001and that the adequate notice was provided by written notice on February 4th, 2026 and sent to the Courier News, Star Ledger and Tap into Wachung as well as posted on the district website. This is a regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Borough of Wachung at which formal action may be taken. This meeting is being live streamed on the district website. where a recording of the meeting will also be posted. The public will have an opportunity to be heard as shown on the agenda at points in the meeting provided for the public to address the board. Recording or photographing other than for private personal use requires the consent of parents and guardians whose children may be included in the image. May we have a roll call, Karen? Mrs. Aguilaro? Here. Mr. Desiano? Here.
002Mrs. Harvey? Here. Mr. Kraft? Here. Mrs. Maddox? Here. Mrs. Marcellas? Here. Mrs. Santos? Absent. Mr. Tricot? Here. And Mrs. Amadeo? Here. Okay, thank you. Okay, Erin, why don't you come over and get started on the microphones. I am so excited to announce this evening an excerpt from Annie Jr. from the Valley View Middle School, directed by Lisa Peluso, musical director Doug Radjewicz, I hope I pronounced that right, apologies, and set designer Anna Nestor. We're just turning off the mics here so we can turn them on over there. Yes. Mission comes on. Thank you. So beautiful. Shiva. Ow, don't kick it. I call. All I. Have seen. Never seen. Not here this morning. Want me. NYC. View for warning. I'll be. Speak further on. Fan mail comes addressed to. The one. I know. There's immediate seating.
003Say to some popcorn, I have had popcorn since. Am I back? Hello? Yes. Well, that was officially the best board meeting I've ever attended. That was awesome. That was so fun to watch. Thank you so much. everyone for putting on that little show for us. I can't wait to see it. I should plug the date. The show is April 24th and April 25th at 7 p.m. I hope everyone can join. Tomorrow and Saturday. Tomorrow and Saturday. Tomorrow and Saturday. Okay, so we have a couple presentations this evening. I'm not sure where that noise is coming from. Backstage, perhaps? Okay, we have IT working on it. In the meantime, let's try to move on. I think we'd hear more voices. Tonight, we have a special services audit with Dr. Mary Beth Reardon and Dr. Glazer, and
004we have an HIV report from Dr. Glazer. Okay, are you ready to give us those presentations? Great. We can manage the sound. That didn't occur to me. All right, we're just dealing with some technical difficulties. We'll get on with the presentation in a moment. While we're waiting on this, Dr. Glazer, do you mind if I jump ahead and just make a board goal announcement? Oh, please. Just while we're waiting, a quick board update. We had three board goals set for this year. Our first one was to complete the... Carol E. Larson Master Board Certification. And I received an email in my inbox today with that certification. We did complete that goal. So congratulations to everyone for putting in the time. We all should be proud of ourselves for that. And I can share that little
005certificate with everybody. Our second board goal was to develop a board manual around norms and protocols to help us all work together more collaboratively. And I just want to thank Ms. Maddox for really helping us move that along. We are very close to finishing that. We're in the sort of final revisions phase. And hopefully some, if any ideas will come up in board business this evening on that point. Thank you. Our third board goal. is related to communication of district goals and how the board is communicating how our work reflects those district goals. And that's something that I'll have an update for next month, hopefully. Are you ready for us? I'm sorry, it's me. I'm looking for the view so we can see our stuff. That's the challenge for me. I'm thrilled that it's up
006there. There we go. So, I'm not sure that everybody has met Dr. Mary Beth Riordan. I'm not sure that everybody's met Dr. Mary Beth Riordan. She has been with us since August. She has been a consultant about 20 hours a week, depending on the week. Her company is Hearts and Hands, LLC. And I think you're going to hear... broad scope. For full disclosure, Mary Beth and I worked together in Summit 10 years ago when she was the special services supervisor prior to having her own company. And it has been a gift to have somebody, a third eye, a third ear as we've gone through this process. And I think you'll hear tonight. how much has actually been accomplished. So cuter than usual, no pictures tonight, but looking back to move forward, it's the program review
007of special services. It is a comprehensive look. that we have spent literally this entire year, and we will also talk about going forward. I think that for me, looking at those past practices where we started and being able to really look ahead, figure out how sustainably we reinforce what's been put in place has... again, not just been powerful, it's really been an important part of our work. Oh, just to go forward. Yeah, he has to forward because it's the live stream. You can keep going. Introduced us. So he's changing. Just figured out what's happening. Here's when I change the view. His view changes. That's the problem. Sorry, it's not. Nice. There we go. Okay. So, okay. I'm just going to have to figure this out. So from the looking back, right? Prior to 2019, you
008can see, the superintendent of schools also fulfilled the role of the director of special services. There was a supervisor who oversaw the child study team and the related services, but it was a combined position back then. In 2017, from the community, There was a perception that there were going to be cuts to related services, speech, OT, PT. There were concerns about continuity of paraprofessionals, continuity of the specialists who are working with the children with individualized needs. There was a concern not just about services, but about communication, about cooperation with parents. At that time, Wachung Borough started their special education parent advisory group, CPAC. It was developed for full disclosure and that looking back, CPAC is a requirement, a legal requirement that all school districts have under the administrative code. We're very fortunate. I say this,
009I haven't gotten to the looking ahead. I see though that the president of CPAC, our current president is here. Smita, thank you. And you'll hear how much we appreciate that work. But at this point, it was just beginning, just becoming an opportunity for conversation with the district, with administration, what have you. Along those lines, Erin, oh, there we go. So in 2019, the positions were split. A full-time director of special services was hired in addition to the superintendent. At that time, it was an interim, but the positions became distinct. The direction for the role coming in, new role, address out of district placements, the time there was litigation, manage that litigation, and again, a focus on improving communications with parents and families. Additionally, in that program review, in the short term, starting up of the
010new position, a lot of things were looked at and some significant changes happened. Our preschool program went from half day to full day. It included early intervention as part of that preschool, tuition-based general education, and then our special education students. So there's an opportunity for... all the students to have that opportunity to be included and be together. Integrated kindergarten, meaning our same early assessment children moving either from preschool, from a private program, or into our kindergarten, having special ed teacher and general ed teacher in the same classroom. moving from a third party before and after care program to an in-district program as well as recommendation for additional staffing. The intent, really good intent, an important intent, was not just to become compliant. but to enhance services, improve academic outcomes, right? Amazing ideas came out of
011this. Many of them modeled on effective programs and best practices through research, through other districts. These programs, pre-K is tuition-based, the in-district before and after care. was considered to have some revenue-generating opportunities. The additional staffing, it was felt, would be covered through additional state aid, extraordinary aid, federal funding. The programs continue. They were structured perfectly. But in a small district like us, We're limited, right? We don't have available classroom space to move beyond those two pre-Ks, right, to be able to do revenue generation. In our other classes, I'll start K-4, we don't have available space within the rooms to be able to accept tuition paying out of district. students into our programs at the elementary level. We do have an opportunity at the middle school. We have met with districts, other districts than ours. We
012have welcomed people for tours and parents to date. We do not have tuition paying students in that autism program here at the middle school. It makes it challenging then because our programs the pre-k program prior to our new system after care programs for much of that we operated a deficit We added the necessary staff, right? We needed to have extra teachers, paraprofessionals. We increased related services from partial to full-time in 2019. As you know, in 2023, right, some of the shell game of that came to bear, and you... lost some of the time of the our child study team people don't know psychologist LTDC social worker we have three members of the child study team we have a counselor in each building one of them was not full-time school social worker on that child study
013team not full-time we've been able to restore that but when you have this enhanced programming No matter how diligent you are, you had one person overseeing all of that, overseeing the whole program, trying to recruit and maintain the staffing, the paraprofessionals, the related services. And I'm going to say, you've heard me say it publicly before, we had this new person come in, build the plane, fly the plane, serve the drinks. move the seats around, right? And over time, it became apparent that the one person who is responsible for all of that, the same child study team level shared between two schools, even though there are ever-increasing students that have individual programs. started to have concerns raise again, right? So, Erin, you can go forward. During the strategic planning process, you know, we had our public
014town halls. We had the opportunities for people to come together. We had the... Erin? You're good. I just noticed it. Anyway, you had that opportunity for not just families that receive special services, right? We had the town halls. We had surveys. We got input on the district vision, on our future goals. There you go. Whoops. I don't know what that word is. It's supposed to be inclusive. Inclusive, it's twice even. Inclusive of staff, students, and families, special ed, special services. The feedback we got. also included programs and policies, ideas for services to improve outcomes for students. Multiple, multiple system level challenges were identified during that process. And in the most positive way, this last spring, it also helped us come up with our goals. So our strategic plan goals, student learning and achievement, professional learning,
