001All right, sir. I'm good. >> Good evening everyone and welcome to the monthly meeting of the East Rockway School Board. I'd like to call this meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. on Tuesday, November 18th, 2025. Um, Hi everyone. Thank you for coming out tonight. I'm here to read about a very special young man. His name is Robert Mazri or RJ. He is called in the halls of Ray Avenue is a fourth grader student of a lucky teacher Mrs. Ira and Mrs. Boufet. Um, he is a wonderful example of what it means to be a really good human. I don't know why I'm so nervous about meeting [snorts] in class this year. He is the leader of his kindness and fun. R.J. has helped welcome a new student to school through providing tours, helpful hints, and
002including the new student in activities. In addition, he is soaring in his classroom, especially in mathematics. Yay, R.J. When asked about his favorite part of the school day, RJ replied, "Math." [clears throat] Because his parents said he is really good at it. Of course, they did. >> [clears throat] >> and his teacher echoed that statement as well. Ray Avenue is lucky to have a kind and respectful student like R.J. in our schools and we are proud to have him lead the pledge tonight at the board of ed meeting. R.J., can you please come up and say the pledge OF [applause] I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all. [applause] Anybody [clears throat] else can
003have a hug later too if they want. >> Uh, next we have a presentation. Mr. Sorry. >> [clears throat] [cough and clears throat] >> Good evening everybody and welcome. Um, last month if you were at the board meeting or if you watched our live stream, we talked about our uh student data from last year. Um, we did a pretty thorough review of our student performance. Um so today while the topic is I ready um we're not diving into the data from I Ready but instead we're going to just share uh ways that families can view and use I Ready with their students and to give families a better understanding of how it is that our teachers use the I Ready data in the classroom without sharing the data itself. Um, you know, I always like
004to start my presentations just reminding ourselves of the district mission. And in this case, you know, we're using the I Ready program and data from it to make sure that our educational program is indeed challenging enough for our students and that we're meeting them where they need to be so that we can push them to achieve as much as they're able to achieve. um and the things that drive us, our innovation, our our achievement, our connection, um and our opportunity. We know that the student results are going to follow as our teachers work with them on a very detailed level. So just what we're going to walk uh talk about tonight. Why do we use I ready for our students and with our students uh with a little more detail the actual information I Ready
005is providing for parents and for teachers. Um and then briefly how can parents support their children at home in order to meet with their most success. Um so just again a little bit of a a refresher. uh we have a legal in addition to an ethical obligation to measure student progress at least three times a year. Um that's something that comes out of both federal and state uh education regulations and laws. And we've chosen I Ready because it allows us to use a standardized nationally research-based method for uh analyzing student performance at those three times of year in the fall, the winter, and the spring. Our teachers need reliable uh data to be able to make sure that their classroom instruction is being informed appropriately. And the I Ready program provides those reliable data, but
006it also provides students with a personalized learning pathway. So based on their performance on each of those three times a year assessments, they're put onto a path that is right at the right level for them in both math and in reading so that they can push and excel and that is in a supplement to the classroom instruction. Does not replace the classroom instruction, but it supplements the classroom instruction. Um and you know the charts that you see up here uh we're using the assessment to measure progress to set goals to uh plan instruction both whole class and small group and we're also using it to measure our results and are those plans and are those goals happening. Um, and then if you look over to the right, when you look at those triangles, IRA helps
007us measure what students are growing over the course of the year. So when you look at those triangles, you have the students and the num the amount of support they need. So at the beginning of the year, um, we're maybe seeing the students who need more support. And as they're given that support, by the end of the year, you can see a lot more students are on grade level in that green area. um and a lot fewer students needing a lot of support in that reading area. Um so rather than me say what I Ready is, uh this is a very brief video from Curriculum Associates. Curriculum Associates is the publishing company that has created I Ready. Um, they also provide the staff development for our teachers and I ready. And I think they probably
