is where the 21.7 points lies. So you can see middle countries all the way to the left. And then all of Long Island, if you took 122 districts that were participating or released scores on, their average points per district was 5.3. So this is a history of the last 10 years of the use of reserves and fund balance. So while we are continuing to use the reserves and fund balance, you can see that in the last year, like I said, we ran a slight deficit. So our fund balance and reserves only went down approximately $300,000. So that is progress from the year before. The year before, we had to use over $4.5 million. And while that is progress, we still have to be aware that we still are amongst the lowest of reserves
066and balances that we have had over the last decade. So reserve funds, what are they? They act as savings accounts, allowing school districts in New York to set aside money for use in the future. Some of the benefits of reserve funds, they help to maintain a stable operating budget. They help to maintain a stable tax levy. They can boost your district's overall fiscal stress. They can strengthen our bond rating, and it has an impact on our ability to borrow anything for long-term borrowing. It can supplement the limitations of fund balance, which is at 4%, the max you can have, and provide for consistent instruction regardless of the environment. Some examples of where the reserves have helped us in the past. The recent examples would be the gap elimination. Middle Country was cut state aid annually
067to assist with balancing the budget. During the years of 2010-11 through 15-16, the district lost $55. million. We were cut in aid. That comes through the supplement of your reserves at that time to maintain program. During COVID, the 2021 year, just in that one year alone, the district had to rely on the reserve funds, over $6 million to be able to bring the students back for in-person instruction. Thank you. And then increases in TRS and ERS, instead of adjusting, those rates are set by the state every year and they can fluctuate. So instead of adjusting your budgets up and down and having large swings in your budget, you can rely on the reserves when you see some of those hefty increases. So some of the major drivers that are driving this year's budget on the
068expenditure side, we have contractual obligations. We have health care costs, although there was an alternative medical plan that provided to retirees to help offset some of these increases. There is the addition of five special education praise classes. other special education costs transportation we did we were able to have a contract extension which was able to so we were able to control that growth slightly retirement costs utility most notably electricity and gas however the district did we did implement and install solar projects that have offset much of the increases of the last few years. So if you look at the budget over the last few years, we have not really seen some of those increases in the electricity, most notably in the electricity due to the solar projects. additional teacher aides and that's due to IEP
069mandates the loss of the pre-k funding over 400,000 has been shifted to the general fund due to the inability to maximize the grant based on the requirements of the grant BOCES occupational education costs liability insurance and some technology increases So that's on the expenditure side. Then we have to match it or align with the revenue side. Our two largest sources of revenue are state aid and tax levy. So the first one is the state aid, the state aid proposal from the governor's executive budget. These are our major categories, and you can see that 25-26 is aligned or we're comparing it against the current year. So overall, there is a little over a $9 million increase that represents an 8%. That is a much larger increase than we have seen historically. If you look at the
070five-year average, the average has been $4.1 million. And if you extend that further to the 10-year average, the 10-year average is only $3 million. So this year is right now projected to be larger than we have seen in years. So some of the key observations, the state did give us the full allocation for the pre-K budgets. We're unable to currently right now grab those dollars. Even though they're saying you have it, we're unable to utilize the full grant. So you have to incorporate that when you're looking at this state aid. So that accounts for... a little over $400,000 in this last year. So every year we seem to be able to apply for less and less just due to the way that the grant is written. Correct. It can. We won't know until we actually
071go to apply for the, we won't know it until next year, but based on the history, that is really what we have seen. So while it's great to get the additional aid and foundation aid, the formula that's tied into the pre-K grants, it acts as a negative, so it decreases your ability. It's the factor in the calculation. So eventually, if... the if the criteria stays the same we will have a four and a half million dollar grant allocated to us and we will be able to file for none of it if it continues the way that it will it'll take us a while to get there but every year it ends up being less and less that we are able to apply for So one thing less we can see here, which seems to be
072a trend and something we need to keep a radar on, is the excess cost aid. The costs for special education continue to be one of our main drivers, yet we are seeing a projection of less. So we're spending a lot more and receiving less for that type of aid. The BOCES EED ratio, we are also additionally spending more, but the ratio is coming down slightly. And when you look at all of what state aid represents right now, it represents over 42% of our overall projected revenue for the 25-26 year. So what does that mean? That means that we're highly dependent on state aid. Any type of swing in state aid will have a much larger impact on us than a district that might not rely so heavily on state aid. So the number one source
