001Good evening. Stand for the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. board president to advise members of the audience if they may address the board regarding agenda items after the superintendent's report. Only those members whose names and addresses are listed on the signin sheet available prior to the start of the meeting will be recognized during new business. The chairperson will limit discussions of any item by the public to three minutes in order for the board to expeditiously conduct its business. Uh Mr. Manto, thank you, Mr. Ring. Good evening, everyone. So, first I'd like to start out by thanking our PTA and our and our elementary schools for putting
002together a terrific uh trunketry event for our students. It was great to see our families come together and have a a really nice event for our kids. So, thank you. Uh the other piece I want to share is um very touching to see the celebration that was provided for veterans across all four schools, all four elementary schools and the high school and the middle school also participated in some events as well. Um so the gratitude that was felt was tremendous. Uh PTA once again was key in helping out put those uh events together. So thank you. We have a few recognitions tonight. I would like to ask Mr. Lontto Morano to come to the podium and uh start with first recognition. Thank you. The National Merit Scholarship Competition is an honor recognition based on the
003students PSAT NMSQT results. Of the 1.3 million qualifying students for this competitive scholarship, roughly 34,000 are being honored as commended students. Our students, Joseph Ahmad and Liam Ikler, are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the qualifying test used for program entry. Their qualifying scores place them in the top 2.6% 6% of students tested nationally in their graduating year, earning them status of commended students, which we are recognizing their accomplishments today. We thank you boys for bringing this honor and achievement home to East Iceland. We're proud of your accomplishment and look forward to all that you will achieve through your academic journey. Thank you and come on up for your certificates. [applause] Nice open. [clears throat] [applause] At this time, I'd like to ask Mr. Resta, please come to
004the podium. Good evening, Taylor. Can you come on up here, please? Good [clears throat] evening. Uh, this gives me great pleasure to acknowledge our athletic trainer, Taylor Kenny. Um, for many of you, uh, know or don't know, uh, her countless hours that she puts into the district for our student athletes is tremendous. uh her work ethic, her pride in the district as a former graduate. So, our kids are in such good hands uh with Taylor working here and we do appreciate all that you do from the first day of preeason through every practice game and recovery session. Taylor has been there. It's easy for us to focus on the victories, the big plays, and the scoreboard. While those are important, we also need to acknowledge the unheralded work that keeps us healthy, strong, and able
005to perform at our best. Taylor, you have done the following and more. You have prevented injuries through smart conditioning, warm-ups, and awareness of risks, helping us show up in the best possible shape for every competition. Research tells us that the athletic trainers play a key role in designing programs to reduce injury risk. You have been a first responder when injuries occurred, assessing what's happened, making real-time decisions, coordinating care, and often being the calm presence when things go tense. You have guided us through the rehabilitation and safe return to play, making sure when we come back, we come back ready, not just for the next game, but for the long-term health. You have been an educator, advocate, and trusted professional helping us, the coaches and staff, even the parents, understand that pouring uh that sports aren't
006just about winning, but it's about doing it responsibly. Taylor, your work doesn't always get the spotlight, but I want you to know that it does matter. It matters to the athletes who may avoid a season and an injury. It matters to the family who trusts us with their child. It matters to our whole East ISP athletic program. Taylor, thank you for all that you do for us, for our Eastip athletic program. [applause] Again, thank you, Taylor, for all you do for our district. We're extremely happy to have you with us. At this time, I'd like to ask Mr. Nelada for the next presentation. Good evening and thank you very much for having me tonight. It is always something to come and share about the wonderful things that are happening at Timberoint Elementary School. And today
007I get to highlight some wonderful things that are happening with two amazing educators that are here this evening. So tonight, I'd like to introduce Amanda Estella, our art education teacher, and Jamie Lyn Celeste, our library media specialist, who are going to tell you a little bit about the evolution of the library media center and art instruction at Timberoint for our youngest learners. Ladies, [applause] Good evening. Our Timber Point Library has really transformed over the past few years. It's no longer just a place for books. It's a space for students explore, create, and think in new ways. In our library, my focus is on helping students fall in love with learning. Not just reading words on a page, but discovering ideas, solving problems, and trying out their own creative thinking. We connect reading with coding, storytelling
