001more to come. So, I'm going to reconvene to open session. Uh, resolve that the board of education reconvene to open session. The time is >> 7:06. >> 70:06. And I'll make a motion. May I have a second? >> Second. >> Sandra second. And all in favor? >> I. And that's everybody. Can you please stand with me and recite the pledge to the flag to the flag of the United States of America for which stands on Okay, our first agenda item number six on the agenda here is the public hearing on the 2025 2026 district safety plan. So I will read the resolution to open the public hearing. Be resolved that the board of education open the public hearing on the 2025 2026 district safety plan. The time is 7:08. And I'll make a motion for
002that. May I have a second? Jen second. And all in favor? I comment. Anybody want? Okay. Seeing no public comment, we'll move on to close the public hearing. So, be it resolved that the board of education close the public hearing on the 2025 2026 district safety plan and reconvene the business meeting. The time is still 708. And I'll make a motion for that. May I have a second, Liz? Thank you. And all in favor? I. Okay. And we are going to go to our presentations. So, our first presentation is a student recognition for Elizabeth Walsh, who is an all-state winner at the New York State Cross Country Championships. [applause] >> Welld deserved. So, I just want to read a little bit of um Elizabeth's accolades on what had happened over the past month and her
003her great accomplishments. Um want to take a moment of course to congratulate this fine young lady on an incredible performance at the state cross country championships um that took place up in Queberry a number of weeks ago. Now what's interesting to understand is there was I believe approximately 132 runners in class C. Um Liz who was an incredible student athlete um she did an outstanding job. I believe you ran uh 19 minutes and 13.2 seconds. Am I correct? Am I correct? Okay. And now I want to tell you a little bit about um what this accomplishment was. She placed the third highest among section one runners that day. Okay. Um and 15th in the total race out of 132 runners. That's why [applause] >> [applause] >> student athlete Elizabeth Walsh was given the honor of
004being recognized as uh a state recipient for her outstanding accomplishment this year. So Elizabeth, we congratulate you. We wish you all the best in your future endovers and you do so proud. If you'd like to say a couple of words. >> Um thank you so much for the recognition. It means a lot to be running for polling. I'm very proud to wear the Pauling uniform. I would just like to thank my coaches Reed McGrath, Adam Morowski, and David Brickman. Um, and my teammates and my brother Lucas, who's the captain, and all of Mr. Belaluchcci's support and the support from Pauling. Thank you. [applause] >> I just want to read this certificate. So, we're giving Elizabeth certificate in honoring of earning all state at the New York State cross country championships. Your hard work, consistency, and
005determination bring great pride not only to yourself, but your family and the entire Pauling community. Congratulations. You're welcome. [applause] >> Our next recipient is a young man by the name of Samuel Feedler. Sam, if you can come up, please. Congratulations. [applause] I talk to you a little bit about this young man and his uh incredible accomplishments when it comes to uh being uh in the band. Sam was accepted to participate in the New York State Band Directors Association Allstate High School Band this year in Syracuse, New York. He was one of 120 students selected throughout New York State to participate in a two-day festival which will be coming up right March 6th, 7th and 8th where he will work with worldrenowned conductors and composers to perform a high caliber concert in the New York State
006band. So again Sam, congratulations. Tell a little bit about your journey through picking the instrument that you're playing and and how excited you are if you don't mind. >> Hello. I'd like to thank you very much for this recognition. I've started playing the euphonium back in fourth grade, very long time ago. And I made this very long journey, participated in so many different uh ensembles, played so many different solos. And I'd like to thank Mr. Gray, Miss Nay, and the entire music department. Thank you very much. [applause] >> [applause] >> propose tonight that we honor Sam as we are celebrating um in in incredible um programs that we have here at Pauling High School when it comes to band orchestra course. uh and we're very very lucky and you I have to tell you being
007an intram superintendent and the amount of opportunities that the students have for a small district is absolutely a credit to the board who are or is the board that allows this to happen and to you the parents for your constant um energy and enthusiasm. So it basically the says to the following. Congratulations Samuel Feedler on your acceptance and participation in the New York State Band Directors Association Allstate High School Band. Being one of 120 students selected to participate in this two-day festival with worldrenowned conductors and composers to perform a highc caliber concert is a great honor and achievement. Again, your hard work, your desire to do the best, your determination gives us the greatest pride, not only in yourself, your family, but the entire Pauling community. Congratulations. [applause] And we have another award recipient. We're
008going to call up Mr. Gray. Mr. Gray, can you please come up? [applause] last night to be at the high school winter concert. Just an absolutely outstanding job by all our participants and all of our conductors. It was a it was a great night and I congratulate everybody. So, um this recognition goes to Mr. Gray, our own polling high school band director. um and and his outstanding accomplishment in the middle school seventh and eighth grade band director as he earned third place in the 2025 American prize in conducting for band and win ensemble school division contest. The American Prize is a national competition recognizing excellence in the performing arts. Mr. Gray, who was a finalist last year, received this honor for his outstanding work with our student musicians. We are so proud of Mr. Graham
009for this national recognition. Again, your dedication, passion, and excellent musicianship to our students brings us such pride. We congratulate you from the bottom of our hearts. Great job. [applause] [applause] >> Obviously much uh for the the recognition. And thank you to the school board for um supporting our students in everything they do, whether it comes to money or whatever. You all just support us in every way absolutely possible. So, I'm super appreciative of that. Thank you to the parents for giving me the opportunity to work with your lovely students and um yeah, thank you all so much. I appreciate it. [applause] Awesome. And on behalf of all of us on the school board, congratulations Elizabeth with the running. Uh Sam, congratulations. And Mr. Gray, congratulations. That's awesome. You guys represent us all very well. And
010uh and congratulations. That's great to start the meeting with. So, we are on to our next uh presentation, which is going to be our performing arts curriculum update um by Mrs. Nace. Right. Good evening everybody. Um, thank you um, for giving us the opportunity to share the incredible growth and accomplishments happening within the Pauling Central School District music department. My name is Alicia Nace. I am the proud I am proud to serve as both a music educator and curriculum leader here at Pauling. Tonight, I'm excited to highlight our program's enrollment, student success, and the outstanding work of our music team. Right here, you see this is our music department here at Pauling. Um, our music educators are the heart of this program. They are dedicated teachers, performers, leaders, and lifelong learners who bring passion and
