001Welcome everyone. Uh, as you may have guessed, I'm not Andrew. He's running a little late. So, as vice chair, I will we'll start the meeting off and I'll turn it over to Andrew when when he's able to make it. All right. Uh, so let's uh start with our celebration of excellence. So, we have quite a long list of celebrations tonight and we will be going a little out of order because some of our recipients are at a baseball game right now. So when they come in, we'll have them come back so that they don't miss us talking about them. All right. So our first is the Rockville VOAG graduating senior recognition. Okay. Yes. My name is Larry Peas from Bolton along with Brian Pigarella. We represent uh the consulting committee of the agricultural school science
002and technology not bo anymore. They changed the name. Okay. So it's Rockville Agricultural Science and Technology. Okay. We have right now a teacher with us tonight and she'll represent us teaching. I mean that one we have a student here to present to the board of education on the program. I do. Hi everyone. Thank you so much for um having us here. So I'm Leam Makco. I'm from Rockville High School but more importantly the Rockville um as program or agricultural and science technology. So, we're an agricultural education program and we're regional. So, we pull students from all the surrounding towns. And one of the things we love to do this time of year is celebrate our graduating seniors. And so, we have the seniors go to their town that they're from that sends them to Rockville
003to kind of talk a little about the program, what they've gotten out of it. Um, and really quick before I have my wonderful student talk, just if you've never heard of an A program before, we basically teach animal science, plant science, natural resources, mechanics, but we also teach leadership skills, um, job interview, resume building, public speaking, all of those important things. So, we're really proud that our students are very well-rounded when they leave the program. But now, turn it over to Devon to just talk a little bit about their time in the program. Thank you. Okay. My name is Devin Belnap. I'm a senior at Rockville High School and I would like to thank you guys for inviting me here to give me this opportunity to speak in front of you all. Uh there's a
004lot to look back at my time throughout the Rockville A program, but starting off at my freshman year, I joined an aquaculture CDE team. Now CDE stands for career development event. This is something you participate in outside of school. Throughout our weekly meetings, I learned a lot about aquaculture and we compete in the state against other local schools. Um, I got third place, my team got third place my freshman year and then we got second place my sophomore year. So, these early accomplishments really give me something to put on my resume even if it's just as a placeholder for the time being. Um, similarly to that, leadership is a class we have to take. uh as a sophomore is required at ACT at at in the ACT program. Um this is a course I honestly
005think should be in every high school around the country. We learn uh well we spend we take a deep dive into adult and life skills for at least a semester besides all the agriculture stuff we learn. Uh this class gives every student the opportunities and resources to build a resume and a cover letter. I think we spent about like a month just on that specifically to make sure every student had, you know, something to be proud of and something to show off. Um, and then in every agriculture class I take in every course, we research extensively on careers in the field. So, we are very well set up for different careers we'd like to go into and exactly how to do that as well. Um, am I allowed to look at whatever? Oh god, I'm
006trying to remember as best as I could. Okay. So, in the Rockwell Egg program, it has been essential to me and who I am as a person. Um, without the agriculture program, I wouldn't have the jobs I' I have now, the friends I've made, and the experiences I've gained. Um, I've got to try a little bit of everything from welding to training a fish to go through a hoop on command. It's uh very interesting, very fun, and yeah, I already have several college credits ready for me when I'm at that point. It has set me up for the future. I feel far more prepared than my non-aggriculture peers at Rockville High School. The program really pushes uh us ads to be the best version of ourselves and do the best we can in our courses.
007And I am very grateful for my four years at the program. And I'm very grateful for all of you and for Bolton for giving me the opportunity to go to Rockville and experience the experiences I've had in shape me into a well-rounded adult. So, thank you. Thank you. All right, our next award or our first award is actually the DAR, the Daughters of the American Revolution Youth Leadership Medal. And this may be awarded to a boy or girl in grades 5 to 11 who in the judgment of the school or student body best exemplifies the qualities of honor, service, courage, leadership, and patriotism. So the award is going to Lena Lane. Lena here. Want to stand up? You don't have to. We would love to see you. Lena is a phenomenal student in and out
008of the classroom. When it comes to the qualities and traits of a terrific student, Lena goes above and beyond. In terms of historical interest, Lena is very interested in US history and loves discussing, learning, and engaging with the content in your classes. During class discussions, Lena leads by example and brings forth new ideas and questions that expand the discussion and concepts that are being presented. Lena also recently attended the middle school trip to Washington DC. Was fun, wasn't it? We had a great time. There she was attentive and engaged in multiple aspects of American history, including the visit to the Capitol building and the National Museums of American History and African-American History and Culture. She participated fully in interactive exhibits, including those related to sitins and protests during the civil rights movement. She's an ideal
009candidate for this medal with a quiet, confident, consistent attention to learning. Not only this, Molina also has leadership skills when it comes to working with others, whether that be a project or simple source analysis task in class. She is very comfortable with expressing her own ideas within these groups and helping organize peers to produce the best work possible. Overall, Lena is well deserving of the DAR Youth Leadership Medal and will continue to have a major impact in our school and local communities. Congratulations for you. Sat down. Yeah, congratulations. Next, we have the BCS Cast Scholar Leader Awards. And the first goes to Ariana Smith. Want to stand up? The eighth grade team proudly nominates Ariana Smith as a recipient of the 2024 2025 CAS Scholar Leader Award. Ariana is a dedicated student who consistently puts
010forth her best effort and her hard work is reflected in her academic achievements. In the classroom, she is known for her positive attitude and determination to succeed, qualities that are appreciated by both her teachers and her peers. Beyond academics, Ariana is actively involved in the art club and student council. This fall, she played an integral role in organizing the school's food drive, demonstrating her commitment to giving back to the community in meaningful and positive ways. The eighth grade team knows that great things are in store for this bright young woman. Ariana's teachers are proud to nominate her for this award. The next award goes to it's another cast scholar leader to Thomas Wand McFarland. I understand he's not here tonight, but we'll still read all about him. When looking at the characteristics of a community
011leader, scholar, and role model, Thomas goes above and beyond what a normal student should do in their day. From the classroom to the sports field, Thomas is diligent in his work and performance. This year, Thomas has taken on the task to play soccer at several different clubs, as well as getting involved with the US youth national team to complete camps for them to play one day at the highest possible level. This dedication and time spent to sports corresponds directly with his schoolwork. Whenever Thomas is out of school to attend one of these sporting events, he never asks to cut corners with his work. He is a student that buckles down and completes everything without taking shortcuts. This work ethic showed a tremendous passion not only in his interests in sports but to also understand the
012importance of education and how it will shape the future of his life. By showing these positive actions in everyday life, Thomas has a direct influence on his peers on what an exemplary student should look like. We are proud to have Thomas as our eighth grade Boland Center School Scholar Leader Award recipient. Hey Next, we have a little write up about the Heer International fundraiser that took place at the Pol Center School. The BCS student council makes a positive impact on the school community throughout spirit days, being helpers in elementary classrooms, providing all students with surprise holiday giveaways and hosting two middle school dances during the year. They also make a positive impact on the Bolton community through two food drives for the Bolton Senior Center held in November and May. Lastly, they strive to make
013a positive worldwide impact on the Heer International fundraiser. On April 11th, the BCS community participated in a PJ and stuffed animal day for Heer International. The student council asked for a $1 donation to participate in this day. BCS raised $547, which meant they could donate the following animals whose sustainable food source or economic impact can help a family in need. The final location of where the animals get sent is determined in June and we'll get a letter updating us on where the animals were sent. So, they were able to provide six flocks of chickens whose eggs provide a nutritious food source. Two hives of honeybees whose honey can provide a nutritious food source. Two goats whose milk can be used to make cheese or butter. One sheep whose bull can be woven to make warm
014clothing. The fundraiser was a huge success and we greatly appreciate the support of the BCS community. Thank you. We're going to hold off on a couple of things right now going on to retiring, right? All right. So, we will come back to the rest of the student awards when our students come in from their athletic events, but we will move on to honor some of our staff who are retiring at the end of this school year. So, the first Randy Cornaglia, she's not here today, but we did um Mr. Gard and Miss Keller and I went over went around and and read her little speech to her and present her with the flowers from the board. So, she's not able to be here and but at least she got to participate in a little celebration.
