January 29, 2026 KLSD Board of Education Meeting

001Good evening. >> Good evening. Today is January 29th and welcome uh to our board of education meeting. Uh can I have a motion to return to public session? Motion by Caroline, second by John. All those in favor? 6. Sorry. 6. Uh, if we can join me in the pledge of allegiance, please. >> Aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. >> Okay. I hope uh everyone enjoyed their snow day on Monday and is dug out from this insane amount of snow and is very happy that you're saying this next one this weekend is going to bypass us. So that's all good. Um our next item is board announcements. >> Yes, I

002will uh I will go. Um I know everyone at this table could always talk about the different things that our schools are doing that are amazing. We've done some fantastic tours and things like that. One that really struck me today was I was at the Katona Art Museum where KES fourth graders showed up on a field trip, but they read poetry that they wrote about the artwork that was actually in the Museum of Art. So, they had gone on a field trip and then wrote poetry and came back and presented to parents. Impressive enough. about what really impressed me and really stuck with me is a group of fourth graders individually going up and reading a poem, not going through it very quickly, delivering it probably better than I'm doing it right now and making

003eye contact and just that art of being able and doing public speaking even at that young of age when I know a lot of high school kids would have trouble doing it in front of their own class. um to be able to do that in front of a bunch of strangers or adults uh was just really resonating and I think it's so impressive that you take the digital piece out and they're they're practicing and learning like realworld interpersonal skills and it was a beautiful thing to see today and I just wanted to recognize that >> I had forgotten they had done that program and you're right it is very impressive and I remember with joy going to see that so thanks for the memory of I can see my kid up there reading her poem.

004It was It is a great day. >> I mean, I would just like to share that we did our third board tour yesterday at Meadow Pond and again, I was supposed to miss that one, but it got rescheduled luckily and I was able to get to that one, so we have perfect attendance. Just saying. Um, but it was again amazing watching what you guys are putting together in our schools. And I was just I commented to Ray, we were in a second grade class, I believe, and they were talking about the hooks to getting your reader to your writer your reader to listen to your writing. And I said, I don't think I think I might have been in high school when somebody first talked to me about a hook and the kids were really

005into it. So, there's a lot of amazing things that are happening, but I that one stood out to me so much. >> It it was a great tour yesterday. And I want to from the bottom of my heart thank our administrators for opening their schools up to us for the preparation and planning that goes into our five minute sprints through the menopause where I think that was done so we couldn't write as many things >> down. Um but just the gratitude of being able to see our pillars, right? this is what our community told us that they wanted and we're seeing you put it into action and it's just it feels good to be here and part of this community. Um I don't know if we were in one of the um small classes and

006I'm just so grateful to our community for being able to afford us the ability. There was seven children in there and then there were seven adults supporting our most vulnerable population. You don't see that other places. And it's just a heartwarming tribute to the value that we put in education and special education and the support systems that we have. I mean, I was overwhelmed when I was leaving that class when you saw every all those adults in there supporting vulnerable children. So, thank you. You're making a difference and we definitely see it. So, we appreciate it. Um, oh, so now we're going to open it up to your presentation. We're excited to learn about pillar one, knowledge and skills. Usually sometimes you hear from Hudson, but I guess your next next meeting. >> So, welcome

007to our table. >> Thank you. >> Yes. I'm really thrilled to have all the principles with us tonight. I'll be your tour guide um taking us through knowledge and skills and then um you'll hear from each of the principles as we go through the process. And just to orient you to the pile of papers in front of you, the top page is our pillar that we're presenting on tonight. If I may look at your pile >> and then behind that is the district empowerment plan, the elementary, middle, and high school empowerment plans. um this is for your reference and also uh we'll mention um some connections to that um in particular knowledge and skills as we're going through the evening. All right, so we're going to skim quickly through the first um number of pages.

008As you know, we've already talked to you about collaborative educators and that pillar. We've learned about well-being. Frank Gizo is in the audience tonight. He helped with that presentation as well. Thank you. Belonging. And now today is knowledge and skills. And the the first picture is a beautiful one which I believe was from our first board walkthrough. Um I remember being in that room. Christy the student is >> well that's that's Kim Buckley and Giorgio. And um I believe they're acting out vocabulary words. That was a really sweet picture which is it's a great way to kick off um tonight's presentation which you'll see is in part a lot about data and our performance on various standardized tests but is not limited to that. Um and the joy of learning is what we're really after

009which you see um so nicely in that picture. So moving along you'll see on the second page which is the elementary school achievement data for grades three four and five. To remind you, this is last year's data, right? So, these tests are administered each spring. Um, and the opt out rates are pictured in the pie charts. They remain pretty steady from the year before with a decrease actually in people opting out of the science test. And if you look below there to the bottom of page 23, you'll see the bars that indicate how we've done over the years since 2022 as compared to the Putinham Northern Westchester Bosey's group, which is a a group of neighboring school districts throughout this area. That's the black line that's in the center of each of the bars on

010the bar graph. And it's a beautiful chart because it depicts great achievement at the elementary school. In many cases it's the 2025 I think actually all cases was the highest per grade level. Um you can also look across the cohorts. some wonderful growth and um in in all cases we're above the Putinham Northern Westchester Bosey's average which is nice to see and a beautiful increase in science which as you know we've recently adopted amplify science program at the elementary level and it's been a great deal of professional development and work and investment on the teachers parts and all of the administrators and so it's beautiful to see um that growth there. I'll turn it over to my elementary colleagues to make some connections more about this. >> Want me to talk about data or are

011you turn >> will hit it up? >> Start kind of connected to some of the data just in terms of like the curriculum in terms of one of the things that we're embarking on this year related to the empowerment plan was the priority standards specifically for math. And then we uh the whole basically the whole elementary group um kind of looked at the standards u identified the priority ones and then supporting ones and then identified learning targets. Um and so that's going to lead into all the curriculum mapping that we're going to do at the elementary level in the district. Um, and so as you remember, we might remember the visible learning, which I know you've learned a little bit about, um, in terms of learning targets, like that's about teacher clarity and the effectiveness

012of like teachers really knowing their content and being able to communicate it effectively in the classroom. That's like connected to some of the research. >> Absolutely. And we talked about that both at the increase walkthrough and the meopon walkthrough the other day with the Hadtie's work of visible learning and effect size. >> Yeah. So, another part of our empowerment plan was about the literacy audit and as you know um we had a literacy audit last year and um shout out to Julia because she ran an amazing literacy committee that we were all part of um this fall and you know as you know we chose our new curriculum so we're excited about that. So, one of the pieces uh was really unpacking the literacy audit, which we've done um and we sat together and made

013a plan for professional development for our teachers for the rest of this year to really make sure we get a start on that as well. >> Thank you. Another part of the elementary empowerment plan was to roll out the um new benchmarking um assessments, the common assessments that we were using fall, winter and spring um called NWA MAP and um Dibbles. And so with the leadership of Julia and Maggie Conrad and the elementary principles and the and the literacy committee and in this case our interventionists played a huge role. Um, we began in February using both of these new assessments with our interventionists having been trained and going and pushing into classrooms to dibble and map the kids. Um, and while the teachers watched and saw how this was administered, we had our data team

