001Thanks everybody for being here. I would like to call the link school district in the event of an emergency room. At this time, I ask everyone to silence their cell phones, please remain standing for a moment of silence. >> Today, we remain standing for driver from 1991 through 2013. February 13. Okay. So, uh, we got some fun presentations tonight, so I will get to them. 4.0 is our presentation section 4.1, we have a presentation called advancing student success at Street School. So, I will turn it over to Mr. Peter, Miss Hank, the special, and the street students. Hello everyone here at school. As I begin my journey as principal here, one of my first priorities was to clear and meaningful message opening day. A significant part of the message focused on the importance of encouragement
002and strong engagement. I remember the need for all of us to do great things for our students each and every day. and will share some of the great work in our building. She will also go in with a broader vision presented today, giving you a deeper understanding of who we are as a school community and how we continue to support student success. >> Well, good evening everybody. Um, as a district, we have committed to developing students who embody the six key attributes previously outlined for you in the last meeting from the portable graduate initiative in New York State. Thinking, creative innovation, effective communication, global citizens, reflective and future focus, and academically prepared. These are not abstract ideas for us. They guide decisions we make about instruction, programming, and student opportunities. Everything I will share tonight
003aligns not only with the course of the graduate, but also with the district's larger goals around access, rigor, belonging, and future readiness. Tonight, I'll walk you through the student experience at William Street in three areas. First, the academic journey, the core instructional experiences that build thinking and preparedness. Second, academic engagement. How we structure learning so that students are active participants rather than just active learners. And third, student empowerment, the opportunities that allow students to lead, contribute, and discover who they are. Together, these layers help us move from simply delivering content to truly developing the whole child. Let's begin here with the academic journey. If we want students to be critical thinkers and academically prepared, we must give them meaningful work. such as worksheets. This year we are piloting experiential and project based learning experiences in
004ELA. Many of our students are engaging with real world problems, conducting research, collaborating and producing authentic products. We are also updating science curriculum to better align with the science investigations from the state and testing requirements. Students are asking questions, participating in science investigations, and analyzing not just memorizing vocabulary. In our last example, we're creating additional opportunities for acceleration in math aligning to our speed up goals. We are shifting from a traditional math lab accelerated model to math lab 6 and math lab. classes now including seven grade content into the classroom and by doing so creating clearer access points for our students supporting readiness and ensuring that we are not closing the door for our students too early but instead building pathways for future advancement all of this work is about increasing access to high level
005thinking not just for some students but for all of them academic rigor is the engine then engagement is the fuel We are being intentional about how learning looks like and feels like in our classrooms. At William Street, you'll see instructional practices that increase student voice and structured collaboration. You'll also see academic intervention services that are responsive and targeted to our students needs. And lastly, some building thinking strategies and math for students, collaborate, reason aloud, and problem solve together. And tonight, board members, we aren to about engagement. We're going to model it. We've invited some of our students to lead you through a short building thinking classroom style activity. You guys can come on up. But that isn't just an answer. It's a conversation. It's reasoning and collaboration. And this is what we want learning to
006look like for our students. I'd like to introduce you to a couple of us mathematicians who are going to be providing you with directions for this activity. Central College students, make sure you're listening closely. We are going to share what a building thinking classroom looks like in some of our math classes and explain how it helps us learn. A building thinking classroom is a way of learning where students work together to solve problems in standard thinking. Instead of just focusing on the final answer we use ideas, we use it to solve problems on whiteboards or vertical spaces around the room. This helps us stay active and makes it easy for the teacher and other students to see our thinking and ask questions. Our brains are more neurons when standing rather than when we are sitting.
