001Oh, really? I'm just talking tonight. Any questions for Dr. Walker and Ms. Weber? Thank you, Nick. Hi, Dr. Walker. Hello. Coming out, I know you've had a 14-hour day already. Um I just want Could you a couple questions. You mentioned restricted early action. Can you tell I I'm not I'm not familiar with that one. Restricted early action. So, yes, so we have early action and then early decision and then a restrictive early action is if I'm correct on that, I believe it's where you're still you're committing um to go to that school as well. I'm pretty sure it's what it is. You're what? You're committing. I thought that was early action, but No, that's early early decision. Mhm. Okay. Early decision. Mhm. Restrictive early action is a short is a is a usually a different
002timeline, right? So, one might have a November 1st deadline, that might have a shorter window, I believe, is to apply. Yeah. Okay, great. Um and I just want to comment. I love the new format. It was Thank you. This is my Thank you. probably my 15th version of this um presentation. Me, too. That's right. The um the accomplishments are just amazing of the students, the staff. I just have to remind everybody that they don't come to the high school fully baked. They start in kindergarten, in first grade, and it's, you know, it's a long, long journey, and the kids are, you know, well supported throughout the journey, and the high school teachers just rocket and and close it out. I have a I'm curious, 3,000, just over 3,000 applications, half of those have to be
003in before November 1st. That's a tremendous strain on on on the staff. So, I'm curious, do you know, do you have the resources resources you need? And accompanying those 3,000 applications are recommendations by various teachers, typically high school teachers, which is just another brick in their bag that, you know, they're just pulled so thin. So, I'm I'm just curious, you know, do we have support for them as well? Are those written over the over the summer? Yeah, that's a big draw. There's some, you know, some of our teachers can get 60, 70 requests for letters of recommendation. Um, and so, we try to get we pull the teachers that are getting extraordinary numbers, and we are able to provide them some like release time and comp and try to cover for them when we can
004to give them a little bit of reprieve to be able to process those letters. Yeah. And same with the counselors, you know, so the applications, you know, primarily every student's got some application due by November 1st, right? So, over the years, we started to kind of just be try to become more efficient ourselves. So, years ago, when I was overseeing the counseling department, like we we started to push up when we start our senior conferences as early as possible. So, we're putting out that sign up for your senior conference before school even starts, right? And then you and so that they kick in like right in that first week of school to be able to give more time to get them all in, cuz each counselor has anywhere from 40 to 50 seniors that they
005got to schedule these meetings for. And all this has to happen before November 1st. Sure. And, you know, they also have to write their letters, you know, we give counselors time hours in the summer. We always have a counselor in the office in the summer every week. And so, that's for new registrants and things like that, but they also could use that time to work on some of their letters as well while they're here. And you know, we get there. We definitely get there. I mean, I think we have you know, our counselors work really hard. Um but I think you know, we figured out efficiencies. I just remember years ago putting an online scheduler into schedule your senior conference was a huge change. We used to have to do phone calls and emails back
006and forth, so we try to find efficiencies. Okay. Oh, fantastic. Okay. So, I'm sure you'll let us know if you need resources or and you took over this job even before you became principal of of of managing the counselors and the fact that you've gotten it up to 130 unique schools, that was not the case 10 years ago. Well, it's true. I mean, I don't remember the number, but it was significantly smaller than that, but you have managed to you know, find all the diamonds in the roughs for the unique unique students that may not just fit into Bucknell or or Villanova or some of the traditional schools that you know, kids went to from here years past, but the 130 that's that is just phenomenal. Um and I don't think that was it. Oh,
007last thing, are you happy with the 9.8% average applications? I mean, it used to be 15, 20. You've gotten it down. It's taken you a while, but you've gotten it down. Yeah. Yeah, it has come down. Yeah, I do. I mean, I the number of applications is high. I mean, the common app makes it very easy to apply, right? So, it you see once common app came on the scene, it became very easy to send out a lot of applications. And I do think that the more competitive band of schools you're applying to, naturally, you're going to have some more applications because some of the some many of those schools is really almost a true lottery. You know, so many students are applying with the exact same credentials. And so, you do have to kind
008of put more out there, but I just find that if you can if you can target your list a little bit better, and that means you spend time. You spent time visiting the schools. You You showed demonstrated interest. You're really certain that these are the right schools. It just seems like students who focus their energy like that get better results. And I think it's a less stressful experience for them as well. So, I do think that 9.8 is is a reasonable number, and I I think, you know, that 5 to 14 range is kind of where you want to be. Okay. Mhm. Cuz it used to be 15 to 20. Mhm. You know, it used to be much higher. Um which just made it more difficult cuz they they were competing, like you said, against
009each other. Yeah. And it's hard to visit all these schools. I'm going through it. I have my oldest son is a junior now, so I'm practicing what I've been preaching for all these years. And he thinks I don't know what I'm talking about, of course. But, uh you know, it's hard to make all these visits, and you know, we're trying to get out there. So, I get it. It's It's It's difficult. That's historical. He thinks you're an amateur. Yes. Uh that was all the questions. Thank you, Dr. Walker. I appreciate it. I appreciate you coming out, you know, so late after already doing your 14 hours. So, thank you. Thank you. Uh we have a couple of questions here. Oh, yeah. I have a question. Dr. Walker, more um comments than questions. As someone who's