011expertise into every rehearsal and classroom. Our department includes Brienne Chazino, Jeffrey Easter, Alexander Gray, Joseph McKichchen, and myself. Each of us is actively involved in professional organizations, music ensembles, and community art initiatives. And each of us brings something unique to to our students. Let me just highlight a few of our accomplishments. As you just heard, Mr. Gray earned third place in the American Prize for band win band conducting. He was also selected for the fellows for the Reynolds of conducting institute at the Midwest band and Orchestra conference which he will be traveling to Chicago next week to participate in this event. He also serves as the chair of the DCMEA Junior High Allount Band guiding ensemble programming and performance of Duchess County students in grades 7 through nine. Mr. Dr. McKeching continues to serve on
012the DCMEA executive board focusing on public and government relations. He also serves on the health and wellness committee here at Pauling and is currently developing a new partnership with the Northwell Health formerly not newance right to bring communitywide wellness initiatives to Pauling. He recently completed his second master's degree at St. John's University and was recently accepted into the educational doctorate in educational leadership program at St. Bonaventure University. He is also furthering his professional growth through um Northern Westchester Boseis. Mr. Easter is co-chair of the DCMEA Junior High All County Chorus, helping to organize and support vocal music here in Duchess County with students in grades 7 through nine. He continues to elevate Pauling's coral and theater programs. this fall's production of Willy Wonka Jr. which we will talk about a little bit later. It was
013a huge success. The high school will present Once Upon a Mattress this spring which will be submitted for award consideration. Additionally, he will be bringing 10 drama uh club students to the New York State Theater Education Association conference in January where they will participate in five workshops across diverse areas such as singing, acting, dancing, and technical theater. Miss Chazino attended the National Music Educators Conference this past April in Hartford, Connecticut. She is passion passionate about supporting the uh social emotional needs of her students and has been incorporating Mark Brackett's ruler and mood meter program into the elementary music curriculum. She continues to research ba uh best practices in social emotional learning and attend Brackett's most recent event in Old Sbrook, Connecticut. She has brought back countless new strategies, ideas, approaches which she is actively implementing
014in her classes and sharing with her colleagues. And then myself, I am currently serving my second year as president of the Duchess County Music Educators Association. Over the next few months, I will lead and final planning and execution of both the junior high all county festivals and the elementary allcounting festivals. These festivals bring together the best musicians across Duchess County, providing meaningful and high level music uh musical experiences for our students. I recently attended the New York State Educators Association conference in Rochester. It did snow pretty much my whole drive up, but it was a fun opportunity. In addition to continuing my growth as an educator, I also participated in the NISMA's annual business um and voting sessions as part of my responsibilities as being a part of the NISMA council. As president of DCMEA,
015I was proud to represent our county, my district, and contribute to the ongoing work of NISMA here in New York State. Fantastic staff here. Now, you will see we're going to be talking about our enrollment and program growth. Um, this year we are thrilled to report strong and steady participation across our music programs districtwide. The following charts are organized by the ensembles. We'll begin with the band program. As you can see from the data, our band maintains nearly 50% um participation in grades 4 through 8. When we look at the high school enrollment, the numbers do incre uh decrease, but there are many factors that contribute to this. Students have a wide range of course choices including in music as well as the opportunities through boseies and other programs. It is important to note that
016this year's high school band participation has increased rising from 10% last year to 15.4 this year. A promising trend. Our fall extracurricular pep band may be small but it they are mighty. you've they've been a staple at many of our home football games bringing NG and school spirit sp sp sp sp sp sp sp sp sp sp sp sp sp sp sp sp sp sp sp sp spirit as well we recently performed at the elementary school balloon parade which was a very fun event for everybody finally our jazz band program will begin in the spring so we do not have numbers yet but we're excited to see when they come in we're excited to see continued growth in the band program as students get older they begin to make decisions about how they want to
017focus their time sometimes that means music and sometimes it means other subjects and activities. We want to make sure we are supporting all students who choose to stay involved. At this point, our staffing and scheduling structures are working that but it is clearly an area we can should continue to monitor as enrollment shifts. This is our fourth year running the orchestra program as you uh we've seen steady growth each year. Currently, we offer orchestra courses in grades three through seven. We've espe we're especially excited about the large enrollment in the year's third this year's third grade class which sets the strong foundation for the program's continued expansion. As the program moves up through the grades, we are building towards the goal of having orchestra available at the high school in the next two years. It's
018wonderful to see such enthusiasm from our students and families, and we're excited to continue fostering a love of music as the program grows. The growth in orchestra across all three buildings is encouraging. As with band, this is something we want to continue reviewing with administration to ensure that one teacher can sustainly meet the needs of all the students as participation increases. Overall, students are receiving what they need, but it is important that we just keep an eye on the trends as a program strengthens. The coral program has remained remarkably consistent in this its enrollment across grades 5 through 12. Even when compared to data from previous years, it this consistency consistency shows that our course program continues to maintain a healthy and balanced participation across all grade levels. Students in the program consistently bring energy,
019dedication, and enthusiasm to rehearsals and performances, helping to create a vibrant music community. Finally, I want to highlight the variety of music electives available at the high school. With enrollment numbers in these courses are low compared to our core programs. This is not surprising for students who do enroll. These courses are particularly important as many are considering pursuing music or theater in their future studies and careers. These electives provide specialized training and opportunities for students to deepen their skills and explore their passions supporting those who are serious about continuing in music and performing performing arts. Additionally, here are the numbers of students who participated in our recent middle school musical as well as the high school students who took part in this extracurricular activity. The participation in the middle school play this year was fantastic
020to see. Continued growth in this area is something we'd love to support and again it's something to revisit with administration as we look at scheduling space and potential budget budget considerations. At this time, we feel well supported and we continue to communicate needs as the program evolves. The next following charts show the visual representation of how many students in each grade participate in the performing ensembles. The enrollment charts clearly show positive movement as we are looking always looking for ways to encourage even more growth. As you can see from the chart in front of me from grades in current grades three and four combined we have 65.4 65.4% 4% of the students participating in our uh subject and this is also including a fourth grade band program that actually meets before the school day starts.
