Board of Education Public Meeting | Live Stream | December 17th, 2025

001Good evening. My name is Shrida Chhatur and I'm president of the City School District of Albany Board of Education. On behalf of the board, I welcome you to our meeting today. We have our student board member, Miss Sampona, Mr. Almanavi, Miss Alen Crerachche, Miss Wilson, Miss Savage, and uh Mr. Wilfang. Uh, also joining me are the superintendent, the members of the cabinet both virtually and in person. Uh, this meeting is being livereamed and the instructions to view the meeting as well as a link to the agenda including all documents we'll discuss are available at albonychools.org/beie. It's a good time for me to note that if you're here tonight to speak in public comment, you should sign up with Miss Timmons or Bler here to my right. And with that introduction, we invite those of you

002who choose to join us as we stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all. In addition to the pledge of allegiance, we always focus our meeting by restating the mission of the city school district of Albany, which is to work in partnership with our diverse community to engage every learner in a robust educational setting designed to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for success. Um, do we have a student board update? As you know, student government's debate for change was held last week. Um, students had an enjoyable time being able to share out and voice their opinions and experiences at last week's event. We were we were able

003to gather some input and clarify what the student body prioritizes when it comes to modern-day school systems and the policy that they're continuously upholding each and every day. I know for myself, I facilitated the debate question regarding phone policy and many students expressed that they understood why the policy was in place, feeling that this change has actually been a positive factor in raising their grades and focus during classes. Many students who attended expressed that they were pleased to have the opportunity to voice their opinions. So, we're hoping to be able to pass that tra tradition along as we move into more student government years. Um, additionally, we're hoping to have some possible student board representative tableabling. Uh my fellow student board representative Clean and I have been trying to pin down a date in which

004we can table in our school's cafeterias so that we can hear opinions from students and really receive their input on what they hope to see in the future and what they hope to see elevated. Finally, um in regards to our Falcon Pass discussion, um as previous as previously mentioned, the reestablishment of the Albany High School Falcon Pass is still in the process of being finalized. The qualifications to obtain the pass that were agreed upon by many student government members entails the maintenance of a GPA that stands at at least an 80 while simultaneously maintaining an attendance average of at least 90%. All the while, students must also show an acceptable behavioral record. Again, this would this pass would allow for students to access headphones in circumstances in which it is not impeding teacher instruction and

005courtyard access later on in the year. While this concept has been established, we still need to formulate the application process in which students would be able to express their desire to receive said pass. We plan to have this finished soon so students can receive the benefits they've worked hard for as soon as possible. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Miss Sona. I know that uh the last few uh updates that we've gotten are mostly high school related. Are you guys having a means to talk to the uh school representatives at the other buildings? So, we're hoping to get in touch once the break is over. We're um we're planning on talking with our principal in terms of getting access to speaking with who we need to speak to in regards to getting that >>

006because the intention is that all those the student government uh entities and right from elementary through the high school voice all their opinions to you guys and then you bring >> Absolutely. Yeah, we're hoping to get that done as soon as possible. >> Thank you. Superman writer, do you have a report? >> I do, and I'll turn it over to Mr. Leco to get us going. >> Thank you. While our guests are getting settled, I'll uh I'll provide a little introduction. We are excited to have a state champion in our midst this evening. Wel Satu is a fifth grader in the newcomer program at Albany International Academy. He recently took f first place in a statewide multimedia contest celebrate celebrating the people and things that matter most to him at school. For Wel, those things

007include Jake the Yellowfish, his friends Muhammad, Adam, Yasmin, and Reema and teacher Kristen Bakus. The New York State Teachers of English to speakers of other languages showcased Wy's first place project at a statewide conference in November. to introduce us to Wyil and tell us more. Please welcome AIA principal Rachel Ste. >> Hi, good evening. Um, I'm so proud to introduce you to WIEL. Um, Wy has been with the Albany International Academy since last fall. Um, and he started as a fourth grader, now he's in fifth grade. He speaks Arabic and um, he's joined tonight by his very proud family. Um every year the nice t- cell um organization has a conference and as part of that conference they always open up um a student you know a few different student work contests um to the

008entire state and so when Miss Abate who I'm going to introduce you to in just a minute let me know that while was the winner I was so excited for him um and really um I'm going to let Miss Abate tell you a little bit more about him and his project. Um Miss Abate is his ENL teacher and has been his ENL teacher for the last two years. Thank you. Um yeah, so nice tissue theme this year was student voice actually and I think they really wanted to include um all levels of English language learners. We all just came to us uh a year ago November. So he's still in the early stages of learning English, but he's such a hard worker, such an earnest student. We were really thrilled that he won because he

009deserves it. And um yeah, they had they had to do a media project where he took the photos. He edited his own work on a computer and um and he submitted his work along with a lot of my students from third grade to fifth grade. And it was open to prek to five through the whole state. And so it's really an honor that he won and we're really proud of him. [applause] Do you want to say anything? >> We have a translator. Um, so if you wanted to say something in Arabic, that would be okay. Arabic if you want. Miss Nyla can translate for you. Do you want to say something in Arabic? [laughter] >> Huh? talk about our school. >> Say something. >> Alhamdulillah. Good. >> It's all good. [laughter] >> If we could

010have the board members and the superintendent come out, we'll just take a few pictures. >> He didn't prepare any remarks. Sorry. [laughter] It is now my pleasure to introduce Principal Tina Casone and her team to tell us more about the great things happening this school year at Sheridan Preparatory Academy. We're all squeezing in. So, we were trying to make an executive decision tonight if we were all going to popcorn it out or I will just go through the slideshow. And I told them just to jump in if they felt like there was something that they wanted to add because I know we're on time. And I think the most important part is the end where the kids are talking in the video. And of course, that's the best part of anything in an elementary school

011is listening to the kids. So with that, we'll just get us started. Here's our district vision, mission, our goals. I didn't want to read slides to you. So here's Sheridan Prep's school vision, which is really the most important thing of everything we do. It's the gateway to the greatness of students future. That's what we plan all of our goals, mission, our SAP is just in that one vision. So that really is the most important thing to always be keeping eyes on that we are the gateway for our students. Um, we created that vision, mission, and goal a few years ago, and um, I think it's gotten us to where we are and hopefully to the next stage of where we want to be. I am Tina Marie Casone. I am the principal of Sheridan Prep.

012I became the principal this past January, but I have been in this building, this is my ninth year, and I'm super excited because the most important thing that has happened in the catalyst of change is that I have a brand new assistant principal, Mr. Santana. >> Um, we have a community new community school site coordinator and for anyone that has a community school that is a very intricate role. That's Miss Ashley Shout and Mr. Ole Johnson has been with both me and Zulea and now me and Alex doing the work. And so it's great to have a full team who really understands the work and um, we're very excited about what we've been able to do in just a few months. Um, so here's our demographics. I'm not going to read off the numbers to

013you, but I do think what we really have started to realize is that our student body community is changing. And so over the years, I would say um this demographic has shifted a lot. That 30% Latino students has gone up. And if you add all of the percentages, we hold a very high percentage of black and brown kids in our community. The other number that has jumped up um and we are going to think that this is a trend that will continue is we have a lot of multilingual learners. Um it's made our building come alive. Um we had diversity before but now it just feels like it's turning into this just beautiful multicultural world that we live in. So it's exciting to see those things happening. These are our set goals. Um we are

014different from previous years. Uh when you are in receiverhip you have a lot of goals and it feels like you're doing a lot of things. The good part about being in good standing we have been able to really laser focus what we're doing and so we less is more. So for our first was evidence-based strategies. We are really focusing on making thinking visible. We are focused on MTSS supports which is all data-driven decision-making in the school and of course community schools which we have focused on powerful student and family engagement. Um, this is our attendance slide and I think the most important thing out of any attendance slide is you want to see the attendance rate go up and you want to see the chronic rate go down. And so that's always our goal to

015make sure that we are focusing on any trends, any barriers and how to support our everchanging school community. We absolutely I left this slide in. I think this is No, I think this is year three. And the reason why is because it's working. We do the power of 10. We focus on 10 days. It has a catchy little ring to it when you're like 10 months, 10 days. And so parents know the power of 10. Students know the power of 10. We are continuing to use our flow map, but we are really focused in on tying academic gains to being in school and just having parents well educated to why we are like coming to their home and trying to figure out how to get the kids to school. Um, our school community model has

016absolutely positively been the difference maker. It's a huge change agent for our building. It continues to grow. I'm very happy to have Miss Al here. she really understands the work and just in a few months we have really strengthened our um community ties. We've had a few turnovers and that has hurt us a little bit with partnerships, but it feels like she's been here a million years. Our partners are like full force there. Kids are getting everything they need and now we're looking to expand on what we're doing. This allows us to have our enrichment hour. So, our teachers get an hour of common planning time, but the kids get an hour of enrichment once a week from all of our different community partnerships. Um, having supports for our families so we can offer them