015development and capacity building. You're going to hear a lot about these and the umbrella in a minute. Aaron, you can keep going. Communication and community engagement, school culture and climate. Those strategic plan goals encompass much of the feedback we were hearing last spring, and we were able to also incorporate that into the district goals. Not just new initiatives, but ensuring that the systems are in place to identify and assist students who face academic challenge, equity, access to learning. not just academic challenges, right? Student and staff engagement, that positive culture. One of the things that became very apparent to me by the time I reached out to Mary Beth was there was a lot of frustration. There was... some fear of saying what needed, right? I need this support or I need this program or how
016do I access this resource? Bringing in a third party, neutral, not tied to us person who has the particular skill, I'm going to say that, of developing rapport and trust has helped us take what we identified, and reach that systemic level. I'm going to go to you. Here you go. Hi. I'm Mary Beth. Hi. Thanks, everybody, for allowing me to work in your district this year. I've really enjoyed it. It's been fun. It's been challenging. It's been gratifying. We continue to do the work. So thank you so much for that. Okay, so Aaron, if you can forward one, that would be great. Thank you. So when I first began, I actually interviewed a lot of the district staff, and I wanted to know three things. I wanted to know from everybody I spoke to, what's
017working well, what is not working well, and what would this concern that you might have look like if it were to be improved upon? So after many, many conversations and really digging deep to find out what your staff was feeling and thinking and anticipating and struggling with. I identified some needs along with Julie and some others and what we really came up with was that if we were to develop clear systemic processes to address and support a lot of the identified district needs for as I wrote here students staff and families that would really improve the efficiency of the work and result in effective outcomes for students and for your staff. Streamlining processes that were consistent across the schools was really important. Schools that address different levels of students often don't function in exactly the
018same way. So I was trying to identify where we could streamline things that would be for the greater good of the whole district. And then we were able to identify some professional development training needs for teachers and for paraprofessionals. Thanks, Aaron. So I took all that information that I gathered. And through these conversations, I compiled a list. and I listed all the goals and concerns and then I returned to all, not all the people, but many of the people who I had spoken to, to have them review and refine that list so I could pare it down to what was really essential and most valuable and would result in the best outcomes for your district. And from that information and those conversations and the refining process, I developed and Julie approved 14 protocols. And the
019principal, sure, they were great. 14 different protocols. So I'm not going to take you through every single protocol because you would be here until tomorrow and then you might not like me anymore. So what we're going to do tonight is I'm going to just read the different titles of them so you get a sense of what I've been doing. There are probably 50 documents in all, and not every staff member would ever access all 50, but they might say, oh, I really need that protocol one. I'm going to fill out that form and see if I can get something done here. Each protocol is assigned a point person. who is responsible and will act in the role of the recipient for the paperwork that would come from a staff member. And that person would be
020responsible to make sure that goes through the right channels to get the job done. Okay? So you can go ahead, Aaron. Thank you. What I'll do is if you look at the left column where it has the protocol number, then the next column to the right are the documents that are included that make up that protocol, then who might need that protocol and who the point person would be for that protocol to make sure it is happening and it gets completed. So I'll take you through a couple slides here. I'm just going to read you the titles of the protocols. This will be up and running. pretty soon we hope within the next week or maybe even a little less so teachers and staff members can access these documents watch on links right so protocol
021one is a system for accessing declassification support services for special education student who is no longer classified and yet for a year at least they are entitled to what we call declassification support services. So that's where you would go if you were a teacher or a case manager who thought we're declassifying Johnny but he could still use a few supports particularly in the first year in a general ed setting so let me look and see what we can put in place for him as he eases out of the IEP. That's declassification support services. The next one, protocol two, is just substitute paraprofessional duties to simplify the process. When a substitute para comes in for the day, we want to make sure that they are trained in how to deal with a specific student and that
022they have a folder that is germane just to that student and what they will need to do to work most effectively with that student for the day. in the district for students, even for those parents here. It's not just the sub-team. They need to understand their role and that overarching roles and responsibilities. Okay, protocol three, is that three? Is the INRS process, that's intervention and referral services, that's an entire process. Erin, you can move forward. I'm not saying I'm not. Right. Protocol 4 is just a referral system for evaluation. If you had a student in your classroom or if you as a parent thought that you should have your child evaluated or you choose to, this is where you would go to get the documents that you need to get that ball rolling. Okay, that's
023Protocol 4. Protocol 5 is the 504 plan process. Protocol six is when a new para is being requested, let's say a child is now assigned a paraprofessional, either a one-on-one or a shared paraprofessional that they didn't have before, this is the process that the case manager would go through for that student. Number six is really the only protocol that is particular to only case managers. A teacher would not take that and fill it out. A teacher could go to the case manager and say, I really think Johnny needs a para, can we talk about it? But that gets launched by the case manager. Protocol seven is the health plan for any student that has a health plan. Protocol eight is the safety plan. Protocol 9 is the risk assessment plan. Protocol 10 is a request
024for an FBA. FBA stands for functional behavioral assessment. And that would be initiated by a case manager if there is a student who is having behaviors that are impeding their ability to access their education. And they might be evaluated through this process called an FBA. Okay? Protocol 11 is whatever you would need to make a request for physical therapy, occupational therapy, OT, or speech, speech therapy. And protocol 12 would be where a parent would go if they were going to volunteer to come and read in their second-grader's classroom. They would go to protocol 12 to get the confidentiality agreement that they would need to fill out in order to come into the schools and participate. And the last two are Protocol 13, which is kind of an internal document, and that's where we just keep
025a running list of all of the requests for specialized equipment and instructional materials for a child, and that gets kept. It's ongoing. We're always updating that so we know what equipment is being used and which child is using it. And the last one is Protocol 14, which is actually just for the paraprofessionals. It's a handbook that I developed that has everything in it that a para should know about what the expectations are for working in our district. I also put together a training program that's... a slide deck essentially that they should access as well even if they are agency not district but agency paras so that is the protocols as I said before they'll be up and running soon if you want to go in and look at any of the particular documents yourself and
026become more familiar with what will be available but I didn't want to torture you with that tonight oh okay I didn't know that okay see when you're an outsider you don't know everything I kind of feel like an insider now. So you can go ahead, Aaron. Thanks. So the next thing I did, and this was so much fun, was identifying what professional development needs there might be and what... I could help with. So what we identified were that there were actually nine professional development workshops that were facilitated during the year through my company, and there were more that weren't from my company. But I'll just take you very quickly through the ones that my company provided for your district. It was great fun and really, I think it was effective. They seemed to really enjoy
027it. So the first one, we did them for everybody that we could. So the first thing we did was for Valley View students, we did a program called The Power of Me, which addressed ally behaviors surrounding bullying. We did one program in the morning for grades 5 and 6 and a repeat program with some variations for the older kids, grades 7 and 8. It was... I think it was effective. They seemed to really enjoy it. The second one that we did was for the Bayberry students. This was just a few weeks ago in the evening. It's called Be a Self-Manager. And self-management is actually one of the five social-emotional competencies that is put forth by an organization called CASEL. It's a social-emotional learning, kind of like the guru in the world of social-emotional learning. So
028that was one that we did for the Bayberry students. You can go ahead. Oh yeah, they all. Yeah, we can do that for all of them. Then we did one for, pardon me, that was one. Yes, yeah, I'm getting there. Thanks Rich, because Rich was there, so that's why he's my ringer. I'm paying him to say this. Okay, so for the Valley View staff in February, we did a program called Behavior Boosters, Strategies for Understanding Middle School Student Behavior and Harnessing Positive Growth. This was based on the work of Dr. Ross Green, who is a clinical psychologist and author. He wrote a lot of books, but the one that I based the program on is called Lost at School. And it's really, he developed a tool where... Teachers learn how to identify what lagging skills
