001Good evening everyone. Welcome to our November 19th regular business meeting. My name is Dr. Kathy Evans Brown. I'm your board president. May we stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance of the United States of America to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. We will have our land acknowledgement read by board member Denita Everheart. The Buffalo City School District respect respectfully acknowledges the Hadun o Haden O Sha Confederacy on whose ancestral territory our schools were built. We honor and pay tribute to the indigenous ancestors of the land we use. We acknowledge the historic intergenerational traumas they have endured and offer hope and opportunities for healing and reconciliation. As we go forward together, one key ho hoen o shonyi principle is to
002live in peace and harmony with each other and the natural world. All life should be respected and cared for because what happens to one living thing affects all living things. We are grateful for the abundant natural resources in this land of the Hadu no shi people and for all who work to protect these resources. We acknowledge the Hodu Noni people as the past, present, and future caretakers of this land and water. And we are grateful for the opportunity to live, work, and educate our children on this ancestrial land. Thank you. Next, we will have our guard rails for the board of education by board member Sharon Belman. Good evening everyone. As the Buffalo Board of Education has committed to becoming a board focused on improving student outcomes, we recognize that our adult behaviors must change
003to uphold this commitment. As we have given the superintendent specific guardrails that protects the values of our community, we understand the need to establish guardrails for our behavior as a board. The board shall operate within the board's role defined in policy number one 1 and the board's current operating procedures specifically as defined in board policy 1311 and 6110. The board either collectively or through their actions as individual board members will follow the following guardrails. Guardrail one shall not invest less than 50% of its minutes each month. Sh, excuse me, stand corrected shall not invest less than 50% of its minutes each month into monitoring student outcome goals. Guard rail two shall not perform or appear to perform any of the responsibilities delegated to the superintendent. Guard rail three shall not violate any board adopted policies
004or district procedures. And finally, guardrail four shall not behave in a manner that will violate the student code of conduct. Thank you. Thank you very much. We are now going to go through our extensive speakers list. Uh but before that I want to recognize uh the director of Erie County Association of School Board, David Lowry. David, there he is. Stand up. Welcome and thank you for our guests. All right. So at this time Thank you. So, the board had an executive session to discuss number one matters related to collective negotiations with the Buffalo Association of Substitute Administrators. The Buffalo Educational Support Team and Substitutes United of Buffalo Pursuit Civil Service Law Article 14. Number two, matters related to employment history and potential discipline and or dismissal of specific district employees. Number three, matters relating um
005to proposed legit legit litigation. And number four, the purpose of receiving legal advice. No official action was taken. Go ahead. Okay. So, at this time, the board welcomes speakers who have signed up to speak at tonight's meeting. Please be reminded that all speakers remarks must be limited to three me three minutes or less. We ask that speakers be mindful that this is a business meeting open to the public and televised locally. Attendees and viewers include persons from throughout Western New York, including children. The board asks that speakers conduct themselves professionally and that their comments remain civil and courteous. Bearing in mind that they will be heard by people of all ages. If you have printed information to share with us, please do not approach the board table. Provide your information to the district clerk who
006will make sure we receive it. This is an opportunity for Buffalo's residents to address the Buffalo board of education about issues that serve the public interest and district mission. And the board acts as speakers demonstrate appropriate decorum. And please, if you're talking about um a school, for example, do not mention any names. Okay. Fair. All right. First up, Sherry Murphy, clerk. uh regarding lost time. [Applause] >> Request a review request a review and restate reinstatement of my prior service time and seniority with the district. I have been a dedicated employee of the board of education since 2002, consistently going above and beyond in my role as school clerk. Over the years, I have volunteered countless hours to to support school activities and have always strived to give 110% to my work. In 2015, I experienced
007a significant personal loss. And in November 2022, I suffered a severe mental health crisis. At the time, I was unable to think clearly or perform my duties. Despite my deep commitment to the district, I have documentation from my physician confirming my diagnosis of severe depression, which I attempted to submit shortly after my resignation. When I returned to the district in September 2024 as a staff clerk, I was informed that I had lost all seniority and service time because my separation exceeded one year. I called HR and explained I had notified the district of my address change and was told after 20 years of service it was okay to move out of the district. This is something I worked hard for. I spoke with the director of recruitment who told me the district just turns its
008head when an employee does this. If they told civil service about this, they wouldn't have many employees. She also then told me after trying to assist me so I didn't have to speak at the board meeting that my mental breakdown couldn't have been too bad because I didn't take I didn't take a leave of absence on my resignation. I'm sorry. This behavior is coming from an administrator and was completely out of line, dismissive and inconsiderate. While I understand and respect policy guidelines, I believe that this situation warrants reconsideration given the medical circumstances and the fact that I sought to return as as tune as soon as two months. Losing over 20 years of service and seniority has been devastating both personally and professionally. I have missed out on many great opportunities to advance my career
009due to having lost all of my seniority. I respect respectfully ask the district to review this matter and consider reinstating my time. Additionally, I urge the district to explore policies that support employees facing mental health challenging challenges, ensuring that they are not penalized for circumstances beyond their control. Thank you for your time and consideration. I am happy to provide any additional documentation or meet to discuss this further. And I'd also like to state that I am a very proud member of the Buffalo Public School District. [Applause] >> Thank you. Next we have Sherry Barnes, former board member, legacy of M Marles Waslowski. I remember her. Welcome. Thank you. My name is Sher Burns. I reside in North Buffalo. My daughter was Hutch, class of 2000. My great niece will be class of, I don't know,
01040. Um, I want to thank the board. I was not able to be here when you did the resolution in Marissa's memory. And as somebody who served with her, I really feel I have some things to reflect on with us as a district. When a great person passes, it's time to look back and forward. I served on the board from 95 to 98. Marliss was the board president for two of those years and was an incredible example of service to our community. It was about a year and a half running up to the election that I learned so much from Mariss and being part of the wave of united parents. The most important lesson she imparted by doing most especially was to have confidence to advocate and believe in the power of well-informed parents who
011show up and do the work on behalf of our children in our city. Those years 95 to 98 were some of the rockiest, most challenging years in the history of the district. I would hazard a guess. When I was sworn in, all nine bargaining units were up for new contracts. The district was in dire financial straits with structural problems in the budget. We needed a new superintendent. And when he we got one and he got off the plane, he walked into a 400 person layoff and some of the worst teacher union relations anyone can remember. In those years, we saw a district come out from under the 30 years of watchful eye and compassionate hand of Judge Curtain's desegregation order, throwing the entire magnet school program system into chaos and raising deep concerns around moving
012backwards and hardening Buffalo's already notorious racial lines. There was a great deal of distrust and anger and resentment everywhere. Still, there was in there an opportunity for the district to reinvent itself. The board was rife with deep divides, often with difficult racial dimensions that were very challenging and sometimes threatened our district with despair. Mariss kept us on track and navigating those waters. Board meetings often ran until 11 or midnight. Remember Sharon? The issues were complex and didn't stop ever. Hope had to be cultivated, made, not taken for granted. We had the wild years of the emergence of charters, a governor who proposed that an eighth grade education was sufficient for children growing up, and a lawsuit brewing about intolerable student suspension rates and the pipeline to prison. There were some amazing bright spots, too. the
013new Emerson School ribbon cutting on this incredible building. Buildings with an average age of 77 years at that time, finally receiving some love that was long past due in too many cases. The first student rep on the board who today is elected to serve with a vote at the table as he raises his own beautiful son. I worked with incredible educators and students who are the very meaning of hope. My purpose in this reminiscence is this. Parents, you are the source of strength and faith in our kids, in their education. Today, as we are struggling with financial challenges, neighborhood charter magnet divisions, the suspension rate, and failure to commit to and implement effectively restorative practices. You are not alone, and you are completely necessary. be inspired and encouraged even to do the hardest things. Our
014kids deserve no less. I have a six-year-old great niece in the district today. It's useful to remember that today doesn't live in a vacuum. It stands for good or ought on the shoulders of those who came before. If we can remember, we can take lessons from the tough parts of the past. So, with a nod of thanks and deep appreciation to Mariss Wislowski, I leave you with this. Keep going, folks, on this long arc to justice for our city's children. They are everything if we are to have a future. [Applause] Our next speaker is Rich Nigro, president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation. Hello, Mr. Nigro. All right. Good evening, uh, superintendent, esteemed board members, and loads of visitors in attendance and speakers. First, uh, I I'll be I'll try to be very brief today. Um,
015I have three things that I want to say. Um, one, uh, a thank you to the superintendent, to the board, to his cabinet. At last month's meeting, we had several of our members make compassion please to this body for uh assistance in what can only be described as a state of emergency with regard to special education in our district. Uh this these are calls that I got this afternoon all related, most of them 811, and I'm one of several people in the office and that's not counting emails and text messages. So, we are at a real crisis point. But what the superintendent did immediately following the speakers is uh issued a directive to chief ac academic officer Pan Bachelli and uh Kim Holshire to meet with us and the other bargaining units best with teacher
016agent assistants BCSA administrators sit together put our heads together and figure something out to at least put a patch on the tire. We're not going to be able to rebuild this engine this year but we got to get through this year. So what can we do to help our teachers and help our students? uh because that is our job. And so we did within a couple of days met downtown with superintendent, his cabinet and the three bargaining units, representatives from the federation and started to discuss. One of the things that they had was an RFP already imposed uh proposed format and uh we looked at that and we scrutinized and over the course of perhaps maybe five meetings were able to um to acquies and say okay yes we think this is a good idea.
017Let's redirect these funds to one-on-one support services. We think that's what's going to be the best for our our kids because that's who we advocate for. Winston Churchill said that you judge a society based upon how it treats its weakest citizens. You judge a school district based upon how it treats its most vulnerable children. Now, I would be remiss if I didn't allude to WZ. I have to because millions of dollars was pushed into that program. Uh and in my opinion misappropriated $500,000 uh was made available immediately as this band-aid and that's what it it is a band-aid. But we know there's nothing we can really do this year to make a whole turnaround and fix these issues. But that's what we're working on. That's what this collaborative effort is. That's what it looks like.
018But $500,000 is a drop in the bucket. And I hope uh my hope is and I've gotten assurances from uh from the district that the uhou that we drafted a couple years ago, we're going to look at that. Let's redefine that. Let's continue to work together. And Superintendent Mubena said we work together. We come up with a solution. If it works, then we share in the success. If it fails, well, then we share in the failure. And I agree with you. I believe in that. And I think everybody at that meeting believed in it, too. Um I'll knock the rest of stuff out quick, guys. I don't want to uh bore you all night here. Um let me move on to school 30. We have uh some members who are going to speak this special
019ed. Some members who are here from school 30 with grave concerns over leadership at that school. Uh suffice to say that as a union, we work with our members when they run into a problem in the school. We talk with them about how to talk with leadership. We talk about mechanisms that are in place to work through problems. Come to the table with solutions. Don't just come with a gripe. How you going to fix it? We believe in a chain of command and we've done this for the last two years. It led to uh a meeting with the superintendent ASL. We've done uh climate survey so that leadership knows this is what we're experiencing what we feel. It is a cheat sheet, a playbook to how you can improve things in your school. Uh it
020went ignored. It led to a vote of no confidence. I've rebuffed various news outlets that have reached out to me asking for comments about this school in particular and to everyone every single time verbatim I said I have no comment because we're we're working with the district the district is who we have to work with to to fix these issues and I believe in that wholeheartedly uh and I will continue to do that but we are here now today because it's now boiled over and so you'll hear some from some folks from 30 last thing uh Riverside I see folks here from Riverside side. I want to acknowledge what I see to be a 180 turnaround in that building that I can only contribute attribute to uh consistency and leadership and a collaborative effort that
021has led to what they're experiencing in that school right now. Uh and in 14207 uh neighborhood, the neighborhood that I grew up in, it is a microcosm of what we can accomplish on a district scale. We have so much opportunity and so much potential in this district to be a beacon to be a model in so many ways for so many other urban districts and I think we are at the precipice now and we have a great opportunity with a willing board with a willing superintendent and you got willing members right here. Uh so with that um I will conclude. Thank you very much for your time. >> Thank you. So, I would be remiss not to acknowledge the principal of this fine building, the principal Kathleen Stone. Is she here? There she is. Selena,
022thank you for allowing us to utilize your building today. Applause. Our next speaker is Belinda Come, come forward. [Applause] >> I would like to quickly introduce three of our fourth grade ambassadors here at Macowski. Empress Yeah. Are you guys okay to Michaela and Harris? [Applause] >> So I could stand here myself and talk all things wonderful about Macowski, but instead of hearing my perspective, I felt it was best to come from the student voices themselves. And while they do have their speech prepared to tell you about everything wonderful that's happening here, I do have to preface it with saying that they wrote this completely by themselves. [Applause] Good evening and welcome to Stanley and Macowski Early Childhood Center, school number 99 in IB World School. We're so happy to have you here tonight. As student
023ambassadors, we like to share what being an IB student means to us. At Macowski, being an IB student means we are a part of a global community of learners. We learn to recognize, celebrate, and respect diversities in our classroom, in our school, and around the world. >> We believe our differences makes us stronger. Every culture, language, and idea helps us grow into open-minded and caring people. We also believe that when we make mistakes, it's okay. They help us learn, improve, and train. Being an IB learner means we don't just memorize facts. We learn by asking questions and exploring answers. This is called inquiry. and it helps us think deeply, understand more, and make connections to our lives. Inquiry learning helps us to be curious, creative, and confident. When something is difficult, we think hard, try
024again, and take risk. When we work together to solve problems, try ideas, and take action. We see ways to make things better. Being an IB student also means we're lifelong learners. We keep learning, improving, and helping others. As ambassadors, we try to be good people, complete our tasks, stay focused, and help others in our community. At Macowski, we are learning how to make a difference in our classrooms, in our community, and in the world. We are proud to be a part of a school that teaches us not just what to learn but how to learn, think, care and how to take risk of learning something new. >> Thank you for visiting our school and supporting our journey as IB learners and global citizens. We hope you enjoy your time on [Applause] Mr. Babies. Ready? Look
025at me. Three, three, two, [Applause] as you can see, our babies are learning some things. >> Happy Kathy, >> I don't want to I don't want to follow that, but I I I want to just acknowledge how special this school is. Um try not to cry. My my daughter when she started school, she had um a difficult time and her IEP wasn't followed and it was a struggle and I wondered like will she ever thrive or find a school home? Um, so I came to visit different schools and I walked in the doors here and the music teacher had a class at the time and children were singing and I thought it was a sign and um my my daughter came here. She was placed in an ICT classroom. We've had amazing teachers and amazing
026aid that we see outside of school. She's become family. Um, the PTO is amazing and I I'm so glad that I can call this a school home. [Applause] >> Thank you for that. From the mouth of a board member. All right, our next speaker is Belinda Clipper, teacher, special education classroom crisis. >> Good evening, members of the board. My name is Belinda Clifford and I'm a 25-y year veteran teacher currently serving in a NISA classroom at Mstead 156. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I am here to raise a serious concern about a student placement that is not only inappropriate, it's unsafe and unsustainable. I believe all of these behaviors are a result of him being scared and overwhelmed by the demands of our classroom and the sides of our building.
