Danbury Board of Education Meeting 9-23-20

001pledge allegiance to the flag and before we all sit down i think it's  proper and fitting for us to have a moment   of silence for supreme justice ruth  ginsburg and i was just listening at her bio the tv a small sleep lady very and she talked about how he came out of law school   she could not do the job she had three strikes  against her number one she was obama number two   she was a mother and number three she was jewish  and i said to myself when are we gonna stop   looking at people about their nationality  wherever they came from and just accept people   as they are and and uh i simply would  like to say to her family that we are   um much support at the sad time so could  we just have a

002moment of silence please all right thanks gladys uh joseph britton  is uh absent at this time expected later   on the call rachel celeski here  kate canetta here gladys cooper she's here lauren daley here uh joe da silva  president catherine hodgson here rich gianelli   kathy molinaro here al russo here  amy scalina here that's ten present   and before we move on ask our board  members to please uh mute you uh is mr walston here as well kevin are you here i'm here okay great because he's been running the  program well we have dan here as well tonight uh   we're very proud in saroya is no stranger that  is bored she has been in front of us a number   of times she's just a real dynamo and has just  been outreaching to students ever since she's   been here

003just doing the impossible things which  really make her a hero and then we have we're   fortunate to be able to recognize her kevin do  you want to update the board a little bit sure   sure we so we so good good evening board of  education um becca also good to see you as well   so we have an opportunity to celebrate  our 2019-2020 teacher of the year   we had an opportunity to survey the community  during the spring received a lot of feedback   um throughout the entire system and and  teachers and and families uh recommending   uh staff members and quite frankly if there was  every every year i recall being in a meeting with   cabinet and if there was ever a year we needed to  recognize all of our staff members the 1920 year   uh was one of

004them um but we had one staff member  in particular um that really stood out amongst   the rest and we wanted to find an opportunity  to make sure we celebrate that staff member   to to dr sal's point this is certainly  not a stranger to the board or to the   danbury community she has uh played a significant  leadership role in our uh bilingual pipeline   program we've had opportunities to uh brag  about this program celebrate this program   statewide i mean and and and and and two and given  the investment we now have um our first graduate   from that program after i believe eight nine years  invested we had our first graduate in the program   is actually leading instruction in one of our  classrooms at pembroke elementary school and i   think this is a significant tribute to soraya  the

005partnerships he has forged at westcon and   quite frankly we are delighted to have her  here this evening and celebrate i think dan   dan donovan principal has a few things to say  go ahead dan uh good evening it's my pleasure   to be here tonight to present soraya bilbao as the  teacher of the year recognition that is more than   uh deserved for her sorayah's favorite quote is  a personal model that she lives by is one person   can make a dish a difference and everyone should  try by the time i'm finished you'll see she tries   to live up to that model in every possible way  soraya is a english is a second language teacher   at danbury high school this is her seventh year  at dhs currently teaches the newcomers class but   has also taught esl one esl two

006and for two years  she even taught a curriculum a system 44 an online   reading program for struggling readers for many  students coming to into dhs for the first time   sarai is the first person they come into contact  with she goes out of her way to make sure each   one of them feels special and is welcome welcomes  them with open arms sarai is always on the lookout   for opportunities to encourage and help  english learners achieve their dreams of   attending college in the 1617 school year  soraya launched an ap spanish independent   program for english learners at dhs this weekly  after school study session provides esl students   who are native spanish speakers the opportunity to  take the ap spanish exam as an independent study   since its inception 102 esl students have taken  the ap stance that was not

007my phone of these 65   scored three or higher which is an impressive 64  pass rate a 64 pass rate while only meeting once   a week with these students we need to let  that one sit in for just a moment another   outstanding program is uh which has psoriasis  fingerprints all over it as kevin mentioned   uh is the building to bridges and the pipeline  the minority pipeline program at westcon the   building bridges to college program offered esl  students the opportunity to experience firsthand   what it's like to attend college in the united  states the culmination of this program was a   hundred esl students who visited westcon and spent  the day with college representatives once was over   uh esl students wrote things like thank you dr  sal and ms balbel because for for me going on   this trip was

008a unique experience that i loved and  will continue to strive to enter the university   another one wrote i would like to thank you  for the opportunity because i've never gone   to a university united states and this was a great  opportunity from 2017 to 2020 soraya took over the   instructing the role of instructing the minority  teaching pipeline program at westcott this unique   two-semester college course offered minority and  bilingual dhs students the opportunity to explore   a career in teaching with an emphasis on esl and  bilingual education while earning both college and   high school graduation credits through field  work and coursework these students developed   and taught lesson plans that incorporate best  practices and sheltered instruction to children   participating in a summer program at ellsworth  avenue school observed other peers and certified   esl and bilingual teachers reflected on classroom 

009management and teaching different strategies   and the culminating event is a poster session  where students showcase what they've completed   uh through their teaching portfolios in addition  to promoting educational opportunities sarai   has always supported youth felt advocacy  groups alongside dhs students participating   in a community-based advocacy group called ct  students for a dream she has also testified the   state capital in support of undocumented students  who are attending college for equal access funds   on april 25th 2018 governor malloy signed that  bill into law along with her teaching sarai is   very active in the danbury high school community  she served as an advisor to the after school   fight child hunger club the brazilian club  she served on the school governance council   was a member of the nia steering committee  and currently serves as the nea danbury union   building chair for

010danbury high school prior to  teaching soraya worked in numerous non-profit   organizations such as americorps and the united  states peace corps in this volunteer capacity   she served as a community educator in the kingdom  of tonga in the south pacific she taught english   english at a primary school in high school where  she worked with village youth to implement various   community-based projects such as village-wide  recycling programs a youth leadership exchange   and a community play it was it was her peace  corps experience that inspired her to pursue a   career in teaching in her spare time now i  know what you're all thinking about that uh   same thing i was what spare time sir i enjoy swing  dancing reading fiction mostly from stephen king   riding her bike on trails exploring new places  and spending time with her family and friends  

011she enjoys writing and has submitted several humor  pieces for publication to the denver high school   online newspaper the hatter's herald remember  the quote from jfk about one person making a   difference i believe you would agree with  me that sarai has done everything in her   power to live up to that motto at this time  i would ask that you unmute your mics and   join me giving a tremendous round of applause  to our dps teacher of the year soraya bilbao mariah hello everyone uh so my name is soraya  bilbao i'm an esl teacher at danbury high school   and uh the tears were already coming down before  i muted myself so um i just when it was uh   when kevin and grant mentioned to me that um  the board and administrators had decided to uh   bestow this uh

012recognition to me i i was very  moved um since uh joining uh danbury high school   and working with denver public schools i  have to say it's all been a team effort   everything that dan mentioned i couldn't have  done without the support the encouragement   of fellow colleagues and administrators who  believe in in making a difference and making it   a positive change in young people's lives i all  of this i kept thinking back when my first day   when i was uh myself a senior in high school and  i visited fairfield university for the first time   and i remember going to my uh tour and  immediately feeling this is where i need to be   and um it was one of the best decisions uh  and i it was a phenomenal education that   same experience and feeling was what

013i felt the  first day i interviewed at jamboree high school   when i went for my interview i walked  into that that board that meeting room   i met with everyone i walked out and i had that  exact same feeling this is where i need to be this   is where i want to work and this is where i can  make a difference so i just want to say thank you   for giving me the opportunity to work with such  dedicated and outstanding individuals every single   person that i've come in contact with through  danbury high school in denver public schools   are just as dedicated so i think there should be  a a whole staff of the year recognition because   i i can't everyone goes above and beyond what  they can to support our students and especially   i'm honored to

014have the privilege to teach  and learn from some of the most exceptional   students that i've encountered every single  one of them my esl students our esl students   it's the language barrier but they want to succeed  they want to make a difference and i'm just happy   and proud to be given the opportunity to help  them reach their goals so i just want to again   thank you for this amazing recognition for the  kind words and i look forward to many more years   working with all of you to continue making  a difference and putting danbury high school   denver public schools on the map as one  of the best places to work so thank you i don't know if any board members have a comment   i would just like to say on behalf of the  board thank you we

015are blessed to have you   and uh just continue to go to work we are  very proud of you thank you so very much thank you ryan congratulations congratulations  uh really incredible when i'm listening to dan   it's just you know we've been here a long time and  and we just sort of expect things and and you just   always step up and always have youngsters in the  front of your thinking and we're so blessed as   gladys said to have you with us so i'm really  proud of you congratulations thank you so much moving on with the agenda we  want to have public participation   sure due to the unique nature of the kovic  19 crisis and the limitations of technology   members of the public who are danbury residents  are invited to send brief comments and questions   via email

