001Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I just. The plan. And I am now going to turn the meeting over to David Santiago, the director of security. Board trustees and members of the public. Uh, tonight we have we'll start off our Board of Education meeting with a, uh, uh, hearing of citizens, uh, which we do not have, uh, in the audience today. We have an administrator, Mrs., uh, Iris Belvedere, who is, uh, part of our middle school, a team. And we want to say thank you for being here. Uh, tonight. Let's give her a round of applause. And thank you for being here. And we also have Mrs. Mendoza, who is before you as a board of education, as our, um, amazing candidate for the vacancy. Uh, and we wish Doctor Toro the very best
002in Hendrick Hudson School District as they are newly assigned, uh, principal. And she is here with her husband. And we are happy to have you here as well. And glad to see both of you have met and have already started collaborating. So thank you for being here as well. And, uh, tonight, because we don't have any public individuals, uh, uh, to have, uh, public comment on that safety plan. I do want to recognize Mr. Santiago and our, uh, uh, Committee on the District Safety Plan Committee, uh, of which Mrs. McDonald was a strong member, and also Marissa O'Leary as a permanent member as well, and all of our administrators. And thank you for leading that effort. Um, as we say, everything is important in our school district, but number one is the safety of our
003children and staff and visitors. And so thank you again for all that you do and your security team and the police department who help support our school district. So thank you. All right. Yes. All right. And, uh, by law, we, uh, have to have a hearing on a district safety plan. Um, and, uh, at this point, we'll turn it back to our, uh, president, uh, for any comments the board might have or to move on the agenda. Um, I just want to say, because I've sat on the meetings, just how truly thorough Mr. Santiago is. Um, and as a parent and as a community member, what a feeling of security it is to, uh, see what a, um, tight team you have and how buttoned up you all are. And in your procedures. And you
004know how strongly you care about the safety of our kids. So thank you. Great. Does anyone else have any further questions? Comments? Concerns on the safety plan? No. Okay, so now I'll open it up to our regular Board of Education meeting. So welcome. I. Um, and I'm going to turn the meeting over to Doctor Mauricio for the superintendent's report. Hopefully everyone has had a wonderful July. Uh, the. Seems like it went by so fast. Uh, and we are excited as an administrative team to prepare for the opening of school in less than 30 days. Um, but we are certainly, uh, taking this time to reassess, uh, what we do. Well, what we need to improve on as a school district. We are reconnecting. We had a wonderful, uh, administrators retreat, and, uh, our staff learned,
005uh, a variety of, uh, skills to improve their practices, but also collaborated, uh, in many important ways and also collaborated as people, um, as humans, uh, as as we have this wonderful team of administrators, uh, leading our district. Um, tonight, I think the most important part they will speak about, uh, coming up soon. Uh, for a policy, uh, decision by the board is the, um, internet enabled devices, um, some of which are cell phones and, uh, computer devices and smartwatches. And, uh, we'll certainly have some important dialog to discuss that. Um, and then secondly, uh, what I'd like to share is at our next board meeting, uh, Carmine Christie will provide a capital update to the board and the community. We are very excited about the work that's happening as you go to all of
006our schools, their cranes, their, uh, construction vehicles. Um, and, uh, a lot of great work is happening in the school, outside of the school. And we have our solar projects, uh, moving forward, a roof projects at the middle school, and I'm sorry, at the high school and Hillcrest are have moved forward. Uh, um, as well. The parking lot has been uprooted, and it will have a new, wonderful parking lot at and Hillcrest and, uh, and also super excited about this, because we've talked about this as a board of education and our students have spoken about this. Our parents have spoken about this. The high school was in much need of of, uh, beautification. Um, it's a great building, but it really needed to be modernized. And, uh, uh, so things are already happening. Ceilings have
007come down. LED lighting is going in and will be, uh, working on this over the next, uh, year and a half. And we're really excited about sharing all these updates with the board in our next meeting. Uh, and then lastly, you may have. Who are welcome. Community comments. So if anyone's ever interested, please come on down and join us at our board meeting. Um, today we have a policy reading on the agenda tonight as the first reading of policy 5695 The Student and Personal Electronic Devices Policy. Beginning August 1st, state law now requires all school districts must adopt a policy restricting the use of internet enabled devices during the entire school day while on school grounds. Are there any comments questions thoughts from the board? I will go ahead and, uh, pass out the policy.
