06-01-22 Board of Education Meeting

001foreign and welcome to the June 1st regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting I am calling this meeting to order at 701 please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance Allegiance with liberty and justice for all please join me in a moment of silence for the students teachers and families of the Raab Elementary School in Uvalde Texas thank you I'll Now read our meeting norms all participants will actively participate engage in the work of the meeting and have equal voice and air time assume positive Intentions by respecting and honoring the diversity of opinions beliefs and perspectives cultivate trust by being honest and focusing on ideas practices and the work not people Norms will be upheld during all meetings and in all interactions outside of formal meetings I will now turn staff and student recognition over to Dr

002Carbone good evening and thank you for our first recognition and we have a plethora of staff and students and schools being recognized this evening I would invite Mrs Fortin to introduce this year's 2023 Bristol teacher of the year favorite board of education meetings of the year because I get to introduce to you our 2023 teacher of the year and shortly after the para educator of the year I'd like to begin to give some context Bristol Educators and families truly recognize the need to share their appreciation and admiration for all teachers in Bristol and this year's teacher of the year selection process 90 teachers were nominated this year the greatest number of nominations we have received since I have been in the role of director of teaching and learning for the past five years in fact

003the number of nominations we received is more than double the amount of nominations that were submitted in 2017. they mentioned this because I think these numbers are a testament to the great number of Bristol teachers who exceed expectations to grow their students support their colleagues and give back to the Bristol Community we know our students needs have been great over the past two years and our Bristol teachers truly have risen to meet these needs in outstanding ways selecting only one teacher from the many who deserve it is truly a challenge you know they say it's it's a tough job but someone has to do it so that said we are so excited to be able to share with you our 2023 teacher of the year from among the many nominations one candidate Rose to the

004top through her application and interview the teacher of the year committee has selected Carolyn kilma as Bristol's 2023 teacher of the year oh wait wait wait you don't want to give the you don't want to give a standing oh quite yet because you haven't heard everything that she's done for Bristol school so hold on because I'm sure you'll want to stand back up in just a few minutes Carolyn kelma has been a science educator for 20 years the last 14 of which she has spent teaching biology at Bristol Eastern High School in her application Mrs kilma shared the rewards she reaps from teaching as follows very simply it is the connection I make with students during and after they leave my classroom that is my greatest career reward what keeps me coming back to this

005profession every year is not the content I teach but the children I get to meet and the role I play in their lives the reward is my Student Success and happiness in living a full life in her own words and actions Mrs kilma recognizes that her role as an educator extends far beyond making sure students deepen their understanding of biology and forensics she plays a critical role in ensuring that students pursue their passions while in high school and Beyond ensuring that all students are able to be self-sufficient and make meaningful contributions in our Global Society Mrs kelma has been an avid elective teacher for two cohorts of avid students and has been the AVID coordinator for Bristol Eastern High School for almost a decade supporting students who are first in their family to attend college

006or who come from populations typically underrepresented at the Collegiate level so that these students can attain their dream of attending college or other post-secondary learning since Mrs kilma took on the role of AVID coordinator Avid students at Bristol Eastern have proven how students can perform when given all the right opportunities the latest data the class of 2019 shows that over 80 percent of Bristol Eastern Avid students were non-white free and reduced lunch students whose parents did not graduate from college roughly 30 percent were English language Learners of that group a hundred percent of students graduated on time submitted their FAFSA and completed four-year college entrance requirements with an average of a 3.13 GPA 92 percent of those students entered College in the fall after they graduated and the remaining entered technical education Mrs Kilmer strives

007to create a love for learning in her classroom she wrote a graduating student may not remember the intermediate reactions of the Kelvin cycle of photosynthesis but I hope they will remember how I sparked curiosity challenge them Foster Discovery and helps them to be self-motivated learners Mrs kilma certainly does this in her own classroom to which I can adjust since I was her former principal but she even takes this desire to spark a love to spark the love of learning far beyond the walls of Bristol Eastern for the past several years Mrs kilma has led stem Mondays bringing Bristol Eastern students to Mountain View so that they can lead science technology engineering and math activities for elementary students and I'm thinking there was a major egg drop today at Mountain View at the Bristol Fire Department

008Mrs kilma is constantly constantly seeking new and creative ways to reach her students she was awarded a 2020 fund for teachers grant for her proposal to document wildlife and interview Park Rangers at the grizzly and wolf Discovery Center Rockefeller preserve Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks which will help her produce higher quality ngss lessons designed to teach the ecology and biology of the area in 2014 she received the bristol board of education staff Achievement Award and over that summer she trained at Rochester Institute of Technology to earn the credentials to teach the Project Lead the Way course entitled biotech Engineering in the fall of 2020 she was recognized by donors shoes as a teacher Advocate since 2016 she has had 20 projects funding more than seven thousand forty six dollars and resources for her science

009classrooms in addition to the AVID program Mrs kelma shares her own love of learning not only with her students but also with her colleagues as an advocate for Avid instructional strategies Mrs kilma has offered countless professional learning opportunities teaching these strategies to Educators in Bristol she has expanded her audience for the past two years since she became a national staff presenter for Avid she'll be leading teachers in learning Avid strategies from across the country this summer in San Diego Beyond leading professional learning in Avid Mrs kilma is also a go-to for Bristol Educators who'd like to learn how to utilize technology for instruction she's presented multiple learning opportunities for teachers as part of our Tech Academy including teaching in the online classroom at puzzle creating digital assignments and canva in addition to all of that

010she has led several sessions teaching her colleagues how they might effectively use donors choose to fund their own projects Mrs kelma bolded only one line in her application learning is not about knowing the right answer it is a process of discovery well I know that Mrs kelma was referring to how she'd like her students to view learning I see that she has exemplified this understanding throughout her own career discovering new tools for teaching discovering new ideas to spark for students curiosity and most importantly discovering her passion for inspiring all of our students especially those who may not yet see their full potential to rise to the challenge in Excel and for all of these reasons I am proud to announce Carolyn Kilmer as the 2023 Bristol teacher of the year all right yes thank you

011uh thank you Carly so much uh members of the board Dr Carbone principal Higgins oh man faculty colleagues family Scholars friends thank you so much for this honor as you heard Carly mentioned I started teaching in 2002 but it wasn't until 2008 that I found my home in the Bristol Public School System I was lucky enough to be hired by Dr Lyons back at that time at Bristol Eastern High School and I knew within the first few weeks that I had found the perfect place for me Empress Lisa and I have felt supported appreciated and encouraged as an educator looking back at that young science teacher with these old veteran eyes I can see that with that support even with that support I struggled in those early years I was and it was not because

012I didn't love science and it wasn't because I didn't love students or sharing a love of learning it was because I didn't truly understand teaching it I was a novice and far too focused on the content I was teaching trying to Prime young scientists and struggling when the career wasn't always butterflies and rainbows like Miss fizzle or Bill Nye when I struggled my colleagues always brought me up but I remember feeling like something was just missing I was becoming complacent and stale in the classroom and I think my students would have said I was meh back then and then I found the Bristol AVID program I should say that the Bristol AVID program found me because I was kind of voluntold that I was going to Avid training in my second year at Bristol Eastern

013and it took in that training forever changed me and my craft as an educator and I want to formally thank you so much for taking on the AVID program sorry uh thank you for involving the and those involved in adopting and championing the Avenue program for our city it was through that program and with the support of my Lancer family that I truly understood that it was not the content that I taught but the character I was able to help my students develop Avid helped me truly reach all of my students and their diverse needs by proving providing me the tools to create rich and rigorous lessons in a safe and accepting classroom I learned that equity and equality are two very important and different things I started to reflect more on my teaching with

014the intent to create an inclusive learning space that would reduce barriers for everyone while still holding my students to high expectations and promoting College and Career Readiness I transformed my room and practice to accommodate various learning styles and the diverse needs of all my students and no surprise I felt I was finally making a change in the lives of the students not just those following a career in science but all lives and all students when I realized that I felt this great empowerment and there was a fire or light in me again and I knew I could do more so I became the AVID coordinator Bristol Eastern to not only encourage and support my own students but to hopefully share these strategies and methods with all of my colleagues at my school I was then

015able to educate and lift up my fellow Educators that fire and passion deepened through during the pandemic believe it or not because I found comfort and meaning in helping other teachers navigate the digital world I upped my Google certification educator game I LED digital teaching and learning as Carly mentioned professional development session and I was recognized and recommended and then eventually hired by Avid Center as a national staff developer and I began teaching Avid strategies over the summer to eager teachers across the country to continue this cycle of inspiring passion and purpose in others like I had been inspired so many years in the past the Bristol ever program is where my heart lies and I will continue to Champion that program I could go on and on talking about how Bristol Eastern and Avid

016have changed my teaching and how I strive to incorporate and promote equity and inclusion for all students regardless of their station but there are a lot of people who deserve recognition tonight and I don't want to take anything away from them thank you again for this amazing honor I am truly grateful to Bristol and the opportunities I've been given and I hope to be a force in this district for years to come thank you [Applause] congratulations Carolyn Mrs Fortin you have the honors also to announce our para educator of the Year oh I am so lucky this evening the Anne-Marie Murphy para educator of the Year award recognizes the important role of the para educator and supporting student achievement the award is named in honor of Anne-Marie Murphy a para educator who lost her life

017at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. for more than the 24 nominations and applications Bristol has selected Bristol Central High School para educator Edith Saucier as our 2023 Bristol Opera educator of the year and I'm going to read about her as she comes to stand next to me it's your chance to be on the spotlight and I don't think either of these two really enjoy that spot but you deserve it para Educators bring a measurable value to each classroom they provide one-on-one assistance to students with disabilities help manage classroom activities communicate with families and Lead small group instruction Mrs Edith Saucier does all of this and more she has been a para educator in Bristol for the past 24 years the last seven years at Bristol Central High School a theme ran through Mrs saucier's

018nomination application and interview it is clear that Mrs Saucier wants everyone within the school to feel seen heard and valued perhaps this is because Mrs Saucier is one of 13 children and her mother according to Edith has a way of making each and every one of her 13 children 30 grandchildren and 50 great-grandchildren feel like they are her one and only Mrs Saucier strives to make the individuals with whom she works both students and fellow Educators feel valued and important in her interview Mrs Saucier share that she has seen the role of the para educator shift when she began over 20 years ago many para Educators would Define themselves as just a paraeducator almost invisible members of the school community and now she wants para Educators to be seen as the vital part of the