010been through 5 years apart, and most recently this year, I just want to share a couple observations with you to tack on to what Jill talked about. And first of all, um I think your counselors do an amazing job on several fronts. Demystifying the process. The Common App's pretty easy once students get the hang of it, but you can apply to up to I think like 20 schools using the Common App at one time. And but um demystifying the process mean everything your your department has been so buttoned up with dates everything's due, and when to get your letters of recommendation in, and how to how to even ask for the letters of recommendation. And um if you're applying early decision versus early action. They've also done a super job at making sure that the
011students list is balanced between what might be the school they're in love with and might be some other schools that you know, are there there is no such thing as a safety anymore as we all know. So, there's just too many applications out there, but I think they do a really nice job of also providing patience and an open door policy when a student comes in December and says, "I need help. I didn't get into my early action schools and I need to modify my list." So, thank thank you for that. They're all very wonderful. Um and then I do wish that students didn't discuss it so much amongst themselves. And um it's even more rigorous now than I think it was 5 years ago with students being very aware of who's applying where. They
012kind of figured it out even, you know, so and I just think that is a level of more anxiety for these kids um that the counselors end up helping them out with. And um what I would say is I think the students that have an easier time of it get to know their counselors early on in the process, their freshman, their sophomore, their junior year, so that by senior year when the counselor is going to write that letter, they actually know the student. And I think that the students that take advantage of that have uh such a good working relationship with the counselors. So, thank you for the the counseling department doing such a great job. Thank you. I mean, they really are exceptional and I observe them all the time and you know, I
013sit in on like a junior senior conference and the prep work that they do, you know, they come into every meeting with a list of colleges to recommend that they think balances that list out. And you know, and they give those recommendations and not everyone takes them, you know, and you know, they also you know, they're working with the parent and the student, but a lot of our students work with outside college counselors as well. So, they're also competing with that individual sharing. So, sometimes we're not always on the same page, but they do such a phenomenal job of just helping them put together a list that makes sense for them based on what they know about them, too. It's really really really great. Are they starting that process of putting together a narrow list
014as seniors right when they come back in or is there anything we can do to shift that more into junior year so that they have time to come in with a smaller list? Yeah, they start it in junior year with the junior conferences that happen in January. So, the first conference then you'll meet with your counselor, parents invited to attend, and that's talking about the search process. And the counselor will start asking questions like, "Have you thought about college? What do you think you might want to study? Have you thought about location? Maybe size of school?" Like those kind of demographic type things. And then they help them you know, they they always like like them to come to that maybe with a couple schools that they think they might want to apply to. And
015then they help them narrow down some of those lists. And if they say, "You know what? I want a big state school and I want to be no more than 8 hours from home or whatever." Then they start to help lay that out for them. So, that starts in junior year. So, by the time they come in senior year, they should really have a list of like where they plan on applying. So, they might have a list. What happens at that senior meeting though is sometimes that list isn't balanced enough. And so, that's when they give them say, "You know what? I think this list is great, but it's a little top-heavy on reaches and I think you need to put a couple safety or targets in there." And they'll always have in their back
016pocket ready to go list of schools cuz they looked at all that prior to the meeting. And Dr. Walker, thank you for the presentation. I I just have one question. Do we keep stats of the percentage or the number of students who who are admitted or going to the top say universities? I think I in a prior year I might have seen something similar in that regard. There used to be a ranking that was put out by Barron's like selective, most selective, high selective schools and they they used to put all the colleges into those bands and then we used to report on those bands. But Barron's stopped doing that type of grouping and reporting several years ago and so there really isn't a nothing took its place. So we would just have to create
017our own group. Or going by like US News as long as the comparison's consistent, it doesn't really I mean obviously you know everybody can have different criterias. Yeah. And there's you know so many different rankings, right? And so it goes you know sometimes selectivity is just number of applications versus how many students they accept. So schools, you know, the colleges don't want to see what I'm putting up there don't apply to 20 schools. They want as many applications as they can because then the the the more applications they get, the less student and the students they admit they appear to be more selective. So they encourage applications. Um and so then there's also rankings on return on investment versus just selectivity. Hence that could be different schools on that list where the job placement and
018first year salary percentages like a school like um Harvey Mudd or or Stevens ranks high on that type of list. So there are a lot of different rankings and um you know, I think from time to time I have put them into this presentation I didn't have them in there this time but mainly because I never know which one to really go with, you know? So I'm you know, it's like you choose one criteria versus another. But I would say to your point US News would be probably the most well-known listing. And even there there's a number of top regional universities, top state universities, top public universities. You know, there's a lot of different lists. Yeah, no I agree. I was just curious if there was any statistic statistically changes year-over-year or any noticeable trends.
