001[Music] Hello everybody. Welcome. Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight for our public board of education meeting. We called our meeting to order earlier in our closed executive session. So we appreciate seeing you come out tonight and uh it being the last last few days of summer vacation. I'm sure there's a wide range of emotions and anticipation of the school year starting. uh especially for I know some families in in district who also have kids who are going away to college. So um it's exciting at least for for me. Um Dr. Adhole, do you have any any comments to share at the beginning? >> Good evening everyone. Um we're very much looking forward to welcoming our students and staff back for the 2526 school year. Uh this week we have our new teacher
002orientation and we're pleased to welcome so many of our new WWP staff members uh for a 4-day orientation led by our administrative team. Um just wanted to just quickly note that um for parents and guardians uh the Genesis forms uh the litany of Genesis forms uh have been provided and are available out there. um you need to make sure you're doing all your online forms and online signatures in order to gain access to uh student schedules. So, please make sure that you're logging in as schedules are going live um just just in live time actually um for at least for high school and middle school. um with respect to the the fall 2025 newsletter that went out uh on Monday. Um it's a very lengthy document, but there's hyperlinks so you can pick and choose
003what you're interested in to learn about the opening of school and all the back to school nights and updates regarding everything from food services to athletics um to um school supplies and community education. The one thing I do want to just note, and I mentioned this at our last meeting, is the reminder regarding Milstone uh road closures between Cranberry Road and Maple A. Um we anticipate that being a six-month uh road closure. Um and we highly encourage families and students to take the buses if they're going to be going over, well, in general, but if they're going to be going over to the High School North community, Millstone side of the district. Um again that closure between Cranberry Road and Maple A is going to be crippling for this community. Um we are awaiting word.
004Um did it go through? We're still awaiting word about a temporary light. Um word the there was um there was a uh meeting today and we have not heard the final decision about the implementation of that light um over over by Cranberry Road. Um and that's that's so that really people can turn left as they're leaving north in Millstone and community um as the only exit point. There's real concern about um what the traffic pattern is going to look like anyone going towards 130 or east Windsor um or other parts of West Windsor I should say as well um with respect to traffic and transportation. Um so really we're we're this particular projects upwards of six months. Um so definitely through the rest of this uh academic or calendar year. Um so with uh we
005also have um sports underway. Our fall sports season kicked off and we've welcomed so many of our student athletes back and our coaches back to campus. So you know we're very excited to welcome our students next Thursday. Um we are just very mindful that you know a lot of families like to drive the first uh couple days um and drop their students off. Again, this there's going to be a real bottleneck in our community as the bridge project is taking place. And again, we just highly recommend everyone using the transportation that's provided to nearly everyone in the community. So, with that, I'll wish everyone a wonderful, enjoyable remainder of the summer and the days that you have and uh we look forward to welcoming our students next Thursday and our staff next uh Tuesday. Thank
006you. >> Thank you for those reminders, Dr. Adder Hold. And now it's my pleasure to ask um Dr. Barbara Gould, our chief academic officer for our presentation on the 2025 2026 curriculum review. >> Hold on. Sorry, let me >> Good evening everyone. Uh my name is Barbara Gold and I'm the chief academic officer of West Windsor Plainsboro School District. I'm excited tonight to highlight our curriculum and instruction department and the incredible work that the team has done um throughout this year and over the summer to prepare for the school year. This is our annual report and as you can see and you will see it will reflect all of the dedication, creativity, and collaboration of many of our educators. Here's the road map for tonight. We'll first take a curricular writing process followed by um
