001let me know when everybody's in everybody coming in kyle yep they are coming okay andrew lee is an attendee out there should is he supposed to be a panelist yeah he should be able to elevate him please yeah yeah yeah i got it oh now don't do that sorry really it's been a long weekend of weeding and mulching and weeding and mulching and we're all good okay everybody's in i call this meeting to order please stand for the flag salute i pledge allegiance to the flag of the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation with liberty and fatty roll call please mrs chamberlain here mrs saylor here mrs corey here mr dilks here colonel henske here dr jones here mr lepsis here dr mccoy here
002mrs shoemaker here okay in compliance with the open public meetings act this is to announce that adequate and electronic notice of this meeting was given in the following manner on december 29th 2020 notice of this meeting was transmitted to the burlington county times in the central record filed with the township clerk and posted in the office of the business business administrator board secretary additional notification was made on april 29 2021 in the burlington county times to inform the public that this meeting will be held remotely utilizing zoom notification was also posted on both the district website and the district app and a physical copy was posted on the main door of the kenneth r olsen middle school and tabernacle elementary school i direct the business administrator board secretary to enter this statement into the minutes
003okay starting off with a presentation the 2021 governor's education of the year recipients sean thank you now first of all i will say before i read a little bit about each of our uh recipients tonight each recipient will be receiving a plaque like this tomorrow commemorating them on their recognition as a country's educator of the year our three recipients tonight i'll read a little bit about them i know an unusual uh boardman will be bringing them up and taking pictures of them and so on but we'll make sure that they'll get their awards tomorrow and take a picture of them at that time so our first recipient tonight is miss arts mrs arts has gone above and beyond expectations this year to ensure the success of our students she has done numerous visits to homes
004worked to create virtual supports and is constantly advocating for the needs of the special education population she took a leadership role last summer in the absence of a supervisor for the child study team and it was instrumental in crafting the schedules for our self-contained programs congratulations to mrs arks on being recognized as our educational service professional of the year our uh kenneth r olsen middle school our recipient this year was mr kramer mr kramer has successfully adapted this year to not only teaching in a hybrid setting and now back to a half day setting but also a new grade level as well his transition to teaching fifth grade required him to learn a new curriculum alongside his students which has led to implementation of creative ways to engage students with the material his energetic and
005positive attitude is one that stimulates success of his students in and out of the classroom and is seen throughout the hallways every day congratulations mr kramer and last but certainly not least is our tes educator of the year miss francis miss francis is a truly dynamic educator who fosters a love of art in all of her students the projects she crossed for students are engaging and creative and the students are always eager to participate in her class she encourages students to express themselves in their own unique ways and she celebrates her students and their accomplishments every single day jane is one of those leaders who is a true guide on the side she is always promoting student voice and choice while providing students with all the right tools and strategies to take successful ownership over
006their work and creativity congratulations to our three awards recipients tonight thank you for all you do for our students our staff and our community and believe it or not ms francis is actually our next part of our next presentation team so we'll have her called up as well i know it's a little bit different but um we have a green team update uh following me and kyle if you could elevate ms francis mrs murrow and miss smith sorry that list likes to move around a lot sorry jade oh though wrong one it should be uh jane foreign as i click on people so no problem is everybody doing great yes welcome green team you're good we all made the transfer yeah i don't know why my video's not on i i apologize yeah i don't
007yeah i don't know it's fine now okay so i'll start well thanks for giving us the opportunity to share a little green team update with you the green team coordinates the sustainable jersey for schools certification applications for the district and each school and um tes is silver certified which is the highest certification level a school can achieve tes is one of 23 silver certified schools in new jersey and the only one in burlington county oms is bronze certified and we are currently in the process of recertifying oms at the bronze certification level our green team organizes leads and maintains a wide variety of projects everything from vegetable gardening and native plantings to the health wellness and social emotional learnings of our students we are excited to let you know that tabernacle's virtual zen zone is
008live and available for students to access and we're pretty sure that you've heard about this one from your children recycle baseball it's a fun-filled cross-curricular activity brought to you by the green team the green team also works on writing grants that fund a lot of our projects throughout the year for example we were able to rate a grant to receive funding for the two informational signs outside of our rain and pollinator gardens additionally we just received the toshiba grant that we are using to purchase a vertical hydroponic system that's portable we are super excited about it and can't wait for it to come so we can get started using it and we also use grant money to purchase outdoor seating that's actually going to be made from the catch that we've been collecting all year
009so it will be a completely recycled project so we're really excited about all the things we're working on and can't wait to see what else is to come and so if anybody out there has an idea that involves educating our children on how to protect the planet and lead the most sustainable lives possible you can contact any of us by email and we're always ready to dive into our next earth friendly and kid-friendly project thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you anybody have any questions or comments for them before they go no okay thanks ladies we'll move ahead to the approval of the minutes for the regular meeting april 26 2021. patty can i get a roll call so move vicky second scale sorry i don't have my notes written down i
010got it vicky any questions or comments seeing none paddy roll ball mrs corey yes mr dilks yes colonel henske yes dr jones yes mr lepsis yes dr mccloy yes mrs shoemaker yes mrs saylor yes mrs chamber yes thank you can i get a motion for the second the executive session on april 26 2021 so moved any questions or comments saying none patty mrs corey yes mr dilks yes colonel henske yes dr jones yes to the first house is abstinene for the part where i was not in the room please okay mr lepsis yes dr mccoy yes mrs shoemaker yes mrs saylor yes mrs chamberlain yes thank you okay at this time i'd like to open the floor to public comments on agenda items only um i have my little spiel here someplace sorry guys please
011state your name your address you have three minutes uh anybody got their hand up i see a hand heather petersack hi hi heather i don't know why i can't turn my camera on either so sorry all right so i am speaking on behalf of brittany and myself and the tea so i live at also middle school so on behalf of the tea we want to wish our congratulations to our educators and specialists of the year we are so proud of the hard work our members do every single day and the difference they are making in the lives of all of our tabernacle children they aren't just educating our students they are creating lifelong memories and experiences that our students will carry with them for the rest of their lives we also want to wish the
012best to sonia yates and sue logan on their retirement and to julie tune in her future endeavors all three women made a lasting impression on this district and they will truly be missed at this time we would also like to take a moment and thank the administration and the tabernacle home and school association for making teacher appreciation week extra special our staff members are extremely grateful for your thoughtfulness and generosity you will be hearing from several staff members tonight highlighting their personal experiences with our paraprofessionals and how profound their impact has been on our children please listen to what these individual individuals have to say with the 90-day window about to expire we know that you will begin discussing the futures of these paraprofessionals we ask that as always you please keep our children and
013their needs in mind and do what you can to keep our paraprofessionals in our district in our family we will help you find a way sit down with us discuss with us work with us let's get back to working as a team let's move forward together thank you thank you heather any other hands kyle nothing hope that was the only one okay thank you seeing no other hands we'll move on to the superintendent reports thank you our family should have received the letter today about our upcoming maps assessments let's remind everyone again that maps assessments is the only formal assessment we'll be doing to end this year since obviously the state has postponed their testing until the spring we'll be doing our maps assessments for k to five through the week of may 17th they'll
014be happening within their classrooms their teachers have the schedules that they'll be dealing with their students on those days our great sixth seventh and eighth grade students will be taking their reading assessment on may 18th and the math assessment on wednesday may 19th we've also been working on field day we know that field day is something that usually happens in the springtime it's going to look a little bit different this year we're working on having more let's call it field week if you will where uh every day will be a different grade participating in a field day activities or field activities and this will be taking place during the week of june 7th our physical education department um has been working to plan a lot of activities for this to make sure it's done in