014meetings and the interventionists led those meetings again helping us think through what do these numbers mean to us? um what matters, how can we use this in the classroom? And then during the fall, there was a plan to uh for the interventionists and Maggie to train our classroom teachers so that by the winter um benchmarking which is taking place currently, the teachers were prepared to administer these assessments and the interventionist kind of gradually released the responsibility to the teachers. Um there was time for the interventionists to push in to initiate those first set of dibbles and first set of mapping um and then pull away as the teachers became more comfortable and administering and there were some office hours that went along and I feel like the plan was very robust in terms of the

015support that the teachers would need um in order to be able to do this on their own and then we'll have our data team meetings and there'll be greater input and greater convers conversations now that our knowledge base has grown and our future plan um is to now learn really specifically more about what are these reports, what do they tell us, how does it inform our instruction, how are we talking to parents about it, um and digging a little bit deeper into the analysis of the data and the and the usage of the data. So, a great >> How are the teachers feeling about it? like because you're starting it now and they're kind of getting their own wings. Are they excited and are they cautious? Are they you know >> I think they're I

016think they're excited and and cautious cautiously excited because we we've been using as web for so long. So anything new you know our teachers are very professional. They want to do the right thing. So, they want to make sure like what is this new thing that was chosen and is this going to serve us well and are we going to be able to learn the very best about our students and do what we can with them in the classroom. Um, so I think, you know, time will tell and maybe even after this winter benchmarking now that there's more familiarity like what they can take back and use to like help group students in the classroom because it does um um result in areas of relative weakness, areas of relative strength and the more you know

017and are familiar with the platforms, it it actually provides you with instructional guidance. So I think as we can use these tools to you know based on what they're able to offer us the more teachers will appreciate what what it is as web did as web did not offer us that piece. So >> that's great. >> It's exciting and >> I can see how that would work because as we were going through you know you've got there was one room where you had three different stations going on and the teachers at one and the kids are self-directing themselves. So I can see that that would be able to group the students in a better better manner. >> Yes. >> Based on data which is >> and that's like live current data versus like what we're

018sharing this evening which is has value in and of itself but is already quite old and past. So that data will allow us to make in the moment instructional decisions that >> that's even more robust >> and and this becomes our new new baseline. Well, it's one of a number of data points that we'll use. So, like we'll triangulate our data. It'll be a consideration. So, NWA map is one. Dibbles is another. Um classroom observations, teacher observations is is another. Perhaps state test scores will like be one flag that we have to dig deeper when we see. But that's part of the collaborative inquiry protocol that we're learning as far as how to how to look at data. And then also it's part very intertwined with MTSS and the revisions we're making as we move

019from RTI to MTSS and revising that plan and the data meetings that Christie mentioned are like are how we are currently forming our groups for intervention and so all of that like the nuance of that will shift with the more data that we have and and the way that we're able to interpret it. >> Great. >> So we'll shift now to the middle school. Just I'm sorry just before I just don't want to lose this detail. I think you mentioned it briefly but I think it's really important. These are the highest >> scores in almost every grade uh across the board with with one exception that's just slightly lower the the peak there. So I think this is really important. highest across the board in ELA three, four, and five and math three and four

020and just under >> just just a little bit. But but that that's just really impressive. >> And we see growth from year to year if we follow the cohort. So that's that's really fantastic. The ELA scores are visually visually full percentage that like >> what say >> the ELA scores I mean three through five jump from last year from like I mean >> that's like >> big >> it's a big visually it looks big do you know like approximately >> what the jump is >> just a second >> percentage wise >> um so uh I I'm I'll look it up with I don't have it on off hand but I have it right here so in greed's between four and five. So grade four ELA students were 74% proficient in last year and the next

021year 86 and a half% proficient. >> It's huge. >> Yeah. In grade four it was 70.6% proficient and then in grade five 84.4 >> and then in grade five, sorry I said that wrong. Grade four 24 to 25. Grade five 24 73.4% 4% proficient, jumping up to 82.4% proficient across the grades. So >> well done. >> That's a huge jump. >> Absolutely. Thank you for pausing to recognize that. >> We appreciate that. >> All right. So um on to the middle school which gives those same assessments from the state. Again, we begin with our opt out numbers here and in at the middle school, we saw a decline in the number of kids opting out in both math and science, which is great. And only a slight increase in ELA. And I I know that

022Jeff does a really nice job of encouraging people to do it so that we can assess what kids need and how effective our our programming is. And then below that are the results of the state tests for ELA, math, and science. Um again here another point that I would like to point out about cohort growth is really nice accomplishment if you're looking for across the cohort. So I'll take you through that if you can see the teeny teeny bars from your seats in grade six in the orange for example is from 2023 those students when they became seventh graders they moved to the light purple and they increased in proficiency and when they became eighth graders in 2025 they increased in proficiency. So that is exactly what you hope to see because every group of

023students is different every year. So measuring grade to grade isn't always effective, but cohort growth is really telling. So kudos to uh the middle school for that um growth. And also uh just to point out the leap in science 8, which you might recall was when we took earth science out of 8th grade. So now all eighth grade students were taking the test and performed quite nicely. So, um, >> can I >> Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Can I just clarify a question on on opting out of testing? >> I never quite understood that and I always had my kids take it even though they would complain, but there's no downside to a student taking that test. It's not held against them in any way. And all it does is really give us the data

024we need to improve our programs. Correct. Like there's there's no reason >> for student not to. It's a practice, right? It's >> Well, I'll let the principles chime in, too. In in in my experience, it really took hold when the Common Core state standards came out because people resented the the control from federal government and like the state coming down and telling >> the common core that was not, >> right? And and that was like the citizens power to >> object, >> right? And and so that in my experience was >> I don't think it was related to APR. >> Yes. and parents not being supportive of student scores reflecting teacher performance. >> I think it was a combo of that. Yes. Yeah. And then I don't think CO was terribly helpful with that either

025because people felt like it was challenging enough to reenter schooling and then to experience state testing, you know. But the state has made some some changes like untimed tests trying to make it a little bit easier to endure um computer-based assessments potentially being getting getting us information more quickly and just being a little bit more efficient. Um but yes, it in my experience it's been helpful to like assess the health of your program. You're going to hear a little bit in the high school how they're how they're using the regions to help inform their instructional decision-m which is like what it's really all about, especially at this point in the game when it's it's January. We're looking at spring data from last year. >> It might be interesting to mention that there actually is no

026such thing as opting out. >> We call it that, but when a student doesn't take the assessment there, it's it's marked down as refusal. >> So, it's it's like a madeup thing >> unexcused. >> That's helpful. Thank that is helpful. >> The the benchmark data helps fill those gaps though. Yes. I mean right because that's absolutely you get that rest of that looks looks like on average about 10%. Um it looks a little higher there science but on average that that fills in that gap. Um, do we at some point, you pardon my ignorance if this is a part of something that is regularly done, but do we present the benchmark data at some point to the public, not obviously individually, but >> as a collective when we're comfortable with the administration of it and

027and everybody feels comfortable with the new >> Yes. And Julie and I have actually talked about this where as we go through this for this our first cycle through this year, we'll see if at this time next year we might be able to share out in culmination with the kind of end of the learning cycle with the these assessments and then where we might look at as far as the internal benchmarking. So that is on our trajectory just we're going to kind of walk that through. Now we've got as we just learned the the midyear check is done and we'll look at the spring and then it would be similar like you described it to be like at a grade level and things like that. So our hope is that we'll be able to to