029a child has that is causing certain behaviors to occur. So there's nothing punitive about it. It's learning how to evaluate and assess behaviors, and then he introduces a process, a collaborative process with the teacher or with the adult for correcting that behavior. And his whole theory is kids do well if they can. So it's based on that. Okay, Aaron. Then we did three workshops for your paraprofessionals. One was Together We Can Do It, Strategies to Work Effectively with Special Ed Students. The next was called From Knowledge to Practice, Implementing Effective Support Strategies for Paraprofessionals. And the last one I just did a few weeks ago was Social Emotional Learning, How and Why. Okay, and I think this is the last one on, yep, this is my last slide for now. We do a series at
030night called Parent Chats. We have two different series. One is a series for just parents of special ed kids, and then one is a series for anybody who wants to come who has children. Grandparents can come, aunts and uncles, whoever, just caring adults who are in a child's life. So one of them that we did in November, I think, was let's keep them safe. That was bullying awareness for parents. That sort of mirrored the one that we did during the day called The Power of Me. It was just two days after that one, so the parents and the kids can talk about it at home. The next one we did was called Young Adolescent Behaviors. Let me go, but will you stay right here? about adolescent, pre-adolescent behaviors. And the last one we just did
031two weeks ago, this is the one that Rich attended, where he brought his daughter, and the parent gig was your child's self-management. And then the kids all went into another room and worked with one of my trainers on be a self-manager. So we teach them all of the skills that you would need to recognize your own triggers, to learn to self-regulate, to learn what you can do when you're upset. to sort of save yourself behaviorally. So those are the nine that we brought to you this year. And I think you're up, too. I'm up again. Not collaboration and not parallel kind of a combination of that We also did a full program audit at the same time. So while Mary Beth was doing a needs assessment of systems finding out Places where there was a
032true need for support for some concrete opportunities to operationalize We are in our QSAC year. Last year we had our special education monitoring. This year QSAC. We had the opportunity working with the state and county to review all of the IEPs and 504 plans, IEPs and special education. 504 is accommodations under Americans with disabilities. We were able to go through and look at how are the accommodations that are written in to an IEP or a 504 being implemented, right? If an IEP says a student needs a para during the day and they're going to participate in an after-school club or music or the play, they also have a para with them in that opportunity, right? So we ensure that. if there's um i'm sure i'm missing something with along those lines if it's a shared
033paraprofessional right looking at that schedule and making sure that it is a shared and not just by default to one to one right how how we can look at those things looking at our staffing We have in several classes right we have in class resources we have special ed teacher general ed teacher in multiple situations We do have our autism rooms and our self-contained rooms. How are we staffing those programs? How are we? Maintaining what the intent of that classroom is I guess that's the best way to say it And are the students placed appropriately, right? Do we have the best placement for the children that are in our schools? One of the things that you'll hear is an outcome that we identified is an actual lack in one of our programs. You've heard us
034talk about the LLD class that we identified to add. They've been working through the IEPs. That is something that happens with the families, right? That is a change of placement, how to transition children into those programs. We were so fortunate that CPAC supported that LLD classroom, hugely supported, generously supported, to make the opportunity to have it be an authentic LLD classroom, meaning the resources and supports that would be necessary for those communication skills. We also looked at ESY. looked at how students are referred to not just to the ESY program during their annual evaluations when that happens when fit parents and families learn about that opportunity having an interest form so we know in enough time to staff it appropriately not overstaff it either to be able to have additional opportunities for students. We're very
035fortunate we have, Dawn on this agenda, was she on the last agenda? Do you know, for ESY? Doesn't matter. We have a consistent coordinator for that in district who helps us with the staffing, the scheduling. She gets the... the interest forms to make sure we're appropriately staffed to make sure that the timing and the dates are correct. We also looked at IRNS, as Mary Beth said, intervention and referral services. That's a general ed program. That is, could be academic, could be behavior, it could be any number of things that teacher or a specialist or a parent or an administrator identify as needing a closer look by that team trying strategies sometimes trying different strategies over time, seeing what works, trying something else, and then continually moving forward, right, to be able to provide those intervention
036and referral services. So that program audit was... particularly robust, gave us tremendous information along with what our staff and families, right, families through strategic planning, staff through Mary Beth's interviews, told us were gaps, right, where they needed training, where they needed support, where they needed... concrete structures to tell them what to do, how to do it. This happened, like I said, simultaneously. Erin, you can go. So the outcomes, these are, it says program audit, right? But they actually are a combination because they impact each other. Collaboration was huge. You see in bold at the bottom, special services is a shared responsibility, not my kids and your kids. This is my class, all of the children before me, right? Our out-of-district students are also our students. Our case managers continue to case manage the out-of-district students
037in their placement. That collaboration. has shown up in so many ways. Who's coming to meetings, working with Mary Beth in a classroom currently, getting coaching, that consistency she talked about between buildings, clarity. Sometimes people really didn't even know. who to ask and what form to fill out, and then the appropriate placements. LLD was the recommendation we've made. We're also pursuing shared services to be able to do additional preschool placements. Our integrated program with the two teachers is great. Some children need a preschool disabled classroom. We had one several years ago. There weren't enough identified children to maintain that program. And of course, cyclically, you have more children this year, less last year. Looking at how we can partner with our neighboring districts if there's a better placement for a child that needs that than our
038integrated program. So all of those things. addition to what you've heard as outcomes and I know you have also with these because we're streaming well you is that microphone on you can maybe talk on that one too ideas into actions there you go so how do all of these disparate pieces right turn into action the input collected concrete, right, making them concrete issues, topics, looking for solutions, communicating, right, not just with the principals, not just with me, faculty, Mary Beth and I were at... Each faculty meeting we've talked about the protocols the child study team working with the secretary and the special at office the behaviorist Learning that the child study team is in fact those three people and even though we all work together Related services the behaviorist what everybody's role and responsibility is
039to be able to communicate that truly positive movement and not just with protocols when we're looking at policies when we're looking at programs right even the summer right at school how to how could that work for students in ESY could they do the other half of the day is there you know a way to support them in in those ways the other thing that we learned This is an important learning, but I have to take a drink. Not all the input we got required an action in this big systemic change. Some of it, and this I know for you, that constructive coaching, sometimes it's an individual student, right? It's an individual student or an individual parent issue. Is that issue repeated amongst other families, other students? Is it something that needs to be looked at
040to become systemic, right? And again, I don't see it circled, so I didn't know if you have... Is this working or no? You can hear me? It's live. That's why I keep standing. So I just called it constructive coaching because I've noticed that over the months, in developing relationships with the staff members, which has been great, a lot of people come to me now and they want to talk about something that's going on in their classroom. It's really a great opportunity. It's not really counseling. It's really collaborative coaching. And I think it's been a wonderful opportunity for both of us, actually, to... have ideas bounce off of each other, have some solution processes within the classroom. Child study team members have included me in their meetings. Not so much in IEP meetings, that's not really
041what I'm there for right now, but they'll come ahead of time and really just try to work together with teachers for whatever they need to make things better for their students. So we just kind of call that constructive coaching. Even with that, the areas that are problematic, right? How do we look at what's successful? The same way the program was built, right? Look at those best practices. Look at what's working successfully in other districts and other schools. How can we make that, right? How can we take that and make it work best here? in our district, in our schools, because it's not just a one-size-fits-all. And that was a big learning, right, I think for many of us. Why can't we just? Why don't we just? Because we're two schools. Again, I've never met any
042group of people with better intent. Tired. trying to accomplish it. And these supports hopefully resolve some of that also. Erin? Looking ahead, right? So at the beginning of the school year, we had... and so fortunate to identify an interim director of special services, somebody who had worked in a district for a lot of years, lots of knowledge and experience that we were hoping would give us the time, right, at the weird time of the year, to recruit and hire. The best person for watch on burrow another long right consistency We are looking in our team for somebody right who becomes our team stays with us works with us it became Very apparent early on lovely by the way this has it's not about the person But it became very apparent that From, what would you
043say, day one? I think you had a child in the classroom day one. Very apparent. We need a hands-on person. Somebody who is, regardless of administrative title, regardless, is comfortable in a classroom with teachers, with students. Comfortable not just in the administrative role, right, in the oversight role, but like all of us. Getting on the floor with the child if we need to. Giving a break, right? Working on those de-escalation skills. We needed somebody who understood a small district culture, a small team culture, right? There are a lot of responsibilities on the plate. One of the things, again, that came out of this process... We know. How many hats? Between you? 15 hats? So many responsibilities. The director, again, HIB, 504, multi-language learners, right? After-school program. It's an untenable position. Bringing in a new director,
