001All right. Detail all post. post reset arms. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Order arms host Right face forward. March. You may be see Roll call. Al present. Teresa present. Michelle here. Kate here. Glattis here. Dr. Cronin here. Lauren here. Juanita here. Richard here. Julie here. Thank you. Public participation. None. The board welcomes public participation and ask that speakers please limit their comments to three minutes. Speakers may offer objective comments of school operations and programs that concern them. The board will not permit any expression of personal complaints or defamatory comments about board of education personnel and students nor against any person connected with the Danbury public school system. Thank you. Lauren,
002the first person that signed in was Adam. if you would come forward. Speak into the mic, please. You ready? Yes. Hello everybody. My name is Kong and I'm a freshman at from Denver High School. I stand here to address a concern, one that is shared by many students and has caused frustration, confusion, and even barriers to academic success. That concern is the new west campus. We are aware that the introduction of the new patent program was aimed at providing students a new and available learning process. But we see that it is hard for many honors classes and honor students to excel in this new academy. We see that it they do not offer many AP classes with placement which they cannot who make the college credit that are they being told the new academy program
003does not allow them to register. An example of this I am personally facing is that I cannot take AP advanced basic government politics because I have a half a year at gym left because of the expiration seminar. I find this struggling because I cannot excel my learning and I can't bring up my GPA. Another concern is that how the essentials class that we have to take it's mandatory is only a CP class and this is also weighing down my GPA and it's worrying me for how I can excel in top schools. Similarly, all music classes are currently unavailable at the new campus, which is a huge loss for students who want to embrace in that creativity and want to perform in those types of specialties. These issues are not isol. Many students are being discovering
004that their educational plan are being jeopardized by administrative choices that do not consider their special specific needs, that the purpose of education should be nourished, encouraged or challenged every student irrespective of their direction. But for the majority, it appears that their aspirations and their academic objectives are being overshadowed by schedule lane conflicts and structural decisions that limit their opportunities. We as students have to ensure that we are heard and collectively find a solution that benefits everyone. Let's push for a change that doesn't address the course issues of today, but also guarantees that these obstacles do not persist in future. I appreciate your time and attention. Let's continue to work together to ensure that all students have access to the work, the honor classes they deserve and the courses that they can make them successful. Thank
005you. real. There are many issues to be discussed today, but I'm speaking primarily about access to culinary classes at the new building, which is also an issue our friend Caitlyn and many other students are facing. At the new building, there are no kitchens and they are not planning on building them in the future. This means that any cooking classes such as food, nutrition, and culinary arts will be completely unavailable to students. We were told that there will be no kitchens because aren't related to our pathway. But I feel this is irrelevant. The academy program, as I understand it, is just supposed to be an aspect of our education that allows us to explore possible career choices. It shouldn't dictate what we can and can't take, especially because there are graduation requirements that might not align
006with one's pathway. I understand why the choice was made not to build entire facilities for culinary classes which don't have much relevance to science and medicine. I get that it's a huge investment that won't help the STEM students careers. But cooking is a skill that everyone needs in life and it's also a fun class that allows learning outside of standard academia while providing a break from the intense classes any STEM student will likely be taking. Working at the Hatter Cafe as a part of the culinary arts class has been something I have been looking forward to experiencing for a long time. And if I had known my choices, specifically this choice, would be restricted simply because I wanted to become a doctor, I wouldn't have chosen the academy I'm in now. Of course, that's not
007a possibility either because if you're not in the allied health pathway, you can't do the CNA or EMT programs, which are crucial to getting a head start and wants some medical education. I know it might seem a little childish that I came all this way just to ask for cooking classes. But it's more just the principle of it. If the new building is simply an extension of our school, then all the same classes should be offered. We are all DHS students and we want equal opportunities. I'm not saying we should demolish the academy program, but I feel we are rushing it and not taking all details into account. As a result of this, according to a survey we gave to students of all grades andmies, almost 90% of people have had issues with course availability,
008primarily culinary classes, because of the lack of kitchens at the new building and also the fact that those classes are now mainly reserved for students in the culinary pathway. The way the program is running now is undermining 90% of students high school careers. This is why I just want our administrators to wait until we can have all the proper facilities and a full staff to provide all programs to all students. Thank you. Thank you. Henry or I'm sorry. Hello everyone. I'm Tala, a sophomore who's enrolled in the LA health pathway in scientific innovation and medicine academy that's going to be in the west campus. I wanted to raise some concerns I have regarding the new academy program and I'm also speaking on behalf of my friend Caitlyn who couldn't make it to go track me
009who also wanted to talk about the specific class AP cal PC. I'm currently in precal and while signing up for classes next year, I was told that I wouldn't like to be able to take AB Cal PC because there weren't enough students in the new building who wanted to take it. And then I asked for Cal AB, AB Cal AB, but was also told that there's not a great chance that I couldn't take it as there weren't enough students in the new in the new campus that were willing to take it. I understand that there's only two camp twommies of upcoming juniors that are going to the main campus and the rest six will be remaining in the main campus along with upcoming seniors implying the fact that most people who would be willing to
010take those hard APS will remain in the main campus and will have the opportunity to take those classes. I don't think it's fair that we're being restricted on classes we can take solely because of the location of our academy. If I was an upcoming junior in the main campus, I would have been able to take Cal AP Cal BC or AP Cal AP. I don't think the location of our pathway should dictate the classes we can take and math is a core subject that fits into any academy and regardless of its alignment or pathway, we should be given the opportunity to take it. Additionally, I understand that this academy program and the new building are huge changes for Danbury public schools and it's hard for teachers and administrators to navigate everything. However, when we approach
011administrators about how the new building would work, especially regarding clubs, sports, graduation requirements, and course availability, we're not giving clear answers and answers that contradict each other. It's hard for us students to have a clarity and vision on the rest of our high school without having proper guidance and information regarding the new academy program. Thank you so much for your time and consideration. Thank you. I I I can't see what's the name is. Is it Elma? Elma. Good evening. My name is from grade 10. I'm here to present a rather similar but equally important matter as my colleagues. Themies of Danbury High School have opened numerous opportunities to the student body, cultivating them toward their dream pathways in a simple approach. But within ourselves, some or maybe even most of us face the problem of