008Uh, no, the board has seen it, and we have discussed it. Um, if I could just give some, uh, initial remarks, uh, to the board and to the public. Uh, so this, uh, law that is also part of a practice, uh, began a great deal of dialog in last summer. Um, many people have read, uh, a book called The Anxious Generation, and there are a variety of opinions on the impact of cell phones. Uh, both supporting, uh, the impact, uh, that can be occurring in, in, in a negative way on the social, emotional, um, uh, well-being of our adolescents. Um, certainly, uh, conversations about when it is too young for a child to have an internet enabled device. Um, I think as a society, we have all, uh, grappled with, uh, you know, the two
009year old, uh, using the internet device and the immediate addiction that we see, uh, and how they can easily navigate YouTube. Um, and you see it in restaurants. You see it in, in different venues. Um, and, uh, unfortunately, what often happens is that that device takes you to places that you didn't want your two year old to go to. Um, and then we see the impact on adolescents. Um, and so again, there's debate on both sides. Uh, related to this, but certainly there's research on both sides that will speak to whether it does or does not have an impact on the social emotional well-being of a, of an adolescent, um, uh, developmental phase. And, uh, there's conversations about body image. There's conversations about cyberbullying that may occur. Is conversations about, um, you know, fitting into
010a stereotype that you may or may not physically fit into or, uh, driven by algorithms that are created, uh, on internet sites and where they take you to. And, and then it creates the psyche, uh, for some, uh, individuals. And that's again, part of the, the debate. Um, what's certainly not debatable is the fact that during instructional periods, our kids need to be connected with the amazing teachers we have before them, and they need to be connected with the learning that is happening. They need to be challenged. Uh, psychologically, they need to be challenged academically. Um, and we also have to make sure that we are reconnecting, um, and we are creating those opportunities for social engagement. Um, whether it be in school or other environments as well. And, uh, and then there's dialog about
011whether cell phones have an addictive aspect to them and, uh, whether adolescents, uh, have the ability to disconnect, to reconnect with people, um, and their peers and develop those very important relationship skills and dealing with conflict and dealing with disagreements, but also creating, uh, fun learning environments, joking around, laughing with each other, and building strong relationships that will carry them through, uh, their entire lives, uh, as they enter adulthood. And so, uh, again, not debatable is the classroom environment must be, uh, free of distraction. It has to be focused on, uh, learning and making sure our students are preparing for those college and career aspirations that they have. Um, there is a law that was passed, uh, this spring. It is Education law 2803. And I'll just share a couple of the details, uh, that
012are, uh, indicated in the policy. And this policy aligns with the law. And so, um, I'll just take a moment to share some of those details. Uh, first of all, um, internet enabled devices, one of which is a cell phone. It's not a cell phone specific. I know the media talks about cell phone bans. Uh, but there are also, uh, internet enabled watches. Uh, there are meta glasses and others, uh, that are that are, uh, connectable to the internet. Um, then there are also Chromebooks and laptops and, and devices as well that can connect to the internet. Um, so all of these devices are not allowed to be in schools use by students. Um, including smartphones during the school day. And so, uh, this uh, law, which is going to become a policy, um, defines
013the school day as the beginning of the school day all the way to the end. And it defines school grounds as the school environment. Uh, electric fields and playgrounds. Um, it includes cafeterias. So one of the questions that will come up is whether we could allow cell phones to be used during cafeteria time to give students a break or a check in. Um, very specifically, the law does not allow for that. And, uh, that includes hallways. That includes, uh, cafeteria study halls. It's very specific. Uh, I would encourage everyone to, um, um, no matter which side you fall. Uh, of this, uh, this law and policy, uh, is to look at the governor's, um, public statement, and she did a press release, and she really explains why she moved forward with this and. Was very
014adamant that this was part of, uh. Uh, the legal aspects in our schools. Beginning in September. And so you get the notion of where she's headed. Um, and where she and the legislators felt, uh, was important to implement. Uh, the other aspect is to make sure that we have communication for parents. And so one of the things that we know and we heard in our town hall meetings is that, uh, parents, uh, shared the need to be able to connect with their children in the state of an emergency. Um, now, there's differing opinions on that. Uh, the police, uh, and, um, law enforcement community will say that during a, uh, a situation where there's an emergency situation. Uh, the worst thing to do is to have, uh, you know, hundreds of people on cell phone
015devices communicating out because misinformation is getting out there. And, uh, it can impede with that process and even put, uh, individuals at risk. Uh, the other aspect is that, um, we heard from parents that indicate that they need to know that their child is safe immediately. And so, um, there is that question, uh, or, uh, there's an urgent matter, there's a childcare situation at the end of school and need to make sure that you go pick up your brother at Hillcrest. Um, or I need to know, are you headed to practice or are you coming home? And so parents have gotten used to texting. Uh, children and students have been, uh, used to, uh, texting their parents as well during the school day. And so the law doesn't allow for that. However, what we are
016going to, um, I think bring back is the right word is allow parents to call our main office at any school, and you can, um, ask the, um, uh, staff at the school main office to connect with your child, bring your child down. Conversations can take place. Um, and so parents have that ability to connect and, uh, with their students. And we ask that they call the main office. Uh, we may change that. And there may be other individuals that they might call a school social worker or counselor. You certainly could do that as well. Uh, but what we're asking you to do is, uh, to honor this law and policy and, um, and to contact the school in the case of an emergency, like, uh, many of us did when we were growing up.