019Yeah. So I can't say that anything stood out to me in the data when I think about that. I mean, I could take another look at that, but nothing stood out, you know, I when I look at what I would consider some of the more competitive universities, I feel like we our numbers if if I probably put it on a on a chart, I think it would be fairly flatlined. I don't think there'd be any big peaks or valleys there. Thanks. Yeah. I have one other question, Dr. Walker, and SAT optional, um is there a significant change happening in the other direction over the next couple years? What is the what is the percentage What do the schools look like for the next 2 years to come? Yeah, so in talking to the counselors and
020our college career counselors, it's definitely trending in the direction of standardized tests returning. Starting to see that more and more. Some big state systems have gone back to it. So, um off the top of my head, I don't recall cuz I'm I'm not living in it all day like they are, but uh we're starting to see more of it. I mean, I can tell you I visited seven schools with my own son this past spring, and every one of them were still test optional, which was interesting. Uh but, you know, we're starting to see more and more of a pushback to submitting test scores. And do you think having the SAT digital, cuz last year was the first year I believe it was digital versus just bubble sheet, Yeah. is that making any kind of
021shift in who does well on the SAT? I I can't say that anything pointed to that to me. I mean, I I was looking at our our averages. I think our averages went up this year in the last class from the year prior a bit, so we we've increased a bit. We still have a significant number of students who take the ACT as well, so we have a split there. Um and they're definitely used to the computer-based assessments now. I mean, it is an adaptive test, the SAT test, which we hadn't seen before, but now now that's how the New Jersey state tests are designed. Um and so, I think that's helped. I mean, we've done a a school day SAT here. We started doing that 2 years ago. We do it during the school
022day and we we get a you know, a large number of juniors who will take that assessment, but that's in the spring of junior year. And you know, most students would have have taken at least one before then these days. That's pushed earlier. It used to When I used to do this presentation 10 years ago, you didn't really take your first SAT until spring of junior year. That's pushed forward now. So, things are just moving earlier and earlier. I don't know if that's good or bad and you know, I didn't really look to see if if there's a benefit or cost to that, but you know, we're definitely seeing test scores matter more. Some of the schools I visited said, "We're test optional, but you can submit your scores, but if they're if your scores
023don't reflect you or like don't correlate well to your GPA, we'll just ignore it." That's what they said. I have a hard time believing that, but that's what they said. I just want to pull on a thread that uh Dr. Zhang mentioned. The schools that the students end up going to is not always representative the competitiveness of the schools they got into cuz a lot of them just follow the money and as parents we appreciate that because most schools are between 75 and and $90,000, so you know, they may have gotten into, you know, all the Ivy's, but then follow the money to University of Michigan or you know, what do you mean? Yeah, there's that's definitely the case. They definitely sometimes will follow who's getting the money and this year in particular, I heard
024from a few people and this is more like friends of mine who had kids that were applying that right up until the last minute to the to the day of deposits, that day of, they were getting new financial offers from schools because they're having a hard time getting their yields. And I heard stories of, you know, state schools going up 5, 10,000 in merit aid right on May 1st or the day before. So, they start to throw money at you. So, it made me realize that if you had a couple schools where you'd you'd willing to go with either one, there's almost a benefit to wait to put your deposit in till that last minute. Oh, that's interesting. Yeah. Thank you. Anybody else? No. Okay, moving on. Um thank you again, Dr. Walker. That was
025very informative and as always incredibly thorough and well thought out. So, that was amazing. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks, Dr. Knight. Um okay, moving on to the business administrator's report. Sure, for the construction update where um every all the paperwork and documents are being finalized for the uh all of the summer projects that were in the budget. And I've been working with the architect on uh the architect's review of the long-range facility plan that was submitted in August of 2024. They'll be reviewing the plan and the facilities uh so that they can propose the projects that the finance committee and the board can consider putting into the referendum. And that's all I have unless there's any questions. Perfect, thank you. Um okay, moving on to Avery's not here, committee reports for personnel, Ms. Weber. Uh
026yes, thank you. Uh we just met on last Wednesday night and most of it was administrative um type of items, uh appointments, reappointments. Um many of the approvals you'll see on the agenda tonight in the personnel section. And also, I had a quick question for Dr. Sortino. Are we still on target? There's a There's a vacancy due to you know, uh some movement. Are we still on target to hire or at least interview for the supervisor of student support services? Yes. What's the schedule-ish? Sure, Dr. Rosenthal. Oh, sorry, Blair. I would have sent it to your way. Yeah, that's okay. It's fine. I should have known that. That's all right. Um so, there's going to be screenings that are going to be happening. We had an immense amount of applicants, um both internal and external.
027Um so, myself and Dr. Vasto, the other student support services supervisor, are going to be conducting the screenings this week. Um and then the hope would be to nominate the top three candidates from that for second round in-person for committee meeting Monday morning. And then, after that, make a recommendation to Dr. Sorrentino for the candidate of choice to be appointed at the upcoming June meeting. June meeting. Okay. Perfect. Though there will be, depending on who the candidate is and timing, um the start date will be somewhere between July and August, depending on 60 days notice and all of that. Right. They have a They They would have that 60-day garden leave. Correct. So, the appointment date will be sometime over the summer, depending on who the candidate is that we choose, but it'll happen at