027He is letting us know he is not okay the only way that he knows how. The student needs intensive individualized behavioral and communication interventions that go far beyond what my classroom designed for academic instruction under NISA is equipped to provide. Because of this one students needs and behaviors, I am I am forced to spend more than half my time manage managing crisis level behaviors, leaving six other students with what amounts to a part-time teacher. These other students, each with their own unique needs and rights to a free and appropriate education, are not getting what they deserve. And neither is the student in question. This one student is causing stress and anxiety in my other students. They will say, "What's wrong with him? I'm scared of him. He makes me nervous." And Mrs. Clifford, please make
028him stop. This isn't about blame. It's about placement. The student needs a more appropriate setting for staffer trained in behavior intervention, death education, and toileting care, ideally with a lower student to adult ratio. Our current setup fails him, puts staff at risk, causes undistrust to his classmates, and robs the rest of my class and him of the education they are entitled to. I urge you to take immediate steps to review placement procedures and support a change that is better for everyone involved, especially the students. Thank you for your time and for your commitment to our schools. [Applause] Thank you. Our next speaker is David Aquilina, uh, teacher concerned citizen, special education. Good evening. My name is David Aalina and I'm one of Buffalo's music teachers. I've asked to speak to you tonight because I believe
029that Buffalo is failing to provide our students with disabilities an appropriate education by not providing them with the tools they need to communicate, not training staff how to work with them, and not placing them in appropriate classrooms. I know what these students can accomplish when appropriately supported. I have been teaching students with disabilities for most of my career. I have written adaptive music curriculum that a previous district adopted as their standard. And I've had talks accepted at conferences by the Massachusetts Music Educators Association and the Berkeley School of Music's Institute for Accessible Arts Education. Many of our students have great difficulty communicating, but almost never have any assisted devices. There are sophisticated devices out there called augmentative and alternative communication devices or talkers, but most of our students don't even have a simple word or
030picture board that they can use consistently throughout the day. Imagine not being able to communicate something as basic as I need to go to the bathroom. Our aids and assistants are have good intentions and are hardworking, but they do not have the training necessary to effectively support our students with intensive needs. Regular mandatory training and techniques such as non-violent crisis intervention are a necessity for effectively working with these students. Incorporating these techniques also tends to foster a mindset of working with our students to accomplish their goals instead of merely trying to force compliance. Imagine that you are a student who cannot easily communicate and that the people who are supposed to be helping you are yelling at you and physically pushing you around the classroom because they don't know how to do any better. Lastly,
031our students are often placed in inappropriate settings with classmates who have wildly different needs for support and intervention. Many classrooms have a mix of students who can access the curriculum, communicate with only a modest amount of support. But these students also have classmates who are non-communicative, have intense support needs, and can exhibit extreme behaviors when they become disregulated, such as smearing their own feces around the room. Now, imagine that you are any of the students in that classroom. You might be properly placed in an 811 room and be able to access your curriculum, but you rarely get the support you need because your teachers are dealing with students in crisis. Or imagine that you are that student who is in such a state of crisis that the only way they have available to communicate is
032to use their most basic bodily functions. I urge you to really try and put yourself in these children's shoes and imagine what their experiences are like in our schools. Please take action to address these critical shortcomings in the education that we are morally and legally obligated to provide our students. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Kayn Aken, teacher, autism classrooms in the district. >> Good evening. My name is Kayn Aken. Thank you for the time to speak here tonight. I have the privilege of teaching at school 81 in a third grade autism classroom. I have been with Buffalo for three years, and before this, I taught at St. ary school for the deaf for 10 years teaching some of Buffalo's highest need students who are deaf and have autism. I am a product
033of the city of Buffalo. I went to BPS my entire life and have always wanted to give back to the community that gave me so much. When I had the opportunity to join BPS as an educator and teach students who have autism, I was thrilled. 10 years of experience in advanced training through some of the best resource centers around like the Summit Center should have been more than enough to make my transition easy. I quickly found out that that was not the case. In the past three years, there have not been a day that I have gone home thinking, "Wow, today was good. We are doing a complete disservice to our students." In my opinion, the lack of appropriate staffing is the biggest issue. Sorry, excuse me. and it's the most impactful and concerning issue.
034Right now in my building, there are two autism rooms still awaiting to be signed a teacher from the beginning of the year. There are also two rooms waiting for a long-term sub. Both classrooms are being covered by subs who try their absolute best to meet the students needs, but have been very honest that they do not have the qualifications or experience needed to work with students who have autism. Furthermore, through the IEP process in the past three years, we have identified at least four students who need onetoone aids due to major safety concerns such as regular elopement, self-injurous behavior, dangerous behavior towards others, and the inability to toil themselves. Out of the four packets I've submitted, one has been accepted and approved for a half day aid. All of the others were denied for reasons
035that have not been made clear to me. I could reasonably apply for at least two more this year, but have not done so because I simply do not have the time to just be denied again. The foundation to a good classroom setting for students with autism is routine, consistent behavior management plans and structure. Is impossible for me to create routine and structure, incorporating grade level curriculum for those who need it when there are not enough adults in the room to keep the students safe. Every day is spent putting out constant fires. Today I laid on the bathroom floor for 25 minutes trying to get a student to unlock a door because he refused. I believe that our paraprofessionals need better, more hands-on training. They need better pay. We need better behavioral supports in the highest
036need classrooms. I have tried to encourage so many of my friends to come work in Buffalo because I truly believe in the district and believe we can change students lives. But we need to change the narrative because when I speak my truth, people say, "I hear it's terrible there. Who would want to teach there?" This is just one example from one classroom in the district. And I know my story is not unique. And across the city, our highest need students are struggling. Our teachers and classroom aids are working as hard as they possibly can and could not be more dedicated. But dedication is not enough. Appropriate staffing and more appropriate classroom ratios are our first step. Thank you. [Applause] Okay, our next speaker is Gregory Sitzki, teacher, special education. Good evening, all honorable Buffalo Board
037of Education members, and welcome, Superintendent Mena. I am an 18-year veteran special education teacher for students in the Buffalo public schools. I have taught in NISA classrooms for over 14 of those years and that's where I'm currently working. Providing NISA students an on-ramp to independent living skills, employability skills, public transportation skills while building and improving their academic ability is both rewarding and challenging. And just like every other area of study, it requires a teacher with knowledge of and passion for that area of study. It's my knowledge and passion for my students that brings me here tonight to address a couple issues and petition the administrative leadership to work on making things right. I come before the board tonight with two issues. The first was the decision to change all of the NISA classrooms from a
038611 setting to an 811 setting. The second is the improper placements that are now occurring in the 811 classrooms. To my first concern, I've been asking leadership how this can occur, going back as far as 2020. I pose that question to former chief of staff for Buffalo Schools, Darren Brown. The question went unanswered and remains so today. The decision to change from 611 to 811 was shrouded in secrecy as CO was just beginning and the fact that BPS chose to actually reduce services. Yes, moving students from a 611 to an 811 setting is a reduction in services at a time when the school day and routines were changing in unprecedented ways still boggles my mind. Compound this decision with the fact that those services were reduced without a cse meeting. It is my understanding and
039after researching further services on an IEP cannot be reduced without a meeting. I can state that factually. It's no longer a thought. It's a fact. Yet here we are. Perhaps at the time, even now, a collaborative process with teachers may have yielded a percentage of NISA classrooms where 811 would be an appropriate setting for some of those students. I can state that myself and cse meetings could be legitimately updated IEPs with new service levels. That first discussion point, the change in classroom size leads to directly the troubling reality. That's the second issue which we've heard from some other teachers today and I'm sure there's more uh facing the NISA students and teachers today. The improper placement in an 811 classroom for what appears to be nothing more than a roster filling purpose. NISA classrooms are
040supposed to be working on life skills, job experience, travel training, community safety skills, anything associated with community- based learning, which was the previous title for the program, NISA, and in addition, improve academic skills to the maximum level possible. The placement of students with a skill set and history that puts an entire class at risk when traveling in the community seems to be, for lack of a better word, ridiculous. One final note, but just as important, this is the first year since I've been working in Buffalo 18 years that I've been assaulted by one of my own students. I was punched in the chest by a NISA student who happens to be selectively mute and classified autistic. Uh, this is a student that I'm expected to take safely into the community with seven other kids. That's
041all I have. [Applause] Thank you. Our next speaker is Sarah Renski. Sorry if I messed pronunciation up. Teacher, special way safety in the classroom. >> Good evening, members of the school board and superintendent. My name is Sarah Rosinski and I am a preschool prek 813 offic. My students need a safe, proper educational environment in the district. I them in the 813 classrooms for 5 years and the district needs to do better at placing the students in the proper classroom settings. We have been told that we are considered agency based classrooms. As an employee who has worked in an agency classroom for almost six years, we are far from being an agency classroom. Classrooms in the agencies have materials and support to help students. They have sensory rooms, therapeutic materials, a developmentally appropriate curriculum. materials, etc.
042to help deescalate and try to prevent behaviors. In my classroom and others, there have been students who are extremely violently aggressive. This these students prevent others from being able to learn. These behaviors include hitting, pushing, running out of the classroom, using disrespectful and inappropriate language, and making threats, and they will cause they will cause bodily harm. This year alone, I was punched in the face and had to miss work because of a concussion. Does this does an incident like at Richneck Elementary School need to happen before we are taken seriously and our students get the proper support we need? I am supposed to use my aids in the classroom as oneto ones for children who need it. What do I do if I have three students who need onetoone adult support? That leaves five children
043with only one teacher. And of those five students, at least three of them are on different academic levels, which makes it difficult to ensure the safety of all students, especially when at least one student is knee lower. What will it take for the district to give us in our classrooms the health and support that we need to teach our students? We need support in our classrooms. This would look like hiring more special education coaches who can assist in the autism classroom. Right now, we only have two special coaches in the district, and the one from my school has other schools that she has to assist, especially the 812 and 813 classrooms. Having a program like the one we had with Damon would be a huge help in our classrooms with support for the different behaviors
044that we are experiencing with these students. We had a coach who came into our classes once a month, but they really need to come into our classrooms at least bi-weekly to work with us in the classrooms, meet us, to come up with strategies and a plan to put into place to ensure a safe environment for us to teach in our students to learn. Training for staff on trauma-informed care for students with autism. Training on how to handle different behaviors in the classroom, specifically for students on the autism spectrum. And TCI therapeutic crisis intervention tci not just for physical safety but to help us have the knowledge how to deescalate students which is a team effort at agency schools. Students deserve safe classrooms. Staff is working hard to ensure to make sure they are safe and
045all we are asking for is the tools to do this properly. Our student support team, other teachers, our administration, and a pair of professionals are all working very hard to help more needs to be done in the district. You are invited to my classroom to see the behaviors that I have stated in my speech so you can see firsthand the behaviors that we are dealing with daily. My students deserve a safe, proper education environment in the district. Thank you. Our next speaker is Teresa Murki, uh, teacher, safety in the classroom of students with autism. Hello. Good evening. My name is Teresa Mauricei and I have been a teacher in an 813 preschool classroom at Bennett Park Monosauri School 32 for six years. I am here today to advocate for a safe, developmentally appropriate learning environment
046for our students. specifically the installation of an enclosed inclusive playground at school 32. I have previously taught at schools equipped with enclosed play spaces outdoors. This school alone has three and I consider them a fundamental component of a highquality early childhood special education program. The playground currently in place at school 32 is outdated, unenclosed, and not suitable for our youngest learners, many of whom have significant physical and developmental needs. Safety is my most pressing concern. Several of our students are at risk of alopment, and an unenclosed playground poses an immediate danger to them. In addition, the open layout allows strangers to approach the space, creating vulnerabilities that are unacceptable in our current climate. Given that school 32 has become an AU hub, ensuring a secure environment is essential. When the playground is deemed unsafe, teachers
047have no choice but to keep the students indoors. As a result, our children lose valuable opportunities for outdoor play and inclusive interaction with their general education peers. I have also seen the benefits of inclusive play spaces firsthand. My family lives near a newly constructed inclusive playground which we visited almost daily over the summer. It gave my children the opportunity to release their energy which they needed to strengthen their gross motor skills and develop social skills particularly my 2-year-old as she entered preschool. The communication board designed for non-verbal children not only enhanced their play but also nurtured empathy and understanding towards those with different needs. An enclosed I'm sorry. An enclosed inclusive playground would benefit not only our students with autism but also the general education population as well. Such a space would encourage all students
048to move beyond simple tolerance or acceptance of learning diff differences and instead teach them how to actively include peers with diverse needs in their play and social interactions. That is ultimately what we strive for in special education to create opportunities that builds a more open, empathetic, and inclusive community where individual learning needs are understood, respected, supported, and valued. While this request for an enclosed playground may seem small and minor compared to the training required to manage behavioral crises, I ask you to consider how many interventions might be prevented if students had a safe, structured space to regulate their energy and practice their social skills. A well-designed playground is not only recreational, it is an essential tool for promoting emotional regulation, empathy, and inclusion. All factors contributing to a safe and effective educational environment must be
049taken into account. An enclosed inclusive playground is a necessary investment in the well-being and success of our students. Thank you for your time and thank you. Our next speaker is I'm not going to pronounce the last name. She's a teacher as for special ed issues. Oh, I'm sorry. Colleen, you're up. Teacher special education. Sorry for passing you over, but you're here. >> That's okay. Hi, I'm Colleen Hutton. I teach at 72. I want to address an issue that deeply affects our students well-being and their ability to learn. the inappropriate placement of special education students. When students are placed in settings that do not match their needs, the consequences are serious. Few examples that I have personal knowledge of and as we occur tonight, every school has its own. A severely autistic student moved into a
050nicer classroom with intellectually disabled peers. Those students were then exposed to violent and sexually inappropriate behaviors, creating trauma for everyone involved. A level one autistic student was placed in a room with level three autistic students who were nonverbal. When that student developed behaviors, he was moved again, this time into an 811 behavioral class with emotionally disturbed students. Autistic students and emotionally disturbed students have fundamentally different learning modalities. For a child with sensory hyper sensitivity, being in a room where frustration is expressed by yelling or throwing objects is overwhelming. These disruptions don't just affect one student. They destabilize the entire classroom. When a crisis occurs, all students are removed for safety, meaning no learning takes place. It takes time to reset the room and return students to baseline. Research shows sensory processing differences, especially hyper reactivity,