044identifying, and I'm really excited about having... Natalie White on our agenda tonight to appoint as the supervisor of instruction to have a full team, to have the opportunity to look at everybody's skill sets, redistribute some of those responsibilities so that we can, all of us, be effective, work in the areas that is our area of strength, right? We developed a full philosophy. for what we were looking for. Karen Kidd, Miss Kidd, our Valley Booth principal, is coordinating the interview process. Miss Bickner is on the team. Mary Beth is general ed teacher, special ed teacher, child study team member in our first round. We had 68 applicants, which is pretty amazing. First screening committee interview then similar to what we've done with our other positions form of demonstration performance some some thing with a larger group
045and then making sure like we did with even the interim we had I know Marie meet CPAC we wonderful plans if wonderful plans if she was with us for for a longer time to be able to also have the person become a part of the community that was one of the things that was identified early parents staff We as the team have to be able to from the beginning all be understanding of the expectation of the community the expectation of the team in addition to our special district requirements and the actual job responsibilities if we don't do that redistribution those conversations We are not going to continue to progress at the rate we have done this year. We need to have that follow-up, right? Those protocols and watch on links, even though we've identified who
046it's going to, who it's responsible, it needs to be able to be followed up on. Professional development ongoing. co-teaching has been identified as something really important. Having the teachers and their paras be trained together, right? How to work together, what those needs are in a classroom. If you have a paraprofessional in there, that is for a purpose, and let's use that purpose, right? We've seen a lot of change even this year incremental change good change. We're really proud of it we're trying to celebrate it as we Continue to go forward We're also really mindful which is why we scheduled this When we knew after Cusack was done and in between the budget the communication, how do we write? re-engage the community for offering whatever the session is, right? To have parents be able to attend,
047to be able to have CPAC say, oh my gosh, we saw this somewhere, and can we bring that to the district? Or can we do it with all of the sending districts? Or whatever it's going to be, to be able to re-engage that. There was some, again, good intent, but disconnect. Erin, you can go forward. So our final thought, right, our full circle, a lot of navel-gazing, reflection for everybody, but it really is driving us forward. And again, I am thankful to have had extra eyes, ears, feet on the ground to be able to help with this because the trust you were able to build let us get candid, right? Candid, honest feedback without fear, without risk, and it is making a difference. Thank you. Do you have questions? Does anyone have questions? Does that
048include the, thank you, Mary Beth. Thank you. I should say Dr. Reardon. I guess there were questions. Have a good night. Do you also need to give the HIV? Yes, I have to say something about it. It's not a report that I'm required to. I just need to get to that screen. So you see on the agenda the HIV grade report. When we do the twice a year report, you know, I go through the whole these are the programs, these are how many HIBs. That is, as we told you, a report that goes to the state twice a year. They take both of our reports and give us an official report card. That official report card is required to be posted on the district website. It is there already for anybody that wants to look
049at it. There's no new information. It's just been reviewed by the state and now posted publicly. There you go. Our enrollment, as usual, is posted in the agenda, and everyone can take a look at it there. Are there remarks from the superintendent this month? Just a few, though. But you have your principals let them. They usually go home. Would the principals like to give their reports? Leave me. This kid's coming. All right, good evening. March and April have been busy and meaningful months filled with opportunities for student engagement, creativity, and community connection. Our fourth grade students delivered a spectacular performance of How Does Your Garden Groove on March 25th. A special thank you goes to Ms. Kropanski for her hard work and dedication in bringing the production to life. Spring pictures were held at Bayberry
050on March 31st and April 1st, capturing plenty of bright smiles. On April 2nd, second grade students proudly showcased their animal habitat projects, integrating multiple subjects into meaningful, student-driven learning. First grade classes visited the APR to explore the displays and ask thoughtful questions, creating a wonderful opportunity for shared learning. We also honored our incredible paraprofessionals on Paraprofessional Appreciation Day with gifts, heartfelt notes, and an enthusiastic clap out, or we said clap four because we didn't want them going anywhere, to celebrate their important contributions to our school community. On April 2nd, our students in grades 5 through 8 participated in our annual Day of Giving. Throughout the day, students engaged in a wide variety of service projects to support local organizations and those in need. These efforts benefited animal shelters, homeless shelters, veterans, senior citizens, Bayberry School
051students, and the members of our own school community. Students created items such as potholders, stamped necklaces, dog toys, kindness posters, decorated reusable grocery bags, sun catchers, greeting cards, activity placements, coasters, and assembled first aid kits. The day reflected our students' compassion and commitment to giving back and a lot of school spirit during our afternoon pep rally. Throughout the month, we also recognized autism awareness with spirit days, daily announcements, promoting understanding, acceptance, and inclusion within our school community. Spring break took place from April 3rd through April 10th, providing students and staff with a well-deserved opportunity to rest and recharge. I'm so sorry. Does anybody need a stretch break? This is kind of long. Just to let you know. April 15th marked the end of the third marking period as well as the district science fair where
052our students had the opportunity to showcase their scientific thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills. We are proud to recognize this year's science fair winner. You came just in the nick of time. There you go. Did you do all this already? Sorry, Mary Beth was locked in the building. I had to get her out. Valley View, first place was Trishale Oza. Second place was Sophia Pimenta. Third place was... Hello? A googly arrow. You want to do Bayberries? Sure. Say your babies. First place for Bayberry, Leonardo Merlot. Second place, Lucas Wilkos. And third place, Andrew Broski. We are also proud to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of our Ridge Racers after-school team, led by Mr. Alex Seto and composed of Valley View students Brando Seto, Brian Hannan, Caleb Kua, Jonas Bratton, Max Mayers, and Noah Harvey, along with Bayberry
053Elementary student Sophia Seto. The team competed in the STEM Racing Nationals. This national competition, formerly known as the F1 in schools and officially endorsed by Formula One, is a rigorous multidisciplinary experience that stimulates the global engineering and motor sports industry. The team recently traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, where they represented Wachung on a national stage with impressive results in the development class. They earned first place in the knockout race demonstrating precision engineering and rapid execution. They placed third overall team, ranking among the top development teams in the country. In addition, they received the Team Unity Award, that's the one I like the best, for their collaboration and sportsmanship, and the Sustainability Award for their focus on environmentally responsible design. We congratulate our Ridge Racers on an exceptional achievement that reflects both technical skill and strong
054teamwork. And thank you to Mr. Seda for bringing this to our school. We're also excited to share that several of our students have qualified for the National Teams Competition once again. based on their performance in the state competition held on February 12th. So congratulations to Noah Chen, Alec Cholwecki, Rohan Patel, Lucas Waldron, Sophia Pimenta, Trishale Oza, Willow Agugliera, Sarah Lopez, Sam Arevello, Darcyl Patel, and David Allman. The national competition will take place from June 22nd through June 26th in conjunction with the National TSA Conference at the Gaylord National Harbor Resort in Washington, D.C. area. We wish these students continued success as they prepare to represent Valley View at the national level. Very exciting. That is exciting. Congratulations. On April 15th, Bayberry students were both entertained and inspired by author Daryl Cobb. He captivated the audience
055as he shared how his real-life experiences spark ideas for his stories through singing, dancing, energetic movement, and running around the APR. He brought his books to life and filled the room with excitement and enthusiasm for reading. It was a lot of fun. On April 16th, we participated with our ascending districts and Wachung Hills Regional High School for a performing arts learning walk. This collaborative experience highlighted the strong work of our performing arts program and allowed for meaningful professional dialogue across districts. Today, April 23rd, we recognize Bring Your Child to Work Day, welcoming students to experience a day in the professional world alongside their families. That was also a lot of fun today. Yeah, you want to finish up? Yeah, you did so much. Sorry. Tomorrow, our Valley View Band students will be participating in the
056New Providence Music Festival. We wish them the best as they represent our school community. And finally, we are excited to open our spring musical, Annie Jr., with performances this Friday and Saturday evening. I'm going to give them another plug at 7 p.m. Thank you to our talented cast and crew for our outstanding preview performance. We extend our appreciation to Mrs. Peluso, the director, Mr. Rejevitz, the choral director, Ms. Nestor, the assistant director of design, for their leadership and dedication in bringing this production to life. And a friendly reminder, kindergarten visitation is on May 20th, and parents must complete the online registration in order to attend this special day with your child. If your child will be five by October 1st, please visit our website to register for kindergarten. Thank you all for your continued support.