028the upcoming June meeting is what we're hopeful for. Oh, that's great. I'm thrilled to hear that you got so many qualified applicants. Yes. Sometimes you throw it out there and you get nobody that you're interested in. Yes. There was, I would say, at least well over 60 applicants um since we posted it. So, yeah. And they continue to come in and they continue to be reviewed every time they come in to see if those that come in are qualified to be added for the first round screening. So, we were happy to have so many qualified applicants. Oh, that's great. Thank you, Dr. Rosenthal. That's all I had, Anne. Okay, perfect. When do you meet again? June 3rd. Okay. June 3rd. Perfect. Okay, moving on to curriculum, Ms. Ross. Yes, we also met last Wednesday, the
0296th. Um we talked about a few topics. We revisited um the new textbook for the AP African American Studies course for grades 11 and 12. Um due to low enrollment, um at that time last year, the course did not run, so we did not vote on approv- approving that textbook, but it is on the agenda this evening, and one section of the class is scheduled to run next year. Uh we spent a lot of time talking about screen time as we did at the last board meeting and um I want to reiterate that we do have a plan in place and this summer a committee of teachers, supervisors, and administrators is planning to develop consistent expectations for screen usage across all grades. Um Dr. Sortino also mentioned that there will be a survey going out
030to parents to gather their input. Um the district is also replacing securely the monitoring system with a new tool called Linewise, which is going to let teachers monitor and manage off-task screen usage in the classroom and will also feature um more parental controls at home for parents if they would like to monitor the devices and final guidelines and expectations will be shared with parents at the start of the school year. Um one other thing I would like to mention, there has been a few posts on social media since our last meeting um discussing the spend on Chromebooks. Numbers being thrown out that without much context, so I just want to mention that the $480,000 that was mentioned is for the total technology spend, not just Chromebooks. I know that information is out there and inaccurate,
031so we will update everybody um as we continue to um you know, talk about how screen time plans will be um and expectations for the parent community as well. Lastly, um school culture and climate initiative. This is something that was brought up um the administration met with three organizations to explore programs that could help support improvements um particularly at the middle school where the recent reconfiguration and the changing demographics within the Chatham community um has led the district to determine that support from an outside organization would be beneficial. So, the school culture and climate initiative through Saint Elizabeth University has been adopted. It's a three-year program and will involve teachers, administrators, and students to help strengthen school culture and inclusivity. So, the work will begin next year and updates will be provided. Um I believe
032we also have a meeting on June 3rd, but we will um confirm that. And that's it. I'll take any questions if anybody has any. Perfect. Thank you for clarifying those numbers and sure. Numbers that are being disputed all over the place. Thanks. Um any questions? No questions. Anybody? Okay. Uh moving on to finance. Emphasis Finance has had a little bit of a lull since budget. We have a meeting Wednesday. Tonight and then we have another one, one more before the end of the year. As of yet, but we probably will schedule one based on tonight and the architects' feedback. That's it for finance. Policy and planning has not met either, correct? Policy and planning has not met either. Okay. Okay, cool. Thanks. Um any liaison reports? I don't have one for CEF, but there are
033quite a few donations from them, but I'll let Brad highlight those in the Yeah. I won't take your thunder this time. Thank you. I'm not sure. I don't know. I'll ask on that. Anybody else know of other liaison reports? Okay. Um okay, I'd like to make a motion to move the minutes from the um public session and the executive session on April 27th, please. I'll second it. Just a reminder, Mr. Smith does need to abstain on those. Uh the the regular and executive session minutes from April 27th, Ms. Ross. Yes. Sorry. Ms. Allen. Yes. Mr. D'Alessandro? Yes. Ms. Peck? Yes. Mr. Smith? Yes. Bob Stein, sorry. Ms. Weber? Yes. Dr. Zang? Yes. And Ms. Ciccarelli? Yes. Passes 7-0-1. Okay, perfect. Thank you. Um, okay, this is going to be our first opportunity for public commentary.
034Notice uh, hearing of the citizens during the public commentary section of the agenda is an opportunity for any member of the public to be heard about issues which are or are not topics scheduled for the current meeting. To help facilitate an orderly meeting and to permit all to be heard, speakers will be asked to limit their comments to a reasonable length of time. And then we also just ask that you sign in with your name and where you live, whether it's township or borough, and um, that's it. I'm sorry. Yeah, you can go ahead. If you could just sign in at the podium and then just let us know where you're from, that'd be great. Yeah, I signed in earlier. Um, live at 30 North Hillside Avenue, which is in the borough. Uh, appreciated the
035work on the on the high schools. That's one of the reasons why we moved here. Didn't see my alma mater, um, but I'm sure Stanford's doing all right. Uh, so good evening. It's my first time doing anything like this, but here's what I have to say for you guys, you folks, you nice folks up there. The school district of the Chathams is currently operating on gender policies that are in direct conflict with the highest legal authorities in our nation. I am aware that the district has recently, or not so recently, moved these regulations into file code 514 5.7, but changing the number doesn't change the nature of the policy. For years, we were told policy 5756 was a mandate, legal mandate. We now know that that was legal fiction. In the Hanover Township hearings, New
036Jersey's own Attorney General's office admitted in court that policy 5756 is merely guidance, not a requirement. By maintaining these rules in this district under any file number, this board is choosing to prioritize Trenton's suggestions over the constitutional rights of Chatham parents. First, regarding parental rights, the era of secrecy is ending. On March 2nd, 2026, the US Supreme Court in Mirabelli vs. Boonta blocked policies that prevent schools from notifying parents about child's social transitions. The court reaffirmed that parents, not the state or the local district, have primary authority over their children's upbringing. To continue a policy of non-disclosure is now a direct defiance of this constitutional standard. Second, regarding facilities, the legal floor supporting identity-based access has collapsed. In January 2025, federal courts vacated 2024 Title IX revisions. This means that 2020 Title IX standards, which