051are linked to higher anxiety and depression. This is not a healthy learning environment. It's a cycle of misplacement that harms students academically, socially, and emotionally. Inappropriate placement violates the principles of IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Decisions must be made individualized and based on the students IEP, not convenience or resource limitations. This is where I'm looking for your leadership. We're asking you to take decisive steps. Create agency type schools designed for students with complex needs, ensuring specialized environments. Provide comprehensive training for all staff who interact with these students. This includes aids, assistance, special area teachers. Training should include applied behavior analysis, ABA, therapeutic crisis intervention, CCI. Training also needs to be ongoing, not a oneshot deal. When I worked for FAL, I was TCI certified every year. We have asked for years for training
052to no avail. Please invest in resources and collaboration so placement decisions are individualized and datadriven, not based on convenience. Every student deserves an environment where they can thrive. Inappropriate placement is not just a mistake. It's a systemic failure and a legal violation. Let's commit to doing better for our students, their families, and our school community. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Anna. B AJ is the last name. Here she comes. teacher special ed issues. Welcome. >> Hello. Um, my name is Inella Bay and I'm a kindergarten autism teacher in the district at school 32. I have been with the district for three years and I'm here today on behalf of my students and all the students classified as students with autism in our district. Many who are unable to speak for themselves, but
053if they could, they would tell you how safety is a priority. These students cannot be safe unless we have adequate staffing ratios in our classrooms. For me, it has become impossible to teach basic skills when putting out behavioral fires with just one extra hand in the classroom. That means six to seven students with one staff member while the other is trying to reeregulate a student. Our aids and assistants also need to be trained to understand autism. As children with autism present in various ways when it comes to safety, the temperature in our classroom needs to be regulated. Our classrooms are saunas and our children need to be cool to be more comfortable to learn and flourish at their own pace. My classroom is on the second floor and my friends like to throw things out
054of the window which could injure other friends in the courtyard. My friends have broken the screens out of curiosity by looking out the window. but at the same time have attempted to put body parts out out the window. All autism rooms should be on ground floors with access to sinks to wash hands and bathrooms to implement basic life skills instead of transitioning alopers down a long hallway to the bathroom which often leads my staff to a game of chase or chance in order for them to learn. We need or we need additional support staff to have adequate training in the field of autism in the rooms to help with continued behaviors that are being seen throughout the district in designated 811 and 813 classrooms. I'm thankful to have an amazing aid, but we can't sustain
055the needs of all of our students when many of them require additional daily support for life skills. We barely have enough time to use the bathrooms ourselves, let alone have enough time to complete all the parts of the application for one-on-one aid. stop in and see them in action or even do a transition with one of the students from the gross motor room to the bathroom by yourself and you can see the the firsthand need um for the one I'm with. Thank you. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Emily Markeel, teacher special education. Welcome. >> Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'm here tonight to shine a light on the impact the recent shift in programming has caused. The move to 811 classrooms has created a crisis that is affecting
056the safety, integrity, and fidelity of the educational programming we are providing to our most vulnerable students. The shift has reduced the number of staff available to support students with severe behavioral education and communication needs. In other words, this has created classrooms with fewer adults to support students who require more supervision, more structure, and more specialized care. I believe that's the opposite of what anyone intended. But intentions don't change the reality. These classrooms require trained staff who can collect data, support students with communication devices, inter implement crisis intervention strategies, and yes, perform the daily magic of managing several complex behaviors at one time. When staffing is insufficient, the program simply cannot function. This situation stands in direct conflict with the mission statement our district proudly stands by. One voice, one vision, one mission, putting children and
057families first to ensure high academic achievement for all. We cannot put children first when we don't have the staff needed to support them. We cannot promise high academic achievement when students cannot access their learning. We cannot uphold one vision when classrooms are functioning in survival mode. And we cannot claim one mission when our neediest students are being left behind. An 811 autism classroom at school 30 still does not have an aid assigned 52 days into the school year. Despite repeated requests to building a building and district administration, no action has been taken. This delay directly harms students and reflects a troubling lack of leadership and commitment to upholding the BPF's mission statement. Tell me, how are we putting children first when a student in this class waits 40 minutes in a soiled diaper because there's
058no staff readily available to change them? Our students deserve classrooms that are safe, structured, and appropriately staffed. Our educators deserve the support necessary to teach effectively and to love their jobs. Our families deserve programs that actually reflect the mission, not just advertise it. To move forward, we need special education aids with specific training and compensation that reflects the difficulty of their work. We need placements with programming that meets the needs of exceptional students and crisis intervention training for all staff working in these programs. These investments would allow us to rebuild highquality programs that generally put students and families first, bringing our district back into alignment with the mission statement that we publicly proclaimed. Buffalo is filled with dedicated teachers and staff who show up every day to work to give our students their very best.
059Now, we ask for the district's partnership to build a blueprint for an exemplar special education program. One voice, hear us tonight, advocating for our students. One vision, provide the supports and training we need and watch our students rise higher than anyone thought was possible. One mission, stand with us to make Buffalo Public Schools a warm, enriching, academically strong environment for all students. Thank you for your time. And now we respectfully ask for immediate action because mission statements are promises and our students deserve a district that keeps their promises. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Maria Conrad, principal Riverside Renaissance. [Applause] >> I know usually I don't have Good evening everyone. Over the past two years, our school has shown what is possible when a community comes together with consistent leadership, a shared purpose, and
060a commitment to every student's success. I am proud to highlight the progress we have made and the foundation we are continuing to build. First, our steady focused leadership over the past two years has created clarity, stability, and direction. Previously, Riverside was traumatized with a lack of cohesive leadership, including 11 principles in 22 years. By setting high expectations and keeping students at the center of every decision, we have built a culture where growth is not just encouraged, it is expected from all stakeholders. One of our greatest areas of success has been attendance. We all know that students cannot learn if they are not in school. And thanks to the hard work of our staff, our families, and most importantly, the students themselves, attendance has increased significantly. This improvement reflects a growing sense of belonging and purpose
061on our campus. Another area we are very proud of is our strengthened partnership with parents and families. When families and schools move in the same direction, students thrive. We are creating an environment that is appealing and inclusive to our diversified learners to become scholar athletes. Our state-of-the-art athletic wait room and our newly installed field is attracting more viable candidates to carry on the Riverside legacy. Inside the classroom, our students are receiving high quality instruction every single day. Our teachers are integrating innovative hands-on learning that sparks curiosity and inspires excellence. Our CTE programs have been regionally recognized, earning awards that highlight not only our students talent, but our staff's dedication and their creativity. As part of my five-year plan, we want to increase our CTE opportunities to include our current conservation, print shop, business, and entrepreneurship
062to increase a second health and wellness program, JOTC, and the police and fire academy. Three of our very own Buffalo Police School Resource Officers are graduates of Riverside Academy. Let's continue to keep our homegrown talent in our community to serve for future generations. We continue to offer activities for every type of learner. Programs that reward positive behavior, build confidence, and promote both self-ride and school pride. Whether it's clubs, competitions, celebrations, school musicals, classroom incentives, our students are finding more ways to connect, contribute, and shine. We want to work with the district to create a plan to bring back the 20 plus classrooms and storage space that houses offices within those classrooms that cannot be utilized by students. Those classrooms could allow our enrollment to grow in upwards of at least 588 more students and services
063for providing more efforts in our community that far north. All of these achievements come together to tell one powerful story. The Riverside Renaissance. When a school believes in its students, invests in its teachers, and partners with its families, success becomes a shared reality. We've made tremendous progress, and we are just getting started. Thank you for your continued support and helping us make our school a place where every student can learn, grow, and thrive because Riverside has the nicest and the smartest kids on the block. Thank you. >> Well, that was very inspiring. I need you to bottle that up. Our next speaker is a student at Riverside High School. Nine Jones. Okay. Welcome. Good afternoon everybody. I want to take a moment to speak about something deeper than numbers, plans, or even a strategy. I
064want to talk about us at Riverside. Not just as a school or organ organization, but as a family. When you walk through our doors, you feel something different than it's a connection. It's the way students, staff, and family show up for each other. is how we celebrate our wins together and stand strong through challenges. A family looks out for one another and that's exactly what Riverside does every single day. But being a family also means that everyone has a role. Everyone can help. When we support each other, whether it's volunteering at an event, offering guidance, stepping up as a leader, or simply just showing up and showing kindness, we make Riverside stronger. We create a place where people feel safe, valued, and motivated to succeed, graduate, and multiple other things. Our community is powerful. We
065have students with passion, parents who care, teachers who go above and beyond, and leaders ready to push for better opportunities. When all of those parts work together, we can accomplish more than we ever imagined. So today, I'm asking all of us, board members, staff, families, and students to continue leaning into that sense of unity. Let's keep uplifting each other. Let's keep showing what it means to be a part of something bigger. Riverside isn't just a place. It's a family. And when a family works together, there's no limits on how far we can ever go. This is so refreshing. Our next speaker is Emmanuel Rodriguez, also a student at Riverside. Welcome. >> Today I want to talk about our principal at Riverside and why we appreciate the way she leads our school. Our principal is strict,
066but in the best way. She sets high expectations because she wants every student to do their best and stay focused on what really matters. Her rules aren't just rules. They're always ways to help us stay on track and succeed. But she also incredibly kind and sometimes she even smiles. She listen. She listens. She supports us. And she shows that she really she really cares about our well-being. She has a candy jar that kids and staff, a lot of staff grab treats from every day. You can see that she cares about Riverside and all of us in the way she talks to students. Staff staff and celebrates our achievements and encouraged us when we need it. Tomorrow we have a Thanksgiving celebration. You should come and see how great we are. By the way, I'm winning
067the pie eating contest. Because of Miss Conrad, Riverside have became a safe and welcoming place. We know that we are protected, looked after, and respected. Miss Conrad and the Barretts and all teachers helped create an environment where everyone can learn and grow and feel confident. That's why we're grateful for her and proud to be a part of Riverside. I also want to talk about why it's important for us as teenagers to follow the rules at school and accept the consequences when we make mistakes. Following rules isn't about taking away our freedom. It's about helping us learn responsibility and preparing us for the real world. We slip up, accepting the consequences, showing maturity. It means we're willing to learn, grow, and do better next time. They take our phones. It's okay. They remind us all the
068time not to swear, get to class, and how we do not physically fight on campus. Riverside is a safe place because our principal and staff work hard to protect us. They treat us like family and everything they do, even the strict moments, comes from wanting the best of us. They want us to succeed and stay out of trouble and to become people to make good choices. They tell us all the time, we are the nicest and smartest kids on the block. And we are because we are the only high school in the neighborhood. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you. Our next speaker is my my student. Another Riverside student. [Applause] >> Good evening everyone. My name is Dizzy, but most people know me as Amy. I'm a senior and the class president of 2026 and cheer
069captain at Riverside Academy High School. Riverside is a school that tries to support every student. Our teachers and staff help us feel welcome, safe, and ready to help. We also have many chances to grow not just in classes, but in our future goals. Riverside give us many opportunities. We have strong classes that help us build the skills we need for life after high school. Student who need extra support can get tutoring and help from teachers and counselors. This make a big difference because not every student learn the same way and the school understands that. And also Riverside offers CTE programs um like health and wellness conservation and business loss. These program help student learn skills and explore job they might want in the future. We also have support services and activities that help students stay
070on track and feel connected. As a senior, I believe these opportunities truly help students prepare for life after high school. Thank you for listening and supporting our school. I listen all night. Okay. Um, next speaker is Dia Robensson. Bus Riverside student. >> Is it with a S? >> Den. >> Okay. Somebody. Okay. Thank you. >> All right. You're welcome. Good afternoon everyone. Today I want to share why I truly appreciate my teachers and counselors in the entire school and my community here at Riverside. First my teachers they don't they don't just teach us they don't just teach us lessons. They inspire us. They push us to think harder try again and believe in ourselves even though we're not sure we can. They can they make learning feel exciting and they take the time to understand
071who who are as individ individuals. That kind of support makes a real difference. Next are counselors. They are people who listen when they're when we're over overwhelmed or unsure of what next to do. They help us guide us through classes, future plans, and sometimes even personal challenges. They remind us of us that we're never alone and always somebody help us ready to s succeed. But what makes Riverside truly special is the whole school community. From the staff who greeters in the hallways to the students who cheers on each other, Riverside feels like a family. It's a place where people care, where kindness matters, and where everyone has a chance to grow. Riverside isn't just a school. It's a home for learning, friendships, and opportunity. And that's why I'm grateful to be a part of it.
072Thank you. Thank you, Laticia. Another student from Riverside. Good afternoon everyone. My name is Leticia and today I'm excited to share a little bit about a place that shaped who I am. my school. It's more than just a building. It's more than just a building with classrooms. It's a community, a second home, and a place where we learn, grow, and discover what we are capable of. My school is a place where every day feels different. Some days are challenging, some are exciting, and some are filled with moments to remember long after the buildings. We make school special. What makes school special isn't just the lesson we study. It's the people who fill the hole. Our teachers just don't don't just teach. They support, encourage, and push us to do better. They care about us and
073not only as um students, but as individuals with talents, dreams, and goals. My classmates also play a huge role in making the school feel alive. We come from different backgrounds, but we share the same experiences working through tough assignments, celebrating achievements, and helping each other when things get overwhelming. My school also give us opportunities Outside the classroom, whe it's sports teams, clubs, music, art, or student leadership, there are always something to get involved in. This activity help us discover our strength, build friendships, and learn skill that go far beyond textbooks. In the end, my school isn't perfect, but it's a place that helped me become the best version of myself. It's where everything where we learned everything before and also in her lesson built meaningful connection and found confidence in who I am. I'm proud
074to be part of a community that's really supportive that that take that shows you that you belong and also takes who takes you for who you are that continue to shape my future one day at a time. Thank you for listening. Thank you. Our next speaker is Michelle Okano, teacher at district of Riverside. Welcome. >> Good evening board members and superintendent. My name is Michelle O Connell. I'm a special education teacher at Riverside High School. I'm here tonight to speak to you about the amazing things happening at Riverside. Our principal, Mrs. Conrad, and some of our wonderful students have spoken to you already about the achievements our school has attained, but I want to focus on the incredible efforts of our teachers and staff who go above and beyond every day to benefit our students.