028kind of walk that through and but we know we just have our teachers to kind of get on board. We're just using the the results using the reports that come out of that. So hopefully then we can walk it towards so this will probably be modified if not next year absolutely anticipate the following year. Yeah. >> And I wanted to give Jeff an opportunity to share some thoughts. >> Thank you. So uh first the science number is only an eighth grade number. So, when you look at optouts, those are students who um probably might come under a little more peer pressure that if a couple of friends are opting out, they're calling their parents today up saying, "I'd like to refuse as well." Um and and so, uh that that number is always a little

029bit higher. It's one grade, etc. So, um but we do like really using that data. I I try to send out a an encouraging note every year just to say like we are working really hard and your kids are working really hard. please take the state tests up until kind of recently with with adding map and um dibbles like that is kind of like the only real comparison we have across. So, we like to see that data and in fact our um instructional coach Melissa Brady over the past couple of years has worked with one of our resources Diane Cunningham and they've taught teachers how to dive deeply into um that state test data as a reflection of their own practice. Teachers reflecting on their own practice and then saying all right who are the

030students we need to work with in certain areas. So um the technology really helps us with that. We set a benchmark very high in Katona Lewisboro. So we we take like three like three and a half and below and that's what we try to identify for our work in our curricular areas and our work with children in our classrooms. So it's good data. uh we are looking forward to uh the NWA data being um more readily available and helping us impact instruction during the course of the year work with individual students uh both at the higher level and students that need intervention etc. So um those are some important pieces as we connect uh the work around skills to uh our empowerment plan, knowledge and skills to our empowerment plan. Uh one of the pieces

031that's really taking hold very well I believe in the middle school is professional learning communities. So every day u most teachers in our building every day um have a half an hour and they work with each other. They're talking about uh priority standards. They're talking it was mentioned before about learning targets. what do we want students to know and be able to do? And then we actually look at what's called success criteria and say like what do we want it to look like as students are completing this? So teachers from across the grade level um on all different teams for a subject area are meeting daily to say here's what we expect our next test to look look like. Afterwards they might come together and say how did we do what did your students do

032as compared with uh students in another class. So it's a great uh professional opportunity for our teachers to have daily and that is some of the best I think I think when we look at Hadtie's work uh some of the best um uh response is to have teachers working together toward a common goal etc. So uh we're we're providing that every day. Do you do you find that that daily touch base with each other is um improving their their enthusiasm to be there to teach and their you know experiences and then you know you would think if people are happy at work and it just makes the whole building better. Are you noticing any of those effects? >> I I heard a statistic early in my career that teachers spend probably like 98% of their

033time alone in their classrooms over the course of their career. So I think it it's a way to connect. It's that connective tissue. >> What's that? >> The >> Yeah. Well, definitely. Right. So you have people that you're with every day. I think over the course of time, like it's it's kind of like a jigsaw puzzle right now where we don't we know pieces of it and like as they come together further and further, when we have better data, more regular data, when we know what the test the data is going to say back to us about our students, I think that will like allow it to take off. So, we're building those building blocks right now uh on Teams, etc. And as we get that data and people become more comfortable challenging each other

034in a professional way, we expect that to really take off. >> That's great. >> Awesome. Thank you. >> Sure. >> And so, it's a nice segue now to go to the high school and to start talking about graduation rates. Um because as we know, that's a direct effect of their experience K through 12. So, it's a nice slide to take us to second. So, I'll turn it over to Stephen. All right, good evening all. I think as you look at this slide just for context. John J. High School, you know, we seek to impart knowledge and skills via 127 courses that got eight Boseiesmies. So that is kind of, you know, filling in, you know, some context for what you're seeing here. uh of those numbers which are impressive. I just you know put some

035some meat on the bone here is that you have 97% uh going into pursuing some sort of higher education but we also have students that are being accepted to the Ivy League division one servicemies smaller schools that are right for them and tech and trade programs and for a handful of students who are just going to go right into the workforce. So we think that those numbers really reflect the work of a K8 system, not just 9 through 12. So our students come to us uh very prepared, very prepared to take on the rigors of a high school schedule and they are doing very well with it. So we're very happy with it. >> So you just get to take credit for all your colleagues hard work. >> I am fine with that. David, one

036of the things you've got on there, just I just know these are some different numbers we put together, but the idea that 96% of the students that go to co college that first year come back. I mean, that I I would see that's certainly a testament to your counseling team, so the partnership with your families and the kids. And so, you know, that idea about making sure that that first step is as strong as fit as it can be. >> Absolutely. >> And that that's that's a really testament to your your team you've got over there. Absolutely. >> And the preparation, you know, all three of my kids have said they feel so prepared for college coming out of John J compared to where their friends are. >> No, I'm glad you said that because

037I read a long time ago is that students who do not make it through college. Money is rarely the issue. >> It's all other circumstances in terms of being able to regulate themselves, having the the background in the topics to now pursue it at a collegiate level. So, I think that 82% of those who finish within six, I think that's a real good data point >> and uh that's that's for us to really be proud of. >> Yeah, I think that that's the number that stood out to me most, especially when you look at the national average is actually only 62%, right? >> And that class of 2018 is my younger son's cra. So, that like he's actually finishing his master's degree this year. So like it's it resonated with me first because I saw

038the date and then I the 62% and that he's finishing his sixth year but it's with his master's degree. So we set him up with your help. Um I going to take most of the credit though. take that >> my colleagues have noted the high school as the flagship and the shiny and they're not wrong >> has to weave that in >> so we'll segue from oh sorry did you have something more to say >> no I said just going into the other graphs uh when we look at English social studies outcomes are very strong nearly 99% passing but also in line with the empowerment plan we had the literacy audit when we look at our English scores yes 99% passed, but nearly 3/4 achieve mastery, which according to the state is 85 or higher.

039So, it's a great place to work from, but there's still work to be done. And so, I think we have an ethos of continuous improvement. So, we will use things such as the NWA to now work that into our assessments, and we continue to get stronger on regent exams and for as long as they last. And also our AP scores, which we'll get to in a moment. English global high rates of passing. You see there uh new exams can sometimes bring dips in performance. Uh so we have a number of courses that had switched over to next generation. Uh our performance in algebra 1 next generation showed a very strong passing rate and the geometry slide you see there probably needs some context. That is a course where for years to meet APR uh standards

040for having at least 95% of a grade level tested, we would have the students who excel who um accelerated in middle school would then take the geometry regions the next year. So this year really for our own purposes as a as a baseline, we had every student take it. And so even schools that we tend to be compared to our uh kids who were taking them were about twice the number >> even more maybe. Yeah. >> Yeah. So just to put that number into some context but again there's also things that we are we are looking to do. Uh we have had professional development uh with Boseies two years they built a very nice relationship. We now have more formative assessments coming in. NWA has now been put out to the staff. We're getting some

041proficiency and facility with that. So I think that's something that eventually will become a source of strength in the math department. >> Yeah. Yeah. And kudos to the math department and Mallerie McDonald and the relationship with Boseies. They they noticed a a gap. They are purposely interle weren't adequately covered in their current instructional practice and which is why they're committed to administering it again and looking to see if if there is been growth or not. And I just think that's a testament to the fact that they feel comfortable in doing so. and that's because of the way that we receive these scores and encourage their their growth. So I think that's a great testament to the high school and the department um for their commitment to the kids. So um >> without the pressure of