012not being able to choose our courses to our liking. I've been a resident of Danbury for 10 months so far and I love the city. I was confused about how the school systems here functioned leaving me confused and lost. I was put into the academy of art, engineering and design to start of school and I wasn't very convinced that this was the field that I wanted to pursue in pursue a career in because the classes to me felt difficult and uncertain. This led me to requesting a change to the communication and design academy in order for me to take a step back and rethink my college choices and decisions in the future. I chose this particular academy because I wanted to explore the field of communications closely as a personal interest but I always wanted
013to pursue a career in healthcare. I got to know about the CNA courses offered in school for free of charge and this made me want to try it out and apply for it. But this is where I encountered the limitations of the academyy's program. My counselor told me that I could not apply for it just because I didn't belong in the scientific innovation and medicine academy. They told me that I would have to request a change if I wanted to switch and so I did while also taking in the fact that I had to take an essentials class all over again when it happens. For a certain fact, most of my peers who face this problem are already skilled with these classes and don't feel the necessity in doing a course that needs a year
014to be completed. For all the resources in our school given us, we are thankful. But it isn't fair as to how we cannot even take one course outside of our academy just because we want to try it out. But now I stand here today as being indecisive because the school has not given me the confirmation of switching my academy because that field usually has reached its maximum number of students. Another is I don't know if I'll be moving to the new school which raises the question of transportation changes. Also would I be able to take the courses that I've already applied for? Being a sophomore, it isn't likely as to whether I can choose my lifetime decision in just freshman year of an exploration course. That is just short that is just a short overview
015of career options that extends to more than what is taught, nor as a brand new student that just joins the school without being guided. The exploration of our careers should be allowed to various foundational and advanced placement classes, not as a barrier that forces us to stay within the bubble of convention education. professional education. Knowledge is power and we as future graduates tend to be knowledgeable in diversity, freedom, and innovation. Thank you. Thank you, Emily. You hear me? My name is Emily. I'm Chase. We can't hear you. Can you hear? My name is Emily and I'm a sophomore at every high school. And today I came to talk about how the academy system is not working for their students. The academy system at every high school was meant to help students explore careers and also
016the goals. In theory, it is a great idea, but in practice, it created more problems and solutions. Many students were placed inmies they didn't choose often without getting their first point type of choice. Placement award based on average performance but handed out. Hardworking students with clear goals are stuck in programs that they don't that don't match their future path without while other not put in the same effort are given those spots. It's unfair and doesn't work. Also, students weren't told that their academy placements would limit their access to programs like CNA and EMP. Before the system, students had the freedom to explore any programs they interested in. Now, those opportunities are blocked and students go longer. The rigid course structures make it hard to switchies. For example, a student essential of engineering and would change
017to math. As a junior, they'd have to go back to essentials, losing time and missing the chance to earn a certificate. For me personally, my top two choice were my medicine and health because I want to pursue a career in medical field. Instead, I was placed into my third choice engineer, which has nothing to do with what I want for my life. I have already tried to talk to counselors and administrators to switchmies and all I got was I can do anything with the school. It makes me understand that this space is limited. But when I tried to apply to CNA, I was told that I couldn't. Even though that program was never required anything specific from any student in the past, it has always been open to those who wanted to try. But now
018because of this whole academy system, the students are being deprived of opportunities that could help them in their career paths. I've worked hard to build my my future in healthcare. I write house certificates from my freshman year and from this year through clubs like wholesale and careers which shows my dedication and commitment to this field. Because of the academy placement, I missed out on the change to take programs that would have helped to support my college goals including opportunities connected to CNA and the MP which would make my college application stronger and more competitive. The school made the decision for me. Instead of helping me grow, the academy system has ended up holding. In conclusion, although the academy system might have started with a good intentions, its execution has caused more harm than good. Random
019placement ignored concerns, the lack of fairness and restrictions by turning the public schools to be supportive program. If the real goal is to help students succeed, then these schools should start truly listening to them and giving them back their power should be their own choice. Thank you very much. Thank you, Kevin. Good evening. My name is Kevin. I'm a proud parent of three children in our public schools. Fourth grade twins and a sixth grader. Uh I'm here to ask your attention for three topics across the school. Um all two of which are academically related. One is our district grading practices. There's an ongoing reliance in our schools on zeros and the assumption that grades and more specifically zeros effectively motivate student behavior and promote compliance. However, research consistently shows that punitive grading disproportionately harms students
020struggling with executive functioning, reinforcing disengagement rather than school improvement. It's time to re-evaluate our grading policies and empower our administrators to implement researchbased practices that prioritize feedback over punishment. The second issue I'd like to discuss is the implementation of the IR program in schools. My three children have vastly different experiences with I Ready, none of which fully aligned with curriculum associates publishers recommendations for implementation. Given that I Ready scores are used as a measure of our progress as recently as tonight's curriculum committee, ensuring its consistency and implementation is crucial to our success. I ask that the board assess how I ready minutes are monitored in our schools and the extent to which essential recess time is being replaced with I Ready minutes to meet district requirements. Students need breaks to stay engaged in learning and
021using instructional technology should not replace necessary movement and socialization in our schools. I ask that you consider prohibiting the use of minutes spent on the I Ready program as being used as a component of a student's grade. Time on task is not an accurate proxy for student proficiency or growth and contradicts again the publishers's recommendations for implementation. Third, I ask that I consider the extent to which IRE is being implemented as a general instructional tool to help offset the wellocumented staffing shortages that we're experiencing or as a targeted intervention tool to help our students succeed and compare our implementation to the recommendations of the Iran publisher. The third issue I'd like to raise tonight and perhaps the easiest of the three to address is public access to board meetings. Um I'm one of the watchers