075I have been teaching for 26 years. I spent more of my career at Riverside than anywhere else. When Riverside 205 phased out, I was away briefly, but when 208 phased in and an opportunity became available, I eagerly came back. That was seven years ago. I remember walking into the main office and feeling a weight lift off of me. I knew I was home, back where I belonged, at the school where I had helped to make a tangible difference for my students. This feeling is shared by our administrators, teachers, and staff. We are all at Riverside because we want to be to help our students, their families, and our community. After years of instability, we have found our footing. The school is a beacon in the neighborhood and we are constantly creating new programs and opportunities,
076both educational and entertaining. We have community events and Saturday to enrich not just our students lives but those of their families and our neighbors. We run a robust afterchool program which supports our students academically as well as physically, mentally and socially. Our CTE programs in business, personal training and conservation are second to none. We take pride in the fact that we know our students and we strive to give them a strong foundation on which to build their young adult lives. Our students bear many burdens, but we know but they know we are here to prop them up when they falter and to pick them up should they fall. We are a pillar, a foundation, a guiding light in the community, helping to support, reinforce, and give every advantage possible to our young people. We embrace
077any student who wants to be a part of the exciting things that we have happening and the fantastic new opportunities that are being planned. We encourage you to join us because we are Riverside and you belong there. [Applause] Thank you. Our next speaker is Jennifer Young, teacher building leadership at school. >> Good evening, Dr. Mubanga and honorable board members. My name is Jennifer Yund. I am a teacher at school 30. At the CLRI training two weeks ago, we were told it is the personal approach of the leader which creates the climate. It's the emotional responses of the leader that makes the weather. The leader has tremendous power to make the life of teachers and students miserable or joyous. The leader can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. He or she can
078humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is the reactions of the leader that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or deescalated and community strengthened or diminished. of the Frank A. Sadita Academy. We are miserable, humiliated, and hurt. As an educator with over 27 years experience, I am here to implore you to make an immediate change in the leadership at school 30. Having earned an MS in educational leadership, worked in a variety of districts, and for multiple administrators, I can say with no second thoughts, the leadership at SATA is unequivocally the worst, most incapable administration I have ever worked for. I love teaching. My colleagues and I love working with students, families, and each other. What we do not love and what has been the most debilitating part of our jobs these
079last three years has been the incompetent management of a school with so much potential. There is a mountain of documentation to show the administration has broken the law to risk student and staff safety and been anything but educational leaders. We thought the documentation spoke for itself, but after compiling and fighting For over two years, the school has reached a breaking point because nothing effective has been done by those responsible. The mental health of too many of my colleagues and students cannot continue to be ignored, which brings me here tonight. Two colleagues had medical emergencies of chest pains and had to go to the hospital in the last six months. Multiple teachers are out on mental health leaves. Numerous staff have transferred because of this administration, including an amazing ENL teacher who left the district completely.
080Students are fearful in the building because they do not see admin taking their worries and concerns seriously. Here are just a few examples. Last year, DASID reports were filed on students. Nothing came of them, leaving students and staff feeling unsafe and uncomfortable. Faculty became aware of a student planning to jump another on the walk home. It was reported to leadership who agreed the parent should be called to pick up the student and her kindergarten sister. The teacher had to report to the dismissal duty so couldn't make the call but told admin they would keep the student with them until mom arrived. Mom never arrived and the student was jumped as feared. Colleague learned mom never received a phone call from administration. Students were reported to be making out and putting hands all over each other
081inappropriately in the hallway. leadership response was, "That doesn't seem so bad." Multiple students went to a staff member to report sexually inappropriate behaviors and language from another student, but administration did not take it seriously until almost a week later. And there is so much more. I'm sorry, Dr. Mubena and Dr. Thomas. Your predecessors were well aware of these issues and did nothing. We need you to do better for our students and staff so we can heal and be joyous once more so we can come and brag about our school like Riverside did. Thank you. Thank you students for coming out from Riverside. We are so proud of you. The student voices are so critical. Miss Conrad, thank you. Keep the good work up. Then our next speaker is Chelsea Proton, teacher placement and support at
082school 30. >> Good evening, Dr. Mubena and honorable board members. My name is Chelsea. I am a prek teacher at Frank Sadita School 30 and I thank you for the opportunity to speak to you tonight. Leadership author Andy Stanley once said, "Leaders who do not listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say." Over the past 10 years, I have had the opportunity to work and grow alongside some of the brightest, most passionate, and dedicated educators at school 30. These teachers who spend more time at school than at home with their own families certainly have a lot to say, particularly about the way our school has been run the past few years. And tonight, so do I. Having taught pre-K for 15 years, I'd say I have a few tricks up my
083sleeve when it comes to classroom management and student behaviors. This year, however, I have found myself struggling to meet the extremely diverse needs of my little learners. and therefore I have reached out to administration for help, support, and guidance. On Thursday, October 2nd, I sent an email to all administration making them aware of a situation and expressing concerns because one of my students hurt another child who also happened to be the daughter of a colleague in our building. Specifically, the child stepped on the little girl's stomach back and then kicked her. Part of my email read, "I'm sure you are aware that my class is very challenging this year and that I am struggling to educate all 18 of my students while also maintaining a safe environment. I am writing to once again make you
084aware of my concerns and ask what can be done. I'm working tirelessly to keep my kiddos safe and engaged in my classroom, but I need help." I then asked if someone could come spend some time in my room and offer the professional advice. Three days later on October 5th, one of our administrators emailed me back stating that someone would be in touch with a convenient time to meet to discuss my unique challenges. I replied stating once again that I thought a meeting would be most productive if someone could come to my room ahead of time and observe. I made it clear that this was an open invitation with no need to announce themselves prior. And that's where it ended. As of today, November 19th, no meeting has been scheduled. No one has stopped into my
085room to observe and there has been no other followup. In the weeks that have followed that particular incident, the same aggressive student hit a little girl so hard in the face that her eye was nearly swollen shut. Although her bruises have almost all faded now, she still walks into the classroom with apprehension and flinches when this student comes near her. A four-year-old should not feel scared to come to school. I can't help but wonder why the people in charge of my building don't care if she's safe. I'll leave you with this final question. What would you say if a good friend came to you and said, "Man, I am drowning at work. I have asked for help more than once and the people in charge of my workplace ignore me. Some days are so bad
086that I cry in my car on my lunch break." What would you tell them? Because I'll tell you what my closest friends and family have told me. They say, "Chelsea, get out of there. leave, find another job. But I'm not ready to leave. I'm not ready to give up on my school or my kids. I am still asking for help. And this time, I'm asking you [Applause] is Sarah Medina, BPS employee, school leadership at school 30. [Applause] Hello everyone. Good evening Dr. Marie Banga and honorable board members. I am Sanina school clerk and also a parent of a student at school 30 graduate as well. In my 14 going on 15 years working as a clerical staff member for the Buffalo public schools. I have never seen a building led by administration with such lack
087of empathy, lack of knowledge for their job, disregard for rules and protocol, and the complete disregard for feelings and well-being of not only students but staff, parents, and visitors alike. Under this administration, I have witnessed incidents that occur one day, but are not reported until a later or different date. letters given to parents and students with what allegedly happened. But then again, the behavior of details not entered into Infinite Campus or entered in was falsified information that makes incidents look less severe than what they actually were. No proper attendance codes entered in for students who are suspended to keep attendance counts up, all of which are against school protocol. I have seen incidents occur where first responders are nowhere to be found. calls made on walkies for prevention of incidents such as physical altercations not
088being responded to until after the altercation takes place, then being told that the walkies don't work. But in these same sentence, I will hear responses occur from those same first responders to everyone else except myself. I have sat and watched student immunization exemptions not get taken care of and a complete disregard to New York State law and regulation up until the point that the New York State Department of Health had to punt in and reiterate the lack of effort made by administration and take care of the matter themselves. No lists of names or dates being given to clerical staff to properly code visit the absences into infinite campus after countless explanations being made for the fact that it is breaking New York State law. Again, until the New York State Department of Health had to
089come in and mandate that this all get done immediately. All of these facts stated by myself and all of the facts stated by my other school 30 colleagues prove the fact that this administration is not competent enough to lead, let alone run a building filled with over 600 students and over 100 staff members. With student and staff safety and security being the most important, I can attest that we are in fact not important enough to this administration for them to do something as simple as keep us safe or treat us as equals. I recently heard a quote at church on Sunday that resonated with me. It stated, "If a leader claims that they do not need help, they are lying and prideful. Teamwork is how we all succeed." All of this and much more has
090been reported to HR with factual evidence proving what is being said today, but it almost seems to no avail. At this point, we are seeking help, not just for ourselves, but for the students that we love and care for as well. We deserve a safe learning and working environment where administration is not bullying the staff and students to the point of break. Thank you. Our next speaker is Oga. Sorry for the mis pronunciation. teacher school leadership at school 30. Good evening everyone. Um I am reading this on behalf of a colleague who left BPS school district. As a former BPS employee who used to be beyond proud to call BPS my district, I left the district after my experiences at school 30 left me unable to say that. This is a direct result of poor
091administration at Frank City. In education, we are told that one of the most important things is consistency. Consistency in expectations, responses, and consequences. No such consistency can be found with the administration at CODA. While at school 30, there were numerous instances where official ODR reports were written for violent acts, threats of violence, sexual remarks, and derogatory language from students referring to members of the LGBTQ plus community. In the vast majority of these instances, reports were brushed aside by administration. A student had their head bounced off the ground by two other students and the official Infinite Campus resolution was classroom managed. A teacher was shoved to the ground by a student. Classroom managed. A student flipped a desk then walked up to a teacher and security guard threatening to fight. Classroom managed. administration would never speak
092to the staff regarding reports and often the reports would only be marked as resolved days later if not over a week past the incident. However, there was one thing that was consistent. Anytime a student took an action towards administration, the response and consequence was swift. A student issued a teacher violent threat three days in a row with no admin admin response, but the next day was told told an administrator, "I will fight you." That student received a multi-day suspension within the hour. I personally documented at least four instances that followed the same pattern. BPS likes to say that it prides itself on best practices for social emotional learning. But when the teacher requested return conferences or sitdown meetings with students, we were all told conferences with students only need to be held if there was
093an out of school suspension. So, we don't we won't hold one. How can a district say that they care about fostering connections, about building community, about restorative practices when the leadership at 30 refuses to allow meetings with students because they deem them unnecessary? In one instance, students refer to a staff member multiple times using derogatory remarks, a derogatory slur for a clear person in both Spanish and English. Without speaking to the faculty member, the admin conducted an investigation and determined that no one heard the student say it in English. A few days later, three additional students were calling the teacher the same slur in front of a member of leadership, as well as many students, including some that are queer. The admin barely reacted, telling one of the students, to walk unaccompanied to the office.
094For some of these students, no restorative meetings were had despite the teacher requesting them multiple times. For the remainder of the year, these slurs increased in prevalence and there was never any response from administration. This sends the message to students that administrative administration will not support them or the teachers that devote their lives to educating them. More teachers will leave if this board does not change the leadership. I implore you to do so. Thank you. [Applause] >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Tony Blackman, substitute teacher. Is he here? Okay. Followed by Ed Spidel, parent regarding the parent concern. Hello Ed. >> Thanks. Before I start, I just want to um recognize that on December 1st at performing arts, we will be having uh the community meeting for school closures. So everybody 5:30, 7:30, come
095on out um and say your piece. Secondly, I'd like to um everybody know that McKinley plays in the Western Regional on Friday and Bennett plays in the Western Regional on Saturday. Please support our schools. We finally have a home game in the regionals. So, if you get a chance, go out with your family. Um, thirdly, on Saturday, South Park Alumni Association honored honored our last fallen hero. We had one left. We finally reached their family and we gave them the medal that their um grandfather and great-grandfather never received. Thank you, Terry Shuda, for that. Any other alumni associates? Uh, now to the real thing. One, I want to thank the teachers for having the courage to come forward because I know I've been here a long time. What the teachers are saying today, I've been
096saying for four plus years that we've had special ed problems in this district. I talked to a teacher recently that taught my son Edward at Homestead and he said because I won't give you his name said you know I told him I said I always knew my son would have less of an education than my daughter because he was in the autism program. She said Mr. Swedell it's way worse. They you don't have the autism kids in your son's class. You have the nic kids in your class. So, they have hurt my son's education by failing to place students in their proper class settings. I was a witness to a lot of what happened at 156 today with the student. And it's troubling because he's in the wrong placement. And I feel bad for the
097mom that was upset, the student, the principal. I'm a witness and I'm like, "This is awful. We have to do better." on the board docs 11E um par parent congress asked the question how many total students are going to be serviced by this roughly half a million dollars our answer is at the current time there are 10 to 15 students who might receive these services I'm telling you this isn't a band-aid this is a boo boo kiss don't approve this and come back with a better opportunity to service our kids 10 to 15 kids. There were 10 teachers here at least tonight and six last time. We don't even have enough kids to take care of the classrooms that we know about publicly in this setting. So, please please don't approve 11E. Thank you. [Applause]
098Our next speaker is Dre of Potty Burman parent transportation. >> Hi everybody. Um school definitely not happening to me enough. Um but that's that's crazy. But I'm here to voice out my concerns and frustration with first students and just pretty much the joke that they have going on with EPS public school transportation. Like I'm struggling enough as it is financially with this economy for now to figure out how to get gas and how to fit my daughter into our schedule of driving her to school because Now, it has come to a terms that it's literally a 50% chance that if the bus driver feels like picking her up, will he ignore her today? Will he even show up at all? And I'm just trying to open up this. It's just frustrating because there's been countless
099of times where I've had to drive her to school, voice out my concerns to the school, not only to find out that I'm number six in line or number seven in line and that there's other parents who are also dealing with the same issue. And to be honest, we all live in Buffalo. This is the nice weather for Buffalo. Buffalo gets ugly and fast. So these kids are literally sitting here right now in okay weather. What's going to happen when the temperature is below zero and our kids are sitting here like this waiting for that bus? Oh no, wait. Literally just waiting because sometimes they don't show up and to be told, "Oh, you're going to have to call and voice your concern or put a complaint." How many times do we do that in
100a ignore? How many times do we do that in first student? Oh, we will give to you or we will fit your child or we will we will but you don't. So now this is where I'm coming to you guys as saying this is now becoming a joke and I'm not just me but other parents are frustrated and we don't know what else to do to like show that this can't continue and I'm one of the few parents that is willing to come to work late so that my child goes to school because I literally based my move from a whole another state on Buffy. I literally will not leave Texas until I got my buffs poop. That's how bad I wanted my kids to go to that school. Some parents aren't blessed like me
101to have that drive. They will literally not take their kids to school because they don't have any other option. Literally public public transportation the first student is all we have sometimes. So, it's very frustrating to be taken as a joke because that's how I see it. Oh, your kid isn't important for us to pick up. Excuse me. It's important to these teachers and it certainly is important to us. So, yeah, I need you I need them there to pick these kids up so that we don't have to. Now, I'm going to tell you right now, my car is on its last leg and I just bought a piece for it yesterday. I don't want to be put in that situation of I'm me and my kids are literally going to have to take two to
102three buses just so we can take her to like school. And my bus like I would have to take three buses to take my daughter to school. My car takes four people, me, my husband, my son, and sometimes my mom to her job. So this is this is more than just oh we'll ignore there's kids that literally don't even get we see them on the bus app driving and literally ignoring the child like you know you're supposed to pick up my child. Yes. And they will literally go around and go straight to the school. That's even more insulting. That adds salt to the womb. I'm just coming to you guys, just letting you know that it's it's not just about what they say. It's more that's going on. And the fact that our school has
103to not just deal with me, but other parents. And to be told, you'll wait or give us a second and also be placed on hold is very frustrating. Thank you. Bus side Buffalo Signs. uh chosen. Thank you. >> Thank you for that. Our next speaker is Olga Rosa Hywitz parent. >> My name is Laura Han. Thank you for allowing me to speak in Olga's place. I am also the Buffsai parent experiencing issues with first student. How long would you wait for a ride before you give up? 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 40 minutes? That's how long some of our kids are waiting outside in all kinds of weather for a bus that may or may not come. On average, my daughter's bus is 15 minutes late. every day. Some days it's been 40 minutes late. That's
104a long time for a little girl to stand on the side of the road with rain pouring down, wind whipping sleep in your face. It is Buffalo in November. Um or the icy cold stillness that's coming with December and January. When these kids finally get to school, they find out they missed home room. They missed advisory and they even missed their first class. Then the report cards start coming home with their grades dipping. The teachers can excuse tardinesses and absences that weren't the students fault. But the knowledge that was missed can't be made up so easily. What will you say when a child ends up in the hospital with nasty frostbite? Or, god forbid, some kid gets in a creep's car because it's winter in Buffalo and they've been freezing outside for 30 minutes. If
105first student ever attends a meeting, I would say to them, "Shame on you for failing in your duty of care to our children, for breach of contract, and for lining the pockets of a 10 billion dollar company while failing to retain enough bus drivers to get this city's children to and from school safely and timely." To the school board, I ask three questions. How many times do you think a kid can arrive late to school with the board and the bus company not seeming to care before the kid also stops caring about their attendance? Why does the district continue contracting out to a company that clearly does not care about the safety and education of our children? And finally, what is your plan to get our children to and from school in a safe and
106timely manner? Thank you. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Aua Camu Paris, retired teacher, current teacher aid, and grandmother. How do we turn student attitudes around? Well, a lot of what I've heard is why I'm here. But I wanted to say to Riverside, over 30 years ago, I had two sons graduate from Riverside. It was an excellent school then, and I'm glad to see it back on its feet. One of them was the first African-American quarterback over there. He went on to get a degree in electrical engineer and work at Moog and Aerospace Technology, and the other son moves goods all across this country for the Navy Company. So they did very well coming out of that summer. Um it is um very difficult. A lot of things they've said about the school administration.