016in advance to dps underscore public  comment underscore b-o-e at danbury.k12.ct.us all comments read out loud will be limited  to three minutes uh contributors 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 or against any person  connected with the danbury public school system i'm ready okay first comment is from minnie santa  santosh as a middle school student's parent my   son has distance learning and will be there for  a while did the district take measures to have   the privacy safeguards in place for students as  they are on the camera through the entire distance   learning can the district work on a digital  background backdrop to blur the background as it   is an intrusion of privacy

017as an early childhood  educator how is the district expecting a pre-k   student with special needs to be on a chromebook  for two and a half hours a day doing virtual   distance learning and ensuring that it is a fairly  fair delivery of services to the child and also   expecting the child care centers to coordinate  these services for them if they are at their child   care centers while the centers have up to 15 other  students in the classroom with minimum staffing   eric forman it is clear that some administrators  and teachers are working very hard during this   challenging time however there is an overall  apparent feeling that more needs to be done   why isn't the board of education  meeting weekly we are in the midst   of the biggest generational problem  our educational system will ever face   and what

018we receive from our high school principle  is guess it's full distance learning for everyone   i know we are trying to position the recent  decisions as sound and well thought out but   the reality is we are in the bottom 17 of all  state high schools in terms of graduation rate   not having a plan to immediately address the  overcrowded high school is quite frankly insulting   we are spending our time trying to communicate  and execute on an overly complex schedule while   the kids are suffering suffering yes the kids are  suffering and this is reality we need leadership   and it is sorely lacking kids rely on teachers  teachers rely on administration and the board   of ed is just a report out tool now is not the  time for parents to hear it's not my decision   or we are following

019state guidelines we are  looking for a leader with courage to step up and   lead us out of the hole we have put ourselves  in confidence is low and our kids are hurting   melinda scott at the last meeting it was mentioned  that there were a few problems with technology   many teachers are finding that this is not  the case wi-fi connectivity for those who have   chosen to go into the school buildings has been  troublesome at best as with some of our students   calls are often dropped we know google went down a  couple times and the fantastically awkward frozen   face has happened for all of us despite the issues  i want to point out that we are really making it   work kids and adults alike have achieved great  new levels of i.t support i am deeply concerned   about

020the connectivity when we are all in the  buildings though when students with students   and teachers i know upgrades were mentioned  but based on experience i remain concerned   to update you on the opening so far i am so proud  of my students for their tenacity and perseverance   despite the challenges i have had better  attendance virtually than i normally have   in school the first few weeks i have had several  students leave for appointments the usual dentist   doctor or flu shot and rather than be gone for  the day like when we were in school they hop   right back on as soon as they get home don't get  me wrong i am exhausted the pace and requirements   for the teacher are extreme but my students are  engaged and working for that i am very grateful   lastly i want to

021express my feelings on opening  and hopefully staying virtual as i said for me   the teacher teaching the slaves is is exhausting  and hours are way too long it is impossible to get   it all done but being in school in an all-distance  model allows for much needed consistency right now   parents have made a plan for all five days and  they can be confident in those plans not changing   the kids are also benefiting from this consistency  and teachers too unlike surrounding districts who   have had to shut down because of positive cases  our teachers students and families can be assured   a regular day every day of the week i hope this  will be considered when making the decision to   return to the hybrid model as that shift alone  is going to only exacerbate the challenges   michael milligan the

022covid crisis has caught us  all off guard and unprepared the second half of   the spring session was a learning experience for  everyone but it was also a time to become better   at meeting the challenges presented by distance  learning as a first grade teacher and an employee   of the board of ed for over 20 years as well as a  product of dps i know i have met and overcome the   challenges of working from home and effectively  reaching and teaching my students it is not an   ideal situation but it is working i am unable to  see the validity and the value of the compromise   presented to teaching staff of moving  from home to a school without students   two days a week why what is the reason the result  will be the same there will be no direct

023contact   with children they will be home where it is  safe safety is a major part of the issue safety   and common sense how can we be certain that all  necessary updates have been completed to assure   the proper and safe ventilation exits in each  school facility has the board purchased and   is ready to provide the needed ppe required to  assure that each teacher has a sufficient supply   to guarantee their personal safety and why should  there be these additional concerns for teachers   who are working safely at home currently teachers  are given the choice to teach from home or on   campus why must that be modified when  teachers who choose to are working from home   when they have already brought their supplies  and are settled and teaching effectively   why can't we as adults and professionals  make our own

024choice as to what is best for us   and our classes i understand that should i choose  i can stay home and not work under fmla i would be   earning full salary for 10 days and then a portion  of that for a predetermined period of time and the   system would prove would provide and pay for the  substitute in my place again i ask why why would   you keep an experienced and dedicated teacher home  not teaching and pay two salaries i love my job i   want to teach but i have no interest in exposing  myself and through me my son and my elderly   parents to the dangers of covet 19. i feel my back  is to a wall as i do not see what is being offered   as a legitimate compromise but as a needless  and unwise

025choice i would welcome justification   and an explanation on the position i am being  put in so that i can make a truly informed and   intelligent vote ben dodo i want to talk to you  about danbury just doing check-ins on columbus day   as we won't be in physical school that day that  way we can have no school on may 28th for a pd day   dana o'rourke i have always supported the  teachers and staff in danbury i feel that they   work very hard i would also like to complement  the administration at dhs for an amazing virtual   open house at the dhs open house this week flex  time was explained and highly suggested for the   students to participate in has it been considered  that if the students were in class time for more   than three and a half

026hours a day four days a week  that maybe so much flex time might not be needed   if they were in the building they would  not be getting that much flex time   we are also informed by the administration that  too much screen time is not good for the kids   they can't play sports or gather so they get on  their phones or video games more screens also why   does school start for dhs almost almost  30 minutes after it normally will start   if they were in the building if the goal is to  eventually get the students back into the building   shouldn't they be starting school at their  regular start time so they will be used used   to it when they go back to school shouldn't the  distance learning model mirror the hybrid model   parents have been told that

027this school year  is different than any other and we need to be   flexible and understanding we have also been  told that the situation changes all the time   maybe it is time for the dhs schedule to be  reviewed to see if it works for all students   we ask that the administration also be flexible  and consider that maybe the schedule as it is now   does not work for all students tina pote has the  board of ed considered allowing teachers or staff   members allowance to bring their children into  the building to complete their distance learning   kathy snow i would like to commend the  administration and teachers on the open   house monday night they all did a great job  considering the circumstances my request to the   superintendent and any other decision maker is to  please revisit the time high

028school students are   with their teachers in a synchronous mode these  students are only learning from their teachers   three and a half hours a day for four days  four days a week for a total of 14 hours a week   this does not seem like enough time in front of  their teachers this was made very clear at the   open house when almost all the teachers i met made  some comment about everything taking longer online   and running out of time i understand younger  students cannot handle a lot of screen time   but high schoolers can screen time high school  students can handle versus an elementary student   are very different and should be treated as such  as it is there is the potential that high school   students are done with their day in front of their  teachers at 11 30

029a.m if they are not scheduled   for any flex time as the only only mandatory  flex time is from 8 to 8 25 a.m on wednesdays i   am just refreshing the public participation email  and that is it for public participation tonight   thank you so very much right on time we're going  to use a half an hour 773 for public participation   so we can move right into the business part  of our meeting um thank you again senator so   very much the constant calendar um i'll make a  motion that the board of education approves the   items on the consent calendar exhibit 20-95  through exhibit 20-97 as recommended second   month by case seconded by joe and a  question concerning consent calendar seeing none all the favorite cake   roll please of course uh rachel  celestia hi kate canetta hi gladys

030al russo hi amy spelina hi motion passes  unanimously promotion so careful thanks again   very much uh do we have a employee  representative here tonight no are any of our students  uh online tonight with us   yes um i think jake goodwin and i  from dhs are here okay go ahead yeah   um um good to see you and welcome to i haven't  seen you in a while um i just have a couple   things to share with the start of the school year  and just give a little introduction um so my name   is becca decilio you probably have seen me before  i was the um treasurer for the board of governors   last year and jake goodwin who's with me tonight  was the secretary so now i'm the president he's   the vice president for um the board of governors 