022of every board meeting including your subcommittee meetings and I want to thank you all for all your selfless service uh that you provide to our community. While I appreciate the board meetings are accessible and live streamed, the audio feed on those meetings does not seem to be directly connected to our Zoom feed making it difficult for remote participants to hear clearly. Additionally, subcommittee meeting documents such as your finance subcommittee meetings are often not made available for public consumption prior to the meeting, making it challenging for community members like me to follow along. Um, I urge the board to improve transparency by improving audio quality and document access for all of our meetings. I'll close quickly by taking a moment to thank the faculty and administration. The challenges we face are many and the work ahead
023is significant. The willingness of every faculty member and administrator to engage in this difficult work is clear and I commend members of the board for their diligence in reviewing the district's financial position and business office for their responsiveness in rec improving financial reporting. It is appreciated and noticed. Lastly, as a community member and parent, I ask the board to create more opportunities for families to engage in these important discussions. There are many to be had as a community. Our schools are strongest when educators, administrators, and families work together to support our students. And there is a scarcity of opportunities for parents like me who are willing to work with you to engage in the improvement process. We're here and we can help. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you. Would anyone like to
024come before the board that did not sign the signs sheet at this time? Going once, going twice. Okay, we'll move on down to the agenda. Consent calendar. Teresa motion that the board of education approve consent calendar exhibits 25-50 through 25-55 in accordance with accordance with 11 minutes 3525 policy committee 25-50 32525 superintendent evaluation committee 25- -51 325 25 Special Board meeting 25-52 32625 Community Relations Committee 25-53 uh 32625 regular board meeting 25-54 at 4225 policy committee 25-55 by Teresa I hear a second Second. Seconded by Julie. Any question concerning the minutes or the committee meeting? Seeing none, all in favor of the motion, could I hear? I oppose. Opposed. I'm sorry. I forget. Motion. So care. Move on down. Do we have anybody anyone from our educational staff? Our student representative from ACE, we welcome
025you. Good evening board of ed members, cabinet and community members. Thank you for allowing me to Could you put your mic so we can hear you? It's not me. Can you hear me? There we go. Okay. Good evening board of ed members, cabinet, and community members. Thank you for allowing me to represent and speak on behalf of the alternative center for excellence. The first issue, not issue, the first thing I'd like to go over is that Melissa Laskkey in the ACE journalism class would like to invite you all to check out our first articles of the school year in the alternative times. The alternative times can be accessed at the at ace alternative times.com and on Twitter at ace all times. Second 11 students will be tra traveling to Elbridge Museum of Contemporary Art in
026Mfield Connect. Participate in the museum program sensory friendly museum tour which includes guided tour through two of the museum's current exhibit exeations. There we go. allowing students to explore current works on view with the museum educator and then create process-driven art inspired by those artworks in the museum studio. Third, on April 22nd, a students will be participating in all around ACE building and Earth Day activities. Students will be able to choose from the Earth Day activity menu using Google form this week to prepare for the day. Katy students from the aquatic science class will be going on a field trip to White Memorial Conservation Center to learn about microvertebrate and what type of microvertebrate represent there. The class will be able to compare their findings to what microvertebrate represented locally. The students will also be
027joined by Melissa, our art teacher, to do a photojournaling collaboration and identify certain species in the ecosystem. Senior flexes week of April 28th will be run by Melissa, Danella, Diana. Seniors will be writing senior speeches, rehearsing the ACE graduation, and having special senior lunch. The ACE graduation ceremony has been set for Tuesday, June 10th at 5:00 p.m. The location of the ceremony will be Middle School Auditorium. A special thanks to Bravio Admiration for allowing us to host our event there. Thank you all for allowing us to share what's going on with our ACE family and remain a strong. Next, I'd like to invite uh DSABC up to give us a presentation on their programming. And I want to start by thanking them for their collaboration and support of our students uh and staff and teachers.
028uh the work that you do for us is amazing and we're excited to hear your presentation. So, thank you and welcome. Hi everyone. While the presentation gets up, I'll just reintroduce myself. I'm Alexis Cukos, the executive director of DSAC. I'm also a graduate of Dan High School, class of 2012. So, it's really awesome to serve my community that I grew up in. Uh yeah, I'm Jen Tomo. I'm the chair of the board at DSABC and I also want to introduce you to several of our board members who joined us today. Um Jessica Westerfield, Sarah Ballard, and Jim. So today we're just going to give you an overview of what DSAC is for those of you that aren't as familiar with what we do and we'll give you an update on our progress this year. So
029our mission is to build the character and confidence of students in Danbury to achieve personal and academic success through business and community partnerships. Of course, we have an amazing relationship with Danbury public schools and we're so supportive of your support and we have great working relationship with the Danbury Chamber of Commerce and many businesses in Danbury as well as many community organizations. We are a nonprofit organization. We're a B1C3. Uh we started back in 1990. So this year we're celebrating 35 years of our programming and with our main programming being our one-on-one school-based mentoring. And that's a program that started back in 1990 and then was still going strong years later. Um, in the late 1990s, we started a scholarship program in which any student that graduates from our program, that means if they have
030a mentor during their years, including their junior and senior year of high school, they're eligible for a scholarship from our program. And it's a $1,000 scholarship that they can use toward any future endeavor. If that's a four-year college, a two-year college, or if they decide to join the workforce, we'll use that for equipment, supplies, or something to support them in their journey. up to $4,000. If they do decide to go to a four-year college, it can be renewed each year for up to $4,000. That's a recent change that we made. Um, in addition to the oneonone mentoring, the scholarships, we also support the schools and whatever um you all need. So, we um continually talk to the school to know what is um coming down the pike that we can support and we'll get into
031what we've done this year. Um, currently Michael Celix's been sitting on our board and giving us updates on Academy of Danberry so we can support the caddies through our business connections. Sorry for the small print here. I know we have a mirror of packets. Um, I thought it'd be great to just share with you a bit about our process and really the ins and outs of the one-on-one school-based mentoring. Essentially, what we spend a lot of our time doing is working with the business community to really promote about our program and to find individuals that want to give back and spend just a little bit of time each week mentoring a student. So, most of our mentors come from the greater family business community. Um, but some are retirees. Um, some are affiliate businesses, some