015So I will read after nearly three decades of extraordinary service at Bolton Center school Randy Cornaglia is retiring leaving behind a legacy that has trans transformed both technology in the classroom and the lives of students and staff. Randy began her career in 1986 as a fourth grade teacher in South Windsor before moving to the private sector where she worked as a computer courseware designer and program manager. Her passion for teaching brought her back to education in 1997 when she joined BCS as a math and computer teacher. At that time, BCS had a single lab of Apple 2 computers and no technology plan. From those early days, Randy helped lead the school's evolution into a tech forward institution. She helped draft the district's first technology plan, created professional development workshops, and wrote the original K8 computer
016curriculum foundations still visible in today's program. As a computer resource teacher, she brought energy and innovation to every grade level. She championed Bolton's first mobile lab and introduced coding long before it was common, adopting tools like Scratch and the Hour of Code to inspire creativity and problem solving. Ever the lifelong learner, she often grew her instruction by learning directly from her students. Her impact extended beyond the computer lab. When asked to lead the K5 math MTSS program, she embraced the challenge despite not having taught math in years. Under her leadership, the program grew from a computeronly model to one built on relationships, confidence, and individual growth. Through decades of rapid change from Apple 2's to Google Workspace, Randy remained visionary and compassionate teacher, ensuring students had the digital literacy skills needed for the future. Beyond
017BCS, she is a proud mother to two sons, Ryan and Jared, and a devoted dog mom to her rescue pup, Gizmo. A seasoned traveler, her journeys have taken her to China, Kenya, Ecuador, Iceland, and beyond. And through it all, she remains a passionate supporter, sorry, of the Philadelphia Eagles. As she embarks on this next chapter, we celebrate Miss Krenaglia for her contributions to the BCS school community. Congratulations on your welldeserved retirement. Next, we will be honoring Donna Fischer. I know Donna's here. Want to stand up? Tonight, we recognize sixth and seventh grade social studies teacher Donna Fischer as she steps into a well-earned retirement after serving the students of Bolton for the last 11 years. While we celebrate this next chapter, we also reflect with gratitude on a career that has touched the hearts and
018minds of so many. After years in other nearby districts and that taking time to raise her three children, when Donna came to BCS, she served as a long-term substitute and classroom teacher at several different grade levels, kindergarten, second, fourth, and fifth, and most recently as a social studies and geography teacher to the sixth and seventh graders at Bolton Center School. Passionate about both teaching and learning from our youth. This position has allowed her the opportunity to share discussions about people, places, and circumstances that make us all unique and valuable. These experiences extend beyond the classroom to events Donna spearheaded like the powerful portrayal of America's white table at our Veterans Day assembly and the making of how is it. Thank you. I did look them up, so I kind of have an idea what they
019are. After school to celebrate the Mexican tradition during carnival. See, my cheat note didn't help me there, did it? Mrs. Fischer is a consmate professional who takes pride in not only her lesson, but the relationships that she has built with her students and colleagues. At the start of this year, she even created a who's who slideshow with pictures that included every employee so that we could all get to know each other better. Her dedication to the success of Bolton skills, willingness to tackle any challenge, and humble leadership will truly be missed. We wish her many adventures in the years to come. Congratulations, Donna. Thanks. Right. That concludes. Oh, we have a couple more. Oh, well, sorry. Getting ahead of myself. All right. Next, we are um honoring Doris Me, who has been a paraprofessional in
020our district for over two decades. Doris has done everything asked of her and more. She has dedicated herself wholeheartedly to every task with unwavering commitment. She worked diligently with great attention to detail, kindness, love, and compassion for her students. Doris went above and beyond for her students and the program she supported. She has been an amazing co-worker and support for her students. As she enters retirement, Doris should carry with her the profound love, respect, and gratitude of all who have had the privilege to work alongside her. She will be deeply missed, but we know she has made connections that will last for years to come. Nana couldn't be here, but we wish her well. We did go to deliver her flowers today and unfortunately missed her. So, we'll try again tomorrow. So, congratulations. One more.
021All right. And last, but certainly not least, we have a retired message for our superintendent Kristen Heat. After more than 30 years of dedicated service to the field of education, we honor the retirement of Superintendent Kristen He. Her impact has left an indelible mark on students, educators, and communities alike, and it is with great deep gratitude and admiration that we recognize her tonight. Over the course of her remarkable career, Kristen has exemplified what it means to lead with vision, integrity, and compassion. From her early days in the classroom to her time at the helm of district leadership, she has consistently championed excellence in education and put students at the heart of every decision. As superintendent of Bolton public schools, Kristen has guided the district through times of growth, challenge, and transformation transformation. Under her leadership,
022Bolton's first strategic plan was developed, a lasting framework that continues to guide the district today. She was a passionate advocate for both students and teachers, always seeking to create an environment where every learner could thrive. Her contributions are too many to count, but to name just a few, Kristen was instrumental in key improvements at Fulton Center School, from upgrades in the gym and parking lot to implementing one-to-one Chromebook initiatives and enhancing classroom sound systems. She also prioritized staffing district-wide, ensuring that ensuring that instructional coaches and essential staff were in place to meet the diverse needs of all students. But above the accomplishments and initiatives, what truly sets Kristen apart is her genuine care for people. She understood that schools are not just places of learning, their communities. She believed every child deserved to be to
023feel seen, supported, and empowered. And she modeled this belief every day. Kristen greeted every staff member, attended countless assemblies, and took a personal interest in the lives of those around her. She showed us that Bolton is more than just a school district. It's a family. On a personal note, I've had the privilege of working alongside Kristen for the past 12 years. She's been a friend, a confidant, a tr teacher in the truest sense. No matter how busy she was, she always made time both personally and professionally. Kristen is one of the most caring individuals I have ever met, and her kindness has made a lasting impression. As she steps into retirement, we thank Superintendent Heck for her unwavering commitment, tireless work, and the legacy she leaves behind. She reminded us to always do what is
024right and what is best for students. While she may be closing this chapter, the impact of her work will be felt for generations to come. Kristen, we wish you all the best in this new season of life. May it be filled with rest, joy, health, and the well- earned company of family and loved ones. Thank you for everything. Thank you very much. If I could just say a couple of things while I cry through it, I'd appreciate that. Is that okay? Thanks. So, first I'd like to offer my congratulations to Randy, Donna, and Doris for your dedicated service to students. It's been an honor to serve with you. Um, it has been one of the greatest honors of my career to serve as Bolton Superintendent of Schools for the last 12 plus years and to
025have been an educator for the last 35 years. I feel truly blessed to work with such amazing educators and support staff who always focus on what is right and best for kids. I've also been very fortunate over the years to partner with such dedicated board of education members, parents, public officials, the community, and above all else, our students. Bolton Public Schools truly is an amazing place to work and has always felt like part of my family. Thank you all very much. Now we're done. All right. Thank you, Miss Gold Snider. I saw Andrew, but is he's not ready yet to take over. So, uh, normally at this time, Andrew would let those of you who don't need to be here for the rest of the meeting, uh, to go. If you wish to do so,
026you of course welcome to stay through the rest of the meeting. Yes, we're we're going. Yes, there are some that we will return to when they are back from their sporting events. Thank you all everyone who came tonight. There's Andrew. Let Andrew take over and move the meeting for I was just like, I'm not make you think that about standing up, but that does. Hello. Sorry, I had traffic. Um that was the end of the celebration of excellence I presume. Oh when the when the students come in from their they're playing baseball. Okay. So we're going to move on to comments from the audiences or anyone out there would like to make a comment from the audience this evening. Eight. Um we don't have additions to the agenda, do we? Or do we? No. All
027right. On to routine business and the approval of minutes. We have a motion to approve the minutes of the April 9th, 2025 auto business meeting. I'll make a motion. The minutes. Thank you. Uh, anyone want to make questions, comments, or edits on these minutes? All those in favor of the motion, please say I. I. Anyone opposed or abstaining? That passes. And on to board of ed committee reports and curriculum. Curriculum was going to have a meeting, but we canled it due to everything being covered at our last meeting, but no new courses to bring forward going into the summer. So, uh, finance So, the finance committee met yesterday. Um, you know, given where we are with the budget cycle, there's lots to talk about. So, it's pretty substantive meeting. Um, from a transfer standpoint, um,
028in the packet, there is a number of transfers, you know, to go through. At this time of the year, there's usually a number of transfers just because we're kind of shoring up the budgets and moving the last, you know, amount of funds around. Um, I won't go through every single one, but I'll pull out some of the more significant ones, unless we have to go through everyone. We'll go through. So, we had a 34 or $43.38 transfer from Psych um and SLP test to special education general testing supplies. Then, we had a reclass of $11 to purchase additional world language supplies. We had a reclass to transfer $500 in special education instructional supply from BHS to DCS for supplies. And then we had a reclass um to cover PE softball unit supplies of $640 from