107You all know what school I'm at. I could say the same thing. But the problem that disturbs me most is that the behavior of the students are not being addressed. And I wanted to say this to the board. We have to stop moving students together because we have to break that. When a whole class stays together, the same students all the time. They learn to feed off of each other and continue to be disrupted in the classroom and it's unfair to the other student. We don't need to do that. You know, we need to go back to the system where students didn't remain together instead of them moving as a group together. It's not a good system, especially for students who don't get along well with other students and don't play well. We have students
108in these classrooms that could be excellent students, that could be on the honor role every marking period, and they're not because of those disruptors. And that's unfair to them. We have to do something about that where the students who want to achieve are in a classroom together to achieve and feed off of good behaviors and encouragement of doing excellence. That's not happening in these classrooms. The other thing I wanted to say was that um things changes have to be made in administration. They really do. And it seems that that's a problem that everybody seems to be talking about. I don't know how we straighten that out. I don't know. I know I'm at a school where even subs and stuff no longer want to come in and so they're making do with the staff that's
109there most of the time. I'm lucky that I'm a oneon-one with a student and I refuse to do any institution work, not doing it. But um it's it's it's really it's really beginning to wear on me to see so many good students not achieving the things they should achieve. And I know you all believe that students deserve all these the art, the music, the gym. But if you're a student that's destroying that for the rest of the students, maybe you shouldn't be in art, music, and gym because you talk all the time. You get up and you beat on the drums when you want to beat them. Even though the teacher tells you to sit down, you're on your computer. The teacher say, "We're not doing computers now. Please close them." And you just blatantly
110sit there with them open doing what you want to do. The behavior of students is time that parents become accountable for their students behavior. This F word and MF word and B word and all this stuff brings through our hallways there at that school. And it's sad. You know, I had a student say f you to me. I'm 77 years old. Be lucky that people were watching because I probably would have knocked the lights out. But um it's just that it's just sad, you know, and this should not be happening in our district. It really shouldn't. And we're going to have to find a way to resolve these issues so that it's not happening. I think you need to force parents to to agree to at least once a year come and sit in the
111classroom with their kids and see if there's any different because when the student said that to me, I said, "Okay, I'm gonna call your house and see if your mother if you talk like that in front of your mother." And I did that because I want to Do you tell your mother after you? You can tell your grandmother after you. You know, but this this is the language and we can no longer say it's because of movies, it's because of this, it's because of that. Every child knows when they're doing wrong. Especially if you're in the seventh or eighth grade, you know. Okay. So, we need to do something about this culture that has built up in our school that are allowing good kids not to move forward in the way that they should be
112moving forward. Thank you. Our next speaker is Jessica Gilbert Overland Concerned Citizen Good Food Purchasing Program. >> Hello. >> Hi everybody. Uh thanks so much for having us here tonight and for being here and your attention. Um I'm Jess Gilbert Overland. the director of the Good Food Buffalo Coalition and I just wanted to take some time tonight to introduce many of you to our work or to reintroduce some of you to our work. Uh the Good Food Buffalo Coalition is a coalition of organizations that spans uh Buffalo and Western New York more broadly. We have over 35 member organizations and over 60 individual supporters at this point, many of whom are in this room. Uh, and we're working to bring values-based public institutional food procurement to Buffalo public schools, which is basically a fancy way
113of saying that we spend over $13 million on food every year in Buffalo public schools. And a lot of that money flows out of state, flows to companies that perpetuate a race to the bottom in terms of labor practices, in terms of unhealthy food, in terms of e extracting um labor and treating our animals poorly. So, we are working to shift how we spend our food at a public level to align those dollars with our public values because those are our tax dollars and we want to make sure that those dollars are supporting our communities. So, we are working specifically to bring the good food purchasing program to Buffalo with a focus on Buffalo public schools because we want to see those dollars reinvested back into our communities more broadly, but specifically focused on our
114student health and well-being. This is a nationally proven program that has been implemented in over 60 different institutions across the country, many of them school districts, and has already shifted over 1 billion dollars to align with public values. It is also a natural extension of our farm-to-school program. Buffalo public schools is nationally renowned for the accomplishments of the food service department and the incredible work that they've done on and uh farm-to-school program. And this good food purchasing program expands that work to continue supporting our students and our communities throughout the food system, not just in schools, but especially in schools and moving beyond to make sure that all of our community members employed throughout the food system are supported. Much of our work recently has really been focused at the state level, which is why
115you haven't been seeing much of me lately because we've been working to shift state procurement law because right now state procurement law restricts how our public institutions purchase uh food. But hopefully this bill, the good food New York bill, it looks poised to pass this coming legislative s um session, which is really really exciting. We're hoping that Governor Hok will sign it into law, which means that we will be poised in Buffalo to capitalize on this really exciting opportunity to be one of the first areas to implement values-based food purchasing after this state law passes. So, all of this is to say that you will be hearing from me in the future. I will be reaching out to each of you to set up meetings and I hope that this is just the beginning of
116a really exciting conversation. And I'm perfectly on time. Thank you. I believe this is the last speaker for tonight. E Shippens, co-chair parent teacher organization, warning school security. Hi, I've been involved in BPS since 1977 as a student, parent, teacher, and as co-chair of the Buffalo Parent Teacher Organization. I'm here to talk about learning security at East High School. I first informed the board on 9:29 of this year and five additional times since. Our breakfast starts at 7:05, home room 7:30, first period at 7:36 when our normal security is absent. There's no other security that comes until after 7:30 and has come as late as 7:45. students are left outside and unattended. Our school has a high McKini dental population, so a lot of our students are food insecure and come to school on time
117just for breakfast. We have a lot of immigrant students who are 18, 19, and 20 years old and worry about ICE patrolling in the neighborhood. We have students standing outside who fought other students who are standing just a couple feet away. And of course, we have Buffalo weather. This is a liability for the school and the district. It also creates an unwelcoming environment. The adults in the building just stand around feeling helpless and we look like we don't care. It's an awful public image. It impacts safety, student morale, focus and attent and attendance and of course academic achievement. I've been assured that it's finally been resolved, but I've been assured of that a couple times this year. And this is an example of how issues are handled at BPS. New data is reported by teachers
118and staff or by students or parents and family. Data should be welcomed and the first step to problem solving. But instead, we get CYA and no accountability and the problem fers. The outcome is low morale in our students, in our families, in our staff. We have non-investment in the district and families turn to charter schools. I've heard the slogan said many times, student outcomes won't change until adult behaviors change. This needs to be turned back towards the district leadership and when data rises, take it seriously. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you, board president. Let me quickly respond to this was a lengthy public comment. U I know I'm not going to be able to touch on every single one of them, but first of all, I'll say this. Thank you to all of you that came
119out tonight. Uh that means really that you care about the district and you care about your children and we're going to do the best we we can at this point so that we'll be able to address those issues. Uh first one about special education uh thank you President uh for acknowledging uh the meetings that we had. uh we both agree that they're going to be some short-term solutions as well as a long-term short term and I want you to give us a chance with the proposal that we're bringing tonight and I know there were pretty much some kind of misinformation when it comes to half million dollars that we're just going to dump on the lap of this organization. um it's going to be based on the services that these folks will be able to
120offer to our students. So hopefully that's going to be a short-term solution. But what I will promise you and I'll say this to President as well this uh special ed uh education problem that we're facing we're going to bring everybody around the table. I mean the expert the teachers how to solve this. I heard a lot about identification placements. you're going to be around the table so that we we'll get it right this time. So that's my promise to you. But work with us as we putting this short-term solution in place uh for placement. When it comes to placement, it's not something that we can do mid year. They try to work to start putting a plan in place so that when we come back in September, we'll have a solution in place. And I
121I really want to work with you and work with us when it comes to our long-term plan. The second one is about school 30. I heard you loud and clear. This is the way I operate. I heard you. And I send a text to our new ASL, Dr. Thomas. Uh, I want to ask all the staff members, please stay still. We need you. Our babies need you as well. After spring break, no, I'm sorry. After Thanksgiving, I will I will come Oh, spring break. That's a long way. After Thanksgiving, probably the the following week, I will come to your school with ASL. I'm going to have a staff meeting. All of you going to stay. I hope we're not going to break the bank. Uh keeping all of you off to school. So, we're going
122to have a conversation. I want to hear from you. I want to hear from you. and I'm going to excuse your school administrators from that meeting. I just want to hear from you all from that point. I'll be able to know what's going to be the next steps. So, I'll be coming with Dr. Thomas. Please stay still. Don't leave the district. Don't leave the school. I'll come and engage you in a conversation. So as I'm going to listen to you, I'm also going to put on my hat as a principle and I'm going to listen to both sides and then we'll try to come up with a good compromised solutions how to move forward. Please take the off. Uh the next one about transportation what I can tell you I met with the manager of
123uh first student twice already. I'm not pleased with the service. Uh but all I can tell you at this point we have all the options on the table. see how we can move forward. The last one is high school. I had a good meeting with uh executive director Makabe and uh we had a conversation was through line with the principal as well. So we three of us agree that we have all the plans in place so that this particular event that happened students staying outside it won't happen again. uh executive director promised me that and the principal also knows what she need to do so that this will not happen. So thank you for bringing your concern and the boards been sending me emails as well. They are really concerned and we are trying to
124address this. Uh if any other com I mean uh comments that I was not able to respond uh I just want to let you know that uh my cabinet members are here. They're taking really not as well. Those are the issues that we'll be able to address during our cabinet meeting. Again, thank you [Applause] superintendent update. Thank you all for coming out tonight and expressing your concerns. We have a new superintendent in the house and he don't play. >> All right. for superintendent update. I know we have uh Chief Baticelli. She's ready to uh to go over the reports. I think we're going to pause a little bit to let our staff leave the room and uh get ready for our babies for tomorrow. So, let's give them a few more minutes as they're leaving
125the room. Yeah. Are you ready? >> Yes. >> Um, so I'm here tonight to talk about three of our goal, well, three of our goals. the interim for beginning of year data. So I'm going to start with interim goal 2.1. So 2.1 is the percent of economically disadvantaged grade three students who are proficient in ELA on the I Ready assessment will increase from 35% in June of 2025 to 44% in June of 2030. So we obviously that's an incremental uh goal over five years. We're going to look today at our beginning of year data um for this assessment. So grade three I ready economically disadvantaged students. So you can see we are starting at 16%. Um same as last year. Two years ago we were at 14% to begin the year. But you can see
126that we grew 30 from 30% two years ago to 35% last year. We intend to grow at least another 5% this year. So we're very hopeful that with the new math program in place, teachers have a year under their belt. They're much more comfortable. They've asked their questions. They've used the materials. Um they've received training. So they're more comfortable with the program. We expect to see large gains this year. Oh, I'm sorry. I went to my head is still with the speakers. I'm sorry. So for the reading goal, this is our third year of the reading program. Teachers are definitely more comfortable. We have also been working with Orton Gillingham. We've been bringing IMSE the vendor in to do coaching with teachers. So last year, you know, we tried it with about 10 schools and
127this year we've brought it to every other elementary school in the district. Some schools benefited so much from that particular coaching model that they actually brought in IMSSC with their own dollars from the school pot um because they felt that it was so impactful last year. So we continue to see growth with that particular program. We're very excited and we're also adding an emphasis to morphology which is sort of like part two of Wharton Gillingham. [Music] We've also had a very intense focus on step up to writing. If you were with us a few years back before COVID, you remember that we were very successful with our step up to writing initiative. We saw large gains on our state assessments, but because of COVID, some of that went by the wayside. So, we are bringing
128back training. Um, we are making sure that all teachers are trained in the stepup methodology. We're offering refresher training for those who haven't been through the training in a few years. And we're making sure that we're using our methods consistently across grade levels. We know that when students have that that foundation in the lower grades and they use the consistent strategies and consistent uh vocabulary and terminology with the students that we we see faster gains because they're building on what they've already established. So I continue to visit schools. I've hit multiple schools so far this year um using the coaching tool and the schools are also using the coaching tool to provide feedback to classroom staff and look for trends in their own data. The reading department is also going out to schools consistently to
129provide training and support. Um we have a new supervisor who will hopefully be going through the board tonight. So they'll be a staff of a director and a supervisor in the reading department because they've been down a staff member. Um we have been working on curriculum audits. So we take a look at every state assessment from previous year, look at trend data, analyze our own curriculum and make updates based on that data. And I know previously um it was requested that I speak about specific school strategies. So I'm going to save those for the end. But I did um talk to some schools just so you get a sampling of what they're doing. So I'm going to move to interimm goal 3.2. Thank you. So interim goal 3.2 is the percentage of economically disadvantaged grade
130three students who are proficient in math on the I already assessment. So this time I really will talk about math. Um that will increase from 21% in 2025 to 36% in June of 2030. So you can see we're at 4% to start the year. It's our second year of reveal implementation. So teachers are much more comfortable with the program. They are receiving teacherled intervention during RTI. teachers have and students have access to Alex which is a digital intervention as well as first in math which is a fluency intervention. Um our TOSAs are going out and providing support to schools. They have specific schools for which they are the leazison so schools know who to contact if they want the additional support and Dr. Morbena's goals um have really ignited a lot of the work happening
131in buildings. So again I'm going to talk about some of the strategies that they're implementing to meet those goals. We will also um see a large increase in participation this year in our math league. Um we talked it up a lot last year and now we have more schools on board. So thank you to board members who are always big advocates for that particular program um because we know that it will continue to impact the work. And again we are also doing curriculum audits with math data looking for trends and modifying curriculum. So goal 4.1 is the percentage of economically disadvantaged grade five students who are proficient in math on the I Ready assessment. We want that to increase from the 20% they achieved in June of 2025 to 31% in June of 2030. You