017Um, we also want to have, uh, provide the students with an opportunity as well to be able to contact their parent if they need to. And we're going to ask students, and this will be shared during orientations, uh, in September, both at the middle school and high school. And that is, uh, if they have an urgent need to speak to their parent, uh, they can go to, uh, office in the school environment. And, uh, that opportunity will be afforded to them to give a call for anything that's an urgent matter. And we will, uh, provide that opportunity to all of our students. There are also, um, exemptions, uh, that were indicated in the law. And I think that they are important. Uh, the first one is any, um, student with a different ability who has
018an IEP or a section 504, uh, American Disabilities Act. Uh, plan. Uh, the plan might indicate that they need access to an internet, um, enabled device for a variety of reasons. And so we will certainly honor that, especially because we are the committee that creates those IEPs and plans. Um, they also might be a health care exception for a student who may need, um, the device to connect with, uh, something related to monitoring levels, um, and things of that nature. And so we will certainly approve that, uh, with information from the physician. And then there might be students who may have, uh, need for social emotional connection. And, uh, a clinician, a psychologist might, uh, share documentation and we will receive all of those in our, uh, ministration building here, review them and then approve
019them. Um, as, as, uh, the information is provided to us. There are also, uh, exceptions for um, translation services, although we provide all of our middle school and high school students with an internet enabled device, a Chromebook like the one I have here, which connects to the internet and, uh, translation can take place using this device. We are lucky as a district. And thank you to the board, uh, for proving that Denise Reed for making sure that happened. But we have a device for every single student, middle and high school, and, uh, that's not common in every district. And so I thank you for that, uh, investment in our students. Um, and there are other, um, scenarios in which, um, a teacher may or administrator might allow a student to connect to the internet for
020educational purposes. And that is also allowed as well. And then finally, any specific need bring it to administration. And we will look at that, uh, need and uh, determine whether it's, uh, um, appropriate, for example, for a student who is a caregiver, as I mentioned earlier, to a younger sibling or to a elderly, um, grandparent, uh, that may enable them to connect with them. And the law does allow for that as well. So what we are asking our parents, uh, elementary schools, um, really no need to have a. Internet enabled device, uh, for families who, uh, need to connect with their children after school or before school. Um, there are cell phones out there that, um, allow for a parent to call the child. Um, there are very specific ones that allow for only five
021people to be added to the cell phone so that the student can call mom, dad and aunt and uncle and a neighbor and, uh, um, that's allowed, but it's not, uh, internet enabled. So you can reach your child if you need to speak with them after school, when they're walking home or when they are at, uh, practices. So that is a device that parents can, um, uh, use. Uh, the other thing I would share is that it's important for parents to, uh, discuss what the plan is for the next day, that night or that morning. And so if there's going to be, uh, pick up of a sibling or a practice or, um, you know, uh, some other event, um, medical appointment, uh, it's best to have that conversation before they go to school so
022that everybody's clear on what's happening after school, and then there's not a need at noon to have conversation with children. So, uh, a little bit of advanced planning will certainly help in this situation as well. And for our middle and high school students, uh, they are going to be required, um, as was a current practice, to have their cell phones in the locker, um, locked in their again in their assigned lockers. And, uh, the policy does allow for the district two, um, district leadership to alternate that that approach using a different storage device. Some of you may have heard of pouches, um, that are available. Uh, we have them as a district. And, uh, what these pouches are, is when a student arrives to school. Uh, the cell phone can. Or the smartwatch will go
023in the pouch. It is then locked. Um, it cannot be unlocked until the end of the day with a special magnetic device. And then students at 3:00 would would approach the magnetic device. It opens it up. They turn back the pouch to the administrator or staff, uh, at the middle or the high school. And this is certainly something that we are also looking at. It will be part of, um, uh, part of our progressive, uh, consequences. So we are asking our students to comply with the law, which is not be on your cell phones, uh, or internet enabled devices during the school day. Uh, but those who do. Uh, there certainly will be consequences in the pouch system is going to be one of those consequences. Uh, for a specific, uh, period of time, which