007The problems we work on are designed to make us think. Sometimes there is more than one way to solve them. We talk about different strategies and explain why they work. In our groups, we only use one marker. This encourages everyone to participate because holding the marker is responsible for writing the group. But the whole group has to discuss anything on what should be written. The marker should be attached to the group members so everyone has a chance to contribute. In our class, we work around groups. This means we work with different classmates and get to hear different ideas. It helps us learn our thinking and see an invention that has a matching to your card. This is the test that we'll be working on today. On your boards, you have a triangle with six circles
008on using the digits 1. There's a digit in each circle so that all of the triangle are equal. There are more solutions. Another one is going to pass out your cards. Board members, please go ahead and find your boards and all the wonderful faculty. Feel free to try this out on your own as you sit in your table. I'm going to give you guys three or four minutes to give it a try. Yeah. Okay. Go ahead and get started. You guys only started. Go ahead and Give me a one minute warning. One minute warning. You guys have a good stretch. hands up. Thank you students. You can find your teeth. So what you just experience is what we're aiming for in our classrooms and continue for our future students, thinking, justifying, listening, and refining their
009ideas. effective communicators and creative innovators within our classes. And finally, tonight we look at student empowerment. Learning doesn't stop at all range. At William Street, our faculty staff offer a wide range of opportunities for students to explore interest, lead initiatives, and themselves. These listed here along with many of our other experiences allow students to serve their community, develop leadership skills, explore creativity, and build confidence. When a student helps run video announcements or participates in food share or represent the student council, they are practicing being global citizens and leaders are beginning to see themselves as capable contributors, not just students completing. Later this evening, you'll hear from our faculty about the student programming and leadership opportunities that make these experiences possible. One of the most important indicators of student empowerment is voice. And he's been able
010to introduce you to some of the student council members who share a current service learning project. It's a powerful example of what happens when students are trusted with responsibility and given the structure to lead. So, come on up. We're proud to turn it over to you. >> Hello, I'm Claire and this is my friend. We are here to share with you some of the ways that we practice global citizenship through service learning state. Yes. Each quarter, our school is involved in a project that benefits either our school, local, or global community. All the projects are studentrun and aim to support a variety of community groups and organizations. Since the start of our street service project, our students have been excited to participate in many different activities that make our school, neighborhoods, county, and beyond a
011better place. While some of our projects have directly benefited William Street students and staffers, we've also done our best to share support with groups such as the Lancaster Youth Bureau, Semore Western New York and Refugee Services, Western New York Foster, Ronald McDonald House, Buffalo City Mission, Erington County Child and Family Services, Dallas Children's Hospital of Buffalo, American Red Cross, and more. most recent service project was started just this past February and benefited the senior residents of continuing care community right here in Manchester. Please notice here that the success of our project Our projects have as you see our projects are a fun way for all of us to experience the joy of helping others while practicing skills in goal setting, planning, communication, and reflection. Thank you for your time and be on the lookout for
012our next upcoming projects. >> So when we talk about advancing student access and improving the student experience, it's not just one initiative. It's the daily work of our teachers, our staff, administrators, and students. It's aligning our instruction to deeper thinking. It's structuring classrooms so that every voice matters. It's creating opportunities for students to discover who they are and who they can become. Lanc is one stop on the educational journey in Lancaster, but we believe it's a powerful one. And each of them lies ahead, but preparing them for students we love and search for. So, thank you everyone for your time and your continued support of our students. So, uh, really appreciate it. Um, one thing I'll say, um, to everybody who's watching right now is, um, I'm getting more and more impressed with students in
013this district all the time. Especially from actual students coming to show us what's going on. And so one thing I will say is that right now you guys are going through school when you're some of you might say to yourself with kids but if you see some of these that you're never too young and you're never too young to make a impact in your community and you are proof of that. very much. So, it's a great time to say um the work you do in class with these kids. I know my daughter experience so far and with a lot of different programs and whatnot offer industry. So, thank you for the hard work you do. In the classroom, everything. So um at this time um if the parents of the students would like to gracefully
014exit for the rest of the meeting but um I will allow you guys to your children and gracefully exit for ice cream. So um I think most of you can convince your parents to do so tonight. So thank you again. We appreciate I'll give a second. But in the meantime, um I do just want to point out we do have on the agenda tonight. We have one additional line item that added to the end of the agenda. So I just wanted to call attention to that. That will be 2018. So we'll go over that a little bit later. And while I have a minute as well, I just wanted to say thank you to Karen Howard in the audience from Senator Gall. So, thank you for being here as well. Okay, on to the presentation.
