001Good evening. This is a regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting. The Board of Ed was an executive session with attorneys discussing regarding proposed pending or current litigation, collective negotiations for heads and chiefs, maintenance, operations, and transportation, and for a specific personnel matter. If I could please have Ms. Contarino and her students to the podium to join us for the pledge. Okay, so we're obviously all standing and facing the flag with our right hands over our heart. That's how we start every morning. So boys and girls on three. One, two, three. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the league for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Excellent job boys and girls. Okay so I'm gonna ask you to stay right
002there for a few more minutes okay. That's how we said it this morning with the jitters and everything they don't stand still. So good evening everyone. Tonight we have six special students, as you can see, representing Bicycle Path as February Students of the Month. These students were nominated by their teachers, okay, for their random acts of kindness, as well as overall display of kindness. And we were promoting that through January, and again, that's why they were selected to be here tonight. Their kindness stems toward their friends with words and actions. This group thinks about others each and every day, models good choices. extends a helping hand, is caring and kind. So we're so proud of all of them. And tonight we thank everyone who brought them here because they do need help to get here.
003So they're joined tonight by our UPK coordinator, Mrs. Newberg. Their teachers, I believe Mrs. Hanson is here, Mrs. Rhodes is here for our pre-K students and all of our families. And I really appreciate you bringing them here tonight. So thank you. So at this time, I'm going to present you all with little awards. So tonight, our special guests are Calvin Breedy, Hudson Finnegan, Leanna Berdales, Casey Robin Barcia, Olivia DeRussell, and Bella Monti. Congratulations to all our Bicycle Path Students of the Month. Thank you for having us. Congratulations. We're all so very proud of you. And remember to always choose kindness. OK, we're now going to be moving on to Secondary Student of the Month. So if I could please have Mr. Bennett to the podium. So I have two students to present tonight. The Selden
004Middle School Student of the Month for January was eighth grader Liliana Reynolds. Liliana knows the benefit of hard work and her teachers were very quick to point out that fact when I reached out to them. Ms. Mayorca, her orchestra teacher, said Liliana is dedicated to her viola and she was accepted to the Select Chamber Group this year. Liliana's math teacher and kick line coach, Ms. Kea, shared that, Liliana is a terrific student. She is kind to all and takes pride in the work that she does, both in the classroom and in her sports. She is a wonderful representation of what you can achieve through hard work and advocating for yourself. And Mrs. Barry, one of Liliana's sixth grade teachers, told me, Liliana is a kind, friendly, respectful, and hardworking student. She tackles each task with
005attention to detail and shows a strong desire to want to succeed. She is a positive role model for the students at Selden Middle School. Academically, Liliana has shown improvement from year to year, and this year is no exception. She has improved from the first quarter, and her second quarter average was her highest yet at just over 90. It is also worth noting that she has made the honor roll for the past six quarters. Liliana enjoys math because of the satisfaction she gets from solving a challenging problem. In addition to the kick line team, Liliana played volleyball and ran track, and she dances outside of school, specializing in jazz and hip hop. Liliana looks up to her older sister, who takes all honors classes and advanced placement courses at Newfield High School. Liliana is joined tonight
006by her mother and her sister Emma, an 11th grader at Newfield. Liliana, when we spoke, you shared that you would enjoy being a cosmetologist or a police detective. While those paths are quite different, I am sure you can succeed at anything with your trademark hard work. We are very proud of you here at Selden Middle School. Congratulations. And the Selden Middle School Student of the Month for February is 8th grader Matthew Sheridan. Diligent, polite, and hardworking are just a few of the words that kept coming up as Matthew's teachers told me about him. But the words emailed to me by his social studies teacher, Mrs. Maurer, do a great job of describing exactly the type of person Matthew is. Here is what she had to say about him. Matt is a soft-spoken individual. In class,
007his participation is constant. He is a steadfast worker and holds himself to high standards. Matt is always willing to help his classmates, and he is a clear leader when we are engaged in group work. He speaks kindly and with an understanding tone so that those around him are made to feel comfortable when asking questions. Matt is an athlete as well, and he plays for Seldon's football team. His teammates often praise him with constant compliments. Anyone who gets to know Matt, even for a few moments, will recognize what an exceptional human being he is. It is clear to see that Matthew is an exceptional student, and his grades reflect that. His quarterly averages are always in the mid to high 90s, which has put him on the high honor roll every quarter for his middle school
008career. This year he has maintained an average each quarter at or above 98. In addition to playing football at our school, Matthew has been a member of our select chorus and he was one of only five students from our school selected to the Skamea All-County Festival. He is a member of the National Junior Honor Society and outside of school, Matthew is a Boy Scout and enjoys swimming, reading, and classic rock and roll. We had quite the conversation. Matthew is joined tonight by his mother and father, his twin brothers Thomas and Christian, who are both fifth graders at Hawkins Path, his uncle and his grandmother. Matthew, when we spoke, you told me about sharing your love of space with your grandfather and your desire to build rockets for Elon Musk's company SpaceX. I think your rocket
009is headed straight for the stars, and it has been a pleasure watching you excel here at Selden Middle School. Congratulations. Congratulations, Matthew and Liliana. If I could please now have Mr. Bernardino to the podium. Good evening. It is with great pleasure that I introduce eighth grade student Santiago Valdivieso as Donwood Middle School's February Student of the Month. Santiago's background is very interesting. He moved from the United States to Columbia at age three and returned to the US in fifth grade and immediately became an amazing student. Mr. Lederer said, I am proud to be Santiago's science teacher for the two consecutive school years. Santiago is the epitome of what we want to see in our students. Some adjectives that come to mind when thinking about him are hardworking, responsible, thoughtful, motivated, interested, polite, and of course,
010respectful. Since the first day of seventh grade science, Santiago has been the most active participant in class. He regularly volunteers to answer questions, frequently raises his hand to ask his own thoughtful questions, or to check for understanding. Socially, Santiago is well liked by his peers. Santiago often completes bonus review assignments before tests or quizzes to help himself prepare for the assessment, while also gaining some bonus points that always ensure a high score. Miss Ebert said, I had Santiago for his sixth grade school year, and he quickly tested out a VNL. His eagerness and desire to learn English was remarkable. He never missed an assignment and always put 100% effort in all that he did. Santiago's kind, helpful, and genuine character stood out. He was a pleasure to have in class. Santiago's overall average for his