132can see that actually over the past two years there's been incremental gains in the beginning of year. So they were at 6% two years ago, then 7% and now they're beginning the year at 9% at this particular grade level. So again, it's we've been using um reveal for a year now. They're more comfortable. We have Alex in place. We have first in math in place. Our toes are going out. Some of this will look very similar. Even they're two different grade levels, but a lot of the same strategies. So I did reach out to some schools after we spoke and I thought I would give you some samples of the strategies they've put in place. They've been very energized um this year by the targets that they've set um the expectations that have been established
133for each school. So just a sampling from school three. They have a focus on staff collaboration and cohesive tier one instruction. They're using our district reflection protocols to help teachers focus on their lesson planning. They're conducting a schoolwide book study regarding co-eing and better models to implement in the classroom. And I can tell you I was there the other day and I witnessed the change in the co-eing that's taking place at school 3. Um in almost every situation that we encountered there was active teacherled small groupoup instruction. Both co-teers actively engaged in supporting students and that was part of their um plan this year. They're also using the coaching tool specifically looking for use of district materials with fidelity and differentiation in the classroom. They're using a lot of diagnostic and formula um formative data
134to group their students. They're emphasizing teacher planning in math and reading. They have a focus on academic vocabulary and I won't get into all the details but they're doing a lot of professional development and a lot of DDI to make sure the RTI placements are appropriate and the kids are accessing the appropriate vocabulary. They have instituted their own writing benchmark assessment so that they can track data aligned to the nice to slot rubric. So, they're making sure that their kids, so they have a lot of L's. They're making sure that their students are progressing um appropriately in their writing instruction. They've intentionally scheduled their dual language program um making sure that there is there are no gaps and they have something called an attendance communication team in place. That's just school three. School six has
135implemented targeted interventions throughout English and math classrooms. They have offered um a lot of professional development, especially through their literacy coach. They've developed weekly attendance incentives for the middle school. Um, kids are rewarded for having perfect attendance. They've established instructional initiatives which include data chats and goal setting so that students are cognizant of their own data and what they need to do to progress. They're conducting walkthroughs using the coaching tool and following up with support in the classrooms. Um, they have consistent fidelity to using the district instructional guides. School 50 has begun to administer their own benchmark assessments every six weeks aligned to standards. They've developed action plans to create that they use during vertical team meetings. The uh admin is going in looking for action planning steps to be seen within the lesson plans,
136classroom visits, and one-on-one meetings they hold with teachers. Every Monday, the math teachers meet to discuss planning, alignment, and strategies. They have learning checklists in place to track student progress. School 53 has been focusing on the building ratio strategy. Um they got to do data champions. They dis they're discussing and focusing on turn and talk in the classroom and think pair share strategies and they're focused on writing and increasing student engagement while building thinking skills through higher order questioning. School 64 is emphasizing small groupoup instruction and they use I Ready and Dibbles data to group students appropriately. They have focused on push in and pull out support to make sure they're utilizing all their staff. They've developed, excuse me, they've delivered a lot of professional development, including data literacy training, um, differentiated instruction and scaffolding,
137reading and math PD working with those departments, coaching cycles, and grade level teams and individual teachers have met with the IMSC coaches and the I Ready coaches as well to improve instruction. They actually gave me a couple pages of other things. I'm just going to skip ahead. Um, school 59 the principal's reading challenge. They honor the top three students per home room and top three per grade level who have been shown improvement on their lexia and or their first in math interventions. They're also emphasizing the higher order thinking question constructed response items that were provided by the district and teaching the students how to self assess using the twopoint rubrics from New York State. School 65 is emphasizing the criteria for success with their writing tasks and multi-step math problems. Students refer to the criteria
138to complete the task and they use the checklist to critique each other's work and then share um feedback with one another. At school 72, they have a full-scale data wall and a data card with historical information for every student across the grade levels. They are emphasizing um middle and end of year goals in addition to the grade level superintendent's goals. They've created common formative assessments. They're supplementing the SAS end of selection test with released items from the state assessment and they've implemented the brain's active reading and writing program which provides scaffolding at the grade level and it has the students working on short responses. Step up to writing is infused throughout. So that's just a sampling. Teachers uh schools are actually very excited to tell me the strategies that they're using um to try to
139improve and meet the students. Does he have any questions? >> Yes, ma'am. >> Thank you, Chief, for taking the time to share with us what other um schools are doing. Hopefully, the best practices will be shared and they will move forward. I want to focus in on the beginning of the year. And I'm thinking about previous years where in the summer packages were put together and sent home and in the beginning of the year uh first day or whatever of the school year the packages were collected and kids received incentives for completing the math and doing the reading and things. Did we do that last year at all? >> I don't believe so. Do you do you remember what I'm talking about? When >> we did that over breaks in the past. I don't know
140if you remember this. >> I remember um we did a big summer campaign and we gave it and the parents had it and they went to uh I remember specifically because the principles had incentives for the children to start the beginning of the year. Um and those that turned in their package was eligible for uh gifts and trinkets or whatever. The reason I'm saying that is that it just appears that because we're not doing anything for certain age groups that we are losing um or our children are not maintaining uh the learning during the summer and I sort of encourage you to go back to that practice. It was a very good practice Dr. Nanga. Um there were um math packages, there were you know reading packages. This was in addition to the the mayor's
141uh summer reading program. We even that year even talked about with the mayor trying to figure out a way to get uh math involved in his uh program. We never got that far with it, but to include that along with his reading program that I'm sure under the new um mayor it'll continue. And the reason I'm saying that is is that it would be nice to see literacy some improvement at the beginning of the year as a result of certain efforts because we recognize that we can only do a certain percentage of our students through the summer school programs that we have. And I just think that would be a great opportunity for our children. Um one of the goals that we our guard rails is that uh we should invest um not less than
14250% of the minutes each board meeting or that when the board meets to uh working the goals and I don't see how that can happen without uh the segregating additional data um the information that you provided for each school is it possible to show in the future how growth has occurred as a result of the of the things that they're implementing. In other words, you you know identified school 64 where they have their beginning of the year numbers and they did this this and this and this and then middle of the year they were able to achieve a certain percentage. It would be nice for the board to see that type of growth moving forward. Those are my suggestions um that we uh consider uh highlighting and working on the least of these the schools
143the children who are the least performing students of this group that we monitor beginning of the year, middle of the year and end of the year growth for the children who are under the radar. We understand that there are certain schools like 64 that uh uh you know excelled. So they pulled the scores up for the other schools, but we need to focus in if we're going to do this right. And this is what the training that I uh received when I attended the Council of Great City Schools um u student outcome focus. This is what I saw AJ do uh with a school and they literally had third graders that were not performing at a certain level and they monitored them to get them to where they need to be. And they did it
144strategically. And so as we're trying to move forward, we're always going to have the high performers. We're going to have the medium. We're going to have the very low. the high will pull up the low, but we need to make sure that the low get pulled up. So, I'm going to ask you in the future to consider uh looking at the low performers and making and and document how they're moving forward because that's the only way we're going to uh obtain um we're going to attain our goals in the long run and bring everyone along under equity. So that I want to thank you for this uh presentation. Um and um you know and moving forward I'm just glad to see that you know we're doing some sort of a monitoring for outcome but it
145need in order for the board to have more teeth in this they're going to have to dig deeper into this because there's not 50% more worth of information that you can get out of the court that's not >> you board member Scott. >> Thank you President Evan Trump. So just uh some context on the I read in test and putting on my school psychologist test. So when you for example at the end of fourth grade and you take the end of the year assessment you have learned all the material through fourth grade and you are expected to score higher on the I ready. Um then when you start fifth grade and you take that beginning of the year assessment you're being tested on fifth grade material that you have not yet learned. So there's always
146a drop that beginning of the year where they start and you see it in the nonconomically disadvantaged students as well. They start comments board members. Okay. Thank you Ann for your presentation. We look forward to the next monitoring session. >> Thank you. Can I get a motion to approve the board minutes from the September 17th and October 15th board meetings? [Music] Scott. Any oppose? All in favor? Thank you. All right, we're moving down to the consent agenda our uh borrowing units in the house that we may maybe we could move up uh that vote because do we have to do it independently or do we do it collectively? Is it is it part of the consent? It is. It's not pulled out. Okay. Because I'm feeling sorry for people that have been here a long
147time. >> Okay. So, here we are. Right. Okay. Can I get a motion to accept the consent agenda? >> Um, are there any questions or comments? Okay, so we have a comment. Uh, board member Shura and, uh, Dr. Mubanka and I have been discussing this uh throughout the last couple days. I am going to vote no to the pathways uh closure um as a matter of principle. Um I'm just really concerned. Uh I represent the park district and South Park High School uh continues to get um from the beginning of the year uh Dr. Mubanga and it is only November they've received 26 new seniors. Okay. 14 of those seniors are underredited and 10 of the student uh underredited below 11.5 credits. 10 of these students have between zero and 8.5 credits. Uh five of
148the students are from out of the country and are awarded five world language credits still needing other credits. Seven students are only out of the 26 are on track to graduate. So um 22 of those students out of the 26 uh need exams to graduate. Four students are on track with exams. So 26 um four out of 26 have their exams. And so when I'm asked to vote on something that been helpful. Um, without knowing what the plan is, I can't do it. I can't vote to say that I'm not sure what uh next year will bring in support of the only high school in the park district. and and my concern goes again to all the high schools uh that are receiving these high um um transfers in. And so I told Dr. Mubanga,
149I would not be voting for it until I see a a clear um um plan of what is going to be supporting uh these underredited uh seniors. We had conversations today with the developer of the program uh who is now a superintendent in another district and um we know that originally the program was designed to for seniors only. It had so many credits and I don't know where we lost that. I don't know how it turned into what it turned into. We have a real strong uh principal working hard there, Colleen Cunningham. But I think this uh the pathway situation kind of was the same as what we heard at Riverside. They had 11 principles in 22 years. And I believe we used um after Vale Kent retired, we used um pathways as a placeholder
150for principles we didn't know where we were going to put. And so I told Dr. Mubanga. I look forward to him calling me uh when I am retiring in a couple weeks, but he is going to call me when he has his plan and I'm sure it's going to be great. But on principle, I can't support taking something away unless I know there's something definitely in place. I'd like to uh comment on um the pathway program. Not too long ago, I did an analysis of the costs associated with the programs and I also talked with the community about my concern uh that um we were not necessarily meeting the needs of the children or our students through that program and that there was a great need for us to change that program. And I'm glad
151to see that Dr. Mubanga has recognizing that uh the cost if I remember right was we had gone from 2.5 to I think 1.5 and I think we had um uh reduced from 22 teachers to about 10.5 teachers we saved really about you're impressed aren't you Jim we saved about one one about you know we saved a million dollars this year but I am very confident that the uh superintendent along with his staff will be able to put together a plan that will meet the needs of our uh high schools as well as to make sure that that that population receives everything that they're entitled to and um I'm I'm looking forward to the change and so thank you for initiating that Dr. Manga. >> Thank you for that. So are there any questions or
152comments? So with respect to item 10B, the best contract, may I have a motion to amend the item to include a directive to the district to pay all best members a living wage to comply with a prior directive of the board in a 200 n resolution. Paul Woods, Anita Everheart. Second. Any opposed? Yes. That's contract. Um, it sounds any oppose? Any um All in favor? Any oppose? Motion passes and item 10B is amended. Oh, is that fast? Oh, okay. >> All right. Living wage. >> That's right. Adriana, you have a comment. >> Oh, um I mean I I did just want to know I mean I I we love our aid our teaching assistants. I mean, I I thought we we just want you to get what you're worth and um we're very proud to
153do this. All right. Any other comments about >> best? I I just want to say that uh to the members of the best union, we see you respect your hard work and we did pass a resolution. This board committed to living wage and we keep our commitments. We respect you and as you see it's a unanimous uh amendment and we want to thank the superintendent especially for hearing us. Can I just say one other thing too? I want to say to our um our teacher aids and teacher assistants that ditto what everyone else said but I really want them to understand one thing is that um when you are when you do great work you will be recognized. Okay. But to whom much is given much is required. And so our hope in doing this
154is not only to empower them you know financially but to encourage them to continue to be the professionals that they are and to step it up and do whatever they can and we we love them. Okay. Thank you. All right. With that, uh, council. Oh, motion to approve the consent agenda. I do. Okay. Um 11E Autism Learning Partners Behavior Analysis Services. I had some questions. Okay. I guess I'm wondering um the it's a little general kind of vague. So I just want to clarify a couple things. Uh if ABA is directly added to an IP, Medicaid can cover it then. Is that correct? >> No, we don't add it to it's a it's not a service. It's a methodology. The state does not recommend that we add that to my and it would not be
155reimburseable. They don't medic even if there was a formal evaluation is not something that you can claim through Medicaid. It's not something recognized in New York State as a claimable service. Is it for OPWD? Why I'm asking is I do know of a school where there are two ABA technicians that are there and they're pay they're there through the family and accompany the child in the building. >> Private insurance is that something we can look into like identify the children that have the most need? There are children in the district whose parents do go through private insurance for services, but that's separate from being able to get reimbursement from Medicaid. >> But is that a reasonable first step? Like identify the children, the students that would get the therapy and then have a conversation with