017things outside of just Northern Rivers. We have Whitney Young, we have dental, we have the list is so long of all the resources that we have and this is all due to community schools. So, for us, we do believe it is the difference maker. I just I'm not going to read these numbers, but I wanted you to know that because of engagement for student and families, we're really keeping an eye on how our um events are being received. Last year, we offered a lot of different variety. We were trying to listen to parents telling us when they wanted things to be at school, whether it was Friday night or a different time during the day. So, we had a lot of different things and we surveyed parents. And so we really have been responsive and

018I think that's shown in the amount of um students and families we have that are coming to our events right now. It's increasing to the point where now this year we're charging for fundraising things and parents are happy to come. They are so excited about like what we're offering and they're giving us great feedback so that we're constantly growing our programs. Of course, challenges and next steps are that um our interestbased afterchool clubs, most of them need funding and money, money, money is always the thing we don't have. And so we are looking constantly for new partners. That can be a low or no cost and that can be challenging when all of our schools are competing for the same um services. So we're like we just got to make sure they have a good

019experience here and we want them in char and then having the gaps in the community um site coordinator had been an issue. We are fully staffed this year and we have already grown in our partnerships and our level engagement and it just shows that when you have all the people in the right place the consistency um the effect is very quick that you get to see. So our successes we are thriving our students um got to come back to school this year. We added a sensory room. It is an add-on to something when they left. We had hallways and we had things where kids could access that in the hallway. But this is a room that has so many different varieties um for things for touch, things for seeing. But and we are very into

020big into teaching. So when kids go into these spaces, we're teaching them how to use a timer. We're teaching them how to use the tools so they get to um get back to learning as quick as possible. And so it's been really neat to see just the excitement of the room and how well um they treat all the equipment in there and how much they really respect the space. Just showing that if you give children the breaks that they need with a variety of things to meet them where they're at, you can get them back in the room and much shorter time span. Um we have a very high level of student engagement. Um, besides just our events, we did add a recognition for our parents this year because we have a big blue and

021gold day once a month and we always recognize students. We always have a parent. We add we always had staff and we added parents this year. Um, and both times that I've called to invite them, they are excited to the point of like crying on the phone just to be recognized. And the kids lose their mind when other people win things. So just feeling them clapping and cheering for them. It's been a real um great addition to our assembly. And then of course the best part I did save for last is this is our uh video from our student council members. We have an amazing amazing student council every year. This group of fifth graders takes this role very very seriously. Um but I do tell you before we turn the video on that at

022one point something must have popped up on their side and they were trying to eyeball it to me. And so you will see me lean in to try to see what it is they want me to do. And I just let them continue. But at the end I said, "Well, let's just do it again now that we, you know, fixed." And they said, "Oh my god, we're not doing it again." That was that's just what happens. We're just going to roll with the punches. And I was like, "Okay." So I left it, but you'll probably see the part and it's kind of silly, but I thought it was funny that they had an agency and they said, "That was real life and we just kept going, so we want you to leave it." I was

023like, "Okay." So I left it. Um, but I hope you enjoy this because this is Sheridan Prep. What you're going to see in these four little people. >> We are the Sharon Preparatory Academy student council members and we would like to tell you about the amazing things that happen at our school. My name is Maurice Adams. It is really important that students have a voice at school to help shape the decisions that are made for us as learners. As student council members, it is important that we are always role models. This year we have students are taking part in after school committees like PTO. We also support all of our events here at school. So we are visible leaders. Here are just a few things that make us superstars. >> Hi, my name is Grace

024Phelis Monday. Students here host blue and gold day once a month. A different grade takes a responsibility to be be the voice for our school assembly. My name is Ava Hartzug. We are the home of the superstars. And here at SPA, the entire school community is focused on making sure that we have the best education. That means that we are held to high standards and expectations. One of the teachers goals is to make sure they are making thinking visible, which basically means you should see and hear us talking, not them, so we can show you all we know. >> Hi, my name is Destiny Jonas. One thing that makes us unique is that we are a community school. We have a food pantry, clothing closet, Whitney Young clinic, sensory room, dental care, school store, laundry

025facility, and so much more. Students in grades 3 through 5 can come every week and do their own shopping. We also have amazing partnerships in the community, and we are able to do a lot of enrichment activities during the school day while our teachers are learning and collaborating. We also have a lot of fun traditions here like the Thanksgiving lunch where we all get pie during lunchtime, Thanksgiving parade, caring on the stairs and read across America week. We take our 3Bs very seriously being safe, respectful, and responsible. We know it is important to be smart, but it is just as important to be a good citizen. We love our school. We are making a difference so that our school and community will continue to thrive. We are smart. We are proud. We are strong. >>

026We are prepared. >> Yep. Yep. Yep. So, I was like, do you want to do it? No. No. Okay, we're going to see it all. But thank you so much. That that to me is you just needed that. You didn't even need any of the other slides. But thank you. >> [applause] >> and I'm coming back just to let you know that that concludes tonight's district highlights. Thank you. A number of updates as uh we close out 2025. We want to make sure that we take a moment to celebrate three of our outstanding ENL teachers. Um, last month, uh, they not only took part in the statewide gathering of ENL teachers, but they were presenters. So, uh, we want to make sure that we shout out and thank Kristen Bice, Jennifer Warniki. Uh they presented

027uh Kristen from um Meyers and Jennifer from AIA presented on how to use technology uh and and different technology tools we have available to us to to um modify instruction for students. And lastly um of course Dialon Pertim Singh uh he talked about or presented on equitable support for multil- language learners. So we want to make sure that we recognize our teachers that uh not only attended the conference but took um significant time, energy and resources to submit their proposals and they got approved and then to uh uh plan and and deliver three or two outstanding opportunities. Um earlier uh was last week um it was last week, right? Today's Wednesday. It was last week that we debuted at Albany High School uh the Falcon Market in partnership with Market 32 and Price Chopper. Uh

028we want to make sure that we thank Market 32 and Price Chopper. They invested more than $15,000 um to support our 9inth Food Pantry, which really is like a mini grocery store on the second floor uh of the high school and is in the same location as the Falcon Boutique. And we had uh friends from the regional food bank of northeastern New York with us. Uh they have been supporting all of our food pantries for a good long time and uh we have added the Falcon Market. Uh they have added the Falcon Market to their um support as well as the Albany Fund for education. It was a great ribbon cutting opportunity. Uh and in fact the CEO of Market 32 in Price Chopper, we uh were just speaking immediately following the event and um

029we have already followed up uh for his executive chef to come and work with some of our culinary students, for our culinary students uh to spend some time with the executive chef. We've already had conversations around uh celebrity chef competition and some other opportunities to not only showcase our our uh brand new facilities there at the high school, but um to just reinforce the partnership and uh all of the support that those companies have have provided, not just the high school, but uh all of our our schools and food pantries. Earlier this week, uh, I had the pleasure of attending a meeting with our CTE director, Maggie Paul Mary, with our capital region chamber president, Mark Egan. Uh, we had we spent about an hour with him in his offices, and our outfits were not

030planned. I promise you that. Uh, and I guess I should have thought about that before I wore this jacket. Um, but, uh, Mark has been a a great, uh, friend of the school district for a long time. And uh given our renewed focus on creating um more robust CTE pathway, certainly uh with the um uh the new wing of the high school opened, uh Mark is going to continue to be a a tremendous resource and connect connect us with uh opportunities to strengthen existing programs, to identify new pathways uh and to support our quest at building uh more experiential opportunities for students in elementary and middle school. So when students come to the high school, they have a little a little more not just awareness but uh experience in some of the pathways that exist

031and some of the pathways that we're uh looking forward to developing. So we want to make sure that we thank uh the chamber and Mark Egan for spending some valuable time with us. Uh this Saturday we have our spa day at Albany High School. Speaking of CTE, our uh students in our barbering and cosmetology program uh are offering their services. Uh you can have the standard package for $25 or the VIP package for 45. Uh we ask that you send an email uh to Laquita Love or give her a phone call to make your reservation. And this is um an outstanding opportunity for our students to showcase everything they're learning in those um two dynamic programs. And and over time, this uh event has turned into like a a fair of sorts. We have some

032folks that are um selling some different holiday themed crafts. We have some uh baked goods and uh warm cider and coffee I remember in years past. So, it's a a great opportunity uh even if you don't want to service, a great opportunity to scope out the um the facilities and see what else is going on uh in the high school. Many of you will notice that uh we moved our board meeting from traditional Thursdays to Wednesdays. And that's because uh I'll be uh attending with our board members the farewell celebration for Mayor Kathy Sheen. She was with us at our last board meeting being recognized and her um farewell gathering is tomorrow night. So, we wanted uh to make sure we could attend. So, we moved the board meeting and we are absolutely honored that