019team they are who is educating our children she shared how the general education teachers appreciate the classroom that classroom instruction never has to miss a beat due to the teamwork that Mrs Saucier and the teachers share with each other Mrs saucier's role as a para educator helps her connect with individual students in unique ways often working closely with students throughout their entire four years of high school that type of connection helps the team of teachers each year to better individualize and tailor instruction to the unique needs of students due to the knowledge and input that she has because of the valuable contributions they make para educators are now seen and heard as a critical part of every educational team and as a result of that teamwork students are also being seen heard and valued more

020deeply Mrs Saucier wants our students to know that they matter she wants all of our students some who may still be hiding behind hoods or masks to know that she sees them she knows that the team of Educators they have with a team of Educators they'll have they'll be able to meet their full potential by the time they graduate it is clear that when Mrs Saucier wants every student and every para educator to feel seen heard and valued she herself really desires little attention I think she's going to have to put that humility aside for a bit while we in Bristol Public Schools tell her that we see you we hear you and we value you Mrs Edith Saucier as we recognize you as the 2023 Bristol Public Schools para educator of the year picture

021you're a hard act to follow I I went for short and sweet like she said don't like to be the center of attention uh good evening and thank you very much um like Carly said um I've been a para educator for 24 years in the Bristol school system and all at Bristol Central High School um and I'm beyond honored to be here representing all the para Educators because Crystal's got some really good ones any one of them could be standing here um when I first started in the 90s someone from the school system had told me it doesn't take a rocket scientist to be a paraeducator those those words stung a little bit but in reality that's what it was most people saw us as moms trying to make a quick Buck while the kids

022are at school fortunately that that has changed tremendously I'd say over the past 10 12 years we've seen such changes and and I do appreciate that um we've been given the opportunity to do more trainings because we none of the information was ever shared with us and now with the trainings we can see the difficulties that some of these students have whether it's in school at home and with the training we know that we're we're helping them in the proper way we're given the proper attention we're not making this situation worse um it's it's definitely made us better peras uh with all the training and and I do take advantage of all in any training I can also they they say it takes a village to raise a child in school it takes a team

023um it takes the administrators the teachers counselors PT OT and yeah it takes Paris as well and we are finally an important part of that team um because no we're not rock scientists we're a little more than that because we need to have patience compassion caring because what we're we're creating or what we're attempting to create is their future and that's more important than anything in the world um and yes my mother always makes me feel out of her 100 descendants like I'm the only one and and that's how I want these kids to feel that no matter how many other kids are around you matter you're important and I'm gonna see you through this I'm gonna be there for the good times and I'm going to be there when you're struggling a little bit

024so hopefully we will create the rocket scientists thank you very much two two tough acts to follow so congratulations Edith um you are and you're the para professionals and para Educators in our school system are the backbone of our school systems thank you for everything that you do we are now going to turn some of our accolades over to our students and to introduce this year's 2022 Connecticut cult student awards for excellence in World education and World languages is principal integer good evening Commissioners I'm happy to be here to sub in for Mrs Gallo uh on this evening this is her daughter's birthday or she would be here uh following up the greatness of Carolina congratulations both of you um each spring the Connecticut Council of language teachers is pleased to recognize and reward the

025Excellence and achievement of deserving World language students at all levels of instruction across the state by offering the Connecticut Colt student award for excellence in World languages students from Bristol Central whose names appear on the screen above have been selected by their language teacher to receive this award through their achievement they bring honor to themselves as well to their teachers in school in order to qualify for this award a student enrolled in a world language class at the elementary middle or High School level of instruction must demonstrate Excellence as indicated by an average equivalent to 90 or above for three consecutive marketing periods this year in the same language these students must also give evidence of a positive attitude toward language and cultures by using the language beyond the classroom and or participating in language

026clubs since each teacher May select no more than five students only a select group of worthy students may receive the CT Colt student award for excellence all students selected for this award receive a special certificate from the Connecticut Council language teachers and will have their names published in the newsletter the Connecticut Council of language teachers news exchange and on the CT cult website in addition students in level 4 and higher of language study receive a ballpoint pen engraved with for excellence in World languages so without further Ado I'd like to recognize the students with this award the first one is Omar Malik a student in the UConn early college experience Italian class I'm not sure if he's online okay uh Ethan orajema also enrolled in a Yukon uh early college experience class as well uh

027Grace mazzone who is here tonight Grace if you wouldn't mind standing up uh she is currently enrolled in an Italian independent study which is truly amazing because she is doing it all on her own with the support of Ms Gail not even enrolled in the class so that is that is truly amazing uh the next recipient in Italian 2 is Jade Goud not sure if she's in here tonight uh and the final recipient is uh Patrick winniger in Italian too as well so he's over there [Applause] and congratulations to all those students and uh thanks to Mrs Gallo especially for for considering them for this honor thank you thank you [Applause] our next two Scholars that will be recognizing have been with us on the board of education as student representatives for the past two

028years and I think both Sidney Rodriguez and Tricia Moen are both online today say again just Sydney okay hi Trish come on up so on behalf of the Board of Education we would like to honor and recognize your work as a student Board of Education representative and we have gone through many a meeting together um both during some of our more remote experiences and now back in the auditorium and I think you have some news to share with us about where you tend to go and hopefully this token of appreciation will help offset some of the cost of some of the books so come on up and we'll recognize you and Mr Higgins principal Higgins can you do the honors of some pictures so wait do I say where I'm going to school oh um

029so I'm going to Trinity College and then I think I'm going to major in like international relations but I kind of want to change it to political science so I'm not fully sure yeah thank you so much good evening Sydney hi and we'd like to recognize you and we will send the token of appreciation on behalf of the Board of Education up to Bristol Central but would you like to share with everyone what your next set of plans are yeah um first I want to apologize I'm not there in person it's because I have my physics file tomorrow so I stayed home to study um but good choice good choice um so I'm going to be going to UConn next year with the day of Pride scholarship and I'm supposed to be majoring in elementary

030school education but I'm kind of wanting to go into high school education I don't know I'm not really sure yet um but right now it's elementary school education well congratulations good choice on staying home to study and we wish you best of success as a Yukon husky thank you so much [Applause] to recognize some of our staff I am going to invite Jillian Roman the supervisor for elementary stem education to introduce the teachers have been dedicating their time this year for our involvement with illustrative math good evening commissioners staff students and families it is my pleasure to recognize five exceptional Educators who went outside their comfort zones to support the growth of our district math teaching practices as well as the math practices of teachers across the country the illustrative mathematics team selected Bristol to

031videotape full IM lessons showcasing our teachers and students engaging in the IM routines we were recognized for implementing the program with integrity and allowing our students to do the heavy lifting these videos will be used across the country as the illustrative mathematics team provides professional learning to districts adopting their instructional program these Educators exemplify strong mathematics education that support their students in developing a deeper understanding of mathematical Concepts and will be a fabulous example for strong teaching practice for others to learn from I would like to thank them as they join us online tonight we have Christina writing sword and Shannon Tierney from South Side school and we have Samantha Wren John Hanrahan and Amanda musumeci from Green Hill school and I'd like to thank them for their dedication in helping Bristol to shine thank

032you and Jillian just first I want to reiterate some of the things that you said So Christine Shannon Samantha John and Amanda have been giving their time and being videotaped during teaching practice so that they can better the practice of teachers of mathematics across the country who will be using illustrative math that is correct and it's definitely pushing them way out of their comfort zone because it is very nerve-wracking to have that camera in your face as you're doing what you do every day with just your students so I'm extremely proud of the work that they did and they will shine for us everywhere they go well congratulations to them and also the commitment to being an educator and sharing their practice across the not only our school district but also nationally definitely lives and

033breathes into our mission of teaching and learning with passion and purpose so thank you to all and thank you for your leadership it is my honor to announce um and recognize the staff and students of LNP Hubble elementary school as you know earlier this month Ellen P Hubble school or the Hubble hounds were recognized as the elementary exemplary School of the year so they won two different Awards one was for outstanding School climate and the other was that they are being recognized as an exemplary Elementary School the elementary school of the year and I would like to share with the community why they were um selected they went through an arduous process both an application and then a school visitation and this is just one of the paragraphs that exemplifies what is happening at Hubble

034Elementary School and the Hubble hunt we love the tour with your students hold on that's next most notably during our visit were the high standards and expectations that begin with your leadership Chris but continue to Bubble Up and reverberate from every faculty and staff member overwhelmingly throughout our visit your message of all means all resonated with the committee passion purpose enthusiasm and the joy of learning shared by your entire School Community underscores the highly focused teaching and learning that not only happens in the classroom but spills out into the hallways for small group instruction and even into dedicated outside learning spaces the committee was impressed with your Central Connecticut State University partnership and the 50 students who are able to volunteer over 40 hours each for site work at the school and to learn with

035and from the Hubble faculty as we walk throughout the school the entire School Community is actively engaged in teaching and learning and students know and understand that everyone lives the HP the LNP Hubble shared aligned vision mission and goals the artifacts across the school on hallway walls and throughout the classrooms attest to the high quality high standards and academic achievement of teaching and learning that are aligned cohesive and disseminated in all classrooms so I believe principal DeLeo you are on and we would like to recognize you and your staff thank you Dr Carbone and good evening everyone um it was definitely a rigorous process we went through um I didn't needed a warrant to tell me that our staff is amazing every day I'm truly amazed at how lucky I am to be leaving such

036a wonderful staff our staff is excited to do their absolute best every day for our hounds no matter what it takes this starts with our bus drivers cafeteria workers our SEL team our teachers our para Educators they're all in all the rest of our staff they're all Innovative Innovative collaborative reflective and they do whatever it takes and with the support of our OTL team and central office team we do the impossible but above all that eph is the family all of our staff work together to make our students Feel Love protected and empowered at Hubble we do live by the saying all means all because because it is the reason and motivation for doing our best every day I am so proud that our staff earned this award and truly amazed and so lucky to

037be at Hubble school and I need to get my pom-poms out because I have to give them the problems they deserve great job and congratulations to all of our honorees tonight go Bristol congratulations to all of our Hubble hounds both Scholars staff and our administrator administrative team Chris I really appreciate your appreciate your leadership and willingness to put your school out there um and more importantly to be recognized as the exemplary School of the Year Elementary School of the year in the state of Connecticut congratulations and if that was not the best news of that week we followed it up the next day with the announcement that Green Hill school was being recognized as the Middle School of the year and they also were recognized for outstanding School climate and principal gaudette is online and

038I do want to read a paragraph from one of the reasons why Green Hills was selected as a middle school and school of the year Scott we love the tour with your students who definitely take ownership and pride in everything about your school the identity and diversity work that's been done this year was clearly demonstrated by the learning activities such as the best part of me extracurricular clubs and activities and opportunities for students to share their voices including morning announcements every student reported feeling safe welcome included and had at least one caring adult they could go to talk with trust and gain support from most impressive was how each group we spoke with parents students faculty staff district and school administrators spoke highly of of being members of the Green Hill School family we commend