032are not. So, I'll a little bit later about our recruitment. Um, but what's really interesting about our program is that our mentors to stay with their student until they graduate. So once a mentor starts with a student, if they start in second, third, fourth grade, they can end up being with their mentor for 8, 9, 10 years until they graduate. And essentially, our program is simple. Mentors and mentees meet together once a week, usually it's during um lunch period or a pretty period like flex at the high school. and they're there and talking and listening to each other, sometimes playing a game and someday getting to know each other and building a really positive connection that will often last years into the future. And we know this really matters because a student that does have
033a mentor that has someone checking in with them are more likely to stay in school. They're more likely to show up to school. Um, we know that student forwards the days their mentors are visiting them. um they're more likely to have higher self-esteem, have um better grades in school, and our long-term goal is to really keep kids in school, keep them happy, and then want to um pursue a good career that will help them for their lifetime. And here's our simple onboarding process just so you kind of see what we share with the community. Um we try to keep it as simple as possible. We um this year we digitized everything. We onboard a brand new database that's specific for our mentoring and um all our applications go right into our database to try and
034simplify our process. So right now all our applications are online um you can sign up to be a mentor and also we have to sign up to sign up your child for a mentor as well. And um after the mentor signs up to be a mentor uh they get a link from our background check company and that um goes through their link so we don't have to get any personal information and we protect them from that. And then lastly we do a training with all our mentors. So we explain about the process, what to expect and have a good overview of the program before they start their first session. And of course we're always looking for more mentors. I'm going to take it off and I'll be um sharing some information afterwards too. So, flyers
035call you. Um so, I know all of us know the importance of a trusted adult and young person's life. And just here's a few stats from mentoring.org that really reinforces why mentors matter. And we know that mentors when a student has a mentor in their life, they're more likely to be involved in school. They're more likely to take on a leadership role. And the other cool sets too that we see later on in life is that students that have a mentor when they're young more likely to then give back when they're an adult and mentor a younger person. And of course there's other great results that happen while they're in school from having less behavioral issues, higher grades and better relationship with other adults. And I always tell our mentors that this might be the
036only positive relationship they really have with an adult that could be the gateway for them to have positive relationships with other adults in their life. that's their teacher, their counselors, um, and then peers as well. And then here's just a little information about who our mentors are and where our mentors come from. On the left hand side is a list of all of our um, current business partners and what really makes um, company a business partner is they're promoting our mentorship program to their employees. Um, they're supporting us financially as well. We do of course rely on grants to help support our day-to-day operations. And the ones that are start are the ones that we um just started working with this year. Um we have mentors from those different companies. A little over half our
037mentors come from these companies or come from all their local businesses in the greater Danbury community. Um we also have mentors that are retired school teachers or just retired and now want to give back to their community and they have a little bit more time. We have a few students from Westcon that mentor and then um the other ones kind of from all different community groups. Um, we spent a lot of time this year really trying to engage the community and going to different community resource fairs. For example, just set table at the early childhood fair last week. And we're also trying to connect with other community groups um senior center to Kanas to Rotary to find those that are serviceminded and that want to give back. Um, so that kind of just um summarizes
038um we're pretty busy this year getting the word out there about our programming and um what we're doing in there for schools. And I'd like to share that I just trained one more mentor today. So we're at 66 mentors trained. And the question I get a lot is who is in our program? Of course we all know that our district is large. We have a large high school. Um so we're always trying our best to really find those students that are most in need. And I'm really happy to share that this year we have placed some mentors at each endeavor. Um I know we've had mentors in the past but it's been quiet throughout the past couple years. So we were able to match mentors over there which has been awesome. Um most of our
039mentors or most of our students that get a mentor come from our school counselors and our school our school psychologists but each of the schools we have a designated school liaison um that really helps us run that dayto-day and finding those students and really being the boots on the ground support for us. So most of our students come from that but parents can refer their students to the program. We also get referrals from day youth services and the data juvenile review board. So really trying to find the students that are most in need that really could use that support. But of course at the end of the day we know that every student needs and deserves a mentor. So we're working hard to make those numbers increase year after year. I'm happy to share that
040um we almost doubled the number this past year. We ended last year at 92 mentoring matches and now we're at um 143. So we're just at the 150 mark. So, little by little, we're getting there. And again, sorry for the small font here, but um this is this year comparison at each of the schools. So, you'll see that most of our um schools, we were able to place more mentors or at least keep the same number. Um you'll see there's a few increases. Um King Street Intermediate's been um really great. Um, we've been working really closely with the social worker there and really identifying a lot of fifth graders that could use a positive role model in life before that transition that happens with fifth to sixth grade. Um, and I think it's a great
041model that hopefully we can adopt across the other schools too to really get fifth graders with a positive role model. So when they go to that new school, it's a little less scary because their mentors there waiting for them. And then again, this just shows the growth this past year. um you know each month you really add um more matches because grades and of course we do have some loss of matches and some closures um data grades pretty transient so sometimes students move out of the district um or move away um so of course that's basically the biggest um driver of why our matches close early and when does this happen as well as the mentor is willing able matching with a new student that is um you know needing of a mentor kind of
042from one of her students that having a mentor has truly been a blessing. I was very lucky lucky to be able to have a mentor, especially during one of the hardest times in my life. My mentor Danielle made me want to be a better person and work hard to get to where I want to be because I knew she'd always be there beside me because she chose to be. So, a lot of our students, you know, don't always say it in the beginning how much our men mean to them, but we hear this at our end of the year um breakfast where we celebrate graduating seniors and they share they're brave and willing um about their um experience and we know that they realize that you are taking the time out of your day to