008with technology, and imagination with hands-on discovery. When students code a robot using Dash or Ozobots, or listen to a story using digital tools like Novel Effect, they're not just learning tech skills. They're learning how to think critically, collaborate, and keep trying when something doesn't work right. the first time. All of this ties in perfectly with New York State's new portrait of a graduate framework. We're helping our youngest students become communicators, creators, and critical thinkers who can choose their own learning paths. Every student has the chance to explore what excites them. Whether that's a great story, a coding challenge, or a design project that brings an idea to life. My role is to spark that curiosity and give them the tools to explore. The library is no longer just a destination. It's become a launchpad for
009creativity and discovery. A place where learning feels exciting and full of possibilities. Thank you. [applause] So tonight I want to talk to you about a new program that we've been experimenting with at Timberoint Elementary School called Teaching for Artistic Behavior or TAB for short. Teaching for artistic behavior is all about putting the students in the driver's seat. They're the ones that are in charge of their own projects, their own learning, the kinds of materials that they use and when. And it follows what is called the three sentence curriculum. The child is the artist. They are the ones that are in charge of all decisions that they're making in the studio. The classroom is the child's studio, which means in this case, everything is designed for them. We consider how the students are going to get
010their materials. What is the easiest way for them to be able to do that? and letting them take charge of the space. And then because of these two tenants, we have to consider what do artists actually do in the field. As a teacher, I've got to look at what are the current issues that are going on with artists. What are creatives really looking at? And how can I design lessons that bring that into the classroom? And the emphasis in this case is always going to be on process over product. I'd rather the kids make a million bad projects and still learn something about the process itself than make a perfect project every single time. following along with exactly what I say. In the first and second grade curriculum in particular, we really look at the
011creative process and we follow what's called the studio habits of mind. This was something that was developed by project zero over in Harvard University and it sought to break down the creative process that regardless of age or level of mastery all artists and creatives follow. They involve observe, stretch and explore, develop craft, envision, engage and persist, express, reflect and understand arts. This is all about helping students try to navigate where they are in the creative process and help them more critically think about what they need to get what they need to do in order to get to the next step. In the studio itself, everything is designed with the students in mind. The accessibility is for the students. Everything's at their eye level. It is all labeled with the names of the materials that they're
012following as well as the pictures of that too. Especially in a K2 school, it's very important that we try to get literacy connections between the materials themselves and what they look like. So the students are more quicker to recognize what they're actually working with. And we break it down so that the students are responsible for every single step of setup and clean up in the room. I look for the students to be able to be independent to essentially run the studio completely on their own. Because if they want to create artwork that is for them, of their own interests, of their own ideas, they need to be able to demonstrate to me that they have mastery of the supplies and that they can actually responsibly use them. So we break it down step by step,
013material by material, until the kids are able to successfully use whatever I throw at them in the room. The results in this case because the kids are taking the driver's seat because of the ones that they're the leaders of what kinds of projects they want to work on and the kinds of materials that they use are really fantastic. If you look over on the right side, you'll see two paper volcanoes. These were made by a group of second grade girls a few years ago made completely out of construction paper. They spontaneously decided to collaborate with each other, which happens a lot in our studio. I don't have to tell them to do anything. They just learn how to negotiate with one another, collaborate with one another, and I just guide them through the process step
014by step. What you then get are things like this group of boys over here that then see what their peers are making and then they decide, how is there a way that I can make it better? What kinds of details could I add? What kinds of textures could I add? So, they start to challenge each other on their own even as young as 5 years old. You also get way more ambitious projects when you take a step back as a teacher and just let them go through the process themselves. On the left side, I had a couple of girls work on this a few weeks ago. Actually, this was an observational drawing where they made the entire studio space itself completely on their own. The one in the bottom, the little fin sheet, the girl