037protect privacy based on biological sex alone, are once again the law of the land, whether you like it or whether you don't. We should stop asking our daughters to seek alternative arrangements in nurses' offices and return to sex-segregated private spaces. Chatham has become a legal outlier. High-performing districts like Edison and Coltsneck have already repealed this policy recognizing that the NJDOE guidance does not override federal law or the 2024 Cass Review, which warns that social transition is a significant psychological intervention requiring parental oversight. By maintaining this status quo, you are inviting legal liability to the District of the Chathams. I urge this board to suspend file code 5145.7 and restore full transparency with parents, restore sex-segregated facilities based on biological sex, and align our sports policies with biological reality to protect female athletes. Our students deserve
038privacy, our athletes deserve fairness, and our parents deserve the truth. That's it. Anybody else? You can go ahead. Hi. Hi. Uh it's a tough one to follow. Um hi, my name's Mary. I'm Subjally. I live in the township. move the mic Oh. Hi, my name's Mary. I'm Subjally. I live in the township. I grew up in Chatham. Uh I did not go to the high school, but I grew up here. Um and now I live here. I've got three young kids. And for the majority of my career, I've worked in tech and recently left Google. Google is the biggest tech company in education at the moment, as I'm sure you guys all know. Uh there's lots of pros and cons for using tech in the classroom as I think that there's been heated discussions. I
039haven't seen Facebook or the comments on Facebook, but I can imagine. Um education is changing as you guys know much better than I do, right? They're gamifying school lessons for children with AI programs. And I imagine that education's going to be a really big frontier. So, I would love to hear how you guys are thinking about it and taking the perspective of an educator. Someone who's spent a decade at Google. Google is not an education company, right? They're not graded on metrics of how well the children are learning. It's a corporation that's there to make money and the Chromebook initiative is something that um you know, they've given given out many millions of Chromebooks to lower school systems, right? Under under the age of 10. And part of that is to give resources to schools,
040but part of that obviously is to get users and to get the next generation getting used to a uh Google operating system. So, I just wanted to hear at some point if there's a way for us to have a conversation about how are you thinking about that? How are you weighing the benefits of personalized AI-based tutoring and education programs against some of the ideas and and corporate interests that are behind them. Okay, okay. I'm going to I'm going to We don't normally do a back and forth with each speaker, but we'll we'll address um at the end when everybody's done talking and I'll probably punch it over to um Dr. Donahue who's the head of curriculum and but yeah. you. Yeah, this is my first time. I just didn't want you to think I was
041ignoring you, but yeah. No, it's yeah, my first time here. I missed it. Sure. Maryam Subjally. Thank you very much. Sure. As well. Oh, yeah. Where do I It'll be up there. It's right on the The list is right on the podium. And there should be a pen there. No, there's nothing. No list, no pen. Then somebody took the list. Thanks a lot, James. You took our list. You need a pen? Dr. Walker took the pen. So, put a chain on it, make it like a bank. Hi. Um my name is Hillary Ziccardi. Um I spoke at the last meeting about um with some questions about Chromebooks. Um and it was actually to the extent that the comment by Ms. Ross was related to a Facebook post that I posted using a number of uh
042I think 480,000 plus. Um that's a number that I was given by Dr. Sorrentino in an email, which I'm happy to share with the board. But if that's not the correct number, I'd love to know what the correct number is. If anybody is aware of that. No bells for that. Hi. Um so, I'll sign in in a minute. Um my name is Meredith Coleman Kadel. Um I went to Chatham schools K through high school. I graduated in 2004. I have three kids. My oldest just started kindergarten at Washington Avenue this year. Um and my mom taught in the district for over 20 years. Uh at Lafayette, actually. Um and I just too want to voice my desire to be involved at any capacity as a parent in the discussion of Chromebooks used in the classroom
043and tech in general, specifically for the grades under four. Um obviously it needs to be used in some capacity. The kids need to know how to use a computer. I'm not trying to be an extremist about it. Um but I just my daughter's first week of kindergarten, you know, she is a very active student who's participating, loves to learn, excited to be there. Her first week she came home, she Mom, I have a headache. They use a lot of screens. Was was her commentary on how it went. So, um understanding what the expectation of screen time usage is at each grade level, um how are you using it at for learning, what the goal is, what the you know, the a desire is at the end of it all, um but also just for leisure
044time, brain breaks, recess, um access to it in the lunch room, in the classroom, as a reward, all of those bits and I I understand it sounds like there's going to be some more monitoring in terms of how much time they're given access on those, but um I think that the parents would love to be involved at some capacity beyond just a survey, not just told here's what's going to happen at the end. So, thank you. Okay, I'm going to close that um section of the public commentary. There will be another opportunity later in the meeting. I'm going to punt this over to Dr. Sortino and see if there's anything you want to answer tonight or anybody that you want to get in contact with further after the meeting. Sure. Um so as a reminder,
045we are not ordering Chromebooks for K to 2 this school year. Um the Chromebook orders that are occurring would be for upper grades as well as potentially staff. Um any of that would be bundled into the major Chromebook cost. Um and I did not make a mistake when I sent you that email and I did let the board know that I wrote you as well just because you had asked a question in public session last time. Um as a reminder, you know, students do need to understand how to use Chromebooks both for state testing, SATs, etc. I agree that it needs to be intentional and that's the point of having a very well-thought-out committee that thinks intentionally about it. Uh I've been working on the survey. I shared a draft with the board the other