015a coveted safe manner and they're really collaborating a lot with the hsa who's been really we had a follow-up meeting today to make sure we're all hand in hand in this to make sure it's a great activity for our students to end the year more information before com forth coming to our families about that shortly uh speaking of major events to end the year our eighth grade graduation again we're doing a little bit differently this year we'll be having happening outside at seneca the landfill regional high school district is kind enough to allow us to use their football field at seneca high school for a graduation and that will be occurring on tuesday june 15th at 7 p.m again we're working with some of the details in terms of ticketing structure and things like that
016and more information be coming to our families shortly but we are obviously because it will be outside on uh the 15th we will have a rain date of the 16th as well and again as to uh kind of echo what ms petersack said as well we really want to thank our parents in the hsa uh for making the teacher and staff appreciation week wonderful i mean every single day there was a different way that they showed that they really showered our staff with appreciation it was unbelievable the things that we're seeing every single day and hugely appreciated so again huge thank you to them for everything that they did all of last week thank you okay thank you very much how about some board reports education technology got anything mr dr jones yep okay so
017the edtech committee matt give me one second just to click to the right spot so the edtech committee met on the 3rd of may myself miss corey mr delks colonel hansky mr bannon ms gallagher mr mckean and mrs palmari a couple main topics one is the comparison between linkit and map so there was a pilot program with 14 teachers across the district looking at the program called linkedit one of the big differences it's directly linked to the new jersey student learning standards apparently 100 of the teachers who piloted it preferred it to map there are some differences in the type of stories faster feedback to teachers there's a parent and student portal one of the big differences map adapts to the student so it kind of looks at the student as a whole whereas linkit
018is going to look directly at the content for that particular grade level so there's some talk about possibly transitioning to it what that's going to what that might look like and then how to transition so that parents have a better understanding of map scores compared to link it because it's not going to be apples to apples it is a different type of program there was a conversation about honor society the district mr bannon talked to several other districts about their experiences last year this year in general a number of schools did not run it this year we were very fortunate with olsen academic leaders to be able to run it and they've been meeting about once a week since mid-november um a lot of the concerns had to do with whether or not national junior
019honor society was worth the cost another question was the volunteering whether or not they would cut down on the number of eligible students the administrative team is talking about actually serving current seventh grade students to see what their opinion is on those two possibilities olsen academic leaders versus the new jersey sorry the national junior honor society we had an update on curriculum resources they're looking at probably at the end of this month coming up the recommendation for math for grades six to eight we've wanted to update those resources there is a potential additional summer enrichment opportunity so we have extended school year esy which our special education students qualify for we're going to do summerslam for our kindergarten through third graders a subset of those ones to help make sure they're okay and that's the
020summer learning of language arts and mathematics and then there's a possibility they're exploring to see if they can provide some additional opportunities to bring classified students into the buildings over the summer we also had a talk about coveted grant funding and the fact that those are what we call non-competitive grants however the federal government puts specific limits on what we can and cannot use the money for for each one of those grants and then transition to new buildings i was kind of decided the fourth graders probably know oms at this point it's gonna be going home but our normal hsa kinder encounter is probably not going to be able to happen in july but looking at a possibility of maybe trying to do something for those students and maybe even our fully virtual kindergartners this
021year uh towards august to help them transition into the buildings questions anybody have any questions for dr jones okay seeing none mrs sailor do we have anything for human resources nope there was no meeting this month no meeting mr lepsis operations uh we met on tuesday may 4th at three o'clock via zoom uh five high level uh agenda items technology facilities grant expenditures sequoia and insurance for next year more detailed notes were included in what we sent around but no earth shattering news to report okay thank you and dr mccoy policy no no policy report this time no policy okay liaison reports this is corey njsba okay the delegate assembly is this saturday and marlene attached the resolutions to the board packet uh what i have on actually if you looked at it were said
022i will decide that's a typo i didn't mean me personally uh the board will decide on how we want to vote on these the first resolution i was submitted by south orange board of the ed and i'm going to give you i received the actual delegate handbook a couple days ago so i'm going to read you what that resolution i would say a little bit different from what's uh what was uh in the pocket the new jersey school board association believes that local school boards and districts should make all necessary and appropriate efforts to raise awareness employ best practices and create an inclusive safe and positive school climate for all students including those that are actual or perceived as being lesbian gay bisexual transgender questioning or other sexual orientation gender identity or expression so what
023the resolution is asking just to ensure that all children are treated fairly so i would need to know how the board would want to vote on that resolution do we are we in favor or against anyone all right have a discussion on this anybody i think with the new uh requirements that are coming out uh as far as um school goals i think it's kind of um appropriate that i would say vote in the positive i think everybody should be insured a safe and appropriate education regardless of their sexual orientation okay anybody else i agree with vicky this is a no-brainer right so they should be doing all in favor and all opposed right so all in favor all opposed all abstain okay gail looks like you got your answer okay and the second resolution
024the new jersey school this was a from special ed committee report the new jersey school board association believes that trained non-lawyer parent advocates provide a valuable service to parents and students mandatory training of non-lawyer parent advocates is essential to protect the interests of parents students and districts training for parent advocates should result in an understanding of the appropriate role of a parent advocate as well as requirements of federal and state special education laws and regulations iep development and conflict resolution training should be ongoing the state should provide funding for such training now i have a question for mr lee um if you're on okay so when they're saying they're going to train non-lawyer parent advocates are they allow them to advocate for special ed child well there's um already guidance that came out of the
025oal on this subject and one of the issues that they [Music] put into their current guidance is making sure that parent advocates aren't accepting any uh compensation for their efforts um and there are pretty severe limitations on what these advocates can do because it really does cross into the line of potentially serving as an attorney for those parents um so you know the resolution may go forward and if the department of ed says okay we can do this um the office of administrative law may still have a different perspective because those are separate separate agencies [Music] they may be able to give them training to speak in terms of iep meetings but the current guidance is they are not to speak for the parents they're there to be a support or to assist them but
026not to serve as a representative of the parent okay because i myself wasn't too clear what the resolution was saying um that resolution from from what you read sounds like they are asking the state to set up a formalized advocate training program which i guess ultimately would lead to the ability of these trained parent advocates to represent possibly parents during iep meetings during the possibly during petitions for due process during mediation programs that's what that resolution sounds like it's asking to to create okay are present do they have a lawyer are they using a lawyer now or no uh so right now parents can represent themselves they can be pro se they can hire an attorney and in certain circumstances they can have a parent advocate present the the problem is what i was talking
027about earlier is that when the parent advocates start to cross the line into becoming quasi attorneys for parents that's the problem that the oil has because it really crosses into potentially the unauthorized practice of law okay thank you so bored we need a decision on this one i'm not perfectly clear on what it is they're all asking for so i'm going to have stain on this one listening to our attorney i i think perhaps a no i think so too i agree i don't think this is water we want to be treading in and i think mr lee what you were saying is um the law could always say no right because the danger of that that non-lawyer parent advocate um overstepping yeah absolutely i mean it could be a different thing if there was