033she has asked the uh high school jazz band to perform at tomorrow's ceremony. And so, uh for those that are attending, you'll see some familiar faces on stage. And it's always um a great treat to hear all of our all of our student uh perform uh student groups performing out in the community. And um I'm sure we'll come back with additional opportunities to hear to jazz band. But uh this short week alone, they booked two more gigs. One uh gig at the end of February with the New York State Leaders of Color and one in early March at the midyear uh New York State School Superintendent Association Midwinter Conference. though they will be on the road again after the new year. But we'd like to thank the mayor and her team for uh inviting our

034students. And speaking of performances, we still have a number uh of performances over the next couple days as we close out 2025, but a number of schools also have uh concerts in January of 26. So, be sure you check out our website uh to find where you can hear our very talented musicians uh showcasing everything that they've learned and rehearsed over the first few months of school. Uh this is really exciting that 97 Albany High School students were recognized as a scholar athlete from the fall season. In order to be a a scholar athlete, you have to maintain a GPA of at least 90 uh a 90 GPA or above for the first quarter. uh they will receive their pins uh for their uh achievements uh at an upcoming celebration. And it's also important that

035we share that nine of our teams were recognized for the scholar athlete team award. So um we like to say these are not just athletes, they are scholar athletes and they just don't perform on the court or on the field, but certainly uh 97 of them and seven full teams are performing in the classroom and we're really excited about that. Speaking of uh athletes, uh so far our um high school boys basketball team has been experiencing success on the heels of Sincere Allah's outstanding performance. He scored more than 30 points twice so far in the first five games and he's averaging more than 20 points over the course of the first five games and is shooting just under 40% from three-point range. So, uh, we'd like to congratulate Sincere and, um, earlier this month he

036was nominated as athlete of the week. And speaking of winter, uh, we just want to remind everyone about winter weather. Um, we will email all families. We'll post uh, winter related um, decisions on our website and all of our social media and certainly uh, with our local media. So, if uh we have winter weather on the way, we uh ask that folks um look out for reminders, but certainly are are able to find information on our website. That concludes my report for tonight. >> Thank you. Thank you, Superintendent. Board members, as is our usual practice, I ask you to prioritize your questions and ask one question at a time. And if there's time, we will move on for a second uh round. We'll start with our school board member uh Miss Sona. >> I don't

037have any questions. I would just like to make a quick comment regarding the expansion of CTE pathways. I would just love to say on behalf of a CTE student specifically with health science. It's absolutely incredible to hear about the expansion of said programs. There is no better way in my opinion for students to really get that career readiness especially so early on and being a part of the CTE. um in the high school has been one of the best experiences I've ever been offered. So, thank you very much. >> Very good, Mr. Almanovi. >> No questions. Thank you so much, >> Mr. Wolf Gang. >> Thank you. Uh I do have a quick question, but I'll just echo my colleagues uh support for the CTE program. I think it's amazing what uh we've been able

038to build out and what we're looking towards uh for Saturday spa day. Normally these are just cosmetology. So we got barbership that's going to be available too. Are the packages just cosmetology or are we saying I can get some like fun things going on? >> No, you can you can get cleaned up and um you can Miss Love will help you book that with uh Mr. Wafer and the barbering students. >> Okay. I have I have wed out admittedly every time for a pedicure, but this might be the this might be the season for my pedicure. So, if you want to do it, maybe we'll Yeah, we'll we'll go as a pair and, >> you know, have that experience together and make sure there are no no cameras, no [laughter] photos. >> We'll figure that

039out after Miss Savage. >> Uh, so I wanted to ask off slide things. This is my want lately. Um, one I was surprised the HR slide isn't there, which we got last time, but we don't seem to have this yet. >> Um, yeah, excuse me. I I don't think it's something that we were planning to do every single board meeting, but more like a >> monthly. Okay. Y, >> thank you. And then also I wondered if we could get an update on the new security procedures at Albany High, how they're working, what the experience has been um both in terms of they changed the way they're do managing the under pouches and the whole new security system. So I didn't know if you had an update on that. >> Yeah. Um on January 8th, um

040Jason Davis, our security director of school security, will give his annual report and that's going to be a specific piece of it. Uh I do know as I shared with some um media that had questions, one of the um one of the reasons for implementing um the new procedures when we chose to after we hit pause in December and not wait for the new year was to give our staff um as much familiarity with the new technology so that any regrouping or any adjustments that uh need to be made could be made over the holiday. Um, and so I know uh I'll be over uh tomorrow morning with uh Jody Comfort and her team for a different matter, but we'll check up on that. But we'll make sure at January 8th's meeting that that's part

041of the update. >> Miss Grey, >> thanks very much for the presentation. Um I'm especially excited about the new food pantry at the high school. That looks really nice and I think that'll be a great resource for people. I had also had a question uh similar to Miss Savage uh related to the security procedures. I was really excited to hear the student board member report about the Falcon Pass plan and I think honestly that the standards that you described seem pretty reasonable as a minimum for which students could be using headphones and earbuds. But my question my question both about the current new security procedures and about the plans for the Falcon Pass would be are we as part of having as part of searching students bags are we just searching for weapons and hazardous

042objects or are we also searching for earbuds and headphones and making students check those at the door and if we are how is that going to work? Is it going to slow things down if as you're screening everybody's bag, the security guards have to check your list to see if you're on the Falcon Pass list? >> Good question. I will I will get back to you on that. >> Thank you so much. >> Miss Wilson, >> no questions. Thank you for your presentation. I don't have any questions, but I do want to uh talk about two things. I the f the falcon market that was an amazing thing. U it's on the second floor right next to the where the stained glass windows are. So if you get a chance to go to a concert

043or something, go up to the balcony level and and be in if it's open, check it out. It's amazing space where uh our partners, the food the food bank as well as Price Shopper have outfitted this. It's like walking into a mini sup supermarket, you know, with shelving and freezers stocked with fresh food, meats, uh, juices, and on the other side is the Falcon Boutique with with all kinds of clothing available for the students where no student needs to feel embarrassed to come and ask for support, you know, or go and grab it. uh it's available for students to take home to their families and and I am so happy and grateful to the community for stepping up and providing this amazing space to support our students who are in who are in need as

044a lot of the people in the community um especially during these times. Uh so that that was amazing to be uh there to witness. uh and on Monday uh there was an impromptu uh alumni uh um gathering of the JOTC kids uh from the last 10 years and as I was talking to the students one of them actually was in the health sciences program and she was like I wish the afterchool program the afterchool club had been there for me but I'm so happy so I'm glad to hear that uh you know you you too are uh experiencing good things through that program so yeah and I'm I'm so happy that we are able to provide these opportunities and pathways for our students to explore new things because this is the time when they can

045actually do it to to know what's out there and and how do we get to that goal and what are the different things that we can try out uh within our spaces. So, thank you once again. Okay, we move on to public comment. Uh this is the time we set aside to hear from members of the public. Uh all right. I don't think there's any in-person public comment together today, but we do have one person in uh joining us virtually. Um we do invite members of the public to share thoughts on the decisions we face. We accept public comment in person, by voicemail, and through a web-based form. Information about public comment and contact information is on the district's website at alubschools.org/bee. orbee. Um, and the board always welcomes input from the community. Uh, we

046set set aside about 30 minutes of each meeting to hear from district residents, parents, students, and other members of the community. And if there are more comments, then that can be accommodated in those 30 minutes. We might which we it's not going to happen today, but we will uh extend the period or have a second session uh at the end of the meeting. So our first person is uh Mary Nolan who's joining us virtually. Before you start uh please keep in mind that public comment is not the best place to force alert the district of any concern you have. We ask that you share concerns first with relevant staff such as the teacher or principal. If you feel a concern is not addressed adequately. We may appeal to the person's supervisor up the chain of

047command if necessary to the superintendent and decisions made by the superintendent can be appealed to the board. Uh we ask all commenters to keep in mind that information about individual students and specific district staff cannot be shared. Not only is that a violation of privacy, but every student and every staff member deserves to know that concerns about them will not be aired in public. So, and you have three minutes. Miss Crerachche here, our secretary will be timing you. Go ahead. >> Hello, my name is Mary Nolan. I'm speaking tonight on behalf of the Albany Special Education Parent Advisory Council, Albany CPAC. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to share information tonight about the 11% of our students who are served by individualized education plans. And tonight I want to talk about speech language impairment, which