008do a little bit better of a job than I can just explaining for parents what I is and does. Hi, my name is Mark Bernstein. I'm a national director at Kurum Associates and we are the I Ready people. for the student. I serves two functions. Number one, it's an online diagnostic assessment that pinpoints math and reading skills down to the subskll level. And number two, it's online learning that caters to a student's specific needs, whether those needs are on, above, or below level. I'd like to share four things you need to know about I Ready. Number one, the I Ready online assessment is adaptive in nature. This means that students see questions based on how they're performing. If a student struggles, the questions get easier. If a student is breezing through, the questions become more
009challenging. Once a student completes the diagnostic, the teacher will know exactly what the student needs. So, it eliminates the necessity to over test our children, thus allowing more time for teaching. Number two, the Ready online instruction is personalized to the individual. Once a student completes the diagnostic, his or her results will differ from classmates. So, we give each student their own pathway based on diagnostic results. If the student needs help with reading comprehension, that student will get lessons to help. If the student has geometry skills above grade level, that student will receive geometry content that's above grade level. Support for those who have gaps to fill enrichment for those who are exceeding grade level expectations. Number three, I Ready is not a grading tool. Your child won't get an A or C minus based on
010how they perform in I already supports students, challenges students, gives students math and reading content that is right at their level. I Ready helps children to grow, but it is not used to assign grades. At number four, I Ready is not designed to replace the teacher. In every school district, teachers are an irreplaceable asset. IRA supports teachers by helping group students with similar needs for targeted instruction, what we call differentiation. Once small groups are established, IRA's teacher toolbox is just one of the many resources that teachers may use to provide targeted instruction. But replace the teacher? Never. Thank you very much for watching this video. We look forward to seeing your students succeed without So like I said, I Ready supplements the instruction in the classroom. It does not replace it. Um so how are
011we using it exactly in our classrooms? Um so like I said before, the diagnostic assessment is given three times per year. Um early fall, mid- winter, late spring. Um we have students using the program independently the personalized learning pathway approximately um 10 minutes to per day for each subject. Uh the research tells us that the ideal amount of time that students should be spending in the personalized learning pathway is between 30 and 50 minutes per week per subject. So that amounts to about 10 minutes a day give or take. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. Some of our students do choose to do more of that at home because they enjoy the platform and some of the games that go along with it when they're successful. But as far as how much is
012actually assigned in the classroom, it we we work really hard to keep it into that 30 to 50 minute range that research says is the ideal amount. And then our teachers are using the teacher toolbox for this small group instruction on a daily basis. So when we determine what level of or skills students need to work on, I Ready offers a plethora of supports for teachers. Uh some it has some lesson plans. It has some resources. It has a lot of ways and tools that teachers can use to pull out to work on either small group instruction one-on-one or whatever the case may be. Um so what do the teachers actually look like? So the these are the data that our teachers are going to review several times a year. The chart on the left
013shows just a snapshot of a class and all those colors are telling you where students performance is in different domains. So it doesn't just say your overall score. it does have an overall score. Um, but more importantly in each of the different domains of reading skills and the different domains of math, we are able to get individual scores for each domain for a child. So, a child might be overall grade level four, but they might be doing grade level five fluency and grade level three comprehension or something to that effect. And so then the teacher can craft much more customized instruction for that student. Not give them help they don't need um but make sure that they are addressing the needs that they have. And then the chart over on the right is a way
014that our teachers can help set goals for students. So the colorful skinny bar onto the far right of the right chart is tapped into the projected performance on New York State exams for that grade level. And the green bar, the big green swap in the middle is the range of grade level performance. So in this particular case, our student is starting the year a bit below grade level, which is not unexpected because the grade level band is endofear expectations. Um, and if you look at the two horizontal lines, the first black line, that's typical growth. So, so for most students who start with the score that this student started at, they're going to reach that level of growth in a year. And you can see that that growth level is just below proficiency as far