057Thank you so much. Thank you guys both. Amazing. A lot going on. No, it's beautiful. It's wonderful. What would you like to share? I just have two extra things tomorrow. We also have our Herber Day planting with Burrow at Bayberry School. And we have coming up two big things. Obviously, our Teacher Appreciation Week. I know that that's always on everybody's... Mind that's coming up May 4th to May 8th. We have a board recognition happening on May 4th, which is really exciting proud of you guys Pardon me. I Didn't hear you the fourth be with you. Oh, I was like what? No, so hopefully so I was actually I was gonna ask if you were gonna More information on that. I was not planning to oh, sorry. Well do I'm I want you to. Yes, continue.
058Good. And then our final budget presentation is going to be on Tuesday, May 5th. And May 6th, just before I turn it back over to Karen, is the art show at Bay Bear. Just another plug. Business office. Yeah? Business office. Well, we are working on the final budget along with the board members and the administration. Everybody is working on that. We're about to start open enrollment for health care for staff tomorrow and if approved tonight We'll be changing our dental plan to Delta Dental which has a much larger network and is actually a cost savings for the employees So we're pretty happy about that And the second shade structure is being installed and the fence around the fields is being completed this week outside Okay Let's move on to committee reports. I will be reading
059the curriculum report for Mrs. Santos. So many of the items, oh, sorry. The curriculum committee met on Wednesday, April 15th at 4.30 p.m. In attendance were Fatima Santos, myself, Leticia Marcellus, Rich Desiano, Dr. Glazer, Ms. Karen Kidd. and Karen Bishop Johnson as well. We also had Dr. Reardon attending as well for a portion of the meeting. Many of the topics discussed have already been reviewed here this evening, so I won't duplicate that effort. We talked about the special education audit. We also talked about some of the awards and recognition that have been so exciting for our district this month. In addition, I'm not sure if you mentioned this, Karen. Maybe you did, and I missed it. But we're moving on to the second round with Valley View for a prestigious national award. It's very exciting.
060Did you mention that? Yeah. Oh, okay. Well, I just want to say that it's exciting, and things are happening, and we're very excited about it. Fingers crossed. Interviews are ongoing right now with teachers, staff. board members, parents, etc. The committee reviewed the style education resource pilot for grades 6 to 8 for the Valley View science curriculum, which has been recommended for broader adoption and integrated into our 26-27 budget. The committee also reviewed and approved a Spanish Tavern field trip. This is a popular annual tradition where students visit the restaurant for lunch and they order and communicate and enjoy their lunch all in Spanish. It's really fun. And so that'll be on the agenda tonight for a vote. There was also a Q&A with Karen about the 2027 JIT. So that's everything from curriculum. Administration and
061finance? It's me. So the Administration and Finance Committee met on Thursday, April 16th at 5 p.m. till 7.45 p.m. and it was an in-person meeting. In attendance were myself, President Daniel Amadeo, Adam Kraft, Leticia Marcellus, Dr. Julie Glazer, and Karen Bishop-Johnson. We've got a referendum projects update. The district and the town are continuing to work together to create a drainage system plan for the Valley View Field. Once this plan is finalized, the district will need to go out to bid for the drainage project. This project has delayed, unfortunately, the completion date for the field and sports areas at Valley View. For our RFP for the architect, the district has been moving through the selection process, and final interviews will occur in our committee meeting on April 30th. Our health broker secured a proposal to switch
062dental insurance companies. This change actually results in both savings and better coverage, so it's a good deal for everyone. We also reviewed the final budget. The committee received updated health care numbers, and so we reviewed the final budget, and it was reviewed and adjusted with a focus on taxpayer cost savings as well as sustainability. We had applied for an energy audit and that application has been approved and the first meeting will be April 21st. We also received a proposal from Right At School, who is our before and after school provider, to provide a summer camp. So they submitted the proposal to run the summer camp at Bayberry for July 29th to August 14th. It would be for students up to eighth grade. And if it goes forward, then 10% of the revenue would be received
063by the district. Finally, we talked about bus opt-out letters went out to parents so that they could let us know if they were planning on having their children on the buses next year. Agenda items were reviewed and standard including employee professional development, payment of bills, transfers and financial reports, CESC participation in coordinated transportation services, SCESC participation in coordinated transportation services, an out-of-district tuition contract, out-of-district transportation route that is shared, a contract with the Phoenix Advisors for our annual continuing disclosure agreement. That has to do with our referendum bond. Of course, the switch to Delta Dental. And then there were several donations, including fans for Bayberry, awards for the District Science Fair, field day items for Valley View, an anonymous donation for student activities. And I think I missed, actually, there's also a donation from the
064PTO for the Luau, which is a super popular day for the kids. And that's it. Is there a policy report? Excuse me. As the policy committee met. Monday, April 13th from 537.20 virtually. Myself, Danielle, Dory, Jessica, attended along with Dr. Glazer, Karen, Bishop, Johnson. The FY27 budget review. Oh, sorry. Karen joined the committee to answer any additional questions since the tentative budget presentation to review new information. The committees will meet again Monday, April 27th to hear the final information and ask questions. A public hearing for the final budget will be on May 5th. I know the last time you're going to hear that. Regarding the AI policy review, the committee conducted a full review of Policy 2365, Artificial Intelligence, a discussion centered on how to account for bias in AI tools as they relate to
065instruction and outcomes, including whether to add a hierarchy of approval for new tools. The committee decided to keep potentially duplicative safeguard language in the draft policy for now, but flagged these items for legal review by Strauss S. Bank. The District Technology Committee also met Monday, April 13th, 2026 in preparation for developing a district AI plan following BOE approval of the policy. They're also reviewing the plans of neighboring districts. Some of the discussion items may be included in the AI plan when developed. The committee tabled several policies for review in the next meeting, including policy 8454, management of pediculosis, which is head lice, and policy regulation 2419, school threat assessment. There are no policies being recommended for first reading for tonight's meeting. Policy Regulation 9320, cooperation with law enforcement agencies will be on the agenda for
066tonight's meeting for the second reading. Mrs. Maddox, is there a personnel committee report? There is. The personnel committee met on Wednesday, April 15th, virtual from 545 to 720. Myself, Jennifer, Sahil, and Danielle were present along with Dr. Julie Glazier and our guest Natalie White, the candidate for supervisor of instruction. She came in and she was able to provide a presentation to us in regards to the supervisor instruction position and Dr. Glazier introduced her. which led to her detailing of math outcomes she prepared and presented to the interview committee. Within that, the strategic use of modeling and instruction improvement was presented. A discussion mirrored critical aspects of of the supervisor of instruction position involving coaching, modeling lessons, and continuous work throughout the school year, which aligns with the district's three to five year strategic goal of
067implementing individual structures for all learners. At Valley View, where dedicated collaboration time is not built into the schedule, PLCs would need to occur during after school facility meetings and focus on rapport building due to co-mingling teams across grade levels and content areas. Coaching allows for more frequent feedback and multiple classroom visits, enabling discussions about effective strategies and adjustments in instruction. Data analysis requires dedicated time to review scores and subgroups to identify specific areas of concern. Additional responsibilities, a discussion of positions regarding job descriptions confirm leadership over integrated technology, including the AI policy, a plan and oversight of grant writing, including title grants, and a review and redistribution of some additional leadership responsibilities will occur when the team is fully staffed. So after the amazing presentation that we had, we moved on to committee discussions. We
068discussed, as Danielle had mentioned earlier, created a board member handbook, which we can refer to, which the handbook is going to help the board members just identify processes, resources, and just really an informational resource when you're a new board member as well as an existing board member on what that actually looks like and who to contact and when and why. So I think hopefully, fingers crossed, that'll be a good resource to everybody. Then we moved on to job descriptions. One of the questions that I had asked was whether all job descriptions require board approval and updating when revised, which Dr. Jailer, I can't even say your name. Just tell me. Dr. Glazier confirmed. Then Jen asked about the 2019 dates on any job descriptions. So there was a lot of good interactive conversation during the
069meeting. We confirmed that likely a blanket re-approval done at the time to meet QSEC indicator for job descriptions. While some job descriptions have been updated since for new hires or titles, they were all not reviewed or re-approved for this QSEC monitoring. It has been more than five years for some, and the plan is to complete the secretary job descriptions, approve the job description, and relate it to an anticipated opening, and then revise and re-approve the principal and director of special services job descriptions after the duties are redistributed with a new hire. And I know this one's a little bit long, but I wanted to make sure that we were able to give some information in regards to what we're talking about in our meeting. The timeline for non-tenured teacher renewals, Ms. Glazier, Dr. Glazier, Ms.