021Orchestra is within that regular school day. So it's very great to see these kind of numbers as well for the middle school. You can definitely see we have over 50% when you combined the chorus band and orchestra numbers together. And as we get to the high school, as we said, I mean the the especially that ninth grade, we have a lot and then as students get into more dedicated subjects than that, we do see lower numbers. But again, this does not diminish um the quality of our performances and also the quality of what the students are working on and being dedicated to this music program. Then last, we have a last kind of high school participation in the banner orchestra. Just so you can kind of see the difference between the middle school and the
022high school. The enrollment charts clearly show positive movement. We are always looking for ways to encourage even more growth. As students progress through school, they naturally begin to identify and prioritize the subjects that that interest them most. We want to remain an appealing and accessible option. Budget-wise, Pauling has always been very generous in meeting our needs. With the capital project underway, we are also looking closely to how to ensure our new music facilities will be top-notch and functional for all students. And we generally are excited about the new spaces and grateful to the district and community for supporting this work. The next few slides just kind of dive into what is exactly happening in our programs here at Pauling. You can see in the elementary school for our general music piece, um we're discovering ways
023to make and enjoy music through vocal um exploration, developing a sense of steady beat. Second grade, we're developing rhythmic literacy, understanding singing, movement, and rhythmic activities. Chorus, they are on their way, almost getting there to their concert time. So, um, the performances for third grade are December 15th and for the fourth grade is December 16th. The orchestra students have recently just started to use their bows and learning to form um, notes with their left hand. And as for the fourth grade program, I will give them tons and tons of credit because every day they come in smiling super early right with the middle school and high school bus and they're doing fantastic. middle school, we have our general music piece, exploring music through technology. Um, we use a lot, we use a program called music
024first, um, which actually connects us with sound trap and many different uses. So, the kids are doing a lot of tech with music. Um, also building hands-on experiences in the seventh and eighth grade general music. We have started the exploration of ukuleles, soon to be moving to guitars, and then a little bit of a percussion piece as well. So those students that don't choose to be in the band chorus and orchestra who are taking the general music piece um we're still doing some many many great things in music and a lot of it is really driven by the students. We kind of ask what do you guys want to do? What do you want to study? I did a whole unit on general uh genres and we listen to a lot of hip-hop music. Don't
025worry I checked everything. So but again it's very much student centered. As for our choruses, um, fifth and sixth grade, we are having a concert tomorrow night. I will repeat, we're having a concert tomorrow night as well as seventh and eighth grade on Thursday. Orchestra as well. Um, the fifth grade orchestra will be having their first concert tomorrow night. Um, as and the bands, the fifth and sixth grade, which again, fifth grade band students, this will be their first concert. All the performances are really just a hard work that these kids have put together and with the teachers and everyone. It's really I hope we can en encourage people to come and support all these groups and their concerts. High schools concert was yesterday and I hope a lot of you had the chance to
026see it. Bravo. We have a lot of the high schoolers here today. Um it was a fantastic concert and it just it was a celebration of all the students hard work and dedication. the electives, music technology, we've been exploring uh DJing as well as recording and digital music. And then musical theater, the students are currently working on creating their own original musical um by the uh the music theater 2 students, which they will put on a performance at the end of this year. Now, we get to brag about all the fun performances we have seen. So, the fall musical Willy Wonka and it I added a special um Oompa Loompa who kind of snuck in uh during our performance. It was a fantastic performance. I hope um many people got to see it and the
027entire we turned the high school into Wonka Land and we had the golden tickets and everything. So, um bravo. Congratulations to all those students and teachers for their hard work, teamwork and dedication. It was just a truly a performance to remember. Some of our other music accolades. Um in November we had seven high school students participate in the area all state. Um we actually have a few of them who are here. I don't know if they want to wave or stand up. They Yeah. [laughter] Uh [applause] so these students were selected to participate in the band and the chorus um based on their NISMA scores competing against students not only in Duchess but also Putnham and Colombia counties. So that was an amazing performance at Arlington this past November. And then coming up, we have
028a lot of the festivals coming up in January. We have five middle school students and four high school students selected to participate to participate in the DCMEA junior highall county. And then again, these were students selected from um scores um based from grades 7 through nine in Duchess County. So these kids were all selected. And then we just learned about obviously Sam Fedler being selected for the New York State Band Directors Association Honor Band. As you already heard, it was there's so many applicants and we are just very fortunate and and Sam honestly I mean not fortunate but Sam deserves it cuz he has worked so hard and is has become a phenomenal performer and he jokes about it. You started in fourth grade and I remember those days starting that whole beginning buzzing sounds
029and then it's always it's always warms my heart when I see these kids really really excel. All right and that is the conclusion of our presentation. Our music program continues to grow because our community, administration, and board values the arts, supports our educators, and believes in giving students opportunities to explore, express, and excel. We are incredibly proud of the direction our department is heading. Our students are thriving, our teachers are growing, and our program are stronger than ever. Thank you so much for your continued support of the music department here in Pauling and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have at this time. >> Thank you so much. Anybody have any questions for Miss Nice? >> I'll just comment. It's great to see so many kids doing something they love. We we
030saw the guitar donated a few weeks back um from the Palumbo group which is great. say everybody with their instrument instruments and singing and it's just really nice to see the kids that are participating and finding something that they really enjoy doing and the stuff we're doing at the elementary level that I know a lot of schools aren't doing is just incredible between the band between the orchestra into third fourth grade it's just really nice to see so I think we're like we say with a lot of things punching above our weight class with the arts and the music and I know all of us enjoyed the play and uh the kids were super excited about the the golden tickets if that ever comes back um my ask me about it but Um, no, thank
031you so much and for all that you and and your colleagues do in the music and the arts. It's uh beyond appreciated for our kids. >> Great. Thank you. [applause] On >> that note, we have one last performance for you. So, we have a combined high school. We have a couple selected fourth graders as well as our brass band. We're going to play Jingle Bell Rock. Please feel free to join in. >> [music] [music] >> the jingle bell. That's the jingle [music] bell. Great job. [applause] All >> [applause] [applause] >> right, we'll take a little break here while everybody's moving some stuff and and career out. And thank you guys, all the students. Great job. Again, one more time. Thank you very much. [applause] How did you happen our elementary school literacy update by Miss
032Jenny Savajis. Yes. Hi, good evening to the Pauling Board of Education, Mr. D. Carlo, and to the Pauling community. It's a pleasure to return this evening for the opportunity to share the elementary school's progress in selecting an ELA curriculum. So, since the October 21st meeting, the pilot team and I have been incredibly busy, and I'm excited to share the latest updates. We visited a Spack and Kill elementary school who are in their second year of implementation for inter reading. It was an informative discussion with teachers from kindergarten through fifth grade. And then the following week, we visited the Catskill Elementary School to see benchmark in action. They are also in their second year of implementation. And during this visit, we observed classrooms from kindergarten to fourth grade, ranging from whole group instruction to small groupoup
033instruction. We also had the opportunity to chat with their instructional facilitator of ELA and later with the teachers and the principal. Back in October, Trusty Tucci did ask about these districts and whether they had seen progress in their scores and in literacy in general. And I do have an update for you. So from the 2023 2024 school year to 2024 2025, Spack and Kill saw an increase of 19% proficiency in grade 3 and a 9% increase in grade 4. Catskill saw a 15% increase in grade three and a 12% increase in proficiency in fourth grade. Both schools have seen improvement and growth in literacy. Back home at Pauling Elementary School, we are done with unit one and we're midway through unit 2. We've begun tracking data to see the growth this pilot year and onward.