042high stakes testing it now becomes a tool rather than a task. >> Right. >> So we think we can get more out of it. >> Yeah. Precisely. Steve, I I think your math team is also looking Julia that using the maps benchmarking assessment particular in the area of geometry because we've got that growth in geometry again with that tool just for the group that is a computer adaptive assessment and so the ability for that to adjust to where a student is and how hard that can stretch that student and or they may need some support and other skill years. So again, our students take it this week or next week. Our teachers get it. They can flip right around the next week of lessons and adjust and approach it that in a different way. So

043again, commend uh your leadership with Mallerie at the campus and saying, "Let's work with the math team. Let's get that going forward and our math teaching stepping forward and saying let's let's do this even though we don't have to because again you're put there's five out of the 18 that didn't give it at all out of our component districts. You didn't have to. So to say it's not about the score, it's about the learning we can gain as better instructional." So, >> not not something I don't think we want to uh just pass over too quickly kind of back to where you before Barbara because it's an atypical approach I would say that a school district would take a school would take to do that. >> Uh really taking the time to look at those

044results and actually have all kids do it. So, >> and are we still offering the GAP program? >> Gap we're find we're phasing it out. Okay. uh we we find that students will do better reaching calculus by taking algebra and geometry as two separate courses and they have begun to do that and it seems to be working. So >> yeah, >> I just didn't know how you handled with the gap class, >> you know, t giving the tests if how that worked >> in terms of I'm sorry. >> Well, I guess would they take if they're in the gap program, would they take both the algebra regions and the geometry regions in the same year? >> They could. Um, it's kind of the difference between they need the 4 plus one in order to just

045satisfy the graduation requirements. Students who are accelerating tend to do that through algebra, but if you've taken GAP, you probably will be taking algebra and geometry to open up the gates for you to get to calculus by senior year. >> Thank you. >> And as Steve hinted before, sorry, just about as we learn about these pathways from the state, the the opportunities will more than likely open for us to create more pathways and opportunities when the regions um is able to be replaced as long as we have strong internal metrics and pathways are going there. I was I was just going to say as they're phasing out GAP in large part because they're realizing content gaps were occurring there as well. So really strategic thoughtful decisions and you you mentioned a slight dip with newer

046tests but uh two in particular um we want to talk about earth science because that is that was the first year without the eighth graders taking it. Right? So just to refresh your memory the the percentage the number of students taking it declined significantly as well. So that would um attest there. And then the achievement in algebra is also reflective of the achievement in the middle school too, which is good. >> It's also going to be the case that now all students coming into nth grade will take preap bio. So we've raised the floor. So that was also part of our action plan. And again, the teachers have done very well using the PLC time. Uh I recently just observed a a bio class and she did not want to get ahead of her team.

047And so she did some very interesting activities to give some support for kids who needed it. Extension activities for those who seem to be mastering the material. So I think that's exactly what we would want to see happen in in such a teamed environment. >> Yeah, that seems to have a great job. >> That's really great because you often hear about, oh, I want this teacher because they're, you know, they're teachers that better. They you get through more information faster and so it's good that they're making sure they're covering everything at the same time so you won't have that discrepancy anymore. So that's I like that use of the PLC time to know where everybody else is at. >> No, they've been very very diligent. >> You're not an island anymore. >> No, no, not

048at all. So good news. >> And a lot of them have volunteered to come to the science leadership team committee meetings. They're asking questions about intervention. They're asking questions about diagnostic tests they can build themselves to early identify students who might struggle so they can design interventions. It's really nice. >> That's awesome. That's amazing. >> All right. And so now we'll move on to APs. >> So as you can see the amount of AP courses that we offer, very robust offerings. I think regarding AP, our philosophy has always been to encourage students to take the most rigorous courses that are right for them. Uh so we seek rigor and relevance and designing the experiences where students can apply knowledge and skills to new and unfamiliar situations. And so when I'm asked, you know, why AP?

049You know, I always answer with the fact that the curriculum is it's rich, it's well vetted, and the scores have both validity and reliability uh here and across the country and even across the globe. So, you know, a three, a four, a five, we have a very good sense of what does that mean in terms of a student's preparation. So, think that works. >> It also means dollars in the parents pockets because that's college credit. Seriously, like >> there's kids that graduate a semester a year early because they've taken so many APs from here and that's >> it's huge. >> Understood. What's nice about this um slide here is that you see the the results, but uh we have been honored from the College Board as a platinum school. And what's really nice about that

050is that we weren't looking for it. >> So I like what's this? It's >> a bonus. >> Who knew? um college board started this in 2023. So it's just new ways to recognize students. So we we are very pleased by that. Um we want students to try it. Do your best. We will support you. And I think our teachers do a phenomenal job. Most of them are very experienced with the curriculum. It's a warm supportive supportive environment. It is not test centric. It is experience centric as much as we can make it. Uh and we think that the results have been very encouraging. So Stephen, I'm wondering just apologize just walking us a little bit through I know you have had a number of your teachers go and kind of get refreshed in the training

051as AP now is looking at bringing on project based learning as a component of that. So that aligns with your schedule that the team has brought forth in those pieces. If just maybe open that up a little bit because Sure. >> AP business is something that's being piloted right now and that really was a great example of projectbased learning and that there was a starting your own business as a bakery. We went into the community and we found a number of bakers who were in the community who run their own businesses who came into school and to give our students feedback on their plans. So it was nice for them to to start that uh that um dialogue. So that's really a snapshot of what we're hoping and we think AP is starting to move

052along to. Our teacher who does AP stats uh doing the same thing, she's been said just get the boat in the water. You know, it's it's not going to be as good today as it will be when you keep doing it. But I think teachers are starting to, you know, get over their fear of it and and start getting the boat in the water and start paddling. So there where it's happening, we're we're very pleased with uh their progress. >> Thank you. >> Sure. And I'll just add the preap bio is also hope the one of the hopes is that it's going to open up even more access to APs for students. So that number hopefully will only grow. >> So we see the numbers of students that are taking right now. So again more

053more tests being taken. We're benchmarking. We're projecting about 459 students will take an AP exam uh with about nearly,60 total exams. So we'll see if that projection is right. And one thing that's amazing, so I have a daughter in 2022 and a daughter in 2025, both having 444 um tests taken, but the 2022 class is 100 students more than the 2025 class. So we've seen the decline in enrollment in the fact that the same number of tests were taken is that's a testament of the number of kids that are in these AP programs and taking advantage of them. Absolutely. >> That percentage is you don't see it as much until you think of the number of difference of the students that were actually in the building. >> That's right. >> I I just want to

054go on record though and I when you first started you said we want to encourage the students to take what's right for them. I think that that's really important though that we can always say that because I think that there's still a lot of students who put a lot of pressure on themselves to take AP classes because that's what they're supposed to take. And so I I love this. I love all of this. I just I also think it's really important to verbalize it's not right for every student and right and like what you said in the beginning is absolutely right. We want to encourage the kids to take what is right for them. >> Well, I'm glad you said that because we also have done this year as part of our plan is to

055investigate uh SUPA. Are there different ways where kids can get college credit, not necessarily through an AP program? So, we're starting to do some homework there. Uh, University of Albany is a institution we have a relationship right now through our science research, but there may be some opportunities for world language. So, we're doing our homework this year on that. >> Oh, sorry. Go ahead. >> What's interesting, too, is um I think it's 11th grade English is the one that um it can be honors or regular. So, you can decide by the end of the year whether or not you want to go for that honors credit or not. So, I like programs like that where you can go in and say, "Okay, do I want to write I think it's a couple extra papers or