070Doctor, you're going to be everything to me. I was going to say, I'll just do it all. You are all reminded the committee that all non-tenured teachers must have their summative evaluations completed by April 30th. By law, all non-tenured certified staff must be informed in writing of a contract renewal for the next academic year before May 15th or their contracts are automatically renewed. And then Dr. Glazier provided a broad overview of legal requirements for reappointment and position control, noting that the standard district practice of having two meetings in May is complete with this process was changed. This year due to late budget approval and the decision was made to consolidate the reappointment vote and budget meetings on to May 5th, foregoing a separation or a separate reappointment agenda for May 15th. Dr. Glazer confirmed that
071they are still adhering to this revised schedule. And then certification of committee meeting schedule. The committee reviewed the upcoming meeting schedule, noting that the board meeting with the budget and reappointments is set for May 5th. We already talked about this, didn't we? So I don't need to read this. Corrective action plans. Dr. Glazier informed the committee that any teaching staff who falls below the proficient level of their summative evaluation require recourse or corrective action plans, CAP. Proficiently leveled combines observations and student growth, numbers which we do not receive later in the summer, or which we receive until later in the summer. The cap must be collaboratively developed and must be board approved by October 31st. And the speaker confirmed it, not the speaker, but confirmed. Is any staff currently needing a corrective action plan? Let's
072see. We also had conversation in regards to hiring of new sub-custodian. As a previous one, found another position and currently replacement at Valley View who will transition to a long-term substitute position. Our goals, district goals, we already pretty much reviewed most of these. Good. Let's move on to board liaison reports. Legislative, there are no major updates this month. Somerset County Educational Services Commission. Me again. I know. So we met on April 1st at this was a NAT meeting at the Somerset County Educational School Services and one of the topics we had discussed was the commission continues to see strong outcomes through its proficiency based instructional model and with students meeting graduation requirements at an accelerated pace while maintaining alignment with state standards. The commission has expanded outreach efforts, hosting visits from the Somerset County districts
073to showcase programs and strengthen partnerships. Students across career center and academy programs continue to engage in meaningful hands-on learning, including audio-visual production, cosmetology, automotive technology, and academic enrichment. The board approved routine financial items, including transfers, bill lists, professional development, and new staff absent management system. Transportation updates included approval of special education routes and coordinated service agreements with multiple districts. Personnel items included standard staffing updates, leaves of absence, and resignation. And policy updates were reviewed and approved, including governance, personnel, and public. compliant policies and overall the commission remains focused on high quality programming and shared services for member districts. Somerset County School Boards. This is Marcellus. Not at this time. Okay. School Boards. Yes. So as you all know, we have received the Master Board Certification, which is the highest level of board certification. So congratulations
074to everyone. They are going to present it to us. I think we get a plaque at the county meeting on Monday, May 4th. They provide a really nice dinner, followed by the county meeting, during which we will be honored. I would love for everyone who can come to come. You just register through the school board's website. It is free. I think, yeah, I think it will be fun. So hopefully everybody can make it. Great. That's it. MUJC. We met last Thursday. They are also going through their budget process, through negotiations, like every district this time of year. But we also had a wonderful presentation from the students from the DLC and Warren. They came and shared with us their favorite things about the DLC. And it was lovely. They were there with their... teachers, some
075of the families came because it's a regular board meeting, so open session. And that was definitely the highlight of the meeting. Okay. Ad hoc enrollment growth working group. So we have not met. We've been waiting for the demographer's report, which my understanding is is finally done. I have not seen it yet. So we will be moving forward with scheduling meetings. We have not as yet scheduled anything. The borough as well. Okay. Okay. Community engagement. I don't think I see anyone from the PTO. No? Is there anyone from WEF? Is there anyone from CPAC? Okay. Thanks for being here. Okay, now we are going to move into executive session, whereas the Open Public Meetings Act, NJSA 10-4-11, permits the Board of Education to meet in closed session to discuss certain matters. Now, therefore, be it resolved
076the Board of Education adjourns to closed session to discuss pending or anticipated litigation or contract negotiation and or matters of attorney-client privilege and specific perspective or current employees. unless all who could be adversely affected request an open session. Further resolved, the minutes of this closed session be made public when the need for confidentiality no longer exists. Action may be taken. So moved. Second? Second. All in favor? Aye. Okay. Comments from the public. Agenda items. We welcome input from the public. There are two times during the meeting when the public is invited to speak. The first opportunity to comment on agenda items only is now. The second opportunity for public comments is toward the end of the meeting. All comments are limited to five minutes. The total time allotted for public comment is 30 minutes. Before
077you make your comment, please state your name and municipality of residence. In the event it appears the public comment portion of the meeting may exceed 30 minutes, the presiding officer may limit each statement made by a participant to three minutes duration. Our public forums are not structured as a question and answer session, but rather are offered as opportunities to share input with the board. In instances where the board feels a response is needed, the presiding officer or superintendent will address the comment. New Jersey statutes do not permit the board to discuss personnel or hiring in public session. Names of students should not be used. Members of the public should consider their comments in light of legal rights of those affected and identified in their comments and be aware that they are personally legally responsible with
078potential liability for comments that they make to the board. The board shall not be held liable for comments made by members of the public. Are there any comments? Okay. Items on the agenda. All right, in that case, let's move on to action items. Mr. Kraft, would you like to read the administrative items? Move them? Certainly. Move them, I should say, not read them. I would like to move. Administrative items A1, approve minutes of previous meetings. A2, accept Bayberry and Valley View School Security Drill Reports. A3, accept revised job description for confidential secretary. A4, approve special education placement. That's it. Second. Roll call. I'm sorry, who seconded that? I did, sorry. Can't hear you tonight. Louder. Second. Thank you. We heard that one. When you're ready, we'll take a roll call. Mrs. Harvey? Yes. Mrs. Maddox?
079Yes. Mr. Tricca? Yes. Mrs. Marcelles? Yes. Mr. Doziano? Yes. Mr. Kraft? Yes. Mrs. Aguilaro? Yes. And Mrs. Amadeo? Yes. Motion passes. Oh, and Mrs. Santos is absent. Mrs. Maddox, would you move personnel items? Yes, I move to approve appointment of certificated staff. Two, approve resignation settlement agreement. Three, approve change in salary. Four, approve salary guide advancement. Five, approve district substitute for the 25-26 school year. Six, approve appointment of leave replacement teachers. Seven, approve appointment of long-term substitute. Eight, approve leaves of absence. Nine, appoint extended school year ESY nursing staff. Second. Any discussion? I'd just like to say that Natalie White is being announced with this board meeting agenda as an internal hire to the supervisor of instruction role, and we're all really excited to have her. Very excited. Is there a roll call? Mrs. Maddox?