024we will outline in our protocols and share with families. Uh, but we are hoping that everyone complies with the policy and the law as it is, uh, designed. Uh, the last aspect, uh, I wanted to share with you is, um, this will begin September 1st. Um, upcoming school year. And the year after that, September 1st, 2026, we will provide a public document which outlines the, uh, data on how many scenarios we had related to internet enabled devices and, uh, specific information on demographic, uh, who was, uh, um, part of a discipline approach and uh, which specific, um, demographic groups, males, females by race, etc. and will be able to share that out with the public, um, but also with the Board of Education. And lastly, we will be having dialog about this monthly. Um, and
025will be looking at our data. Uh, we're going to bring back to the board how things are going. We will adjust accordingly. Um, I'll prepare everyone that September is going to be a little bit of a challenge. Um, it's going to be, uh, a difficult start because people have been so used to having free access to their, um. And I mean, free, meaning you're not paying for it. Uh, but free access, meaning you have, uh, the cell phone in the morning all throughout the day. And, uh, it's going to be difficult for, um, adolescents to disconnect for seven hours. And so I'm going to ask parents and students and our staff to all work together. We will work, uh, through this process as a, as a community. Um, and, uh, in the end, the goal
026is to have distraction free environment, uh, for our students in the classroom and allow our teachers to do what they were, uh, brought upon to do, and that is teach our students and connect with our students. Lastly, I will share that, um, I think I shared this once before. Um, one day I was leaving, uh, my home and, um, as I was already down the road and I was headed towards White Plains for a meeting. About halfway in the trip, I realized I left my cell phone home, and so the choice was to proceed on to the meeting. Make sure that I'm there on time, get a good parking spot, make my way to the meeting. Um, or to go back. And so I went back and I got the cell phone because the thought
027that someone would call me. Like a board member or someone from the staff. Kamari and I was not accessible immediately. Uh, brought chills to me. And so I would share with you some of you have been in that situation, uh, where you went all the way back home and to get that cell phone. And there are many things in this in my life that I would go back to get, but the cell phone was one of them. I'd miss my lunch. I would miss my maybe even my wallet or whatever it might be. But the cell phone I am, I'm glued to it, and I know I'm glued to it because when I have to take it away or I leave it, uh, at home, I miss it and I need it. I need that
028immediacy. And so we're going to get through this. It's going to be difficult in the beginning. Uh, but just learning that this is a human, uh, aspect to this, and we're going to do so in the best way we can. And thankfully, we're going to have a student board rep, uh, as part of our board of education who is going to certainly share with us the students, uh, input, um, on this matter. And we're going to work together with our parents, with the board, with our administrators, teachers, staff and students. And, uh, we'll adjust accordingly. So, uh, that's an update, uh, for the board and the community and, uh, certainly we'll answer any questions or comments you might have. Very comprehensive. Uh, does anyone on the board have any questions, comments? Concerns? Yeah. Uh, I
029think one thing that we have to make sure that we, you know, because we've moved into this digital age and so forth, we got to make sure I know a lot of our athletic programs deal with different apps like sports, you league apps that they would communicate with, um, families, but also students in regards to when practices, games and so forth. So we just have to make sure that we find an alternative for that. Um, um, I'm an extreme advocate of, of this, and I'm, I'm excited because I just, you know, I see my kids on it. I see myself on it as well. You can easily run down a rabbit hole and not, you know, be focused and, um, you know, um, and school. And so you look at all the things that it's
030that it would benefit, um, and, and teach it to teach our kids a lot of things like, you know, learning, self-regulation, um, skills, but also being digitally responsible, um, you think of, you know, it's going to also, I know a lot of the schools that have done it, especially, uh, they've talked about the increased, um, positive social interactions that they've had. They can see within the school and they can, you know, see the the more teachers and so forth. So I'm excited about that. But it also, um, I think we've seen studies on how much it has improved, um, focus but also academic performances. So, uh, anything that can help, you know, um, those situations I'm excited for. So I know it's going to be tough. I know it's going to be a learning curve