031for our senior year um so we're very happy to   move into our senior year this year and i don't  think as a freshman we would have expected it to   be this way but um we are trying to work with  our administrators and teachers to make it um   a successful year for the students because  that's our job as um student government so   i'm just going to give a couple things that we've  done this year and then jake's gonna take over   and finish so we started off the year i think  pretty great we had a couple um internet issues   but that's to be expected with online learning  and everything um from what i have heard from   the teachers the attendance has actually been  really good from what i hear it's only about a one   percent difference from

032what it was um in school  so we have had really good attendance and almost   every single one of the classes i've been in has  had um almost every single student there every   every time which is really good um we've also had  you've probably heard some people were crashing   our google meets but now teachers have more like  hosting privileges that they can use and as we go   um teachers are going to learn how to use the  technology a lot better so i think it's going   really well um but hopefully them having more  hosting privileges will deter this from happening   and so we won't see it again so i'm going to leave  it to jake and jake's going to take over for me   so at the as distance learning started all  dhs students were given a free

033dell laptop   to keep which we're very grateful for and so  many more kids now have access to technology   at home which is great we are looking for ways  to connect with students over the internet it's   proving pretty difficult um we are planning a  spirit week or something related to that for   some time in october which will most likely be  held virtually we did something similar last year so we're also getting the club fair  and works for some time in october   we're hoping that this will get more kids  engaged with the school especially freshmen   we're really trying to um pull engagement so  and lastly the bog and peer leaders are working   with an organization offering scholarship  opportunities to students who register to   vote very cool there will also be an opportunity  to have parents and families

034register as well   in school with the most registrations by election  day will receive a ten thousand dollar grant   and that's all i have for you guys  thank you thank you folks very much would you mind if i ask a question thank you  jake or rebecca we're we're hearing you know from   a lot a lot of folks in terms of um time in  front of screen and um the technology challenges   just from your perspective and which are how is it going in terms of time uh and and  the activities that you're doing you're finding   this year can you give us a little thumbnail um  yeah i think jake and i jake and i are actually   just having a conversation about this and we we as  students i know for myself it's really hard for me   to

035sit in front of like a screen for a really long  period of time and i know if i was on the screen   from 7 30 to 2 which is what a normal school  day would be i would be exhausted by the end   there's no way i could hold focus for that long  um so that i think the times for the classes are   actually like perfect i know teachers are feeling  slightly rushed i'm in a lot of ap classes so   there is a time crunch a little bit um with ap  classes because we have to take those tests in may   but the teachers are like utilizing  the flex time that we're given and   either offering instruction during that time um  or they're just either reiterating what we were   already taught to students who may  have been

036absent during that time   um but i personally like the time jake can speak  on it too if you you won't i also like the time um   although it does um feel like we're not doing  as much as if we were in building but i also   feel like we're still working out um or teachers  are still working out like the kinks and stuff   so i agree i think i think it's a good time a  good a a good amount of time and the technology   has been okay i'm just yeah nope okay thank you  very much of course it's been iffy like at times   but that's to be expected with technology i have  a question very interesting question for students   um how is your how is your homework load or  your um you know your independent workload  

037how does that compare to in person do you feel  like it's more or less same jake do you want to go   i feel like it's um i'm like becca i'm also  taking mostly aps so it seems like a bit more   work but i'm pretty sure that's just um like  in my honors class i'm not really getting   much homework um i just think that teachers  are being very smart with like how much um   like how much they're giving the kids  like how much they think that kids can do   with respect to this situation that we're  in right now i think they're doing like a   good job like i wouldn't say my workload is too  much okay i i personally think i have more than   than last year but i think that's also because we  have less

038time to do class work in class so we're   doing that but we also have more time after school  to do to do work like i would have gotten out at   you know two and now i have two hours less so  now i have two hours more time to do work than   normal so i think it balances out yeah so you  feel like you have a good balance there yeah   yeah thank you for that are there any other  questions that board member would like any   other board members would like to  ask our two students a question saying that uh thank you guys yes um  okay thank you guys okay of course so um   as you know as we talked about going into this   the pandemic and the research that we've had with  the medical field that

039we'll be reviewing that   um particularly this week we have a meeting  on friday with all of the medical folks   we felt the timing would be right given labor  day and the possible surgery in the numbers   if any of you read the paper today as i  did with the federal report on the states   that can they were highlighting connecticut and  they explicitly talked about danbury's impact   on the state in terms of the numbers um  you know i i will tell you um personally   and talking to parents that  there there's there's quite a um   number of folks who would like to see youngsters  back but we have been tracking uh the medical um   doctrine we've been looking at that daily if  not weekly um and so i thought tonight would be   good to have an initial kind

040of review talk about  some of the things we'll be looking at on friday   as we start looking at our goal which was to be  returning here towards the you know middle to the   end of october here so um i have with us tonight  uh kara and kathy i will have kathy begin um   cathy o'dowd who's been just tremendous and  helping not just us but by the way guys she's been   working with the non-pubs as well uh and that has  been because those youngsters have been in school   or out of school she's really uh burning the  candle on both ends kathy thank you dr sal um so   before we talk about moving forward i would like  to just offer a brief review of where we've been   and how we got to the decision to do the

041distance  learning as a return to school and the information   and the guidance that we're using to move  forward so if you recall in july the governor had   stated that all districts should be back in the  fall full time in person learning for school   and there is a metrics that the state of  connecticut uses its three tiers that um   outlines what is a low risk for returning what is  moderate risk in terms of needing the hybrid model   and then what is high risk in terms  of recommending distance learning   and the way that's calculated is we  look at what we call the seven-day   rolling average of positive cases now  when the state puts out that metrics   they are doing it on a county-wide level however  we have had to look at just danbury alone   um because of

042the uptick that we've had and our  space constraints so in july um according to that   metrics uh the district would have been considered  at low risk for transmission and therefore we   could have returned under that metrics to  a full-time model however with our building   constraints and the overcrowded conditions that  we have we did not feel that we could safely   have everyone in the building at all times five  days a week and that is when dr sal appealed to   the state to the governor to have us move to a  hybrid model and that was our plan at the time   then in early august we started to see an uptick  in the number of positive cases in danbury   and that has continued and by mid-august we had  to make a decision and based on that's what we  

043call that seven day rolling average so what the  health department does is they look at cases the   number over seven days and that is averaged and  then based on a population of a hundred thousand   and we get excuse me a percentage um average  cases a day um and cara will speak to those   you know specific numbers but um at that time we  felt that it would not be safe for us to return   to a hybrid model and that's why we chose to go  with distance learning and that recommendation   was given to dr sal by the medical team which  is myself cara prunty uh dr fong who's the   district's medical advisor and dr begg who was  the medical advisor for the city health department   so that's what moved us toward the decision to  go with distance

044learning um in the meantime   um you know we still have an excellent  partnership with the department of health   cara has been very accessible to us and she's  participated in all of our district meetings   and she's been a very valued resource so  we we speak probably daily sometimes more   and we we meet as needed and we're continuing to  review those numbers so what we're seeing in the   community right now um is still what we consider  to be a concerning transmission rate of cobit um   and right now what we're seeing is a result  of the labor day weekend um you know we're two   weeks out and with that incubation period of  covid being two to 14 days um it's being with   through contact tracing we're seeing that there  were large gatherings um people are not wearing   masks

045they're not social distancing so we're  still seeing some numbers of positive cases   that are very concerning to us in addition  to the fact that many of them are children   while we see some positives at the elementary  level we're seeing a more significant number   at the secondary level so for that  reason um you know at this time   we're still very concerned about  being able to open with a hybrid model   however we'll continue to look at the data as  dr sal had mentioned we are meeting on friday kathy we lost your voice if you could hear me can't hear you oh yeah hold on yes  yeah we lost me okay i got you back   you got me back okay um i'm sorry i don't  know where i left off so i'll just go back   um you know

046we are prepared to open as far as  a safe plan um the district as you know we've   talked about many times this has been an amazing  team um it's been a great effort in putting   together you know the mitigation strategies uh the  ventilation's been addressed um you know we have   all of the schools now have you know markers  and arrows on the floor for safe distancing   we have all the ppe that we need we were very  fortunate to find a vendor that enabled us to get   everything that we needed in a very short period  of time so we are prepared on that level as well we lost your voice again we launched your voice kathy can you hear me now yeah yes okay um i'm sorry  i guess i'm having some connection issues here   as