048is the second most common category in special education, representing about one in five students with IEPs. And I know this category well because I myself am a speech language pathologist. I retired in 2020 after 16 years with the district. When many people hear the term speech therapy, they often think about impairments that you can hear. And there are many of these including lisping, stuttering, motor speech disorders that make it difficult to produce a series of sounds and articulation impairments like substituting a W sound for an R sound. The speech language impairment classification also includes language disorders which may be harder for a casual observer to notice but which are possibly more impactful on students functioning. Students with language disorders can have difficulty with receptive language, what they understand, expressive language, speaking, or pragmatics, social use

049of language. So, students with receptive language disorders may have trouble following directions or understanding questions. Students with expressive language disorders may have uh limited vocabulary or speak in short or grammatically incorrect sentences. Students with pragmatic language disorders may have trouble taking turns in conversation or staying on top. Additionally, some students are non-verbal and need support in the use of augmentative and alternative communication devices or AAC devices. These are usually handheld devices that can be programmed to speak a message composed by the user as you saw Emil using during the last board meeting. Um, additionally, um, no, speech language pathologists work with students with either individually or in small groups of up to five, most frequently in the speech therapy room, but also in a variety of settings throughout the school. And um, students with speech

050language impairment can be found in all all kinds of classrooms from general ed to self-contained. In fact, not all students receiving speech therapy have IEPs. SLPs screen all students coming into the district and provide intervention for speech and language challenge students. Some of these students will eventually get IEPs. So, in conclusion, u speech language intervention is not just about talking. It's about enabling students to connect, learn, and develop their cognitive and social skills in order to improve outcomes academically and beyond school for their whole lives. Thanks for the opportunity to shine a light on the learning challenges of IEP students and on the important work supporting these students. >> Thank you. We appreciate all public comments and we find hearing from community members very valuable. Once again, our contact information for both public comment and

051routine correspondence is albonychools.orgie. We now move to the part of a meeting we call routine consent. During this portion of the meeting, we approve routine matters to the district. These include items like contracts, field trips, personnel matters, and like. And every board member reviews each item carefully, but we vote on them together as a group with no discussion. And that allows us to use our meeting time more efficiently. Nonetheless, each board member has the option to set aside any routine consent item in order to require a separate discussion and vote on that item. With that introduction, I now entertain a motion to adopt the routine consent agenda. Miss Wilson. Second, Mr. Almanawi. Are there any set aides? Miss Crerachche. >> Thank you. I'd like to set aside bullseye, please. Miss Savage, >> I'd like to

052set aside the position control addition to the human resources agenda item. Any others? Okay. All in favor of adopting routine consent uh agenda minus the position control which is part two uh and Bullseye LLC. Okay, that's unanimous. May I have a motion to adopt uh the position control? Okay, Miss Wilson Savage discussion. I just wanted to ask two questions about the position control um changes. I see that there's a reduction of a teacher at Arbor Hill Elementary School and I'm wondering if we consolidated a section or what's um what's happened there. >> Sorry, I'm just looking through it right now. So I'm looking for the armor. the top one which was an abolition of a elementary school teacher. >> Sorry. That's there's a typo in there. That's supposed to be Ash, not Arbor Hill. >>

053Uhhuh. I was wondering >> the S and the H got reversed. >> Okay. >> Um and really what this is, we often have our coaches and our interventionists um in their original tenure area like a reading line. We're we're in the process of cleaning that up. This I see. Sometimes the person is actually doing half the job as reading teacher and the other half as a literacy coach. So everything you see on this agenda for the most part is just a cleanup of some of that stuff. And is that the my second question but on the same topic had to do with the fact that there's two places where I see a behavior specialist being abolished and a social worker created. Are we changing the allocation of that sport support suite or is that something

054different just noticeable? >> This is also similar. So, the behavior specialist position is one that is filled by social workers, guidance counselors, and school psychologists. Um, I don't this one is just based on I'm not sure. I might have to get you more information about the specific one. Um, but my understanding is that this is a switch in the same building. >> Okay. I only noticed it because it was there were two. So, in at NAMS both two were two were changed um from behavior specialist to social worker. Unless it's a duplicate. Actually, it has the same ID. It is. It is a duplicate. Okay. All right. Yep, it's a duplicate. Okay. Thanks so much. >> As a matter of procedure, I need a second. Okay, Miss Cry. Sorry about that. Jumped the cart before

055the horse. Uh so, uh if all in favor of adopting position control agenda, uh assuming that the corrections will be made. So, that's unanimous. Okay, moving on to the contract on Bullseye LLC. May I have a motion to d Bullseye LLC? Miss Bolson second. I'll second it. Uh discussion. >> Thanks. This might be my fault because we had this before and I had follow-up questions and rather than submitting them in writing before, I happened to run into Jen before the last meeting and like asked them in the hallway. So, I think it might have gotten misinterpreted exactly what I was looking for. But what I would really like to see for this contract is on the chart where you're comparing the costs of the different vendors. It's listed for year one, but in year one,

056we'd only be rolling out this vendor to two schools. And you've noted that the cost of the vendor for additional school, sorry, that costs for additional schools would decrease. I don't know, for additional schools or for all the schools. I think you're mentioning it would go down to $2,000 per school once you do all schools. if sorry if we proceeded this is a pilot right we're exploring um the implementation of the product um we've tried for a very long time to do this completely in-house um at no cost uh using Microsoft teams and uh laserfish in most recent times and it's simply not meeting our needs um in terms of being able to analyze more than the quantity of what we accomplish through the lens of instructional leadership we really want to be able to,

057you know, track change over time, impact over time, etc. And that's what Bullseye offers. Um, what they mean by their declining cost structure is that should we proceed next year with rolling it out districtwide, um, instead of being, I think the $6,000 per school, it would reduce to about three um is is ultimately where we would land. Um, that's what they mean by declining cost structure. And I think I don't know that I um I I don't want you to sort of accept I want to take some responsibility for you know not being able to work through our questions in the hallway. Um but I do think I I did understand what you were asking and what I tried to articulate and perhaps I didn't do it well in the communications tool is that um

058I probably it should have been presented as a single source. Um it's not a sole source. I loved your Big Mac hamburger analogy. Um, it isn't a Big Mac, but it is a really good hamburger. [snorts] And that's sort of where I think we're coming from is that none of the competitors, regardless of the price structure, um, offer what Bullseye offers in terms of customization. Um, one of the in the chart, one of the companies that we listed, it's every module you add is, you know, increasing increasing increasing the cost. So for the cost in terms of what we are getting we feel really confident that this particular product um could meet our needs and that's sort of I think how I answered it even if I didn't do that well. Sorry. >> Thank you.

059And I think you did a really great job from a qualitative perspective explaining why this is a superior product. I think I'm just trying to understand because my understanding is that the walkthroughs are something that we do at all of the schools. So we'd be rolling out >> in theory if we found once we find a product we like it'd be something we'd use at all the schools. I'm trying to understand like for example I think it's at last day maybe $2,000 per school. So it would be like $34,000 if you use this product in year two where the other ones would would still be more like $5,000 for all the schools. Is that right? So understand if it's like if it's really so great that it's worth three or four times the price of

060the competition. >> I think what I would postulate is that the competition can't offer what Bullseye offers in terms of customization. For example, um we use success criteria that we get to customize in Bullseye um that the others don't offer. It's this is the success criteria. you know, if they use, for example, the Danielson rubric as their system, that's what it is. Um, we don't have the opportunity to customize and so that wouldn't meet our needs. Um, and so I think approximately it would be around $50,000 um ballpark for the whole district moving forward. Um, from what I understand from the uh vendor. >> Thank you. And the other question I had followed up with yesterday was I know the other the other vendor on one of their press releases and again it's press release

061so I don't necessarily give it that much credence but they have something that says capital district Boseies bought our service and through that and through NARK our our software is available to all 700 school districts in the state and I don't know if it means for free or if it means you pay for it through Boseie services but do you know anything about that? >> I don't um I certainly can look into it. Um my guess is is that it would be as not a component district. We wouldn't just automatically have access to it and I'm not aware of nor have has it been discussed at any of our Bosey's assistant superintendent meetings that they have a platform that any district can readily access um for that work. I do know that Skenctity has invested

062in Bullseye and they're very pleased with its use in Skenctity. Um and they have a similar model that we do. Um and some of the folks I spoke with in Skenctity are Albany transplants. Um, and so, uh, they're familiar with our instructional leadersship system and skincity's instructional leadership system and gave us some great feedback about that. So, I think that has also weighed into, um, our our thought process and rationale. But I can look into the Boseies piece certainly. >> Thank you. That would be really helpful. I think the other thing I had been I think the final question I had asked was when you were talking about wow we've really really expensed great customer service with these people whether this was something at the at this point is a continuation of services contract but

063it sounds like it's more you've heard really great things about the customer service from skenkenity which is the other thing is like education walkthrough says they're working with skenkenity so maybe skenkenity went in one direction and then switched to bullseye I don't know but >> their current platform is bullseye >> oh okay thank you thank Any other questions? Okay. All in favor adopt bullseye. Any objections? Okay. And that's u everybody except Miss Cr. And motion passes. So as is a normal practice uh all the items that we have discussed so far um were were action items and unless something unexpected happened we do not anticipate the board to take any further actions tonight. The balance of the meeting will be items of discussion which could lead to an action later on at a different meeting.