029um two two loud lines to instructional supplies. We had uh a reclass of $1,438 to purchase library books um from DCS online subscription services and dues and fees to library books. We had a transfer from site testing to general testing supplies of $16 from DHS to BCS for tests. Um we had a free class of $1,214 to purchase math supplies and that was from online subscription services to instructional supplies. We had a $366 uh reflass to purchase science supplies from BCS periodicals to BCS instructional supplies. Uh we had um a purchase of ELA supplies of $191.66 um from a couple different areas to instructional supplies. Very long. there with a $2,293 um transfer to purchase building administration supplies and replacement items for year-end needs and activities um you know as tables and replacement you know
030spare phones and ongoing replacement uh for bandwidth equipment that's no longer legal for FCC from BHS tests to other supplies um there was a $4,054 transfer to cover year-end events and supplies for from professional development to central office related services um $24 $4 um transfer to cover V Vista print order border. Um a more significant one um for $2,149 um from curriculum and program improvement to systems to cover school messenger um for the 71 to 63025 period while we're transitioning to smart sites. Um and so the overlap in services provides a smooth transition without inception. a $361 uh reflass um to purchase coffee and bagels for staff appreciation on May 8th from general supplies for classrooms to food, a $344 um transfer to cover clean harbor chemical removal shortfall due to inflation um from instructional
031supplies and dues and fees to professional services. $26 increase for health and PE. And then we have two larger ones which we had approved last meeting. Um, so ahead of anything greater than 10,000 that must be pre-approved and then the transfer happens. So there was a three 33,745 um dollar transfer from salaries and operations um to cover the remaining shade replacement at BCS um that we approved last month. And then you'll see the significant $63,000 um transfer from salaries to instructional technology equipment to cover the projected amount for the 84 desktops and uh 20 monitors that we had approved last meeting. And then also on that topic, um there was an 1,853 transfer um from various technology supplies and and repairs um to cover the excess amounts for the internet computers um for for that
032purchase. Thank you. Could we have a motion, please, to approve the April transfers? I'll move. Second. Anyone have any questions or comments about any of these? Ashley um is there any detail on the 454 reflass it just professional development central office related I guess I don't I do not have I'm not sure what is on yes so those are to cover all the the year end activities and the the staff gives. Um, hold on. Also, any other items that central office needs. I'm assuming we had an excess in professional development, you know, perhaps. Correct. Correct. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. Does anyone else have any questions? All those in favor of motion, please say I I opposed. We have more. So we'll go through some bid waivers further on the agenda. So later on Yes. So
033we'll go over those then. Um and then from a a budget standpoint, we're still projecting full expenditure at 71% which is very comparable with a prior year. Um no reason we just can discuss as a committee no reason to update that yet. We'll wait, you know, see how the remainder of the year goes. Um so that means there's no revised projected um surplus. we continue to have an 84,000 which is what we we had communicated to the finance committee during our last meeting um that we continue to have that 84 or $85,000 placeholders for surplus you know that could be used you know by the end of the year it's not a huge excess uh surplus um given some of the the variability that we have but that is where we are at this point
034thank you uh PTA sorry can I ask a Um she gets a revised projected of84,000 that includes a $80,000 transfer but I don't think we yet that we did last meeting we did the 150 for the lion but the 80 is for the food service fund. I don't recall doing anything about that yet. This just says projected transfer. Yeah. Right. We're trying to if I could I be heard please. just trying to wait um to see as much as we can um for the for the final transfer for the food service shortage. That's what PAL is projecting at this point in time. And then the which is what Chris is talking about. And then the remaining monies are what we are anticipating uh maybe remaining um at the end. And like Ashley said, we've had
035a lot of things go wrong this year. So to leave us with zero, I don't think would be prudent. So, the actual amounts of the transfer to cover the food shortage, we'll we'll address that at our June meeting. Is that the correct? Any other questions on the finance? Say special ed landscape. Okay. But obviously from a a town finance standpoint, it's going to be a very busy season. So, um, all right. Now, on to PTA updates. So, on April, Saturday, April 25th, we had our ECS spring playing for swings fundraiser. Uh, I'm not quite sure the exact amount we have officially have raised yet. We're still working through all the fine details, but we did pretty well. Um and then we're gearing up for or finishing out teacher appreciation week tomorrow. We celebrated Monday they
036did a Cinco de Mayo taco theme for the teachers. Um this week we had Tom's traveling truck come in for coffee. We also did the very appreciated uh like Door Dash uh room service for the teachers as well again with snacks. They filled out a little like card and said this is what I want. And then all we on Tuesday we packed it all up. So, Wednesday, they had it delivered to them in the morning. And I guess I think that's how we're rounding out the year at this point and keep working towards the uh the funding for the new playground. Thank you very much. I thought the event was really good. Um Darl, I think it was really nice that you came. So, that went a long way with a lot of people. Yes,
037we have three board members and one principal. All right. BHS student representative report. So last Friday, May 2nd, BHS hosted the junior senior prom at Louisa from 6:00 p.m. to 10 p.m. Students danced the night away and joined a delicious meal, fun drinks, and good company. A big thanks to the members of the prom committee for putting on such a fun event. Next Friday, May 16th, the student council will be hosting a fire pit night. for a $5 ticket. Students will be able to enjoy food and fun to celebrate the end of AP exams and nearing the end of the school year. Attendees will also be given a raffle ticket to participate in the drawing for four raffle baskets. Each one compiled by a different graduating class. On Wednesday, May 21st, the Bowen High School
038concert band, jazz band, and percussion ensemble will be performing in their pops concert alongside an art show that will feature works created by VHS students. Everyone involved is working diligently to put on an excellent performance. Our spring sports season is almost halfway through. Baseball records is currently 1 to 10, but we'll see after tonight. Softball's record is 4 to2. Track had the fast times at Ridgefields High Ridgefield High meet and many members ran personal bests. And we have the uh Greater Hartford Invitational on Saturday that we're expecting big PRs. Golf's record is 0 to 5 and tennis is 1 to 7. It is finally AP exam season. Students have been studying hard and a lot of them have already taken exams or will be taking them next week. Last Thursday, we had our spring choir
039concert and culinary showcase. Both were hugely successful and both great music and good food were shared. Finally, for the next two years, Alexa Flores will be the new board of ed student representative and I personally am very grateful to have her on. All right. Thank you very much. As of always, you're welcome to stay or welcome to go study. All right. On to community meeting reports. Is there any community meetings to report on? I attended the Hville Scholarship Fund meeting. Um, not really too much to report. Uh, scholarship applications closed uh, this past Sunday. U, I'm not involved in the scholarship selection this year. I can't tell you how many applications we had or percentage of Golden High applied, but I'm confident that reviewing the applications can we'll find out at graduation. Thank you. Was
040there anyone else who attended any meetings on the PTA? So, we will now turn things over to Director Goldider for tonight's superintendent of schools report. Great. Thank you. I'll ask Director Julio Casper to present on the leader and educator professional growth educalation support plan. Peta. Um, so we did this a year ago, so I'm going to give you a little bit of a refresher on some of the terminology that we're going to talk about. Uh, it will be quick, but we mentioned last year that we would be likely coming back to the table with some adjustments that we would want to make to the plan. Um, so that is what we are here. We were asking for one adjustment to the plan, but I'm going to give you a little bit of background first. Um,
041first of all, this was Let's put this word. Okay. Okay. Click the button for a while. Yeah. No, seems like I got it. There we go. All right. Um just to reiterate, we went through this with our professional development and evaluation committee originally um that is made up of a group of teachers and administrators and this was collaborative with that committee and our a team committee um as uh required by our Tennessee Department of Education. The key terms and my little video is still up there um that we're going to talk about very briefly are a formal evaluation. When we say that we mean a full class evaluation that means you are staying for the duration of the class period. Um a formative evaluation that also has a pre and post. A formative is a
042shorter observation planned or unplanned. It is less than a full class period based on the um common core teaching indicators. And a review of practice is an assessment of work outside of classroom focusing on professional responsibilities and teacher leadership. And I'm going to give you a couple of examples of that because you might be like why would you tie it up? The review of practice. We talked about this last year, right? So the new teacher evaluation process which is this is for new teachers not the new process for new teachers new to the district and or new to the profession. This is what they are currently doing and we are making no changes to this. This is a robust evaluation plan for a couple of years. There is they have two formal evaluations. we split