034This data collection and analysis will continue next year and in the future to determine whether or not the program is effective and whether or not our students are continuously growing. Over the past seven weeks, the pilot team has had several meetings, and I've had the privilege of watching five out of the seven pilot classes in action, seeing student engagement and program flow firsthand. Just last week on Thursday, our benchmark content specialist joined the pilot team for professional development around writing instruction and unit 3 planning. It has been that level of support that has helped our teachers learn this process and we plan to continue next year with professional development from for benchmark for all of our teaching staff. So, as a result of our collaboration as a pilot team, as a school staff and administration,
035we're excited to share that as a collective school community, we are moving forward with Benchmark Advance as our ELA curriculum next school year. For the rest of tonight's presentation, I'll share with you how we came to that decision and what our next steps look like for the remainder of the school year. The next few slides provide information that has been synthesized from several sources. These include a pilot team reflection survey that was given on October 27th, which was the midway point from our start date through this past Friday, the information we gleaned on our school visits, the results from a schoolwide November 10th superintendent conference day survey, professional development and support from the benchmark content specialist, and conversations with our assigned H.M.H each coach. So, just to recap, last spring the Pauling Elementary staff reviewed
036New York State Education Department's literacy best practices and curriculum review guide. From this work, we had established a wish list of needs that led the team to select into reading and benchmark advance. In October, the pilot team completed that reflection survey that provided feedback around reading differentiation, student engagement and impact, and usability. It also asked teachers to reflect on the explicit writing instruction, vocabulary work, LL and ENL supports which were our top wish list topics. In writing benchmarks, writing was closely connected to reading, helping students write about text to improve comprehension and retention. Lessons provided explicit guidance on par paragraph structure, proper sentences and punctuation, drafting and revising with engaging text and prompts. With into reading, there was limited guidance on explicit writing instruction and mechanics. For vocabulary, into reading and benchmark advance have vocabulary
037instruction embedded in their programs and both programs provide glosseries. Benchmark proved to be the better tool because it offered not only the definition but an example, an image and a question that students can discuss orally to show their understanding of a word and to make connections. In terms of EXL, both programs offer EXL alignment for additional practice. However, our teachers are at this time are focused on following the program with fidelity and have not jumped into EXL just yet. In the future, we will consider tucking this in, but at this time, we know that EXL is available and we will explore it more as we become more familiar with the program itself. For ENA, ENL, the supports are incorporated into both programs. But in an upcoming slide, I'll touch upon this much further. the pilot
038team. We also discussed the domains in the curriculum review guide and how both programs stacked up to New York State expectations, company claims, and the real life usage. Here's a very brief look into our conversations and findings for domain one learning standards and evidence-based practices. Both programs hit the domain one criteria. There were some key statements made that are worth noting. Benchmark writing begins with a heavy focus on reading response in unit one. that is writing about reading. However, this has seen positive results. One pilot and teacher noted it it's the most she's seen her students write. The team will continue to look at writing instruction across the grades and units as we continue this year's pilot. We've also noticed that there are many prerequisites that need to be taught for now, but oftent times
039it's to scaffold that higher level thinking and it's been so worth it. This is likely due to students having no prior experience with Benchmark. But looking ahead, each year builds upon the prior year's instruction. It does demonstrate though how important consistent instruction is and why we must teach the program with fidelity. Under domain 2, culturally responsive and social emotional learning, we saw some larger gaps between the two programs. HMH did not have culturally responsive diverse perspectives within their curriculum. There are pieces here and there, but the teachers claimed it felt more like an afterthought than intentional inclusivity. Benchmarks texts offer diverse perspectives and students are often engaged in sharing their own experiences and perspectives during lessons. Domain three supporting all learners. Both programs offer general scaffolds for students with disabilities within each lesson as well
040as additional small groupoup supports and materials. HMH, however, takes English lang language learners away from lessons for separate instruction. This is counterintuitive to what we know as best practice, which includes immersion, shared learning, and exposure. When looking at domain 4, measuring learning, we have noticed a change in assessment structure from our previous TC units of study. Both programs offer weekly and unit assessments, and all pilot teachers administer that unit of assessment at the end, and each teacher has the autonomy to utilize weekly assessments when warranted. Lastly, we reflected on domain 5, usability. HMH was not userfriendly. It was difficult to find materials, does not work with Google Classroom as they claim, and it was difficult to navigate. Benchmark, however, was easy to navigate and offer so many resources in the benchmark universe and that can
041be organized into digital bookshelves. The feedback from superintendent's conference day was positive. Teachers shared knowledge shared how knowledgeable, informative, and prepared benchmark was. In fact, one teacher shared that they felt hopeful after the session with Benchmark as opposed to the session with HMH. The school's impression of the two programs gave the final push to decide on benchmark advance. 96% of our teachers said that after superintendent's conference day, they were most interested in benchmark advance. Pilot teachers also shared their experiences with the staff during a pilot panel and were available to answer questions. These honest conversations have been critical in helping in keeping our colleagues informed. As I mentioned previously, the middle school fifth grade team joined us for this pilot focused work and they were impressed by the pilot reflections and implementation plan. They are
042actually currently discussing and taking action regarding the implications for the fifth and sixth grade ELA program. The middle school has actually met with the consultant from Benchmark and they are in the process of conceptualizing a pilot for the upper elementary grades. While I've shared several reasons for our decision in selecting Benchmark Advance, we know that there's no there's no perfect program. But our work has been thorough in determining what program was going to support our students and our teachers best. Here are some of the additional highlights we identified about Benchmark program. Again, Benchmark checks off our W wish list better than HMH into reading. It provides more support for all our students. It spirals, which means students revisit concepts and skills several times, which offers multiple opportunities for practice and deepening understanding. And it incorporates
043rigorous texts, align vocabulary, and enhanced comprehension and reading strategies, to name a few. I'll also add it's not just about the lessons, but the level of support was also a factor in our decision-making. HMH proved to be difficult to receive answers and support from. Benchmark, on the other hand, has been responsive and supportive. Most of our interactions with Benchmark are them asking us, "What can we do for you? How can we support you?" And that we is important in this big shift the elementary school will be undertaking. Year one will be messy, but having consistent, reliable support for questions and obstacles along the way is far more comforting and reassuring as we continue this process and journey. As you can see, the pilot team is already laying down the groundwork for what great teams will