039you for being a family first environment in which you lead with your hearts while making student-centered decisions that are in the best interest of staff and students this is a strong indicator that Green Hills Administration faculty and staff understands the importance of social emotional well-being and high quality and developmentally appropriate curriculum for middle age and Elementary School age students congratulations and principal goddett I believe you are also with us this evening yes I am thank you Dr Carbone and again congratulations to all of our winners and recipients tonight I know that this award officially recognizes our school as the middle level School of the year but I think anyone that has ever stepped in Green Hills knows that it's our entire School Community that's earned this designation and and I also don't believe that a

040school can win an award like that without also having an outstanding climate and culture as well so I'm extremely proud of our school Community um and that starts with our students they have been so resilient over the last few years and have persevered through some of the most unpredictable times that any group of students that I've ever worked with they are truly amazing group of kids and we are very lucky to see them each and every day I also want to recognize and thank our incredible parents who have supported us throughout our entire 10 years as a K-8 but especially through this pandemic and have actually made our home to school connection even stronger our PTA is absolutely second to none and we're truly grateful for our parent Partnerships and then finally I would like

041to thank our Green Hill staff we have a phenomenal group of Administrators teachers and staff they give 110 every day and they have demonstrated that they truly believe that all kids are capable of success no exceptions their enthusiasm their Innovation their incredible work ethic have created an environment that allows all of our students to flourish and I've been in education now for 30 years and I have never been more proud of a school community in my entire career I want to thank central office the office of teaching and learning our Board of Ed for your continued to support without you we wouldn't have received this distinction and I also want to thank you tonight for recognizing our amazing school so thank you very much congratulations and it's very apropos principle God that that this recognition

042for being the state Middle School of the year would be followed up by the Connecticut parent teacher Association teacher of the year so I don't Mrs Benoit as the PTA president if you would like to join Mrs Darcy up at the podium that would be fabulous and if you will indulge me a bit last month we recognized Mrs Darcy but you were a little busy you were at the um banquet and so Mrs Benoit can you just share with us how Mrs Darcy became the Connecticut PTA teacher of the year absolutely thank you so much um so at Green Hills we are there's ptas ptos we're a PTA and we're part of a larger organization covered under the state which is the Connecticut PTA and then there's the national PTA and every year they um

043request uh nominations for outstanding teachers administrators of the year and since I've been on the board the last three years we've nominated someone from our school every year because we think it's really important to recognize our teachers and administrators for the unbelievable work they do for our students for parents and for our kids and the community at large so I asked one of Julia's colleagues to help me gather letters of recommendation that touched on these four areas leadership for learning communication Community involvement and professionalism and I thought I want to say about 15 letters from her colleagues from parents and then probably 15 or 20 letters from students current and past students who wrote recommendations for her and I submitted those to the Connecticut PTA and their selection committee chose Mrs Darcy so we're just

044excited that the state PTA recognizes all that she does for our students and our school and she also serves as a co-secretary on the board for Green Hills PTA so we're really grateful that they recognized and honored her so congratulations [Applause] and Julia you have a wide range of experiences not only within your school community so could you just share one of the um pieces of information that they wanted some information about was like your desire and passion to learn and be a teacher and a forever learner can you share some of the involvement that you have at the state level that really exemplifies that um so I am a continuous learner and to be honest last year was really hard as a teacher and I think we can all recognize that but one thing

045that brought me kind of back to who I was was thinking about what could be instead of all of the things that couldn't be so I threw myself back into the learning and I'm part of the teacher leader Fellowship um out of Sacred Heart University and I was encouraged to write and reflect upon my experience in teaching in a pandemic and through that writing I realized how important it is is just to continue to be a learner to continue to positively impact our students so I'm really involved with the teacher leader Fellowship Academy but more importantly my reading everything I do is just how I can continue to positively impact my students and I I'm so incredibly honored that the PTA and my colleagues and my students took the time to nominate me because I

046know how busy this year was but I am incredibly proud teacher of Green Hills and I'm an incredibly proud parent of Green Hills and the Bristol Public Schools and I'm just happy to represent our school and our amazing PTA they turn our school into a community and all of my work on the this the board reading books sharing things it's it's just for our kids because we have a great school system and I'm just really proud to be part of it congratulations [Applause] and that completes our staff and student recognition congratulations again to everyone who won an award tonight we will now move on to the approval of minutes we are looking at the May 4th regular meeting you have all received a copy of the minutes in your packet are there any corrections or

047any abstentions hearing none I will make a motion to I'm asking for a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes is written so I moved second motion has been made and seconded is there any discussion since we have one commissioner online all votes this evening will be taken via roll call so I apologize to the audience ahead of time um Ms Everett may I please have a roll call vote commissioner Carlson yes commissioner G Antonio yes commissioner ponds yes commissioner sturgeon yes commissioner tagarello yes commissioner River commissioner Wilson yes chair Dewey yes [Music] thank you we will move right along to committee reports I will start with commissioner Carlson and operations most of the operations committee will be handled through other items in this in this meeting anyways I do have one thing to report

048is that the um the new roof project at Edgewood school has gone over the original budget considerably and the operations committee will not be able to act as the building committee for that so that's going to have to go back to back to council City Council for approval again unfortunately a million and a half dollar project turned into a two and a half million dollar project that's it thank you next with policy I will ask commissioner G Antonio the policy committee made him uh the policy committee met on May 25th uh during that meeting we had some discussion items in regards to our policy one two three zero which is booster clubs and parent organizations we had some proposed language that we reviewed in that meeting um however we did we took no action that

049night in order to continue the discussion during the next policy committee meeting um with some input from our local booster clubs and more participants uh to be available for those discussions um we also discussed um some revisions in language to policy 2100 and 2151 administrative organizations and hiring School administrators um there was discussion around the proposed language the proposed language did not move forward the committee will continue to work on um some additional proposed language to be under consideration during the next policy committee meeting lastly we discussed policy 6148 which is the changes to the instruction fast FAFSA sorry policy and um I will let Dr Dieter discuss uh the changes that policy later on when it's considered under our deliberated items and that concludes my report thank you thank you lastly to discuss student

050achievement commissioner sturgeon uh thank you the student achievement committee met on May 18th we voted to approve a revision to the physical education curriculum for grades 9 through 12. uh we received information on the uh administration's summer school plan and then we received information on new curriculum for exploratory art for grades six through eight uh interior design for high school strings for Baines songwriting for bames Scenic Design for babes all those were again just information information only and the meeting was adjourned nothing else to report thank you we'll move on to student representative reports from Bristol Central Fatima um on the student achievement committee I recollect that we voted to send to the full board the Black and Latino study and I don't think that came out of committee commissioner sturgeon would you like to

051speak to that that will be coming up later on tonight for a uh a full board vote um we did not receive we did not uh discuss that at the the last meeting that was uh Just for information only it was my recollection is correct so black and Latino studies I'm sorry commissioner surgeon I thought I would hope to provide some more information black and Latino studies is a new curriculum for district which means it goes to a preview with student achievement committee which was reviewed in April and it went to the May Board of Education meeting full meeting for its first read and it's coming up this evening as a second read correct and so my apologies uh but it wasn't discussed at the last student achievement meeting which is why it wasn't in

052my notes for tonight it was not discussed at the the May meeting it was discussed in April it was reported last month at the full board from the April meeting notes and it will come up tonight for a full board vote if I'm correct thank you we will now head back to our student representative reports from Bristol Central Fatima thank you uh good evening board members today I'll be reporting on Bristol Central High School for the month of May starting off with sports the boys track team dominated the CCC South Championship finishing season 14-0 the girls track team came in first at the conference with the tide and Maloney boys and girls lacrosse teams are also having a great season defeating many of the teams they're playing against the softball team has also been having

053a very successful seasoning the girls tennis team won on senior night against Eastern bringing joy to all the players and giving them motivation to do even better senior rates have been held for most if not all of these teams congratulating the graduating seniors hopefully these teams can continue their seasons and bring many more victories to bchs some students took a trip down to Indian Rock for the day of caring on the 23rd as a part of the Bristol Sports Leadership Council it was a great way to help out the community and represent bchs positively the BPS Fine Arts Festival was held on May 25th displaying all the amazing and talented students work there were paintings Pottery visual models and so much more the bchs Bannon choir also put on an amazing performance at the festival

054the band and choir also performed successfully at their spring concert on May 19th with the nice weather this month the Italian students were able to go outside and experience a car show to end their Union unit on Italian car culture the French students took a field trip to a French restaurant in West Hartford and got to try many different French dishes in honor of recognition in honor of recognizing the accomplishments of bchs students they were featured on channel 8. there were live broadcasts every 15 minutes each session being a new set of students athletes and performers the track team was recognized for the recent win Latin students were congratulated on doing well on their state tests Unified sports teams were also given a session to Showcase how far they've come and Senior ambassadors were recognized

055for all the hard work they have put into helping underclassmen this year I am sure the teachers and coaches are extremely proud of their students and hope they Inspire more people to do the same many students were also recognized at the awards night on May 26th a large number of seniors received multiple scholarships and many Juniors were awarded book awards the Lang the word the World Language NHS inducted several new inductees on May 24th many students were also recognized for their hard work throughout the school year the students who took the test to receive the school for bi literacy were recognized and some Latin students who took state tests and placed were also recognized with this month coming to an end students are preparing for finals and giving it their all for one last time

056before they're off to summer break thank you very much and from Bristol Eastern Trisha hi everyone today I will be I will be reporting on Bristol Eastern for the month of June in the past few weeks our spring Sports season has come to a close however our track and field team as well as our softball team are now moving forward to Regional championships the fall Sports banquet to honor all of our athletes will be held on June 7th while our senior athlete recognition ceremony is this Sunday many clubs are hosting their final meetings while our various National Honor societies have been hosting their induction ceremonies to welcome new members our fashion Club is also hosting a masquerade ball after a fun Spirit Week to show off the clothing and Designs at a runway show this

057Friday our Global issues classes have been wrapping up their statecraft simulation which is basically like a simulation game where each person is part of a country that utilize Foreign Affairs and it's really fun and basically they use foreign Affair skills to create a successful global economy and they're waiting upon the final results of the wealthiest and award-winning countries Bristol Eastern was finally able to host a traditional Junior and senior prom in these past two weeks the junior prom was held at the DoubleTree while the senior prom was at the Aqua Turf both proving to be a success this month holds a lot of activities for our seniors from our senior Sunset next week to preparations for the grad party at science place scholarship workshops and award ceremonies are also coming up toward those who have