028a training because right now anyone could be a parent advocate you can walk in off the street and say i am the advocate for parent dough so the only real requirement is that you don't accept any money but there's no standards there's nothing that says you have to have this level of training you have to have this level of understanding there's no requirement that says you have to know how the mediation process works you have to even be familiar with what an iep calls for and doesn't call for okay so do we why would we vote no against that after requiring training for advocates wouldn't that help the parents out better understand what they're getting into i think to an extent and then it crosses over to what a lawyer would do as representation there
029are legal advocates correct your attorneys though okay but the issue is can you show up in court and represent a client and you can't do that unless you're a member of the bar but there's a gray area where a non-paid advocate would be allowed to participate in a hearing with a parent kind of as their you know whisper in the ear but would they be allowed to say things like i object or ask questions or be included so it's we're in a very uh i don't know esoteric part of the the law here and and where the two converge advocacy versus you know legal representation so without having time to have studied the whole resolution and what's behind you know what they're asking i i just i don't have enough a dog in a fight
030to spend the hours trying to learn about it but it sounds like we're in gray area well and to brian's point then should we as a board be abstaining from the vote on it all together if we don't fully understand what it is gayle when are you supposed to represent the wishes of the board it's this saturday and what'll happen is it'll go up for debate so you'll have uh people you know giving reasons not to go for it and you'll have delegates given reasons to go for it uh what brian said it is a gray area and then again with mr leah say and i right yeah i'll go with the majority i think you should have an advocate for the children but that non-lawyer advocate what what's their liability i mean well and
031and where liability is one thing you know but if they give incorrect information i mean there's a reason that you would go and get a lawyer you want the correct information to support your child and your family you wouldn't you know i i'm happy to sit in for somebody to be an advocate but i don't i don't know all the laws i don't know all the rules that's why well that's what they're asking for they're asking that we that we approve training and how many years does it take to become a lawyer state trained i'm not necessarily opposed to abstaining however this sounds like something else where money's gonna have to come from somewhere yeah and we keep losing money and unless there's some magic pot that this money's going to come from i feel
032like it's going to come out of that pot for schools and i don't want to lose more money but i'm not opposed abstaining but i wouldn't vote yes with the knowledge that i have i would not recommend voting yes given the information we have now agree i think i think abstaining is the right thing based on lack of information that we have um but you know i i think there is some valid um reasons why you know this this could be a good program for certain families who couldn't afford a lawyer so yeah i think we just abstain okay correct yes you gotta say i'm saying then you okay yeah in favor opposed abstain yes no abstain meg what say that again go yes no and abstain yes no abstain okay that's what i was
033trying to do okay thank you thank you very much thank you gail uh miss shoemaker burlington county school boards oh i'm sorry gayle was that it that's it okay okay um meeting on the 20th okay hsa there's a meeting this thursday night at 7 30. be a zoo education foundation colonel hinsky nothing report cpeg mrs shoemaker um the final meeting is on june 1st 6 1 wellness committee meeting mr dillon you ready for this no meeting okay let me give my pen out wait i gotta i'll probably have to write it twice dr jones township council nothing to report at this time no no meeting got it all right moving on recommendations of the superintendent under education approval to establish the covett operations advisory committed committee can i get a motion some moved megan second
034vicky any uh questions or comments what's what's the uh what's the committee all about colonel henske you want to take it okay i got it so one of the things that uh was discussed as as a district we want to get all the stakeholders involved to kind of talk about where we are as a district with our priorities and how we're coming out of this constrained coveted environment that kind of is uh um driving us all crazy so the uh premise is that the board made up of uh dan dilks gail uh and kevin uh myself will represent the boe we've invited the admin team we've invited hsa we've invited the education foundation and hsa and ed foundation would represent the parents of the district and we've invited tea for the teachers and we would
035get together with uh basically three general goals goal one would really make sure we clarify and define our priorities as a district and then be able to convey that to everyone the second is to communicate how the plans are moving forward on how we're getting back to normal operations and the third would be to identify the immediate long-term resources that we as a district are going to need to provide the admin team so that they can continue to move forward the primary focus is is getting all the stakeholders together discussing what each has and what limitations and what resources they have and then um being able to come to the board as a committee and communicate so that the public understands too um this is where we're at this is where we're going and uh
036in a is clear and easy uh way as possible dan would did dan uh i've had a lot of conversations with dan and uh and kevin and gail about this does that sum up what are the premises yeah yep definitely well well well summarized i think one of the key components is to you know help foster communication about the plan okay any other questions let's get them back is everybody clear on what that what uh colonel henski said okay see no other questions can i get a roll call vote it's corey yes mr dilks yes colonel henske yes dr jones yes mr lopsis yes dr mccoy yes mrs shoemaker yes this is sailor yes mrs chamberlain yes thank you under personnel one through eleven twelve can i get a motion one through twelve uh okay
037i must i printed this out the other day there was one edition this this afternoon oh i'm sorry i missed it one through twelve i'll double check it when i sign off okay motion thank you second nikki any questions or comments roll mrs corey yes mr dilks yes colonel henske yes dr jones yes mr lepsis yes dr mccoy yes mrs shoemaker yes mrs saylor yes mrs chamberlain yes thank you under financial one through 15. can i get a motion so move brian brian second second steve steve any questions or comments i have a question for your citation more or less out of curiosity seven and eight with what's been going on with covered in the lunches is the management see that did you serve the same did that take the check no i'm sorry i
038wish they did okay just curious um i do have a clarification when we were discussing last week about our last meeting about the analyst analysis of the tax levy rate i did speak to the the tax assessor for the town and the number i had was actually high um the actual amount that the tax will increase for the average success value of so there's a little back story here apparently the dates have changed when tax lists are being um released by the county and when we do our budget that was a preliminary tax list and we did get the final tax list actually this past week when i was talking to him and um the average success value was originally reported at 267. it's now 266 952. the tax rate increase is 0.005 so it's
039half of a cent it's going up and it'll result in a tax increase for for the average assessed value of 13.91 the reason why it was so high last year there's two parts to it the first part was that we used our bank cap of seventy eight 000 so that increased what was spread out the second part is um this year because of the new construction there was over 10 million dollars in new raidables added to the pool so it gets spread over a larger group of people so the um the tax increase is not as significant as we thought it was going to be i appreciate the clarification patty thank you and i guess i was wrong on my which way it goes yeah but i was confused too so this was this was
040this is a very good learning experience may i say well i'm happy to hear it's lower yes okay um any other questions or comments roll call mrs corey yes mr dilks yes colonel henske yes dr jones yes mr lepsis yes dr mccoy yes mrs shoemaker yes mrs saylor yes mrs chamberlain yes thank you under policy we have one can i get a motion it's discussion always discussion right oh there's a box sorry there's no vote on this tonight okay sorry discussion on policy go ahead so this is the policy that i um mentioned last week when i get two weeks ago i asked when i gave the report out on policy um so there was a policy released um a couple of years ago it's 0169.02 which is board member use of social networks um
041and at the time the board did not adopt this policy um but it came back up as we've been discussing communications and making sure we're getting our communications out there this policy gives recommendations and advice to board members it's not um actually enforcing anything it's giving recommendation to board members on how to properly use utilize um social networks as a board member to make sure that they're not violating school policies um making sure those type of issues are are being addressed and are in writing so the committee reviewed this when we were having our regular meeting um at the beginning of last month i guess and we went through it and the recommendation actually from all four of us was that we should discuss it as important and as a whole because the four of
042us saw mary and potentially addressing this and including this in our books as a possible policy so that's kind of where this all came from it was included in the board packet so i hope everybody took some time to kind of go through it look at it um what we're looking at tonight is to kind of get a feel from everybody else because the four of us looked at it but not everyone else so now everyone else has had a chance to look through this as well um and see if there's a desire to add it for a um motion at the next board meeting so at our meeting i was the one who suggested that we bring this because quite frankly i would like guidelines so i don't get myself into trouble and then