011sixth and seventh grade school years is 98.77. Santiago's averages for the first and second quarter of this school year are both 98.83. Outside of school, Santiago's passion is soccer. He plays on a travel team and also plays on the Donwood team. When asked what he wants to do when he finishes school, Santiago said, I don't know, but something to do with soccer. In fact, he loves soccer so much, Mr. Kachidis and I had to convince him to miss practice this evening. Santiago said that the people who inspire him are his parents because they are really hard workers and have always told him to believe in himself. Santiago, it is an honor and a pleasure to have you as a member of the Dawnwood student body. Thank you for representing Dawnwood Middle School and middle country
012in such great ways. Congratulations. Congratulations, Santiago. Could I now please have Mr. Graviano to the podium? I have to say between Bicycle Path and our Selden Students of the Month, I'm very excited for the continued progression of Newfield's future with all these little ones that are going to come up and be Wolverines someday. Good evening, everyone. It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you Newfield High School's Student of the Month for February, Ms. Amanda Knopf. She won the bid by a landslide and deservedly so. She's ranked number 13 in our class of 381 seniors while maintaining an unweighted GPA of 98.102 and a weighted GPA of 101.0071. She has the potential to graduate in June with more than 30 college credits. She's described by her teachers as kind, focused, respectful, and diligent in
013her work habits. Ms. Sparhuber, Amanda's Calculus BC teacher, stated, she's one of the most unassuming, down-to-earth, most brilliant students she's ever known. She goes above and beyond with every assignment. She never takes shortcuts. Her meticulous work has paid off in both her perfect class average and her AP scores last year. Amanda is as much of a superstar outside of the classroom as she is inside of the classroom. She's a member of the National Art Honor Society, the Foreign Language Honor Society, and the National Honor Society. She's also a member of the Middle Country Varsity Gymnastics Team, where she is a two-time Scholar Athlete Award winner, helped the team toward a Suffolk County League II Championship, and was named All-American Team Member of Middle Country Gymnastics. Outside of Newfield, Amanda volunteers in garbage cleanups in the
014town of Brookhaven with her team, was a homework helper at Middle Country Public Library, and is a gymnastics coach at New Era Gymnastics. In her three and a half years at Newfield, she and I have never sat down and had an in-depth conversation. So I took the opportunity to do just that and to get to know Amanda a little bit more than what we already know about her on paper. She's such a cool kid. I can understand the high number of nominations I received for her being the one most worthy of earning this award for this month. Her parents, who are both here tonight, are her inspiration and her motivation. Amanda says they've always believed in her and have encouraged her to work hard and to never give up. As our conversation continued, Amanda expressed
015her passion for three things, math, science, and food. Cooking food. Cooking food. Her best dish? Broccoli cheddar soup. We're in agreement that it's the best thing on the menu at Panera, in the bread bowl, of course, and she, with her parents in agreement, believe that her homemade version is better. So, Amanda, I will provide the bread bowls, you'll provide the soup, and I can just add to the support that you have that yours is the best. Deal? Excellent. Amanda has applied to Stony Brook University, LIU, and St. Joe's, and after graduating from Newfield this coming spring, she'll go in undecided, but will likely select a major consisting of plenty of math and or science. Amanda, regardless of your chosen major when you begin your next journey, I'm confident that you will thrive given the kind,
016diligent person that you are, filled with incredible character and integrity. Thank you for making Newfield High School a better place, and congratulations on being named Newfield High School's Student of the Month of February. Congratulations, Amanda. Can I now please have Mr. Bell to the podium? Good evening. It's with great pleasure that I introduce Sadia Huda as the Center H High School Student of the Month. Some members of the board may recognize Sadia as she's represented middle country so well this past weekend at the legislative breakfast held at Longwood Middle School on Saturday. I thought it would be fun for you to see one of our treasured students in action before presenting her this evening. Sadie's selection was an easy one, as she was recommended by a number of her teachers. Her intelligence, poise, and maturity
017set her apart from her peers. Plus, I have to say, she's pretty funny. Her sense of humor definitely catches people off guard. We actually had a lengthy discussion back in the fall regarding events for class competition in which she felt strongly that there should be an event in which participants must bowl, sing acapella, and flip bottles. Interestingly, all apparent strengths for Sadia. Academically, she's outstanding. Throughout high school, she's excelled in the classroom while challenging herself along the way. Her weighted GPA is a 97.1, which places her in the top 50 of our senior class. She'll graduate in June with more than 30 college credits. What's telling about Saadi is that she has a wide array of interests. In fact, I just noted to her this week, how many seniors would really stay ninth period of
018their last semester to take a sculpture class? I don't know. Sadia basically does it all. She's a member of our National Honor Society, the Spanish Language Honor Society, the National Art Honor Society, and our Tri-M Honor Society. She embodies the four criteria for admission for these groups, leadership, character, scholarship, and service. She volunteers her time through these organizations and also on her own. She's volunteered incredible hours at venues such as the Middle Country Public Library, the Sachem Public Library, instructing young girls through cheerleading, painting sets for the musical, and the list goes on and on. Somehow, she finds time to work more than 20 hours per week at a local CVS and is a member of our varsity bowling team, which actually won today. It's incredible what Sadie accomplishes in a week while handling all
019of her coursework. As I stated, the teachers were quite vocal in nominating Sadia. To quote a few, Mr. Seif, her AP bio teacher last year states, Sadia is awesome. She always goes above and beyond. She brought great energy to the classroom and brings that same positive energy to the halls of Center H. Ms. Liguori notes that Sadia is a pleasure in class. She's friendly, enthusiastic, and asks great questions. Ms. Reynolds, her Spanish teacher, agreed, knowing that Sadia routinely takes the lead in group projects and is comfortable presenting to her peers. And lastly, I had to reach out to her bowling coach, Ms. Patinella. She added that Sadia works hard and always has a smile on her face. She's a great teammate who always shows respect to her opponents and coaches. She's a big ball of