080Yes. Mr. Treka? Yes. Mrs. Marcellus? Yes. Mrs. Amadeo? Yes. Mrs. Harvey? Yes. Mr. Kraft? Yes. Mr. Desiano? Yep. Mrs. Aguilera? Mrs. Aguilera? Yes. Okay, motion passes. Mrs. Santos is absent. I can't say that. Mrs. Aguilera, would you move operations and finance items, please? Sure. I move items under operations finance. One, approve payment of bills as follows. 2. Approve transfer of funds 2025 to 2026. 3. Accept financial reports. 4. Approve UCESC Transportation Agreement. 5. Approve SCESC Transportation Agreement. 6. Approve Right at School LLC Summer Camp at Bayberry School. 7. Approve a Professional Service Provider. 8. Approve changes to Group Dental Insurance Carrier. 9. Accept donation of End of Year Luau. 10. Accept donation of awards for District Science Fair. 11, accept donation of field day items for Valley View Middle School. 12, accept donation of field
081day for Bayberry Elementary School. 13, accept anonymous donation for Valley View Student Activities. 14, accept fan donation for Bayberry School. 15, approve professional development slash school business and related expenses. Is there a second? Second. Any discussion? I'd just like to thank everyone for the donations listed here. We are grateful for them. Let's have a roll call. Okay. Mr. Kraft? Yes. Mrs. Marcellus? Yes. Mr. Trucca? Yes. Mr. Doziano? Yes. Mrs. Harvey? Yes to all except number one. I abstain from check number 47017. Mrs. Aguilaro? Yes, except I'm abstaining from under item one, check number 47017, and I'll abstain from number 10, except donation of awards for District Science Fair. Mrs. Maddox? Yes. And Mrs. Amadeo? Yes to all except for item one, approved payments of bills. I need to abstain on check number 47017 as well.
082Motion passes. Mrs. Santos is still absent. And the motion passes. I cannot remember to say that. Okay. Ms. Harvey, would you like to move curriculum items? Sure. I move A, approve additional field trip location for the 2025-2026 school year. Any seconds? Second. Any discussion? All right. Roll call. Okay. Mr. Desiano? Yes. Mrs. Harvey? Yes. Mr. Kraft? Yes. Mrs. Marcellus? Yes. Mr. Tricca? Yes. Mrs. Maddox? Yes. Mrs. Aguilaro? Yes. Mrs. Amadeo? Yes. Mrs. Santos is absent. The motion passes. Mr. Desiano, would you move the policy items, please? Sure. There's no first readings for tonight. However, for second reading, wait, I guess I have to say I have to move A. No, you can say there's no first reading, and I will move. I will move for second reading, Policy and Regulation 9320, Cooperation with Law Enforcement
083Agencies. Is there a second? Second. Any discussion? I was going for a perfect record. I said second. Is there a discussion? Any discussion? No? All right, let's have a roll call. When you're ready, Karen. Okay. All right. Mrs. Igliaro? Yes. Mr. Desiano? Yes. Mrs. Harvey? Yes. Mr. Kraft? Yes. Mrs. Maddox? Yes. Mrs. Marcellus? Yes. Mr. Tricca? Yes. Mrs. Amadeo? Yes. Mrs. Santos is absent. The motion passes. Okay. Let's move on to board business. I have something quick. We have this new process of... providing a public report for the committees. But we don't really have, we haven't really decided what that will look like. So the chairs are gonna have a meeting and we're gonna try to put together a format so that it all matches and we talk about what's important to have there. We're
084not gonna have it though, the meeting before the next board meeting because it's quite quick. So, you know, but the following one we should have it in place for. The next meeting, the only business is the budget. Of course. Both committees will be up for the... So what we'll do is after we meet, we'll try to put together something. We'll trial it for the next set of committees. And then during board business and that meeting, we can all discuss it, whether we like it, whether we don't, et cetera. That's it. Great. Does anyone have thoughts on the board norms document? Ms. Maddox, do you want to talk about kind of the document you put together? Yeah, what Danielle was talking about is kind of like what I mentioned earlier, the handbook, and just everybody getting
085a moment to look at the 14-page handbook that I had or we had created together. You know, these were some of the agreements that we had come up with in our previous working meeting. in February and in addition to some of the things that Danielle had outlined initially when she had came on as president. So wanted to make sure that everything that's formatted in that handbook is something that we all have agreement on. and that we all have buy into and make sense to all of us. If there's something in the handbook that doesn't float well or flow well or something that has been forgotten or maybe needs to be revised, this is our opportunity to make suggestions. We're gonna put a worksheet that we can track on our board docs. somewhere, we haven't come
086to an agreement as to where we're gonna put it yet. But then we can all go into and whatever our suggestions may be, just add your suggestion in the document. I'll send out the link and where it's gonna be so that way we can all update whatever our concerns, suggestions or additions may be. And then at a later time, we'll all agree to it. And then we can also share it with the public once we come up with the final. That way everybody can see it and see what our agreements are and what our processes look like. Anybody have any questions? Thank you. Yeah, thank you. It looks really good. Thank you for your work. You're welcome. Anyone else? Let's move on to comments from the public. Thank you for your patience. Catherine Lee Wachung.
087I am on the Board of Ed at the high school, and I'm here to read something to you as a Board of Ed member of the high school. Okay? That's why I know how it feels. You hate when people get up at the end and like, oh, make it quick. As noted in the Shared Services Regionalization Feasibility Study, the analysis of the four elementary districts whose students attend Wachung Hills Regional High School reveals significant instructional variations in core subjects, including English, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, as well as disparities in instructional time and assessment tools. These variations result in students having significantly different educational experiences before entering high school. To ensure more consistent student skills, better informed instruction at the higher grade levels, and a more cohesive educational experience overall, we must focus
088on regional articulation, aligning programs, assessment tools, and instructional time across the districts. has the potential to benefit both students and educators. Regardless of whether regionalization were to ultimately occur or not, creating a formalized curricular articulation structure for at the minimum grades seven to nine could provide the necessary cohesive direction and coordination to elevate student achievement and strengthen preparation for the high school. That's it. Thank you. Thank you so much. So, Ms. Lee, I just, sorry. I just wasn't sure if Dr. Jewett shared that all of the sending districts, we've agreed on a date already to start this work on the October professional development day that we all share. Really just hoping that. Would you go back to the mic, please? Amongst the teachers that could be talking to one another so that, you know, if
089you've read, I know some of you were here for the regionalization study, and a lot of the kids, when they get to the high school, it takes us about 11 weeks to bring all the kids to the same level. So somewhere within, and this is all the sending districts. It's everyone, okay, all four. So we need to somehow... be able to get these kids so that they're more on board that we're not spending the first three months of high school. Trying to get them off the same level and it's only you know the teachers you heard that we started Performing art fine practice. I heard me last did it we saw we just want you know trying to get you get you So that you guys as board members here because if you didn't come
090to the regionalization study And I think some of you weren't on the board at the time when we did it last year You know, that's significant when you hear 11 weeks. You're kind of like, wow, you know, how can that be? But it's all for sending districts. It's not, I'm not saying watching, I'm not saying Warren. And I know everyone, we all have great, you know, our schools are fabulous, but somehow we need to coordinate with the high school and with all the districts to get us so we have the best, you know, for the kids. That's all. Thank you. Good evening. Christine Ede on behalf of the Borough of Wachong. Thank you all for what you do and your time and your effort here donating, surely, for all of the students and all of
091the people in this community. So thank you. I just want to give you a little bit of a heads up and a lead to what we're going to be doing and working in conjunction with the schools to celebrate the wonderful Wachong 100th anniversary as well as our great country's 250th anniversary. Mayor Jubin tasked an ad hoc to come up with ideas for children to share in the centennial this year. The ad hoc with Gail Tafaro, Larissa Ruck, and myself happily began that work and honed in on our youth art projects within our community. I want to thank the superintendent, Dr. Glazier, Principal Karen Kidd at Bayberry, Principal Denise Fechner at Valley View, the art teachers, the teachers, Mayor Jubin, our borough administrator, the ad hoc and all who are on this committee to really make
092this project take off and work for the children. So the Wachong Centennial Youth Public Art Project is where we create and reach out to the children of Bayberry and Valley View schools and this initiative to include them in outdoor exhibits in our community. This goes from the kindergarten grade through eighth grade. The age-appropriate projects invite students to celebrate Wachong's 100th and the country's 250th anniversaries with enduring values, unity, and pride. The kindergarten and first grades will create a program hand-in-hand, 100 years together. Banners will be placed around the large tree, the spruce at the village green, along the circle. And side by side will be the children's handprints for each one of the classrooms. This symbolizing unity and togetherness throughout Wachung's history. Each class will have that banner for their grade. And there will be,