031for all of us. Um, but I think it's a needed, um, um, process that needs to be done. Yeah. Um, I board I just want to acknowledge to you that we did have some public hearings last year on this, and at the time, we did not know how far the law would go. So we were grappling within the community about what was the best way to handle it. And honestly, I think we would have landed a little bit less extreme because, um, there was a lot of family concerns and, you know, everyone's a little different, but about, you know, not being able to reach the kids right away or whatever. Um, and then I think the, the thing that we kind of came to an agreement on as a community, for the most part, was
032that classroom time is sacred, that we want to make sure that we're not breaking that focus, that, you know, we don't even have it as a temptation. Um, one thing that seemed to be a middle ground that seemed to be working fairly well was like when teachers implemented just slip in pouches. And it seems like with this law, that's probably no longer an option. So, you know, I just want to acknowledge for us, for our community, um, this is taking it a little farther than maybe we would have even taken it after all the input and after, you know, everything we discussed. So I think our concerns now are like being compliant with the law, um, and also making the most of the opportunity, because I do think we all agree, like on one level
033or another, that it is an opportunity. Um, I have my my downside worry is that there may be parts of it that just are so hard to enforce that then it weakens it. Whereas, you know, if we were keeping it tighter inside the classroom, but people had opportunities outside the classroom, like, I mean, I think when we require the students to all have their phone in the locker like nobody's searching your bag. If you have it in your bag and we don't see it, it's fine. But I'm not saying it's fine from a board point of view. And I'm just saying, like, I just wonder if we are creating a little bit of like an enforcement hole. And, you know, when it comes to in between classes and then lunch time and, and then as
034a community, maybe our heart wasn't really in that particular place anyway. Like it's nice. It's kind of a nice to have that they they learn to be more social, but it's also a nice to have that you might have lunchtime to check in on your practice or your parents or whatever it is you need to check in on. And, you know, so I feel like there's ups and downs and we'll hear from the student board rep to like, obviously all of us, you know, know students and speak to students. And so, you know, sometimes there's the issue of just like feeling like you want to be treated like a responsible person if you're acting like a responsible person and having that thing taken away from you, um, in your own free time or, you know,
035your school free time can feel bad. So, um, my sort of greatest hope for this is, uh, I'm going to date myself. Back in the day, I was living in New York City, and at the time, the mayor Bloomberg, uh, instituted a smoking ban in bars. And it sounded insane to me, like, absolutely insane. It was like, no way. It's New York. Everybody smokes in bars. I'm dating myself a lot because you guys, a lot of you have never even experienced that. And it took like a couple of months before it was so normal that you would now you would go out and say, why is somebody smoking like, you know, I would come home and everything would smell like smoke and like that just stopped happening. And a few months later, like, ask anybody
036now if there should be smoking in bars and restaurants and cabs and on trains and all those things. So like, my hope is that maybe this is like a shock to our system, but maybe it's going to pull us into a place where we need to be. Maybe it's also going to be an enforcement nightmare. But but I do, as you know, just want to say, as a board member, like we are being compliant with the law here. So. So, um, I think in that same token, I think it'd be really important for us to open, um, this space and really, uh, make an effort to tailor conversations around how people are doing, doing a check in, whether it's, you know, at the end of the first quarter or like every quarter, I think it's
037really important, even for people to just vocalize their concerns, how they're feeling. Um, because sometimes it really just takes having a space for people to voice that. Um, and then maybe like finding more ways to also, uh, let parents know students know, like, why this is happening. Um, because I think a lot of students are very much aware of, um, politics and just what's happening around the world. But I also feel that they're smart enough to know that, you know, this is going to happen. They should also know, you know, why it's happening, um, and how that affects the school district, too, and potential funding for us if we don't comply with the law. Right. And I think at the end of the day, it's it's out of our hands. And I think that's something