043make a difference in their life. And then just um to wrap up with some feedback. Um every year we give our mentors a survey to their sense on um you know what's working, what can be improved upon. And we asked them last year about how they felt the mentoring sessions were impacting their students. And overwhelmingly they said they felt it was having a positive impact um with about 70% saying that. I a few feedback um notes right here. Um which I think that's very powerful seeing that qualitative feedback of a student going from not wanting to mentor really nervous and shy to now you know hey you're a minute late where are you? Um and also building that self-confidence that self-esteem we know really happens. Um so it takes a little while but over time
044having that consistent relationship we know really can make a difference. And then um this is a little more about our scholarship program. So we're happy to share that 100 have taken advantage of that and we've granted over 150,000 over the years information about program and how it is also beautiful. Um so in addition to their mentoring as I mentioned we try and um really meet the needs um of what's going on in our schools and through a grant from Union Savings Bank we were able to host two college tours bring a group of students from Gary High and Apekch to um last year we went to Central Valley Community College and this year we just went to Southern and University of New Haven last month and actually tomorrow we're bringing a group of students to
045no valley community college in Werry and best time. So we again try and show our students that are in our program, we give preference to our students that have mentors, but we open it to others too of what opportunities are available to them. And um another program that we um helped launch this year um after talking with um Michael Celig and the administration at Dway High School um we have so many great connections with the great business community. So we started doing these flex presentations and helping connect um various business leaders and people from different industries in the community to come offer short 20 25minute presentations during the student flex period to the relevant pathways. So in addition to taking their central course now they're learning about what the career is all about from someone
046in the field. Um and they've been really well received so far and it's um hopefully something that can grow over time. Here just a few of the recent presentations that we held with engineer from PMCSTs Alena who's a chef who shared her different um culinary pathways with students and then um representative Santos who talked about his um different um pathways as well. And um just a note about our funding. I know there was a question last year that came up and you know what are we spending our money on? Where's the money come from? Um, so we did have a significant increase in our budget this year and I'll pass it over to our chair Jen Toino to explain that. Um, and then here's just an expense breakdown. Of course, most of our um, expenses
047are program related. Um, so I'm general administrative and then we have a small fundraising as well. I just wanted to update everybody on our transition. We had a little bit of a structural change. So for the first 34 years or so, we had a somewhat informal agreement with the schools that um they the schools provided the executive director salary as an um donation in kind donation along with office space and then um we obviously rely on our grants from our um organizational partners um to supply the rest of our funding. So this year we transitioned to a trans um technical service provider. Um so I want to thank the board because they've done a lot of work establishing um that structure for us and coming up with an employee handbook and finding um healthc care
048for our uh employee. We have a very small staff. We've got Alexis and two part-time people. Um but you know we did we've done a lot of work. Um Jim has done an RFP for um our investment services for our um scholarship funds. Um so there's been a lot of work done, but now you see um the budget instead of having those expenses be in kind that didn't show up in the budget before, now they are a part of um our budget. So that's the reason for the change really. And then here's our revenue sources um predominantly from this year. So those that joy does come from corporate grants and of course the technical services provider fee that Jen mentioned. We did receive a onetime donation from city of Danbury last year that was um
049part of a fund that they had excess money from that we were able to um that funding. We also of course get some funding from our fundraising and our individual donations. Um but of course we provide our lead um mostly on the corporate grants and helping and we are using that that one time donation from the city to grow. So we're using it for some advertising. So this was for those ads on the radio. So we're excited about that. Um and we did actually um use a portion to start somebody to work more closely with the schools on a part-time basis. So our goal is really to try to use those funds to grow um those mentor mentee matches mentors. And then last but not least, we invite all of you to be a part
050of our scholarship awards breakfast this Tuesday, June 3rd at the AM room um at 7:45 a.m. that I can share at the end as well for everyone. Um, so if you are interested in attending, um, Cara will be, um, handling RSVPs for that, so you can reach out to her directly and then she'll make sure the list gets to me. Um, and I'm really excited to have you all there. It's a beautiful morning um, celebrating our graduating seniors. We celebrate our mentors who have achieved um, various service milestones this year. We have 51 15 years. And then we also have um Chef Sean Obby who is a graduate from our mentorship program from the class of 1998 will be speaking um as well. Is there anything um and open up to any questions or comments?
051Thank you. Jen, I just wanted to say thank you to both of you for being such a great partner. I wasn't really until this year I fully understand the understood the depth and breath of just what the SABC did and just the impact they were having not only on kids but in scholarships and partnerships. Um I'm so proud of the work we've been able to do with getting these flex presenters in every week at the high school. Um, it's been just a such a great on-ramp to sort of getting getting everybody ready for, you know, the big launch of the the academy next year and I'm really excited about continuing to work with you all and uh making sure that we were able to keep that program in place for next year. So, thank you
052all for everything you do and it's it's an absolute pleasure working with you. Thank you. Yeah, I will also say that those opportunities often spark interest in somebody becoming a mentor. So, thank you for letting us help you with that because it's a great way for people to learn about it's intimidating sometimes to ask somebody to start mentoring somebody for possibly 12 years. Um, but they'll say, "Oh, I can come and speak to the class about, you know, about what I do." So, so thank you for that. Thank you. Does any board members have anything to say? Again, we appreciate you. We know how important it is to have a mentor. Uh, long time ago, I mentored for 12 years. So, you know, I know and I enjoyed when I did it and I enjoyed
053the students that I came in contact with. So, thank you again. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you again, Jennifer and Alexis. We appreciate you taking your time this evening and your ongoing collaboration with us. Um, so on behalf of uh Dr. Dr. Casemiro, I'm going to do the superintendent reports and update this evening and ask a few members of the cabinet team to uh support with that. Uh Dr. Casemiro is attending a conference in Washington DC for uh the bar grant that we received, which is why she's not here this evening. Uh the first item that I'd like to review for the superintendent's update is um a need to change one of our June board of education meetings. Um the meeting is scheduled for June 11th. It's a regular board of ed education