007taking a look at what are the components that are relevant for all of our curricula documents as well as looking at um the highlights for our new curricula and also highlighting some of our revised curricula. This will give you a window into both the big picture and some of the details. This summer alone, 247 curricular documents were written or revised, which is a tremendous amount of work for our team. Of those, 27 were brand new courses and 220 were revisions. Um, the 27 new were a combination of some of our new middle school elective courses as well as some brand new courses that we have available to our high school students. This is um not only meeting state requirements but also full revisions um for our curricula which undergoes a process every three years. So
008with our curricular writing process um it's very thoughtful and deliberate. Teachers are trained by our understanding by design framework which helps us really keep our student outcomes at the center of the work. Every curricula is reviewed through an equity lens to ensure that all students are seen and reflected in our curricula as well as our curricula revised as I mentioned in a three-year process. This also makes sure that we are making um our curricula aligned to state standards and requirements as well as ensuring that our curricula is both high quality and looks forward into the future. All of our curricular documents um contain all of the components that you see here. Um they have you know a summary, rationale, there are pacing guides, all of them are aligned to the student learning standards which are
009required. Um there are objectives, assessments and student understandings. The other additional thing that we have taken on as a team is that any new curricula that's written um by our teams also includes an equity statement as well as a storyboard. And the storyboard is a visual that represents how the curriculum um goes for our students and also for our families and it really gives a window into how u the narrative or the story of the curricula and all of the learning object objectives throughout the year. The other important thing to note is that all documents are board approved and they're posted to the district website and they're available for families and students to access at any time. We're very excited to share all of our new courses. Um this year we expanded and reimagined many
010of our middle school elective courses some of which um have beenes and now will be you can see um them listed here for you to take a look at and I will highlight just a few of those. Um these additions really reflect our commitment to the whole child as you can see from creativity to critical thinking. And I'd like to take a moment just to highlight a few of the courses. One of the new courses that we had um and we enacted over the summer was our new summer course which was Asian-American course. Um this year we held our first session over the summer for this course and I really wanted to share with you some of the student testimonials and I won't read all of them for you but they're up here for you
011to take a look. Um, I will highlight the first one though, just because the image that is on the right that you can see was actually designed by the student that shared this testimonial. So, Debbie Desapati, a grade nine student at high school North, created this image on the right, and it shows the Eastern Imperial eagle of multiple Asian countries moving between cultures weighed down by chains related to power and labor. the illusions to various um Asian cultures in the bottom of the image relate to the course themes of diversity and solidarity. So it was and this was the representation that the student created um of the impact of the course. And so um just taking a look at both this personal account and thinking about you know this course really had a high impact
012on the students that took it um and they got a lot out of it. And our courses are designed in this way to really represent um our students and the needs of our community. Another course that I'd like to spotlight is one of our middle school elective courses, Think Like a Researcher, um inquiry and action. In this course, uh students will have the opportunity to move beyond Google searches and dig into data bases, digital tools, and even explore some AI resources. Uh really learning the practical pieces of evaluating bias, thinking about credibility of resources and communicating their ideas in real world formats. And our hope for this course is really to expand their critical thinking and to be able to apply the research skills that they um learn in other applications as well. Alongside our
013new courses, we've also updated um 220 of our courses. The revisions go beyond just standards alignment. um the ones that are listed here especially this ensures that our um our scope and sequences have been updated um there is a reflection of input from both educators and also students often gather student feedback at the end of courses and we utilize all of that information to revise our curricula so that it's responsive and reflective um of our students needs and it maintains the rigorous educational opportunities that we hope for our students. As you can see, there's been a tremendous amount of work done this summer, um, especially from our teams. And so, we're grateful for that. It would be possible without the educator, supervisors, and administrators that took part in that process as well as the board