056something, but there's some extra assignments that would make it an honors class." Yeah. >> So, the kids can start and say, "Okay, I'm going to try for the honors." And then if they decide, okay, that's not right for me, they can back it off. So, I think that's a perfect example of what you're saying with needs to be right for them. But it gives them an opportunity to stretch themselves. >> Yeah. I mean, absolutely. I >> My kids ran the gamut, right? So, the one who's getting his master's degree right now, he wanted nothing to do with any of this. My daughter, who's going into 10th grade, said, "Okay, I'm she's in honors geometry now, so I know I'm going to do this and I'm going to take preap this." And I'm like, >> "Calm

057down. You don't have to do all of that." And so, she sees this as her only option. And I just want to make sure that we're always encouraging that's not your only option. That's right. >> Just Just be thankful we don't have period zero anymore. She could be taking 10 classes for And then we have lunch. She must enjoy lunch. >> I I don't want to I want to make sure you read the small paragraphs to the right of the bar graph about the AP access award. That's also a very nice accomplishment. But I think this is a nice segue to the next slide where um we talk about things that aren't just test scores as far as achievement is concerned, more experience-based learning. So Stephen's gonna uh talk a little bit about science research

058and we have a v a short video um one of two videos. So go ahead Stephen. >> I think before I do that I just want to put a frame to this just like Julia is saying uh Frank Izzo our director of guidance who's with us here. He and I stumbled across a quote uh from Jamie Cassip that we both loved and it said you know don't ask kids what they want to be when they grow up. Ask them what problems they want to solve or what impact they want to make. And this changes the conversation from who do I want to work for to what do I need to learn in order to be able to do that. So I think with that really shows us what what these hands-on experiences are like. But

059just a quick digression if you allow me. I asked Frank to try this out because we're as soon as we saw that we're inspired and we're like wow we should be asking that of all ninth graders when they come in. It's part of the onboarding process. So Frank was good enough to try this with his son. So his son Lucas, so Lucas, what problem do you want to solve when you're older? And if I'm ruining this, Frank, come up and and calibrate me. >> And his son's answer was classic. He just looks at his father and says, "Dad, I'm in the seventh grade." But Frank, to his credit, he hung in there. And eventually we got to school lunch has got to be improved. And then it became, well, I guess I am going to

060have to hook up with student government in order to make this happen. So just by staying with that question got him thinking in a way that clearly he had never been asked before. So that was just you know something for us to think about in terms of you know kids who want these types of experiences. Well, what where impact? What are you passionate about? Or you may not know, so try something and maybe something grabs you. But that idea, Frank, was that all right? >> Perfect. >> Okay. So, when we look at sire again, uh, great opportunities, kids to have real and extensive experiences in the area of interest to them. What I like about this is that even as our enrollment has dropped a little bit, um we are up to 68 students now

061in sire, we had about double the amount of sophomores who joined it this year. So that is really working very well. So it's engaging in authentic research, giving our students the ability and the confidence to present in different environments, interacting with professionals, and in many cases learning to overcome anxiety. So Dr. Lisa Papernick and uh Mrs. Munger. They've just done very well working together and keeping that program growing and viable and uh also reaching out to the middle school whenever they can. They're judging events. They're they're really trying to increase their footprint. So, >> and their presentations are not to be missed at the end of the year when they go and present. They're so professional poised. It's um it's really an impressive evening that I enjoy. >> And this just in uh we have

062the University of Albany. We have two students who have been selected in the high school science research invitational symposium on February the 25th. So Francis Hager and Sophia Wilder will be presenting. So that's exciting. >> Found that out today. Great news. >> So the video we'll see is of Emma Barniv, forgive me if I'm saying that incorrectly, from environmental science. She won the TTown Young Environmentalist Award for outstanding projects that aim to protect habitats andor ecosystems. Thank you, Rich. I'm studying the effects of human caused changes to the nitrogen cycle on the functioning of forests. So essentially in the past century um human activities like the combustion of fossil fuels and the mass agricultural use of nitrogen fertilizers have disrupted the balance of the nitrogen cycle and it's caused adverse effects such as um acidification

063in forest ecosystems and just a decline in the health and functioning. I really started exploring this topic further in 8th grade um when I saw the news of the wildfires in Canada and it just really showed me um how directly climate change is affecting people right now and so that drew me to studying environmental science. I got the Tatown Young Environmentalist Award at the Westchester Engineering and Science Fair. Um and so it's given by a local environmental um program for students who are doing research to conserve and protect ecosystems. I really learned a lot about the research process. So I spent around four months doing my project and ultimately for both phases of research I got inconclusive results. Um, so I really had to have a lot of persistence through this process because I never

064got the findings that I expected. Um, but it just showed me that the research process takes a lot of patience because I understand that it can take a while to get the results um that you're looking for. And I'm still really excited to continue doing research in college and beyond. >> You are great. great presentation skills. They just grow right before your eyes and it's it's it's great to see. So, moving on from here, we have the senior internship experience, the SIE. This has really become a staple of the senior experience at John J. the past few years. Uh I guess when it first started out, it could have been 5050 of seniors who would go out on internship and those who would choose to stay back. But that really has evolved where I would

065say just about every senior gets an internship and they go out and they do it. And whether it's they found a passion that they're interested in pursuing uh or an idea that they've tried, a suggestion that they're going to try, just an opportunity they're going to avail themselves to. We have had kids come back when they do the presentation. Some of them learned I don't want to do this. And that can be just as valuable and it can save you thousands of dollars. So great to do it in the simulator. And that's really what high school should be in a lot of ways. I think a simulator. >> I think didn't that program start in the Mac class with Jess and um Mike? >> It was here. It was in place when I got here.

066So I think >> accurate. It started with the one Mac class and then it people were like, well, why are why are the other ones getting to do it? And it it did it ballooned. It >> it's an exciting program. >> We also have humanities research. And again, this is a a great program, but it seems to be a little quieter than perhaps, you know, sire. And I think part of its character is that by design, sometimes robotics sire, there's a competition element to it, which is fine, and that's great, and that's what kids want. Uh, for Hummerry, it's a little more quiet, off the-beaten, uh, path, not competitive, and that's what speaks to it for them. So I think Jill Hersshfeld and TZ von Steenberg do a wonderful job. This year we have about

06742 students enrolled and again acquiring knowledge and skills, deep researching, writing, revision, presenting. And so if you've ever been to the the Humry presentations in the spring, uh you know what I'm what I'm saying. And if you haven't, please do so. I think you'll find it's a great evening. >> Just fantastic topics. >> Moving along, robot uh robotics. And I love the ethos of robotics. And this comes from uh Jonathan Peter, the the teacher. Hurry up and get it wrong. And it is all rooted in projectbased learning. So they're doing excellent work building real knowledge and skills. It's real. It's future focused engineering. They're engaged in designing. They're engaged in building coding, project management, datadriven decision- making. So Jonathan talks about iteration is really the the way that that moves it. You have to fail.