020joy and will be missed next year for sure, she told me to say. Interestingly, my take on Sadie is that she always puts others first and genuinely cares about the well-being of those around her. Simply put, she's a student that every teacher wants in their class, the daughter every parent hopes for, and the friend that we all look to in times of need. Sadie's been accepted to a number of schools and is still weighing her options. She's certain that she will pursue a double major in biology and computer science. She has a definite path of study that she plans to follow. I think the bottle-flipping club is going to influence which school she chooses. Saadia, congratulations. Thank you for all you've done here, but most importantly, thank you for caring about others. That's the mark
021you'll leave on our school. Congratulations, Saadia, and thank you so much for representing us at Longwood Breakfast. Now for Athletes of the Month, if I could please have Mr. Mercado to the podium. Good evening. I'd like to begin this evening with our Newfield Athletes of the Month, and the first athlete I'm going to introduce is... a Newfield wrestler who has the perfect name to go with the sport, and that is Payne Weinhauer. He'll be introduced by his coach, Mr. Frank Anton. Good evening, members of the board, Mr. Mercado, and the middle country community. Thank you for having us here this evening to honor these fine student athletes. Payne Weinhauer is a remarkable young man. that I am honored to call my wrestler. He enters the wrestling room for every practice every day with a smile
022and a handshake, ready to work. His work ethic in the room is second to none. He is a fierce competitor on the mat and a caring and genuine human off the mat. Most recently, oh, excuse me, Payne has suffered setbacks earlier this season, but he has pushed through them. Most recently, he was able to avenge a loss to the Copaig wrestler he suffered in the duel, beating the Copaig wrestler in the league championship semifinals. His finals match was beautiful, as Payne dominated every position and controlled the entire match from start to finish to become the 2023 140-pound League 3 champion. This Monday and Tuesday, Payne will be competing in the Suffolk County Championships at Stony Brook University. We will fight for a county title and a chance to represent Newfield and Section 11 at the
023state championships in Albany in two weeks. Payne is also closing in on his 100 career varsity wins. With just nine more wins needed, he has a great chance to achieve this amazing milestone. Payne is an amazing young man and an outstanding representative of the middle country community, Newfield High School, and the Newfield Wrestling Program. I am honored to be his coach and to present him to you this evening as Middle Country Student Athlete of the Month, Payne Weinhauer. On a very brief side note, obviously everybody knows that Newfield Wrestling was all over Newsday, and I went up to Payne the other night at a Selden match, and I said, Payne, you're a league champion. In some ways, I'm sorry that you kind of took a backseat to everything. And Payne, in the true Middle Country
024way, all he said was... I'm just glad that we're all doing so great. So no care about himself and just a true teammate. And Coach is doing a great job at his program. Of course, half the wrestling team is here once again tonight to celebrate their teammate. Next is our Newfield Female Athlete of the Month. And she's going to be introduced actually by the Center Reach Kickline Coach, Ms. Jessica Cassioli. And that's Isabella Miller. Okay. I'm pleased to be reading this on behalf of Coach Marissa Siaka. She is the Newfield Kickline Coach, and these are her words. I'm so proud to present Junior Isabella Miller as the female representative for Newfield's Athlete of the Month. Bella and her family have been a part of the Newfield Varsity Kickline program since 2017 when her older sister,
025Alyssa, was on our team. Bella would support from the stands and travel to Nationals to watch and cheer us on. Finally, fall 2020, it was her turn to participate, but unfortunately, COVID had other plans. Thankfully, the seasons were adjusted so we had the opportunity to perform for a few games, but did not nearly compare to our full competitive program. The next year as a sophomore, Bella came to tryouts fired up and eager for the experience. She's been watching from the outside for so many years. She had been training so hard and was one of the few athletes who kept herself growing and challenged at home while we spent time in lockdown. She was ready for it. She dominated her first competitive season and set the bar high for years to come. This year, she was
026elected as a junior captain due to her leadership, encouragement of others, skill set, and focus. These qualities were also recognized by our National Dance Alliance summer camp counselors as she was selected for the All-American team. She is such a reliable teammate and a hard-working, disciplined individual. Recently, she has been gaining the attention of the college dance teams and is already setting her sights high to finish strong for her senior year next year. I couldn't think of anyone so deserving of this award. I am so proud of the dancer, student, and young woman she has become, and we look forward to her bright future. Thank you. We're going to keep Coach right up here because we're going to move to our Center Reach Athletes of the Month, and the Female Athlete of the Month for Center
027Reach is Center Reach Kickline athlete Victoria Bellis. I am so excited to be speaking about Victoria Bellis today as Athlete of the Month for Center Reach High School. She is the Senior Captain of Center Reach Varsity Kickline and is beyond deserving of this award. She has been a dancer throughout the duration of her life and has truly helped the kick line team take flight as she puts her training to the test constantly. Year after year, I have witnessed resilience, perseverance, and hard work come to light with this student. Tori has been recognized with the All-American as well at her first National Dance Alliance camp this summer and has also been recognized as the most valuable player last year for the team's progress in 2022. She will be helping to lead her team in their first
028nationals this season, which shows the program's growth over the years. Tori utilizes her gift in so many ways, including choreography ideas, determination, and encouragement for her team members. She is always looking out for the best interests of her team and not just herself. She helps create daily plans for the team and enlightens them with excitement. She embodies the term captain, and I have been honored to grow such a strong connection with her. I can only imagine how much strength she will continue to embrace as she goes on her way to the college experience, but I know her presence and value will be missed by each and every one of us. Thank you all for joining me and acknowledging her tonight. Next, we move to our Center Reach Male Athlete of the Month. It's my pleasure
029to introduce Middle Country Track and Field athlete Owen Arbocus. Coach Adler could not be here this evening, but he did send along these words. Owen showed signs of great potential last spring as a junior, but he came into his senior year with a desire to really improve and seek a higher level of performance that was certainly noticeable. He made several decisions to fully commit to track his track career this year. First, by running in the winter season instead of playing basketball, and secondly, by making the necessary adjustments to his BOCES schedule so that he can attend practices daily on time. Owen began the season training with distance runners, and while he was running well, we thought he should try running a mid-distance race to see how he can perform there. And so Owen ran the