043with another administrator. So, it's not the same person doing those um because we may see them in a different um different capacity. Uh they also have one formative observation which previously was called an informal. We were hoping for feedback visits and they have to do one review of practice. So we have to observe them in a meeting setting in a planning and placement team in as you know in a teacher leadership capacity and this is what we are proposing for the veteran teacher evaluation process. Currently the plan that we approved last year we were hoping we were feeling very like ambitious about doing shorter visits more frequently. The problem with that is we all stayed longer. We wanted to do 10 15 minute visits and we were like, "Yeah, we're just going to we're going
044to do this. We're going to pop in and then every single one of us was staying for almost a class period and it wound up becoming untenable. So we were looking originally at two really short observations and two reviews of practice. The change we would like to make is to go to one formative observation of longer duration because that is what we were doing and keep the review of practice. So they can do you can do two observations or one observation and one review of practice. The review of practice comes in very um it's a very useful tool when you're looking for someone who doesn't necessarily have a traditional class. for example, a school psychologist, Mrs. Gdash. So, we don't want to put a square peg around hole. We want to look at how she's
045handling work with students, how she's handling possibly a crisis, how she is um helping a parent understand a report in meetings. So, that would be a good example of a review of practice. All teachers, veteran and new teachers, are having goal setting meetings, meeting mid year, and we are all getting ready to do our end of year meetings. So everything else has stayed the same. We are still having a feedback focused approach. We are still maintaining all of the goal setting per statute per requirement, but we were doing that before. So it's not a huge change. Um so the reason for this was our shorter visits were not giving us the information we wanted. We thought we would be able to see enough and we decided that it wasn't quite enough. So we would like
046to return to a longer visit with slightly fewer um observations continuing with pre- goal setting meetings and the benefits are enhanced feedback because we felt like I can't speak for my colleagues but I have a special gift for walking into a classroom when kids are taking a test. I'm going to do my I plan it and then I walk in and there's silence. So then I have to change it all and and make um repeat visits. Then on that it is a streamlined process. Uh it was collaboratively developed and it still creates balanced oversight. It is also in keeping as we reached out to our colleagues with area schools. It's pretty standard to what um other PEX have proposed in their um these are just examples of reviews of practice. I gave you one. We
047have so many teachers who go above and beyond planning community events, doing things in their leadership roles, going above and beyond even those leadership roles, which you'll see in a few minutes. Um, and extended learning. We have teachers who have founded clubs who have started things um just to get students engaged and interested. It speaks to collaboration with their colleagues. It speaks to collaboration with families. And our next steps for implementation are having you approve this change. Uh everything else stays the same. We did change some language, but that doesn't change the plan. We provided some guiding questions for teachers at the end of the year. Small things like that, but no real changes other than this one. We need to approve this for the state. Uh communicate that to the faculty at the beginning
048of the school year is when we do that. uh in our August days and implementation monitoring like we did this year. So, we don't want to stay with something that isn't working and we want to continue to evaluate it and check it. Any questions? Mr. I have a quick question. So, board approval first then it goes to the state. Yes. Or resubmit it. Okay. Is there any feeling that the or chance that the state will not approve it? It's highly unlikely because I have had conversations not only with um area PD chairs but also other districts in a in a PLC that I'm in have just reached out and it's pretty consistent and those all have so there's no reason to think that way. I apologize if you mentioned this. I don't think I heard
049it, but um is this change been run by the teachers union and they're on board? Yes. Um Mr. sits on the PC and he is our voice of the teachers union on our team. So looking for a motion to approve the revisions to the leader and educator professional growth evaluations and support plan. I'll make a motion. I uh does anyone have any other questions or comments about this? I just like to say thank you for continuing to work at this and you know it's great that you identified a sticking point and came up with a creative hopefully better better way to make these evaluations work. Honestly, both teams are great. So they're just really committed to putting together high quality evaluation teachers for the benefit of students. Great. So now I'm going to turn it
050over and switch the presentation. We have votes. So sorry. Did anyone have any questions? All those in favor, please say I. I. I. Opposed. I'm standing. Okay. Um, I'm going to turn it over to assistant principal Keller, Mrs. Carvalo, and Mrs. Gradette for our MTSS multi-ter systems support presentation. Evening everyone. So I will start by talking a little bit about MTSS at our school BCS. So to start um you should just um so I'll talk a little bit about the framework. So, our MTSS framework really focuses on aligning our academic, behavioral, and social emotional learning in a fully integrated system of support for the benefit of all students. We really look to differentiate support for students um in order to promote that equitable access for all. Uh we are looking to emphasize positive school culture
051and climate. As always, we use data to inform all of our instruction across all three tiers, which I'll get into on the next slide. Um, and as always, we also include professional learning for all staff. So, here are our tiers. So, you can see it's split up between academic and behavioral and social emotional. So, to start, we have our academic tiers. Um, our tier one really is our universal tier. It meets the needs of most students. It's our high quality instruction using our core curriculum based in research. Our educators are amazing at continuously reviewing their instructional practices and regularly monitoring progress of the kids in their classroom. And then we have tier 2. So these are those students who are in need of a little bit of additional support. Um that is our really our
052targeted instruction that's supplemental to the core instruction and that's delivered in small groups in the classroom by classroom teachers. It's usually about three to four times a week 20 minutes a session. That's at the elementary level. And then at the middle school level, it's twice a week for 40 minutes a session. Um, so the minutes actually really equal out between elementary and middle school, just kind of happening at different times based on scheduling. There is still frequent progress monitoring at this level. And then we have our tier three. So that's individualized instruction for students that really aren't responding to those tier 2 supports. For most cases, a student will start in tier 2, go through a cycle, which is about 6 to 8 weeks, and then we'll say, okay, they might need to be moved
053to our tier three, which is given by our interventionists, our reading or math interventionists. Um, on the elementary level. So, these are more intensive, very frequent progress monitoring about once a week to every other week. Um, it's five times a week for 30 minutes a session. And then if students are still not responding here, that is when we look to a possible special education referral. Um, and then our behavioral, social, emotional. If a classroom teacher in the tier one has a behavioral concern, they will target that behavior and then kind of track that data for four to six weeks using an intervention. So, for example, a sticker chart, an incentive plan. Um, if that's not working, they then bring that up at an MTSS meeting with our behavioral staff. And our behavioral staff analyzes that
054data in order to craft goals and modify the interventions. Then they continue to collect that data for another four to six weeks. Um, and then tier three, we would get our BCBA involved. We would observe, review, and make a plan with parental consent. So our process at BCS, so we start by holding initial MTSS meeting at the beginning of um every year and we go through every single person in every single grade because we really make sure we do not want to miss anybody. Um MTSS goals are then formed with a team. So that's myself, the classroom teacher, our specialists or our interventionists and appropriate support staff. And those goals are progress monitored throughout the cycle. Um, as I said before, tier 2 are those classroom teachers who are providing the in-class supports during our
055what I need time. Um, and that is really, really assisted by our instructional coaches with instructional materials and progress monitoring tools. And then tier three are our interventionists or specialists who use a variety of research-based programs and progress monitoring tools as well. Um these meetings are then held every six to eight weeks um in order to discuss each student's progress in intervention next steps which can include being exited from intervention, moving to tier 2 or tier three or staying with their current intervention or like I mentioned before um sometimes we do move to special education referral after a certain point as well. Um, if teachers have a deeper academic concern or a behavioral concern, OTPT speech, whatever really their concern may be, they invite that staff member to their NTSS meeting um to discuss that
056student's data and then we plan for next steps. And so I think really the key here is it's a team approach. It's very collaborative and we all work together to do what's best for all of our students. Um, and as always, parents are communicated with throughout the cycle. So at the beginning of the year, they get a letter. At the end of every cycle, they get a letter updating um the parent on the progress of their student and what that next step for that student's going to be. And at the end of the year, they get a little letter just saying, "Hey, practice this over the summer." And so, here is an example of some data from one of our kindergarten students this year. So, their goal was to identify a rhyme with 80% accuracy.