046day to really gather more detailed feedback from parents of all ages because we do keep getting such varied feedback about what grade levels parents want children on and what grade levels they don't seem to really mind if their child is using a device and so I think it's important to gather a sample across the the board. Um And uh to the parents that's questioning the policy, I'm confused where you talk about an era of secrecy and non-disclosure when in our policy it talks about contacting families directly and that the only circumstance that the district would not contact a family would be if a student was at physical risk at home if they communicated that they did not feel safe, at which point a call to the department of the division of children and families would
047be made. Um so, I'm not sure about the air of secrecy, and then I believe you referenced a uh concern about facilities. And within the the policy, it very clearly speaks to the fact that the school district must provide reasonable alternative arrangements for any student. We have single stalls throughout the district, and in communication that I've had with you, I've shared that no one is using a a restroom or a locker room, etc., that is not their assigned um sex at birth. And so, I think the other side of it is that I understand you feel very strongly about the policy and and perhaps your views and your thoughts, but there also are families and children that we are tasked to protect to make sure that they feel safe and supported within the school district,
048and that's a job that I take very seriously for all students. Is there single-use bathrooms that are gender-neutral? Yes. Single-use? Correct. But one person uses. Correct. Correct. Similar to if you're at a restaurant. they choose. Either sex. Mhm. Yes. Correct. Can use that bathroom as single-use. Correct. lock themselves in the bathroom. Have you had any instances of a boy in a girl's bathroom? None that I am aware of. Dr. Sorrentino, um I'm sorry. I mean, my experience 30 some odd years here, the staff will always work with the parent obviously first, unless there's danger with this. We're talking upper grades, you know, for sure. And it very clearly states that within the policy. If that a student, you know, identifies as a different gender or name, there's a counselor meeting with the principal, there's an
049administrator present, everyone is saying, "Are you safe? Are you comfortable? We'd like to bring your family into this." To my knowledge, at least in the 5 years that I've been here, there has not been a circumstance where a family has not been notified that their child is identifying as a different name or gender. Right. I mean, I've heard of thousands of cases and no staff member wants to go it alone. They want the parents involved. They not only welcome it, they they almost insist on it even when some parents are reluctant. So, the first stop is always the family, period. We're not Sorry. Sorry. Excuse me. Um okay, we're going to move on to the regular agenda for personnel. Yep. Oh, that's me. That's me. It's me again. Uh thank you. I'd like to move
050items uh 1A A1 through A27 on the regular agenda, but there's also additions um 28 through 31 on the addendum. Second. Thank you. Agenda items A1 through 27 and the addendum of A28 through and including A31, Ms. Ross. Yes. Ms. Allen. Yes. Mr. D'Alessandro. Yes. Ms. Peck. Yes. Mr. Smith. Yes. Ms. Webber. Yes. Dr. Zane. Yes. And Ms. Ciccarelli. Yes. Agenda items passed 8-0. Um perfect for finance and facilities. Finance and facilities. Uh I'd like to move B1 to B13 on the main agenda and 14 and 15 on the addendum. Um also highlight a few donations we have. Um I second. Uh second, thank you. Uh the Box Tops for Education donation to the CMS. We have a donation from the CEF, Ms. Ross mentioned, for Electrifying Your Strings. Another uh donation from the CEF
051for uh Sensational Sensory Station. Um we have a Fidelity Charitable Donor for the Eleanor Shipler Award made possible for David and Deborah Shipler. Thank you. A donation from the Schmelz family for the E.J. Schmelz Scholarship Fund at CHS. Thank you. A donation from the Key Club International to fund the outreach program at CHS and a donation from the CHS football team parents to be used for the purchase of football iPads. Thank you, everyone. I just need to remind everybody that E.J. was a student here and unfortunately he was at the Air Force Academy wanting to be a pilot his entire life and unfortunately he passed away or died due to a training accident. So, they have had this this family has had the scholarship going you know for since his since his death. I just
052like to point out that that's where that scholarship comes from. He was at the Academy and you know succumbed to a training accident, but that's where the where that scholarship comes from. It's a I just don't want it to be forgotten. Agenda items B1 through B13 and the addendum item 14 and 15. Ms. Ross. Yes. Ms. Allen. Yes. Mr. Delsandro. Yes. Ms. Peck. Yes. Mr. Smith. Yes. Ms. Webber. Yes. Dr. Zang. Yes. Ms. Chiccarelli. Yes. Agenda items passed 8-0. Okay, perfect. For curriculum. Yes, I'd like to move action item C1 to C6 on the regular agenda. I'll second it. Agenda items C1 through C6. Ms. Ross. Yes. Ms. Allen. Yes. Mr. Delsandro. Yes. Ms. Peck. Yes. Mr. Smith. Yes. Mrs. Webber. Yes. Dr. Zang. Yes. And Mrs. Ciavarelli. Yes. I will pass 8-0. Um policy
053setting. If anybody want to move policy Oh yeah, I can do I can do that. Uh I like to move item D1 on the regular agenda. I second that. Uh and this is an item that most of the Morris County schools are putting on their agendas just to show support um and and just want the governor and the powers that be in in Trenton to figure out some relief with the rising cost of health care. Um so it's a plea, it's an urge. We're going to continue all avenues, but this is just another way to to get on board saying something has to be done. Mhm. 33% I don't know what budget can sustain a 33% increase. It's just you know, it's just incredible. Agenda item D1, Mrs. Ross. Yes. Mrs. Allen. Yes. Mr. Del
054Sandro. Yes. Mrs. Peck. Yes. Mr. Smith. Yes. Mrs. Webber. Yes. Dr. Zang. Yes. And Mrs. Ciavarelli. Yes. Agenda item passes 8-0. Um anybody have any other board business? I don't think so. When are we voting on the calendars? I'm sorry? Calendars. Would probably be discussed at the next meeting after the parent survey goes out to gather feedback about the calendar is the survey going out? That's a great question. I have to finish it, so shortly in a perfect world. Okay, good. And you'll keep us in the loop on that. Yes. Okay, cool. Thanks. And that's the 27-28. Like correct. We got all right, right, right. Yeah, we have time. Yeah. Um okay, perfect. Anybody else have anything else for board business? No? Okay, it's now our second opportunity to be for public commentary. Um just