044be continuing to do next year. The two teachers who were piloting into reading are in the process of transitioning to benchmark in January 2026. As a team, we will continue planning for upcoming units and preparing for the transition schoolwide with professional development. This includes professional development this spring and this summer in addition to continuing professional development throughout the 2026 2027 school year. for summer planning. This may have some budgetary implications, including offering benchmark PD over the summer and providing opportunities to do curriculum work in preparation for the first units of Benchmark. Furthermore, Mr. D. Carlo and the elementary school administration are working on a revised school master schedule to ensure that not only Benchmark is given the proper amount of time for its instruction, approximately 120 minutes, but also to continue foundation with its own
045designated period. Foundations is in its second year of implementation for kindergarten through 2 grade and in their first year of implementation for preK and third grade. Given our phonics deficits and the evidence-based methods in foundations, we will continue foundations in conjunction with benchmark. As you've heard, these insights and feedbacks come from the team and the staff. I serve as the messenger of this information and as a guide, coach, and support for the teachers. We have worked diligently to gather this information to make such an important decision for the future of our students. As always, I thank you for the time this evening and I look forward to seeing you all again in January for an ENL ELA prek through fourth grade update. So, if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer you. I should
046I just jump in? >> All right. So, thank you very much for the uh the thorough followup and the update. I think it's fantastic to, you know, to hear um all of this. Uh I'm sure that there will be other questions for you, but um something that you said that struck me was that um 96% you had 96% approval or consensus on bench on on benchmark. So the question that I have is that's overwhelming, right? So what was the primary learning that you took away from the 4% that did not endorse it? Absolutely. So the 4% that did not endorse it had to do with the feedback that we received from both the pilot team but also from that program overview with HMH. There had been questions during that session as a school staff regarding
047supporting and differentiation for students with disabilities, students who are struggling with reading and writing. Um and the program representative did not have a solid answer on how to support other than you can go ahead and use other grades curriculum. And so teachers kind of felt like, wow, that's that's not really going to support us for our students and make sure that we're helping achieve and fill in those gaps. Um, we also heard that same sentiment from the school in Spack and Kill who had done quite an enormous amount of work to essentially create a side curriculum for their ICT classes and for their students um with disabilities. But that was a deficiency that that you found in benchmark and that was something that they called >> No, that was a deficiency into reading which was
048the overwhelming 96%. And so that 4% was sorry I swapped it backwards. Um so the 4% that did not choose benchmark um I did not ask that teacher why they did not choose. We kept this as just >> one teacher that was it was one teacher. Yes. 24 out of 25. Yes. >> Okay. >> I can ask if you'd like. [laughter] Well, I mean, when you have that sort of high level of acceptance of something, like there's some sometimes something to be learned from the person who had an objection to that. There may have been something that they found particularly maybe troublesome or deficient that could just be helpful to know what that is. Not suggesting that, >> you know, the decision needs to be changed by any, but just, you know, by way of
049learning. Um and then follow-up question regarding the the results that you know that were reported from the districts that were using it already. >> Um over how long have they been using it? So you reported that they had seen 15% increase in you know improvements etc. And another um you know metric that you shared but over how long was that? because they started you know um in September and then by October they had seen some growth or is this like after 3 years of implementing this now they're seeing you know consistently higher scores and you know by grade and specific measures. >> Sure. So both principles only shared their state scores from the 2023 2024 school year into the 2425 last school year. So it was just year over year over one year's >> worth
050of data >> and they're both in their second year of implementation. >> Okay. You bring up a very valid point though, trusty Ori, and I think that this is an important conversation because I think it's you will see during the budget process that this is going to be a major investment over the next number of years. And what needs to be happening each year is just exactly what you're saying, reporting out on the data and and and and looking at that benchmark, you know, original uh testing that would take place of course in the fall of next year and then looking at midy year and the end of the year and then looking at that cohort over time. That's very important. One of the things we've also heard from the staff is that we really
051have to sit down and talk about what are those key assessments that we're looking at and what really is meaningful and deres the kind of information that we need to have. You know, Jenny talked about the work ahead of us, you know, over the summer um and throughout the school year. And you will see most likely in January the second meeting or February I'll be presenting a um a calendar and you only have so many days in the year to do professional development. So I'm kind of previewing that you will see in next year's calendar a couple of additional half days during the school year dedicated to doing this continued work. So to your point, it is important and you know we've talked as a team uh about the importance of calendaring the the days
052and looking at data and really really working hard on what these PLC's need to look like in the future. So I thank you for your comment. >> Thank you. Yeah. And I do have a followup since you know since you bring that up and um appropo to what we saw this evening, right? Like it's encouraging to see that our young people are being exposed to music in the arts because their brains are developing, right? Like I would love to see crossf functional reads, you know, to see the percentage of students that are participating in music and how they are performing with this program and how that helps their development because what we saw tonight was great. It's encouraging and we applaud and we love the fact that they're participating. But beyond that, there's critical developmental,
053you know, uh, markers that are being built today that will contribute to having something like this really, you know, pay off dividends, um, in the classroom. You know, they'll be able to benefit from everything that we're offering here in Pauling. And that's where I would love to see the presentations, you know, bring a nexus for us together to review all of that data, right? They're doing, you know, music and arts and sports and they're engaged here. Now they're using this program and now we're seeing that all of it delivering, you know, on the promise that we're all working on, you know, here. So, thank you for this. um you know and I'm really hopeful to see you know where we go from here. just a question about does I don't know if the benchmark assessment
054that you're going to be you know assessing next year right like are they do they come from benchmark or is that something that the district develops and how are we how are we cons how do we make sure that everybody's consistent using the same assessments >> absolutely so the benchmark assessments come from the program itself and each unit measures specific skills that were um taught throughout the unit so throughout the three weeks of lessons and so we use those unit assessments as a whole grade. There is no altering them um without grade consensus so that everyone is measured the same way. >> Had a few questions. One the when [clears throat] we went and met with the teachers they spoke about the foundations and the phonics program and how how much they like that program.