057The student was seen one-on-one 30 minutes a day for five times a week. So that is our tier three intervention by one of our breeding interventionists. Um and as you can see starting in the beginning of November they were kind of under that 50%. Um you see all their progress monitoring data there and then by beginning of May they completely mastered their goal. They got to 100%. And the interventionist wanted to be sure that this is still occurring. So, she is actually still progress monitoring the school, just not as frequent, just to make sure that that student is being able to stick with that skill of identifying a rhyme. And then this is a middle school example. So, went from kindergarten to 8th grade. So, this is an eighth grade student who was working on
058improving number sense. Um, this student was seen in small group, 40 minutes a session for two times a week. So, that's that tier 2 intervention. And as you can see here, the preassessment was at the beginning of that six to seven weeks. um the student got you know a lower score and then by the end their post assessment they almost reach that 80% um and this is a goal that the student will continue to work on too to just maintain kind of mastery like I said and while obviously the data is so important and all the information is so important I think the most telling is really asking the kids how does your intervention group help you and so these are just some quotes from some of our amazing students um a seventh grade student
059said it helped me understand adding integers more and do better in class. The extra time really helped. A third grade student, "My intervention helps me because I can read stories more clearly and confidently. It improved my writing style." From an eighth grade student, a second grade student said they can spell more words and know how to read words. Um, a fifth grade student said, "The student really wants to know how to read fluently in a long book, and his teachers are helping him reach that goal." An eighth grade student said, "It was fun and interactive. I learned a lot, and what I did learn I can apply to ELA in the future." And then lastly, a third grade student. I feel awesome about my small group because it helps me with my math skills and
060makes me a better math student. Before I came to Mrs. McCloci, who was our math interventionist, I had a hard time with math and it's easy now. And so now I would like to right Monica. Well, it doesn't matter. It's seems like it's working. Um, so here at Bolton High School, um, we, uh, Jen and I are the coordinators for MTSS. Um, we have, uh, multiple roles. I'm the school psychologist and Jen is one of our science teachers. Um, we are new to this role this year. Um, so um, we were excited to take it on and, um, made some changes from last year. Um also involved with the MTSS process um our principal uh the school counselors um we have MTSS providers who um a little bit uh different from um center school who
061does interventionists we are using classroom teachers um to provide um the MTSS as interventions whether they're within the classroom or um if it's during a student study hall to provide those higher levels of support. um at the beginning of the year um or actually before the year started a master schedule designed for the school uh to make sure that we had um MTSS providers available each period of the day. Now it doesn't mean that every day we have someone every period. Um what it means is every period of the day is covered at least one day. Um and our teachers, our providers have been super flexible um being uh willing to flip-flop their schedules. uh based on student needs. So uh one day they might have a plan period B period and support a student
062through MTSSD period later in the week that might look different. Um but they've been great and uh been willing to even switch those you know at as the needs of our students change. They've been really flexible with those which is wonderful. We really appreciate it. Really just everybody looking out for what what our students need. Um the um the tier one supports we've been working a lot on this year. Uh working to develop them with full staff um using some of our faculty meetings and professional development meetings to look at what we currently have at the tier one level and then how we can further develop those and just teachers using that time to really share what they're doing and what's working um and and really giving each other really great ideas which has been
063wonderful. um and um using our PLC's as well that we'll meet weekly to also share that information and come up with ideas and develop new ideas. Um and then also uh just communications um that uh we have with staff. Um looking at our tier 2 supports um and some of our tier two and tier three supports um they can be similar but um as Isabella was saying to like looking at uh the frequency and duration of the support is sometimes what makes a difference between a tier two and tier three support um you know we have some uh different things available to all students at the tier one level for example connections um all students have the opportunity in connection they can go see teachers for extra help so that's available to everybody body at
064the next level. Um we have a teacher may ask a student, hey why don't you come see me tomorrow and we can we can work on that direct connection. So really trying to pull specific students in um and then um at the next level we might be actually you know if the student doesn't come know they're calling for that student and really trying to work with them. So using that. So that's kind of an example of um you know being able to use something that could be more of a tier one open to any student to more identifying those students and making sure we pull them in during that uh connections time. Um our students that are receiving uh the greater support through MTSS, we're using their study halls so that we're not interrupting um
065their classes. And again, we're balancing the schedules of the MTSS providers to uh figure out how to best service kids. Um sometimes it's subject specific. We have two math teachers that are um available as MTSS providers. And so obviously if we have a student with math needs, we're trying to coordinate as best we can that they can work with one of them. Um but really depending on on what the need is and the availability of the student and how flexible we can be with the teacher schedule to meet their needs. Um, so we wanted to take advantage of our time tonight just to shed a little bit more light on how we're working with within our tier three structure. Uh, because that's the the part of MTSS that involves perhaps a little bit more planning,
066a little bit more um, you know, work on the on the side of the MTSS team. Um, so for our tier three students and some of our tier two, as Amela and Leah have both mentioned, a lot of it depends on frequency and duration of the interventions, whether it's tagged as a tier two or a tier three. Um but this is our general process. We always start with looking at the data. Um so here at the high school we are regularly analyzing a variety of data sources, PSAT scores, SAT scores, uh course current course grades. Uh we run what we call the DF list every few weeks which just generates a list of students who at that po moment in time may be earning a D or an F in one of their courses. And
067so we kind of get a list going in our committee of students to keep an eye on. Is this just a, you know, a weird blip, they had a off week, or is this a trend that we're starting to see throughout the quarter? Um, we communicate very closely with the school counselor. So, if there's anything percolating up through teachers, through the guidance team, we're made aware of that as well. Um, so regular analysis of the data, looking for trends, looking to see which names kind of keep reappearing um throughout the course of the of the quarter. Um once we sort of have our eye on a few students who might need a little additional support, we work to develop a plan. So Leah and I will work with not only the counselors but the students
068current teachers um to identify specifically what are their needs, how much of an intervention do they need? Are we looking at once a week checking in with the student? Is it more frequent? um to kind of help us decide is this more of a tier 2 interventions, we can use some connections time to get the student caught up or do we need a little bit um more um structured intervention. Um once we develop a plan again collaborative, very team focused, team based um we then provide the interventions. So, as Leah said, we have a handful of classroom teachers that in our master schedule have been scheduled. We have a very complicated matrix that we refer to every week. Um, so that every period at some point during the week, we have a teacher available to
069work one-on-one with students um that we've identified as needing these additional interventions. Um, they is always it is always occurring during a student's study hall. They are not being pulled from other classes. they're not full elective courses. Um it's this is in lie of their regularly scheduled study hall period so that they're not missing additional academic time. Um we work with our classroom teacher who's been tagged as the interventionist for that period to talk about what would be the appropriate supports and interventions, how to work with the student, what type of data to be collecting. Um and then our last step is progress monitoring. We meet currently weekly um to discuss the students that are receiving these supports as a team with our MTSS providers. Um we're looking at the data. We're seeing what trends
070we're seeing and determining are the interventions successful? Do we need to tweak anything? Do we need to decrease the frequency of the sessions? Do we need to increase it? Um so that's kind of our general format that we follow for our students. So for this year, seeing as this was our first year taking on MTFS, Leah and I, uh we picked a couple focus areas really to to tackle and kind of put all our efforts into. Um so math skills historically are skills that students just tend to struggle with. Um so math and we had the benefit, as Leah said, of having two math teachers available to provide these supports. Um so we really focused on math skills for um a few of our students. Um again we used um analysis of different assessment data,
071their course grades, historical grades and other previous math courses um feedback from our math teachers. Um identified where the skill gap was developed a plan for those students um have had our math teachers working with them throughout the course of the year and are monitoring their progress on a weekly basis. Um the other large area that we decided to focus on was um executive functioning skills. So these are the skills needed to help you succeed at everything in life, whether it's time management, organization, planning. Um, and this came about as we were analyzing that DF grade report. Um, as we dug deeper into the data, we found that the common trend was that most of these students weren't performing poorly in classes due to lack of ability, but lack of turning in materials or turning