054meeting and we are asking that the board move that meeting to June 10th. Um the reason for that is um that now we are kind of beyond the snow day season. We are able [Music] Um, thank you. Um, now that we are ear uh nearing the end of kind of the snow season, we are able to finalize our last day of school. Our last day of school will be Thursday, June 12th um for all schools except for Broadview Middle School. Uh the reason for that is Broadview did need to have one day that they were closed um and students were unable to attend. So those students will need to finish on Friday, June 13th. That will be their last or final day of school. Um so we are go moving forward with setting our graduation
055dates. Um Wednesday of that week will be the high school graduation uh which would replace the originally scheduled board of education meeting and Monday of that week would uh be our middle school graduations. Um so those dates are Monday June 9th for middle school graduation and Wednesday June 11th for the high school graduation. ACE will do their graduation on June 10th, uh, which is Tuesday, but it will be in advance of the board of education meeting. You will receive copies of all this information with the exact times and locations and details, but I just wanted to overview that for you. Any questions? Next up is Family University. Um, I want to remind everyone, um, that Ann me and her group are doing the family university on April 26th. It's going to run from 9:30 in
056the morning until 1:30 in the afternoon and will occur at Rogers Park Middle School. Um, we are going to work to have a table set up. I spoke to um, floor chair Cooper earlier today. A table set up for the board of education members for those of you that choose to go there um, just like we did last year. and we'd invite you to come and check out the wonderful activities that we'll have going on there for students and families. There's a flyer also included with a QR code if you'd like to look at the details of it. Saturday, it will be on this Saturday. Saturday, that's correct. Um, next I'm going to ask Mike Weaver to do a budget update for us. Thank you. Um so as we uh may remember we had initial
057uh request of 494964 as the uh superintendent and a and a board budget. Um we received um the information that we were going to get the mayor's proposed of 172,000 um sorry um with an additional $4 million of expected uh excess in ARPA funds. The original ARPA fund we had was $7.7 million. So the unused portion of that um there was a number a figure of 1.154 in CIP 9.1 in alliance 12,800,000 in in kind uh in kind is the uh the services that the the finan the dollar value of the services that the city provides for us such as um gardening services and and 300,000 in Head Start for a total of $199,391410 $199 million I'm sorry 1999 million thank you 199 million what was that number 391 Thank you Mike I'd also like
058to review an update of uh our core uh we earlier this evening had a presentation. Um our core is our K5 literacy program that we've rolled out over the past two school years. Um last school year we implemented K3 and then um continued into grades four five uh this school year. Uh we are seeing tremendous growth with our students in the area of ELA. Um and we are seeing some improvements as well in the area of mathematics that we believe is a direct um direct effect of the implementation of that program. Um those increases are across all students. Um they're across our English language learner students, special education students. Um and we are just so excited and proud of the work in progress that we're seeing. I want to thank our uh curriculum team, uh
059our leadership team, our teachers, and our students and families. It has truly been a team effort. I think one of the strengths of the roll out of this program is we were afforded through um uh ESSER funding to be able to do a significant uh purchase of supplies, equipments and materials. So we purchased everything all components of the program. Um we were also able to purchase a professional development package that includes uh coaching by both our internal staff as well as some of the program program staff to come in and give us feedback. Um, in addition, we are also the recipients of uh a partnership with the Connecticut State Department of Education uh to receive additional training through the Hill uh literacy. Um, and that really talks about the science of reading or really making
060sure our teachers and educators understand how students learn to read so that they can make beyond the- moment instructional decisions and swaps. So, for those or switches or changes, I should say um in instruction. Um so I just want to um reference for those of you and many of you were there attended the presentation uh of the curriculum committee earlier this evening. Um but really the the team has done a wonderful effort um and I'm excited for things to come in the years to come related to our literacy. Um the last item I just wanted to overview um is a start times for the 2526 school year. Uh Dr. Casemiro had shared some information on this in an earlier board of education meeting. Um with the addition of uh Danbury West, we are looking at
061our tiered busing system and with that um we have not made a final decision but are in the process of slight adjustments to our tiers which would in of our busing or transportation services um which could slightly impact the start times of some of our schools for next school year. They will not be significant changes, but they will be slight adjustments. And we are hoping to finalize those decisions in the coming weeks, and you will receive an update um in either the next board meeting or the one thereafter um on final decisions that we've made there. I just also wanted to thank our uh student representatives that came out this evening to speak, the students that spoke uh during our public session as well as the parent. Um and we will certainly take those feedbacks
062into consideration um in our planning moving forward. Any questions? Board members asking a question to admin. I can I just ask a question about the start times? Is it looking at all start times or is it just or do you not want to say right now? Um we are looking at everything. Okay. Um will everything change? No. Uh but we are looking at everything to make sure that we're maximizing our transportation services that we're able to provide a tiered system that gets students to school as quickly and efficiently and safely as possible. Um but with the adjustment of the two campuses for the high school level, it will they are a first tier of busing. Um we also have non-publiclix in there which is another uh tier of busing, middle school tier and then two
063elementary tiers. So we are looking to slightly adjust those times um to maximize the efficiency across the system. M when you're looking at that tier system, how does it affect the time of the student on the bus? cuz like I know I think my daughter is on there for like an hour. So is that going to be impacted? We are taking into consideration we are not looking to lengthen uh the time that students are riding the bus. If anything being a little bit more efficient with that um but in order to um the addition of the high school and Westside Middle School are our two schools right now um that you boss across the entire city because students come from any location. Um so at the addition of Danbury um West will has another a
064third school that will have across the entire city we'll need to transport students. So we just think we need to expand the time between our high school and middle school start time so that we're not uh you know we're not having students wait out for the bus too long. Um and that might ripple through the system slightly. One question. Um, is there thought process of ever making Westside a neighborhood school to help eliminate some of that problem? Um, so I know that has been discussed in the past and I think you know always looking at decisions but that is not something I mean not going to this year obviously. No, but it is something that we talk about from time to Mr. Danella. Do you have any questions? Yes, I do. Mike Weaver. Mike, I'm