055as it stood before, if anybody is interested. Sorry. Mr. Heap is missing. He's busy. He's very busy. I don't know if this is working. Um so, just to clarify, I'm I'm trying to understand what the Please state your name again. Oh, sorry. It's Hillary Siclari. Thank you. S I C L A R I Um just trying to understand what the number actually is for this year on spend on Chromebooks. Which I sent you, which the number that I sent you, which was $480,000. I sent you the previous years as well, and that shows all of the devices that would be purchased both for staff, students, etc. Okay, so that's the full context of that number. Correct. Great. Thanks. Um the second question is you'd mentioned that K through 2 are no longer having Chromebooks? K
056through 2 will not have their devices reordered. They will instead have classroom carts. In the past, those devices would have been reordered on a cycle along with all the other grades. That will not happen for the upcoming year and most likely not in the future as well. In addition, the middle school is trialing carts where students walk in, put their cart instead of having it on their desk where they may feel tempted to touch it. So, right now there are carts in various classrooms throughout the middle school. Additional teachers have volunteered to trial it as well. Next year, the goal would be that fifth grade does not bring their Chromebooks home at night, and every single classroom in the middle school will have a place for students to put their devices as they enter each
057class. And how was the decision made just to dis- to not to not have Chromebooks in K through 2, but include them in 3rd through 5th. So, when I say that they're not being reordered, there will still be Chromebook carts available in those buildings because those devices already exist. Typically, they would be reordered on a like a regular schedule to ensure that they have access. But, as I mentioned earlier, students still need to know how to use devices and the state-approved dyslexia screener is on Chromebooks. Um so, they need to have access to Chromebook carts within the elementary schools. Okay. And in what manner are they used just out of curiosity in K through second grade? Sure. Um just as I explained, the dyslexia screener, they might use them for math centers. They could use
058them for um instructional components in a design and technology course such as a special where they might bring them infrequently. Um typically, my understanding is that kids are using them maybe 15 to 20 minutes and it's not multiple times per week. Um but, it would be an optional math center. They might have um books read aloud to them on Epic. There's educational websites such as uh Lexia, etc. that students might access on a device. And so, is that part of the guidelines that are being developed? Are they Are the guidelines going to speak to the amount of time that children are spending on the Chromebooks per day? I think that's a very fair question that I'm not prepared to answer at this time. I think the intention behind that committee is to take the feedback
059provided by parents and to think very intentionally about the differences in age level, grade levels, the purpose of the devices within the classroom, and how often each of them should be used as kids progress throughout their academic careers. Thanks. Are there any Oh, sorry. Um are there currently any national guidelines or standards that should drive technology usage in the classroom? The only thing that I've been able to find is typically districts will have acceptable use policies, not so much expectations or norms. Right now the Los Angeles Unified School District is looking to draft guidelines. That's the only district in the country that I could find other than ours. Um so it's it's definitely a new and evolving area and I think that's where it I want to make sure that it's done and Dr. Donahue
060wants to make sure that it's done very intentionally and thoughtfully and that's the intention of having the committee is to really think critically about what makes sense. Mary. In assembling the committee, we want to make sure that all grade levels are represented as well as all departments where special education falls in line with that. Um you know, coming off of COVID, our our teachers did adapt very quickly to bringing technology and now we're asking them to move again. So it's really important for us to make sure that their voices are reflected. But there definitely is an appetite. As much as parents are concerned about this, the teachers are too. And I I do think in the K-2 world, it really should be very very limited as Emily said, um the dyslexia screener. But I've been
061fielding questions just this week as we approach NJSLA testing. I've got third grade parents who are coming to the me and saying, "Well, my child's a really slow typer." And the reality is the writing component is done on the Chromebook. So we just need to find a way where there's balance. Um but that's the goal of our summer work and as Emily said, we have not come across any districts that have policies per se, but I think the trend is going towards guidelines so that as we come to the start of the year, parents can know what to expect based on the age of their child. And sorry, I have one other question. I remember I think it was Chatham Middle School PTO meeting last year that we were both at that someone raised the
062concern of um managing their child at home on that school device. Will we be putting out um some suggested usages for after school hours for the students as well that can maybe really support the parent as well in terms of monitoring screen time at home? Yes, and I had mentioned this at the last meeting, but the new um internet filtration system that we're using, which is Linewise, I say it wrong every time. Um they have a parent component known as Custodio, and that will allow you to limit the amount of time that your child is on certain websites outside of school. It'll give you a snapshot of everything that they're searching, if they received any blocked website notifications, you would be notified of that as well. And then an additional license for every child that
063you have in the district is provided so that you can also put it on their personal devices such as an iPhone or an Android. Sorry, can I ask one more question? And how is that different than the one that we're currently using? Why are we making that switch, and why was that decided? We're making that switch primarily because the data provided by Securly was not as detailed as we were hoping. We wanted them to draft a report that allowed us to see the total screen usage and the different websites that students were accessing throughout the school day. Unfortunately, it took a very long time for them to build the report, and once they built the report, they communicated that it was tallying time when a student closed their device if the app didn't shut off.