015as what they would expect to get on the state test. The green horizontal line on the other hand is the stretch growth. So if our teachers are giving that real customized support, if the students are using the program the right way, we would expect that they can reach that stretch level growth and that stretch level growth puts them right on um par for being proficient in that grade level's test. So these are two different ways that our teachers look at at the data. So what do they do with those data? So, one thing that we do is we determine what's the appropriate tier of support that students should get. Um, all of our students are in one of three tiers for support. Tier one is the general classroom instruction and the small group instruction that
016teachers build into their lessons every day. Tier 2 support for students who are uh a little bit behind grade level. uh that takes on different forms, but the most likely form of that is an additional professional, whether it's a a teacher or a teaching assistant with um expertise in reading or math, will push into the classroom and be a second adult in that room. So that that students that need that support are getting a second dose of support. So, they're working with their classroom teacher and they're getting some additional time with uh one of our expert interventionists. Uh a smaller group of students who are further behind grade level would be uh considered to be getting tier three support. And tier three support can take different forms, but the most common form is for that
017student to be going out of the classroom with a specialist, a reading teacher or a math teacher. And again, that's additional instruction. So that tier three support is happening when there is no new learning taking place in the classroom. So that that student is receiving additional support beyond what they're already getting in the classroom. And then you can see on the right um this is a chart that our teachers started using this year with our literacy coaches with our literacy coach and with our principles to help create groups of students based on the domain that they needed support with. So uh becoming a proficient reader you have to work up through a number of layers of of there's a hierarchy of skills that you need to um take on as a reader. Starting with phmic
018awareness, just hearing the sounds in the language. Uh you move from that to phonics, which is being able to connect the sounds and the letters. Um once you can connect sounds and letters, you can start decoding words, reading words. That doesn't mean you know what they mean yet. Um but it doesn't mean that you can say them when they're on the page. Um and we go from there into fluency where you can read those words without struggling over them. And once you throw in some really robust vocabulary, that's when you get to strong comprehension. So our students are broken into groups based on the um level of support that they need at that time. And those groups are very fluid and flexible. Some students need more support when they're reading fiction. Uh some students might
019need more support when they're reading non-fiction orformational text. So those those groups can be very flexible for that reason. Now, for parents, our parents do receive the what's called the family report. And uh if we have any elementary age parents in the audience, and I do see a few, um you know that three times a year, you're receiving a report that looks like this. Now, this is a first test report. Um the second and third testing of the year will have more than one bar on them because you can track your students growth over the course of the year. Um, and when you look at this, the blue bar is always going to be your student and the big green field is going to be u grade level performance and it is a band because
020grade level is not just a point but it is a band. In this particular case, this is a student who at the start of the year um is just at the bottom of grade level expectations, which actually for I Ready is really strong because you haven't even gone through the grade four curriculum yet and you're already at the edge of what would be considered endofear expectations for fourth grade. So, this is a student that would be getting enrichment from their teacher. Um, and if you look down on the bottom, you'll see that there is the uh a percentile uh indication, a national norm. And so what that tells us is this particular student did better on the I Ready assessment than 70% of the students around the entire country. So that's what that 70th percentile
021means. Um, but really more importantly, if you look at the right side of this chart, it breaks down even for parents the students skills into those different domains. So in this particular area, um the student, like I said before, they're reading informational text or non-fiction text better than fictional text or literature. So this teacher would be more focused on helping the student with their literature comprehension than with their non-fiction comprehension. Um, another thing that you'll see when we uh look at the family report, this is kind of blown up, uh, but for each of those domains that you get an individual score for, it actually gives tips for what the student should be doing or what the parent can be doing at home to help. So in this particular case where the student was slightly