058won scholarships and their respective checks there is also an academic awards ceremony to appreciate students in the top 10 percent of their class we have reached the final stretch of the school year with quarter four ending and final starting in the coming week throughout this year our students and faculty have persevered and in his environment and family that I'm grateful to be a part of to close this off I want to thank you for all the support we have given to our schools and myself I know the time and effort that you put into this and I'm beyond thankful to have such a great Board of Education that is running our education system it has truly been a privilege to give reports to all for the past two years and I hope you all and

059the junior Representatives success in the future thank you we'll now move on to the chair report as an informational piece I want to let the audience and the board know that I have received commissioner John scalanka's resignation it is effective as of today June 1st 2022 we as a board will thank him for his years of service we will miss his humor and his enthusiasm and on behalf of the board I would like to wish him well seeing as how this is the last meeting of the school year we can all breathe a sigh of relief that we made it through hopefully the last of the remnants of covid19. I am very much looking forward to prom pictures this Friday without having to worry about matching masks and dresses and I'm very eager for traditional

060graduation ceremonies and all of the festivities of Summer I want to thank our staff for the amazing work that they have done this year for their adaptability and their continued dedication to our students I wish our staff and students alike an amazing and memorable summer that concludes my chair report and I will now turn it over to Dr Carbone for her superintendent report thank you just a few updates for our parent and Greater Community first and foremost as you know that upon the resumption of in-person learning this school year we launched our Bristol Public Schools innovate and Elevate continuation plan we updated the beginning of the year we updated it again in January and Dr Dieter and the crisis team have updated the plan again the plan is available on our website we will be

061messaging families that um that the updated plan is available for their review and that if there is any information or feedback that they would like to give there is an email address that they can provide feedback to Dr Dieter and myself for consideration this past weekend as our student Representatives have shared the Bristol Eastern seniors held their senior prom and as you've heard from both of our representatives from Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern our end of the year activities can are continuing and we'll culminate with graduation of the class of 2022. adult education graduation will be held on June 8th at 6 pm our Bristol Preparatory Academy graduation will be held on June 15th at 11 A.M Bristol Eastern High School seniors will graduate on June 15th at 6 30 pm and Bristol Central High

062School graduation will be held on June 15th at 6 00 PM respectively our beams project and school programming is continuing and on schedule and later this evening Dr Dieter will speak directly to the building project coming to a close and soon the anticipation of our certificate of occupancy as for the school and District operation aspect this evening the board will vote on curriculum specific to the Baines middle school and high school art ukulele band digital music and songwriting we have finalized the hiring of our certified staff and will complete our non-certified staff hiring by the end of the month parents and guardians of Scholars in grades 5 6 and 7 have received a letter from the district asking that they accept or decline their placement on a wait list for the remaining Fame seats there

063are three seats open in grade six eleven and grade 7 and 8 in grade 8. and lastly later this evening the Board of Education will discuss and vote on the attendance boundaries and redistricting aligned to our reimagining Bristol Public Schools 2023 plan which includes repurposing Edgewood School from an elementary school to a Pre-K Academy as of June 30th 20th 23. if you just click through all the slides great as you know last June a year ago this month the Board of Education approved our reimagining plan which incurs over a number of years and is phased into two parts we are in the midst of phase one of this plan which includes opening Bristol arts and Innovation magnet school this fall at the end of the year closing Edgewood Elementary and purposing the building to a

064Pre-K academy by doing so we will be able to address the overcrowding at our Bristol Early Childhood Center and relocate our youngest Scholars at Beck and our scattered Pre-K sites into our new Pre-K Academy this closure will require redistricting of our scholars in pre-k through grade 8 facilities to maximize the use of space within our under enrolled schools such as Mountain View Stafford and Ivy Drive and address our changing enrollment and later this evening the board will also take up into consideration moving forward with the educational specifications and conceptual design to build a new larger Northeast Middle School lastly once the new larger Middle School is underway and and finalized we will redistrict out into 2026 for our final time to align to our two larger middle schools Northeast and chippens respectively we will conduct

065spot Renovations at Green Hills and West Bristol as they transition back to K-5 schools and then we'll have a final reconfiguration of the Bands across the district which will be a Pre-K Standalone Academy K-5 schools 68268 schools and two 912 schools and that completes my report for this evening thank you we'll move on to the consent agenda may I have a motion to approve tonight's consent agenda which will include items eight a one through eight eight second motion has been made and seconded is there any discussion hearing none Miss Everett may I have a roll call vote sure commissioner Carlson yes commissioner G Antonio yes commissioner sturgeon yes commissioner tagarello yes commissioner River commissioner Wilson yes chair do yes thank you onward to public comment Ms Everett did we receive any public comment for this

066evening okay thank you do you know if we have anyone online who would wish to speak okay so I will go ahead and I will read the comment the rules for the remote public comment first I will let that person go and then we will do traditional public comment actually we don't have any letters so they can just go first that's fine I will read the instructions during a meeting everyone is requested to address the chair for recognition each speaker must State his or her name and address all speakers must observe the rules of common etiquette personalities are not to be injected anyone violating this rule will be denied the floor each speaker shall limit his or her remarks to three minutes a speaker will not be recognized for a second time on the same

067topic written statements and materials may be made available in advance of comments for distribution to board members and go ahead linen introduce the person who'd like to speak okay uh hi yes this is Brittany Barney 128 Queen Street I just wanted to get some clarification it sounds like they're one of the Commissioners resigned can you please clarify like what the next steps are and process for what will happen to replace that commissioner it just seemed like it happened really fast so that is up to mayor caggiano for his discretion and I will be discussing that with him next week okay thank you chair duby you're welcome okay seeing as how there is no one else online who wishes to speak I will call our first person in public and that is Deborah Barrell my name

068is Deborah girl I live at 498 East Road Madam chair and board members thank you for allowing me to speak my husband and I are the founders of The Institute of Connecticut history we have been giving tours and lectures on Connecticut and American history for the past 15 years we have spent the last couple of weeks going through the outline for the Black and Latino studies course and looked at a lot of the source materials they offered with it it would be take a lot more time if we were to view all 300 Pages look into all the videos and readings but we as students of History be viewed as much as we could we're not against studying the history and culture of any group in fact we encourage it honest history is a great

069adventure and its lessons are always relevant but dishonest history should be exposed and disposed of we have summarized our findings in a seven page report we encourage the board to read our findings and continue to review this course it is really difficult for us to avoid seeing the underlying agenda that is being presented to our children it is not in their best interest we encourage the board to continue to review the contents of this course we also have copies of anyone in the audience is interested we can also email this report to anyone so I'm going to give these to uh thank you so much next is Thomas Farrell my name is Tom Barrell I live at 498 East Road Madam chair and board members after having reviewed the course outline and reference materials for

070the Black and Latino studies course I found that though many of the facts given are indisputable they are arranged in a way that is distorted and unbalanced the end game is to Corral the minds and hearts of the students into a particular point of view and agenda that opposes the principles and ideals of that are the foundation of American society there is no question that slavery and racial discrimination or Indus indisputable part of American history it to look at its Square on and see its consequences difficult for any honest American it was what many call America's original sin it was appalling cruel and inhuman there is no doubt that streams of evil have flowed from that sin and poisoned American society right up to our present generation however critical race theorists such as those who

071designed this course are using this history to bring in another oppressive evil that is equally acrosive to the ideals of our nation truly black and Latino Americans alongside many others have fought for generations to deliver America back to the ideals of our better nature African-American educator and writer John will says it contradicts CRT revisionists that say are demons are democracies are founded on false ideals he writes there is something linguistically confused about suggesting American ideals are false ideals are not statements of fact to be true or false they are just that ideals they are the better realities to which we Aspire thus The Narrative of many individuals who believe the United States ought to be defined more by her moral failings and by her moral triumphs and aspirations tends to be one that de-emphasizes our

072nation's proven ability to overcome these moral failings and in doing so they diminish the heart of American history African-American writer and professor at Columbus University John McWhorter claims the history that critical race Theory presents is founded on empirical sand he writes yet these projects live on their spearheaders lightly dismiss the charges of inaccuracy while school districts Nationwide eagerly receive materials based on the idea of offering students a fresh revealing take on American history the god-given rights presented in the founding of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness gave mankind what Lincoln called the last best hope of Earth in this course we as a community are presenting to our children an erosion of a murder Charities expired we are sowing the wind we shall surely Weep the Whirlwind next gen Van Gorder Jennifer Van Gorder

073272 Candlewood Drive good evening chair duby and other Commissioners uh I was reviewing the committee meeting from the student achievement committee meeting I think from April and I was a little concerned with a couple of things that were said um one thing was the curriculum is proprietary work we do not want it to get out in public um the doctor that Dr Carbone pays for the intelligence of this team and the work that we accomplished and another quote was I'm going to protect our intellectual property first of all it's been man hours and a lot of money we can be like other places and buy it it would be a lot more money and then you can all have it but I don't want that because I want my people to make the curriculum for

074my kids I'm very particular on who gets to have any credit for what we have unless I can copyright it so then no one else can take it and use it um I appreciate all the work that gets put into the curriculum but those are the taxpayer dollars and they are our children and so the parents do want to be included in what goes on with social emotional learning and things that are taught I know we use the castle um program ruler character strong and glsen if it's not here I know it's coming in soon but the social emotional learning uh would be better off called socialist emotional learning and it's uh it's concerning the parents really would like to know what is being brought to our children during that time of the day thank

075you Kristen Bevins okay that concludes public comment and we will move on to deliberated items and our district leadership team reports up first to discuss Nims will be Mr Callahan good evening um we're getting ready to submit our paperwork to the state for the M school right now these are the Motions that we we need to put together uh the first one is to uh to apply the commissioner administrative services for the grant and the deadline is the end of June and we're hoping to hear uh by January I'll talk specifically about the report in my follow-up presentation on the schools any questions do you do you want me to read that or would you like to I will ask for a motion all right I'll make the motion uh to request Bristol city council

076authorizes the bristol board of education to apply to the commissioner of administrative services and to accept or reject a grant for the Northeast Middle School building project located at 530 Stephen Street in Bristol Connecticut second motion has been made and seconded is there any discussion hearing them as ever it may have a roll call vote commissioner Carlson yes Mr G Antonio yes commissioner ponds yes commissioner sturgeon yes commissioner Wilson yes sure do yes promotion yes thank you this is another piece that needs to be approved here for our submission and it's uh the approval of the education specifications I think the motion needs to be read in its entirety thanks the education specifications for the Northeast Middle School building project located at 530 Stephen Street in Bristol Connecticut and to forward to the Bristol city