072in assignments. So we had um an issue with work completion. Um, so we identified that fairly early on in the school year and decided this we think is a broader focus area that not only through our tier one interventions do we need to look at, but what can we do for some of these students who just even with those tier one interventions are still struggling with work completion. Um, so we hone in on these skills of planning and prioritization. A lot of students have trouble kind of planning what should I be working on today during study hall or during connections. what's the most pressing assignment that I need to complete? And we have a number of students who really struggle with organization, whether it's physical organization of their materials. You look in their backpack and
073it's just this sea of papers. Um, or even just the mental organization. How do I take all my thoughts and organize that into a cohesive paper? Um, so those were the executive functioning skills we decided to kind of really target this year. Um but again developing interventions with those with those teachers working with the students what you know let's come up with an organizational plan for you Leah and let's sit and look at what works best for you as a student and let's keep circling back to that um every week what's working what's not working. Um we also were looking to build capacity within those students um to take a little bit more ownership for their work completion. Um, one of the things we developed was a progress weekly progress monitoring chart where the student
074sits with their MTSS provider once a week pulls up their grades in Power School and goes class by class. Let's look at how you're doing. Do you have any missing assignments? Do you have upcoming tests? What do you need to do next? And really trying to build that skill with our goal being those students being able to do that independently. Sure. So, we have some sample data. Oh, that's okay. Perfect. Right there. Yep. So, um one student um we're looking at this student's sample data. Um our goal for this student was we wanted um them to be turning in a minimum of 80% of their assignments um in their classes. And we were looking at prioritization. So, like Jen was saying, um, you prioritize what you do. So, you know, um, the provider was working
075with this particular student on, for example, looking at the weight of assignments. You know, if you have an assignment that's worth 100 points versus an assignment worth 20 points, taking that into consideration, taking into consideration um, how soon is it due? How much time do I need um, to prepare for this? Um, building on skills. So some assignments um might be more important to build on later skills um than other assignments. And then whether the student can still turn it in. So in our power school um teachers know if a student if a assignment is still something that a student can turn in and get credit for. Um oftentimes they'll have a little note that will say you know send in by this date to get credit. So really building those skills like Jen was
076saying, you know, our goal is that they learn to do this and they can do this on their own because these are the skills they need for high school and and well beyond. Um so they were working with that and then also initiation and initiation task initiation. So helping the student with a routine so that they got started because we were noticing um particularly within a student study hall um they were not um initiating they were not they were having a really hard time getting going on assignments. So supporting the student with that um and then initiation with teachers too. So reaching out to the teachers um to ask about if the you know if they saw they could still hand something in but they weren't sure when the due date was. Um so having
077those conversations or hey you finished it making sure they reach out to the teacher to let them know that it was finished so the teacher needs to go back and and degrade that. So really looking at those skills as you can see with this um we have our you know baseline data um and initially um we saw that the student was struggling. That's the percent of work that was percent of assignments I'm sorry that were completed. You can see on the left it ranged anywhere from 33% to 72%. Um and everything in yellow is below that 80% goal. Um and if you can see as the year went on um they became more successful um consistently um handing in uh that 80% or more of assignments. Um it did take um a little bit for
078the student to initially uh buy into the process. Um they were not u you know initially weren't um totally thrilled to to go and get the support. But it's beautiful. The student actually comes more often than they're supposed to now. Um they've really bought into it. They're really doing well. Um I did put our our May update in there, but that map is um yeah, is back up. Um but it's really been great and the um provider has most um that um engagement with the process uh feeling feeling good about it. Um and really that success and the student um is still involved in it. We're not feeling you know we'd like to see some a couple consistent months at that 80% before we left on their own. Um but and we will be reducing
079uh the frequency with which they come but um really really some nice success and obviously that is reflected in the students grades as well now that they're getting more assignments in because like Jen was saying we were noticing it wasn't it wasn't the assessment um that they were doing poorly on it was uh they were missing a lot of assignments and that was really um hurting their grades obviously you know would be hurting their preparation for exams as well but the thing that stood out to us with the large number of assignments they were missing that helped with that prioritization and initiation. Um so for our second student I question that the previous chart does this does the student see that chart um in yes actually is this their incentive to hey I'm going to
080do better on my next block. Yes it is. I was trying to figure out what's their incentive really like I can imagine starting off this just seems like more work do I get a cup I get so um so that so then you get this you do that and the nice thing is what Jen was saying that week they progress check too so the way it's set up you can that the providers are looking back as well to the previous like hey look where we were last week look where we are this week and you can see that progress um I also know you know from conversations with the students parents um they were really cheering the student on and um I know grading the student as well. So that was also um you know
081a huge a huge support as well but also in the students grades the changes in grades um were also a really big motivator because when um the kids understand the impact of the zero or you know you know how much that impacts your grade well I imagine it takes some time before they see that. It does. It does. And that's what I love about your work because it shows them, you know, it's our data that shows them, hey, when you do this, look at the difference it makes. And that's great. So, thank you. Um, for student, um, it's our second student. This is one of our students who's working on math skills specifically. They were having trouble solving multi-step equations and math problems. Um and so quarter one, quarter two just consistently struggle with any
082quiz test. It was not it was not going well for this particular student. Um we frequency with which they're receiving interventions is twice a week, 43 minutes each session again being pulled from a study hall and working directly with a math teacher during that time period. Um really to kind of build some of those missing foundational skills that's holding the student back from being successful in their current math class. So working backwards to fill in some gaps while also reinforcing what they're learning in their current math class so to not fall behind in their current math class as well. Um so doing kind of a little bit of both. Um and what we noticed as we've gone through the academic year is that quarters three and four the average score on the summitive assessments has
083increased by 10% with um I think there was one quiz back in the beginning of April end of March that was a 90 something. So, you know, dramatic difference in the assessment scores there. Um, where perhaps even more telling is the student has from our math teacher who's been working with the student has become far more engaged in the process. Again, reluctant at first towards the beginning of the year. Why do I have to miss a study hall with my friends to do more math? I don't like math. Um, but has really actually started seeking out our math teacher um on their own to just say, are we working today? Are we working today? So just seeing that level of engagement improve and and the grades as well is really encouraging. In terms of next
084steps, um Jen and I are currently working um with a consultant um to create an MTSS manual for VHS. So um like we said before, we're new to the process this year. We've changed it up from the previous year. Um, and our goal with the manual is really uh to create a process that can say run itself, but um so it is it's more uh you know uh more outlined um and in an easier process for everybody um everything from you know really laying out identification and progress monitoring and uh interventions and all of that. So that that will be wonderful once we finish that. We we're still in the process of working on it. Um we hope for continued development with that NCFF consultant again next year is our hope. Um we will continue
085with staff development with a tier one intervention some executive function skill development and again um our staff really learns a lot from each other works well together um and we find you know when we come together we come up with with great ideas. So we'll be continuing that um to our own research on that and then expanding beyond like Jen said as our first year um we we wanted to start small and do yeah we wanted to start small do well and and keep it manageable um and uh next year we'll be working to expand it to other skills as well. Any questions? It was a great great presentation. I had so many questions and you answered all of them along the way. So um really really really good uh especially the executive leadership skills