064And so the data was completely unreli- reliable and couldn't be used. Um that's where we looked at other providers that we felt would have better information and better tools that would allow teachers to quickly and um easily monitor what websites students are using, and then it would also allow the family component to be more transparent as well. And just because we're adapting to a new um platform as we approach the start of the school year, the tech department will be pushing out tutorials to help parents understand how to use it efficiently. Um and if necessary, we can bring tech into PTO meetings so parents have the opportunity, but knowing it's new, um, it will be broken down very specifically so parents can use it effectively. Have teachers started and this is just anecdotal, empirically, are
065you finding that teachers are using things like I don't even know if we have a BrainPop subscription anymore, or BrainPop or Kahoot. Are we using those tools? Are we not? Pearson tools, like what, um, what are teachers using right now versus what they were a few years ago? More or less, I mean, obviously during COVID they had to use these tools. So, um, there's been what we're what we're trying to do particularly for ELA is we're shifting back to a reading notebook, a writing notebook. Um, also we use notebooks for journaling in math and science. Like the research says that students that hold a book in their hands, students who actually take notes, um, it it's more effective and makes the learning more concrete. Um, at the high school there's definitely a trend where the
066teachers are encouraging these students actually physically take notes and the students are responding to it. Um, the thing things like Kahoot or Blockit, the the kids do love it so it's meant, um, typically they'll use it as they're approaching an end-of-unit assessment, but they're starting to use it more sparingly. Um, we also have invested heavily with our in-class libraries in each of our classrooms, moving away from reading on a device. Um, uh, we do have special education concerns. Um, but primarily that is where we're trending and I think teachers are eager to have a conversation about what the appropriate use looks like and the effectiveness of it as it relates to their instruction. And those will be the conversations we have this summer. Public commentary? Yep. Sorry about that. Go ahead. Whenever you're ready. No
067worries at all. Uh, Susan Ryan Ford, uh, grandparent of two little girls in Chatham in the schools. Uh your policy 5145.7 does allow for secrecy and our attorney agrees. The Commissioner of Education has stated that the responsibility for determining a student's gender-related identity rests with the student. Once a student notifies a school official that he or she would like to be referred to by a different pronoun or name or requests to use the facilities associated with a different gender, his or her school counselor will meet with the student to confidentially discuss this request. During such meeting, the school counselor will also assess the student's parents guardians knowledge, if any, of the student's request. If the student's parent guardian is not aware of the request, the school counselor will assess whether and to what extent the
068parents and guardians can be involved. Therefore, thereafter, a meeting will be scheduled with a student, his her school counselor, and the school principal or designee to discuss the implementation of the student's request and preferences. Where permitted by law and with the consent of the student, parents guardians shall be included in the discussions, meetings, and and decisions regarding a student's request. A student's age shall also be taken into consideration during this process. There certainly is room for secrecy. Thank you. Hi, again, Meredith. Sorry. Um I just want to follow up on um I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name, but what you were just discussing with some of the programs that are used and what the teachers are using and to To clear, I'm not trying to come across as combative. Um I'm just trying to
069understand like I don't know what the programs are that that you were just mentioning. I All I know is that my daughter watches Danny Go sometimes for a brain break, and I don't necessarily think there's anything wrong with it. I just Are there a part of what you guys are putting together over the summer, are there going along with Chromebook usage, do you intend to have something that covers like YouTube videos and those brain break videos and how often that's to be used based on the grade level and can And of course it's the dead of winter. It's It's 10° outside. Everyone's stuck inside. Like that I I imagine it's used more frequently. It is in my house. So um just how is that going to be addressed within that plan? The feedback from the
070teachers, the goal is to create consistency. We're really focusing quite a bit on K to 2, but we want students to have a similar experience whether at the Washington, Milton, Southern. So say something like at snack time to have a consistent policy that we don't watch a video during snack, um that we talk, we have a little bit of downtime. Um your suggestion about, you know, if you have indoor recess and we're on our 20th day, perhaps we might watch a 10-minute video. Um but that's why we want to encourage the teachers to have discussions because many of them do use GoNoodle for an exercise break. And we just want to know, you know, how do they feel about it? Is it beneficial? Does it get too rowdy? Do they really see like the kids
071get their wiggles out? Um but rather than us dictating that, we really do need to hear from the teachers so that all of the students, particularly at those grade levels, do have a common experience and that then you as parents know coming into the school year what does that look like. Okay. And then um I just It's been mentioned a few times K through 2 is the reasoning with the like the Chromebook usage to 2 is that just because the school separates for for 3 and 4 or what Why is Why does it stop at 2? Why is that? I think we need more careful consideration because the reality is once they do hit third grade, we are looking at state testing. We know that testing can induce some anxiety with the students, so we
072do need time to expose them to Chromebooks to get them to be efficient typers and to know the tools. So, that's why we're really focusing on what's best for students and how can we approach that at that grade level because if we deprive them entirely of Chromebooks, that's going to create a whole other set of issues. So, but I think, you know, concretely for K to 2, we can get to almost a screen-free existence, but I know the questions that come up from teachers is we don't have blackboards anymore. We have smartboards. So, their first question is does my smartboard count as a screen? So, we you know, when a lot of many of them do their calendar on it, they do their weather. So, as much as we'd like to say they're gone, the
073screens do come in in many shapes and sizes, and so we just need to see what their feedback is, and we're not replacing our smartboards with a with blackboards. So, we need to come to some decision about what that looks like. Sure. No, that makes total sense, and obviously like we want the teachers to be happy with what they're do Like that's not a not trying to tell anyone how to do what they, you know, are professionals in doing, and I think just one other thing I want to This might be obvious, but I don't want to not say it, but like the teachers using videos in within their lessons, like how often You don't need to answer this right now. This is just a hypothetical statement of like will that be considered? Like how
074often are we using YouTube videos? And I don't know why, but the idea of a video reading a a to my kindergartener really just like kind of for lack of a better term gives me the ick. There's an adult should read a a 6-year-old a book, you know, but I I realize that that's a tool I needed. Um but just for those to be considered as well. So, thank you. Okay, so I'm going to close the second section for public commentary. Do we have an executive session? We do not. Okay. Um okay, so I'm going to adjourn the meeting. Thank you everybody for coming out. Everybody get home safely.