014of education. Uh, thank you for your support in our community. you know, and our hope is that together we're making it possible to really provide our students with all of these different opportunities to have the best education that they can. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Gold. Um, does anyone on the board have any questions for Dr. Gold before she steps off the podium? >> Oh, it's silent today. All right. Thank you for that. Uh that means we can move on to our first opportunity for public comments. The board invites thoughts and reactions on agenda items and items of concern for members of our community who are present. Each participant is asked to give his or her name and address prior to making a statement which will be limited to three minutes in accordance with
015board policy 0167. All statements shall be directed to the presiding officer. This public comment period shall be limited to 60 minutes. Do we have any public comments? Ann Clifton, 18 Gston Drive, West Windsor, from the board of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance, an all volunteer local nonprofit that works to make walking and bicycling better for everyone in our community. Uh, the Bicycle Pedestrian Alliance congratulates the school district as well as Maurice Hawk, Dutch Neck, and Village schools for achieving different safe routes to school designations from New Jersey. We hope more schools will follow, including those in Plansboro, and that the school board and the administration will encourage all schools to participate with the goal of achieving gold status. And we at the Bicycle Pedestrian Alliance are here to help. Some of you may
016be familiar with our bike safety wheel that we've brought to many school events from Town Cent's end of the year carnival to North Day at the high school. Kids and even adults spin the wheel and we ask them an age appropriate safety question related to biking, walking, or interacting with cyclists and walkers while driving. And we're always surprised by the number of middle school and high school students who don't know what side of the road to bike on. the right side just like drivers because cyclists must follow the same rules as drivers. So to us, it's a sign that kids need more bike education over several grade levels with age appropriate content because we all don't retain everything we hear the first time. And just as the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance is a
017resource to help, so is the Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association. Uh some of you may be aware that they gave safety presentations to 185 Dutch neck second graders last year. They have free biking and walking safety presentations for all grade levels and we hope they'll be invited to more West Windsor Plainsboro schools and grades. Secondly, Dr. Adterhold re just mentioned about the bridge replacement happening now between West Windsor and Plainsboro. Yes, it's going to cause traffic headaches, but the good news is that there will be sidewalks on both sides, which potentially allows for more students to walk or bike to school. We hope that you'll join us to advocate for sidewalks along Milstone Road in West Windsor and then into Plansboro along Grover's Mill Road. We know that many residents there want a sidewalk. Another
018benefit to the district is that this could reduce the number of students entitled to bus transportation. And you know better than we do about the recent soaring increases in the district's transportation budget. Again, congratulations on the safe routes to school designations. We hope this is the first of many more steps to make our school district more walkable and bikable. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um, anybody else for a public comment at this time? Uh seeing none, I'll close this public comment period and uh we'll move on to committee reports. So I'll ask Dana to give us a uh report on administration and facilities. Okay. Good evening. Um the ANF committee met on Tuesday um August 19th. The committee reviewed several policies and regulations which are recommended for a first reading at tonight's meeting at tonight's
019board meeting. The changes to these policies and regulations require minor revisions or require districts to provide more documentation and details in order to follow New Jersey state code. These policies and regulations are as follows. Um P 0174 which is legal services P0177 professional services um policy and regulation 1570 which is internal controls. Policy 1620, administrative employment contracts, policy 2422, stat statutory curricular requirements, and policy and regulation 611, which is special education Medicaid initiative or SEM program and policy 6220 budget preparation. Uh, additionally, the committee reviewed the newly mandated suntan policy and uh and recommends a second reading and approval at tonight's board meeting. This grants students the ability to use sunscreen and sun protective equipment without requiring documentation from a physician or other licensed health care professional. The policy also allows district administrators to create