077council for Action second perfect motion's been made and seconded is there any discussion hearing none Miss Everett may I have a roll call vote commissioner Carlson yes Mr G Antonio yes commissioner ponds yes commissioner sturgeon yes commissioner tagarello yes commissioner River commissioner Wilson yes chair do we yes motion passes thank you point of order would it be possible for administration to send us the Ed specifications that we just approved the were they not attached to your packet no we're not yes I will send that out next the Edgewood Elementary we're purposing and redistricting for 2023 2024 Dr Carbone thank you um ultimately we will be requesting from the board a recommended motion specifically aligned to the adoption of the entirety of the plan so during phase one of the implementation of reimagining Bristol Public Schools

0782023 you can go to the next slide please one of the pieces of information our community needs to know and our families need to be informed of is that at the conclusion of the 23 school years next school year we will ultimately close Edgewood as an elementary school and have five k fives and 2k8s so what you see during phase one of the model we will carry 5K 5 schools two six eight schools two K-8 schools throughout the entirety of the time that Northeast Middle School is being built and that is purposeful because right now Mountain View and Ivy Drive feed into Northeast and so we have to be really mindful of how many students Northeast can hold until Northeast becomes a larger campus so what we're sharing with you on this screen is the

079feeder pattern so right now Ivy driving Mountain View feed into Northeast after Edgewood closes that will still remain true and Northeast feeds into Eastern South Side Hubble in Stafford feed into chippens Hill with the asterisks or caveat that some of the Hubble students are will attend Northeast right now and some of Stafford students or attend Northeast do the boundary lines and once we move into the redistricting all of South Side all of Hubble and all of Stafford students will go to middle school together at chip and so obviously the K-5 students matriculate in growth both Green Hills and West Bristol up to the middle school and currently chippens Hill is split into High School some students will go to Eastern some students will go to Central both Green Hills and West Bristol attend Central High

080School and all of the students at Northeast attend Eastern and as you can see on the left-hand side is our Memorial Boulevard six eight and nine twelve next slide please what we're showing here is just the change in enrollment and it kind of supports what I just shared about not filling Ivy driving Mountain View to a hundred percent you'll see the 99 and 93 based on this first um phasing and you'll see that Hubble south side and Stafford are filled to capacity on the right hand side of the table you see that we've address some of the disproportionality and free reduced percentages of minority student percentages and brought them within five to six percentage points which right now we are not in that range and then in the next slide you'll see in phase one

081with the way the k8s are populated in our six eight so Northeast and chippens we see that truncated Northeast number of 384 the proposal for the new building will be built into 748 students and Chip until was 645. the balance of the middle school students are at Green Hills and West Bristol and you'll see their populations of 848 and 900 students respectively and again you see a closing in of the gap of free reduced population in minority student count of one or two percentage points at our middle level which is much better than where we are right now next I just to correlate with what I just shared with you I want to highlight where our elementary schools and the boundary lines change so the purple color is what the new South Side boundary line

082will be in the redistricting after the closure of Edgewood that pink area it represents West Bristol and then the colors are a little bit suspect for my eyes right now so I'm going to do the best I can I would say lime green is on the bottom and that is Green Hills we're going to call that brownish Tan in the middle that represents Hubble the lightest blue is the new lines for Mountain View the top Corner which I see is yellow is the new line for IV drive and you see that bold that dark gold that is that new line and the remaining color that is Stafford Elementary School and you see that it some of it moves down across that black barrier line which used to represent that um Edgewood School District the correlation

083to this so that's phase one of the elementary boundaries the next slide shows you phase one Middle School and these colors represent the middle school so that orangey tan represents chippens Hill the green represents Green Hills the purpley pink represents West Bristol and then blue represents um Northeast so you see that Northeast is Ivy Drive and the sliver from Mountain View and then the three kind of fingers that represent chip and self and that's a representative of How It's carved up um right now with the exception of that IV of the Edgewood area in phase two and I believe that's the next slide we've taken we we addressed that and these boundary lines now match the boundary lines for our high school so that Tanish Brown represents chippings and then will represent um Crystal Central

084and the light blue represents Northeast which is the same exact lines that reflect Bristol Easter and so I mean closing which is the next slide we are looking for a motion that the board would approve and accept the attendance boundary lines and redistricting plan second it needs to be read okay questions second again motion has been made and seconded is there any discussion of course I can share with you the presentation and all of them no these are the original Maps um any adjustments would be in accordance with any changes in enrollment that may occur based on just housing but these are the original maps that you saw and they are also available for All Families online a family can put in their address and find which boundary line that their school or their child

085would be assigned to is there any other discussion Ms Everett may I have a roll call vote commissioner Carlson yes commissioner giantonio yes commissioner Collins commissioner sturgeon yes commissioner tigerello no commissioner River yes commissioner Wilson yes yes motion passes thank you and next is our behs Dugout and fence discussion um at our operations meeting the friends of Bristol Eastern Athletics booster club came to represent something they had already brought in front of the operations committee once before the Bristol the friends of Bristol Eastern High School athletics would like to continue to raise money to complete the chain link fence as well as chain link dugouts for their varsity baseball JV baseball and Varsity Softball this would be a continuation of what has been pre-approved or previously approved for fundraising efforts by this booster club I'll

086make that motion do you want me to read it the motion that the Board of Education all the friends of Bristol Eastern High School athletics to continue to raise money to complete the fence and dugouts for varsity baseball JV baseball and Varsity Softball a second motion has been made and seconded is there any discussion uh yes um I actually attended that operations meeting uh at the time and we learned that through the booster club that the fence estimate had changed a significant amount but I um I actually agreed with comments made by commissioner Wilson that there really isn't a need to adopt this motion because the original request is still for the fence they've only raised twenty four hundred dollars to date with respect to the fence and now they're asking us to add an

087additional Dugout I don't know that that's appropriate at this time we also discussed potentially exploring options to use surplus funds to pay for the fence in the year if we found funds available um I'm not so sure I'm in favor of this motion because I don't really think we need the motion at this time I think if they're able to fund the fence as they originally planned and they do fund the fence or refund it for them they can come back with the Dugout request or otherwise I'm going to oppose this motion is there any other comments okay because Everett may I have a roll call vote commissioner Carlson yes commissioner G Antonio yes commissioner ponds commissioner sturgeon no commissioner tigerello no commissioner Viber commissioner Wilson chair Dube yes motion passes thank you and next

088up we will have our special services leadership team report Dr Culkin hi good evening I have a brief enrollment report for you this evening as of May 1st we have in Bristol Public Schools out of 8094 students there are 1725 students identified as receiving special education programming and instruction and that represents 21.31 of our Bristol Public School population during the month of April three of 31 students who were newly registering in Bristol Public Schools came to school came to Bristol Public Schools receiving special education services at the time of their registration and one newly enrolled student moved into Bristol Public Schools enrolling already receiving services in out of District placements we had 125 of our 1725 students identified requiring special education programming in out of District placements private placements and 71 students attending public out

089of District out of Bristol Public School programs such as magnet schools also receiving and requiring special education instruction this represents an increase of three students attending private out-of-district program placements and no change in the number of students attending and receiving special education services in public schools there had been a request to include our students the number of the frequency by which we are contacting and requesting the services of 211 and 9-1-1 and so as I prepare reports for you in the coming school year I will incorporate that information into the awards monthly reports in addition to the numbers of risk assessments that are completed by Bristol Public Schools staff I'm happy to take any questions it might happen this time I have a couple questions um the were there were the two one one and

0909-1-1 reports not available for the rest of this school year I will I can provide them at the end of the school year if you'd like them through the end of June that might then give you a comprehensive that way we know where we left off this school year and where we're going to start next school year and typically we will provide a compilation of all of the enrollment numbers at the end of the school year and then start September with a fresh um Baseline so I will provide that for you as well I think you have additional question in regard to esy Staffing at the last Board of Ed meeting you had given us a report about um where we were with Staffing levels then could you give us an updated report please I

091don't have numbers with me right now but as of our last preparation meeting we were proceeding with being able to staff and provide the instruction and support services for our students some of which are through contracted services and agencies but able to provide the services that are needed for our students so that they can have their services in person at the last Board of Ed meeting you indicated that we're about two-thirds staffed and one-third unstaffed was there any progress with the remaining one-third in the last month we have had progress but some of that has been through Contracting with service providers and agencies if you could provide after this meeting um the exact numbers of still remaining positions so they can send that to you tomorrow please thank you um my last uh my last

092item is actually a request for um the July Board of Ed meeting and that would be um this was the first year where we returned back uh primarily in person since the reimagining of special education services in the district where we moved some specialized programs to other schools from where they had been um I would like to know if you could provide the board with an update on the progress of um the improvements that may have been brought to special services Community by making that move and some other areas of improvement if any so if you can give us a summary performance report of that redistricting plan to the board next month would be appreciated is that general or their particular points of interest or information well I uh I I would leave it up

093to the the leadership team to be able to provide us with some success criteria to prove that that the decision was the right decision to be made absolutely and that we don't need other areas of improvement that's it thank you yeah you're welcome any other questions I don't believe so thank you Dr Culkin thank you next on our agenda is curriculum revision up first is black and Latino studies second reading the chair I make a motion that the curriculum for Black and Latino studies be moved back to the student achievement committee for further review I'll second that so commissioner sturgeon I don't know if you can see the room but um Mr Ward was going to present first my apologies go ahead good evening commissioners um so I'm here to present the second reading of

094hack Latino studies curriculum I wanted to provide a little bit of context um again that in June of 2019 Connecticut public Act of 1912 was passed to develop into African-American black and Puerto Rican Latino course of studies at the high school level that legislation also identified the state educational resource center Circ as the coordinated entity to develop the curriculum and the professional learning to accompany that course all connected high schools are required to offer this course in the 22-23 school year I know that's hard to read the names and individuals but over 144 individuals from across the state a range of Educators helped develop help develop this curriculum including Educators from the Department of Education from local colleges and universities from local schools Community groups and museums and before the curriculum was previewed at the

095student achievement committee meeting in April and before the first reading by the board in May the curriculum was also reviewed by a variety of local and National experts to ensure that the content is accurate appropriate and meaningful a brief overview of the course uh the course presents the African-American um and Puerto Rican Latino studies it's a one credit year-long elective in which students consider the scope of African-American black and Puerto Rican Latino contributions to U.S history Society economy and culture it utilizes the Connecticut social studies framework themes and an inquiry-based approach already familiar to social studies teachers to deliver the content a Content rich and personalized learning experience the course is an opportunity for students to explore the accomplishments struggles interceptions perspectives and collaborations of African-American black and Puerto Rican Latino people in the U.S