015I will turn it over to Sarah. arm. You want to come up here to recognize women tonight school districts in the classroom leaders for the art of teaching. He cultural connection with students and environment where they feel supported and challenged learning and thinking to analyze Mr. to the school community in games and street experience to extend the school day. On behalf of our school community, I want to say thank you. Thank you for choosing to go for our students and for helping make the district such a special place. We're grateful for you and we are so excited to celebrate this moment with you. Congratulations. Congratulations. honor. I know getting tenure is only the really the first big step in your career getting tenure but congratulations it's an excellent place to be that you're so here
016you can also thank you for ice cream but congratulations and we look forward to having you in the district many 5.0 correspondence 5.1 we have an email on record from January to February 10th 2026 6.0 Approval of minutes 6.1. Can I have a motion to accept the budget work session minutes from February 9th? Any comments or questions? All those in favor? Anyone against? Motion carries. 62 motion to accept the regular session from February 9th. Any comments or questions? All those in favor? Anyone else? Motion carries. 613. Can I have a motion to accept the minutes from special session February 13, 2026? Any comments or questions? All those in favor? Anyone against? Motion carries 6.4. Can I have a motion to budget session from March? Any comments or questions? All those in favor? motion carries 7.0
017we have items from staff organizations. Is there anyone from the administrative supervisor? >> Thank you Mr. from Central Teacher Association. Good evening. My name is specialist here at William Street School. Joining me this evening are my two colleagues creative writing teacher and one of our live teachers. The individual screen offered us a small sample of the meaningful experiences happening in our building each day. From learning and creating together with peers and the community, these images show how our students explore their interest, share their voices, and contribute to the world around them. The real impact is seen in the ways our classrooms support every student who thrive where they are challenged, encouraged, and given opportun will learn in ways that meet their individual needs. As educators, it's a privilege to guide these experiences and ensure all
018students with access to engaging and enriching learning opportunities. Next, I'll turn it over to Pamela who will share more about her and the programs that we offer. Thank you, Megan. from here. And this gives students a unique opportunity to explore creativity through storytelling and illustration. 100 students per year in grades four, five, and six. participated in school and communication and teamwork. Additionally, we're really partnership with public library where they're housed. So, it takes not just a perspective, but as well. >> Thank you. Good evening. I'm Pepper and I'm the PTO club advisor. advisor in conception and our PTO club provides students with meaningful opportunity to develop leadership initiative and a strong sense of civic responsibility. Through their participation, students actively engage in projects to support both their school and the broader community reinforcing the values
019of giving back within the William Street school community. to collaborate on initiatives such as decorating for a week, recognizing our dedicated volunty, teamwork, and a sense of connectedness among our peers here at William Street. Beyond the school setting, students expand their impact with the larger cancer community as well. They design distribute distributed living facilities. One of their most meaningful activities includes making cards for patients at Rosal Park. helping students understand the important connection and student connection. Through these experiences, students build essential social, emotional, and leadership skills, which develop a genuine sense of belonging. Their involvement reflects not only their ability to contribute positively, but also their growing understanding that their voices, and truly our school community, and also in our community. Thank you. are made possible by the dedication of our teachers and staff who
020work every day to create an environment where our students feel valuable, supported, and inspired to learn. At William Street School, we are very proud of the many ways our students learn, grow, and connect with one another. Thank you for your time this evening and just looking at a small glimpse of everything we offer in our building each day. >> Thank you very much. Really appreciate that. I said earlier, but I I really appreciate all the leadership opportunities given the kids at this age because kids who get involved with leadership activities and learn that they can make a difference at this age being adults that make a difference in their lives. I do appreciate it and I think it's really cool. So, thank you very much. Um, anybody from the Association of Service Personnel? Anybody from