047i said our issue now is  the community transmission   so you know i strongly encourage everyone to  continue to wear your masks frequent hand washing   please avoid large gatherings where you  can't wear a mask and safely distance   because that's where you know we're finding  the the increased cases that we're seeing   um and in terms of returning you know we have  a very detailed plan in place as to how we   will address whether we have a possible case of  covid whether we have a confirmed case of covid   we have looked very closely at how we can  manage it on the elementary and secondary   levels it will be a little different just  because of the scheduling and the ability to   cohort at the elementary level will make things  easier but you know as i said we're prepared   it's

048just a matter of the community numbers  trending down and we're not seeing that yet kara hi everyone and i just i just want to say thank  you to kathy i know how hard she's been working so   i just want to let everyone know that she has been  doing such a fantastic job and i really appreciate   all of the work that she does and the work that  she does with me so thank you kathy for that   um and she covered a lot of it i just want to  piggyback off that and mention some specifics   of what's going on right now um so right now as  she referenced our seven day rolling average per   100 000 is uh 14 a little over 14 uh which would  you know on the scale put us in the moderate level  

049um our numbers have stabilized since august 21st  um we've trended down a little bit but we have not   seen a consistent trend down we're still seeing  uh positivity rates between five and six percent   um consistently every week so that's a concerning  level for us we're seeing community transmission   as kathy mentioned through our contact racing  we're still seeing a lot of spread through small   parties family gatherings things like that so we  just we really want to stress and and say that   this is still out there we're really doing our  best to to do targeted testing and messaging and   but you know i think that people have been hearing  this message over and over again it's kind of   background noise at this point so i just want to  urge you all to take it very seriously so

050that   way we can get this our numbers down and have the  ability to open safely so that's that's all i have   um the board had asked for uh you know some  information and i i think cara what i'm asked the   time is when you disaggregate the numbers you do  take out certain categories correct and and then   look at it to a different lens so it's focusing  in on um you know our town folks is that correct   yeah so i i separated out for danbury  residents so when i'm looking and i'm   discussing positivity rates and seven day  rolling averages i'm talking about danbury   residents people with danbury addresses so  the pre-op and the nursing and all that is some removed that is if they are danbury  residents it is included it's hard to hear   oh sorry

051if they're danbury residents some of  that is included um when we do more targeted   testing through groups in areas where we  know that there's a lot of community spread   we are seeing higher positivity rates so when  you incorporate the pre-op testing uh just   the routine testing that's when we still  get that between five and six positivity rate so i don't know maybe the board may have  some questions i will just stop right now so okay so the positivity rate is the people  that you that have actually been tested   and and the hospitalizations have gone down  actual people who are admitted to the hospital   so these people are not showing  symptoms they they are asymptomatic i can't hear you there's a  combination of symptomatic   and symptomatic and asymptomatic so there's  both we're seeing both people um

052we're just not   seeing that translate into hospitalizations  at this time okay and what percentage are do we need to be in order for the  children to attend school where   do you want that percentage rate to be  it's a combination i can't hear you sorry   there's there's a combination of all of the  metrics it's not just the positivity rate   it's that combined that's the one that that's  the one that you're focused in on right now well it's a combination of all of them so it's the  seven day rolling average it's the positivity rate   and it's also whether our numbers  are trending in the right direction   so um it's it's all of those  things working together okay care care i have a question if kathy's done  yes thank you joe yep cara hospitalizations are   down because i

053was looking at the state numbers  and they look like they're up in fact their daily   report today showed i think it was like three  more hospitalizations we're back up to like 70.   are our local hospitalizations down uh at this  point yes good okay thank you that's what i wanted   to check that's that's really good news obviously  the rest of it's bad but that's good thank you   so so cathy one of the things that we're i think  it was you know we're learning a lot going through   this and the conversations we're having uh these  indicators and and one of the things that uh   for us anyway uh you know we're challenged  with the the spacing the social there's a   crowding issue oh yeah exactly and in the  moderate level on i think i had said to  

054cara the same question where where on this on  this scale and if i did one of the things we were   looking at it if we're attending on the bottom  of this moderate level which is this the the   second the second category the state looks like  that's something that would indicate to us that um   although it's not as good as it may have been  you know in august it might be appropriate for us   to do um uh look at the the in in school learning  and i think that's on friday we're going to try   to disaggregate through all of that um i will just  set a seat out there for the entire board because   i we've been reading and i've been asking and  talking and you know there there's some merit   to phasing things in as

055possibilities there's  also conversations from things that i've been   reading from our our parents and others that our  early students k one and two and three um very   difficult for them to sustain the time so looking  at that in a differentiated fashion i don't think   you can have uh one size fits all here is what  i'm saying to everybody and um we're diligent   to find the opportunity um to bring  youngsters back friday that's our goal but i thought they should give you at least  a thumbnail sketch of what they're seeing as   the professionals and we'll have the medical  doctors in with us on friday and um have some   better numbers because they do collect them every  day to make some decision because as you know we   were our goal was um you know the mid-october just 

056towards the third week or so of october to return   um when we're going to be talking about  the real reality of doing something   for that on friday and um that's where we're at um gladys that's all i i support members  have a question of the of the medical folks are they have questions okay thank you i'll start with action item a  i'll make a motion at the bottom   okay sir can you hear me i can  hear you i'm okay can you hear us okay thank you i'll make a motion at the  board of education to prove the june 2020   operating results and analysis  in accordance with exhibit 20-99 okay i'm not sure if gladys might be frozen that   looks like so i'll just ask  if there are any questions second second okay motion made by

057uh are there uh courtney do you  have anything to add to this emotion   oh no thank you though gladys this is just the  year-end result courtney it's hard to hear you   okay um i'm sorry can you hear me better now okay oh no gladys thank you it's just the  year-end results from the last fiscal year   showing what funds we can carry over  into our reserves as we had discussed   at the last board meeting  so thank you um okay it is certainly i'll start with uh rachel  scholeski hi kate canetta aye gladys cooper lauren daley aye joe da silva aye catherine  hodgson hi rich jannelli hi kathy molinaro   hi el russo hi amy spelino hi motion provenance  okay emotional care thank you all very much   astronaut item d rachel yes i move that the  board of

058education except for second reading   and adoption policy 2150 visits to the schools as  accepted by the policy committee uh exhibit 20-100   i'll second that moment by ready to stay  for that are they in questions very much joe da silva aye catherine  hodgson aye rich genelli hi   catherine sorry kathy molinaro hi al  russo hi amy hi 10 nice mission fans   emotions don't care thank you very much  uh i'm sorry but i still i didn't admit um action item c policy 5141.8 face masking  coverings make a motion that we accept   the board of education except for  the second reading and adoption 5141.8 face mask coverings is accepted by the  policy committee any questions committed by   and segmented by amy yes i just have um one small thing  um i thought we had this in the first   paragraph

059that we would omit  the last two words full time um again the first paragraph last  sentence last two words remove um   full time i would like this to be brought for  a third reading if if possible uh where is um can we hear that adjustment again  i i didn't hear that i'm not i didn't the first paragraph um this policy pertains  to students faculty staff and visitors   it has been developed to fulfill the guiding  principles contained in the framework for   connecticut schools specifically to safeguard  the health and safety of students and staff   and to allow all students  opportunity to return into classrooms   period i'd like um full time to  be heated does that make sense yes i mean is that is that the adjustment that   is that the only adjustment that  needs to be made

060that we're seeing yes okay can can we approve with and with the  understanding that we will make that adjustment if   i think so yeah i think it makes it it it's applicable  in every case so i think it's it clarifies it   yeah i don't want it to be taken out of context  it doesn't change it so i would i would agree   point of order manager do we need  a do we need an amendment for that   or can we just do that based on  the understanding we're doing it i think we can make it understand that mr law may have chair i i would say it's more a  clarifying change than anything it's not changing   just a clarification amendment  so i would just make it now okay so we can go ahead and prove it tonight 

061without bringing it to a third reading   okay i understand yes okay okay sure i'll do that now uh rachel  chaleski hi canetta i gladys cooper   i'm lauren daley i joe da silva hi  catherine hodgson aye rich gennelly   kathy molinaro al-rusa hi amy spelino  aye that's 10 muslims thank you again rachel i move that the board of  education accepts reading as amended   and adoption emergency suspension of policy as accepted by the policy committee exhibit  20-102 second promotion made by religious   action by joe are there any questions in certain  emotions any corrections that need to be made c9 uh uh kate we have to wait for local please  rachel celeski i kate canetta aye gladys cooper   hi lauren aye georgia silva aye catherine  hodgson aye rich genelli aye cathy molinaro aye   al russo hi amy spolino hi