064Um so that brings us to the topic of discussion on grants department update. Mr. Anglehart, come on down. All right. Good evening everyone. I do not think I can follow uh Vel and the Sheridan superstars, but I'm going to try my best. Um so good evening. My name is Dr. Fred Engelhard. I'm the director of grants and program development. As you know, uh the grants presentation typically happens in February. So, we're a little early this year, but we're doing that for uh strategically um as we start prepping for budget season, thinking about what funds we have available. Um and then also to provide a little bit of a forecast on what's to come. [snorts] All right. I think we had talked a lot um earlier around providing equitable opportunities for our students. So that is

065our part in supporting our our vision, mission and goals is to provide those needed resources and I think you had mentioned pathways and opportunities. And so that's what we try to do to make sure that our students are successful. Last year, I created this word cloud um based on our priorities um to really [clears throat] emphasize what we do. The crux of the work is soliciting and receiving grants to develop and support program alignment um and district goals and then that looks like this. So, that's what I grabbed it from. Um we also provide oversight for federal funds and state funds uh to make sure that we are audit ready. Um, we want to seek out new grant opportunities and work closely with community partners. And again, it's all to secure secure those extra resources

066and provide opportunities for student success. So, last year I jinxed myself. I said we had two years of stable staff, but I will say that uh Miss Labru, who was our afterchool uh project coordinator, took a role as teacher at NMS, a special ed teacher. So um she she uh took that opportunity and we are glad that she did. Um she's very happy and a a part of that NMS community. Miss Wald Day who was our office manager then moved into the position of after school coordinator. So we had a little bit of a domino but again um the opportunities that we have within our system are great. So we want to be able to encourage them to to utilize their talents and their abilities. And then we were able to find um Miss Curtain,

067Kaylin Curtain, who came to us from a nonpublic. So we were great to uh poach her from a nonpublic and she came with a great skill set and she's about a month old. So um and doing great. So this is a list of new grants in 2526. I'm not going to go through each one of these, but um I did do an SBU on the urban farms and community gardens grant for toast. um that work will begin next month um to really expand their garden work. We had uh multiple Albany County uh grants, one for Pine Hills to support leader and their leader in me program um and then also for uh our health teachers and supporting u the education around the dangers of vaping and drug use. So um they were provided some resources

068around that. uh we have a second round of teacher residency program uh grant as well also the archives grant and then we've done a lot of local support uh which I'll talk about in a little bit. So again just to differentiate some of the grants that we have. So these are competitive recurring grants which means we applied for them and they um expand typically over at least two to three years sometimes up to five years. Um oftentimes we don't have to reapply but we may have to revise the the contract around that. Um some of them um are are suns setting so those that are asterisked um there's an error at the bottom of that slide. So it should say Y26 which is year N26 June 26 not Y25. And we'll talk a little bit

069more about the S2S grant in a little bit. Um and and some of those afterchool grants as well. These are allocational recurring grants. So really um up until this year you apply for them and you receive them. We did receive them but um uh with our current federal administration the certainty was less certain. Um and that's what I'll say about that. So we consolidated application as you know is one of the most ownorous applications that we have. We have to consult and collaborate with over 50 non-public schools. That includes organizations and institutions that provide support to youth that have been identified as either neglected, delinquent, or at risk. Um, and we did see other than title 2, we saw a little bit of a bump in that those allocations, which was surprising for title three.

070Um, so it was surprising. I'm going to just put that on the table. um knowing our federal uh sentiment. Um but those allocations which typically come out in May, the title 3L didn't come out until midsummer and the title 3 immigrant didn't come out until after we had already submitted the application. So we had to resubmit for those funds. So um I I don't necessarily know all behind the curtain, but we can make some some guesses around that. And then um the other allocational grants are for uh our students with disabilities through IDA uh our SIG funds UPK and then um funds to support our CTE program through Perkins. I did want to mention and bring up um some of the I guess non-traditional funding that also falls under the purview of our office. Um,

071most notably, and it was mentioned several times tonight, our community school funds, which is actually a set aside of general funds. So, we are required to set aside some of our general funds um for community school work and we treat CSA like a grant because of some of the uh reporting requirements. Um, we have to categorize um various expenses and so I work very closely with Mr. Carris and his department on making sure we're reporting those correctly. Um, I also work with Miss Bridgewwater and Miss Townsen to make sure that we are getting the support and the funds needed for those organizations and and Sheridan is a great example of a community school in action. Um, this section also includes some generous donations from the TUI Foundation which supplements and supports programs like my brother's

072keeper and my sister's keeper. And then while I feel like it's might be a bad dream, we are still working with American Rescue Plan funds because the late liquidation is due at the end of this month all of the final reports. So yes, we are working with some co funds. So I will take positive energy our way as we work through that. Um and then we have um really started to uh encourage our department, our folks to think about technical support for those non-traditional things. And I'll give you an example. This past summer, um, Miss Brown and, uh, her folks worked in summer swim as part of the summer programming. Well, through Connect Kids, we were able to get a reimbursement for that transportation. So, that was a great opportunity for us to do fill

073out some paperwork. It's not necessarily part of the metrics that I'll show you in a little bit, but it was a great way for us to um, pinch pennies, grab pennies, dollars, whatever folks want to give us. Um, and then I I wanted to lastly mention and I know the board is has been actively involved with the resource allocation review that funding ends the end of this month. We know that there'll be residual work and we find it important. So, we want to make sure that we continue to to support that. I apologize that the buckets and maybe it's just because I'm getting older, too. Um, but I apologize that these words are small, but I did want to demonstrate some of those bigger areas um, where expenses are compared to what we proposed as

074far as budgets. So, you'll see purchase services or contractual services is one of our largest, followed by instructional salaries. We obviously want to maximize all of our funds. We don't love leaving money on the table. Um, but we also want to make sure we don't overexpend. So, we always put in a little bit of a safeguard around that as well. We then monitor throughout the year. do amendments, modifications just to make sure that we're maximizing our funds. Uh you will see in 2425 this next um chart uh we were awarded amount an amount at its peak around 35 million and that currently we're around 29 million. At first I thought this was due to the ARP liquidation. Um when looking a little bit more deeply it is those multi-year competitive grants that we're expending. So

075when we when we receive something from let's say the office of mental health that is the large chunk that we put in front and obviously we're spending that money throughout the years. So that's how you see that little bit of decline. Um but again we're going to continue to find the pennies and pinch the pennies as much as we can going forward. So, I want to make sure that we um keep our keep my presentation short because we could probably speak a long time regarding federal government priorities. Um we've all had our ear to the ground and I don't necessarily want to be in the extreme chicken little, but I feel like we have to be aware, cognizant, and advocate accordingly to the things that we feel are are priorities. um in Albany. Um we

076know that current federal focus has um dismant dis dismantled DEI initiatives. Um has turned away from some social emotional learning initiatives. Um two days ago, uh school districts were notified that those that had applied for uh the full service community school aid would no longer be receiving those funds. So um it's it's definitely eyeopening regarding where we're going um and where we are around that. Um the other thing is we know that uh there has been proactive dismantling of the US Department of Education and we were notified in mid- November that the DOE moved billions of dollars to other departments for their fiscal oversight. So for example um Department of Labor is now overseeing title. um we don't necessarily know the trickle down effect yet. We could probably for those who work in large bureaucratic

077types of organizations probably can guess what that might look like. So we're going to partner with the state and continue to advocate for what we need. Um I do want to raise the sun setting grants again. Um the Afghan refugee school impact or the support to school grant um that is sun setting at the end of uh June 2026. We did apply and have one pending application for, we call it the R SWIP, new acronym, the refugee and immigrant student welcome program. We are hoping to sustain some of that um work that was in S2S. Um the other grant that is sunsetting and we're hoping and this is why I think the grant presentation was more in the spring is that there are usually the spring is the time that opportunities come out and we