038I would like for us to, uh, not necessarily out of our hands. Right. Like we can't do something, but, um, that this is something that's coming from, from from bigger than where we are. Um, so. Yeah. So I hope we can continue doing some check ins with students, faculty, um, and just being cognizant of that and family as well, just so people feel like they're being heard along the process. I do have a question, um, related to the adherence to the policy and specifically the annual report. Is that something that is mandated to the wall, or if that's something that our district is taking on? Yeah, I would say it's both, uh, the, uh, it is mandated by the law that September 1st, 2026, we publish a report, uh, obviously no names, uh, but, uh,
039demographic information and key details about basically how did it go this year? And, um, and then secondly, we as a district, uh, data driven, and we want to make sure we know our data, um, as well, and determine whether, um, there were specific groups that disproportionately impacted, um, and, uh, how we dealt with that, how we, uh, adjusted and how we supported to, uh, Missus Valley's point, um, is how we supported students through this. And I do think we're going to have to support students through this. Uh, I think parents and and district leaders and staff, we're going to have to work together to help students, um, get to this space where, uh, they're focused on education, but they find alternative ways of communicating with families. Um, as Mrs. McDonnell was speaking, um, our students
040do have email addresses. And so, uh, we do give them an internet enabled device, which is a Chromebook. Um, so it may. It may be, uh, practice in which they email, uh, the parents. And so we're checking emails, um, as opposed to checking cell phones. Uh, but there may be an approach where we're communicating with families on urgent matters, but thank you. That's, uh, both of us. I do have one question, too. Um, you mentioned keeping track of the data and just, you know, how many students are potentially getting a warning. Um, stuff of that matter. So I'm just. Can you speak to a little bit, like, just preserving the data and making sure that it's only vital information coming out, like. Can you talk a little bit about that? Yes, yes. And, uh, the
041law is very specific that it does not include, um, identifiable information related to specific students. Um, uh, so one of the things that we will, uh, make sure is that this report and, um, during the year, we're going to get information on what the report should look like. Uh, but we're going to from the onset is make sure that we're identifying, um, how often this happens, to whom it's happening and, uh, uh, subgroup, uh, demographic data as well. And then we will review that, uh, on a monthly basis to determine what actions we need to take. Um, as a school district to, uh, support our students moving forward. But we will definitely protect their, uh, identifiable information. So one, one more question. Um, just on the communication rollout to, uh, the community. Um, did you
042mention September 1st? Would when it would be initially, uh, rolled out? Um, I was just wondering, would would there be any consideration for maybe sending out a communication prior to that to get, uh, parents acclimated to that, maybe have some pre discussions with students to help with that whole process? Yes. Great question. Uh, so throughout the uh, year, uh, Doctor Bedi, uh, myself administrators at the middle school and high school, we held student forums with every grade level, and we had representatives of students, um, uh, to be part of that. To Mrs. MacDonald's point, they gave input, um, as to, uh, what they would like in a practice. Uh, and we made some of those adjustments last year and, um, uh, this year every, every, um, mid, um, summer and in the beginning of August,
043I send out a summer, um, communication to our families. So I don't do Friday reports every Friday. Um, but I will be sending something out. This will be, um, heavily, uh, communicated to our families. It's going to outline the law so that everybody's clear on, uh, what the law requires. It will outline our policy, which is aligned to the law, and they will outline some suggestions that families can engage in, um, so that it's not sprung upon them on the first day of school. Yes. Did we outline in this meeting what the, um, the this procedure is when the rule is broken, do we outline about, like, the warnings and then we under practice? I can certainly share a little more detail. Um, and some of that's being worked out with our administrative teams. But
044the approach, uh, that we are working with, uh, including teachers, uh, union representation as stakeholders, uh, in this approach is that, uh, we're going to provide a warning, um, to students, we're going to communicate with parents and say, uh, there was a, uh, cell phone incident in school. And, uh, we're giving, you know, your son or daughter or your, your adolescent, uh, child. A warning here. Uh, we hope that this won't happen again. If it does happen again, uh, we will, uh, implement a, uh, pouch, uh, process for a certain amount of time, maybe 30 days or so. And, uh, we're still, uh, working out those details, um, in which the student will then be required to place the, the, uh, their internet enabled device into the pouch. Uh, we'll secure it. And then at