062motion carries  unanimously okay we're gonna move on to uh e   i'll make a motion that the board of education  except for the second reading adoption policy   6114.82 coveted emergency measures as accepted  by the policy committee in exhibit 20-103 second   policy made my case my job any  corrections and the question of concern is   thank you all for taking the opportunity  uh as our last meeting put them on   for this reading and hope everyone had  opportunities to go through them so seeing   now they will use um dude roll call of course  rachel celeski i key canada i gladys cooper   hi lauren daley aye joe da silva aye catherine  hodgson aye rich genelli aye cathy molinaro hi thank you all uh thank you mr lawson there's a lot of extra noise tonight  i don't know if someone has

063a phone   and a computer on but it's like there's just a  lot of feedback for maybe it's me maybe i should   back on no i'm hearing it as well it's not i thought the tv was all in the  living room i can't hear this   noise and i know my tv was not on in the living  room so i don't know where it's coming from okay what's that yeah we're ready  okay yes let's start with ais um   and um courtney do you want to bring it up courtney i'll start if you'd like oh thanks  kevin okay okay so so dr sal courtney and i   both gonna speak uh so so one i i just  wanted to update the board on our ais   magnet school enrollment um the  difference between october 1st 2019   and to date where

064we are with enrollment um and  then courtney is going to help help me and help   us clarify um so that we can understand the impact  on that has on us financially so so last year we   had as of october 1st we had 504 students um  at ai um in our from our i'm sorry we had 99   students from our partner towns at ais and 34  students from our non-partners non-partner student   schools and for a total of 133 kids last year  and in this year we are down in our partner   towns partner school districts from 99 to 81  and our non-partner districts from 34 to 33   so for a total or a difference of negative 19.  so we are down 19 students from the 9th 2019   school year to 2020 2021 um and so um dr

065sal  is is working with the other superintendents   to make sure those partner districts um still  honor their commitment to pay for those students   um although you know those those families have  chosen to remain back at their home schools   as you might imagine um our neighboring  towns or our partner towns uh are still   in school um you know we are only the only  school in the area that is in the hybrid i'm   sorry in virtual learning distance learning and so  a lot of those families have chosen to keep their   kids in their home school district and have not  and have chosen not to send them to ais this year   and so certainly you know uh dr sal as you might  imagine was concerned about the financial impact   and had uh courtney you know courtney and i 

066both investigate um and investigate where we are   and so i provided some data enrollment updates to  courtney and then she began to further investigate   what this meant locally you know between us  and the towns and then uh look further into   how we might be able to get some relief from  the state uh courtney oh thanks kevin yeah so as   kevin mentioned that that decline related to the  virus results in a loss of revenue to the district   from the state because we get rid of courtney  it's very difficult to hear you i'm sorry um is that better can you hear me better  now i can hear you a little bit   i'm sorry i don't know what's going on um i'll  talk loudly um so basically the state reimburses   us about seven thousand seven hundred dollars per 

067pupil so we with that loss in enrollment we would   lose about 86 000 from the state so dr sal did  ask that we um we draft a letter that he sent   to our legislators asking us to keep us whole  and continue with what we had for fiscal year   1920s appropriation so that we don't lose that  funding and he's also as kevin mentioned working   with the partner districts because there's a  small portion that they contribute on behalf   of their students for tuition and we're asking  them to continue to maintain that commitment so he wanted me to make you aware of that um that  i think at this point um without the tuition we're   about i mean roughly just under 90 000 delta  correct that's correct yep about 86 000. yeah   that's all right so i just

068want to  make the board aware i was concerned   it was be much greater but that's where we are  right now and we can't just admit our students   we still have to stay with our split which um  you know in in 70 30 we're usually you know   60 40 but so we just we can only admit x amount  of students that are non-contributing students   and everything is done as of october 1. so this  is just rough numbers unofficial until october 1.   but i did want to make you aware of that  so thank you um district enrollment with   district learning attendance  and connectivity we have that is yep hi everyone i'm i'm  here dr sal um so i'll share the   district and district enrollment um right now  overall we have 11 907 students um enrolled and   and

069um as compared to october 1st of last year  we were at 11 927 so that's a difference of   20 minus 20 kids um the big biggest uh factor  that i see is the kindergarten enrollment   um typically we shoot for about 9 20  is the number that we look for um as   enrollment uh ramps up in october right now  we're at 829. so that's a um significant drop   uh but overall we believe that's you know people  are maybe holding their kids back um this year   uh and you know gonna send their kids next year to  kindergarten um that's the biggest jump that i see   and um but we have a hundred more middle  schoolers than we did last year at this time   um so that's the that's where we are with  enrollment down down a little

070bit from where we   normally would be and again official numbers will  be on october 1st so we still have another week of   some movement happening um and this these  numbers include all of our kids that are   currently enrolling so they were as of two o'clock  this afternoon so they also include anybody who   um just filled out an enrollment today  so we haven't seen the board has been   concerned about the influx we have not seen  that man i just we have not seen that um again we're just watching uh you know on the  national level when borders start to open and more   travel starts to happen uh you know we anticipate  that we'll see a little bit of a surge there um   as well so um with the distance learning i have  been meeting with the

071state with their everybody   learns initiative at the end of the week they are  supposed to be sending the vouchers for comcast   the program is such that uh we will provide a  voucher number to families who are in need of   internet comcast will provide high-speed  internet to them for one year with the voucher um and i anticipate that next week we will be  able to start rolling that out so i'm very   excited about that ann and i are going to work  together to um have a kind of help desk at the   face center so that we can help families navigate  and any problems that they have with connectivity   the state has been more than willing they said if  any family really runs into an issue um maybe you   know they don't quite qualify under comcast rules 

072things like that just to reach out to them they're   they're really pushing for you know everybody  to have a strong connectivity and they said they   would you know work with us to help those families  as well so that should be coming next week   um and i am really excited about that on attendance yep good evening everyone um  i just wanted to report we're very positive   um trends with our attendance as reported by  the students and and the teachers that you   heard in a dota anecdotally from our attendance  is exactly in line with where it was last year   in fact it was up 0.2 percent from this time  last year one of the things that i spoke about   our last board meeting was the increased  reporting that we're doing for the state   in tracking disconnected students

073as they're  calling it um so each week it's public data we   are collecting um the number of students in each  instructional model which for us is obviously all   fully remote at all grade levels and including  a reporting number for um including a reporting   number for students who are disconnected  that are fully remote last year they had um   last year they've had across the state a trend  that was um finding that students who were fully   remote and just kind of fell off from the district  and did not report it at all so um they are trying   to prevent that from happening so each school is  actually tracking students who are not reporting   in so have a week that is completely absent the  administrators school counselors teachers are all   following up with those families to ensure  that

074everybody knows where they are so our   report from last week of disconnected students  was 121 um that's across all school buildings   so that's about one percent um and so you  know considering our population um it is also   um being so large 121 is not an incredibly  high number um in addition um the the the   amount of um effort that's being um done by the  school level to follow up with these families is   absolutely tremendous it is also not unlike other  school years where students have dropped or moved   out of the district and we are we are looking  for them so we can't drop students until we   have confirmation of their enrollment in a new  district so um that's pretty much all i have   thank you i have a question go ahead yeah  um across the

075schools is there a big um   uh difference or is it pretty even across  all schools there is a concentrated in one   or you know obviously the high school is our our  largest school that that has the highest numbers   but but i would say it's comparable across the  middle schools um they're all about the same and   most elementary schools the pocket here and there  may be the highest with eight kids but sometimes   that can be just with kids moving in high rental  areas um and and we just haven't touched space yet   so i would say it's pretty well dispersed  and the similar trend across the district   thank you thanks cara you're welcome we've  got we're going to talk a little bit about   let me just start with uh c osborne ellsworth  i will say summit uh

076that's still negotiations   um and um we should be hearing more hopefully  pretty soon on that so um right now i don't   have much to report except that they're still in  some negotiations about uh language and things   that may be in a bill so i'm still very helpful  um osborne ellsworth um we've got um ellsworth   uh an osborne project uh do you have anything on  that to update the board courtney yeah we're on   track um there were i think seven um architects  invited and i think um four did the walk through   and they've selected an architect so we're on  track in the design phase um and still you know on   schedule to be opening when we anticipated which  would be next year so um you know i'm looking   forward to having another update at the next

077board  meeting um but we're on schedule as of this point   uh if there's no question if there's no  question i'll move to uh kelly granville yeah so um granville is coming along um my  last conversation with the builder they hope   to complete the project within the for around  the first week of october um and then it will   be the final approvals and building permits from  the city so um our timeline is hopefully matching   up with the return for students to come into the  building um and as soon as we um are able to do a   walk through uh we will certainly reach out to  you and let you know but overall um things are   progressing along um it is taking a little bit  longer than anticipated there have definitely   been some hurdles that the builder