043also so that the public who reads things that we write understand where we're at and what information we can share and what information we can i think it's a good idea else the particular policy that was referenced here 0169.02 my understanding is it was written to support a board of trustees from a private school correct is that right say that again i didn't understand your question the policy that is being discussed was written a board of trustees for a private school district i think this got pulled down from it's so old that it's not on strauss esme's site regular site anymore um so i imagine if i had to guess this version of it got pulled from that part of their website because it's older um sean could reach out to strauss esme maybe um
044and get the version that's probably more geared towards us this is the only one that was available on their website right now okay it's hard because they archive their policies and it's really difficult to find the older policies right they clearly reference things um that are part of the policy that i looked at as part of the packet that i don't think are applicable they talk about violation of the ap ssd policy as a potential caveat to a board member using social media incorrectly and we don't subscribe to that policy either so i if we can get the more updated or relevant version and take a look at that then at least we know kind of where it stands and what we're discussing so sean if you could just reach out to trials ask me
045when you get a chance and see if they have an updated version um i'm sure they do it's just a matter of pulling it and then include that in the board packet for next time and meg it's up to you i guess if you want to have it listed as a vote or discussion for the next meeting i think i'd like to see that the actual version first as a discussion that's fine i'll reach out to them that's not a problem i have a problem with paragraph six there is but not respond to any postings regarding the imagine district or respond to any questions or inquiry posted to a board member or post on any social network regarding the district or its business so when i when i ran for the board and joined it
046i never agreed to you know forfeit my first amendment rights or to share my opinion or to speak as an individual you know i cannot speak for the board i'm one of nine um but to put a paragraph in there that attempts to uh squash free speech or the free exchange of ideas is is strikes me as a anticipated what we're trying to do here and uh i i will say that strauss may is original because i was on the policy committee when this originally came up and we opted not to do it because honestly at the time no one was really using social media in the board on a regular basis um and it was optional but it specifically addressed the fact that this was not a violation of first amendment rights and i
047believe we also reviewed that kevin when we were at policy as well yeah i think one doesn't the one that got posted brian this is not the right one so it looks like we pulled down the wrong one for this so i think it was specifically addressed in the one that we looked at during the policy committee yeah and the other paragraph the second and last paragraph if the board or executive director believes that board members activity or on any social network may violate the board's policies the board or executive director may request a board member see us cease such activity i don't think we want the the board or the uh i imagine this would be the chief school administrator being the uh the speech police here that i just think this takes us
048into a whole level that is well outside the realm of what the board should be doing or any constraints you should be trying to put on any members and runs the risk of being used as a uh as a sword to stifle minority descent or being used by uh you know the the csa or members of the board the stifle majority uh physician so i just i think it's a slippery slope anytime you get involved and you're asking volunteers to uh you have their their speech moderated by other volunteers or or worse other government officials it's you know i think it's a solution in search of a problem and i think it oversteps the uh the bounds of any one of us is you know taxpayers community members americans should be you know putting on
049ourselves here or putting on our you know other board members but you have to be real careful whether or not you're speaking or responding as a board member or as a citizen and this policy does nothing to change that reality yeah i agree with brian i think that if we are running for the board and someone asks us what our opinion is be it out in public or on social media we should be able to express that opinion about what our feelings are and make sure it's very clear so i mean i like i like judy's idea of having a construct in which we need guidelines with left and right boundaries what we can talk about and discuss but i don't think a policy should be telling us how you know that like brian says
050or curtail our ability to express our opinions about stuff as long as we're not speaking for the board i mean i have parents come up to us all the time and go what are your opinion on it and we should be able to express our opinion not why did you do something why you as the board because we can't speak for the board but we can we should have the capability the ability to speak out why we believe things yeah and i think when we're reading this this keeps using the term executive director so clearly this is for a private school right yeah i imagine executive director uh you know surrogate here would be the superintendent i think the surrogate actually is the um i'm pretty sure it's the board president i don't think it
051was the superintendent of ryan when we looked at the other one yeah i just regardless uh you know i mean can you imagine congress trying to uh enact a policy where you can't explain your position on something to the public i mean i think it's our duty to explain our thought process and our positions and our rationales to the public you know when we're asked and in advance if we so choose but you may not all agree with them but we shouldn't be trying to shut each other up and say you can't say that in public i mean you still have your ethical constraints nothing changes any of that but this this policy just seems to go a step too far if if you kind of interpret this policy and it's in its literal meaning
052it would it would prohibit a board member for instance for posting a link to the agenda for the board meeting right because that would be a communication in response to a question from the public yeah and i don't want to be in a position where i can't help somebody get onto a meeting we need more communication not less in this district andrew what's your take on that thanks steve there are first amendment issues that are involved however when you become a public official there are different standards for a public official especially if you are one member or even a group of members of a board of education because remember the board of education only exists and acts as a body so no one board member can speak on behalf of the board that's why there
053are advisory opinions uh that that stress the necessity to disclaim um that you're not speaking on behalf of the board that you are speaking as a private citizen there are also ethical responsibilities for a board member not to take private action which impairs or reflects poorly on the board of education so there are policies uh in effect in other school districts that do have similar language about if a board member i'm sorry if the board or superintendent believes the board member's activity is violating the board's policies or the school ethics act the board of superintendent board or superintendent may request the board member see such activities that is in other districts policies as well but again you can draft your policy as you see fit but that doesn't mean that um that you can't have
054a policy to begin with yeah i think whatever we would choose to do once we see the actual version for us we would decide what that's going to be no one is looking to go after anybody's first amendment rights that's for damn sure but that's exactly what number six does okay so then we'll scratch number six but we're not even gonna use this document yeah i'm gonna this is the document presented for discussion so i understand that but we've already asked to get the new document to us okay discussion over anybody else we'll get the right document for next month we'll put it on the agenda for discussion sound good thank you moving on to harassment intimidation and bullying report can i get a motion so i moved vicky um jones whichever any questions or
055comments oh yeah for sure i have a question for sean thank you i know there's been an increase in uh discipline problems with the kids coming back now but i know some report uh two offenders were repeat offenders now they did receive counseling but no remediation and i wondered is there a point how many times would they if they were committing the same offense i will point with the remediation because they received um counseling there's no remediation and they are repeat offenders and sean before you answer that because yellow got the same question i do is this consistent i i don't is this consistent with other repeat offenders that we've had because we've had a lot more uh intense disciplinary action on especially for repeat offenders so um i apologize looks like there was an
056updated version of this that didn't come in today um when it says the repeat offenders though that could not doesn't mean that both students involved repeated pender because remember saying students are involved one will be a victim one would be the uh accused there are consequences for them um but sometimes when you're looking at the consequences for the students you have to take into consideration um uh different things in terms of the students their educational capabilities things like that so it depends on times with what the severity of the actions were don't forget there's very different levels in times when in terms of things can meet the hiv standard but doesn't mean that it was causing undue harm to a student beyond um the actual actions itself when i said do harm i mean physical