020restrictions on specific types of sunscreens that may be deemed harmful to students with asthma or other respiratory ailments or cause a new a nuisance to students or staff and that is policy 5339.01 student sun production. The committee also uh reviewed a policy that is recommended for abolishment. It is a policy from the COVID 19 period which is policy 1648.15 recordkeeping for healthcare setting in school buildings COVID 19. Next, the committee reviewed the fall sports registration enrollment numbers. Fall athletics have started with tryyouts taking taking place this past week for most teams. Um the committee discussed the application to the NJIAA and recommends approval for the renewal submission of the cooperative sports agreement CSP between High School South and High School North for softball for the 2026, 2027, and 2028 seasons. And finally, the committee reviewed
021a description for supervisor of instructional technology and recommends the revised job descriptions for approval um at tonight's meeting. The next meeting of the ANF committee will be on Wednesday, September 10th. >> Thanks, Dana. Uh, any questions for uh, administration administration and facilities? Nope. All right. Next, I'd like to invite Lyd to give us a report on curriculum. >> Thank you, Grayen. Uh, the curriculum committee met on August 12th. Uh, we started with Dr. Gould, who uh, reviewed the spring 2025 NG uh, NJ GPA results. A full report will be shared with the committee. Um the excuse me, the full board will be will be shared with the full board during the testing presentation in October. Um next on the agenda for voting tonight, a couple of items. First, um the curriculum committee recommends approval of
022all the new and revised curriculum that Dr. Gold spoke about earlier um in her presentation. The committee also recommends the acceptance of the title and the tit entitlement grants for the elementary and secondary ed education act uh from the state of New Jersey for the fiscal year uh 2026 which are uh the entitlements are listed the entitlement grants are listed on tonight's agenda. Um, next, the curriculum committee recommends approval of the listing of the community community education fall 2025 adult, youth, and afterchool enrichment programs, um, which is also listed on tonight's agenda. Uh, last but not least, the committee recommends approval of the following overnight field trips. First, uh, high school south students for music students to um to be able to go to Nashville, Tennessee from March 25th through March 30th of 2026. The
023cost of the trip is approximately um $1,600 per student. And the other field trip for um outdoor ed or outdoor education to Camp Canad Canadensus in Pennsylvania from June 8th through June the 12th uh 2026. And the cost of the trip is approximately $250 per student um for both middle schools. Our Creekland committee will next meet on Tuesday, September 9th. >> Oh, okay. Um, so all right, sounds good. All right. Uh, any questions first though for curriculum? Go ahead, Liz. >> Um, just a quick question on the ISSA grants. Is that like a recurring grant or it was just for one year one time only? One time was your title? >> Yeah, it's it's it's a it's theoretically a recurring grant as long as the federal government it's a recurring grant as long as the
024federal government funds it. So it's the Every Student Succeeds Act, right? So formerly NCLB. Um so these are your title grants uh title one two three 4a and then um and then in addition you get idea and then you can get other grants like Perkins and things like that. >> So we're set for this yeah we don't know about the future. >> We do not know about the future and the grants were released late. Um they were finally funded in early August and they were not funded at the same uh proportion as last year. All right. Thank you. Uh, next I'd like to invite Ajanta for uh, discussion notes for finance. >> All right. Thank you. Uh, the finance committee did not meet this month. However, an update was provided by administration. Administration confirmed that
025there are no major accounts overpended and that sufficient funds are available to complete the year. There are sever several items on the agenda this evening including the acceptance of a donation in lie of taxes from the Princeton Theological Seminary and addendum to increase the amount of the Pritchard Industries contract by 5,000 for recent recent salary negotiations purchases exceeding the bid limit for concrete work at Moraurice Hawk and Grover Middle Schools disposal of obsolete equipment and the additional the award of additional transportation routes and the approval of travel for the board members and central office administration. to attend the New Jersey School Boards Association workshop 2025 in the fall. Administration reported that the accounting system was closed out for 24 the 2425 fiscal year and was transitioned to the 2526 fiscal year. The audit of the