055Have you I'm glad that you're staying with that. It seems like that was a consensus. Has there been any talk about transition because I know Benchmark does have the phonics built into it? >> Yes. >> So, are you guys not there [clears throat] yet or have you started talking about will there be a transition from foundations or are you just saying for [snorts] now we're staying with foundations until we have time to look into benchmark? >> Absolutely. So, we're going to do both. So, we're not going to leave foundations for the foreseeable future. We are going to see that through because we really want to see our kindergarteners who started last year and even our prek who started this year see them through the entire program and see those results throughout the life of it.
056And so we're going to continue that for now, but they will continue to do the benchmark phonics. Benchmark phonics is more of a very quick 8 to 10 minute um lesson. And so it's not as explicit as foundations and the rest of the reading lessons in benchmark will tie into that specific phonics goal. So, for example, I was in a first grade classroom and they were working on L blends. They did that practice and then their reading had riddles and in the riddles were words with L blends. And so, if you take that component out of benchmark, now they're trying to fill that in without that knowledge, that lesson. And so, we're doing both together, which is why foundations will have its designated spot on the schedule. >> Great. Speaking of time, uh the I
057know I spoke to some of the teachers and having used it the science 21 program, I know that benchmark had a really >> did a really good job of incorporating science into their lessons. >> So, is that something that >> done? It's going to be all revamped. We're looking at it. We're going to pick the specific teachers are going to be working at grade levels and and specifically looking at what labs fill in with benchmark because that what they're what we heard clearly I heard and I was at a number of meetings was that um that was an important piece to be able to kind of do the work deep rooted work that needed to be done. So yes we are adjusting. >> Okay. So you're so you're adjusting science 21 where you're taking pieces
058of it correct filling in for >> correct >> giving more time for benchmark. >> Yeah, >> makes sense. >> Thank you for doing that. >> You're welcome. >> Thank you for the uh >> I know you guys have been working hard at the schedule for next year just to create >> I have a meeting I have I have a meeting schedule I think right I think it's next week. Um, and so we're going to be definitely looking at that because when you're putting a budget together, it's all about scheduling and staffing, right? So, you have to see what goes where and and what things look like. So, but yeah, I'm I'm going to be an active participant looking at that. Yes. >> The other thing I was excited about was the fifth and sixth grade
059you talked about. Did that just come from them listening to to Benchmark or is that something you guys had talked about prior to that PD day or how did that come about where they're now interested in getting some feedback from benchmark? >> Sure. Absolutely. So, initially earlier on in the year there was inquiry from one of the teacher fifth grade teachers at the middle school and the principal also inquired. So I kind of gave them just an update on what we were doing at the elementary school and how it was going. And then when we invited them over for the superintendent conference day, that was the impression that really kind of stuck with them. Uh at the end of the day, they had the opportunity to spend an hour with our fourth grade team and
060just ask them how do the lessons work and um at that point the fourth grade team had actually observed our piloting teacher in fourth grade so that they could get a sense of what those lessons look like and the structure and what the lesson plans look like. Um so they had this you know collaborative conversation which left the middle school very interested and they went back and told their principal that we wanted to look further into it. Um we also had arranged for the company to send them a sample kit. So they had had the print materials before superintendent's conference day to kind of browse and look through so that if they had any questions they could come to the meetings and be prepared with those questions and get them answered. >> We also just
061thank the staff. I know that all the people that were involved in the pilot program, you know, they volunteered their time to do this, take on new programs, and do everything that's asked of them on top of this. So, we really appreciated them, you know, taking the time and being willing to volunteer their time. So, >> absolutely, I will definitely pass that along. We appreciate all of your support truly. >> I just have a quick question maybe more for Miss Heslin. So now as we move into our budget season, this is something that you will present in your budget to us. Okay. >> Yes. And so you'll see it kind of broken out. So you'll look at and I don't want to speak, you know, um Mimi can speak for herself, but what'll happen is
062it'll be broken out. So you we'll look at the cost of the actual program, then the PD that will come with that when it comes to the the summer kind of work and that type of thing. Yes. So it'll be broken out for you. >> Perfect. Thank you. Thanks for all your work. >> Absolutely. Thank you. thing do they have does benchmark have um built-in as we purchase this program do they have like built-in conversations or PD as part of the program or for a year or is that something separate we would have to pay for >> so it's both so they depending on you what you order in terms of program whether or not you get the intervention piece and and all the pieces um you are given certain professional development days and you
063can use them how you wish um and then it go you can use them over the course of one year, over the course of two years. Um, but they also have opportunities where you can purchase these customized professional development programs as well. >> You're welcome. Thank you. Have a good night, everyone. >> Thank you. >> All right. Before we go forward, we're going to go to the student uh board member remarks. So, I'll go to Real for quick uh remarks from from you this evening. >> Good evening, everyone. And I would just like to remind all high schoolers um possibly watching at home to participate in the spirit week next week to support the senior verse teacher volleyball game and boost Pauling school spirit. Thank you so much. >> Great. Thank you very much. So
064next item on the uh agenda is again just posted PDFs, administrative reports. So there's quite a few. Anybody that's watching, you can go on to the agenda. You can click into them. a lot of updates from building principles and different department heads just updating what's going on in the district. Uh and then that brings us to number 10, which is the agenda order. Um so again, the items that are marked with an asterct are items the superintendent recommends for the consent agenda. If any board member wishes to remove an item from the consent agenda, please do so at this time. The consent agenda is one vote which approves all asterct items which have not previously been removed. Right. So with that, uh, be resolved to approve the following additions, deletions, changes, and order the agenda
065as presented. Uh, I will make a motion. And can I have a second? Then all in favor? I. And now we're on to item 11, which is visitors comments. All right. There are none. Like you were going to turn like the A around something like All right. Um, so with that, we go to item 12, which is board remarks. Would any board member like to make remarks this evening, last meeting before the holidays? >> Yes. I was just going to Thank you, Zach. I was just going to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season. Um, thank you all for all your work, everyone here, everyone at home. Wishing you the best. Thank you. Just wanted to comment on uh last Tuesday. Uh Mike Maine and Deborah Kirkus and I were able to go thank