057harm to that student so again depending on the severity there are very many different things that can occur um that being said sometimes when you see things even if it's saying it's a non-hib there can be even though a classification of it can be a non-hiv doesn't mean it's a conflict and the conflict itself had remediation above and beyond that situation but it wouldn't fall under this category if that also makes sense as well so is that uh in some of these cases that's what occurred okay so there's no like there's no magic number out there okay this is your third offense remediation it's all handled on an individual basis depending on what the situation is and the student and the child sometimes the in terms of the the multiple offense is it a multiple
058offense with that same individual is it a multiple offense in the same school year because we have to track them for long terms as well thank you all right any other questions harassment intimidation sean you mentioned that there was an update version that didn't get posted yeah i'll update it for you next time dan that's not a problem are you able to comment about what the update or change is if it doesn't impact votes there were remediations for some of the non-hivs they were following under the fact that there were conflicts so it didn't actually count as the remediation aspect for it being an hiv but we actually went back and put it on there because it was actually falling under the conflict aspect of it okay so it doesn't change it doesn't change the
059determination it doesn't change the outcome of those found to be complicit in hiv activity that is correct there's no change on the actual determination that the the change would have been on the the uh the consequence angles or the remediations okay any other questions yeah and sean we're also as well as um addressing the the offender in this case we're also taking care of making sure that we're always taking care of the victim always that's yes in any cases is you you have counseling components for for all sides right at the minimum steve all right anyone else seeing none paddy this is corey yes mr dilks yes colonel henske yes dr jones yes mr lepsis yes dr mccoy yes mrs shoemaker yes mrs saylor yes this is chamberlain this is chamberlain yes thank you thank
060you enrollment at tess is 359 oms is 319. at a district is four for a total of 682 students do we have any unfinished business just go we're going back to the policy question on on social media is that just for the board members or can is there a possibility for extending the policy to all employees of the district there is a policy for other employees i believe okay thank you so much yeah i think there's one for teaching staff and one for support staff correct okay can we see that one at the same time for comparison and they're already on the books you guys can see those on the policy website as well or on our policy book and colonel henske there uh many districts have three policies one for support staff or non-teaching
061staff one for teaching staff and a third for board members okay i just want to make sure we're holistically consistent so thank you any other unfinished business how about new business discussion of the mission statement i know that's come up quite a few times um making it different i remember it may have been three years ago when we were talking about the mission statement and supposedly there was going to be a committee i remember i volunteered for it and then uh i know mr robbins had brought in some students so i was kind of disappointed that we were presented with the mission statement um it's all right but i was never crazy about it but i was disappointed the way it was kind of here this is it it's not a mission well no it's
062not it's a business planning a mission is is a much you know is a goal-ended um place to work towards achievement of this is not what this says well it should be one or two sentences and this was um what is it three words it's time to revisit it and redone and update it and make it more reflective what we're actually doing here right so does how do we do this do we so quite often it's done uh like gail said uh via a committee of sorts of different stakeholders um usually you come together we'll kind of point out different things that you hold as your true values your your your goals of the district um and then use that to kind of wordsmith it to a ways as was indicated as you know one
063or two sentences that really sum up where we want our district to go what where our district's core beliefs are okay is this gonna who wants to head this committee don't all everybody jump up at once gail volunteered last time i think snail's perfect i wanted to be on it not that not they had it i guess right now with everything go just you know things going on i'm exhausted not my personal life i mean with everything going on within the district uh maybe something to do in september i don't i don't know if anybody wants to take on something like this now i i i see the committee of one i would say we strike it for the time being and pick it up once we get the school back opened i agree i
064think we'll have a better handle on things too as we finish out this year okay i'll be on the committee but i really don't want to have it we'll uh we'll bring it up i'm not worried i'm not i'm not afraid i do the i've done these things for years i'm happy to head it up i'd like to nominate judy i'm here to volunteer i can't hear judy [Music] judy you got it judy thank you okay okay so hold everything though help me i've got mr left is nominating and who seconded it jones but i don't think you have to because can't committee's just being appointed by an ad hoc committee it's an ad hoc committee has to be established by the board for board action and then the president appoints committee members it's kind
065of it's two sentences like this is so hard just put it under hr have hr do it there you go hr can do it there you go sounds good okay next agenda makes that easy thank you thank you discussion of the committee of the whole meeting format i know we've really recently just went to individual committees there was a a vote to go from individual uh to committee of the whole back to individual committees and now it's being brought up to go back to committee of the whole so let's have a discussion on that well some committees that do operate read their entire minutes in this meeting so why do we have separate meetings we need to be engaged in everything at this point and we need to all work together to get the schools
066open so everything should be discussed at the committee of the whole and if you're afraid to discuss it get off the board but there are some things that can't be discussed that's correct those would still have their ad hoc committee not ad hoc standing committee just whatever some material it could be sensitive so you have to have separate meetings at times sure in the past when it came up that way then the committee hole would have a meeting and they would talk about it but the general stuff was always the general in the general format so that everybody can hear what we're talking about i'm tired of this whole thing where people are thinking that we're we're not being transparent about stuff because we're having we're doing so much work but we're not talking about
067it in a public forum so you know i i'm i'm all for going back to the way we were i don't mind going back to the way we were but i didn't like taking action at committee of the holes the action needs to be done at the regular board meetings not in the committee meetings so we have to if we're going to do this we need to stick to committee discussions not action taken i agree mike because i think some of the committee of the holes felt like they were turning into a second board meeting exactly right and it's not supposed to be that way it's just supposed to be discussions for the individual committees i think that'll also help streamline the amount of time that we spend in each of those meetings as well
068because if we have one meeting for action and one meeting for discussion that should hopefully make it a little bit more more efficient use of all of our time yeah i agree the number of actions we took were getting a little voluminous but you know it should be it should be sparingly used and on occasion it might come in handy when we have to make decisions quicker than uh we otherwise would but it should be exceedingly sparingly i i might be in the minority but i have been on the board in both committee of the whole and with the smaller committees i have found that with the smaller committees that the information that is dispersed is greater there's a deeper discussion of what's going on than when we did committee of the whole i think
069there was bigger deep dives and i think that those deep dives are necessary at times and we weren't doing them in committee of the whole i don't honestly see that changing so i still prefer the committee structure because i do believe that that information is there and is more detailed are you speaking for the edtech meeting not just at tech but i've been on policy i've been on the hr is a little bit different i get it but being able to deep dive stuff is i have found that and the records are better because now there are more extensive notes that are shared with the entire board and historical records and most of the committee meetings take at least an hour my experience has also been most of those committee meetings have very similar agenda
070items at the end of the day several different committees the same discussion yeah i've i've been on meetings this year between ed tech and operations and i've it's not a knock against any of the presenters it's necessary and i understand why it happens but i've seen the same presentation twice and you know if i'm paying attention once is all i need but i understand why both committees need to get those presentations uh but if we did it all together then we could just kind of bang it out once and we're still going to have chair people of those committees and you know they can still take detailed and circulate detailed summaries of those meetings and maybe to meg's point you're not going to have the same level of depth of conversation on certain things if
071it's an open public meeting but when those times arise we can take it offline and meet back as subcommittee and talk about what we need to i just don't want to i don't want to work in a silo i don't want to be in a vacuum can you do an executive session during a committee of the hole yes we've done that in the past we have it's still a published meeting so it's uh meets the opma yeah we publish it but you can't do it to to discuss things like that would be discussed at the end right that's got to fit the statute but everything that you discussed at edtech gets going over in our meeting now and we all get the time to now answer questions that have input we would just do that