015actually looked at the entire side view of the entire room and then drew it step by step, including copying down all of my anchor charts, looking at what all the posters said, and then drawing that each individually. And then the girl on the left side created a top- down view of the same studio space. This project alone took, I would say, 3 to four weeks to create. Three to four weeks of students consistently coming in. three to four weeks of the students consistently saying, "This is what I want to work on." But you could get even longer with that. If you look up at the top on the right side there, I had a series of books that were made by different groups of second graders that took several months. The one on the right
016was led by a boy that was interested in marine animals. He knew everything that there was to know about these animals. So, he taught a group of his friends all about it. They all illustrated all these animals together. And then they made that book over the course of three to four months. And then on the left side, I had a group of second grade boys come in that made a whole series of books about different kinds of stories about silly characters that they had seen online or characters that they had made up with beginnings, middles, and ends. We spoke about how to write. We spoke about how to illustrate. And then they decided to just divvy out the roles to each other. Each boy knew what kind of do job he had for that class,
017what they wanted to do, and what they were going to create. That project took seven months. Seven months of the students coming in and saying, "This is what I want to do. I didn't have to tell them to do anything. They just did this themselves." This kind of work is something that you don't normally see when the teacher is the one that's telling the students what to do all of the time. This is something that happens because the students want it to happen. In conclusion, allowing students to take more of a forefront in their own learning, allowing them to take a much more uh top-notch leadership position creates really remarkable results. They push each other to collaborate more. They critically think about their learning process and they want to learn more because they have their
018own ideas and their own interests that they're bringing into the studio. Thank you. [applause] Thank you Nakarado and Timber Point team. You guys uh did a fantastic job and thank you for continuing to provide our students with opportunities. Yes. Thank you. He took the words right out of my mouth. Uh board of education student members report to the board. Miss May. Uh yes. Good evening everyone. As we move into November, the first quarter is coming to an end. And last week, our seniors enjoyed the annual senior banquet, which was a great opportunity for the class of 2026 to come together and celebrate. Students also participated in this year's Kaja Career event on October 30th, where they had a chance to be professionals and explore different career paths and future opportunities. Looking ahead, our school will
019be having its annual food drive next Wednesday, and we're excited to see students come together and support families in need. That concludes my report. Thank you. Thank you. Uh public comments of agenda items only. Okay. Not there. Uh certified personnel. Be it resolved that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby approves the resignations, terminations, leaves of absence, position abolitions, employment employment appointments, tenure appointments, and salary changes in accordance with the applicable provisions of the education law and civil service law as cited in the certified personnel attachments. Can I get a motion? Motion. Second. Okay. All in favor? I I is abstaining. Uh Dr. Yes. So tonight on the certified personnel agenda, we'd like to um recognize Erin Scar. Erin, you're here. Please stand up. She is our fax teacher
020at the middle school and the high school. Congratulations on your appointment, Erin. [applause] Okay. Non-certified personnel. It will be of resolve that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby approves the resignations, terminations, leaves of absence, position abolitions, employment appointments, tenure appointments, and salary changes in accordance with applicable provisions of the education law and civil service law as cited in the non-certified personnel attachments. Could I get a motion? Motion. Second. All in favor? I I Jessica Carter Cone second amendment to employment agreement. Be it resolved that the board of education of the East is Union Free School District here with approves the second amendment to the employment agreement as amended between the board of education of the Eastop Union Free School District and school district treasurer Jessica Porticone. And be