068You have to fail. You have to learn why. You have to try again until it works. And their attitude towards failure is the wrong term, but their attitude is so possible is so positive that they are waiting for things that they have to fix and they just accept it that that's just part of the deal. So that's this is great. So of course experience that it's covering engineering, computer science, communications, media, leadership, and they also mentor younger teams. They run events and the the wider community sees their work. So >> yeah, we have another video for them, too. Uh Rich, if you don't mind. >> And didn't all three all three teams are advancing to states. Is that what I >> All three teams were stage champs? >> You know what? I'm not sure. I'd

069have to go back and look. >> They were definitely >> So our design process starts >> an idea. We have an idea and we try to get that vision on a piece of paper. Um Noah sketches it out. um and he sends it over to me and I model it in CAD. So in CAD we can see what works, see what doesn't. Um we have a lot of iterations. We do a lot of 3D printing, a lot of lot of tests and we do test prints. So like for the gears and stuff, we do different sizes, see what works and >> design really we realized that failure is really a big part of success. Uh, and really our whole design strategy here is is just to, you know, try out a part, you know, see

070if it works, and if it doesn't, scrap it. If it does work, let's try to make it better. Um, and we we've followed that strategy throughout the whole bot. And honestly, I think it's been working out pretty good. How the builders and coders collaborate is the everyone together will kind of come up with a plan for what we want to make and then the builders will kind of work with the coders to see if what they're envisioning is possible for us to coding. So like they'll show us certain parts like um that the camera and this like moving part and they'll see like you know are we able to make that code and that's most like the collaboration that we do. It is really, it's wonderful to hear the students express what you said so

071eloquently before and it's exciting to think about what Jeff and the middle school are doing to grow this program even further. So I think like can you say a little bit about that Jeff? >> Sure. So um sorry I'm tethered here. Um so we uh did have a competition a couple of weeks ago the Lego robotics of which our Wolves one team got first place in one of the categories. So they're off to Albany. That's great. >> By the next couple of weeks as well. Um so we're excited of like what we're sending up over the next couple of uh this next year specifically. Um and then we have totally revamped uh when you come on our board tour, we'll make make sure to show you um our new area for technology. It's a fantastic

072collaborative space. Um 3D printing like we'll have more opportunities for students to do that. Um some deductive work as well with some laser cutters etc. So, um, starting an earlier and introducing project leads the way over the course of the next three years. Uh, we have a plan for that. And so, again, we'll have kids even more ready to take larger steps maybe even before they get to the high school. Our job is always to like make sure that the high school can exceed even further. So, providing students that background they need in order to get even higher lower floor, higher ceil >> that building that building analogy. um uh you know by the time they get to to ninth grade so that they can then just blow the roof off high school. >> Last

073but not least uh workshop Wednesdays. This is something that was bored uh born out of COVID where kids were telling us we want relevance. We want things that you don't normally find in the curriculum. So it's all of us who just got your tax items. You know we'll be probably giving a course soon on how to prepare your taxes. I was amazed that 20 high school kids wanted a seminar in how to do your taxes. So that's great. >> Now with the common lunch, we're trying to use that during that time period >> and it's a nice way to reach out to the community and get them into the building and let them see all the good stuff that's going on here. But want to be mindful of time. We can probably do it all

074all night just each topic. But >> thank you. Thank you very much. >> So and we've talked a lot. We're segueing slowly away from academic achievement, purely academic achievement, and now we'll do a little bit more of that when we think about the whole child knowledge and skills and as they represent themselves in children are not always through um test scores and might be instead through performances um such as like what the next couple slides are capturing. Um the music highlights I'll tell talk to you a little bit about um in a moment and the principles will share some insights as well. The picture on the top right corner, I just thought you had to hear a little bit more detail about this. This is the electronic music competition showcase where original electronic music compositions

075that the students created were pres presented highlighting their creativity, technical skill, and artistic voice. So, a diverse range of styles, all different kinds of music were celebrated. Really innovative. They use software programs and it's really a pretty impressive ex experience. The district also hosted the NISMA uh festival in 2025 and um right below that you see some pretty incredible statistics as well as a gold award and then all of these all county and all state achievements which are really um exceptional um achievements for our music program. Um Carrie is going to tell you just a little bit about like the progression where it all starts and how this picture um depicts our third graders playing the recorder. Thanks Carrie. >> Great. I mean essentially in K1 and two it's really all about like singing and

076dancing and movement and the introduction of some vocabulary whether it's like rhythm um you know pitch and then like when they um enter the third grade many of you might recall the recorder stage which lasts for parent of recorders. Um but the benefit of that is the introduction of playing an instrument for really for the first time for some many of the children and then from there they can segue to the instrumental program which is fourth and fifth grade which is an option for students to participate and many many of our students across the elementary schools participate in the fourth and fifth grade. And then I also want to also um mention chorus which is often either before or after school. Um but many of the children really enjoy singing in fourth and fifth grade

077as well as like an enhancement. And really it's like a the progression of skills in terms of music, the development over time. And there's also like a a cross discipline, you know, in terms of like literacy as well and math. Um, but I really tr truly like the fact that like Julia was saying before that children like many are passionate about music and it's really an opportunity for them to thrive and shine in areas maybe that they haven't before. Um, and even in fifth grade, I know all of the elementary schools have a play experience where they perform on stage as well. So again, like crossing over like the communication, listening and speaking skills as well. So, I think it's a great, you know, foundation for the music program, but also like enhancing other curricular

078areas, too. >> Very well said. And a nice segue from the performing arts to the visual arts, which is on the page on the right hand side with the art shows where there's art shows or displays or events or trips. So, um it's ironic, Jonathan, that you shared what you shared um at the beginning because this photography, would you like to share is exactly what uh very related to what you just said. I'm I'm glad you got to experience that with with Ky. Um it's one of our signature programs in fourth grade and um it's just a way of realizing achievement through literacy through art and um a lot of our students, many of our students um write poetry in ways where they don't write in within other genres that they're that they're given um

079opportunities to. So it's really um can tap into some passion there. And then as you spoke to this idea of public speaking and building their confidence which we start in the younger years you probably were there for special persons day in second grade and they stood up and talked about their special person. So this is something that progresses um across the years. But um it's a great way also of using a community resource. The community um the Katona Museum of Art is easily accessible to us. we have all three of our fourth grade classes go and come back on the same day because it's just such a quick trip. So, um it's just a great integrated program. >> Thank you. And Ashley related to art, but this picture on the bottom right also depicts the

080buddy program. Can you tell us a little bit about that? >> Yeah, so really thinking about inclusion um and music and art and library. Last year we when um the special classes came over, we really thought about how um to include all of our students in experience. And so the buddy program is our general education students pushing in um to some of these classes and they really get to work together to collaborate. Um and last at the end of last year, we interviewed all of our students and said like, "What did you learn? What you know, how did you like it?" And one of our students said, "I learned that my buddy has great artwork and love seeing her projects she makes. My favorite thing was when my buddy and I made friendship bracelets and

081I love that my buddy made my bracelet. I always wear it. Um, so we're just really proud of the program and and the inclusion opportunities that the arts really do do provide. >> Beautiful. And speaking of beautiful, the final picture um is now newly installed in middle school library. To tell us about this, please. >> Sure. So um our one of our art teachers Jean Capuano also does the art club after school um and so I think it was postcoid and there were a lot of e extra bottles etc around. So she started collecting bottle No they're plastic bottles friends I I saw that I saw the reaction um but you know plastic tops you yellow red etc. And she uh worked with the students to create a mural. It was a several years project