073of revenue in the district is still the tax levy. That is the portion of revenue that is raised by the residents. So this is the full calculation. Most people know it as the 2% tax cap, but it's only one piece of the formula. This is the entire formula. The 2% is in there since the allowable levy cap was set at the full 2. But then each district has specific includes and excludes. That's why we all have separate tax levy caps. So when we put in middle countries' specific information, the 25-26 estimated allowable tax levy cap is at 2.21%. And the current proposed 25-26 budget includes a tax levy cap that stays within. the tax levy cap. So at the first look, when our revenues have to equal our expenditures, when they don't, that's when the
074reliance on the reserves comes into the equation. So right now we do present a slight gap. The proposed expenditure increase is $11,830,402, and right now the proposed revenue increase is $10,839,838. It is a slightly under a million dollar gap. So what are the next steps as we go through the budget development process? We will look to finalize the expenditure revenue plans. To do so, we need to review the staffing needs, and we are receiving some of the retirement notifications, so we will be taking down some of the replacement costs for that. We'll finalize enrollments, finalize and file the tax levy cap. That is due March 1st. incorporate the adopted state aid, which is due April 1st, and we will continue revising the plan until the gap of $1 million is closed, not utilizing the reserves
075or fund balance. Just to give you a historical perspective, just looking at the last five years, the last five-year average for tax levy growth has been 2.35%. The district's average five-year state aid increase has been $4.1 million. And the average five-year actual expenditure increase has been 2.62%. So this is just a link from the prior budget presentation. Each presentation we go through that discusses the budget, I'll add the prior one so you'll have everything as you go throughout the season for the budget development. And then the financial advocacy, we talked about it a little bit before, remove some of the current restrictions on the pre-K grant funding, increase aid to support students with disabilities, and continue with the free meals for kids program. It is a program that our middle country students currently have. And
076that's it. Thank you do any board members have any comments questions, mr. Halleck You said in the beginning that we're fifth out of 122 For the fiscal stress monitoring system, but the comptroller's office is that an average or that that's for this year we're fifth on Long Island or So, yes, when I looked at, because we're issued all of the districts on Long Island, so I did rank them all to see where we fell. Many of the districts don't have any points associated with them or they have less points. So when I looked at where we were, we ranked fifth out of the 122 that were issued fiscal scores. Again, not where we want to be the leaders. Any other board members' questions, comments? I just want to say thank you, Dr. Rella. I know
077that we have the right person in the right spot to get us on the path to. fixing this or digging out of this. I know we've had some spirited conversations. I'm sure we'll continue to have some spirited conversations. It's a lot of work, but we're all committed to keep us moving forward as a district. So I thank you for all the work you do because you are diligent and we ask for a lot and provide a lot. So thank you. Okay. Board commentary. Mr. Hallick, Mr. D Benedetto, Ms. Mann Rodriguez, Ms. Haggerty. Ms. Barisi? Ms. Walsh? Ms. Feldman? Okay. I'll be quick, I promise. I know that's something I say and it's not always true, but I just want to... The legislative breakfast was Saturday, which was a great event, greatly attended. Our elected officials
078as well were there, responsive. We had a student, Rosie, who asked a question pertaining to the pre-K funding. She did wonderful. She really did amazing. And I was really impressed because she memorized. She wasn't really reading her question. She looked down on occasion, but she memorized. So she was great. And then I just have to acknowledge... Yesterday we spent the day in Albany. I have to give many thanks to Dr. Siegel and Ms. Pacifico for really bringing this together. I had a goal that I wanted more student involvement, and they really, truly ran with it, made the day possible to go to Albany yesterday. We also had a couple people there yesterday that are in the audience today. Ms. Saltz was part of chaperoning. Ms. Reznikoff was also there as well, as well as some
079other, who else? I'm sorry. Oh my gosh, how could I forget my buddy, Dr. Cook. The one who I recreated the Seinfeld episode with getting lost in a parking garage for longer than I want to acknowledge to any of you here this evening. I have literal blisters on my feet from not picking wise. WHICH I WAS TRYING TO TEACH THE STUDENTS AN EXAMPLE WHAT NOT TO WEAR. BUT I CANNOT WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR. IT WAS AMAZING. AND I HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND GIVE TIME TO OUR STUDENTS. I WAS SO IMPRESSED AND SO PROUD. THESE STUDENTS WERE AMAZING. THE DAY WAS TRULY LED BY THEM. THEY DID ALL THE SPEAKING. THEY WERE SO . JUST AMAZING, PROFESSIONAL. THEY WERE ABLE TO PIVOT, BECAUSE SOME OF OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS WERE TRUE POLITICIANS, AND TRIED TO DEVIATE THE