021it further resolved that the president of the board of education of the East Union Free School District is herewith authorized to execute on behalf of the board of education a second amendment between the school district treasurer Jessica Parkone and the board of education of the East Union Free School District. Can I get a motion? Motion second. All in favor? I I amed alcoholi employment agreement. Be it resolved that Amed Alone is appointed as network and systems coordinator and be it resolved that the board president is authorized to execute a salary and benefits agreement effective December 15, 2025 with the network and systems coordinator. Which agreement has been reviewed by the order board of education? Can I get a motion? Motion. Second. All in favor? I. Okay. Items to be removed from the consent agenda. Any
022items? Okay. Uh 9.1 consent agenda item numbers 9.2 to 916. Be it resolved upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby approves consent agenda items numbers 9.2 2 through 916 in accordance with the action presented for each item. Could I get a motion? Motion. Second. All in favor? Okay. Donation from JFK Elementary student activity account. Be it resolved that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby accepts a donation of $3,3134 from the John F. Kennedy student student activity account for the purchase of flooring for their Gaga pit. This equipment will be installed by the buildings and grounds department. Can I get a motion? Motion. Second. All in favor? I. You really do have to see this go up bed. I went during field day
023and uh it's pretty it's pretty interesting. Uh thank you for that donation. Donation from the high school student activity account. Be it resolved that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby accepts a donation of $420 from the high school student activity account to the East Iceland Union Free School District. These funds will be used to share the cost of supplies utilized by core students for projects jobs benefiting the high school. The revenue code to increase is A2705.0000 and the general fund code to increase is 2110-533-9-5320. Can I get a motion? Motion second. All in favor? I. Thanks. Thank you for that donation. Donation from the East ISA fire department. Be it resolved that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby accepts a donation
024of 10 Panasonic Toughpad FZ-Q2 devices from the East Fire Department to the East Union Free School District. These devices will be evaluated and reconfigured by for student instructional use pending successful integration into our network network. Can I get a motion? Motion. Second. All in favor? I. Thank you. Uh, East Fire Department. Donation from Estate Law's collateral donation program. Be it resolved that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby accepts a donation from Estee Lauder's collateral donation program to the high school cosmetology program. This donation will consist of a variety of miscellaneous classroom supplies listed on the attached letter. These supplies will be used by students in the cosmetology class to support hands-on learning and product knowledge. Can I get a motion? Motion and second. All in favor? I I
025thank you. West state order for the donation. Appropriation changes for 2025 2026. Be it resolved that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools. The board of education hereby approves the attached list of appropriation changes for the 2025 2026 school year. Can I get a motion? Motion. Second. All in favor? I. I. Revision of the appropriation changes. Be it resolved that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education approves a revision to appropriation changes previously approved at the October board meeting. The previously approved changes were listed as 2024 to 2025 when they should have been for 2025 2026. The attached list of the appropriation changes should have been for 2025 2026 school year. Can I get a motion? Move. Second. All in favor? I old business. Okay. Um the past uh
026few weeks I was able to uh get to the elementary schools for the Veterans Day celebration with celebrations at RCK and JFK. Thank you for the PTA administration regarding those uh celebrations. Very important for our veterans. Uh they always do a bangup job. those schools uh for that celebration. The other thing I was able to get to were uh the pumpkin patches. Uh thank you uh Mrs. Nakarado and Mr. Botti at Connectquat who had the pumpkin patches as well as uh the fizzed program uh had different activities for the uh the children and everybody had a blast. Um, and I really want to thank uh both district both schools uh for uh what you did. Thank you. It was great for the kids. Any other old business? Okay. Oh, one other thing. Uh besides doing
027stuff for the school, we had two students. I went to the Veterans Day memorial service. Well, it wasn't memorial. was service at ISIP Town Hall and we had two students from our school have the honor of uh singing the Star Spangled Banner as well as God Bless America. Jazu Marillo sung the Stars Spangled Banner and Olivia Pimeiano uh sung God Bless America and they did a a bangup job and is well appreciated uh by the administration from the town and it was great being there to be able to see them perform things outside the school that affect our community. I want to uh thank them as well as our music department for uh putting them out there to be able to do that. Um any other uh old business? Okay. Um public comments any nope.
028All right. The next board of education regular business meeting will be held Thursday, December 4th, 2025 at 7 p.m. Motion. A motion to adjurnn. Second. All in favor? I I thank you everybody for being here.