072as part of our committee of the whole yeah now the the five operations agenda items would have very easily been uh you know addressed in the committee the whole and everybody could hurt at the same time so i guess i i make a motion to uh to remove to the committee of the whole format you know effective uh i guess immediately second who's that judy looking judy all right have we had enough discussion or do we want any more discussion i think i have a question for that well when you say start immediately what dates are we talking about because i wasn't even it was the we mean it was the first and third yeah the first was the committee of the whole the third was the regular board of ed meeting okay because we
073have to advertise now we'll have to go back and advertise the first one would be juice seven yeah i would i would give june seven so that patty has time to get the schedule planned and then that would be the regular meeting and then at your work sessions are you going to be taking action we are going to prefer not to but i guess you know that that's our goal is not to yeah without tying our hands informally but there have been times that come in real handy instead of moving a date or having a third meeting but right that may be uh information that patty needs for her uh advertisement i have to say i think i have to say action may be taken yeah yeah that's why i'm asking if you're going to
074plan on if there's a possibility that you might take action yeah the advertisements say should say um action may be taken it doesn't commit you that you have to take action it's simply telling the public that if there is a possibility at this work session or committee of the whole meetings that actions could be taken i'd rather postpone going back to the committee to hold until the end of the school year i would like to in june at least have one more just the ed tech but you can have an ed tech there's nothing that says that megan can't say we need to have an edtech meeting and and have that meeting yeah you can have executive session just like a regular meeting because under the opma you have a quorum there so no i'm
075not talking about an executive obsession if your second city care decides she needs to have a meeting with her committee and mr bannon and melissa and those that need to be involved she can call for that meeting and the policy is 0155 and it's the very last full sentence not with standing the board and left him to operate as committee the whole for all committee business upon a joint recommendation of the chief school administrator and board president and notice the entire into the entire board a standing committee may meet on its own for the purpose of considering or attending to specific business okay so if we need to do an individual committee because there's a hot topic or something who knows or uh you know then i can call for that yes you and a
076superintendent join me right we recommend it yeah sure any other questions okay we'll call vote this being all in favor i'm gonna give that a role i would do a roll call yeah okey dokey i don't have a box so hold on mrs corey yes mr dilks yes colonel henske yes dr jones no mr alexis yes dr mccoy yes this is shoemaker yes mrs sailor yes this is shane brock yes so just one more thing that first week in july is going to be a little rough because there's some vacations happening because of the fourth of july is on a monday so we'll have to talk meg maybe about what days we want to schedule that one for okay all right and uh patty i think in july previously we would usually only do one
077meeting anyway would we make yes yeah yeah yeah we we skipped the the committee of the whole and met um just with the regular meeting okay and i'm not saying we may not need it we may need it in july this year but traditional calendar and see everything and then i'll send something out to everybody okay thank you all right thank you um second public comment i have another something on your new under new business sorry are we gonna have a retreat this year that's the plan uh patty you did tell me that you already confirmed with jesse correct yes he's i believe i go i'm sorry not coming but he'll the retreat is that that to 12th right yeah any problem i did have a question is it 9 to 12 that's what jesse
078had written down for us okay okay we have on something it must be one of the calendars that it's nine to three we used to have it when we met in person a longer one yeah yeah but i think last year we didn't have it that long when we did the zoom right and have the um board self evaluations and superintendent evaluations have they been posted yet i have not seen anything i've been told about them now there was an email that came in about six weeks ago that talked about dates were there any date what show were you giving any dates for i received the opening but i don't remember specific dates i'll have to go back and double check that that just needs to be completed by july 1. okay yes but we
079get we get reminders on that right we did get a reminder on april 1st well i remember that one but that didn't happen it didn't have anything going on i don't see anything else since then there's a link linked to a csa evaluation tool within the email all right okay any other new business okay saying none we'll do the public comment session i did find my notes uh please state your name and address each speaker will be allotted a maximum of three minutes no one may speak more than once on the same topic please keep your comments respectful and non-defamatory keep in mind that it may not always be possible or appropriate for the board to directly answer questions during public comment periods and at this time you may speak on educational matters not of
080a personal nature we have any hands i see mrs white hi kim white still muted yeah okay you're muted okay um oop okay she fell off my screen mrs merrow brittany you are also there we go hi brittany hi how are you good how are you i'm good tonight i am speaking as um on behalf of jennifer connolly our preschool teacher who couldn't make it tonight so she left a statement this is my fifth year teaching at tabernacle elementary school my first three years was as an inclusion kindergarten teacher and i'm now the teacher in the inclusion preschool program these programs successfully meet the needs of all learners whether the students have an iep or not these classroom success have a huge part to do with the support staff the powers are what make these
081classrooms so special they interact with all the students regardless of needs and make each individual student feel special they are a friendly face a helping hand and the backbone of our rooms it's hard to find someone who can read your mind and anticipate your needs in the classroom without even having to say it this is what we have here in tabernacle with our paraprofessionals not only do they make the students lives better but they support the teachers as well having staff to help with the day without having to stop and teach them or explain to them what to do help save time and create a more efficient classroom i've been blessed these five years to have staff that understands me the classroom and the students they have been willing to come in early and stay
082late to learn from the day and to make a game plan on how they can better serve each student these powers do this because they care and i believe our school is a great place and it's because of these paraprofessionals these kids have been through a lot of change in the past two school years especially with our special education population these students rely on consistency and having the same people work with them day in and day out which creates an environment of trust and understanding i've watched amazing relationships formed between my students with the parish throughout the years and i believe that keeping the paraprofessionals on our staff and in our school is putting our students first thank you jen connolly preschool teacher thank you brittany any other hands uh mrs langton hi could you
083please state your name and address please uh nicole langton paraprofessional at olson middle school good evening i have been working at as a paraprofessional in tabernacle for the past seven years working with students from pre-k to sixth grade i am proud to say the tabernacle is where i found my calling i knew i wanted to be a teacher but for years i was searching for what i should specialize in i've worked in day cares and other child care positions and none of it felt right my first day in a kindergarten classroom at tabernacle i knew something was different i felt a sense of belonging stephanie tyburski my fellow assistant who i started working with from day one had the biggest smile and warmest welcome to not only me but to every student and staff member
084in this district she helped me get through my first year and i consider her a mentor and a very dear friend she is just one example out of 16 assistants who are extremely essential to keep in this district we treat every student like our own we celebrate their triumphs offer support and comfort on the bad days make lasting relationships and are able to watch them grow tabernacle helped me grow working alongside these experienced assistants and teachers while also going to school has taught me so much and helped me tremendously through schooling through my schooling to become a fully well-rounded special education teacher in the future not only are we team members we are family you will not get the same you will not get the same from an outsourced company that brings people with no
085connection to tabernacle or our students right now we have highly trained assistants working with our kids because tabernacle has invested in us by providing high quality training and resources to mold us into the perfect fit for tabernacle why would the district not want to continue and and getting a return on their investment outsource company will take the time to or use the money to give their staff member this type of training that has not only benefited special education students but all students this year i have 24 students that i support and are extremely important to me with these past two years of uncertainty constant change why would we put yet another change and more stress on these students by taking away 16 valuable irreplaceable assistants who have made such a long lasting impression on them