030600-meter race for the first time in just January. In his first attempt, he became our fastest 600-meter runner on the team, which says a lot because the 600 runners are very good from middle country. I think we were all excited to see where he could take this. In only his second time running the race, he took home the silver medal at the league championship meet. And in just those two races, he qualified for the county meet, which he just ran this past Saturday and again improved on his time. He is now amongst the best in the county and is waiting for tomorrow night's seating meeting to see if he will advance to the state qualifier meet. In addition to his individual success, Owen is a key part of our 4x4 relay team, which also has
031a chance to advance to the state qualifier meet. Owen is one of the most coachable athletes I have ever had the pleasure of coaching and is as respectful and successful in the classroom as he is on the track. It's a pleasure to present the January Athlete of the Month to Owen Arbocus. Next, we move to our Middle Country Athletes of the Month, and it's my pleasure to introduce Newfield basketball player Kyle Miliano. Coach Gallo couldn't be here this evening, but he sent along these words. Coach Gallo nominated Kyle Miliano for January Athlete of the Month because of his leadership off the court and strong evidence and play on the court. His presence for this program on a day-to-day basis is extremely important to our team. For the month of January, Kyle averaged 12 points, 9
032boards, 2 steals, and 2 assists. Kyle suffered an ankle injury in the end of December, keeping him out for several games. Came back stronger than ever, putting up terrific numbers for the team and getting three wins in the process, including a monster 19-point and 21-rebound game against Connequa. As a senior and a player in the program for several years, it is an honor and pleasure to have Kyle win this award, not only for himself, but for the team and program he plays for. Kyle Miliano. Our female athlete of the month is not here this evening as she is playing in a game, Raya Reed. She'll be recognized at the March 8th Board of Ed meeting. Thank you. Thank you and congratulations to all the athletes. If I could please have Ms. Fallon, PTA Vice President
033for Bicycle Path, to the podium for a report on PTA. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to share a little bit about what Bicycle Path PTA has been doing so far this year. We would like to thank Mrs. Concerino and all of our teachers and staff at Bicycle Path for everything they've done for our children to help them adjust to the start of the school year and to help the PTA have a successful year. We couldn't do anything without their support. We started off the year with our membership drive and discussed the importance of the PTA membership and all that the PTA brings to our schools. In September, we had a welcome back picnic where families were able to meet other families in the school and the kids had a chance to dance and
034play with the DJ. They had fresh popped popcorn and ices. We also held our fall book fair in September, and the students were so excited to shop, and we had a huge turnout of parent helpers coming in to help the children shop for books. In October, we had a pumpkin patch where the children sprinkled pumpkin dust on the field, and the pumpkins grew overnight, making it so that every student would have a pumpkin in the morning. We hosted our trick-or-treat street where the children trick-or-treated down the halls of Bicycle Path down to the gym where they then played old-fashioned games and had a lot of fun. We took up on a food drive, and the community donated so much food for the Bicycle Path families in need. It was amazing. In November, we put up
035lawn signs for our veterans and asked anyone who had a veteran in their family to please take a picture with our sign and send it to us. And then there was a beautiful slideshow made with those pictures. It was displayed at our PTA meeting. We also held a frozen pie fundraiser in perfect time for Thanksgiving. We had an overwhelming amount of support for this fundraiser and sold so much. Each meeting, we hold a raffle at the end of our meeting for any student who comes to the meeting. They receive the raffle, and at the end of each meeting, we gift them a little special prize. In the month of November, we also thanked our parents for supporting us, and they entered a raffle as well. Our holiday fair was in December, and the children had
036so much fun shopping along with the adults, the parents, volunteers. Our holiday fair... Our Sweetheart Dance is coming up as well. It's the 100th day of school where every child will receive a gift from the PTA. We are still planning events to bring more exciting activities to Bicycle Path throughout the rest of the school year. Thank you again for the chance to speak all about the wonderful things happening at Bicycle Path and for your continued support. Thank you, Ms. Fallon. And on behalf of the board, we thank all of our volunteers and the PTA and all that you do for our students. So thank you. Attention all, we're going to have a brief intermission for photos. So for all those parents, coaches, teachers, and the students to go out in the hallway and have photos
037taken with Ms. Pabon. Thank you. That's okay. No, I'm sure you did everything right. I don't know whether, because there was definitely a presentation canceled today. Thank you so much. If you could just have a seat, we're going to continue now. Thank you so much. I'm now going to turn the microphone over to Dr. Rella for a special presentation. So an update will be given on the federal spending learning loss ARPA and CARISA grants. As you can see from the dates that are listed, there has been numerous updates on these grants. This is the 11th update. To utilize the funds toward addressing the areas of learning loss through the implementation of evidence-based interventions such as summer learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive after-school programs, or extended school year programs, and to ensure such interventions
038respond to the students' academic, social, and emotional needs. The time frame for the grant was from March 13th to 2020 and expires on September 30th, 2024. The second grant called the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, or what we refer to as the CARISA grant. This requires the district to utilize the funds toward preventing, preparing for, and responding to the COVID-19. The timeframe for this grant was also March 13, 2020, but expires one year earlier this coming September 30, 2023. Categories represent how the certain funds must be spent and these were how the categories they were given to us and the allocations within each of the categories. So there were four major categories. The funding was broken down into learning loss, summer education, extended day, and other allowable. Within those four categories, the district
039then planned how to use the allowable costs within those types of funding. So within summer education, the district had an enrichment program as well as a credit recovery. Within the extended day funding, there's an extended day program. Under learning loss or other allowable, it was for instructional support and staffing. And the other allowable was broken down into three areas, including staff development, student assessment, and instructional materials. technology and communication, and operational and COVID related. Just to give a little bit more detail into each of the programs, so the summer enrichment credit recovery, there was a summer enrichment program for one summer and credit recovery planned for four summers. The extended day for student support and enrichment, clubs were added to the elementary, middle, and high school levels, including transportation for elementary. Instructional support and staffing.