082um but it was finally installed and it's forever home in our library media center. And you know one of the things I think that is important to say we started uh talking about academics but academics are not easy for all of our students. I think we have a very high ceiling in our district. Uh but it doesn't mean that everybody excels at academics. So you know pages like this I think are important always to remember uh that you know academics is a part of what we do but there's also we are you know raising humans as well that social needs behavioral needs they grow like crazy in the middle school and high school and they have all these needs that make them who they are and so I just think you know like that that

083is a good representation kind of of three years of work of kids like screwing something in or you know trying to glue something it fall off etc. It's a lot of hard work that hopefully will not will take time to decompose, but it's a sustainable mural and and that's something that we're proud of as well. >> That brings us to the end of our uh presentation. >> Teaser, if you can count the number of bottle caps, apparently they're going to have a raffle. Gene would not reveal the number, but she knows it. So, >> that bottom blue one almost looks like it's got googly eyes. >> It's really nice. impressive. >> I actually have a question out of curiosity that's probably a half hour late, but um it's about the opt outs. Is there any

084tracking of or is there a plan to why is it the same people? Is there a common denominator or is it test anxiety other than just trying to stick it to the state? Like is there any >> same teacher? Is there any has there been and and our numbers are low. I'm just curious if there's a subset of students that constantly do that. I am I am aware that we keep track of the percentages to kind of monitor that. Um I don't think we've done a very deep dive into the refusal like a study of the refusals and we don't often get a reason why. It could be anything like they just don't feel good and they're too stressed out or what. Um but it's a curious it's a good question. I mean do any

085of you have a sense >> I think Billings probably have a sense of the the reoccurring >> ones that you're used to. for sure. Um I think you kind of touched on it when you said about anxiety. I think there's might be a little bit from the home or from the student or combination. Um just like a nervousness in general. Um and so um I've noticed at Increased Miller like over the last handful of years there's been a decrease um as well because we're really just encouraging it's just like a measure you know it's just one data point and it's information that's really helpful for us to take a look at and it's untimed like you mentioned which I think also has decreased some of the anxiety but I think I do think some of

086it is related to like >> um you know if a child is struggling in a certain area or anxiety in general that seems to be most of the reason why at this point, you know, years ago it was a little bit different, but now it's like no. >> And then my other question is, Steve, is do you allow kids to opt out of the AP? And I'm thinking primarily seniors when they're already in college by the time those APs roll around, can they opt out? >> Well, they cannot show up for the exam. Um they some have done that. >> Uh and I understand the situation. you have a student who's accepted and everything is ready to go and the last thing they want to do is sit for macroeconomics. I get that. >> But

087if they can avoid taking that class in college, it's a reason to sit for that test because you put so much work in. >> Right. Right. >> But I mean, some colleges don't put weight into it. >> So I just I just didn't know. I mean is it tied to their grade their class grade taking it at all? >> No, it isn't tied to the class grade. >> Okay. >> Regious exams too. >> All right. I think one of the things we are seeing is is that um there is almost a pendulum swing back where university is looking at those and and and uh the ACT SAT exams AP full completion of that is now kind of much more on the rise than where it was before. There's still test optional and the reality is

088though is those universities now are swinging it back as far as the percentage of students that actually apply to university the ones that can be accepted continues to get smaller and smaller. So they're the universities are looking at something that quickly can uh discern between one or another group. So um that's a piece where we certainly would encourage our students to complete the full experience fiscally as well as just access into a school. You may get into a school you thought you couldn't have because you did those completions and stuff. So yeah. >> Um I guess the last piece I had was just looking at the the district goal. If you remember last year's went through and we identified these six buckets and these six areas and this area was we will equip our students

089with relevant and evolving skills to seek knowledge and to shape a successful future. And so intent tonight was to give you just a sampling of the things that are being done and accomplished now that speak to that goal as well as the future forward thinking that we're looking at too. So again when you look at these and offline you'll see again building by building what are some of the actions that are taking place and what are some of the elements of evidence that we would be looking at and so as far as you know we talked about literacy a few times tonight. So you'll see again taking the literacy work and then maybe let's say at the middle school developing a literacy action plan you know we've talked about that before. So now we're taking

090that and that's kind of part of the work because a lot of things if we do not identify exactly we're going to focus our energy on there'll be too many things that can be distracting and not on the right course and so this gives us a chance to kind of map things out. This should be seen as an absolute living document and we say oh guess what I was thinking the team was thinking we get to this year it's not happening and so is that still a priority for us and we can adjust this the following year. what is intended is as a map that we will guide through with again the the sense of empowering all of our students as being the ultimate target. So just as you walk through that you'll see one

091at each level and as we come forth you'll see a bit later during our budget process uh for example our technology department you'll see their lens of looking at the empowerment plan and how that lays into those six areas as well too. So again I appreciate the board. Thank you Kellies. I appreciate you being here tonight very very much. So stay safe home enjoy the crisp weather this evening and things. So, thank you. >> Thank you for being here. >> Here. >> So, Dr. Drake, I'm just wondering um who do we send our guests to? If how many caps are in that? Just that sent to >> I don't know, Jeff. What do you think? Who do they send their guesses to of number of caps on the mural? >> Got a competitive group here.

092>> Right to Jean. >> Yeah. Send them to me. >> Sure. >> Thank you, Dr. Dre. Appreciate it. >> Yeah. Thank you. It's great to see everything you've talking about coming to life. >> Thank you. Thanks. >> Um, let's see. Moving on to public comment. Um, nobody is here to speak to us tonight. I once again want to um encourage people to please come down to our meetings. It's open to the public. Uh, we'd love to see you sitting here and coming talk to us at the podium about anything um and everything, especially positive. We'd like to hear positive feedback about our administrators and teachers because it's so easy to do. But we really are to hear here to hear everything um that you'd like to talk about. So at this time I'm going to

093close public comment. Um and then consent agenda. Is there anything that anybody is needs to pull out? Somebody want to make a motion for the consent agenda? Motion by Barbara. Second by John. Any discussion on the consent agenda? >> Just highlight that we're approving our calendar. >> So heads up. I'm sure a lot of parents are going to be interested in checking that out. >> No two weeks at Christmas though. Again, >> I know it's a once in a blue moon. >> So, we are getting another February break though. >> Yes. You've got a week in each. Yeah. February and April, March. >> Yeah. >> That's new for us. >> Yes. >> We had one one February break like years ago. My kids might still have been in elementary school and then that kind of

094shriveled up and went away. Yeah, I was in Bedford then, I think, because since we've been here, it's >> no go. >> It's been no go. >> There was one year that we had two, but it's it's glad to see that we're able to bring it back. Um, so we can vote on the consent agenda. All those in favor? 6. >> It is going to make April feel long though. I just want >> It just happens to be a really early spring break. That's what happened. They're so close. But it >> doesn't always happen. >> No, >> we never had spring break being at student athletes. We never had any >> No, no break. >> It's an early Easter. >> Yes. Is that good? >> Uh, sorry. Moving along to 15.01 for dialogue and discussion.