080CONVERSATION. AND THE STUDENTS WERE PRETTY QUICK ON THEIR FEET TO BE ABLE TO THEN ANSWER AND RESPOND AND PIVOT US RIGHT BACK. I WAS NEVER SO PROUD. AND THE THING THAT I THINK STOOD OUT THE MOST Because to me, it's what advocacy is really truly all about. It's giving a voice to those who do not have a voice. And a lot of times you're advocating for something that really doesn't personally affect you, but affects others. And that's what our students were doing. They spoke a lot about ELL students, special education, the pre-K funding. Many of these students will really not see. THE FRUITS OF THEIR LABOR FROM YESTERDAY BECAUSE THEY WILL HAVE BEEN GRADUATED AND MOVED ON. AND EVEN A NEW ASSEMBLY WOMAN, REBECCA CASSETTE, SHE ACTUALLY ACKNOWLEDGED THE FACT WHEN SHE WAS ABLE TO
081FIRST SPEAK WITH THESE STUDENTS THAT IT WAS REMARKABLE THAT AND HOW IMPRESSED SHE WAS THAT THEY WERE HERE FOR OTHERS REALLY AND NOT FOR THEMSELVES. AND SHE WAS SO IMPRESSED AND PROUD. SO I HAVE TO SAY THEY REALLY They represented middle country so well and truly made us all proud. It was a great day. So thank you to everybody who was involved to do it, being up 4.30 in the morning on a bus. So, oh, please, it's my pleasure, and I really had little to do with it. I was just happy to be there and be able to witness it. So thank you, everyone. WE HAVE MINUTES FROM OUR SPECIAL MEETING ON JANUARY 21ST AND MINUTES FROM OUR REGULAR MEETING ON JANUARY 22ND. IF THERE ARE NO EDITS OR COMMENTS, WE'LL ACCEPT THE MINUTES AS
082THEY ARE. THANK YOU. I NEED A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE CONSENT AGENDA. SECOND. INSTRUCTION, THERE ARE NO ITEMS TO DISCUSS. PUPIL PERSONNEL SERVICES, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? PERSONNEL INSTRUCTIONAL? PERSONNEL CLASSIFIED? Finance? All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. Superintendents report? 25-02-SR-1, stipulation of settlement in regard to a special ed student. All those in favor? Opposed? Abstain? Thank you. Motion carries. I'm sorry. 25-02-SR-2, temporary ban from school and district property, code of conduct violation. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. 25-2-SR-3, temporary ban from school district property, code of conduct violation. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. Policy, we have first reading of, excuse me, 25-02-PO1, first reading of policy 53.60, code of conduct, student searches and interrogations. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. Can I make a motion to waive the second reading for that
083policy? All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. 25-02-PO-2, first reading of policy 5100, attendance. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. Correspondents, please make sure you're checking your emails. Let us know if you can attend or you can't attend. Unfinished business? New business? Committee reports? We are busy. We are in committees, I promise. Liaison Committee reports? Ms. Mann, Rodriguez? A quick one. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Steering Committee met on January 16th, and we mostly discussed how to increase patient, I'm sorry, I'm very tired, how to increase parent engagement in the DEI advisory team. So I just want to read a little something. As part of Middle Country Central School District's commitment to providing all students with a sense of belonging and mattering, the district is asking for parent and guardian volunteers to participate in
084the DEI advisory team. The DEI advisory team is scheduled to meet in person on April 21st, 2025 and June 16th, 2025 from 6 to 7. Members will learn about the district goals and will have the opportunity to provide feedback and suggest ideas. If you're interested in being considered for participation as a member, there will be a survey coming out in the next... Dr. Indambara, a few weeks or so. A few weeks or so. And you will receive information on how to fill out that survey. And that's it. Thank you. It's not a committee report, but... When Ms. Mann Rodriguez pointed you out, it reminded me that we were in the planetarium before the meeting. All of us board members went and we got to see a show, which was amazing. And our hope and our
085goal is to open this up to the community as well and have community shows. So we're looking to start that hopefully in the spring, you know, kind of a test run, see how it goes, and then build from that. You know, we all enjoyed ourselves, although. Ms. Feldman got dizzy. I had to tell her when she could open her eyes. And there was a cool feature. I don't want to give it away, but I knew I was correct and wasn't going crazy. And it was fun and it was neat. So we thank you for all that you do there and everyone involved in the planetarium. We hope to grow the community involvement. It's a great thing and we should celebrate it. Anybody else have any committee reports? Oh, Ms. Feldman. It's not really a report.
086It was when we went to PTA Council, they had asked if some of the committees can be scheduled on an alternating, because some of them are like 3 o'clock, 4 o'clock, and the people are working. They would like to join committees, but they cannot because of the time. So if we can alternate the times, that was asked of us. Do we have any that are parent involved that can meet? They are. We do have some time. So just alternate. Alternate. Even if it's one month, another month, because they would like to commit, but they can't because they're at work. Thank you. Okay. Follow-up board discussion? Public input? There was none from last meeting. Ms. Larkin, any for this evening? None tonight. Thank you. I need a motion to adjourn all those in favor opposed Motion
087carries. Thank you all and have a good evening