022below their performance in the other domains in literature um the idea is the uh student would benefit from instruction in grade three literacy skills and strategies such as analyzing story elements determining word meaning and so the parent and the teacher will encourage that student to spend more time in literature text perhaps than non-fiction text even if they prefer the non-fiction. So, what are some other things that parents can do? Um, well, when parents are at home and and their student logs into I Ready, there is the dashboard and and parents can uh see the students progress. They can see how much time they've spent on test for that week. They can see the number of lessons the student has passed. They can see how many lessons in a row the student has done successfully. Um,
023but really the best thing for you to do is to just be a cheerleader. Uh, encourage them to do their best. This is not about absolute performance, but this is about growth. Um, help them have an area that they can work with minimal distraction. All of the things that you would do for good study habits in general, um, can help students really feel success when when they're doing the IRA program. And I know the principles can speak for it, but the kids get really excited when they when they see their growth. They they it's just a it's like an achievement for them when when they see the results of their hard work. Um just a few other important reminders. This is one point of data. You know, our children are children. There's a lot to
024a child, a lot more to a child than just a reading score or a math score. Um, but data is also important and as professionals, we would be remiss if we weren't using data to inform our instruction with with students. We owe it to them to make sure that the instruction we're giving them is actually meeting their needs. So, we use this as a cycle of improvement. We determine where students are. We set goals. We make plans. We give instruction. Then, we gather data again. And then after analyzing those new data, we either make changes if things aren't going well and we need to adjust. And if things are going in the right direction, we just um add on and push them further. Um because what we really want to do ultimately in East Rockaway
025after 13 years of our students here is not prepare our students to know things, but prepare them to know how to learn. because I was actually just saying today I I ran a workshop for our second and third year new teachers. Um and we were talking about productive struggle, the value of productive struggle in the learning process. And what I said to those teachers and I say to all of our teachers, our responsibility here in East Rockaway is to send students out into the world able to learn without us because then they're ready for whatever life throws them. If you can learn, if you can adjust, anything that happens in your community, in your world, in your economy, you'll be ready for because you can adjust. >> Any questions from the board? >> Yes. >>
026Uh, is this like I was looking at the sheet that said what parents can look at and what what parents can do. Is this updated like you want to see the student every Friday or every day? >> Um, the the Ashboard is is live. So when they log into the dashboard, it would be the data up to that up to that moment. Yes. >> All right. Thank you very much. Are you speaking to myself? Next is business. Yes. >> [clears throat] >> Okay, for new business, um, I'd like to celebrate Sher Poland, who was recognized at a woman of distinction ceremony. Uh, Mr. Healey and I had the privilege of attending Assemblywoman Judy Griffin's woman of distinction ceremony, and that was held at Baldwin Middle School. Uh, Miss Sher Poland was honored by Assemblyman Griffin
027in recognition of her exemplary contributions in the community, in the classroom, and is a member of our athletic coaching staff. Mrs. Poland has been an invaluable asset to special education department and athletics program since joining the district to build a teaching position. Small little caveat, she filled my my teaching position when I took the dean of students. And Mrs. Palmer was joined by her family and accepted a welldeserved recognition. So let me see Mrs. Poland. Please uh feel free to congratulate her. This is a really interesting. [applause] Uh moving to facilities. Um I see Sarah people here. Um we had a underground oil tank removal. Uh last week we rescheduled the removal of an old unused underwater I'm sorry underground oil tank located below center ambeneue back field. Once the surrounding oil was excavated and
028significant crank uh was indicated on the left I'm sorry significant crack was identified on the left exterior wall of the tank. Soil next to and beneath the tank show discoloration consistent with an oil release into the environment. What we needed to do is the New York State Department of Environmental Conversation uh conver uh conservation and the Nassau County Department of Health were on site through the removal process and based on their inspection they directed the they directed the oil uh to be uh actions to be contained in the soil. Additional soil has taken place to determine the extent of the leak. We are expecting results of those tests later this week. I know Mr. Dan Warton, myself have been there and um we anticipating that they will remove the soil and the inconvenience to the