095Anybody have >> Yeah. Um, I just want to go back and uh to the Humry program that was talked about. Sure. >> Uh I just want to highlight like like something that I've so I'm in the program right now and just about my experience with it. Great. >> Um and I think there's three big things I've gained from it. Um the first one is there's the creative aspect of it in that you get to choose your own topic um for the Humry 2 class and you get to really research it the entire year and there's no constraints on what you could do and it's like it's fully from you and I think that makes the whole program more you you have more passion and involvement with your topic and it really does become like a

096part of who you are in that class. Um, and I think that's it's really it's really great that you could in that there's that just whole creative aspect with you bringing the the paper to life. Um, >> can you share what your topic is? >> Sure. Um, so I'm looking at Robert Moses uh, and about how his unelected power, how it influenced the city. Uh, and I'm looking at like through two ways like in in like the physical impact on communities um and what he developed uh and like the indiscrepancies of where it's located um parks and all that comes with that. Uh and then I'm bringing that in. So that's what I've been working on up until now. And then now I'm gonna tie back to how this is seen with like modern day

097political figures who also have that unelected power um but still have so much influence over the over um cities uh government and where they are. >> You're reading the power broker. >> That's that's a big one. >> Yeah, it is it >> but super interesting topic. Fascinating. >> Yeah, thank you. >> And huge for New York. >> Yeah. Oh my god. Um, and then so just the two other pieces of it, uh, is the independence with it in that you have to build this by yourself. Um, and the teachers there are really great. It's not a seminar class. And I think that's really important for people to know not when before they're taking this class, there's not going to be a lecture the whole time. It's an independent like work class where you get a

098it's it's one-on-one time with with the teacher to advise you. I think that's just something really powerful about this class. Um, and then the third thing is just presentation skills. It's such a large role in Humry 2 and Humry, sorry, Humry 1 and Humry 2. Uh you just build so much presentation skills and it's something that you really gain from this class and it's you could see it in other classes. Um like when I'm in another class, you get to present, you could see like like someone that you've taken a Humry class with, you could it's really ob it's really obvious in um in the other classes. >> Well, we see it here. >> Yeah. I was I was going to say, do you think that this kind of adds to since you've joined us,

099you speak very well, you present your topics very well, and even the thing that you write up because we can tell you've written it up, we can tell that you've done a really good job in that. So, do you think it's helped, you said just now that it's helped you with all of that, right? >> Um, I appreciate that, but uh 100%. because you just you build so many presentations throughout the year and you you have to get comfortable with speaking to your class and uh in the end there's the where you speak to um at the end there's like the symposium and you speak to uh the public about it uh and parents coming in so you do have to just get comfortable with talking to people um and I do think that definitely

100helped me. >> Absolutely. >> Do you get a chance to critique and comment on um your fellow classmates presentations that helps improve their >> Yeah. Um so the critique there's like two aspects of it like when every time someone presents um you jot down stuff they they did well and like opportunities for like improvement within their like presentations. Um and then you get all that feedback uh so like every time I present oh like you could see you could work on this this was well um and it really does help and then you also get the um the the critique from like from uh your classmates on like your paper when you get to share it with uh your other students. Um and it it is really helpful in developing your paper and your presentations.

101>> Awesome. >> Your research skills really grow in that class too and and it will help you in life writing research papers or getting your doctorate someday or something. I'm >> sure you will. But um >> those are like another some really impressive behaviors that they learned in that class. >> Yeah. >> So as a history polyai major, English minor, I did a lot of research in college. I had my own corral in the library that I my roommates always knew where to find me. But I can imagine that research for you looks much different. Is are you doing mostly research online? Do you find yourself in books? Um periodicals, newspapers, or I guess those are all online too. Like what how are you doing your research? >> Um last year it was all online.

102Uh the library has like this giant database that we could all use and that's how I did most of mine. Um this year I think I'm an exception because I've been reading uh Power Broker um for so long and it's just this this giant book. Um but I I do think like in my next part of it, it's all going to be um online. >> Okay. Yeah, because I used to like, you know, you would have postit and you would annotate the pages and you flip back and forth and um I imagine that the Well, I guess you can do that with Adobe. You can annotate the pages and I don't know. I There's something about having a book and being able to mark it up. >> Um >> give her the power broker when

103you're finished. >> Anyway, we can't wait to come and see um your presentation. This >> Yeah. It's always a fun night. that and sire. It's I'm always really impressed >> with our students walking away from those nights. >> Thank you for sharing. >> Great. >> Feel free to jump in during the future talks anytime. You don't have to wait till the end. >> Anyone else? We will move on to future meetings. Tomorrow morning 9:00 am district office. We will be meeting with the policy committee. uh Friday, February 6, sustain sustainability committee at 8:15. And I think we need to get that um forget her name now. Um who won the tea town? >> Emma, she needs to be part of your committee. That's >> That was pretty impressive. >> Um and then February 12th, we

104will be back here 7 p.m. for the board of education meeting. Uh and then f oh Friday, February 13th. Uh another policy committee meeting policy committee meeting at 9:00 am in the district office. Then that's followed by spring uh February break. Um and then we'll be back here February 26 at 7 p.m. I hope 7 p.m. in the um in the library for our board of education meeting. Um That brings us >> We actually >> When is our future meeting? February 26th. >> The um the uh finance committee meeting is the 25th, right? February 25th. >> I think that's we're trying to look at those dates specifically now. So that that may adjust, but we'll get that out to the team based upon a conversation last night. >> Great. Thanks. >> Great. So just really

105I'll just pick up the next two board meetings as uh Lisa and I continue to partner together working with our administrative team, our finance committee and those things. So, we'll be shifting there to looking at first our non-instructional budget when we come back at our next board meeting and then we'll be coming back just after the break of our instructional site. And so, we'll go we'll follow that pattern as we did last year. And so, we'll be going ahead and doing those those components along the way. And and as we talked about at our initial budget kind of conditions piece, we'll be bringing that back online. We'll have a little bit tighter numbers as far as where we are estimates before. as we get closer with our revenues, we get more information on our expenditures.

106So, we'll be able to share those out on the instructional non-instructional sides as we spoke before. And the reality is is that as we identified then there's a rather large gap between what we anticipate our revenues and our expenditures being and not in the favor of the district. And so, we'll be walking ourselves through those areas about how do we close that gap so then we land in with that balanced budget area and stuff. And so, and we also want to just keep driving. We've got three items we anticipate in the ballot this year. So that's really on the general side of things that we'll be looking at. And the next bucket, we will be looking at accessing our capital reserve account that's specifically identified for maintenance and replacement of kind of end of life

107materials for the athletic area. And then that third is as we had earlier in the year with our architects here talking about this the bond project for the universal prek program for allees. So we've got those three separate pieces obviously the revenue but they really can't cross over each other. They're meant for a specific person purposes inside of there. Anything else that you want to say just as we step into those two big clear pieces in our February meetings. >> No I can't think of anything else. >> Yeah. So, we have more things to learn as we um may be aware of that in the initial governor's proposal with our universal prek program, there was a significant increase in there from roughly $5,400 to $10,000. So hopefully when we come on a future meeting, we're

108expecting some clarity and some updates from the state that will give us a little bit more direction as we are quite honestly pretty um definitely excited about that, especially if we're thinking about we can access that now when we do have more facilities with the school district. So the timing there probably couldn't have worked out too much better for >> thanks in advance to you and Lisa for all your hard work on the superintendent's budget so far. It doesn't come overnight. So, we appreciate the efforts. >> Thank you. >> And with that, can I have a motion to adjourn? Motion by Arwin, second by Bill. All those in favor? 6. Thank you. >> Thank you. Would you want