078start to apply for those. So my hope is that the office of ch uh children and family services will have additional opportunities for um after school and extended day programming. And I also wanted to um congratulate schools and students that are making progress towards proficiency. Um and so we just want to be aware however that as schools come off status that also funds go away. So, SIG funds, it's one of the the, you know, I guess the pros cons around the work, but we want to be able to identify what's working and make sure that we're funding those things even if money goes away. So, that's something obviously a recommendation and we continue to keep our ear to the ground around that. So, for those of you who might know Jack Canfield, he's the author

079of Chicken Soup uh for the soul. He wrote the success principles. He has a success principle that is ask ask. Um so meaning you have nothing to lose by asking. Uh and we as a department uh continue to be proactive operating on the belief that funding exists. We just need to find it. So um again I said it a couple of times, find the penny, pinch the penny. We want to find lots more than pennies. Um but that's what we're going to continue to do going forward. Um and that's all for tonight. If you have any questions, I will try my best to answer. Thank you, Mr. Angler. Dr. Angler, welcome. Miss Sona, >> I have no questions at this time. Thank you, >> Mr. Wolfkang. >> Uh, also no questions, Mr. Elmen. >> So,

080Mr. Mr. Angelhart, thank you for the work you do in getting money to the programs that keep our schools running. Um, and you know, looking at this the funding forecast, we all know who's in charge right now on the federal government. And um there's no there's no workaround for um cuts like this big. Um no easy workaround that is. Um, I know that our students count on these dollars, specifically our refugee students, some of our most vulnerable students. I see extended school days coming to an end. So um how do you think we are going to I guess fill in these gaps um to maintain are we able to maintain you know the same level of service or are we just you know how how do we relay if we and if we are not

081able to maintain that same level of service how do we relay that to our families that are going to be affected um so I see Afghan refugee school impact I mean I'm guessing that has something to do with, you know, getting those Afghan students, you know, acclimated English language learner, you know, dollars, you know, there's there's going to be a hole. And do we intend on filling it? If so, how with what? And if not, how do we let folks know what is dropping? I know there is a lot there. >> Um, and I, you know, I could prognosticate a lot around that. I think um uh we have to be creative around the funds that we have. Um we do get title one funds. Every school gets funding for t tutoring. Um some some

082uh schools are using that in creative ways. So uh we had the traditional view of tutoring around intervention and remediation when really the guidance is around support of an academic program. So there are schools that are using those funds for enrichment which is unallowable. So it's that's just an example of how we can use the the funds that we have creatively. The other trend that I'm seeing and the LEAPS funding that I had talked about last year which I did not add in this presentation because LEAPS funding is a a funding source through the office of of children and family services that have been has been directly given to community partnerships. So the Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA um received those funds and now partner with us to provide those services. So I

083do anticipate and in fact some of the federal um government u uh the um the award that just came out from the federal government around literacy was very strong in utilizing community partnerships. So I could see a lot of that happening um as well. Some of it we're going to have to be creative with. I think a lot of it we're going to have to be creative with. We're going to have to rely on our community partners. We have very generous community partners. Um many who are willing to help and support. I know um as Miss Casone said, she as well is looking for, you know, folks who would do something maybe pro bono or or utilizing a volunteer force. Um we have con we've had conversations with the U Albaneseies around how do we

084use students more? Um how do we even um create you know some partnerships within our own district. Um, I know that last year at Roots they were starting to look into having high school students support after school programming as well. Um, and that then leads to a CTE pathway. So, I think there's a lot of creativity. There's a lot of opportunity. Um, it may take a little bit more work. >> Those were those were some great options. Um and I am I'm interested in understanding more in the future about you know partnering partnering with groups and programs that did get money. You know if we are not getting money you know we find those groups that did and see if we can fit in uh they can fit into what works for us and our

085students. So thank you. >> You're welcome Miss Savage. Actually, that was I'm really glad you asked that question about how are we going to fill the gaps when grants fall off. And I it's related to a question I had, which is I wonder if this year, and I wish Mr. Carris was still here, so I'll just look at the other Joe while we're um having this conversation. As part of our budget report, I think it would probably be a good idea for us to get a grants falling off. Um, this is part of my ultimate objective, which I've been trying to access for a bit now, which is an all sources budget, which we really should be looking at an all sources budget instead of just a general fund budget. Um but in this particular

086year where we do have this much flexibility um or variability in grants, it would be an appropriate thing for us to have a budget report slide that says for next year we anticipate these grants are not going to be and here is how we are going to either fill that program with general fund money or not provide that service or what because um it seems like a good place for um Mr. Carris and Mr. Anglerard to work together to um make sure we understand the true programmatic impact of those grants moving off. Um so I started with the question but then I forgot to say thank you and I'm sorry. Um I do really always appreciate your work and so much appreciate the extra money and the um management of federal grants is no joke.

087It is a significant pro project um to manage federal grants. I do it on a much smaller scale and I know what a pain in the neck it is. Um, so and my related question to that was sometimes in my smaller world, we will overspend a grant and backfill it with other money. And so do your two teams have that conversation during the year like we're coming real close to the edge of this grant. Should we scale back to make sure we create that cushion or should we like we'll overspend by, you know, five $5,000 and fill it with um funds from another source. Is that a thing that happens? >> Yes. I was expecting a bike grant question. >> I have a bike grant question, but I have to wait [laughter] till my next

088round. >> That's great. >> Thank you. You know that was a helpful presentation and it really helped me understand more the whole context. I think my question while it's similar to Mr. Elmanawi's qu question had a slightly different focus and it was I know one of the federal changes has been has been about uh programs for special education. What's the outlook for special education grant funding and what strategies can we use to make sure our special education students are still able to get the funds for the services they need? >> I'd have to look into specifically what you're referring to because I was surprised that this round of IDA didn't have as much change as I thought it would. Um, the only thing I know of and I can't remember what department they were thinking

089of putting IDA under. It might still be Department of Labor, but the fact that it's not under the oversight of the Department of Education, especially when it comes to civil rights is a concern. Um, but I can look into that and and get and back to you regarding those nuances on what's changed in IDA. >> Thank you. I'm glad to hear that so far you're not seeing a huge It sounds like you're not seeing a huge fiscal knock on everything. >> Thank you very much. That's good news. >> Yes, Miss Wilson. >> Thank you for your presentation. And my first question you somewhat alluded to were is it customary or is it in other schools who have grants or funding to expose students to uh workforce development and work career and jobs? And I'm curious

090because it seems like we could have a pipeline of hirable people for us, but that also potentially could stay local and be hired and absorbed into our community. >> I'll I'll let Mr. Hawk Rider jump in at one as soon as I'm done telling my little like thumbnail sketch of what I'm thinking. So the teacher residency program is probably the best model of what we have so far around a department of labor workforce um type of funding. Uh we also have funding through teachers of tomorrow which is an incentive for new teachers or hard to fill positions that give them a stipend but really it's teacher focused. And so what we've been having conversations with is what does pipeline look like for TAs, for other non-instructionals staff members, for administrators. Uh we've talked with Miss

091Palmer Palmary around early childhood and how we can have those students leave with certificate certificates um that lead to teaching assistance and then what kind of tuition reimbursements available so they can go right on to becoming a teacher if they want to. Um so we are having those conversations. Um uh yeah, so we we I mean the funding piece and the uh how unflexible some of that work is is a little bit dampering. Um but it it is the right way to go and I think the Department of Labor is is really on the right track around that. >> No, that sounds wonderful. I was thinking kind of um summer youth employment but year round. But yes, absolutely. I love that. And I'll wait for my second question. Yeah, with with regards I'm glad you

092mentioned summer youth employment. [clears throat] Um, we have had conversations with uh the Department of Labor and even um right around Thanksgiving with the state's uh civil service outreach individual for [clears throat] for two two reasons. one to create a pipeline for potential civil service positions, but also um to create potentially a CTE pathway in civics or public service. Um in in that conversation, it was encouraged to set up a meeting with the Department of Labor and um and the city that supports the summer workforce development because those [clears throat] funds could be eligible to build some of those pathways as well. So, while they may not be um education grants per se, there are grants in other divisions and in other municipalities um that we could help co-sponsor, we could write a letter of

093support, or we could sort of be a receiver with those other agencies or with those other municipalities to serve the purposes that we have as well. >> So, I I haven't quite formulated my question. It's a bunch of thoughts, so I'm going to throw them at you anyways. >> Okay. [laughter] >> So, um, you know, this this this goes back to what Miss Savage and Mr. Almani were talking about and and your response to their questions uh in terms of we have to be creative where we pinch the pennies from and and make it look different and I know Rob Peter to pay Paul in a way. Um the so there are program it would be nice to have a list of what sources we already tap into because I'm sure our community partners and