156the parents. My understanding was the only way ABA therapy is not billable is if the technician is not licensed. Are these licensed technicians? They're they're behavior technicians that would be coming into the schools. They're not licensed ABA therapists. They're supervised by licensed ABA therapists. Okay. And then I'm I'm looking at one of the answers from our small meeting. Um, there's just an example. Please note, all children will not require three hours of support. Some may need less and some may need more. If we're looking at the most severe cases, I'm wondering how we could think some children would require less than three hours of support. I would just like to know more about how it's going to be rolled out. like why not start with school six the 40,000 and then see how that's being
157implemented and then >> okay can you walk me through what this will look like we have 60 schools so how are we going to identify these 10 children >> 10 to 15 is what we >> we already have a number of students who have And then make sure that everything could be mindful about how much There's probably 10 to 12 students. >> Let me ask you this. Would one be the example that the teacher described today? >> Yes. >> 15 years old. >> Yes. >> Defecating on himself five times a day and punching people, putting it on the walls. Would he qualify? >> Yes. >> Thank you. Well, I I you know what? I did not know that. And and I and I guess from my perspective, this did not happen overnight. And when the
158Fox school closed, I was out at a restaurant one night and teachers got enough wine in them to come over and to tell me everything that they needed to tell me about not having enough supports and that's been a couple of years ago for me. This is certainly just a beginning. But I do not appreciate anytime paperwork comes or a request comes before this board and it does not have specifics. It does not have the details because this is saying that we're going to give $500,000. It doesn't say up to $500,000. It doesn't say we will do 250,000 and then we will assess if this is even working for our schools and I don't want to give teachers the false hope but it doesn't even say how the assessment is going to happen who's going
159to determine it and then to hear today that you have level ones level twos level threes all in a class okay and in addition to that okay we're also talking about behaviors and things that teachers teachers and aids and assistants have not been or teach principles have not even been trained to do for the most part. And so it's obvious to me that the needs of the children have developed or has escalated to the point where we need to look at doing some alternative educational settings for these children. That's how it is. Okay. Now, from my perspective, when I hear that something is not on an IEP or whatever, the first thing I think about is, do we need to start lobbying for legislation to move this to the next level? Because from what we're
160hearing from these teachers, okay? And I have one school that has six of these classrooms and and we've had all sorts of things that first of all, we are not prepared to handle these children. And I feel just like mother Aua said that there are children who come to learn. Uh DPCC parent Espedel also echoed it that there are children who have come to learn and cannot learn because of what's going on around them and they have rights too. I feel that way about the behavior as well as uh when children are misbehaving but I also feel that we are not meeting the need. So this right here for us to be approving this package without having additional uh paperwork we require from everyone who does large deals with us. We should have had been
161able to look at this and I don't want to see as I'm walking off the board leaving uh the in somewhat of a a pretty decent uh uh condition. Uh certainly better than when I received it. I don't want a situation where this board approves things without details attached to them. There's no reason why $500,000 was presented to this board and there is not additional support. You guys obviously evaluated it. Why wasn't that put in the package? Why weren't we allow I'm not asking it's rhetorical. I'm asking you because it's not in the package. In other words, according to what you gave us, uh you screened it and you came up. So, you had to have more paperwork than what was given to us. We cannot with $500,000 give someone a half a million dollars
162and not have a clear understanding of what we're approving. And that's what I'm really concerned about this particular program because I don't don't know how it's going to roll out, how it's going to be, but all I know is $500,000 is awarded to it. Okay? And that that makes me nervous. I would rather see 200 at 250 you reassess things and make sure that it's meeting the needs of our students. And I'm very concerned about this program. Originally, I wanted to uh um vote no, but I see the des the desperate need, but the bottom line is the children needs have escalated enough that we need to move to a a more fitting setting for these children. And that's the truth. And guess what? We talked about this since I've been on the board since
163211 that we needed to have alternative ed programs for these children. And now we're at the point where it things are out of control and they're spreaded out the district particularly if you'll note they're pretty much on the east side that that's uh that's my opinion and I'm going to stick to it. But thank you for that. But uh my concern anytime this board has a package and we are fiduciari. We are responsible for the money that comes through and for it not to be outlined so that a parent can open up this thing right here and say, "Oh, this is what will happen for my child because this is what the board approved and it's not in the package concerns me at this point." Really does. >> I have a concern as well. Um,
164I want to point out that uh I've been on the board for quite a while now. And when it comes to special education, there's always some sort of kind of, you know, we're going to figure it out this way or we're going to figure it out that way. And I realize that it's not a local thing. I encourage, as I lead this board, for not just one superintendent lobby day, I encourage the superintendent and I have this to him to bring the families multiple times a year to try and change the guidelines because what I'm seeing right here as well and I have a student a sophomore with NAP that because I'm a board member I'm quite sure they're going to make sure it's followed we're doing great but I also know of his friends
165who are in these classrooms that come up together and some of those folks who have really dire needs are not they're not being addressed and sometimes completely. So when I see something like this, I don't know if my concerns are the same, right? Because I see the desperation, but I also want to know is this the beginning of really doing some digging as to how bad this is because there's so many levels to what's happening with our students and we have a solution here, a solution here. This seems like a solution here as opposed to something that we can work from. So I I I'm again I'm going to take a step back because I I as I'm leaving the district, but I have three grandchildren coming up in this district and a son in
166this district and a teacher for a daughter in this district. So I need to know where this is going and I'm very ly about approving this as well. >> So this is just Oh, I'm sorry. Um I I want to say something about this because I've had this discussion with Miss Fchell and you've heard the students and the parents speak today and the teachers. They said we are in a crisis. The parents call me as a board member. When a child is out of control and they hurt another child, they call the board member. When I see that situation, I've committed that there to that parent their child will be safe. There will be an answer. What the teachers are saying to us, I don't have a training. I can't handle the autistic child, the
167behavioral situations. We need an short range immediate answer for some support to the teachers. The child needs a behavioral intervention to get them in the school in the school but out of that classroom so that teacher can function. those children will be safe. The parent who's calling me understands that yes, my baby can come back to school and not get hit. Now, is this the cure all, the end all? No. It is the shortterm immediate uh uh in answer to a crisis situation. When I spoke to Miss Bowelli, I said management says you must have a immediate short-term, you must have a short-term, an intermediate, and a long-term solution. And this half a million dollars, I don't approve anything without some details. That's why Miss Bachel came and said, "We know immediately we have 15
168children." And I said, "Quantify it. How many children? How long? Three months. How many hours? And what's the rate? There was a contract that's at school, one of my schools, best sex, the one I had a fit over. But, uh, it sales the rate. And she did that. She sent it 15 kids, three months. This rate for the intervention therapist and this rate for the supervisor. What I see and I think we need to understand is we don't have enough uh agencies with ABAs that they can send the kids to. We have to protect our children, give our staff some release, and give that child some kind of intervention. If you have an uh qualified ABA supervising five or six other people, then that multiplies the resources you have to immediately address this. This is
169just a start. Miss Vicelli, I think you should speak to that some of the other things that you're talking about that are intermediate range and then a longterm range because this is a problem that did not occur overnight, cannot be solved overnight, but dog on it. Uh she spelled out 25 children's the the number of hours, the rates, and it's up to at least 210,000. And the teachers here have clearly indicated to me that the magnitude of problem will probably exceed or use up the half a million. So I'm just saying I I do numbers. So, I'm saying we need to support something that stops what's going on, addresses immediately this situation, and let her build and let the the superintendent and the staff build intermediate and long range solutions because this problem is not
170going away. That's why I'm supporting that contract. My question is what what I'm hearing from each month from these teachers is that we have level ones and level threes. We have community based kids in classrooms with level three autism. Have we thought about putting kids appropriately with their peers? Because I've never heard like and and I've been around a while. We've all worked together, but ever since we started this mix of having kids, like when you hear that level three, it's not fair to those kids that are level one, nor is it fair to those kids that are level three. So, I'm just wondering, have we put any thought into maybe stepping back and seeing how we're placing these Um so actually part of the committee and BTF and BCSA will be working with us
171will address we have not previously had so many students with such prevalent needs especially in the autism. So this we've had some over time but not to the degree. So part of the work of that committee is to address. We want to sit down with the team there and really take a look. It's difficult sometimes because we may have started a room that's all levels and then because that's the only level two. So sometimes it's just the timing that is but we want to work with them to develop a plan to better address it. Part of the plan will also include TCI training because we recognize that we need to offer that So, we're considering having a team at every building that is trained in SCAP. It's a very time consuming process. If you're not
172familiar with it, I'm sorry, that would include some students. Um, so we recognize that they're going to have to be like the SST team, an administrator, the building, um, potentially security, other people who would be involved. So, there's a lot, but that takes quite a while. So, we want to work on this process. because you have to put in six days worth of training plus pass exams plus be continually certified and then on top of that we're looking at the inter agency. So we want to talk about finding a site in our district where we can house three to four classrooms with the higher intensity students with the additional supports the extra psychologist the extra social workers but again that is not something we can do immediately recognize that there's an immed So my another
173comment or question um we went from six to eight and I had asked previously and I never got data like how what is the difference between going from six to eight when it comes to these behaviors have we seen and you know the number of teachers that have been hurt I don't know the number of students that have been hurt because I don't know if we keep that data. Like did we make a mistake going from six to eight? I don't know. That's just like what I'm wondering because it's like when we went from six to eight, the district's on fire. And that's and I just when I hear these these stories I'm like I'm like baffled. And so that's that's where I'm at. Did we make the right decision six to eight? And my
174point is exactly like did we make the right decision? Is this 500,000 in this agency or this organization going to help us drill down to figure all that out? Because I feel like we have we're hitting every ball that's coming at us and we haven't really drilled down. If this organization is going to help us, like you said, we're realizing the need. So, we need them to help us build this. Are they going to be able to be um relied upon, I guess, to help us drill all the way down to where we're seeing every issue. We give them everything, including the decision we made to go from six to eight and have and they can kind of walk us through what to do. Is that what you're saying? Because that's my concern is like,
175is this organization going to help us go from 101 to figuring out where to go and how to get there? If they're just somebody like another and we're going to hit this ball, it's $500,000 of hitting the ball. That's my So again, I would say up to 500. Um, but this that's not the role of this particular organization. It's not to say that we couldn't also work different bring in that consulting service. That's not what this is for direct service to students. We want the people in the classroom supporting the kids. It's not to say that we're going to short change any other piece of the process. Um we've already been able to meet with the unions and they have really given us some great feedback, great meaning, a lot to work on. Um but
176very insightful. So we're going to continue meeting with them. other procedures that we'd like to see. But this particular contract is really for direct >> direct services to students. Dr. Minga, you if you know already indicated that the experts were here in the room tonight and those are the ones that he's going to speak to to help resolve this problem. They're the experts. 27 years. 26 years. You heard them. and they're the ones that need to be at the table to help resolve this. You know, I think somebody mentioned it earlier. We might have to get to a point that we have to have a specialized school. You know, a lot of lot of these um uh specialized camps and and programs uh for these children have closed. There are definitely fewer seats. >> And
177as public education, we have to take them. We're not equipped. And we have, you know, aids and teacher teaching assistants who aren't trained. They don't even know, you know, about working with these specialized um interventions and and and uh autism. They need training. They used to have skip training and all that. We got to go back to the basis because that's that's what worked in the folk schools in the other specialized programs that have closed down and they're at our doors right now. >> So, Skip is actually an older version of CC we're doing exactly. >> Okay. Thank you. So, any other comments on this? >> Yes, please. Uh I've heard a few of the unions mentioned as stakeholders and Dr. Manga and I'm wondering if um any families or parent groups like CPAC are
178at the table on this. >> We can certainly bring CC into the conversation. We initially started with the natural but to your point earlier many of the families are bringing in their own >> and then I'm wondering if you have the breakdown. Um so I know we have 125 a classroom. Okay. Do you know how many level three students we got? Not with us. in the the waiting list for some of those diagnosises. Families are waiting two and three years to get into some of the clinics and things that diagnose and determine levels. Obviously, we wouldn't be waiting that amount of time. We're evaluating the students and looking at how that autism is affecting them in school and how we can address it in school. But it is very different from medical diagnosis. said to
179be labeled autistic, but do you need a male female? And then my final question about this is um I saw with some other contracts the only students that can participate have to have signed permission from their parents. Now what if you go to the specific student we heard about and their parents said no we don't want ABA for them then what we certainly wouldn't have to give that service but um to date many of the students that we are looking at immediately providing services to parents are looking for additional services for their children certainly they always have a voice at the table it's their child but um we're trying address the needs of the parents who have been calling and saying like we need something more for our child. This is really direct one to
180one service for the kids with their most challenging needs. It's definitely changing. So, it's defin if you look at the stu um the students that are at like say the program at City Honors or performing arts 156 for the most part their behaviors are very different than the students we're getting now in kindergarten, first and second grade. The behaviors have gotten definitely more significant. The clientele is really changing. So it it's really at the younger grades, not all of it, but where we're experiencing most of the difficulty. Obviously, there's the case we talked about at 156, but it is really the younger grades right now where we are needing the most support. >> That was just an example. So I have Mr. Chair, I'd like to ask more questions. So we have we're spending $500,000.