021the National Association of 8.0 reports? Does anybody on the board have anything to report? >> I have a few things in mind, so bear with me. Um, the first one is that spring sports started two weeks ago today and I know that there's a lot of excitement in that department to get going. This week at the high school, the health and wellness fair is taking place. Um the actual fair is going to be taking place tomorrow and Wednesday and there's going to be many vendors throughout the community um educating different students who want to go to that fair library. Some of those vendors include life county health department Lancaster youth bureau children and family services the yoga lab sad and GSA which are both clubs at the high school. There's also engage throughout the entire
022week. So this is a little brief overview of those today. students and faculty members are able to write motivational notes and cut out the school and then they also entered into cards for doing that. Tuesday and Wednesday like I mentioned are the health and wellness fair in the library. On Thursday, students will have the opportunity to write thank you notes on teachers and staff members throughout the school and will be entered into a rapid rate doing that. And then on Friday we have field day Friday. Um, students filled out a Google form prior to this week taking place with some of their favorite songs and then the coaches of the event. They grab some of their songs to play during passing periods throughout the day weekend. student musicians um involved in the band, orchestra, and
023choir programs at the high school visited third grade classrooms this past week, I believe, to help those third grade students pick out what instrument they may be interested in playing once they start their fourth grade year at street school. And then the last thing I have is about CCI, which is the culture climate community. Um every quarter they plan presentations to be presented at various different schools within the community. um usually focusing on the younger level schools. They have a different theme every two months. So for September and October they have the theme of November and December was the theme of giving. January and February is kindness and then March, April and May are about acceptance. Students on this committee like I mentioned were four schools a quarter and each school that isn't visited during
024that time will also get a virtual version of this presentation made by one of the students that these teachers can show to their classes as they please. The most presentation was at the middle school where I was at. Thank you. >> I have a couple things just to go over quickly. Um, one, I'd just like to give a shout out to Miss Aaron R. She's a William Street speaker. 25 kids from the sixth grade chorus went through a variety of They were on Saturday night. Very cool. They got to show their talent for obviously a great cause that goes on in Buffalo every single year. So just wanted to give that little shout out there. That was amazing. Um and then I about two weeks ago I got to go to a meeting with a
025bunch of other local school districts um where we got here from National Grid um as well as some people from the state about the new mandate bus 2035. Um so we have already as a school started obviously the process of fact finding and figuring out what we need in order to make these changes. The mandate from the state is 2035 has not changed yet. Um it doesn't seem like it's going to but we are obviously looking on the mission right now. So it was eye opening to see what was going on whether the electrical grid could handle the additional buses. I guess one thing that I found interesting that I relay tonight is it's not necessarily about the electrical grid literally can't handle it. So there is physically enough power to handle it, it's all
026the other pieces of the infrastructure that go along with it. So the power lines that actually bring us power have enough power to do this explicitly. Do all the little communities throughout New York State have the ability to transfer that power into something we can use on a regular basis to charge buses? So again, we are in the fact finding um we're in the fact finding position just like every other single school district in the state is. Um but I did want to let everybody know that I wasn't that pretty. So more to come. 9.0 superintendent administrative report. I will turn it over to Dr. Mr. Maybe later warm up everybody. So, have you ever been courageous enough to step out in front of a house to get outside of your comfort zone? Have you
027ever worked hard about something over time and and that hard work has paid off? Have you ever received a funation or even a little bit last year which I did not um what I would say is uh and I'm going to be a little biased here because this one is close to home but over the last several weeks I had the opportunity to go to both and variety show and they were absolutely fantastic. They are some of my favorite mom high five right now. Um and they probably just like me being here. But what I would say to that is it just hits me each time I go to bring back when my daughter was in kindergarten. I see many of you out there who want to save their time and send me an email
028before the actual event some of the center of attention right and she still does and she loves it to my first grader but when my second son was in the council as a kindergarter at that and it was right when they were shutting down six years ago and then my current first grader who was so proud and excited to be in that I had to move my camera around and miss an event because he asked you're going to be there today. So that's how it touched me in my household, but there are so many other kiddos and families who touched the excitement, the talent, the courage for our little little ones, you know, five years old, third graders to get up on stage and do their thing in front of house. I get nervous to