096students examine how historical movements legislation and Wars affected the citizenship rights of these people and how they both separately and together worked to build U.S cultural and economic wealth and create more Justice societies the local National and International contexts at the first reading of this curriculum we presented the overview and the units of the course which you see here semester one is primarily chronological and explores periods of U.S history with a more specific focus on African-American experiences and perspectives as well as more local connections special two is a thematic examination of the Puerto Rican and Latino experience having received no questions since the last student achievement committee or since the first reading I would ask for a motion to approve the black latino studies curriculum there's already a motion that was made on the floor

097by commissioner sturgeon and it was seconded so I'm going to put an order on that motion the bristol board many years ago was embroiled in an arbitration case that said that if you approve the motion in committee you couldn't then disprove it in the body now I grant you that was over um an arbitrated case and a collective bargaining agreement but I think the rules would apply here that the body could send it back to the student achievement but it couldn't be people who approved it in committee uh your honor just uh to clarify uh commissioner Wilson may not remember but this was never actually voted out of committee there was only a first reading there was never a vote taking the committee you can check the minutes and therefore that doesn't know how did

098it get to the full board then yeah we'll just move forward that you can correct me through the chair through the chair uh to answer commissioner Wilson's question this is a new curriculum and therefore it only got a reading and student achievement and then automatically came to the full board there was never a vote taken on it yes yeah of course yeah there's discussion right now so I'd like to continue with my motion to send black and latido studies back to student achievement committee for further review correct motion's been made through the chair my my comment previously was that I'd like to see a food element added to this course um I appreciate the work that all these esteemed Scholars have done on this course coming coming to us but I'd kind of like to

099see Bristol put its own little twist on this and hopefully improve this course you know make it a little more a little more palatable to more students certainly food does that you know let's face it kids are always hungry they'll love to eat to clarify his his point commissioner member um commissioner Carlson has suggested that in addition to what has already been presented that we could use the new cafeterias in our high schools the new cooking areas to incorporate some of what was learning in the cultural aspect of it that was what he was alluding to I'll just continue along down this side for any discussion sure um what I will say about this is um I did ask questions about this the specific content of this curriculum and the staff did get back to

100me in an appropriate time frame and provided not only me with a response and the content of that response but also their colleagues with updated content because my concern was that we didn't have some sources that were readable for our students and I thought that was great and so what I will say is that I will vote to move this back to committee however I do want to recognize that we should ask questions in a timely manner and I would like all of us to be cognizant of that we've obviously made some people uncomfortable this evening with this motion I would like to move forward with this content that's I respect that and so I just want to reiterate there's we have opportunities to ask the staff questions and clarify and we should do that

101in a timely manner thanks my only question is because I wasn't at the student Achievement First reading um so was there any um content that was customized by our office of teaching and learning or was this straight from the recommendation um that the state had put out as their curriculum recommendation to be able to offer it in time for the elective for the 2023 school year that's what we adapted the curriculum provided by the state which is what's linked in the um in the agenda in the curriculum document it lists a pacing guide and suggest lessons activities and resources the teachers could draw from to deliver those lessons the teachers who are teaching the course have started to meet already to adopt the pacing of the course and select which of those resources they're going

102to draw from what lessons how they're going to customize those lessons for their students already how often does our office of teaching and learning um not put any type of our own customization to the courses that they develop so this is the first course in which the state has provided a curriculum that all all high schools are required to offer and use um so there's always choices that that teachers will make in the enacting and the delivery of of that curriculum and that's the planning that that we start to do with those teachers already thank you oh all right you know this has been in work for probably 10 years to finally get this curriculum approved and I couldn't be more excited for a town like Bristol to have this curriculum more than 40 percent

103of our students are represented by non-white background in history and the non-white background in history has sort of been white glossed over history through time and so it's more than necessary 57 high schools have already approved this curriculum as of January of this year and if we delay this any longer we're going to prevent it being approved for the September school year and that's what I'm concerned about because we have to get textbooks and materials and this is an elective course and there's no reason that we can't modify it later if if there is some kind of glaring Omission that we have missed here or that we disagree with at the state but there's no reason not to move this curriculum forward now and to get it in the hands of our students some of

104the surveys of those students that have piloted this year the students are saying it's the best course they took all year so I think we'd be remiss if we didn't start implementing curriculum that represents the students we serve commissioner Pence I feel that this clap first of all I want to thank the people who did all of this hard work and continue to answer these questions and bring it to us and um I feel very confident that you're all capable of doing this work and that um that we don't know better that we don't know better than what that will than what you're telling us um also it being mandated by the state um doesn't really leave a lot of wiggle room right so we're gonna pass something eventually uh it's an elective so for

105those who aren't ready or don't want their children to learn about other cultures they don't have to right and so personally I think learning about other cultures is a privilege and um something that should be offered right and I'm saddened by the political narrative that keeps coming in because I don't think there's an agenda to create hate I think the agenda is the opposite of that it is to educate people around differences and unity and respect and culture and in order to respect others you first have to respect yourself and we are going to give a group of people an opportunity to learn the the good and the great about their culture if they don't already know the way that we have for other cultures and that in itself creates self-worth which makes you which

106makes people once they respect themselves they can respect others right and if they're not feeling respected or honored in school if they're not learning about their history and their culture we're doing a disservice to not only them but to those around them because we want people to get along in society we want more love we don't want hate so I really agree with commission commissioner Wilson and think that we need to move this forward it's very overdue thank you yes please yeah there we go okay thank you I also agree with Hastings Commissioners sitting to my left and I'm very concerned I think that we as bristol board of education need to stand strong and United that we offer this course and as commissioner Wilson said we're running out of time we need to get

107moving on this I am curious commissioner sturgeon is the one who made the motion to send it back to student achievement but he unless I missed it he didn't speak as to why he made that motion we all could have spoken but we haven't heard from him he can speak next I went down the line through messages okay yes commissioner Sergeant do you have anything you'd like to say before I speak thank you through the chair um so I'd like to say first of all I understand that this is uh a mandatory course through Connecticut public act 1912. I want to State for the record that I am 100 in full support of teaching a course on black and Latino studies however I don't feel that this course is adequate and that's just my personal

108opinion I understand the importance and the need for such of course um my reservations for this curriculum and if anybody has taken the time to look through it it's 300 pages of information that the state has provided and in that 300 Pages um in my studies then I'll be glad if somebody can you know tell me that I'm wrong so be it but I only found two minor mentions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and a footnote of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. I don't know how and I heard the other Commissioners speak and I understand the importance of this course um but how on Earth can we teach correctly historically factual a course on black and Latino studies that does not include much more information of this chronic achievement of the Civil

109Rights Act in the United States of America it just doesn't make any sense to me we I think that we need to be careful in light of what's happened in our country in the past three years that this course is not going to come out through Bristol through the Bristol Public School System as a knee-jerk reaction to um ideals and and people's uh reaction to recent events I think we need to ensure that this course includes important historical facts and we can find those by including more information on these two major acts these two major laws that were passed in the 1960s so again for the record I am 100 in favor of a course like this I just think that the Bristol Public School administration who I heard earlier tonight did not uh take

110uh any uh put any effort into change the course took it just as it came from the state I think that our our uh office of teaching and learning can add to this and make this a much more enhanced and historically factual course for our students and that's why I'm voting it come back to student achievement there's a chair I have one uh additional question that's different than the one I asked um we still have the student achievement meeting in June schedule if it came if it was approved out of student achievement with um revisions it would potentially get voted to the um July full board meeting have we ever passed other why I'm seeing no so the following day so in the interest of being able to still give the option teaching and learning

111enough time um so that they could offer the course on time are there any other courses that we've ever not approved until July that we're still ready for September in the past so um I do think there's time for it to go to committee have some revisions and make it to a full board meeting prior to being offered for the fall so the revision so that I can direct my staff accordingly the the revision is in unit I want to say that looks like it was unit four the long long history for equality in the black movement for equality in unit fours and five part of those two units include the obviously the precursor to the Civil Rights act because there was a numerous num there were a number of of Acts happened prior to

112that required the or set the stage for the Civil Rights Act which was a culmination of multiple things that happened throughout the nation so is the direction this curriculum was vetted and written through a series of people across the state what I hear is a recommendation from commissioner Carlson to include how food impacts Society in both the black and Latino culture as well as the inclusion of a more in-depth study of the Civil Rights Movement that would mean that the staff prior to coming to the student achievement committee meeting you need to make those revisions the curriculum so that it could be then discussed the student achievement committee and or any other question that the Commissioners have that the leshek and his team would need to make those revisions through the chair yes theoretically the

113civil rights were taught in U.S history so the necessity for us to teach it again in this curriculum and I suspect the reason it's not in this curriculum is because we were trying to look at artists we're trying to look at literary we're trying to look at history of African-American Latino um they've already learned in U.S history in government uh the history of the Civil Rights and the Voting Rights Act and the other acts so I'm not sure why all of a sudden we want to be redundant in this course we try to you know scaffold these courses upon each other and this is not the scaffolding I've just been looking for clarity for my team so I don't have an opinion I just want to make sure that they have what they need when

114they come in front of the student achievement committee again so would I be accurate in those two statements I believe you would be accurate but I believe that's entirely why commissioner sturgeon was asking for it to go back to committee because there are so many things that warrant and discussion in his opinion and the fact that there was so much reading to be done I think that commissioner surgeon am I hearing you correctly that that is the intent of your request oh that is correct yes so there are 11 units in totality there will be 90 days of instruction of those 90 days of instruction two of them are um let's say exams that's 88 there are eight that means that there are eight different times that or each unit or days possibly based on

115the placing guide so that would be then handled relatively based within those units percentage-wise so I would want it to be proportionally accurate based on the number of days that we think each of these units would be based on also what the teachers are looking at in the curriculum and giving us as feedback through the chair should we take a vote first before we issue some direction here I'm not sure where everybody stands on this and I don't I want to vote I just have one more yeah sorry I just wanted to clarify before we issue a directive to the staff to do all this work we should probably vote to see if we actually are going to do this my question is in reference to what commissioner Wilson just said Is it true that

116every kid in the school in history is learning about the Civil Rights before they would take this elective yes it's part of our U.S history so me so was that something that was not known is that why we want to put into this if they've already learned it and we already have all of these units is it still necessary or do people here now still think it's necessary to put it in again through the chair yes yes I understand the point that the other Commissioners are making um and without trying to you know go back and forth hit for Tat here um you know we learned two plus two you know and and first grade second grade third grade you know those are we learn our multiplication tables for multiple grades um I understand what