094and all of us here have connections with things that we may not necessarily know the school district is or isn't tapping into uh that we could like American Chemical Society for example it may not be a big grant right but it be $2,000 a year 10 $5,000 years to do things which now you have gotten the money to do this through this money and you have freed up that for doing something else and so we could we could do those those those um shifting uh games if we know what other sources and and I'm guessing that if >> folks know of such kind of resources that are available through their networks they send that information to you or to Mr. a hawk writer or what's the best means to inform the district, hey, here's an

095opportunity. >> Uh, typically they do come they come to both of our desks and and if Mr. Hawk writer thinks it's something that, you know, he would like me to look into, then it comes to my desk. Um, I think some some of the resources for community schools specifically our community site coordinators. I know Miss Bridgewwater had talked about this as far as constructing a to your point a a repository a directory of community partners that we have. Um, I think what you're saying is who could also then offer additional resources. because there may be things that we don't normally tap into but companies these days a lot of the good companies have a portion of their budgets towards community involvement and and doing philanthropy right so if we know of these opportunities we say

096GE has got some money for doing things and if it it aligns with our mission v mission and goals then we could approach that particular grant that might be coming through GE or regeneron or curia or I mean we got we got people who may have these on their agenda anyways that we may not necessarily be tapping into. >> Yes. >> And then connect the things and then the district takes away and does what you know you do what you do and and you know >> find your pennies to pinch. >> The other person who is really great at this is Miss Edmonson from um Mr. Leco's office. She um regularly will say, "Okay, Home Depot just contacted me and they want to do something or you know whomever." So, um, as the community engagement

097person as well, she's oftentimes has her ear to the ground, um, and then we partner around what we can do. We look for schools that might need, um, and then provide that connection to them. >> And, and in terms of the, you know, things are going the CDE pathways where there's funding now from New York State to get new pathways together to fill that portrait of a graduate student. And then, so things like the vegetable project, for example. Yes. Right. which is predominantly funded through donor philanthropy, right? And so it's limited in what it can and cannot do if there's a way to make I mean but it is an part of an educational program. So if there's ways to move things around and and and as you mentioned there's a be more creative now

098we can use those donor dollars to do other things which because this could be coming under those grandfunded dollars. >> Agreed. >> Okay. There was a question there somewhere, but there's a lot of different thoughts. [laughter] >> You're just reiterating already what uh we're thinking. Absolutely. For sure. >> Okay. And I've got some other ideas that'll let me I'm still flushing them out with the entities, but that would go towards the summer youth employment opportunities in our city. >> Yeah. So, for sure. >> Thank you, >> Miss Savage. You have a second question. >> I do have a second question. Um, I wanted to know, first of all, I want to say I really respect the uh work you do to ensure that the grants you identify um are in keeping with our intent. Um,

099I know it's very easy for organizations to chase grant money and let that affect their scope and mission and I am not in any way encouraging you to do that, but I was wondering if you'd evaluated the safe routes to school program. This is a program where we would have to be a partner with the municipality. Um it runs through New York State through what we call transportation alternatives money. Um which is federal money. Um it's a it is a block grant essentially to the state distributed to the state. Um and the projects are significant like a half a million dollars or more. Um but we would have to partner with the city and it could be used for all kinds of safe routes to school programming which could perhaps include a bicycle [laughter] but

100does not need to include a bicycle. Um so I wondered if you'd had a chance to evaluate that program. They it's due March 16th this year which would be relatively quick I know um with a with the level of effort to have a combined municipality but I just like to know if you've looked at it for because it does come up every year. >> Yeah, I have not looked at it. If you have the RFP handy, >> I will be happy to send you the link. Um I will let you know that you know this year the federal government is going to reconsider surface transportation reauthorization which is the major authorization. So I cannot promise that this won't be the last year of this program. So even though it's due March 16th, it might be

101worth looking at because it might be the last time. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Any other questions folks? Oh, Mrs. Wilson. >> Yes. Um two just one very quick one whether we are in the practice of pursuing grants in a collaboratory fashion which I know is trending now for many groups, larger organizations, smaller um to pursue grants like as a block. And then the other question I had um much like the student focused question I was curious do we do anything in terms of professional development that transcends to like overall workforce well-being. So for example not everyone can go to an out of town conference it may not align or there may not be opportunities. uh what are some inservice type of things that can be done and do they include or delve into like

102the mindfulness and things of that nature and other coping mechanisms incorporating that. >> So the consortium um in my previous uh position in Rava and Crema South we did because we were a smaller district we did do a lot of consortium grants so we would partner with other school districts and apply together. Um, we would do that often for English language learners because our our population was smaller. We did that for Mckin Vento students as well. Um, because we're large enough, we tend not to do that. Um, but I think if the right the right uh partner um you know I have uh I've made strong connections with Troy. I've reached out to Syracuse. I have strong connections with them as well. So, um I think if the right opportunity happened and it was a

103requirement or it seemed to be better to go that way, we would absolutely do that. Um yeah, again, finding the pennies. So, I'm okay with with knocking on the doors and finding the pennies. Um with mindfulness, I I'm I'm thinking um really our a lot of our funds that are um utilized for mental health goes directly to students. Um, but I'm trying to think and I don't know. I'm going to try to turn around and look at Miss Hulahana. Do we have any PD around? I don't want to put her on the spot. >> So, um, I would say that we've done some >> Can you come close to the mic because it's getting recorded? Thank you. >> Yes, sir. No problem. >> Oh, this one's low. Okay. Is that all right? >> Um we

104have done some work in house, not necessarily grant funded. Um but we actually just met today as a professional development committee and we are um starting to plan what we're will be referred to from this point as the wedding. Um, so in March we have our big district-wide professional development day and we are really trying to figure out a way to um have that be grounded in in choice and autonomy and um interests for adult learners aligned to adult learning theory. along with some of our work that we launched in the uh summer admin week where um we thought looked at the economic horizon and the capital region, the labor department, etc. And really thinking about the culmination of the capital project at the high school and having the sort of portrait of a graduate

105New York inspires be a K12 endeavor so that folks are experiencing different parts of the district. But to land the plane to your actual question, uh, we just put out a request for proposals from staff members. And I absolutely anticipate that some folks who may not want to do a PD on an instructional strategy, but maybe is a yoga instructor part-time. Emmergarity always offers a melt session, which I don't remember what that stands for, but it is definitely about mindfulness and um, sort of that concept. And so we do have some internal capacity uh to do that and I do anticipate some of our March professional development being driven from within in that regard. >> Great. >> Thanks much. >> Any other questions folks? If not, thank you Dr. Engelhard. Okay, moving on. It's going

106to be a short meeting. Uh, board committee reports. >> Let's start with facilities. [cough and clears throat] So, the facilities committee met on December the 9th and we had a really healthy discussion about the building community survey uh building uh condition survey and the five-year plan. Um we are expecting uh SEI the consultant on this work to be producing a presentation for us for the next board meeting that is going to outline the process and essentially give some of our strategies for um the project going forward. Um I think uh last board uh last facilities committee meeting was also the last day Turner uh Turner's representation was um there. Uh we still are going to make sure that any deficiencies uh tracking for the Albany High project is still done by them and um we're

107going to maintain uh communications with them about anything that's uh not closed out. So the punch list is obviously getting smaller by the day. Um, and I would open to uh my fellow committee members. Dammers is not here, but and if I'm missing anything, please feel free. >> Uh, no, I don't I mean I don't think so. Just that we are still aiming for a uh a hopefully May 2026 facilities project vote. So, we'll be continuing to develop a list of projects um focusing on um equity in our large instructional spaces, which I think everyone knows that that's our target, and also ensuring that we have good security at the main entrances of our buildings. And so, we are in the cost estimating program um for that. And once we have a good cost estimates,

108we will have some information back to you. The timing on that of course comes up fast because we as a board need to act in time to have public notice 45 days before the vote. The vote is in the middle of May. So it's 45 days. That makes it April 1st. For those who are not counting, it is in fact January, right? We think it's December, but it's not really December. It's really January. So we essentially have three months to get to a point where we have a good list of projects funded for you, fundable for you. Um and so we will back off of that probably two to three board meetings so that we can start having the public conversation at at the board level with a set of projects. So the facilities committee

109is very busy and I'm kind of regretting and considering a retreat back to policy. [laughter] >> Thank you. Uh the policy committee met last Wednesday. We had a really good discussion about a new policy that is going to be that's going to be mandated by the state for student voter registration. Uh we're still waiting on clarification on one question, but we hope to have that we hope to have that policy back for the board to review for the first time at the next uh board meeting next year. Thanks. >> Okay. >> So, government relations. Thank you, Mr. Leco for your scheduling genius. It has been very very difficult to get the right people in the right room at the right time. But we finally have a uh scheduled meeting with our local delegation. Um so