0262425 year is in process. Lou Broman, prior staff accountant, has been assisting with this endofear closeout and rollover process. Uh staff provided an update on the energy savings improvement project projects at Morris Hawk. The installation of built-in unit ventilators is almost complete and the rooftop units have been set in place and are in process of being connected. There was a delay in the delivery of the breaker panel for the electric service units, but the startup is still expected before school starts. Some carpentry work will continue a few weeks into school, but will be done after hours. At Grover Middle School, the new rooftop were delayed, but should be on site uh next week. In the meantime, the current units remain operational. At Village, the new boilers are expected to arrive in the uh coming weeks
027and should be in operation when the heating system is turned on in October. Staff provided an update on summer projects around the district. High School North received new flooring in the first uh floor hallways, and the auditorium received lighting and control upgrades. Grover Middle School received a foyer walk up upgrade, walkway updates, and new flooring in various locations. Milstone River and Town Center have had new walk-in refrigerators installed, and all the schools received fresh paint and new carpet and flooring. And in some capacity, staff reported that the district administration met with the architects and construction management company to review outstanding items that were completed projects over the past several years and discussed the 2526 project list, which included upgrades to seating and flooring in the high school north auditorium. The food services department is currently
028looking into updating district vending machines to new smart stack compliant machines that offer organic snacks and beverages. In other business, Sch Snyder Electric is working to secure additional solar grid capacity that has become available in Plansboro. Uh the finance committee will meet again on Tuesday, September 9th. Perfect. Thanks, Ajanta. And any questions for finance? Okay. Then that takes us to the voting portion of our meeting. So for administration, can I get a motion for administration items numbers 1 through 11 plus the purple addendum? Uh Dana and Liz, any questions or comments? >> Okay, we'll start with Miss Krug. >> Yes. >> Miss Jenniera, >> yes. >> Miss Maliga, >> yes. >> Mr. O'Brien, >> yes. >> Miss Sha, >> yes. >> Miss Shetty, >> yes. >> Miss Mchuan, >> yes. Can I get a motion
029for curriculum and instruction items numbers 1 through 4? Ly and Schwatha. Questions or comments? >> Okay. Okay. Okay, we'll start with Miss Maliga. >> Yes. >> Miss Shetty, >> yes. >> Miss Chennera, >> yes. >> Miss Krug, >> yes. >> Mr. O'Brien, >> yes. >> Miss Shaw, >> yes. >> Miss Mcuan, >> yes. Can I get a motion for finance numbers 1 through 19? Uh, plus the blue addendum. Uh, Ajanta and Paul. Any questions or comments? >> Madam President, just remind the board members for number 19. >> Yes. So for number 19A um you would just say I abstain from number 19A for myself after you vote. >> All right. We'll start with Miss Shaw. >> Yes. But I abstain from 19A for myself. >> Mhm. Okay. Hold on a second. I'm stuttering again. Mr.
030O'Brien. >> Yes. but abstain from 19A for myself. >> Okay. And and next we have Miss Chenier. >> Yes. And I abstain for myself or 19A. >> Okay. Miss Krug. >> Yes. Yes. And I abstain from 19A for myself. Thank you. >> Okay. Miss Maliga. >> Yes. And I abstain from um 19A for myself. >> Okay. Miss Shetty. >> Yes. But I abstain for 19A for myself. >> And finally, finally is Miss Mcuan. >> Yes. by abstaining from 19A for myself. And can I get a motion for personnel items numbers 1 through three plus the green, pink, and yellow agenda? Uh Liz and Ajanta, any questions or comments? >> Okay, we'll start with Miss Cheni. >> Yes. >> Miss Sha, >> yes. >> Miss Groot, >> yes. >> Miss Maliga, >> yes. >> Mr. O'Brien,
031>> yes. Miss Shetty, >> yes. >> Miss Mcuan, >> yes. Can I get a motion to approve board of education minutes from our July 29th meeting? Uh, Ly and Dana. Um, all in favor say I. >> I. And, uh, no abstensions. Uh, do we have any board leazison reports? Nope. Any new business? That takes us to our second opportunity for public comments. The board invites comments from members of our community who are present. Each participant is asked to give his or her name and address prior to making a statement which will be limited to three minutes in accordance with board policy 0167. All statements shall be directed to the residing officer. This public comment period shall be limited to 15 minutes. Uh anyone for uh the second opportunity for public comment? Okay, seeing none, I'll
032close this public comment period. And now I'll ask for a motion to adjourn tonight's meeting. Uh Paul and Schwatha. Uh all those in favor say I. >> I. There you have it. Thank you and have a good night. [Music]