078has run into  um things like getting the windows um in supply   the factory we had originally ordered from was  shut down due to covid um then there was a delay   with something else and i think we're on our third  order but uh things are installed they're moving   along and it's really a lot of the finishing  touches at this point in time um and just a big   thank you to um you know rich albert rich torres  they have been instrumental in kind of advising   on different um safety features security features  um our tech team gina and lack have been wonderful   in making sure that all of our bandwidth and all  that has been set up so it's truly a team effort   on and courtney and kim uh you know all of their  uh whether it's food

079services or the legal nature   of things it truly is a team effort so i just  thank this board i'm really excited about the   opportunity to have officially an early childhood  center and i think it'll be wonderful for our kids   i'm not sure would covert but at some point  we could probably take a tour of the board   members and small groups um i think you  can even maybe do a video or a picture so thank you kelly very much um i i we weren't  at the pto meeting because we had negotiations   that night but i know a few board members were  there but um kevin would you want to update   the rest of the board on that sure sure um so on  friday uh september 11 11 dr mead and i met with   the new citywide

080pto president tim moroney and  his team at that time he had shared just under 40   q a's questions and answers that parents  were seeking and wanted clarification on   i had we had taken those questions put them  into google doc the cabinet and i and other   members of the district began to answer them um  and we'll uh we'll share them i believe uh dr   mead has a place on the website uh where we they  have been posted already or we will post them   um but but some of the highlights from that even  in terms of the questions um you'll you'll you'll   note this evening that you may have heard uh  some feedback about some of those questions this   evening because we incorporated them immediately  and began to try to find ways to make sure   we were

081answering those questions and in many ways  i feel like uh the feedback from these in-person   citywide pto meetings are really a reflection  of the questions that all of our parents have   and so some of the questions that resonated  from the evening can we have our kids engage   in more online learning uh some families were  saying that there wasn't enough time attributed   to online learning um i it's also important  for me to pause and just say the families   and the pto members and representatives applauded  the opening of online learning in our first couple   weeks of school um and talked about you know how  how how well um the launch of it was during the   first couple of weeks um which was certainly  um you know well received when i brought that   information back to the team

082and hopefully  all of our teachers are hearing this as well   and our principles are hearing this as well  um there was also a question and request can   the district take a closer look to make sure we  are fully engaging all students on wednesdays   and so that's something we've also taken into  consideration and we'll begin to um you know as   we continue to get better at our delivery we'll  be looking at all these things um and then there   were questions um that evening about how is the  decision made to return to schools and so you   heard some feedback this evening officially from  uh cara prunty and kathy o'dow along with dr sal   and then there was also a question is it true  that we will require a vaccine before we return   to in-person learning and and

083frankly  um that question carried over to monday   as dr sal mentioned um we were in a negotiations  that evening so all of us were not able to attend   um but this question in particular required  some clarification and i imagine if it required   clarification from the people in attendance it  probably required clarification for people in the   community uh so we made sure we included uh some  clarification in dr sal's letter that went out on   friday uh but i think it's also important to just  further clarify here this evening um and so and so   it was apparent that even quite frankly that there  was a need to address any misconceptions that may   have existed and just so i just want to provide  some now so over the summer due to our school   space issues the district appealed

084to the state  to have in-person learning in the hybrid model   at a maximum of 50 capacity um and then and so our  hope and plan is not our hope but our plan is when   we return to in-person learning it will be in the  hybrid model and until the board of ed is advised   by the district medical advisors and state and  local health officials that is it safe to return   to full in-person learning we will remain when we  do go back to school and hybrid i'm sorry when we   do back to go back to school in in-person  learning it will be in hybrid until local   health officials etc tell us that it's safe for  100 capacity all kids can return back to school   so i just wanted to provide that clarification  for the community i hope

085that's clear   um because there there was some confusion that  evening there were several questions in a q a   document um i i guess i don't know if i mentioned  it or dr saleh had mentioned in the previous   board meeting that we would need a vaccine before  we can fully return to school um and and it's not   that clear cut and so you know again the plan  is when we can when the numbers are reduced   in the town and in the local health officials  carol punty who i believe is still on his call   say it is safe to return back in hybrid we will do  so and we will remain in that model um and and go   back to 100 in person learning when the health  advisors tell us that it's safe to do so again  

086so you know that evening uh was a great evening  quite frankly um it was it was great number one   to see parents and see folks in person again we  sat socially distanced at the pow at the powell   building in the parking lot here in danbury uh  there was probably 20 to 25 uh city-wide i'm   sorry pto representatives from the from the city  and and again many of the questions that we heard   uh from our parents this evening um mirrored what  we heard that evening um on that monday night   so you know look forward to seeing them again  next month uh but that's kind of an overview of   the fourth of the meeting on the 14th and as  you can see you know many of the responses   and presentations for this evening was in  direct response

087to what we heard that evening thank you um the next area has been uh yeoman  task and her department to come through   uh accommodations and um kim do you want to review  that with the board right so um as we sort of   start to think about a return to a hybrid model  where um there will be students in the buildings   one of the things that um one of the the valleys  we've had to cross is what happens to those of   our employees who have serious health conditions  that preclude them from being able to report to   in-person um teaching or work of some kind we had  requests for accommodation from over 125 people   and the way the process works is for them to  provide medical support of a serious health   condition to my office and then

088each one of  those 125 people has had at least one sometimes   more than one um in person me live meeting with  either myself or with jen gonzalez to talk about   um the scope and nature of the condition and to  start to explore what kinds of accommodations we   could provide as the employer that would enable  these people to return to to full duty so those   conversations have been ongoing in some cases  we've saw additional medical information in some   cases it's just been a dialogue back and forth  and the accommodations to give you some idea   range anywhere from additional ppe or plexiglass  or a room assignment to complete work from home   model um so each one of these requires kind of  individual conversation individual attention   and and the goal is to find um the sweet spot of 

089the accommodation that we can provide without an   undue hardship so we're rounding the bend  we've got kind of a handful of them left   mostly special teachers um but also a handful of  others that we're just making our way through the   last ones now um so what that means then is with  that list armed with that information um then i   transitioned to what is this going to look like  if we have um staff who need to work from home   and so as a team we've been working  with elementary organizers planners   principals we've been working with middle school  principals as a group and we've been working with   the high school on what a modified model for  that for those staff members could look like   um in addition i've had to spend a lot of time  working with

090rich gilbert and his team on what   kinds of accommodations we can put in terms of  physical changes um physical space provision of   supplies that also involved talking with kathy  o'dowd at length on each of these individual   cases so i'm happy to say we're coming to the  end um i will say from my perspective it has been   wonderful to meet individually with so many of  these people it's really given me a good idea of   what people are struggling with what's going  well what's not going well i will tell you that   uniformly all of them start with a big smile  and when they say how's it going they'll say   i'm exhausted i'm exhausted um it's just from  our most junior folks to our most veteran people   across all bargaining units i think people have  really dug in

091to make this um successful to sort   of learn and make changes from the spring um and  so that's been a really good window for for me   and for my team to see kind of how people are are  handling all this out in the field um so that's   been great what's on the horizon for us um i  believe i've mentioned for you before um two   real pressure points we're going to have one is  that if you read the newspaper at all you see   that surrounding districts are having trouble  attracting retaining and keeping substitutes   we are not going to be alone in that we are trying  right now to kind of keep our toe in the water   with them but because we aren't really using any  of them they're kind of slipping away so we're   trying to

092kind of keep them engaged we're trying  to put together some training particularly on   the um technology that we're using so that they  will have something in their some arrows in   their quiver when they come on board finally  um so that's one big concern and and we're   going to continue to kind of look at options  for what substituting might look like for us   the other big um challenge that i think we  may face is we've seen some folks request   the intermittent leave for child care purposes  under the family's first coronavirus act um   that means in kind of easy terms if i have  children in my district in my house that   are distance learning monday and tuesday and their  young children for whom i have no other child care   i can request under the family's first coronavirus 

093act a leave of absence to care for those children   it's a pretty reduced pay and it's for a  limited period of time but it's designed   as kind of a stop gap until people can find an  alternative we haven't seen a lot of those yet   but i think we will as we continue to march  toward the hybrid model and that's going to   create some real challenges for us in terms  of staffing um so those are the two areas   that kind of keep me awake at night as we're just  finalizing the accommodations process and moving   to this other really significant um staff issue  for us um but i'm confident well as we usually   do we'll figure something out absolutely just so  the board understands the dimension just at the   elementary level the need is somewhere about 72 