086please put the students first and maintain our current paraprofessional staffing thank you [Music] thank you miss deeney hi how are you good how are you good eva marie deeney teacher at the tabernacle elementary school so um i wanted to speak tonight on behalf of deb von nessen one of our paraprofessionals i've had the pleasure of working directly with her for several years and have known her since her first year in the district deb has been working in the tabernacle school district for over 20 years and the majority of her time was spent in a variety of special education classrooms she has been a dynamic member of the team working to help students thrive she's worked with dozens of teachers past and present they all have different styles different room types different programs and yet she
087has developed a wide range of experiences over the years she's had multiple training programs she was trained by bancroft she has rbt which is registered behavior training applied behavioral analysis training intensive teaching techniques training so where does this go deb has applied all that she learned in trainings in the classroom working with special education teachers on programming for her students so here's an example i worked directly with deb to create an intensive reading program for one of our struggling readers the program we built using the techniques she acquired through her trainings created confidence in the student and increased independent work skills and resulted in a three-level reading game this example is just one example that i and i'm sure many other teachers could name to showcase the great work that's being done by those paraprofessionals
088deb and all of our paraprofessionals create positive memories for our students and in later years when they're grown up evoke feelings of joy when they hear our names those memories cannot be replaced we need to keep our paraprofessionals so that they can continue to help our students become the best they can be and make the memories that will follow them for a lifetime thank you thank you miss deeney miss petersek hello again i am speaking on behalf of jamie wuerl so good evening i would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the amazing paraprofessionals in our district over the past seven years my students and i have been blessed to work with almost all of these wonderful individuals in the classroom setting in addition as our district cpi trainer i have also had
089the pleasure of working with every paraprofessional in tabernacle these training trainings focus on using positive support and behavioral deescalation techniques that provide our students with the best care and supports to make certain they are safe and able to get the most out of their educational experience their caring and supportive demeanors along with their tireless work ethics have provided a lasting mark on the students we serve every day throughout my career in special education i have had the good fortune to work in many different roles and in many different districts around burlington county i can honestly say that i have never worked with a group of individuals who put in the amount of effort each day to ensure every student is reaching their full potential as our parents do thank you again for all you have
090done and continue to do for the students in your care you are all amazing educators and i'm honored to have had the opportunity to work with each and every one of you sincerely jamie we're all thank you miss petersek miss lane hi can you hear me yep hi everybody i'm donna lane tabernacle elementary school teacher good evening i am speaking on behalf of the paraprofessionals specifically miss renee and miss jamie tonight i have had the privilege of working beside them this year during the midst of a pandemic they have been a constant support help and encouragement for the students and the teachers they have learned right along with me as we created links for meets learned how to share screens created schedules to work with virtual and hybrid students troubleshoot when technology do not cooperate
091check google classroom post messages messages and the list goes on their willingness to help and work as a united team has been valuable as we tackled an unprecedented year teaching through a pandemic they leapt through the obstacles with us when they came our way i can truly say that as we learn together the lessons that i learned from them and with them will be invaluable to me as an educator i wanted to take this time to make sure i say a heartfelt thank you miss renee and miss jamie for all you do that did for this year for the students and for me thank you thank you miss lane miss weir can you guys hear me yep yep i'm not dana i don't know how to work this thing so uh that's fine a lifelong
092resident eight mulberry court tabernacle in new jersey in regard to the powers i like them all especially miss steph she's awesome by the way but uh why are we having in in person school board meetings can you guys answer that or no why are we not having in school in-person board meetings yeah like metfor does and other school districts around here though uh we haven't gotten to that yet we're still not opening our schools after hours due to cleaning yeah but what about outside the weather's nice we'll consider it please do and that's all i got to say to you guys thank you thank you outdoor meetings all right miss kimball hi how are you good how are you good when i was um first hired here in tabernacle in 2008 i was excited to
093be coming home as a former tabernacle kid i remember tabernacle being named number one small town and having high rankings in best places to live i felt so proud knowing that our great schools had a hand in these rankings our schools have changed in many ways since then we have had high administrative turnover budget cuts and coved as we begin to plan next our next year many unknowns still linger but the constant in my teaching is the staff i count on daily to help students reach their fullest potential the paraprofessionals teachers custodians bus drivers and secretaries are the heart of our school community with our new administration it feels like we have an opportunity to embark on a new chapter of educational success as we move forward we have the opportunity to unite in strength
094to come together as a as the great community we are and to support each other as we move into the next phase of what our schools can be so what will tabernacle decide we decide to unite we decide to save our paraprofessionals jobs money what will be our priority this board will soon decide our path we can choose to spend our money on privatization legal fees and out-of-district costs or we can choose to keep our highly trained staff who already know and love their students and have been trained to support their students specific needs these amazing staff members have a vested interest in the success of our children and schools let's spread let's spend the money wisely and save our paris jobs our story and tabernacle is not over it's just beginning restore our paris
095they are the heart of our school community and will help lead us to future successes thank you thank you miss kimball ms haynes good evening how are you good how are you good good i am here as many others are in hopes that our 15 paris keep their employment within the tabernacle school district the saying nothing in life is more important than family can be applied here tabernacle is family our parents treat our students like family think about the last time you're in a classroom and watch the students in paris develop relationships over time some of our students are lucky enough to work year after year with the same familiar faces mrs darlene perniche brought bags into school to help students carry heavy lunches at home and she works to home and she works with
096students struggling with their writing miss andy bugley thoughtfully sends valentine's day cards to the students and works with the small group in the hall to help modify a math lesson these are some examples of how our powers care about the whole child when you have been in a tough when have you been in a tough situation and we're happy to see a familiar face or environment such as going back to the same doctor or booking a certain seat on a plane every time would you feel productive having a new co-worker every day and have to explain expectations and routines productivity would be low could you imagine being a student in a room where you need help but feel uncomfortable because the parent isn't a familiar face maybe you know a child who is shy and
097doesn't like to ask for help from strangers this year for the first time i am teaching an inclusion class these students are thriving in this environment because they see the same familiar faces on a daily basis these students in my class ask for our powers by name to help them with their work or just to tell them a story the students proudly in their own handwriting give their parents holiday cards we've trained our powers to work with our students and keeping them employed in our district is the greatest return of investment we could ask for consistency results in problem prevention rather rather than problem solving thank you thank you mrs haynes miss hair are you there i can hear me yep i can hear you sorry about that maybe my headphones aren't working here all
098right i have to split screen again uh danielle hair special education teacher kindergarten and first grade this year um i have something i have prepared in support of our incredible professionals incredible invested invaluable these are the words that come to mind when i think of all the power professionals i have worked with in tabernacle schools particularly sandy bogley and darlene perniche who i've worked through many obstacles with this year incredible our paraprofessionals are so incredible that they often call text and email after their contracted hours to check in on a student who had a tough day or to talk about the wonderful things they noticed while we were busy helping another student or even to help plan for the days and weeks ahead they are so incredible that they go out and buy tools supplies
099or extra things for students with their own money and on their own time they are so incredible that they come to me early in the morning to reflect on the day or week before so that they can provide the absolute best support and opportunities for their students invested our paraprofessionals are so invested they come to many teachers to share joyful moments from the playground lunch or specials that we may have missed they are invested in the community they attend tabernacle community days fundraisers parades and other school events because they are immensely invested in the school students and families they are so invested in their craft and the students they serve that they ask questions request advice and recommendations for additional resources and books to read on their own time to help understand the specific and