029community has been uh for the kids who haven't been able to uh be outside and use the playground. So, we're hoping fingers crossed that the students will be able to uh go back outside and that's it for new business. >> All right. Uh next is um Old business. >> Old business. Okay. Again with facilities over the past few weeks as a general contractor have made contributions uh and progress on the high school Koopa restoration project. I don't know if you guys have seen uh the Koopa. You can see um that the exterior components have been removed and the interior of the Koopa has been fully cleaned out and the structure has been prepared for restoration. Unfortunately, and this happens with construction as we all know in our homes, uh once the exterior was open, the
030team uncovered several unforeseen structural issues that [clears throat] were not previously visible. This includes significant deterioration in the wood framing beneath several windows as well as loose brick and mortar joints. Last week, our facilities department of Mr. Daly and Mr. Van Wart, the contractor, and the architects and engineers met on site to review these conditions. Following that visit, the district's architect and engineer issued a recommended repair plan to ensure the long-term structural integrity of the Koopa. So, it's when we have work done in our homes, it's a delay, but when we have a delay, it's has to go through New York State Ed. So, uh the bad news is it's going to be delayed. Uh the good news is that we have a plan moving forward. Um we are currently awaiting a course proposal from
031the contractor and additional work for the district's architect and preparing the paperwork and getting uh submission for SEP. So we'll continue to keep the board and the community updated. Um sadly I was hoping that Google would be done at this point but we have uh have a delay. Um, I'd like to uh thank uh the board of education for meeting and accepting the Elks Lodge donation dictionaries. I think this is the second or third year in a row uh that they've given the third graders dictionary. The Elks Club notified us that the dictionaries are ready to be delivered and we are grateful for them and thank them for that. And last but not least, I know this is uh our district's [clears throat] realignment plan has been a hot topic. I want to extend a
032thank you to the community for being patient. Um I I won't read a statement, but the bottom line is we're in the discovery phase right now and we're building a plan from the ground up working with the teachers and once we formulate a gra draft of the teachers. Uh we will bring that to the community. Uh we the time frame for that is uh shortly after the holidays we will have an open forums and community conversations about that. So, this is really a grassroots plan where we'll be working with the staff. We'll be working with uh the teachers and uh my first committee meeting is this Thursday. I have I'm excited that we have over 30 teachers on that committee. So, um again, I want to thank the community for being patient. I will get
033you and we will reveal that information as soon as we have a plan and set that forward. And that's it for business. >> All right. Thank you, Mr. Petaso. Uh next Sophia student report. [clears throat] >> It's okay. Under connection, we have the student cabinet returning at the high school, which will allow students to voice concerns with administration through studentled forums, which I'm excited to get that running and offer more student input at meetings. And then over at center, students wrote thank you cards and met with local alumni who is a military veteran to build meaningful community ties and honoring service members. And they have the opportunity to meet and ask questions. Under opportunity, we have the newly introduced club at East Rock High School HOSA Health Occupation Students of America sending students to the
034leadership conference for the first time offering new leadership and learning experiences, which I'm excited to be one of them that gets to go on that trip. And then under achievement, we have our instruction builds. Our school competes uniquely on Long Island and was the only one to win an award, the most fantastic award for our team structure, coloring a hunger-free world. And we're also up for a people's choice award. Under innovation, uh we have the implementation of project based learning strategies exemplifies innovative approaches to learning and community. >> Thank you. Thank you. Nice work. Good job. All right. Next is public comments on agenda items. Um there will be a public comment section at the end of the meeting, but this is public comments on agenda items. At this time, are there any comments regarding
035tonight's agenda items? [snorts] [clears throat] Okay. Uh next, approval of minutes. Are there any questions from the board regarding the minutes from the special meeting on October 9th and regular meetings on October 21st, 2025? >> No. >> All right. Can I have a motion to approve the minutes of agenda item 1H? >> Motion. >> Uh motion by Mrs. Doyle. Second. >> Second by Mrs. Saluto. [snorts] All in favor? >> Opposed? Abstain. Motion approved. Um, next acknowledgement of monthly reports and correspondence. Uh, we have you guys all seen the uh monthly financial reports? >> Yes. >> Um, this month we received seven emails and we have started discussing them. Um, next on the agenda, can I have a motion to create a consent agenda with the following items? Recommendation of superintendent personnel schedules items 4 A