066the staff at faculty meetings for their presentation and support of us and it went over so well. It was really wellreceived and it was great to just sit in front of staff and thank them for the work they do every day. Um so we just had a great experience. I think it goes along with tonight and just how much our staff puts into our kids and you could see it and just their talents and their abilities and it's just uh it was just a great great experience to do that and I hope we can do it more with other stakeholder groups and uh you know follow through with our goals as a board to just bring everybody together. So it was it was a great experience. So and Anthony, thanks for setting it up. We
067appreciate it and the uh also the principles for giving us the time to do it. So you all right so now we're going to go to item 13 on the agenda which is board vice president Mark uh comments. So I turn over to Dr. Walsh. >> Good evening everyone. It has been a few weeks since our last meeting and I had a work conflict then so you'll have to bear with me because there has a lot been a lot going on. Thank you to the PTA for hosting the fall circus dance. And uh in their hosting, they also helped our seventh graders. They allowed the seventh graders to set up a concession stand uh to allow them to help fund raise for their Hamilton trip in the spring. The PTA also hosted their fourth annual
068holiday vendor fair. This time it was at the firehouse and it should be noted that the Pauling Fire Department is all always a really great community partner. Many local businesses were present. The PTSA had a logo design contest for their winter spiritware. Congratulations to Lucas Corrosa and Mackenzie Frost who had the winning designs showcased on the winter apparel. Our fall sports season wrapped up with the sports awards two weeks ago. We had many all league, all county and all section athletes, as well as an allsection MVP and all state athlete and an all-state runner up. Many wonderful students were also recognized for their sportsmanship. Thank you to the Tiger Club for sponsoring all the trophies, the raffles, and for all they did to make it a great fall season. Winter sports are well underway. The
069varsity basketball team hosted the tip-off tournament this past weekend. They played to a full gym both nights. They had a strong win over Weebatuck on Friday evening and then fell to North Salem in the championship. They were playing this evening uh against Halane. We also have a strong JV team which is a testament to our growing program and our girls JV team is building with a very full roster this year. Our wrestling team competed over the weekend in the White Plains tournament with several athletes meddling, making them strong contenders in our section. You may or may not realize um that being part of section one, our pulling athletes are really always up against the top competition in the state. So, it's really impressive when we see how well they do. Winter track will take their
070first trip to the Armory on Sunday for the section one kickoff. Our boys varsity ice hockey team will take on Brewster at the Brewster Ice Arena on Friday. They also look to be a strong contender in the section. and we have three girls competing on a combined section one team and I believe all three of them are starters. I know there was a lot about music this evening and I know the musical was discussed at the last meeting as well. I just really also want to acknowledge it. There were truly this was standing room only at the middle school musical this year. I was not exactly on time and I was lucky that a very kind staff member found me as folding chair. Um but the students from all four of the grades showed tremendous
071talent and dedication. If you saw the set, it was unbelievable. I was thinking about the fact that six years ago I watched our um student leazison who's not here tonight, Bailey, perform in Snoopy on this stage and how far our middle school musical has come. Uh but it was it was really a tremendous performance. Um this past weekend we had the community tree lighting. We see our students in the French honor society and the peer leadership participate. Parent teacher conferences took place last week in all three buildings with the elementary school snow date being tonight. I am always impressed with how well the teachers know my students. At both the middle school and the high school, you can bring your children with you to their conferences and it really gives them a chance to take
072ownership in their own learning. As we look ahead to January and as a parent of a senior, I can tell you that the year is really flying by. There are many of our students receiving college acceptances and we have a lot to be proud of. We're already at the midpoint of quarter 2. Counselors are beginning the planning meetings for next year. to the junior planning meetings. There's a lot to look forward to. Um, I will echo what Mr. Or said and wish everybody a wonderful holiday season. >> Thank you, Dr. Walsh. So, now we're on to item 14, which is the superintendent's comments. So, Mr. Carlo, >> thank you, Mr. President. Just a uh a quick little reminder. I had sent out last week to the community kind of the process for determining what happens
073when it snows. So, if you have not taken a look at it, look at it because um it looks to be like December is maybe the coldest of all the months in the winter. And and I'm not going to, you know, echo what I said in the the letter, but you know, it talks about the process and what goes on. It's it's a very um thoughtful process that we make these decisions and we're always going to error on the safety and well-being of our students and our staff. So, if you haven't seen that on Parent Square, please take a look at it. And then again, I just want to end um with a uh letter to the community which is going to go out next week, you know, prior to the holiday, but I would
074like to read it uh for the record and it's from myself and the board of education. Dear Pauling students, staff, parents, and community members. I hope this letter finds you and your family well. The holidays are upon us and 2025 is just a couple of weeks away. It seems like only yesterday we were welcoming back our students from summer vacation and were filled with excitement for another school year. Now here we are four months later deep into the second academic quarter and confidently hitting our midyear stride. The students have settled in nicely and we look forward to great things on the horizon in every school. Pauling is an exceptional place to live, work and learn. But during the holiday season, the energy and enthusiasm in every building is second to none. I hope you had
075an opportunity to join us at our amazing winter concerts as well as those who are going to be happening this uh this week and next week. Um we attended many of them and we're so proud of our students and their accomplishments. Their talent, dedication, motivation to making Pauling a special place are truly the hallmark of this wonderful community. During this holiday season, it's important to note the tremendous wave of charity and benevolence that has engulfed the school community. Our students, teachers, staff, parents have engaged in countless acts of goodwill for those less fortunate. These are precious lessons that extend far outside the classroom roles and create what makes Pauling a special community. Also, we thank our parents, PTA, PC, PTSA, Tiger Club, and the entire Poland community. Your support and partnerships are needed now more
076than ever as we navigate through difficult, fast-paced world with many challenges and yet with great opportunities for the future. As we say goodbye to 2025 and look forward to 2026, we must never forget our core mission in providing a high quality and challenging education for all students. Best wishes to you and your families for a happy and healthy holiday season. Please enjoy the time with your loved ones and accept the warmest holiday wishes to this holiday season. Sincerely, Anthony D. Carla Intram superintendent schools and the polling central school district board of education. Thank you very much. And that letter is great. Okay, so back to the business at hand. We're up to item 15, which is the consent agenda. It reads, "Resolve that the board of education approves all asterct items as the consent agenda."