045the end of the day, will unlock it, and the student can have it to call home and, uh, communicate with families as needed. But that's the approach that we are looking at for September. I think something I think is right is that we're not trying to implement the yonder pouch for each and every child at this moment, because that to me sounds like it might be difficult, expensive. So if if you start considering different ways you might implement this, then maybe we should have that conversation as a board. We will certainly have that as a board, and certainly with, uh, families, students and, and administrative staff as well. Question about how this part, this the law and then our district policy will affect teachers and teacher aides. So I'm going to start with, uh, myself
046as setting the example. Um, and so, uh, there were times, uh, that I would call Mrs. Mendez or I might call Carpio from my office, I might call Doctor Vilas Rodriguez, uh, in the school environment in the hallway. Um, and we'd say, let me take this call. Might be important. Um, when Kamari calls, I answer, um, I would make sure I check in the office. I'm going to three schools today. Let me see how things are going. Is anything happening? Um, but I'm going to honor our students by not doing that. And so I will make sure that I do what I'm asking them to do that is to go to an office. And if it's an urgent matter, uh, take care of it. I will also ask my staff to only communicate with me
047on urgent matters. Um. That way, uh, I'm aligning what I'm doing with what we are asking students to do, and then we will ask our staff to do the same. Now, uh, Mrs. Valentin and I, uh, share children in the same grade level, and our teachers have been amazing, uh, on an app, uh, sharing pictures, um, of our children, they're sharing, um, information, kind of real time about what's happening in math and science classes. And class dojo is the app that our teachers use, and we love it as parents. Uh, I've heard from PTO parents. I've heard from parents as well that they love the communication that is happening. And we had that since pre-K all the way through. We don't want to take that away. We want our teachers to be able to engage
048with students and families in that way. Um, but like everyone, we're going to ask everyone to not, uh, violate what we're asking students to do. And so that's a very important question. If I could make one last, uh, suggestion or just something we can think about. I think in, um, honoring, like us trying to build more community in the fact that this is essentially trying to get students to communicate with each other more directly, it could be a good idea to look into doing some sort of programing every maybe every month where there's some sort of mini fair. I feel like we've talked about this, and I think you've also mentioned this as well. Julian. Um, uh, so, uh, you know, I'm hoping that maybe we can, you know, think about something like that. So
049that way we are kind of building that bridge because I think sometimes that age range, especially in high school, could still feel kind of awkward. So I think easing the, you know, making it easier to connect would be very helpful for them too. And they do have, uh, middle school calls and town hall meetings. And the high school has grade level meetings, um, with students. And so that's going to be important aspect of it. Uh, we have councils I meet with monthly, uh, at the high school, but this year my practice will be to also meet with the council at the middle school. Um, and, uh, actually, Hillcrest also has a council as well. And so I'm going to make it a practice to, uh, engage with students and, uh, talk about this and other
050things that they have on their mind that they would like to be implemented to make their school environment a better place, maybe also asking them like, well, in a positive way, what would is there anything they would like to add to their free time that would make it more fun? Yes, because with little kids it's, you know, toys and things. But with older kids, I don't know what it would be. Sure. Yeah, absolutely. I think it's really interesting to have the conversation. Um, because a lot of the board is reflecting back on a time that they were in school where cell phones weren't necessarily, um, accessible or weren't in existence for some. Um, I happened to have been going through school as cell phones became an option for students, and I got my first cell
051phone at Peekskill Middle School. Um, at, you know, 12. So it's it feels a lot to me, like going back to those first few years where you, like, had your phone and like, you had no phones and it was normal for no phones because most kids didn't have them. But the kids that did have them were, you know, sneakily trying to send a message here and there to whoever they knew had one. Um, so it's really interesting from my perspective to see what's happening in the conversations, but it really highlights to me, um, the gap between administration and teachers and students and the access that they've had. So a lot of our students have had access to technology their entire lives in ways that we haven't. And we need to make sure to continue to