110that will be coming up in January and we'll be meeting with Assembly Member Romero and Senator Feahhee about our legislative priorities. I did not participate in any of the big five work so I don't know if you guys wanted to talk more about that or did we do that at the last we did that at the last meeting. Okay. So we're good on that. So, you know, we're just progressing. As everyone knows, this is a um time of the year of much anticipation because the next big thing that happens for school budgeting is the governor will present her state of the state speech um which is expected to be January 13th. Um once that happens, sometime shortly after that, there will be state aid runs which will tell us what her budget should yield in

111terms of state aid for us. And that will be our first look at what our state aid situation is. Of course, that is usually, but not always, the floor of how much state aid we will get because sometimes we get more as the assembly and the senate work to um mitigate any reductions that come out of the executive budget or sometimes enhance the executive budget. So, we don't know. Um but that's that's sort of the next phase is the state of the state and the executive budget which will happen mid January. we should have that that first look. And on much more mundane matters, thank you to all of my board colleagues who have been doing your school budget visits. It is very much appreciated. I know I have very much enjoyed doing them. Um,

112I've managed to get mine done. I wasn't sure that was going to happen, but I did get them all done. And we have I had this up. Hang on a minute. I closed the tab. I have like 500 tabs open and I closed that particular one. Um, we have completed as a team 10 out of our 18 visits. We have three scheduled tomorrow and Friday. So, thank you people who are who are cranking those out before the end of the week. And that leaves five which will probably be completed in January since we generally don't do school visits like at Christmas time. That's it's kind of fun to be in school at Christmas time, but it's not really indicative of what's happening in the school the rest of the year. So, thanks everybody for doing

113the visits and the principles for h for hosting us. I know I've had really great conversations with folks both about pedagogy and about the building needs. Um, as that's obviously a big issue coming up is the five-year facilities plan. >> Ad hoc routine consent. >> Ad hoc ad hoc routine consent. I almost forgot one. Um, we are making strides and we um we've been really enjoying working with Miss Hulahan and Mr. caris on trying to really cl uh clamp down on what our field trip form looked like. And we thought it was just like the field trip form, but every time you touch something in this district, it's like attached to three other things. So the field trip form led us to the conference form because sometimes there's a little bit of overlap between what's

114a field trip and what's a conference? Because if the students are going, does that make it a field trip? And so we are now into the field trip policy, the conference policy, this travel reimbursement policy, the regulations for all three of those things and the forms that attach to all of those things. So we're having just such a great time. It's so fun. Um and eventually we're going to yield up product and we are in close touch with the policy committee on making sure that the policies also flow through policy committee um as well. >> Very good. Uh I know Damis isn't here so but um anyone else wants to take on the uh audit committee. I think there is a meeting coming up right the the meeting that's supposed to be in January is

115going to be moved to February because there's a double booking. >> Okay. Okay. Any other items? Miss Wilson. >> Thank you. I didn't want to keep you too long cuz I know this is like the fastest meeting ever, but I did encounter some interesting information. So, way back when, I know I asked and inquired about us doing a land acknowledgement. I think we got as far as to me doing the research and sharing like what it could be. And I know we um never circled back for you know clearly we were doing others things but I happened to learn that in because I work with this person in Colony that um not only do they incorporate Harison information from their technology gardening you know systems and things into the curriculum for the heritage month but

116um they also acknowledge that the very next day after Thanksgiving is Native American Heritages Day. I may be saying the wrong word. And um in obviously indeed we celebrate Thanksgiving. We enjoy that day off. I love the food but for many indigenous people it is still a national day of morning. So I was curious if we could investigate revisiting land acknowledgements. I know some of the debate is like well what does it do? And I think every time we say it for those of us who know and understand why we do it for someone will encounter it and learn something. and we also normalize, you know, acknowledging really what transpired, actual history. So, I was just curious um everybody's appetite for pursuing that and things of that nature. >> So, um I mean it's it's

117interesting that you brought up the native uh Native Americans uh today or was it yesterday? Um, Governor Hokul signed the New York State law which will include uh Asian-American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander history into K12 education. So that is a that is a significant step for us to understand where our neighbors come from and hopefully with you know with with the right amount of understanding some of this behavior that we see in today's world uh will be alleviated u because we would know that this is this is what you know what you see is not necessarily what the history was right and then you you understand where it comes from where all these issues come from. So that is a significant milestone in my opinion. Um the uh other thing I wanted to point out

118I was at an event um this last this week uh that in with the Jewish family services and uh andor uh the >> naturally neighborhood Albany neighborhood uh naturally occurring uh retirement community and um you know there was a lot of interest in in in in partnering with our schools and you know if you think back to the days before co you know the retire the the the grandpas and grandmas came into the elementary classroom, read books, kids wrote uh letters and then you know there was a lot of more integration back then and then somehow co came and changed the landscape. So um there is this revived interest in in doing some of those things back and and and that again might be a new creative way of you know doing some of those

119after school things that uh we may not necessarily be able to do otherwise because some of those funding streams might be going away. Um but this would be a win-win situation where the kids learn something of value from the older generation um outside of learning from their devices and and the uh older kid the the older uh generation gets to interact with the younger generation and um it's a win-win for both both parties I think. Um so u stay tuned for more things to come that way and I'm trying to connect that district with their people. So, Mr. Almani, >> um I think this is going to be the last time we meet before Christmas and I know it's uh already Hanukkah, so I wanted to wish everybody a happy Hanukkah. Merry Christmas, happy holidays.

120>> Happy. >> Um happy Quanza. Thank you. Um we won't be returning until the end uh until the new year. So, >> right. Wonderful. >> Absolutely, Miss Savage. So, I just wanted to circle back to Miss Bilson's question and wonder if um like what what is the approach? I don't we generally don't like to have like an off-the-cuff conversation like we like to put some thought into things. >> Are we thinking that we want an ad hoc board committee on you know land acknowledgement or are we thinking that we want to develop a policy on land acknowledgement? Is this something that we're thinking we want to work with cabinet so that it becomes something that happens in school events as well as at board events? Um like like how what what's the level of interest

121you have in in trying to explore that? I just I'm trying to figure out what the parameters might look like. >> Yeah, I think we have to investigate or do the research first about how other schools districts arrived here. So maybe it's a matter of just a little bit of research and maybe it does require an entire policy. Sounds like it may or ad hoc committee. Um we can investigate from there. So I just have to work backwards. >> Can I make a suggestion that we um look into uh any of the you know tribes that are around for educational purposes and we seek input from them. Um, so I don't have any connections myself, but I think that would be the best place to start to see, you know, hey, what um what is

122the right way to do this? >> Yes, I don't oppose doing that. And I also even approach the thought of just starting with colony like how did you get here? >> So are you suggesting that you personally want to do this work or are you suggesting that we should make it a bigger project than you doing the work? I'm not sure if it requires I don't know how committee >> well I love you doing the work I think this is an excellent plan I love that plan um so I don't know in terms of process do we just want to >> circle back I mean if you if you have the capacity to personally do the work on the other hand this is a big district with a lot of staff and if it's also

123something we could look to the superintendent to provide some support for so it doesn't become >> I will start with the research >> to-do list yeah I will start with the research and where we left off >> and and revisit perhaps in our own channels. >> That sounds great. >> I mean, considering Sorry, Miss Cr. >> Thank you. I just wanted to I just wanted to chime in and say I like Miss Wilson's idea. I also like the additional information about fleshing it out. And while I think there's a role, you know, for for Miss Wilson to do more work for Superintendent Hawkright to do more work, I also think that this could be a really interesting topic for student government to research and get student perspectives on. Um, that [snorts] would be really great,

124especially if we're talking about something that's going to change uh change the look and feel of of school events that it would be part of what you do in addition to saluting the flag. So, that would really be a great thing to involve them in. >> That's a great idea. I mean, I see see it as points for the uh seal for civic engagement, right? So, that's that's that that gets students involved. But considering that we just popped the question out today, uh I would and the district staff are just hearing this, I I would give regroup uh early next year and think about what their thoughts are and what we could do and then uh flush this out better. Uh if need be, we'll do an ad hoc uh committee, but I don't know

125if we need one. Um but we'll get there after we get the information next year. >> Thank you. >> That all sounds fantastic. Um, I do love the idea of making sure that it's not just the board. Um, that it's not sort of a just us. Um, that it's a little deeper. So, at some point incorporating cabinet level staff and whoever they designate, I think would be appropriate, but >> always got to start someplace. >> Yes. >> Any other matters of business? Okay. We won't be meeting until next year. So, happy holidays and happy new year everybody. Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Happy Quanza. Oh, okay. All in favor to adjourn. There you go. >> Thank you. We're ajourned. Thank