065a bit uh confused on the $4 million of the offer money. Is that new in addition to the 7.5 we received last year uh from the state? Uh no, Mr. Janelli, it's not. There was originally 7.5 plus later on the year we had uh an addition of another 202,000. Currently, we're reporting that out as 7 uh I'm sorry, I keep saying thousand, 7.7 million. Um the four million is what the mayor has anticipated us to have left uh after this year going into the new fiscal year. So what you're saying is that of the 7.7 we've got $4 million that we haven't spent yet. That's what the city is anticipating. Um currently we have not um had anything charged against that 7.7. Uh we're working uh right now with the city to get uh some
066of the IT purchases for this year process, but there's currently nothing against it as we speak. Yeah. But you know, from a from my point of view, for the last 20 years, we've been saying that we've been underfunded. I can't understand why we haven't encumbered any monies against this $7.7 million or haven't found anything to to spend it against. Why does it take so long to to spend money if we keep complaining that we're underfunded? Uh the the there was a spending plan for the original 7.5 that's still in effect right now. um we were keeping all of the expenses in the general fund um until we needed to move them over um because we found that we can actually use that 7.7 into next year. So we were seeing um how much we could
067absorb in this fiscal year to move that um for the next fiscal year. Okay. Thank you. Yes. I have a question just on the busing again. Are we are we going to be looking to have students go from one campus to the other like I thought we had talked about for music? I'm hearing something different. So, is this part of what we because I know we were talking about getting this transportation at the beginning of the school year. It looks like we might just be getting to the very end of the year before we figure it out. Is that part of it? We are looking at all of that as part of the transportation restructure. Thank you. Sorry. Do we have a transportation person yet? Uh right now we have been actively interviewing uh for
068the person. Um and uh we will be finalizing uh those interviews probably in the next week or two. Um in the meantime um we have uh utilized our prior transportation person for some support in terms of any more questions. move on down before we uh go to our standing committee. Uh and I thought that was Ralph, but Ralph, it's good to see you. Good to see you. Okay, I miss the people, but not the problem. Okay, our standing committees, we're going to start with the sites and facilities first. Our next uh meeting is scheduled for April 23rd 23rd and it'll be right before our board. Okay. Thank you. Community relations. Okay. Um I don't have anything to report at this time. Uh but I do want to just reiterate what um Mr. Trish just talked
069about with the family university on April 26th. I hope that board members be able to attend. Thank you. learn commit curriculum. We had such a beautiful presentation. So, um we just had a fantastic presentation for curriculum right before tonight's um board meeting and then um we don't have another curriculum meeting for a little bit, but tonight's presentation was awesome. Thank you. Thank you for setting that up. Finance, Mr. Jeni. Uh this Friday, Mike, myself, and Dr. as uh will meet to create an agenda for the finance meeting uh to be held on Monday, April 21st. That's I believe the first day back from the uh spring vacation. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. uh policy Kate uh you'll see a number of uh policies that are on tonight's agenda for first read and then our next
070meeting is going to be May 12th and we'll be uh highlighting the school conduct policy that our administration is currently working on school are there any question concerning committee reports I hope that when we at this our agenda and the committee reports are in there and the minutes. We will take a few moments and go over those minutes because some of the question that we ask are asked at the uh committee meetings and then we don't have to double ask the questions at our board meeting. So just just read your minutes if they're in your package. Yes. Um, it's still uh I'm still troubled by the policy committee adopting very lenient um uh grading standards uh if you could call them standards uh for athletes and uh artists. Uh I was my question is I
071I didn't think about this until later. Does for example in the sports uh conferences that we belong to are there any academic standards that we have to adhere to? Yes, the C Yes, the CIA uh for all uh athletics uh has their own standards that students have to obtain a minimum uh grade point average uh and passing rate of courses. Shouldn't we refer to that in our student policy book? So, it it is located in um your handbook for the high school. Um but certainly the policy committee um the I think the policy you're referring to, the one that was uh voted to repeal that policy um was kind of an add-on on top of that that didn't have any it didn't it didn't have any weight that was further implemented than the CIA rules.
072We are obligated to follow the CIA rules and certainly in the policy uh forum we can bring that back up if you want to make reference to those. I think um I would feel more confident in our policy. Um and I'd have to look specifically at the not the footnotes that are on each of the policies if there's any current reference under grading to our to the CIA rules because they could change them from time to time. So you don't I would not recommend spelling them out but making a reference to them a reference to the current policy the CIA. What I would recommend is that we bring that up as an agenda item on our next Thank you. I feel much more comfortable about that. and move on now to our action item. Al
073would do action item A. Denver High School 2025 graduation day. I make a motion that the board of education set Wednesday, June 11th, 2025 as the 2025 graduating date for the Damry High School. Motion made by Aaron. Could I hear a second? Seconded by Lauren. Any questions? Shouldn't be any. All in favor, could I hear I? I I oppose the motion. So car action item B K. I have a motion that the board of education accept for first reading policy 5114 suspension and expulsion/due process as recommended by the policy committee and in accordance with exhibit 25-56. Motion made by Kate, seconded by Al. Any question concerning that policy? Seeing none. All in favor? Could I hear? I oppose. Motion so carried. Action item C. Michelle. Policy 5125, student records confidentiality. Motion that the board of
074education accept for the first reading policy 5125 student records confidentiality as recommended by the policy committee and in accordance with 25-57. Motion made by Michelle second. Second by any question seeing none. All in favor I hear I oppose. Motion so car Louisa action item Z motion that the board of education accept for first reading policy 5125.11 health/medical records as recommended by the policy committee in accordance with 25-58. Motion made by Louisa. Could I hear a second? Second by Kate. Any questions? Seeing none. All in favor? Could I hear I? I. Motion self carried. Dr. Cronin policy um E. Action item E. Okay. Action item E, policy 5131. Uh one, conduct motion that the board of education accept the first reading policy 5131. uh.1 uh bus conduct as recommended by the policy committee and in accordance
075with 25-59 policy made by Dr. Croman. Could I hear a second? Second. Second. Seconded by Lauren. Any questions? Seeing none. All in favor could I? I oppose. Motion so carry. Julie policy E F F Too many of them. Motion that the board of education accept request reading policy 5131-6 alcohol use drugs and tobacco including performance enhancing substances as recommended by the policy committee and in accordance with 25-60 pol uh made u motion made by Julie. Did I hear a second? Second. Seconded by air. All in favor? Are there any questions? All in favor, could I hear I? I motion so carried. Okay. Policy number action item G. Could I hear um Teresa? G policy 5131.7 weapons and dangerous instruments. Motion that the board of education accept for first reading policy 5131 period 7 weapons and