052have these conversations with students about how they're feeling and how they're interpreting, because you're taking away something that's very ingrained in how they identify themselves. It is for many students, for many adults at this point, your means of communication with the outer world. And while we want them to communicate face to face and we we see the real, um, positives for that psychologically. I think we've moved very far away from that. And we as adults need to be cognizant of the fact that their brains aren't fully formed and you're changing their identity on them and forcing those rules upon them. And I mean, we're doing it with great intentions, but we are changing an engine while the plane is in motion. And for me, this is something we really essentially it's it's it's essential to
053this conversation to keep the students at the center of it. And while as adults and as teachers, I mean, as cell phone complicates the classroom. Absolutely. And as parents, you want them to have it. You don't want them to have them. It's it's a very back and forth conversation. But for students this is going to feel thrust upon them. It's going to be challenging. And we need to come at it very gently and with love and care, because it it is a part of their identity for a lot of, for most of our students. So I, I really I'm, I'm hopeful that was the smoking analogy will be the reality and that will be in a position where our students really grow and develop their abilities to communicate without them. And our families feel more
054comfortable and confident, and we can create new and, um, new environments for them. That may have been your normal as a child, but I really want us to make sure that we continue to have that conversation and just scheduling a quarterly conversation, I don't think, does it? I really want the adults to be aware of what this means for students, and to really take that on board when they're asking them to put away the phone, do it with care, because this is part of who they are. Yes. Thank you. That's been a great part of our dialog. Uh, administratively, this summer is how we implement, and I think doing so with care, understanding the the challenge that will be in front of us, but also, um, more importantly, in front of the students to move
055in this direction and hopefully the outcome, as Mr. McDonald shared, uh, will be a positive one as, uh, Mr. Jenkins is well shared, which I think will be, uh, we just have to get through this initial hurdle. Um, and then I think, um, there'll be, uh, a lot of insight and a lot of benefit. Uh. Is eight A through eight K. Moves by Angel. Second. Second by Frank. All in favor? I. Any means. Any abstentions. Okay. If there are no further actions, may I please have a motion to adjourn in memory of John Falcon, housing junior. Oh, Miss Villain, uh, right before we do that, um, could we have, uh, Miss Mendoza stand up and let's applaud her. Welcome her to our, uh, administrative family. The middle school is looking forward to having you. Um,
056we thank you for being here. And, uh, I'll, uh, on behalf of our school district, we welcome you. We have, uh, as you mentioned in the interview, the Peekskill promise. And you are now part of that promise. And our students, uh, are going to benefit from your leadership, your teaching experience, your bilingualism. And we really bring, uh, we are thankful that you're bringing that positivity, uh, to our community. So thank you again. Another round of applause. To Mr. Mendoza. Uh, let me apologize for all the nights. For the, uh, time. She will be working with us, and, uh uh uh, hopefully there's no Chromebook ban in your home because she's going to be on that all the time and working, but she's doing it for a purpose, like she said she had in her interview.
057And she said, you are her rock and you are behind her all, every step of the way. So thank you. Let's give him a big round of applause and say thank you. That's it. Thank you. Let me apologize. I do not like public speaking, so I stick to my script. So thank you, David. Um, and with that, if there is no further action, can I please have a motion to adjourn in memory of John Brock Brock, housing junior. Moved by Brian Lynn. Second. Second by Allen. All in favor? Any nays? Any inventions? Okay. Whereas Mr. John Brock Howson junior served the Peekskill City School District for 28 years with great devotion until his retirement on January 6th, 2016. And Whereas Mr. Brock housing career highlighted impactful service to the district. And Whereas Mr. Brock Howson
058was a respected member of the Peekskill City School District, whose service preserved our students continued safety and social emotional growth each day. And Whereas Mr. Brock Howson was a strong advocate who fought for the equity of all students. And Whereas Mr. Brock Howson brought a natural sense of optimism, insight and inspiration to all that he did, earning deep respect and admiration of his supervisors and peers alike. And Whereas Mr. Brock has and served the Peekskill City School District staff, students and families with distinction. And be it resolved, therefore, that the Board of Education notes with sorrow the passing of Mr. Brock housing, and be it further resolved, that the Board of Education, on behalf of the entire Peekskill City School District, expresses his condolences to the family and deans. That the resolution be noted in
059the minutes in a copy there, uh, be forwarded to the bereaved family. Good night everyone.