086or executive coaching skills whatever you call that very real world. So uh what percentage of kids do you think we service through the different tiers? Yeah sure sure so um tier one is usually about 80% of our kids fall in the tier one. 15% about fall kind of in that or 15 to 20 fall in that tier two tier three range. So just thinking of exact numbers this year for reading um for K through five we service 94 within tier two or tier three but that is not technically 94 kids because it is a fluid process. So we do have kids that go from tier two to tier three the next cycle then we're like oh they're doing amazing let's move them back to the tier two. So some of those kids may be counted
087twice within that kind of number. Um and then math we service 28. Um and so that's between tier two and tier three. And then on the middle school level um grade six throughout the year we service about 15, grade seven, 13 and then grade eight and nine. Yeah. So that's the percentage of kids actually in the program. Yes. But those number you think about the whole school. There's some kids that just don't go through. Yes. About 80% of our kids just don't kind of hit that tier one and they don't need that extra support. I will say because we are Bolton and we are so fortunate in having interventionists and teachers who really want to pick up their kids for sometimes you know that tier two the smallest things we don't we don't push anyone
088away right so um because we are such a fortunate district we do encourage if you want to pick them up for a tier two because you really think they do need some more help with this particular goal go ahead whereas maybe in you know a different situation we wouldn't have the resources to do that so we are fortunate in that way that's awesome yeah and at at the high school level again very fluid our tier two tier three. Um, sometimes it's hard. Even Lee and I will have conversations. Is this more tier two or more tier three? Um, when we were talking through some of our students, uh, recently, we feel we probably have four high school students who are genuine tier three, really receiving very targeted instruction. Um, and another 13 or so that
089are like board like the tier two, sometimes three depending on the month, the week. Um, kind of, you know, fluctuating. That's over the course of the year. some that we worked with in the fall have graduated out and you know are up and running and don't need our support anymore. Um we've added additional ones in. So it's a very fluid process. Um we have as kind of an ancillary part to our MTS program. Um one of our math teachers has sort started um a math center of sorts during some periods throughout the week where students can come for additional math or any student who happens to have a study hall that period. Um so they're not students that we're identifying or saying you need to go to math center. Um but she has been tracking
090data on that and has been seeing about this 12 students on a regular basis are her frequent flyers that she sees once a week popping in and then others here and there as as needed. So but yeah similar to what you know the tier you know you want fewer in that tier three that's where you want your smallest percentage to be and everyone's receiving tier one. So, and as we broaden our scope of skills that we're looking at, that number will grow, right? It might change. Yeah. The the other group that we, you know, next year as we grow, we'll probably take more advantage of is you think of those students uh where life happens. Maybe they're hospitalized. We had students who had to travel out of the country for funerals, those kinds of things.
091So when they return with the flexible program that we created, we can support them maybe in the very short term, maybe just for a matter of weeks as opposed to all right, you've been out for three weeks, welcome back. Go get them, Tiger. Right. Um, so we hope to to the numbers wouldn't be represented to your question, but there's another pot of kid that we hope to service. And some of this year, some of our seniors who were maybe struggling with the last little bits of capstone preparation for that presentation, we pulled a handful of those kids just so that they could get, you know, once or twice, you know, meeting with the teacher to kind of make sure they were good to go. So, we didn't count them in our numbers, but there's still
092students that, you know, we used our supports to support. Yeah. So I have a question about the elementary level. When you're pulling kids out for tier 2 and tier three support, especially in the younger grades, how are you ensuring that they are not missing new content being presented in classroom, especially for those who are going out 5 days a week for 42 minutes or whatever the time previous? Yes, that's a great question. So we have the win time, which is our what I need time, and that is time where there is no tier one curriculum being taught. So during that 30 minutes a day every day it's win time K through five and that's every student getting what they need. So a lot of times our special education students who receive services get pulled out
093during that time. Our tier three students get pulled out during that time. And then our classroom teachers will work with their tier 2 small group during that time. And then the students who are still left in the room, they will do reading centers, math centers. Some of them might do like an enrichment project like a book club. But no um core tier one curriculum is being taught at that time to ensure that nobody misses out on anything and falls behind. Thank you. I just want want to thank you all for all the hard work. It's very makes me very happy to hear that it sounds like every kid is being met where they need to be and you're really not leaving behind and meeting everybody and it's got to be really gratifying to both the
094staff and the students to see the improvement and to see the more buy in like makes it exciting that they're taking more of a interest in their own education. So I just want to thank you all very much. Keep up the great work. Thank you. You want to do the PCS update? Um, as we approach the final stretch of the year, things are buzzing with excitement. And I mean that. Uh, this is Carl myself. We're just talking about end of the year, spring head and standing toward the end of the year. They feel that energy. Our students are enjoying a wide range of activities including field trips, field days, and special classroom events. Uh, throughout the month of May, students have been working on Smarter Mouse testing and NGSS testing. So, they're working very hard
095in the morning. We're giving them some extra breaks during the day. Try to get that energy out because they're super focused and the morning testing. Meanwhile, our eighth graders are looking forward to several special milestones, including their trip to High Meadows. I usually go, but I asked Mrs. Keller if she'd want to go. This is a big thing for me to give that trip up because it's such a fun time. Uh the class night dance on June 6 and their promotion ceremony on June 12th. Uh the promotion program, which you're all invited to attend as well, starts at 10:00 a.m. on June 12th. and truly is a very special event. Uh friends and families all come together to celebrate our amazing eighth grade students. Uh like I said, the energy around schools contagious and students
096are excited to wrap up the year and look forward to some. So softball was on the road today, tennis was on the road today. And in a very odd move for Bolton High School, there was a double header of baseball. And I share all that because that's why our three special students were not were not here tonight. So with the predicted bad weather the next few days, Mr. Humon uh and coach uh Richard um scrambled yesterday to completely rearrange and create a double header that started at 3:00 today. And Mr. Human did venture out in the school pickup truck and picked up I don't know was it 50 or 60 bags of game saver which is the cute name for speedy drive um to actually get the field even playable. So um my guess is
097um two of our uh students that we're going to recognize tonight on the baseball team probably figured by the time they were done that we weren't going to wait which of course we did. Um so that's where they are and then um our third representative was also in tennis. On top of all that, uh, there we're in AP land and we're talking about some of our top performers. They're trying to balance regular school day, family life, athletics, and prepping for AP. So, before I give my my end of the year notes, maybe you want to speak to our three uh recipients and share that information. You okay with that? Yeah, sure. All right. Well, we were also going to recognize Andrew for being our senior representative for the last two years. So that is a
098little gift for him and we would just like to say thank you for your service to the board for the last two years. We wish you the very best. Moving on to our next announcements. It gives me great pleasure to announce Andrew Goodness and Anisha Ray as this year's co- validictorians for the class of 2025. We'll talk about Andrew first. Andrew has shown strong commitment and effort throughout his high school career and has consistently demonstrated academic excellence, earning top honors across rigorous coursework. He has been involved in multiple school activities that made a positive impact on those around him. Andrew's hard work and determination have helped him reach this important milestone, and we're proud of all he has achieved. This fall, he will be attending Quinnak University, and we look forward to seeing all the
099great things he will accomplish in the future. Congratulations Andrew to you and your family. Our next co-valiatoran is Anishka Ray. Anishka's intellect and leadership have left an enduring mark on our school community and she is a shining example of perseverance and curiosity. She has consistently excelled in highle classes throughout her high school career while balancing time for a variety of extracurricular activities. Beyond the classroom, her contributions to student life, whether through clubs, volunteer work, or mentoring peers have enriched our school and those around her. We are incredibly proud to celebrate her success and are excited to see her continue her academic journey this fall at the University of Connecticut. Congratulations to Anishka and her family. And last, but certainly not least, is Joseph Godc who is our saludiatoran. Congratulations to Joseph. His exceptional achievements both
100academically and athletically have set him apart as a true leader among his peers. As a dedicated two sport athlete, he has demonstrated remarkable discipline and resilience, balancing a rigorous academic course load in a demanding athletic schedule. His commitment to excellence, whether in the classroom or on the field, reflects a high level of maturity and determination that is truly commendable. We celebrate his accomplishments with pride and look forward to the bright future that lies ahead. Joey will be attending the University of Connecticut in the fall. Congratulations to Joey and his family. Thank you. Um so we're quickly winding down the year. Um and as you heard from Grace, there's still a lot of stuff going on. Um, we're working to plan under honorment awards as well as the 2025 commencement program. Graduation will take place 6:30