029do what I'm doing right now. And there was a young lady who um her partner was sick that day and she had to go from a duet to a solo and she rocked right and then she was so proud and I'm so proud and so many was so proud of her and that's something that stays with her for the rest of her life. So I got invited of course she won by a third grader and so I couldn't get there because it meant that much to the community. So just thank you all. I'm not going to name names because I do most people I will say I'm not sure who has more fun the adults or the students because there's adult performance that goes on where they do the beginning of the show and that's
030always fantast But I just want to say thank you everybody involved in those opportunities for our above and beyond and my daughter teach me a dance for an event at the high school and it's no small task that kinderg um was last week I attended finance networking event. Another great way to get our community involved. I believe there's about 75 um employers community members who were there to network with our students. They shook hands. They engaged in conversation. Students had to respond to the conversation. They asked questions and they were networking in an effort to uh build those skills but also to uh continue their journey through the academy of finance. And what that means is they potentially have a shadow opportunity at either local business or an internship that works as part of the
031academic program. Um and I visited the school of management artificial intelligence. That was my opening experience. I think one of the professors or the deans there it was it was jammed for about three and a half hours from station so to speak and I think was you know you may be overwhelmed because it's taking a drink of water from a fire that they have and what that lead to and how they're utilizing and how they want to be collaborative with local district. So not sure where that's going but it's certainly open to that experience John community raising money for various causes and the partnership across all levels something that we talk about They raised over $5,000 for me and patience awayward. And then in terms of athletics, music and the arts high school put on
032frozen last time. board members annual high school just after our last board meeting and that was a fantastic performance as always in our schools month. We just call that any monthly check for the calendar going on this month of the year and we talked about this last time basketball I believe it was the exhibition between police department by officer and Mr. a while and I just can't say enough about that. Unbelievable. the true spirit of what sports and athletics and humanity should be. And uh I cheeks hurt every time I get to that event. So fantastic. Thank you all who are involved in Dr. 7.0 Old business. Does anybody have any old business to discuss? 11.0. New business. 11.1. We have personnel items. 11.1.1 of the new principle. Um before we go ahead and vote
033on that come up and say a few words. Thank you. So excited to introduce you tonight and say that she's being recommended to the board of education to be the next principal of Mrs. Marcel told me she was retiring and we were going to have big shoes. Molly has established a building with a strong culture where both the students and the teachers enjoy coming to school every day. Replacing someone who's been at their job for almost 20 years and show that kind of leadership is no easy task. In her interview, though, over the past four years has taken the time to show us that she's ready for that. She's been an intral part of the successful leadership transition that we had this year at William Street. exemplifies strong instructional leadership and a knowledge of curriculum
034and standards and an ability to communicate with people. Well, tonight when you saw the presentation that the students and administrators made, I think you saw a simple more than once in her interview. She gave solid examples of her child centered approach to leadership. She possesses a sophisticated understanding of the work that Park has undertaken over the several years and used data and her knowledge of the district to create a plan for the future. Her entry plan is a reset. It's a strategic work towards our current goals of continuous improvement improvement through hard work around academic success and the social and emotional well-being of our students. She also had a clear plan for building connection with teachers and staff and the larger community. told her to come her dream. She wants to be a small school
035with a diverse population of students where she where her understanding of curriculum, instruction, and the arts will be valued and help us prepare the next generation of Lancaster students. I'm thrilled that she is going to be the next leader and I can't wait to see what she accomplishes. I know that Mr. William Street team will be sad to see her go. But she's leaving a legacy of success here at William Street for the next assistant person to build on. And she's going to bring that legacy to come. Congratulations. Congratulations. Would you like to say afterwards? It's up to you. I don't want to put on the spot. It's totally up to you. So, thank you to the board of education and our district leadership for this opportunity. I am truly honored to step into this