076dangerous instruments as recommended by the policy committee and in accordance with 25-61. Motion made by Teresa. Could I hear a second? Second. Seconded by Louisa. Any question concerning the policy? Seeing none. All in favor? Could I hear I? I. Motion so carried. Lauren Ku H policy 5132 dressing and grooming. I make a motion that the board of education accept for first reading policy 5132 dressing and grooming as recommended by the policy committee and in accordance with 25-62. Motion made by Lauren. Could I hear second? Seconded by K. Any question concerning that policy? Seeing none. All in favor could I hear I? I I Okay. And opposed? Motion. So carry. Okay. Move on down the agenda. Do we have any information on the healthy? Yes. Um so in your packet this evening, you have information on
077the healthy food uh certification. This is for information. Um each year uh the uh healthy food certification is a statute which requires local boards of education uh for public schools participating in the national school lunch program to determine and certify whether all food items that are sold to students um separately from reimburseable meals will meet the Connecticut nutrition standards. Uh so this document is here for your review this evening and we will be asking at the next board meeting that you vote on it. there's any questions regarding it, please uh let me know and I'll also ask Mike uh if you have any input. Okay. I'm going to ask for board communication because I know Teresa did a visit uh to South Street. Okay. Oh, thank you. I'm going to do it. Went to the
078art show at South Street School. Uh it was for kindergarten and uh one was their rainforest and they had two charming young students identified the various animals that were uh displayed on the uh actually was a big display on the wall and then a young boy he did the uh Mona Lisa talking about that. I was shocked at kindergarten they knew about the Mona Lisa because I don't think I knew about the Mona Lisa when I was in kindergarten. Um and there were various uh drawings from the students and they were asked what made they they were wondering what the question was why was she smiling and then the students answered what they what they smile at uh under a flap on their drawing. but makes them smile like their brother does something or it
079was just very charming but I and I was so glad I could go. Thank you. I attended the kindergarten too art show. It was beautiful. The two the three presentations were beautiful. The young the young kindergarten didn't skip a beat. They did their presentation just like an adult. So that taught me that our teachers are working hard with the students and I wish you just and the kids that she had 19 kids in the I shouldn't say kids 19 students in the classroom. They did not you wouldn't even hear a mouse drop or walk around the pool. They were doing what they were supposed to do in the class. And I was just excited. I after I got there, I said, "Why did I accept to come here at 9:30 in the morning, but it
080was worth it. It was worth it." So, I invite you all when you have the opportunity and you are invited to go. Okay. Why not? So, I was able to go that and um I was very impressed with the presentation of kindergarten students um just from memory what they had presented. But um Glenn Davidson is the teacher in the kindergarten class and she did ask for me to announce to let you know that uh the presentation will be going on into Friday and encourage any board member who would like to please stop Friday South Street. Kate, I think I think you could go. You let them know right that you're coming. Yes. Email Mr. Davidson. Uh this past Saturday was the early childhood fair at Rogersburg Middle School and I just want to commend uh
081Minnie Santos and the team that uh put that that together. Um it was really uh a ton of different u community organizations there as resources for our families and our young students and it was very well attended despite the rain. So I just want to uh commend the folks on that. Um I also this afternoon uh attended a um lunchon for the uh families network of western Connecticut and uh I I was there as the uh ed advance liaison um in that capacity. Um but it was a a really wonderful event and again a lot of agencies and groups that coordinate in the Denver area to provide support to families and to ensure that we're taking care of um our young people, our most vulnerable population. Just fine. Thank you. Thank you, Kim. We move
082on down the [Music] agenda. Okay. Um just a reminder uh that on April 22nd um will be the public hearing um at the city hall uh regarding uh budget discussions. Um and then uh Miss Cooper also asked for a reminder that on April 29th um the superintendent evaluation and there was um a survey correct Miss Cooper that you wanted the board members to complete. Okay. And if they are not going to come to the meeting, just take a few moments to read the uh survey and so we won't come to a meeting stand two and three hours when you can look at it, fill it out, you know, and then when we come to the meeting, you can bring it and we have half of it done. So that's what I'm hoping. Question. Do we
083have a date for the evaluation? Is it the 28th or the 29th? The 29th. The 29th. Yeah, she did this. Okay, last thing, read your information again and you know be sort of informed and I know we all have other obligations. So, I'm hoping that if we move forward, we can uh be more uh effective in in our minutes and our questions and our time that we devote that we don't even get. Yes, we do. we get a thank you for, but we want to come to our meetings and get out and start on time, get out on time. So, if there's nothing else, I ask for a motion to adjourn. So, oh, can we Sorry. Can I just ask before we adjourn? I apologize. Uh Kim wanted to talk about upcoming contract negotiations. I
084apologize, Kim. Just two seconds. Um I'm going to ask Carl Canada to help me to circulate a memo to all of you. Um but this spring and summer we're actually negotiating six contracts. Um one is the teachers and um Mr. Mooney will be your lead negotiator. So um he's just forming his um meeting schedule and and that piece first. So that's this summer teachers and we'll need two board members please. Uh and then the remaining five are non-certified contracts. Um and so that's about 10 slots for folks. So, if I I don't want to rely too heavily on the same people. I want to write love to have all of you. Um, so I'm going to I'm going to ask uh Cara to send out a maybe we'll do like an Excel spreadsheet or something.
085And um hopefully we'll I'll work with you on the times. Um it's a little bit of a juggle because some of the groups like to meet right at the end of the day, others were for evening. Um and we are going to summer with the teachers. So um you know, I'll try to give you some sense of how flexible the time frames are, too. But you're wrong person. No, you don't have to take minutes to No, that's that's the bonus. Don't we sign up in the beginning of the year? Like when we sign up for our PTOs, don't we sign up for what? Like we do. I think we have two people maybe three in each in non-certified and certified. I can certainly pull those names for the certified one for the teachers and we've
086already got those set for this year. But the others are so many it would be a lot for only two people. Okay. Okay. So, I have to spread the wealth a little bit. Thank you, Kim. Thank you. And I'm sorry I'm over with you. Last thing I want to u remind members because I forget and we all have other duties to do this last chief with all the dates and times of the place. You know, I just had mine up above my computer. we all be calling car all the time and and uh you know so I'm telling you it's it's printed right there where you have to be if you want to go on this last sheet on her you know I want you to notice that the date for uh the closure of
087the schools should be the 26th and not the 27th of May for Memorial Day. Thank you. We often not. Thank you. No, I think I think so. I have to check. Okay. Okay. I take entertain a motion to adjurnn. I make the motion to adjurnn. So,