181What is the benefit to the family? In other words, are they going to do some sort of because we didn't have the specs that was in the package of course. Are they going to do some sort of resources for um the parents? Are they going to do some sort of counseling? Are they going to be able to refer people? We didn't have anything in the package to know. And I am big on asking this question when we start doing large contracts. What's what is the community benefit? Are they going to have some sort of a a a training or something or some sort of We got a parent over here that started our autism month uh uh few years back. are what what are we going to what are they going to do in addition
182to us the $500,000? And that should be the question that we should be asking all of these vendors. And I'm f and in this package I want to put this in here while it's on my mind. I personally looked up many of these vendors to see how what type of resources they're doing for the community and saw that they are providing other communities with money and they're not providing Buffalo public schools who in many cases has been their primary benefactor in a lot of over the years with any resources. I think that's a shortfall that's happening in this district and I'm sorry to point the finger, but it it needs to start working. Our grant department should be in sync. If we're doing a contract with Johnson Control, for example, we need to find out
183what Johnson Control is doing in the communities that they're working in and ask for some grant money. That's a no-brainer for me. as we as we come back from California seeing Crompton having 100% of their programs financed by their community partners. Uh uh and we have we are not doing basic uh 101 asking the question what does this vendor bring to the table? What does this company offer for the community? How does Buffalo Public Schools get that money? So I'm I'm throwing that out. Lucky I'm on this side of the table. Okay. Um, as I said, I I support this as an immediate short-term uh sol u addressing an immediate crisis problem, but given that the magnitude of this problem may be a lot greater than these 15 children that you're pointing out. I want
184to go back to the question. Can the uh behavioral uh intervention therapy can it be built like OT PT behavioral intervention cannot be built? Now you said autistic behavioral intervention can't be built. Uh it is very important that when we look at the growth in the number of children who have autism who have emotional behavioral problems and the magnitude of the number of the children who may need actual intermediate services and long range services, we need to be able to find a way and and and in uh find a way to do third-party billing so that the school district is not overwhelmed with these costs so we can serve the children. Find a way to bill uh the insurance and the school district only have to pay a co-pay. That way we can serve more
185children without overwhelming the budget. Because when we did our analysis before on what areas were growing, the reason people cut down to 811 rather than 611 was because of staffing and that population expanding so greatly. So we have to have a way to receive revenues for these uh OTP pts in uh behavioral interventions whatever services we need to be able to build insurance and let them carry the weight because it this problem could be of a magnitude that will overwhelm our budget. That's just financing guys. >> We can certainly talk to Jim's team and legal about any options that are out there. This is Erie in Erie County, we actually hired an agency that came up with a third party billing mechanism through social services so that we shifted 60% of the cost off of
186Erie County. I was over the early intervention program. So, I'm saying we can look at it and make it happen because we have to have a long-term solution. >> We certainly have to do the research. just acknowledge that and we're going to work on that. >> Definitely because we don't want to lose our teachers neither. Um I heard through the great vine that a kindergarten special teacher walked up the room two weeks ago and never came back. So it is an immediate crisis as mentioned many times at this table. Any other comments? Yes. So, we work with Kenny Management. That's who we have the contract with that um helps us with Medicaid billing and we double check with them. And in New York State, it is not a claimable service. If I could if I
187could a second. This is new contract and new service. Whenever something like that happens, my revenue team will dig into it, look at every avenue for submission. >> Yes. Like, pardon. For example, working with Kim and her team and Rachel Nland from my office, we just recouped about we're estimating it be about $800,000 in additional Medicaid revenue to the charter school. Um, one other factor on this special ed, the state does give you extra waiting and extra foundation. When your sped enrollments increase, those children are counted as 1.41 in our enrollment counts for foundation aid. So, the state's not oblivious to the fact that uh educating and providing these services to these children is more expensive. But we're always anything new. We're always looking for additional. Okay, thank you ladies. Thank you for the additional
188information. Um council, oh I have a question on I just want a clarity on 17 I um I spoke to the principal at Middle Early College and he said that the two proposals he submitted was for three years. Um the service term on uh 17I is for uh uh um a year for 464,000. I think that date needs to be changed. He said that both of these are submitted for uh for three years. This says service date 9125 to 83026 464,230,000 the buff state for one year I think that's a uh date that's incorrect >> um I can go back and check it um >> well he told me before I came that these both of these were for three years 178 is set up three years okay and then this one is set up
189for a Okay. So, can I correct that please? >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> And that also covers five years uh in board members that includes after they graduate it also includes their final year for their associates degree is included in that dollar amount. Uh, I just wanted to follow up with 17 H&I. Uh, I think it's awesome. I love the idea of Middle Early College. Um, I did just want to make sure, you know, tomorrow or next week. Uh, I was just wondering how many credits um were earned over the past two semesters by our students. And then I was wondering if I could have the breakdown with the course credit, transportation, technology fee, other >> um I can get you that information. Um and then also with the documents that did provide, it
190did provide by course um our percentage and then pass rates and fail rates. Um and I can also work with OSA to get us the data concerning the number of credits earned for the last two semesters. And so in the past that was a standard uh report that was given to the board once a year uh to justify the spending of this money and not and so I really think as we start tightening our belts, we need to make sure that we look and make sure particularly in this new environment of accountability that we make sure that we are uh spending the money wisely and that we're getting our money's They are great programs. However, we need to make sure as in the past that they are not take starting a course, dropping the courses,
191okay, and not completing them, okay? So, we want to make sure not just for that, we want that across the board, okay? For the other schools that are also repaying. This is that was a standard report that came before the board when I started and it worked until I think 217. After that, we didn't see it anymore. But I have copies of what the report looks like and everything. So, it's important that we monitor the money that we're spending. Okay? It is very important and that the adults are held accountable and are holding the children accountable because this is a luxury to be able to go to school, get associates degree, and not have to borrow money to get it. Thanks. >> Thank you. >> Yes. Uh, can we clarify? You know, I I both
192my but my daughters went to middle college. My son is currently there and my my one daughter was elevator from that school. I say all that to say that there is isn't this a national consortium. This is a a school that um is across all 50 states as well. This is not just a Buffalo public school. This is an actual program that has been adopted in Buffalo. >> Yes. >> I'm not sure if we were chosen. I'm not sure how we ended up with this this fantastic school, but um I've heard it called a luxury program, a Cadillac program. One of our first disputes, myself and uh board member Cotman was over this program. And I just want to make sure that if there is a any funding streams or any reason for middle college
193to be here and the actual difference between this program and maybe Buffalo public school because of it being uh one of you know it's in every state. It's these are all things, you know, as a parent, it's almost like you get it in a book bag and you check it out. But so I'm really telling myself here, but I do know that it's not just a typical Buffalo public school and it's standards, regulations, guidelines, all of those things are all um they're not guided by us. They're guided by the school itself. And I just want to point that out that it is not um It is not like a city honors or or like another school like that. This is a school that follows a model of all other 50 states one model and they
194I don't know if they contribute financially. So I would love for all that to be part of that because that gets lost in translation especially when you're trying to like promote the school or talk about the school or whatever. It is not your typical program. So it can't be spread across the district in the same way because it follows the standards from every single state that it is in. So I just want to be correct in stating that and make that very clear. Thank you. >> Can I just share with the public this program started out of MST. It was a collegebound program and then it moved into uh its own building. So my sons went through the MST part and then it went into being its own standalone uh uh program and um I
195Middle Early College I'm very proud of Little Early College and the reason I said what I said about it being a luxury program is because we are paying handsomely for those students we pay for transportation we pay uh for them to go on a camp college campus and it is a luxury from the perspective that many of our students are taking college courses in their classrooms. Although MST I mean uh Middle Early College also has for their I think it's their 10th grade year the professors come to them. Okay. But they are allowed to go on campus in their uh junior and senior year. But keep in mind we hold seats in the building at Bennett for the seniors where we could expand the program at Bennett. So it is a program that is afforded
196more space, more opportunity than most students receive. And I'm very proud of Middle Early College and I'm proud of my principles and I'm proud of the work that Sy has done and I'm proud of the fact that it's in the fair district as well. Thank you. And real quick, how about um with any um data, can we have an idea of how many kids have gone on to receive their associates? That's got to be So, um I think I emailed you a data sheet that showed the number of students that went on to get their associates. Uh there were some students right now that are metriculated into that program. Okay. >> And we're waiting to see how many other verified number concerning this past graduating class provided that by cohort. >> Okay. Great. Thanks. Thank
197you. All right. Where am I? >> Motion to approve the consent agenda. >> Makusi, sorry. Uh Uh council >> call the motion to approve the consent agenda with the amended item 10B. Uh how do you vote? Uh board member bel anyction. board member ever. >> Board member Makosi, board member Shuda. Vice President. >> No exceptions. >> Board member Woods. >> Board member Zulich >> and President Evans Brown. >> No exceptions. committee reports. Um, I think it it should be us to talk about our egg um distinction that we received in Arizona about a week ago. wasn't about a week ago. You want to briefly just talk about what happened and we got our plaques. didn't bring the plaque. But um other which I didn't know this um that Wad is in schools locally besides Buffalo
198uh Lockport City Schools as well as [Music] Salam. Yeah, it was quite a few. We we were there in Arizona um for this conference and it was really awesome to um participate you know in the conference from folks across the country. As a Matter of fact, there was a woman from Bermuda who came to analyze and assess um the Waz um concept so that they can bring it to you know their um country. Um so some of the similar roles that we have in Buffalo Trust they are across this country when we talk about attendance um suspension and everything but you know districts are looking for initiatives like WAD to um engage children and uh retain them and increase our graduation rates etc etc. So it's doing what it's supposed to do. So, um, with
199that, we don't have our plaques, but we have beautiful plaques and pictures and so forth. You briefly want to just sum it all up. >> Sure. Sure. Thank you for the opportunity. Um, we visited Arizona at the Scottsdale um, resort from um, November is it 12th? Sorry, 8 through the 12th. And during that time, we participated in various workshops. and one of our own Max Grundy um presented in on behalf of the Buffalo public schools and he showed some great data that showed in the at the middle school level how attendance increased and also their grades in certain areas due to Wazette and that was really great to see. We also were able to uh collaborate with other uh individuals from all over the country and we took away some great ideas that they had
200as well. During that time they had an induction of about 20 schools at different um pathway levels and Buffalo was awarded the highest level um the only school in the country to receive that distinction and that's where the plaques we were awarded the plaques and the certificates and we were able to take with us um I think about five people we had of course our two board members um Mrs. Belton Cotman and of course our president Kathy Evans Brown our superintendent Dr. Reena Max Grundy also another teacher which was Ray Ferrell and one of our principles uh Miss Shannon Morland. So we we had a great time just collaborating with each other um working together, learning about new kits, learning about the kits that we of course are experiencing and using right now with our
201children and just um coming together as a team to put our heads together to work on these kits and to see what the children experience as they work on them. So it was a very successful conference and thank you all for for supporting it and thank you for attending and thank you for your support with this program because it's a great opportunity for our children of course the opportunity to work in STEM projects and to further their pathway and of course be prepared for jobs that in the future which are STEM related. So thank you. >> Thank you for >> I just like to put my two cents and um we we had a speaker today to come and say that it was a waste of money or the money shouldn't have been spent. I'm
202offended by that from the perspective that the majority of our finan uh aid um uh a large percentage of it goes to uh the cover staff. This is one thing that has been very successful in the suburban schools. You have one district Lockport who has written a whole curriculum around their children and they're walking away with certifications um uh in drones in cyber security. You have Tanowanda that has built a workspace um in their schools and they have incorporated uh Tanawanda is probably six years old. I think Lockport is the oldest one coming in at probably about 10 or 12 years old. uh somewhere around in there and the what they share and the potential that this program has to move our children to the next level. We have one principal uh at school 48
203who has five days uh wed included in her curriculum for five days. She doesn't have a bunch of behavior problems. She doesn't have uh absenteeism issues. her children are can't speak English, but they can say words like latitude and longitude and things like that. So, for those who don't think our children are worthy of of of having a state-of-the-art program, shame on you. Okay? And as we continue to grow that program uh because we've uh completed the three cycles of it at this point we just need some receivables unless additional things come about. We are uh under the new leadership of Dr. uh Mubanga uh who has uh given the charge to the principles that wedded is not optional contrary to what you might think that we've spent a lot of money and we're going
204to make sure that that program works. These are the jobs for our children in the future. Period. The end. We will see our children at the medical corridor as a result of this. we will see them go into the stems and m uh steam and anyone who denies our children opportunity, you're going to have to deal with me and Pette because we're coming back and we have a whole community behind us and we're going to make sure our children get what the suburban children are getting that's very natural to them. Whether you think Buffalo Public Schools is worth it or not, in our eyesight, they're worth every penny that we spend because guess what? The lion share does not go to them in their classrooms. Thank you. >> Well, thank you for that. Unfinished business.
205U we have a resolution We have a resolution that I will read that was submitted by Superintendent Pascal Minga, PhD. Subject closure of pathways. >> Okay. All right. Sorry, like the kids say, my bad. All right. And so We have uh please stand. All right. For our bereavements, October 12th, John, retired teacher, Buffalo public schools, October 14th. Junior, a beloved kindergarten student at Harvey Austin School. October 16th, Ivon Luchi, wife of Michael Luchi, retired associate audit auditor, mother of Michael Luchi, Junior from computer support technician and mother-in-law of Amanda Luchi, teacher at school. October 30th, Pauluza, husband of a retired teacher from Lafayette. October 31st, Hannah Au, mother of Friday Au, a history teacher at Emerson Emerson School of Hospitality. October 25th, Providentia Fernandez, grandmother of John Prius, director of multi-ingual education. October as well,
206Manuel Father John Prius, director of multilingual education. November Juan Antonio Ortiz, brother of Maria Rosario Kala, principal of Herman Bedillo. November 3rd, Daniel Kelly, father of Aaron Deir, social worker at um Dr. Antonio Community School of Excellence. November 4th, Dolores me, grandmother of Christopher Elisco, a teacher at McKinley High School. November 8th, William Bender, retired teacher with the Buffalo Public Schools. November 11th, Douglas Dyke, brother of Don Miller, a prek teacher at Academy. November 2025, Dr. T. Anthony Broner, Bishop of Elim fellowship. Dr. Broner was a prominent and respected voice transforming communities, building bridges of reconciliation, connecting families. Dr. Broner was highly Dr. Bronner was highly regarded amongst his over 2,000. >> I have one um that we shouldn't get. Um, Janette Lopez, the 44 yearear-old mother of Justice, uh, who's a a senior Buffalo
207culinary bishop and Angel who are students at school 31. >> Thank you everyone. >> May I have a motion to adjourn? Okay, Zulit.