040This included the elementary middle school class size reduction, support for the ALC program, team leaders, capstone mentor teacher, character education, math support, PE support, deans at the middle school, class coverage, BOCES occupational education, and chaperone costs. Under the staff development and student assessment and instructional materials, there was allocations and spending for different staff professional development, the I-Ready student assessment, textbooks for ELA and mathematics, and individual student supplies. Under technology and communication, this supported the purchase of Chromebooks for students and staff, desktop computers, TV monitors and smart boards, electronics, exterior signage, software costs, including licensing and apps. Under the operational and COVID-related, this supported additional security that was needed, nursing, class coverage, and a playground at Holbrook Road. This grant was more, as you can see, more instructionally based. The Carissa grant was a different type
041of funding and allocation. So this was more to prevent and stop the spread of COVID as it was laid out in the details of the grant. So it was more operationally based. You can see there was three different types of allocations for the Carissa as well. How this grant was broken down, there were five different categories. So COVID-related, you were allowed to apply for all of the costs that were incurred during the 2021 school year that were related to COVID. You were allowed to apply to cover those costs within this grant. This grant also covered the costs of the district-wide COVID coordinators. There was 10 additional custodial staff. members added one at each elementary school cleaning supplies and ppe supplies so this included cleaning supplies mirv filters duct cleaning and any type of ppe supplies
042that were needed for technology this also included purchases for chromebooks for students and staff So the ARP grant has, it continues until September 30th of 2024. So we're basically about in the middle of the grant. So in the categories that were listed above, the learning loss, today we have expended about $2.2 million of the allocation or about 52% of the entire allocation. For summer education, we have expended $608,000 or 73% of the entire allocation. For extended day. approximately 420 000 or about half of what has been allocated for that um that grant and the other allowable approximately 2 million or 28 of the total allocation has been expended In regards to the Carissa grant, that one is coming to an end this September. So it does make sense that the grant is more expended at
043this time since that grant is coming to an end sooner. So at this point, the district has expended 7.6 or 85% of the total allocation for the grant. So just some additional information. Each plan will be re-evaluated, revised, and updated continuously by the district to ensure that the changing needs of our student population are addressed appropriately and funding is efficiently and effectively utilized. The expenses are recorded in the federal aid fund and that will not be reliant on the general fund. As funding concludes, the learning loss initiatives will be transitioned out or will need to be budgeted for in the general fund. In addition, if funding is withheld or cut, modifications to the plans will be made. We did not go through the full narrative of the grant, but I included the links to the
044original full narrative of each of the grants. And that concludes the update. Thank you, Dr. Rella. Do any board members have any questions or comments? Okay, thank you very much. Moving on to board commentary, Mr. Halleck. First, I want to say congratulations to all the students of the month, the athletes of the month. all their hard work. That's one of the main reasons we're here. It's great to see that, like we say every single meeting. Okay, so I have a few things I want to bring up. I'm not trying to be critical of them. I'm just trying to... The first thing I want to talk about is the ad hoc drug committee that we're doing. I just want to make sure that we're not falling short for it. I know we've got a lot of
045things working, starting off, where we're going to be. I just want to make sure that the concerns of the parents that have come up here and had voiced their concerns are really met. I'm wondering if there's anything that we could do immediately to try to help those people. You know, kids are doing drugs in our schools. That's something that I feel strongly that we should be figuring out if that's happening and those students being disciplined. It's our job as parents to let our kids know. not to be doing drugs, that they're bad, and make sure that they're not doing them. And it's the school's obligation to make sure that doesn't happen on school grounds. So I just want to make sure that that's our main focus or one of the focuses in that committee, that
046we're making sure that enforcement of that kind of thing is going on as well as education and whatnot. I just don't want to just be an educational thing. I want to make sure that we are looking into that as well. Another thing I had, the public input reports that we do for public input for every month. I'm just trying to make sure that we're all on the same page of it. I don't know who drafts those, that administrative thing or whatnot, is done by the president or whatnot, when we reply to people from it. Maybe we could all be on the same page with that and collectively say something as a board for that. And the last thing I wanted to say, I just wanted to say thank you to our fire departments and specifically
047Senator Regent Selden here in Middle Country. I got family, friends, coworkers. First of all, to myself, they do a great job. I really support them. I think we all do, of course. You know, they work tirelessly. They're volunteers just like us. Their job is a lot harder than ours, of course. I just want to say thank you to both the Center, Houston Civil Fire Department for everything that they do. Thank you. Ms. Mann-Rodriguez? So just quickly, I'm sorry. I feel like I'm losing my voice. So I just wanted to talk a bit about what the high schools are doing to celebrate Black History Month. And I just think it's very important. I know Center H, Mr. Bell, they're putting together a celebration. I think it is on the 16th. of February or the 17th or
04816th and it's at 7 p.m. I believe it's in the back gym. There's going to be food and dancing and music and a guest speaker from Stony Brook University. I can't pronounce his last name but he is an African Studies full professor and he'll be giving a talk and I invite everybody. It's going to be amazing. I'm going to be there. I'm making my buttermilk cornbread. So, you know. You should probably get down here. That's all I'm going to say. But it's going to be a lot of fun, drum circles, all of that. So please come in and join in at Newfield. I don't think there's a specific celebration, but I know that they're doing special things throughout the month. They are having different slideshows, different announcements in the morning. So I just am happy