094faculty and we have accommodations to make but   we're going to have to make other selections  obviously and i think the point we've made   to the board and i would like you to hear when we  started in september we kept the assigned teachers   this what we're speaking to for those online  learners which exceed 4 000 will probably have a   different teacher and we've we we've um we've said  that the folks and i don't see any change in that   at this point it's been a yeoman test of trying  to line them up and with the going back and forth   just further exacerbates our challenges and um  so as kim says are working through it but it has   been um very difficult to say the least because  of the size of the district so uh thank you kim  

095man i'm sure i have a question go ahead joe i  don't know whether this is for him for dr sal   maybe this is just a crazy notion in terms of the  problems with subs and i can imagine that is going   to be an enormous problem for everybody because we  ask our subs to do a lot and they don't get paid   a lot and there's a lot of challenges this year  i know our schools all have building subs would   we would it be a solution would it be possible  would it help if we added a second building sub   in some of our build you know our buildings or  a third if you're talking to high schoolers in   middle school i don't know whether that the model  works the costs work but maybe that's an easy way  

096to get somebody in yeah for sure and i think you  know that's one that we're looking at not just for   kind of incidental subs but also if we have to  cobble together for these intermittent leave   oh we want to have the same person in if we can  um the high school i want to say has three or four   building subs and a whole cadre of interns  that we also use for that in that capacity   um the middle schools at least rogers parking  is going to have some of these nyu interns as   well um and i i do think we have looked at that  model and will continue to do so of putting in   some more at the elementary level because we're  certainly going to be able to keep them busy   going to be a question

097of finding and retaining  so if you know anybody you have a little free   time actually yeah thank you uh i just i did just  mention i was asked to produce um a document for   the board and i have a draft uh for you and also  we're hoping at the next meeting uh cara who's   and her team who have just been i just can't tell  you the work that they're doing i'm just so proud   of them um we're gonna do a presentation on the  dl for us and uh it'll take some time but she's   working on that for for the next meeting um with  that that's all i have at this point thank you madam chairman do you want me to move into  the cisc yes okay thank you i have chip here   um you know

098i think you've gotten some  questions from some community members   and you've been reading the papers i have sent  the letter uh to i'll let chip talk about it   uh today but chip would you update the board  what's going on with this cic particularly   the sports that um are in question yeah um  thank you dr good evening good evening board um   it's been quite interesting from a  athletic high school athletic standpoint   for us uh if you've followed along the newspaper  or the governor everybody up to the governor   uh his uh his right-hand person uh the dph all  talking about football uh ultimately football   in the state of connecticut has been canceled  as we know it for the fall uh and there is a   movement right now to try to move football  to the spring in a

099reduced schedule   in the meantime football for us football for  local schools uh they're they're allowing   what's called seven v seven which is a low risk  immediate risk activity with games there's no   really no contact involved with that  but it would give our coaches and   kids the opportunity to remain with having  some instruction and keeping moving forward   along with the football program as far as  our other sports uh we have all other sports   moving in the right direction uh as cara and kathy  mentioned uh there was a time in march i'm sorry   in august where we were uh we had to shut down the  athletic program we shut it down for about 25 days   uh we were allowed to restart it uh on friday  september 11th and we've been going every day   since we have somewhere

100around the neighborhood  of 400 to 450 athletes training every day   this week is the first week we're allowed to  train athletes in full teams prior to that   we could only train in cohorts of 10. so teams  now are training together uh if you come up to see   us our team's working out we are required to wear  masks to and from the activity uh we are required   to social distance when the kids are not actively  involved in in the activity um you know for for   the most part outside seeing the mask it's uh  the mass on the kids and the coaches it's really   great to see the kids having some fun and  getting along like in some type of normalcy   we are scheduled we follow what's called ciac  guidance uh medical guidance working closely   with kathy

101and kara on that so we follow exactly  what they're telling us we're allowed this week   to scrimmage which is saturday uh we play we're  going to be playing games in what's called regions   so we're going to play in a small region instead  of playing across the county in 18 schools we   reduce that to five in the event there's a issue  with covid we can contact trace much quicker   all schedules have been reduced as an example  girls sucker may play 16 games normally   uh this year they're playing 10. uh we anticipate  starting all the fall games in the regular season   uh october 10 october 1st it will  go about approximately five weeks   uh there is questions with the winter programs uh  we don't know how that's gonna unfold but for this   point we're kind of moving

102along at a nice steady  pace uh we just knock on wood every day and we   we were blessed every single day the  kids get an opportunity to be out there   so that's how we're looking at it and  we're just going to keep moving forward thank you jib i just had one question for  chip chip if um if football moves to spring   what does that mean for other spring sports that  they're going to be using the field where would   other sports be using well the idea kathy behind  that that's been part that's been part of the   uh the debate but what they would like to do  with football is place it in what's called an   inner season it would start in late february in  boulder okay and end in april and the idea was to   push

103back the spring activities about two weeks so  it would not impact any of the spring activities   other than just moving some  things around to make it uh equal   great that would be great thank you yeah  chip i have a question how about how many   football players play another sport do we  know the answer to that or specifically   a spring sport you know in our program um  we we probably have about 50 to 60 percent   playing other sports the remaining kids are active  they're conditioned they condition year-round   do the whole thing but about 60 percent  of those kids will plan on those thank you   you're welcome okay thank you chip if there's  no other questions madam chairman i can move   to facilities information is that okay okay um um courtney sure yeah i'll be brief um

104so we've gone  through all of the building reentry safety plans   um as we mentioned in the last board  meeting with each each of the buildings   we're in the process of establishing a safety  committee for the administrative buildings   and staff is in the buildings we have  administrators the custodial staff the safety   advocates and and teachers have been invited to  return back to the building um for this week um   at their choice um and they're safely distanced  they've all been trained in the safety of wellness   and as kim mentioned thanks to you know her  team's efforts at working with rich and making   accommodations to the staff people from what we  hear feedback are are feeling pretty comfortable   with being in the schools right now and we also as  kathy mentioned have the directional signage down   and we

105plan to do some additional visits next  week as we have a better picture of what it will   look like with students returning for a hybrid  whether it's a partial return as dr sal mentioned   or something different so we can be just ready to  go with everything we need um so that's a brief   facility update and then in addition um dr salon  rich ginelli asked that i put together for you   a spending update on a covid related or pandemic  related spending and that's um i'm not going to   pull it up on the screen now you have that in  your board packet and um unless somebody would   like me to when we go through the q a but broadly  speaking it's how i normally have been presenting   things to you which shows on the top we're showing 

106the expenses um which is the this is projected   expenses so it's about seven million dollars and  on the bottom we're showing the resources which   are the different funding streams associated  with um our in our coronavirus related spending   and so what this is is the it's it doesn't include  the alliance money so you'll recall before we   shared with you like a braided funding that looked  at what we were going to be spending overall for   the whole budget this year and richard asked that  i just focus for this purpose on the coronavirus   spending and to break it down in categories so  you can see what we spent last year or and then   what we spent or are projected to spend this year  in categories of you know online instruction for   example social emotional supports uh adhering to 

107health so all the extra sanitizer disinfectant   that we had to buy what we're projecting to spend  with custodial staff etc um so you know i just   paused to see if anybody wants me to pull that  up or if you have questions i see kate has one   i just have a quick question courtney and it's  it's just a point of clarification under the   adhering to health category i noticed  that the total is 700 110. that's sorry   10 898. but there's 10 000 listed for one year  and then that the full amount was listed for   the 2021 school year is that just uh i corrected  that and now i'll have carrots done that around   yes is it just yeah the total is correct it's  710 and the amount in 2021 should have been 700   898. and so

108out of corrections yeah thank you  okay it's that and i i meant to mention that so while we're doing this i'm i  think we send you a copy a letter   we are going to ask for some backup funding  yeah um there was a grant that was put out that   um that was miscommunicated to all the  districts not just us and we're hoping that um   the districts that overestimated uh are not going  to be reimbursable therefore leaving resources for   some of the districts like ours that should be  entitled to more i also want the board just to   think through we believe the executive order  is still in we're carrying our bus drivers and   our our um cafeteria workers um at this point  so um that that is an expense we're carrying   that we have to look