101p.m. on Monday, June 9th. The ceremony will be outside in the parking lot, whether permitting, and in the gym if weather is inclement. As we've done in the past, the graduation ceremony will also include all senior awards and presentations by the B scholarship fund. Um, as always, we would love for all members of Board of Education to attend, and if you could RSVP to Director Gold Snider, that would be great. Um, and we're still keeping busy. Uh, for example, 128 AP exams are being administered in this room between this week and next week. Um, we're still working on getting ready for next year with the master schedule and we are already preparing to welcome the class of 2020. Thank you. Okay, we do not have any unfinished business, but we have several items of new
102business, and hopefully we were able to review Kristen's uh weekly update at the end of last week, which covered most of these things. So, the first one is the Bolton High School last day of school, which due to well issues and fire uh personnel responses, we have an uneven number of days that have occurred at both schools. So, we are being asked to um shorten the Bolton High School only school year to 180 days so that all of the school system uh will be done on the same day which is June 12th I believe. You have anything to add? No, just that the teachers and the parah educators will make up the time that they miss on that day by completing four hours of professional development on their own time. We'll be sending all that
103out tomorrow once this passes passes. And admit assistants will also um be required to make up the time on their own between now and the end of the school year. So looking for a motion to make the Bolton High School student school year 180 days. So all students prek to 12 and on the same day in June 2025. So second and so anyone have any questions or comments about this? That doesn't that have any impact on money that we get? No. No, it does not. Um any other questions? All those in favor, please say I. I. Opposed for abstaining. Um, the next item is the Bolton High School garage bid waiver. Read it. Sure. If you have information. Sure. The uh BHS BHS garage is a Kappa project. Jill Collins spoke with the auditor who
104shared with that the BOE needs to approve the bid waiver, not the board of selectman even though it's in their budget. John Butterch is recommending Belffor the garage at BHS. Belelffor is part of the Omnia Partners which is a national buying consortium. Um you have the quotes in front of you. The quotes are $22,98425. There's already $285,100 already approved in capital for this project. So they're much lower than what John's given as a quote for the project. And I believe you have the motion there, right? Yes. Um so looking on this or a motion to approve the bid waiver and award built for the bid for the BHS garage in the amount of $22,98425. So moved. Second. Um, all right. Does anyone have any questions or comments from this? I just like to comment how
105excited I am that something came in under bid for everybody's life. Do we know what happens to the unspent capital monies? Do they stay on our side of the I don't have any idea. Um, if I could answer that. Um, they do not, Chris. they go back into the capital fund and over time once money accumulates in that fund um it goes to town meeting where it's allowed I believe it's town meeting where it's decided that it can be either redistributed or or put towards another project which is what happened with the sidewalks or whatever it was years ago Vulcan stove which still is better than what you can buy now and whatever else I can't remember. There's a bunch of things going back five or six years. Well, those were bonded projects. The capital
106projects are a little different, but you're right. That's what happened with those as well. Where is the DHS garage at? And then there isn't one, right? Yeah. But where what are we going to do with it? Where are we going to put it? So, the purpose of the garage was for storage, Ashley, because we are we have really no storage at the high school. We we put our soccer nets um in the woods. Um they rust quickly over time and we have to replace them. We have a lot of athletic equipment that um gets stored in places where it shouldn't be or it doesn't get stored at all. um along with uh mowers and and other types of uh equipment vehicles, right? The back corner of this this side student parking lot in the in
107the far back like our uh van and there was other vehicles that were going to go vans. Correct. Thank you. Anyone have any other questions? All those in favor of the motion, please say I. I. Anyone oppose or abstaining? Uh on to the novice insight managed IC it support for 2024 2025 which is retroactive and it was wanted by the auditor I believe. Correct. Um let's see. Novas insight is a CRG awarded IT service under vendor service vendor for cyber security infrastructure services and model policies and general IT assistance. Services provided to Bolton include managed technology support backup services for BH and Microsoft 65 cyber security endpoint licenses no before training program private cloud housing email filtering and other related technology needs. The auditor has shared that although Novvice is a CRC awarded IT service
108vendor, a retroactive bid waiver needs to be approved for Novvice Insight as our managed IC IT support because the board of selectment has not yet approved the resolution that would allow the BOS and BOE to use consortium bids which John Butchovis has had been told was going to happen. So we need a motion to retroactively wave the bid to award Nova Insight as a managed IT support for the 2024 2025 year. I'll make a motion to wave second. Uh does anyone have any questions or comments about this? And just to clarify, we're not necessarily doing it because the auditor wants it. we're doing because we retroactively we had a a discussion about this. I don't I thought we did it but uh for going forward for the next threeear contract okay because they they've done
109a great job and I would I want to say I think it's important for this type of company and service to have a continuous if things are going well we should keep the service. Yes, that was going forward and this is for the year that it's almost over. Andrew, if I could also add, I think it would it something that Ashley and Ria that you may want to take up um at finance at some point because my understanding was that this was going to be um I think it has to be in a town meeting where this is approved because it's a a change and I think it's an ordinance change, but it certainly would make things a lot easier because we get so much better pricing from the consortium pieces um than we would
110Otherwise, as evidenced by the garage and the um technology that we have purchased. So, I just throw that out there for future thought. Um any other questions? All those in favor, please say I. I. No opposed or abstaining. Passes as well. On to resignations. We did receive a resignation from BCS administrative assistant Christine Patnog and we would like to thank her for her service to Fton public schools and we wish her well. And one final thing uh we have a first read policy. All right. Looked like it was a complete rewrite. Yes. So uh basically we are replacing the current policy 5131.9 not currently called the Connecticut school climate policy but that's what the replacement will be called. Um it's basically it's a new model policy shipment in goodwin and it reflects a number of
111recent changes to Connecticut state law that will go into effect on July 1st. So, uh, we'll do our first read tonight and then second read at our June meeting. Uh, yeah. So, I guess there's there's there's a lot of little differences throughout. I'll try to summarize them. Um, that Kristen, please feel free to jump in and correct me if I get anything wrong or miss anything. Um, that the changes tend to come in uh several different areas. Um there's clarification as to the scope of the policy. There are updated definitions. Um there are some expanded responsibilities for the staff people who are charged with implementing the policy. Uh there are some strengthened reporting procedures, clarifications about parent notification and parent rights and uh some enhanced prevention and response measures. So as far as clarified scope
112um the policy has been revised to explicitly name and define bullying, teen dating violence, harassment and discrimination whereas the existing policy refer to those in more some more general terms. Uh the new policy emphasizes that the policy applies both on and off school grounds. So that it also covers electronic communications uh email that sort of thing. It has updated definitions again of bullying cyber bullying, teen dating violence, uh discrimination and harassment. Um a lot of those updated definitions are to meet changes in state law. Uh it provides some expanded responsibilities. Um well maybe it's not really expanded but uh it does uh ask that the school have a safe school climate coordinator which I assume will be a position that was already you know it's already we already have correct it's yes so it's just
113really a name change um and then the the role of the school climate specialist will I guess some additional reporting and investigation responsibilities. Uh it adds or clarifies some timelines for reporting by school staff. Um so the oral report is due within one school day of an incident being reported and a written report is due within two school days. Uh it includes a requirement to investigate all reports promptly and to notify parents and guardians uh of any involved student uh when investigation begins. Uh it clarifies that schools must notify parents and guardians of any verified bullying incidents within 48 hours of completing an investigation. and parents must be informed of their rights and available available remedies under state statute um on the board of ed website. And then uh the enhanced prevention and response measures
114include uh mandated inclusion of anti-bullying language in student codes of conduct. I think we already have a lot of that already but and then uh it requires implementation development and implementation of prevention and intervention strategies for staff and lastly would like schools to invite parents of victims to meetings discussing safety measures and future prevention strategies. Yes, thank you. Anybody have any questions? Okay, we will be voting on that next month. Uh we have no future business and now we're looking for a motion to adjourn to executive session to discuss the superintendent's evaluation. questions. All those in favor I opposed abstaining. Thank you all for coming this evening.