036role of principal. Um, over the past three and a half years as an assistant principal in this district, I have had the absolute privilege of being part of something special surrounded by just really incredible people. Um, One thing I've come to understand is that no one gets here alone. It's often said that it takes a village to raise a child, but I also think it takes a village to raise a meter. I've witnessed so many moments where teachers and staff come together to make great things happen for our students where we rally around a child or a staff member. We find a path forward and we do whatever it takes to support them. And those are the moments that have truly always meant the most to me. I've experienced my staff and leaders who have
037recognized me, supported me and helped me grow and I carry that with me and I hope to pay it forward in this world. That sense of village is also personal for me. I'm incredibly grateful for my family, my husband and my boys for their constant love, support and stickers. Um, thank you for your support along this journey. And as school, the village shows up in how we work together every day, keeping the students at the center, supporting one another as colleagues, and building strong partnerships with our families. What we do truly matters. We are not just educating students. I say it all the time. We are raising human beings. As a parent, I understand in our schools. I want you to know that I take that responsibility seriously and I care deeply for our students,
038our children, and their future. I'm excited to get started, excited to meet everyone and to become a part of the link community again and the co park community. Thank you so much. Can I have a motion to appoint as new principal? Any comments or questions? All those in favor? Anyone against? All right. Uh 11.1.2. Do I have a motion on your personal questions? All those in favor? Motion carries. 11.2 We have education items 11.2.1 I have a motion on the committee for special education or questions all those in favor 11.2.2 Can I have a motion from the committee on preschool special education? Any comments or questions? All those in favor 12.0 we have business and financial items 12.1 questions. All those in favor? Anyone against? Motion carries. 12.2 and 12.3 are policy second readings. We
039have a policy second reading for number 1620. It's our annual organization meeting. This is for information only. Policy second reading for 1640 absentee military and mails. Both of those like I said are for information only. We will go on those at the next meeting. Um 12.4 and 12.5 do we have contracts? I have a motion to accept the contract with Kelly Corvette and Dr. Lisa Jackson. Any comments or questions? All those in favor? Anyone against? 12.4 and 12.5. We have a Can I have a motion on providers with special education? Any comments or questions? All those in favor? Anyone else? Motion carries 12.7. Do I have a motion on the contract with James Welch? Any comments or questions? All those in favor? Anyone against? Motion carries. 12.8 8 through 1210 are all contracts. So 12.8
040is a contract with Central School District. 12.9 contract with West Central School District. 1210 is a contract with the Central School District. I have a motion on those comments or questions in favor. Those three motions 12.11. Can I have a motion to appoint 11 workers? Comments or questions? All those in favor? Motion carries 1212. We have a motion on the legal notice for the general budget proposition. Any comments or questions? All in favor? Anyone else? service operating report. Any comments or questions? All those in favor? Anyone else? Motion 12.14. I have a motion to declare the surplus equipment. All those in favor? Anyone else? Motion carries 12:15. I have a motion. Actually, this is the uh internal audit. So earlier today, uh we had an audit committee meeting at 6 o'clock. Um so my recommendation
041to the board uh is to accept the internal audit reports. Um I have a motion to accept any comments or questions. All those in favor 126 I have a motion to accept the big rejection for the form 45.6 Capital outlay general trades comments questions in favor motion carries 127 to accept the construction orders any questions all those in favor motion carries 12 motion on the settlement Any comments or questions? All those in favor? Anyone else? Motion carries. 13.0. We have a public hearing. We do not have anyone sign up to speak. Uh before we get to the last two items here, I do want to remind everybody we have a budget session. The next one is April 13th. 26 will be right here at William Street. We also have a regular session uh board meeting
042that's April 21st, 2026 that will also be here. Uh 14.0. Did I have a motion to go into the session to discuss project negotiation? Any comments or questions? All those in favor? Anyone against? Motion carries. So that will effectively end today's meeting. I appreciate everybody coming. really excited to have a full house tonight, especially for all the great things that we did. So, thank you very much.