049that this is happening because black history is American history. And I think it's good that everybody knows what's going on, right? Okay. That's all for me. Thank you. Ms. Haggerty? Just kind of quickly and on a light note, my heart was stolen tonight by those six children from Bicycle Path. I don't think I'll ever get over them. And again, not to... I envy you your job. Today I envy you your job. I can see why you're so happy. And again, the usual, what great representations of the district and the work that's being done here came before us tonight. Incredible students being led by incredible parents and teachers and administrators, and thank you to the entire community for producing these superstars that we get to see every... every time we meet. And lastly, I am very
050optimistic that the newly formed drug alcohol addiction prevention program is going to address the needs of the community. It is made up of quite a diverse group of people, including, I think as we said last time, and if we didn't, Catholic Health Services, who is looking... to invest heavily into our school community so i agree with you rob we've got to step forward we've got to step it out step it up and i feel fully confident that this committee is heading in that direction thank you thank you miss barisi yes thank you i'd like to read an email that i had gotten from a parent Our music program is amazing. I really think Ms. Mayoka and Mr. Martinez need some recognition. They get the 8th to 12th grades together for a strong social call to
051welcome the 8th graders into their high school orchestra program. It's so amazing. They have snacks in the cafeteria for them, and they all just mingle and dance and hang out. Such a great experience. I know, Dr. Gerald, you and me, I keep talking about our story. And here's another story that even though I'm on the board, I did not know that was happening. And I really think it's a really nice introduction for them. The other thing is our Selden Middle School cheerleaders, for the first time ever, are number six in the county out of 24. And we wish the cheerleaders well on their trip to Florida and safe trip there and back. And also at the regional breakfast, our student was amazing. She really was really wonderful. But one of the things that really stuck
052out was there's going to be no mask and no vaccine. They will not mandate it. So anybody else want to know what happened at that legislative breakfast? A lot of things were going on, and a lot of the legislators were supporting all of the questions for the most part. So it was really good. Thank you. Thank you. And that's our story. Ms. Walsh? Just to tag along to Rob's interest and concern with the drug committee, I had also requested through the county a resource book. That is, I'm hoping we can find a link for it somewhere on our webpage. And it lists all kinds of assistance for parents who are struggling with children that they know are engaged. in drug and alcohol and to help parents. Sometimes your opportunity comes in the middle of the
053night or when it's the most inconvenient time and people need to be ready at the drop of a hat to get their children the services they need. I was able to get a great resource. We'll be putting that hopefully on the website and I am looking forward to the diverse committee we have. It's quite large. And I'm really excited about what we're doing with this. It's much needed. So on that note, I wanted to mention we went to Cake Wars at New Lane. It was phenomenal. They were so excited, the kids, their families. It was so hard for the parents to keep their hands behind their backs and not help them. Some of them did help. But what a great event, getting out at night and seeing the kids engaged. the community events and getting
054recognized. Of course, they all wanted to win, but it was a fun event. And I wanted to mention Newfield's own Sean Boyle was called up for spring training as a relief pitcher for the Yankees. So we're so proud of him. Our students continue to do amazing things. So we wish Sean good luck, and we hope that, you know, maybe we could do a field trip as a board and go watch him in the Bronx. Thank you. Ms. Feldman? Okay. Oh, that's too close. On January 25, 2023, a gentleman from the Center Ridge Fire Department came to address the board about comments I made at the December 7, 2022 board meeting. He was respectful yet stern. I listened to him, and when I heard him repeat my words, I was heartbroken. I did not realize the
055anguish and hurt it caused. That was not my intention, but it was the result. First, I must thank this gentleman for addressing this issue. I never would have known my mistake. Second, I am truly sorry for what I said. I was wrong. I respect the work the fire department and the EMTs do. This board and this school district respect and appreciate everything they do. To my fellow board members, the cabinet, and the community, I am sorry for putting all of you in an uncomfortable position, an awkward position. Once again, I am really, truly sorry for what I said. Thank you. Mr. Feeney? Yes. I just want to say, and Mr. Mercado helped me here because I can't remember the exact title, but I did not want to not acknowledge. I know we've been in Newsday,
056but I just think it was a phenomenal feat with Juliana winning that. Being in seventh grade. Being a female in a male-dominated sport, I just wanted to acknowledge her and congratulate her. I think she is an inspiration, and I'm sure we will hear a lot more about her in years to come. So I just wanted to acknowledge that. Oh, yeah, that's our story. Thank you. We have minutes from January 25th. If there are no corrections or comments, we'll accept the minutes. OK. Consent agenda. Anita. Thank you. Are you ready to go home? Instruction, no action. People, personnel, any questions or comments? Personnel instructional? Personnel classified? Robby, OK? Or finance? Questions, comments? All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. Moving on to superintendent report. 23-02-SR-1, Section 11, Field Hockey County Championship, Fall 2023, waiver of fees
057policy number 1500, use of facilities. 15,000. 1500, I was right. Ryan, sorry. Move it. Second. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. 23-02-SR-2, Girls Varsity Leaders Club, waiver of fees, policy 1500, use of facilities. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. 23-02-SR-3, Memorandum of Agreement, retirement waiver. Move it. All those in favor? Opposed motion carries and 23-02-sr-4 Office of the Attorney General assurance of discontinuation discontinuance and monitor appointment All those in favor opposed motion carries Moving on to policy This is the first reading of 2302 P01 for policies 4321-12, use of alternative space and physical engagement, physical holding. 6830, expense reimbursement. 8505, mean charge and prohibition against meal shaming. 9580, unaffiliated staff. I wasn't done, sorry. I thought you were talking. I know it's a lot, I'm sorry. Unaffiliated staff benefit package and 9645 disclosure