100unique needs of our students invaluable our paraprofessionals are invaluable our school staff and students our school staff and students are important their dedication to the tabernacle school community is immeasurable they are part of the fabric of our school the opportunity to be a community like we were pre-covered is on the horizon and paraprofessionals are a critical part of that plan as we return to a more normal school year next year hopefully paraprofessionals roles become more vital for so many of our students keeping our incredible invested invaluable professionals ensures a smooth transition back to school for our students many of whom have not been in school at all this year the entire school community needs consistency and keeping our paraprofessionals is exactly the consistency the tabernacle schools need thank you thank you miss hair any other
101hands miss valente hi good evening uh megan valente teacher sharing my personal testimony on behalf of our professionals um good evening members of the board tonight i come to you as a member of our educational community i am currently the teacher of the multi-disabled class for the primary grades here at tes spent many years as the inclusion preschool teacher and found my journey beginning here at tabernacle as a paraprofessional myself i am also born and raised in new york where in order to get supportive attentive classrooms where your child is truly known is through private schooling coming to tabernacle it still amazes me to see elements from what i knew of school a private school student of 12 years myself present in a public school platform smaller town with an enormous impressive value of tradition
102one i never knew achievable without tuition and yet here we are tonight we ask you to uphold not just tradition but what we know that works support that's strong that's familiar that's reliable support that defines tabernacle our paraprofessionals are the support to whom families not just students no trust and loudly credit toward the success we all know and have come to expect in tabernacle the notion of setting an example for children is secured as they see their teachers and their support staff become teams even families themselves administration often credit my team and i as reading one another highlighting the trust expectation and burst motions that create our classroom stability and success times they say are changing it was previously stated in a recent ble meeting that we the town and faculty cannot understand what it's
103like to be in our position members of the board this is correct but here's another fact you do not know what it's like to be in our position our profession is the one being redefined and altered for over a year now both often and quickly for all that remains unknown we do know what works respectfully speaking you remain unaware of the demands faced each day in the classrooms such as those of the multi-disabled and self-contained a change as significant as this may give you a notion and budget but will create a stagnant halt in the social and emotional needs of our students students who have had to learn to trust to love and depend on those in their rooms each and every day in addition teachers without their teams who don't they who they don't
104just depend on but have blossomed because of them as the saying goes when a child speaks you listen when a child laughs you smile when a child hurts you heal when a child dreams you believe but also when children succeed grow and feel safe you don't change that formula thank you thank you miss valente this way nope i can't hear you it doesn't say you're muted but i can't hear you anyhow mr kramer i think that worked did that work yep it worked how are you uh steve kramer 1000 old indian mills road uh in tabernacle and tabernacle teacher i just wanted to my uh i didn't prepare a letter or anything that's nearly as eloquent has been spoken but i felt the need to speak after listening to some of the things were said
105and thinking on my own uh story here in tabernacle tonight first off thank you uh for recognizing me i don't feel myself worthy nor do i like that sort of spotlight uh to be named teacher of the year at olson but i am a success story of tabernacle if nothing else and one of the reasons that i'm a success story is my teachers i could rattle off folks uh from one end of my grade school experience to all the way to the end of eighth grade who still reach out to me who are still mentors in my life and are still looking out for me as if i'm one of their kids as adults uh we make differentiations we look at certifications and we decide pay scales and what it means for one person to
106be in the classroom versus another but if i look back at my history here i didn't ever call any of the people that worked with me paraprofessionals they were my teachers mrs deangelo was one of those teachers and she gave me an award and not to take anything away from the certificate that mr bannon is going to deliver to my room tomorrow but it meant as much to me as as anything that was said about me tonight and it was a sunshine award and anyone of my generation who got that award was reminded by mrs d'angelo while i was in a special education program that my character was more important that the person that i was the way that i spoke and the actions that i took were as important as any grade any number
107anything else in my life and i've carried that with me because of paraprofessional i am a member of a team sean spoke about it mr bannon excuse me spoke about it tonight about how this was a new experience for me as a fifth grade teacher it was a new experience for our entire team and when we met over the summer to figure out and sort of work our way through what it was going to look like to all be brand new to a fifth grade experience in the middle of a pandemic and to get ready for the kids one of the people we looked to as we created our little fifth grade happy campers if you've seen our hashtags and our outdoor campgrounds and things like that we like themes in elementary school was nicole
108langdon who spoke tonight my kids don't call her a paraprofessional either they call her her t their teacher because she is as invested as any of our other team members she is as important to their education as any of the team members and she should be as celebrated as i was tonight as adults we make those lines in the sand our kids don't but they will have a line in the sand if we make a decision to get rid of those teachers in their lives i'm a success story because boards before yours made a decision to focus on the people i can't tell you the curriculum i can't tell you what the ed tech committee discussed in the 1990s with the exception of maybe the oregon trail game i played in third grade on a
109floppy disk that was pretty cool but i remember the names and i remember the people who taught me and i hope and i trust that this board knows and can get it done i've seen you do it before i trust you can do it this time and i hope you do for our kids and for our community thank you thank you mr grammer any other hands okay seeing none next page sorry turn my piles over okay at this time we're going to go into executive session where a statute allows for a public body to go into closed session during a public meeting and whereas the board of education of the tabernacle township school district has deemed it necessary to go into closed session to discuss certain matters which are exempt from the public and whereas
110the regular meeting of the board of education will reconvene at the conclusion of the closed session at approximately you guys don't want me to state a time eight eight nine o'clock i think 15 minutes is enough time 9 15. 9 9 15. now therefore be it resolved that the board of education of the tabernacle township school district will go into closed session for the following reasons as outlined by statute any matter involving the purchase lease or acquisition of real property with public funds the setting of bank rates or investments of public funds where it could adversely affect the public interest of discussion if discussion of such matters was disclosed and any matter involving the employment appointment termination of employment terms and conditions of employment evaluation of the performance promotion or disciplining of any specific prospective
111public officer or employee or current public officer or employee employed or appointed by the public body unless all individual employees or appointees whose rights could be adversely affected request in such rating that request in writing that such matter or matters be discussed at a public meeting be a further resolve that the board of education hereby declares that its discussion of the aforementioned subjects may be made public at a time when the board attorney advises the board of education that the disclosure of the discussion will not detrimentally affect any right interest or duty of the school district or any other entity with respect to said discussion be it further resolved that the board of education for the aforementioned reasons hereby declares that the public is excluded from the portion of the meeting during which the above
112discussion shall take place and hereby directs the board secretary to take the appropriate action to effectuate the terms of this resolution can i have a motion please removed gail kevin and gail kevin gayle all in favor aye aye aye all opposed all upstairs meg will the reaction afterwards there will not be any action afterwards there might be because one of the issues we talk about there might be i don't know yet i'm sorry okay i have to ask your question okay i didn't know that okay sorry there may be action taken i unfortunately have to run so i'm going to abstain from this vote but have fun without me yep thanks brian thank you all all right everybody else zoom zoom zoom there he is there he is welcome back thank you okay we're gonna
113uh continue we're gonna follow up with any miscellaneous i mean obviously there's no action being taken after that executive said yeah so we're moving on to miscellaneous anybody have anything for miscellaneous seeing none can i get a motion for adjournment we have vicky and we got dan in favor aye aye opposed all right i'll abstain if you want to stay on here all night have at it but i'm leaving i'm going to get dinner have a good night everybody thank you