109at uh closely so um  you know we're we're going to look for   some backup money to help us out so um i'm  sure we'll hear more as we're going through   right courtney yeah dr saltman and i i i just  wanted to add one briefing this doesn't include   this doesn't include anything un anticipated  right so this is just what what we know as of   today that we need so for example kim mentioned  the family's first coronavirus response act   this doesn't include a cost estimate associated  with that this is assuming that with our existing   staff we'd be able to accommodate that so  as those you know new situations arise and   we get more information we'll we'll brief the  board on what changes in our funding picture   this is just this is what it looks like today  and

110and like dr saw mentioned it doesn't include   the cost associated with feeding families  which we do see a revenue gap every month   we're feeding our families because we we it's  important um and we are continuing to employ   all this the um the cafeteria workers and  that's an expense and our revenue is lower   because we're feeding less families than  we would where we fully everybody in school   courtney a question is so so what we're  looking here this is would i be correct   in this in in concluding this is a pretty good  summary of the new things we approved in june   that we weren't thinking about in february  that it really summarizes in this document   exactly yes exactly this is it includes the with  the cares act funding that we were awarded that   state coronavirus relief fund

111that dr sal  just mentioned that may be adjusted upwards   if we it turns out we have additional sub needs  you know things like that the city reserve money   that we rolled over for emergency that the city  agreed and then a small portion of the grant carry   over from some underspending last year so it's  all those things exactly joe it's the things that   were not contemplated contemplating the budget  that we're spending as one-time you know expense   on coronavirus related uh activities so  we're we're spending in lieu of some of   the things we were intending to do in february  we're now spending this money on that stuff   place replace some of those programs with coven  spending correct this is an update yeah based on   what we found out we needed so for example desk  shields for all

112of the people you know one-to-one   or face-to-face work that are um we're doing  with special needs students for example we had   to buy some additional science tables for example  things like that yeah thank you you're welcome yes go ahead go ahead rachel um courtney  this is kind of a little off topic here but   um speaking of school lunch did anything change we  had three schools that were not receiving the free   um lunches did anything change  with those three schools this year   so yes um we're in the process um we're  still collecting the information for those   those schools but we believe we're going to be  approved for cep it's just we're in the final   phase of getting the approval with the state  so it i'm like 99 sure i'll be able to report   to you at

113the next board meeting that those  three schools are now also cep schools which   you know gives us a little more flexibility  yes and more revenue yeah thanks thank you gladys that would like to report tonight i know  mr washington city ypto relational and   ku representative board do you have anything  addition that you want to share with us   i just have one thing i don't know  if it reached anyone there was um   a mention at the meeting that um the spanish  translation of our meetings was not exactly   um accurate and i don't know if anybody  heard that on this end no i didn't perhaps we could address that at some point um you mean the broadcast rachel yes  the the spanish translation of it okay we could that might be what we do from uh uh  

114from the hatters tv i think okay yeah  okay we'll check out the committee okay   my report is uh short uh i have a call to hope  that we can be done with our board meeting at   least by the night um i personally want to  thank nick russo and all the board members   that participated in the workshop last week when  he went over the roles and responsibility of   board members uh i think it was an excellent  session and i hope uh within the coming uh   year of 2021 that uh we will continue to have  the section because it's very informative in the   month of july august as a board and as a community  and parents some of us have parents grandparents   we felt that it was very important to keep uh  community informed and we we

115had meetings in   the month of july in august and uh to just really  uh keep the the community informed and the issues   that were concerning education and uh things were  changing so rapidly um most of us felt that that   was a good idea and i certainly appreciate you  attending and being supportive of that initiative   now i feel like wednesday september we're  back into our mode of board meetings   and i really don't want us to get lazy because  we have a lot of things that we are working on   we have the summit we have auburn street we have  hopefully sometimes budget something coming up and we want to be able to be efficient  and and move things forward and   and not be here all night that will continue doing  um this viral so uh what i'm

116trying to say is i   have talked about certain comments that were made  about um comments and how long it took for the   comments to be made and i thought about it quite a  few nights and we decided to do what we used to do   and our regular board meeting is to uh  have the comments go ahead and read them   but we're going to stop at three minutes just like  we're at our regular board meet in person so we   will start our board meeting at seven o'clock and  we're going to end public participation at 7 30   and be done with that so we can move on  and take care of the rest of the business   of the board um there might be some uh other  changes later on but you know i always have that   discussion

117with my board meeting members if we're  gonna make a change uh that we will be able to   at least let the community uh know that we're  going to make some changes so tonight again i   want to thank cindy for uh reading our comments  and um she does an excellent job and we can move   forward on that um the last thing i would say  to board members please if you're participating   in any type of discussion or communication by  speaking on a as a board member just do the   respect and let me know that you're participating  because when people called me and said you know   and mary jo was talking and uh even though you  know uh i was not a part of that communication   and skin engagement just let me know uh i have  no idea

118who's speaking and where you're speaking   so uh let's just work together okay that's all  that i have to report uh if seeing nothing else   uh ask a motion to move can i ask a question  before before we adjourn can i ask a question   i see a motion to move into exact position  gladys can i ask a question before we adjourn   yes right um i just want to address me yes i  can can you hear me okay yes yes okay sorry um   so i've been hearing from a lot of parents about  the you know instructional time and i brought this   up at our last meeting and it was day two of  the school year we're now in week three and um   cara you mentioned you know when academics really  start kicking in you know a full

119instructional day   will be um completed and maybe more so you  know so we're now in week three and i feel   like where is the asynchronous piece to go with  the synchronous um teachers are still training um   you know can can you speak a little bit about  like what's happening yeah so you know the the   there's it's no secret that this has been a  um you know a fairly organized but difficult   transition so teachers are still trying to get a  handle on delivering the lessons uh i'll give you   just two two different type of scenarios at the k5  level uh we have our our coaches our instructional   coaches kind of curating a lot of content for  the teachers um to use in their google classrooms   that's organized um we prioritize standards so  that we're making sure

120that with the time that   we have with students that we're targeting um the  most important high leverage standards that we can   taking into consideration what what went on  in the spring and also where students are   arriving in the fall so there's a lot to manage  there with just navigating the technology piece   um kind of looking at standards in a little bit of  a different way and then delivering these lessons   um and having to really understand them first  before you can deliver them so there's been   a lot of planning and time needed to do  that uh at the k5 level as far as the um   students are building stamina to stay online right  now particularly at the younger grades uh that   has been a difficult transition for students as  much as it has been for staff

121so um you know as   as time builds um we'll be able to give students  more independent work um and some are starting to   do that now so it may not be seen particularly at  the younger grades you're not going to see as much   uh there but as kids start to get into fourth and  fifth grade then we start to hit middle school and   up you'll see more asynchronous work um i guess  i should have clarified i guess i'm speaking   more at the high school level all of the flex  time you know not not just all of the wednesday   in the afternoons and monday tuesday thursday  friday sure so um let's talk about edge annuity   so we have had um a big up portion of time that we  wanted to make sure that kids were uh

122engaging in   not just the synchronous but the asynchronous we  believed worse was going to come from ingenuity   and we still believe that um agenuity has  been uh we have been working with them to   get our integration up and running um we had  our first training session on september 16th we   originally had a training session uh set for  teachers to go much earlier in the school   year so it was kind of part of that front loading  professional development however when we switched   to distance learning our entire schedule shift  shifted and we lost that training date so when   we rescheduled we the early state we could  push out with integration was september 16th   concurrent with that we've had tremendous  integration issues with uh and and working with   that company in particular because they have taken  on over

123500 school districts in the last 30 days   and so we've been in the queue with them  working on getting our systems up and running so   um teachers as of just yesterday our middle school  students were were locked and loaded into the   system um it took i can't even begin to tell you  uh i think we're all still a little traumatized   from how many uh appointments we've had with the  engineers and the folks at ingenuity to get it all   up and running so we are there now teachers will  start to um work with this program and start to   do a little bit more at the secondary level which  will fill in a lot more of the time that we spoke   of earlier um it's coming probably about two weeks  later than we would have liked but

124moving forward   you should see that we also do like the fact that  the the flex provides still that um opportunity   for students to get more support um as mentioned  by the the two students who are on on on earlier   um it is you know depending on what your what your  needs are you still have that opportunity but the   the asynchronous work will come teachers are still  kind of just working out the in-person synchronous   piece and that part will come with time but  having the right tools to do that is everything   and that's a piece at the secondary level that  ingenuity will help to fill as we go forward   okay so more to come more to come thanks yeah do  you have any other questions concerns steven um motions okay do we need a brain