077I'll make a motion for that one. May I have a second, please? Second. And all in favor? I. That's everybody. And now on to the minutes. So resolved that the board of education approve the minutes of the following meetings and that's the business meeting from Tuesday November 18th. I'll make a motion for that. Liz make a second and voting for that one. Us four I and any abstensions and J will abstain. Okay. And now looking at the agenda, I think we flip all the way to unfinished business. So item 21, unfinished uh business. Since Mike and uh Michelle are not here this year, I was going to say if we could um in the first meeting of the new year, maybe we can talk about um policy review and just see how people felt about
078it and and maybe see if we want to um look at that process and codifying it in some way. So, just push that off and until we have everybody here. So, >> well, we're going to have a we're having our policy meeting this in a couple weeks. >> Yeah. Just as a quick FYI, so myself and the uh the building principles actually yesterday spent almost two hours um you know looking at the policy and um you know we'll have I think a really um indepth and I think solid conversation about the attendance policy. So we're looking forward to it. Thank you. >> Yeah. So for that policy, we have the um tenants policy which is going to be the heavy lift and then we have the other one regarding uh how we send out policy
079changes, stuff like that. And then in the new year, we'll see how everybody feels about the policy review and maybe look at codifying and then maybe going through that process for the rest of uh the school year. Uh anybody else have any unfinished business uh this evening? So with that, I bring it to item 22, which is new business. Anybody have any new business to share for tonight? might have been on and finished, but we have a I think we're trying to schedule the curriculum committee. >> Yeah. January January. I think we settled on the 7th. Yeah. When we get back. Yep. >> Great. >> Okay. And item 23, which is second visitors comments pertaining to the district. There are none. Okay. And that leads us to item 24, which is board president comments. I'm
080going to be very short and very sweet. This is our last meeting as I mentioned before before the holidays. So just on behalf of all of us, happy holidays and happy new year to everybody in our district, our staff, our communities, our families, our students, everybody that makes the work of public education here so special and beyond. Um crazy to think that when we get back from the new year that we're going to jump into budget stuff, we're going to jump into interviews and it's going to be busy. Um so that deep breath that everybody takes right now. Uh but but it is uh a big thank you to everybody. when we had to schedule the interviews, it was quick. I'm available. I can be good that week. And um that's a testament to how
081much all of us kind of sacrifice. A lot of people don't remember this is a volunteer position. So, and all of us continuously um you know, sacrifice time to be here and not just exist here, but to really do some good work and ask great questions and um so just on behalf of myself, just thank you to everybody for always making this enjoyable to come to and really feel like every meeting we really get some good work done. So, uh, wishing everybody a happy holiday and I look forward to the new year with all you and all the busy work that's to come. Um, for sure. So, uh, with that, that's my comments this evening. And that brings us to item 25, which is to adjourn the meeting. So, >> um, Mr. Gratic, I'm sorry.
082Um, did you want to give an update on the surveys and the search? >> Yeah, we could do that, too. That's, um, usually was in the spot here. Yeah. So, I'll do a quick superintendent search. Like always, uh, anybody wants to add on too, we held our community forum at the, uh, beginning of last week. We also have the survey that continues to be filled out by people. Um, we got an update from, uh, the search consultants that say everything's going well. They're getting a lot of good feedback and they're also getting, um, plenty of candidates that that are applying and, uh, and they continue to be in contact with. So, everything up until this point seems like it's going really positive. And if people at home, if you haven't yet done the survey, please,
083please, please, we would love to hear from you. all that data just makes our jobs uh easier to really make sure that we are looking at a candidate that best will serve this community best and uh the more data we have, the more input, the more voices we hear, the more uh beneficial that will be for all of us to do what we need to do up here. So, um thank you for that. And again, anybody else wants to add on and >> there's also um an email address that the search firm posted. If you have any general comments you want to make, you could send an email as well. And maybe we'll have um somebody send that out one more time or something via parent square just as a um again the whole flyer
084the survey the email address for people that want to want to write a little bit more too. >> Zach, when is the survey close? >> So the survey will close around the same time that the application is going to close. So the application right now is open until January 15th and uh the last thing that we heard from from district wise the survey will be open through the new year. So, I believe it'll be open past the new year until the application closes. They've said both. Um, but there is a little bit of that twoe gap there. So, um, the survey should be open until the application closes around the beginning of January, middle of January, but we'll find out a definitive date, too, when we have our first meeting in January. We'll be sure
085if it's still open or to make a mention of it. So, great question. And with all that, um, we'll move to adjourn the meeting. So, resolve that the board of education adjourn this meeting. The time is 8:18 and I'll make a motion for that. And may I have a second? Sandra second. And all in favor I. Thank you everybody.