058of wrongful conduct. Wait, what did I say? Oh, okay. I said meal, right? My mind went there. Second. Did you second it? All in favor? Motion carries. Moving on to correspondence. My usual, just please make sure you're checking your emails, you're responding to Stephanie. If anything changes, please let her or myself know. Unfinished business. New business. Committee reports. Ms. Walsh. I just want to make mention, the Education Foundation will be having its annual golf outing this year on August 1st. Everything will be put together. Flyers will be going out. But I want to encourage everyone to participate. And we also have the option for people to come just for the lunch if they don't want to golf, just to support the scholarship program and the foundation itself. So we will have more details coming. It
059will be on the website once we finalize everything. But I just want to get the date out there. Thank you. Ms. Barisi? Well, Ms. Schrock, definitely chime in because we were at a legislative meeting. One of the things that was discussed was the free meals. Although the governor did not have it in this budget, there's going to be some push for her to include it in the budget by April 1st. We talked about the mental health initiatives and the Board of Elections with the polling polls. That's not going to go away, even though it wasn't so receptive on anybody's part. But I'm sure the committee is going to keep pushing that. And again with the swing arm cameras. And we figured the lunch should cost maybe $275 for a student for the year, which is
060like 65 cents a day. So hopefully, you know, with the push from all the agencies that are pushing it, NISBUR and superintendents and all that, so that hopefully we'll get it. And we do have a nice... Yeah, we also have Kennedy Legislator Kennedy is writing us a letter on our behalf to get the Board of Elections to the table with us so that we can discuss relocating polling sites, alternative sites, and just to hear what their end of it is as well and see if we can compromise and work together. So we are on that. We'll be having a meeting. It'll be smaller. I don't think it'll be committee-level size because I don't want it to be overwhelming. So we'll have a select... i guess meeting we're also pleased if you do support the free
061lunch for all we do have a link on the website um we have a lot of like miss barisi said agencies that are also advocating for this we're going to be testifying and putting testimony in up in albany also for the swing arm camera we have a little bit of a concern because i don't know if anybody saw the article in newsday but um this legislation that we worked so hard to get passed has already brought into suffolk county alone 25 million dollars so when you need to think of that in the terms of how many cars are illegally passing a stopped school bus that is a lot it's a 250 fine There seems to be the Suffolk County legislature is looking into this because there are a lot of people complaining because you get
062hit with a $250 ticket and you're not so happy and all of a sudden you didn't realize this program, you didn't realize the rules. So our concern is because there seem to be that there are negotiations to make changes to this program. So I'm concerned that we're only hearing the voice of the people that are unhappy with the program because they're being ticketed. So I'm going to go to Suffolk County legislature and I'm going to testify. as a voice of being pro this program. We need this. If we still have $25 million in revenue, we still have a serious problem, and it's a child's life. So I think a few of us from the committee may go to do that to testify and make sure this program stays in place because before this, 55,000 cars
063a day in the state of New York were illegally passing a stopped school bus. So that's part of our mission in this committee as well. Thank you. Thank you for attending. Yes, Miss Feldman. When you had gone to legislators the last time, you brought students with you. Would you think of doing that this time, too? Yeah, it's definitely, I think it's much more impactful. And in fact, the young lady who spoke at... Longwood Breakfast, she said to me in the hallway, she said, thank you for the opportunity. And I said, I think it's important for students to get involved. And she said, I do too. And I think they listen to us more. And she's right on. When you have a 10-year-old at the podium, it's a lot different than a 40-something-year-old woman asking you
064to do something. So I think that it definitely would be worthwhile, possibly, to do another field trip. So thank you. Mr. Feeney. The Educational Advancement Committee met today. Joe Mercado, the Director of Phys Ed, Health, and Athletics provided the committee with an update on the work of the Drug and Alcohol Prevention Committee. They'll be meeting on February 15th, and their focus is how to bring in resources for our secondary schools. The district has entered into a partnership with Catholic Health Services who provide resources such as social workers and counselors. They are focused on middle country solely and are in the process of setting up a building across from the Selden Fire Department. Predictive types of services will be provided there. There's also going to be presentations by Drug Enforcement Agent Charles Bernard for all ninth
065and tenth grade students in both high schools and in the middle school to talk to students about the realities of drug use. Mr. Mercado also told the committee that we are scheduling free heart screenings for all athletes next fall. BASED ON CIRCUMSTANCES THAT OBVIOUSLY PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF. SOCIAL STUDIES COORDINATOR AMY PACIFICO NEXT GAVE AN UPDATE ON THE STATE SEAL OF CIVIC READINESS, WHICH INVOLVED UPDATING THE CURRICULUM OF OUR LEADERSHIP AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES COURSES AND ADDING STUDENT PRESENTATIONS FOR THEIR CAPSTONE PROJECTS. IT SHOULD MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE STATE FOR AN ENDORSEMENT OF CIVIC READINESS FOR THEIR DIPLOMAS. Science coordinator Rachel Andimbera provided an update on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee's recent community session on January 26th, focused with setting up norms and objectives for creating a welcoming and affirming environment for all of
066our students, realizing that if they can learn, they learn best when they have a sense of belonging. Rachel then described the work that had begun with Stony Brook University's curriculum materials for adaptation and incorporation into fourth and fifth grades. The cradle aviation activities would support the offshore wind energy curriculum, and the middle school research experience would be moved to seventh grade from eighth grade with an emphasis on sustainable energy resources. Students would then do their presentations of their projects at Stony Brook University. Guidance Director Mark Palios gave the committee an update on the work of the district and building attendance teams. Positive rewards and restorative practices are being looked at on the elementary level in coordination of the ConnectED calls with the monitoring of attendance and a focus on dropout prevention on the secondary level