117they're saying I I still stand by um my request and my motion that this be sent back to student achievement for further review that's all I'm asking okay there's been a motion there's been a second there's been discussion Ms Everett may please have a roll call vote well how are we both can you clarify what a yes or no means please a yes is to move it back to student achievement a no is to not commissioner Carlson yes Mr G Antonio yes commissioner ponds no commissioner sturgeon yes commissioner tagarella no question of river no commissioner Wilson chair do we no motion fails elected offer a motion to approve the Black and Latino curriculum as presented at the student achievement committee and forwarded to this uh board for her second reading sorry what was the you

118want to do a second reading or I'm sorry I think we're on this oh it's here for a second okay sorry I'm just coming it's here for a second motion to approve and seconded is there any discussion hearing none may I have a roll call vote commissioner Carlson yes commissioner G Antonio yes commissioner ponds yes commissioner sturgeon no commissioner tagarella yes question of Robert yes commissioner Wilson yes chair Dube yes motion passes thank you next up Mr Bagley [Music] good evening Commissioners as we prepare for the opening events we have quite a few curriculum tonight uh to put forth um first up um I'm going to batch the Middle School uh the Baines Middle School instrumental program sixth seventh and eight three separate curriculum but we'll we can combine it into one motion um first

119up is the sixth grade modern band this is the second reading um is part of the exploratory curriculum broken down into the three units uh to learn uh guitar keyboard and drum sets these were presented last month's meeting so I won't go into the full detail the next up is the seventh grade modern band um which reinforces and elevates the the same guitar-based keyboard and percussion and adds an element of hip-hop and an introduction to songwriting and the eighth grade uh modern band curriculum um adds in a final project for the kids are collaborating to um fully compose a piece of music using all the skills that they've constructed in the modern band and in their songwriting um so I would ask for a motion to approve the Middle School modern band curriculum still moved

120second motion has been made in seconded is there any discussion just that next time you bring one of these forward you need to bring the instrument and give us a little there you go we're giving you homework okay motion's been made and seconded no further discussion may I have a roll call vote commissioner Carlson yes commissioner G Antonio yes commissioner France commissioner sturgeon yes commissionerello yes commissioner Viber yes commissioner Wilson yes chair Dube yes thank you my next is the modern band for the high school level at bames um again adhering to a lot of the same principles that were established in the middle school the high school curriculum will extend those activities and learning that they were covered in the middle school with the modern band instruments um but this is going to go

121even farther down into the theoretical basis of music composition and notational software and the digital audio workstations that we have set up in uh at Baines this is a second reading of this so I would accept a motion to or ask for a motion to approve this curriculum as well so moved second motion's been made and seconded is there any discussion hearing none may have a roll call vote commissioner Carlson yes commissioner G Antonio yes commissioner sturgeon Christiano yes commissioner Viber yes commissioner Wilson yes chair duby yes motion pass thank you foreign to discuss 9th through 12th grade physical education for the second reading Sarah Hale good evening everyone the 9th through 12th grade physical education curriculum revision was reviewed by the student achievement committee on May 18th and they've moved it forward to the

122full board for approval their curriculum addresses the Connecticut state standards for instruction I'd like to thank the teachers that worked really hard on the development of this new curriculum Scott Redmond and Kevin kellett took the lead with all of our high school physical education teachers putting in time to create a strong curriculum for our students thank you with that I would like to ask for a motion to approve the revision of the 9th through 12th grade physical education curriculum [Music] second motion has been made and seconded is there any discussion hearing none may have a roll call vote commissioner Carlson yes Mr giantonia yes commissioner sturgeon yes yes commissioner River yes commissioner Wilson yes sure do we yes motion passes thank you foreign composition you have to have contrast um so it's good to break

123break up the monotony of my voice a little bit um I'm back to present the uh vocal side of our Middle School um music curriculum um these are for second reading I'll I'll talk about all three and then ask for a motion to approve this first up is the sixth grade uh ukulele curriculum um it includes the the units presented of the introduction to ukulele playing chords on the ukulele and accompanying and Performing um so that they can sing a song while playing on the ukulele in seventh grade students will explore the digital music working on loops and project-based learning through that and also coming up with a commercial project where they will Design their own uh commercial with music and speech and using all the digital tools that we have available to them and

124in eighth grade uh coursework and songwriting which will include uh basics of notation songwriting Basics and writing out a Four Chord Song and as you can see looking at our High School courses that we're offering all of these skills through the middle school lead up into the courses that we're offering up in high school so I would ask for a motion to approve our Middle School curriculum for sixth seventh and eighth grade of ukulele the digital music and the eighth grade songwriting it's all moved second motion has been made in seconded is there any discussion hearing them they have a roll call vote your last one commissioner Carlson indifference to the wonderful ukulele I'll Tiptoe Through the Tulips or the yes [Laughter] commissioner G Antonio God I wish I had a gift to play the

125music here for my vote but yes commissioner ponds yes commissioner sturgeon yes commissioner tigerello yes Commissioner of Everett yes Mr Wilson yes yes motion passes and for me now on to some new presentation this will be for first reading this is our middle school art curriculum for Baines um and I I present this slide first because I'm going to present them kind of all at once the exploratory and the concentrations work together students in the exploratory will experience the first five units and concentration will continue on with their other classes that they have into deeper concentrations in each grade level um so I'm just sharing that I'm explaining it like that um there are six middle school art curriculums um exploratory and concentration uh thanks to Shannon Burton our writing team leader and Shannon Sharon

126Williams Monica Humphrey Josh Blumenthal Allison Massey Brian tricol for their work on the art curriculum um it is set up to provide all students with the fundamental elements of our artistic expression while allowing our concentration pathway students an introduction into other Artistic Endeavors and some courses that will be available to them at the high school of beings so first up is our sixth grade art and as you see on the left hand side is the exploratory units that all students both exploratory and concentrations will cover and the students that go on in the concentration level will also cover the units of comic and graphic novels single cell animation and yes I did wear my Bugs Bunny tied tonight I mentioned a student achievement that I wear my Bugs Bunny time uh intro to graphic design

127and intro the digital design the seventh grade art again you can see those fundamental five and each of those fundamental five units scaffold up in the seventh grade um the focus is more on the um being critical thinkers and looking at the symbolism and design principles used in each of the fundamentals and then the concentration students will work with drawing and painting murals an introduction to digital photography and the use of found objects to create works of art in the eighth grade the focus of the fundamental units is looking at the artist's influence and inspiration in creating art as well as organizing and the organization and composition of the elements of art concentration students will be introduced to Fashion Design illustration costume design architectural Design interior design and landscape design and the artistic elements that

128go into those and you can start to see some of the seeds of the High School courses that we will be offering as well so are there as a first reading are there any questions on this middle school art curriculum for babes if at any time you have questions feel free to reach out and I'd be happy to answer them at any time um moving on uh one of our first uh High School courses that we're going to be offering is strings uh provides us with a unique opportunity to serve a population of students whose interests are in the classical stringed instruments uh in this class students will learn about the violin Viola cello and bass and how to play them Focus will be on posture and playing position in the unique independent functions of

129the right and left hand that string players use in units 5 through 10 students will focus on the musical skills necessary to perform on these instruments or any musical instrument therefore and Eunice 11 12 will look at the Historical and critical aspects of stringed instruments and musical performance um this is a standalone curriculum so I've entertained any questions on this curriculum if not we'll move on um songwriting is another High School elective we'll give our students the opportunity to create their own songs using traditional and digital tools and instruments students will explore the form of modern music identifying intros first chorus Bridges and outros students composers will use the formal elements to create lyrics that are thematically related and fit the form of the song functional music theory will give students the pitch and harmonic

130skills to Define chords and progressions that will fit their song finale GarageBand and Studio One are a few of the digital tools the students will use to notate and orchestrate their compositions all of these trials and experiments will culminate in a final composition project that they will be able to share with their class this also is a standalone curriculum so I'd entertain any questions and if not if we can move on the last one I have for this evening is a high school art course interior design this course introduces students to the concept of interior design coursework will include elements of the design process space planning Furnishings Fabric and background elements presented in those units ahead and again all entertaining questions all right if if none again if you have any questions along the way

131I'd be happy to answer them please feel free to reach out and thank you for your time thank you Mr driveway Jen my only question is can we take any of these classes I'd like to audit one we'll see foreign okay so this is the first reading for Scenic design and construction one it is a high school elective for Baines offering a half of a credit it will be offered in the fall semester the course offers students the ability to learn the design elements and construction components necessary for a theater set production in this introductory course students learn the basic elements of design and construction process students work with students in design and construction two to support and develop their skills so it's very important that we understand that Scenic Design one and two students

132are within the same space and growing each other's skills so that you're going to see some commonality between the modules for Scenic Design one and two actually they're exactly the same the module topics I'm going to point out a slight difference so in Scenic Design one project planning our students really focus on identifying the volume of a space mapping and Blueprinting two-dimensional illustrations of their set designs so that's just a brief component of that before I move on to seeing design and construction two does anybody have any questions so scenic design and construction two is the second part for the more advanced students um students that are that take this course have it Advance access to design principles and construction applications of the set for theatrical Productions students in Scenic designing instruction two are leaders

133in the course so if we looked at project planning again as our second module in in Scenic Design One our students were really focusing on two-dimensional mapping of spaces and two-dimensional designs in the scenic design and construction two they're taking and conceptualizing those 2D designs into 3D form models and they're also applying the applications of codes and regulations as they start to plan for construction of those set designs this is also a half of a credit and with the prerequisite of Scenic design and construction one yeah any questions thank you we'll move along to policy revisions Dr Dieter can discuss Alice with 6148 thank you good evening Commissioners up for your consideration this evening is policy 6148 this is in the instruction series and this policy is related to the free application for federal student

134aid um as a Alliance District we are required to codify some of our strategies in order to increase participation in completion in the FAFSA application this policy was reviewed by the policy committee and forwarded to the board for your consideration this evening seeking a motion to approve policy 6148 instruction FAFSA so moved second motion's been made and seconded is there any discussion through the chair who made the second commissioner G Antonio thank you hearing no discussion I'm going to ask for another roll call vote commissioner Carlson yes commissioner G Antonio yes commissioner ponds yes commissioner sturgeon Mr tagarello yes commissioner beber yes commissioner Wilson yes chair Dube yes motion passes thank you moving on to new business I don't believe there is any new business to come before the board this evening so hearing none