093they're six foot to two feet, six foot long, two feet wide, vinyl banners. And then we'll encircle the base of that tree. The installation itself will be probably late May and will run through June. And hopefully, weather permitting, it will all stay. It's going to be secured in there, but we want to just make sure that everything stays nice and safe and through weather. Hopefully, we won't have any challenges with that. The second installation, Our Flag, Our Future, and Our Vision, is for the grades 2, 3, and 4, and also the grades 5, 6, 7, 8. The 2, 3, and 4th grades will decorate an 8 by 12 inch flag with messages of unity, ideas for the next time capsule, what they would consider putting into it, and any ideas or thoughts that they'd like
094to share about what Chung means to them. The 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students will also share the flag concept and they will write, draw, create messages on an 8x12 inch flag. The flags will be displayed at Best Lake East prior to Saturday, June 13th, so that they fly and can be seen for all in Wachung. At the far end of Best Lake East, There will be roughly 480 flags that will be placed in the ground standing roughly two feet tall. And the students and families will be able to walk through the exhibit in and out of all of the different flags to see all the flags that the other students and children have made. This is a vision of our youth and bringing art into the community. On that Saturday, June 13th, there
095will be a parade from the exempt hall to Best Lake, and the Mayor's Regatta will take place afterwards. There will be food refreshments and the big unveiling of the time capsule from 1976. So we encourage everybody to come on out for this event. Enjoy. Take a guess if you weren't here back then. I know the mayor will say he was here on the first one. But to come on out and think about what might be in that time capsule and maybe what we would put into a time capsule of the future. So I thank you very much for the cooperation of everybody. And if you have any questions, feel free and let us know. Thank you so much. Thanks. See you tomorrow. Oh, I thought you were gone. We tried not to. We don't have
096it the same night. Glad to have you. Thank you. Listen, good evening, everyone. Thank you again. I think she's still half my thunder, but that's okay. I still have a few things to say. But everyone she thanked. I moved the meeting along. I reiterate as well. But really what I wanted to talk about more so tonight, again, and Founders Day is going to be amazing, so I'll just say. I went to the high school Board of Ed, and, you know, with the Mayor's Regatta, you know, teams compete in rowing, and they said that they're way better than the watch on Board Ed. I said, oh, no, no. Our watch on Board Ed can out-row or out-paddle you guys any day. So, you know, it doesn't mind for the 13th. But what I did want to
097talk about again, and I'm excited again seeing all the donations by the PTO and obviously WEF and PTO. I've known them for my whole existence here. And we want to continue to support them to be able to do that. So the May 30th concert coming together. So Freestyle is the band. I think some of you may have heard of them. I haven't yet. There'll be the showcase. The doors will open at 4.30. And again, it is $20 per adult. The kids will be free. But again, the net proceeds are all going back to WEF and PTO. There'll be a 50-50. The proceeds are similar. There'll be, I guess, a beer and wine tent as well. And again, the proceeds from that. So it's an ability. I mean, listen, we want to do the Founders Day.
098There's a lot of fun things, and this borough always does fun things, and we never charge for anything. And I don't want people thinking this is charging. It's just the opposite. It's every one of us giving back. I want this to happen this year. I would love it to happen every year. We're going to be doing a golf event in October as well. That will be for a scholarship for the high school. So those are the two really big fundraisers that we think we want this to be lasting. for that now for the fun right and i wrote a bunch of this down and i probably should put on my glasses too um so again when the doors open the band will play there'll be inflatable activity for the kids the fireworks will be at
099dusk give or take a few minutes thereafter um and again again i want all the families to come and you know i can be kind of i like to be she's very now but i can be tricky right so I'm thinking, what could we do to get all the families that want to come out? I want to get the kids excited, because that's really what matters. The kids come, and everybody will come and tow. So we want to do a naming contest, right? So we all know the Wachung Community Connection is going to be opening in the fall, and it will open this fall. I'll make sure of that. And that's going to be a generational event as well, outside all the other events, because I don't control the construction schedule. So you'll find out
100more about that. But for this, we thought it would be great. And again, I'll probably work with Christine because she's way more organized than I am. But we were thinking the grades or the classes. But two things we want to be able to name. The bridge going over to Watchman Community Connection will have naming rights for the 2026-27 school year. So we'll put a little plaque there. We'll call it whatever. I remember when the all-purpose room was named at the... Baybury the Bailey bear right that was that was exciting back in my day the other one will name will name the walkway going up right because that's going to be the primary entrance at Best Lake Park lot so the bridge will be named and the walkway will be named we can figure out it's
101a very very Baybury but I think it'll be fun for the kids to participate in that and we will do the naming at the May 30th And also, just to make it a little more competitive, when you show up, you get an attendance extra points because we'll do the unveiling because we'll actually be going right up to that point. So if this group has more kids and they all count, then that'll be extra points there. I just want to make sure everybody comes out and enjoys it. So in one moment, we put the plaque up. So Ms. Christine said... That's what I want to say, the time capsule, right? But we're going to be doing a new time capsule, right? So I'll follow up the school and the principals. And of course, you guys, listen,
102this is. for the kids this 50 years from now 27 6 when this is opening right their ideas and all that in fact maybe the winners would also get to put something a little extra in the time capsule but we'll put the new time capsule in when we're opening up the library and that's when we'll do the naming as well so again that'll all pay forward in the fall when the kids are back um in school and i just want to thank again all you do what's fun about The burrow in here, right, is it's all for the families and for the children. You guys do a phenomenal job. Can't thank you enough. If you haven't already, what's the app you have to download? My Watch Young app. Okay. But even, again, to over-communicate, if
103you guys would be willing, we'll push over the information. If you can post it as well. I always say the worst thing, the best worst thing is if I hear about that one more time, right, that's not such a bad thing, right? So we hope you will come to all the events, the board. I don't know about that high school there. I'm seeing a couple of rowers here. I'm thinking, you know, paddlers. Sorry, I keep getting yelled at because canoeing is paddling and rowing is rowing. Are there school events added on the MyWatching app? We share our flyers. Yes, yes. But we can always, again, we post whatever you, we'll reciprocate, right? So push anything our way and we'll push it out on the borough as well. And I'll finish by saying that that was
104phenomenal. That was worth the price of a mission coming. Tomorrow we have the Arbor Day, and tomorrow night we also have the astronomy over at Wagner Farm as well. What time is that one? It's on the app. All right, I'll look. I'm in for the musical, so if it's late enough, I'll come and see that. I'll try and make it to Saturday if I can, but I already have a conflict. But now seeing how good that was. I mean, come on. We thought the talent show was fun. I know. But actually, I've got to get Max. I want Max to open up the talent. We'll see if we can grab him to give you a just... I need a little comedic opening. That's what I was going to say. So, bye. We'll see if we
105can get him for you. Thank you all. Thank you. Thank you very much, and thanks for sticking around to the end of a long meeting. You can get up again. Yeah. Yes, please. Christine Ede, Wachung Burrum. There it really is. So this weekend, we have our Wachung Community Cleanup, and this is going to be the shirts for this year. It's a special edition, 100th anniversary shirt. Cameras behind you. There you go. There you go. They do shrink, so if you're thinking this one's very big, it shrinks very quick, very fast. That's 9 a.m. on Saturday. Now, we know 9 to 12. We know the weather might be a little scratchy, so we're going to make the final call tomorrow, whether it's going to be on Saturday or if it will be on Sunday. It'll be
106from 9 to 12, and then at 1 o'clock, a lot of the folks are going to be moving over to Best Lake East, where we'll be working with the Environmental Commission and cleaning up some of the trees and the shrubs and all the work that they've been doing over there. with all of the, what is the exact name? Yes, the award-winning, yes, what's the exact community award name? Environmental. In any case, they've won all these awards because they've put in all these trees, shrubs, things, and it's really beautiful, but we need help taking the tree protectors off and cleaning out the areas, et cetera. So they really appreciate the help, and we appreciate the help to make Wachung look beautiful and clean up. Thank you, and have a good night. Thank you. A moment in
107case anybody else would like to get up. Okay. All right, are we ready to adjourn? Can I have a motion? Motion, oh no, I'm the second. Move to adjourn. Second. Second. All in favor. Aye. Aye. Thank you, everyone. I don't know what to do with the minutes.