067with the interventions being discussed. Math coordinator Ryan Milano then discussed the changing state assessments in math on the elementary level and the sequence of skills required in Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 with curriculum writing occurring prior to these new regents exams. And Kyrie Siegel, ELA coordinator, then informed the committee that the literary expo will be on April 17th and that the theme would be Happy Dreamers. The expo will be at each elementary school and will involve local authors, poetry contests, and taking stance essays. A LOT OF GREAT STUFF. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? ANY COMMITTEE REPORTS? LIAISON TO COMMITTEE REPORTS? ANYBODY? So I just wanted to just commend Rachel, again, just for having the parent EI meeting. It was so much fun, I have to say. It was nice to hear everybody's different perspectives and
068just different experiences in life that make us who we are. And it was just such a great time, and I really look forward to the next parent meeting, and I'm sure a lot of the other parents do. So thank you. Thank you. Follow-up board discussion? public input i'm going to respond to last meeting's public input Ms. Feldman has already addressed the one community member that spoke. We had another community member. Mr. Mercado has spoken with him directly. He had a concern about a coaching concern, and Mr. Mercado and him have spoken. We also had a parent speak on her concern that free COVID tests caused an increase in health insurance rates. Health insurance rates are actually not impacted by free tests, which are federally supported, but rather increased in medical claims, including expenses related to
069COVID cases. The parent cited a statistic that one in seven children suffer from food insecurity and spoke of her opposition to universal free meals, indicating that free isn't free. The parent also questioned why a legislative committee initiative ADVOCACY FOR SUPPORT OF UNIVERSAL MEALS WAS ALLOWED, BUT AN INFORMATIONAL ITEM REGARDING OPPOSITION TO FEDERAL TITLE IX PROPOSAL THAT SHE REQUESTED BE DESCIMATED, BE GIVEN OUT TO THE COMMUNITY WAS NOT PERMITTED. THE PARENT IS INVITED TO JOIN THE DISTRICT'S LEGISLATIVE AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH SO THAT SHE CAN BE INVOLVED IN DECISIONS ABOUT ADVOCACY PRIORITIES. NO PUBLIC INPUT THIS EVENING. THANK YOU. WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER. BEFORE I CALL UP THE SPEAKER, I JUST WANT TO REMIND Ms. Arbogast, are you going to speak this evening? Okay. Just want to remind you it's three minutes, and I will advise you
070when your time is up. And at that point, please just wrap up your paragraph at that point. Thank you. Just a reminder, we're going to be conducting ourselves in a civil manner, as well as if you have any... personal concerns, student related or staff related, this is not the forum to be discussing that. If you have any issues, directly bring it to the superintendent during business hours. Lastly, just know that the Board of Education, this is not a public hearing, therefore they're not going to respond. And if your comments need to be responded to, you'll either be contacted directly or at the next board meeting. All right, thank you. Hello, everybody. One, I forgot last meeting. Thank you so much for many of the families in middle country for sending the letter to Governor Hochul
071regarding our concerns about the COVID mandates. And you had mentioned that they're not looking to do that, which is wonderful for so many families, for all families, really. So I'm the parent that addressed the free lunch for all. and Mrs. Kimberly Crawford, our vocus. And I am concerned. I just happened to get an email from a friend, and I did forward it to you guys before I came tonight, regarding the need for funds for food for people on Long Island. And it really, because free lunch for all, a family like mine does not need a free lunch, which we're very fortunate that we're in that financial situation. to be promoting something where one in seven kids, and that came from a PTA email, a national PTA, or it might have been national PTA email, the
072one in seven. So that means six families don't need this free-for-all. What I wrote was if we can please look into organizations that can help our community members. The email I forwarded you actually came to me this afternoon from Long Island Cares. So Long Island Cares, their funding is being cut by $22 million from the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program. And that's vital for helping our community. And those are helping the people that need the food, not families like mine that don't need my kid. I don't need my kid going in for a free lunch. But we need to be able to fund food for those that are food insecure because it is a mental health issue if they're hungry. And we're just providing lunch where these food banks can provide breakfasts, dinners, and
073in their own homes this food. So it's very important. I did send you a link because they're asking us to be involved in. Writing to governor Hatchell for this program It's a petition by Long Island cares and if we could please put that on the middle country website to support our community because it's also to support our community farms and the information that came again from Long Island cares is that We have over 4,000 New York farms and we are asking the state to increase this program from 50 million to 75 million as Our farmers have been disproportionately impacted by the supply chain issue associated with COVID-19. There are 726,000 children, again, I'm quoting from Long Island Cares email, in our state of New York that do not have food, okay, that are food insecure.
074So to fund banks that help those families. is what we should be fighting for rather than trying to support food and lunch for my children and the six families that do not need that food. Okay, because we can supply it and we can donate and donate food, donate funds because we're in that position. And I'd rather see our energy going to that to support kids when they go home on weekends that these food banks are well stocked and well funded rather than giving my kids what they don't need and oversupplying in the school and waste. Because you see if you go into the cafeteria, you're gonna see those carrots go in the garbage You're gonna see the carrots. They make good fling toys as my middle school. Your time is up. Okay, so thank you
075very much, please Take a look at the email. I sent you with the link. Thank you Thank you. I'm sorry We're just so you know, we don't have any email from you. So maybe resend it when you get back. Yeah. Thank you I need a motion to adjourn All those in favor Opposed motion carries. Thank you all have a good evening