135we can move over to building reports up first is Dr Dieter thank you uh the project on the boulevard is moving ever closer to completion uh we had inspect inspections occurred today by various City departments they were underway today and we do anticipate tomorrow that we will likely be issued a temporary certificate of occupancy the next steps are going to include training and commissioning of our mechanical and Technical Systems delivery and setup of our furniture and we are anxiously awaiting delivery of our theater seats and various uh other items for the theater space I'm going to ask you all to stay tuned and mark your calendar there will be a series of student and community events in early August where as we open the building and welcome both our students and the community back into

136the building I'm very grateful for the efforts of D'Amato Downs as well as our building committee members it is through their diligent efforts their diligence and extraordinary efforts that I can report that we were we are mostly on time we're awaiting a few items but perhaps most importantly we are under budget the slides that have been scrolling through represent progress from the last time that we met I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have through the chair there was a if I recall correctly there was a community effort to raise money uh with Association of the bricks and I remember that I was at one of the meetings when that was a robust discussion is there a status on that and the process for looks like the brickwork is done so I'm

137guessing that they have not taken that up so can you share the status of that the uh the fundraiser for the uh brick pavers that uh is at the east facing um elevation lower level uh so and the simple update is that brick pavers are still available if people would like to purchase them um what we did uh what we we moved forward with installing the pavers at that landing and then as uh donations are made and pavers are purchased they will be one by one swapped out in that space so that work is ongoing we have not received on the job site any of the engraved pavers but if you are interested there is a link and we can direct you to that information thank you just so this Clarity though that's really the

138non-profit that is carrying out that fundraising effort and it's not the we the Bristol board of education yes understood through the chair if I could just make one comment on uh the MBA AMS you know I've been fortunate I think this is my third building committee that I've served on over my time and Dr Dieter has done just a bang-up job he's really had to handle some hurdles that you didn't expect we had State Historical Society we had you know some Das and Oscar issues and we had you know local issues of who wanted what and Dr Dieter has just navigated all those pitfalls in such a great way he's got a great personality and a great style about him and he really works with people and you know we're just proud that he's been

139our leader over these last four years thank you thank you Mr Wilson all right up next good evening again um we're progressing with the Northeast Middle School uh a new building a brand new building on the site as as you heard tonight we've made the Motions to apply to the state um the state came by and actually reviewed the building uh and looked at uh the site reviewed the building looked at the condition of the building we're seeing a strong response for them to go ahead and do the new school um we sent over to them our application documents which included all the material that uh Dr Carbone reviewed and also the estimates and the uh due diligence we did in terms of renovation new construction uh and the cost price points there we're moving

140forward I've told you this before with a with a brand new school um and uh we're going to move that that application forward of the state um we have drafted a file application right now which is putting us in in into the the pathway to get this project going the city council and board of finance will be having a joint meeting on 6 14 for the final local approval and we will be submitting that application on uh June 20th any questions next please Edgewood School um I think commissioner Carlson said it well um we've got a project cost increase here which is significant uh the apps committee was uh as we all were disappointed with the numbers we're seeing supply chain issues and particularly roof costs uh with significant escalation uh the project cost basically

141doubled as you described before that means we're going to have to go back and get a committee for that so that's our approach right now I had a meeting with Diane Walden to review where we are with that and the numbers of that so we'll be continuing to work on that with the uh with the Ops committee any questions through the chair just to note that we have patched the roof where it was necessary so we're just going to keep limping along with that poor thing that's true I think I think we've uh We've settled all the current leaks that we have in the building we spend um silktown uh did the repair on that on the roof right now and it's patched and repaired and Limp before next Colorado area Arts uh we do

142have the contract signed it did take a while but it was it was uh signed about a week ago uh dra has been down and working to get things started uh we did a due diligence survey uh they they've got the documents I spoke with Jim Barrett the other day we're having uh uh a bid excuse me we're having a progress review with staff on June 6th and uh we'll be talking about the layouts for the for the project any questions next please we are out to bid with the uh chippens Hill Hubble projects we're out to bid for mechanical engineers uh we had the engineers in a walk through on the 22nd uh we're expecting our bids back on on June 10th uh so that that's progressing forward uh we set aside seven million

143for chippings and 1.6 for Hubble and I'm gonna say this hold on to your hats for those numbers because you've been seeing some crazy things so uh but we'll be communicating with you whatever happens in terms of the cost of the project and numbers and schedule any questions through the chair thanks for the warning you're welcome next on our agenda are liaison our information reports this month Commissioners that are Liaisons at middle and K-8 schools have the option to give reports are there any Commissioners who would like to share I will start on my right moving on to my left good thank you councilwoman lucitani do you have anything that you would like to share um yes I just have a question um Dr Carbone you were saying that we needed to watch the numbers

144going into Northeast through 2023 2024 how many students are in at Northeast right now in your fluids I want to say 400 like 400 to 403 the reason why I'm stating that we want to watch it is it's we're truncating Northeast while we build Northeast and so the two feeders during that period of time will only be Mountain View and Ivy Mountain View and Ivy respectively have usually around 60 something-ish students coming out that 120 in totality though some students will be offered seats at beams so we're looking at probably 20-ish to 24 seats going to beams and about 100 students matriculating in every year and then once it's built the Northeast chippings will absorb the 600 students who are in Green Hills and West Bristol in their Middle grades as well as the matriculating

145fifth graders so we're waiting for that next build to be able to address that last um redistricting okay thank you with no other business to come before the board the June 1st board meeting is adjourned what I asked you oh that's right I'm sorry well I figured you would say it under liaison reports I'm sorry commissioner Wilson go ahead and share your report reports with us all right I serve on two legislative action bodies both for cave and Kraken so I thought I'd provide you of an end of the session report um I understand I'm between you and a German so I'll be as brief as possible take your time I will try to synthesize my remarks as much as possible this was a short session usually during the short session we only make budgeting

146when I say usual because there is no real usual but typically their rules are that it's only for the second year of the biennium and its adjustments to the budget so they can balance the budget but every year during the second in the short session often bills become but each legislator cannot put in their own bills like they can in the full session so the Committees uh put out some bills so I'll just try to summarize uh I think all of you know that I testified on behalf of the excess cost and I didn't get the 60 million I wanted but we got 15 million so it's a step forward since we hadn't gotten an increase in about 12 years to that Grant so that is a step forward and they're also going to change

147how districts are prioritized for excess costs so now that's going to be based on per capita income and a wealth index so you'll be tiered in one two or three so I think that'll be beneficial to Bristol um bilingual education got a doubling of its money um and then the chef case was settled those you've been following Chef it's been a court order for the last say how many years but a long time and so they've been under stipulated agreements and they were supposed to meet all these benchmarks well they never have really ever met the benchmarks and I don't think based on this settlement they're going to reach them either but they've as state is allocated 26 million dollars to try to meet the benchmarks and they're trying to encourage school districts in proximately

148to Hartford and around to accept more Choice students than they've tried to uh make a little more palatable a little bit more money for school districts who wish to do that um and by the way Dr Dieter and Dr cobone were with me at the cave session um where we talked about a lot of these things so they certainly can add anything that I miss um I I would like you all to know that I think we were ahead of the time in terms of menstrual products because I think the state followed us and they passed uh you know a rule that everybody's supposed to provide it free and the dph is going to be providing guidelines on July 2nd or July 1st um I spoke about earlier this evening um the state is now

149going to require paraprofessional development and there is some money out there for us to apply to get that for our professional development program um there's also going to be a special education study I testified and provided some of Bristol statistics on uh special education and so I think now they've decided that they need to get more information as to where we're spending a special education and I think they also want to look at some of the vendors that are providing special education to see if they can come out of control because it's kind of uh an unregulated uh situation where the vendors kind of charge what they want so um the alliance District program was renewed for five years so that's always good news for us because we get a lot of money in Alliance

150uh the Alliance program foreign there was a lot of discussion during the session about uh childhood mental and physical health services in schools there's surveys about um what school districts are using for social worker psychologists councils and nurses and how short they are and how the state can help schools build up the capacity of that career field so that we're able to provide more services the biggest challenge right now a school districts can't find the people they need to do social emotional assistance there's also a new grant program for that I'm going quickly people so one of the things that sort of snuck in there and you know most of these things had public hearings so at least cable or Caps or crack or someone got to weigh in on it but somehow it passed

151everybody's attention and there's now a minimum duty free lunch period for teachers and creates a 30-minute unrip under uninterrupted lunch period for teachers I think no one in the I don't know themselves disagree with that but usually that's collectively bargained by the teachers in the school district so now the state has said you know you you have to provide it and we didn't get the chance to collectively bargain for it so I think there's some in the state that are concerned about that and then what does that do for you know school day are we allowed to now extend school day for the amount of instructional time we've lost as we implement this uh 30-day free period so I think there's more discussion that is ongoing um by cave and caps and other advocacy agencies

152um the teacher certification is under review and I think a lot of it is really about the Career and Technical Pathways but I do believe that it may provide an opportunity for us that you know uh bains because it gives us an opportunity to hire some part-time faculty to come in and teach and they wouldn't have to have a teaching certificate so it seems like we could fit that in there and so I think we need to get to the state and and talk to them about that and then the other thing that sort of was stuck in there hit the maybe in the 12th hour was remote learning uh permits in 2425 local boards local and Regional Boards of Ed to do remote learning if they wish to um and but it prohibits dual

153instruction so um I'm guessing the cea or the AFT was uh more on board than we were in that and so uh but there was never a public hearing on any of this so it did slip in there so I don't know how that all play out I haven't talked to anybody here locally I've talked to some other people around the state about it and people were disappointed that it got snuck in there but the snuck is probably the wrong word so don't uh it was put in there um okay and um like in another act uh was about more about expanding preschool and mental health and Behavioral Services for the preschool students and I I think that's enough you've heard enough this is a three-hour session that I just gave you and six minutes

154so can you email us your notes would you feel something you got you all got it Oh I thought you wrote that for us okay thank you one thing I will say with with correct I would like to make everybody aware of this and the superintendent I'm sure is aware of it um correct has been flat funded basically since 2010 when the they established the magnet schools in 2019 we got a 200 home but it's been flat funded for all that time and so what's happened now is the that Grant used to provide 75 percent of crick's costs and that one only provides 50 going forward so school districts are going to have to pay more money and uh the executive director at crack has informed all the uh superintendents about what the cost projections

155will be he's going to hold everybody harmless for 22-23 but going forward beyond that it's a pretty significant increase I think the first year is 1700 a student and the year is twenty three hundred dollars a student so uh you know I know sometimes we don't want to collaborate with correct for reasons that we think they're you know a competitor of ours but this is a case where we probably do want to collaborate and make sure that the legislature fix that problem so that we don't pay have to pay the extra cost for those students and I'll end there all right now the meeting is adjourned thank you foreign