036through G. Other items 5 A through H. Approval of CSSE and CPSSE recommendation 6A and budget transfers 7A. >> Motion by Mrs. Salupo. Second. >> Second [clears throat] by Mr. Lores. All in favor? Opposed? Abstain. Motion approved. Uh now can I have a motion to accept the items on the consent agenda? Motion to accept the items. >> Oh, motion. >> Motion by Mr. Lawrence. Second. >> Second by Mrs. Lman. All in favor? >> Motion approved. All right. Next is policy matters. Okay. Um, we have the uh actually I'd like a motion to adopt the following policies. Uh, policy 0111 0111E, title 9, sexual harassment. Policy 6410, authorized signatures. Policy 6830, uh, 6830R, expense reimbursement and regulation. and policy 1500500R 1500 E2 public use of school facilities regulations and exhibits. Are there any questions from the
037board regarding these policies? Can I have a motion to adopt policies under agenda item 8? >> Motion by Mrs. Mon. Second by Mrs. Doyle. All in favor abstain. Motion approved. Um, superintendent. >> Yes. Okay. There are so many good things happening in the district. I'm going to apologize now because this might be environmental. I'm going to apologize. Uh, kindergarten and first grade teachers participated in project-based learning training. Teachers are already implementing these strategies to enhance student engagement, including the Thanksgiving parade project and improvements to recess equipment at RAIN. And I believe uh this Friday at 9:30 it's Balloons, right? Balloons over Ray Avenue. And that project was based on the Thanksgiving Day parade. And I'm really excited to see it. I saw a little three of you today, Mr. Vixon. It was great. Uh the
038life science biology teachers at East Rockway High School participated in the second year of our science curriculum collaboration with both Hulet and West Hemstead schools. in the past. Uh this past November 6, the collaboration with biology teachers from both schools on best teaching practices and assessment building techniques as schools across the country transition to the new New York State learning standards uh science standards. Our playoffs uh concluded with the following teams and I got to see just about all these teams. Uh congratulations for making playoffs. The boys soccer team went to the quarterfinals. Girls volleyball went to the semifinals and cross country sent three girls and six boys to the New York State qualifiers. Also, game day cheerleaders competed at the Nashville County Finals. Both girls volleyball and game day cheer were selected at team
039sportsmanship winners for their sports. And this has been a great tradition and thank you to Mr. Garry and all the coaches for that that we've won numerous uh sportsmanships awards. So, congratulations to the coaches and players and the parents. After the most recent seventh grade team meeting, staffs identified a need to help students develop active listening skills. In response, Mr. Tessorier, Miss Moore, and Miss Teranova created a lesson to teach, model, practice, and assess active learning skills. Mr. Tessorio, and Mr. Mo, Mr. Moore then delivered the lesson to all seventh graders in social studies classes. Uh the curriculum instruction office planned two days of professional learning for the entire staff on superintendent conference day. Just a quick preview of that. A third of our staff uh finished uh our PBL 101 training. This indicates that
040our entire staff now has been training has been trained in project- based learning and it's really taking off like wildfire. I can say this uh the teachers are doing a fantastic job of promoting project-based learning and now what I'm starting to see uh is interdisciplinary projects between different grade levels and and that is really great to see and that's growth. Um we have a teacher aids and monitors uh work with CPI training which is to enhance deescalation skills. Our security guard and select teachers receive CPR and AED training. All staff uh not attending PBL training participated in traumainformed teaching which was a request from our teachers with Dr. Kelly Zinn and according to my survey to all the teachers this was a very very popular uh workshop and in fact we are going to try
041to have Dr. Zinn come back and continue her work. Uh the high school humanities teachers participated in a special workshop on advanced vocabulary and the consultant was Amy Benjamin. And our elementary teachers participated in a special workshop on shifting small group instruction from level reading groups to skill-based uh datadriven instruction and that was led by our literacy coach Danielle Schneider. Uh teachers were also allotted some time to collaborate in co-planning and curriculum and update their PBL projects. And we also uh made a presentation on the Princeton plan which gave the teachers a general idea of uh what the time frame is and how we're going to move forward uh in uh getting feedback from the teachers and from the community. Uh real big congratulations to Shauna Silva. She said, "Exciting news that our own Julia
042Manino, a 12th grader, was accepted into the All Eastern Treble Honor Choir. This is a [clears throat] huge accomplishment as the choir had a record number of applicants this year and includes students from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Uh Julia will have a chance to perform at the American Coral Directors Association and we're all excited for her and can't wait to see uh that her performance. In the area of connection, uh the girls volleyball team held a dig pink fundraiser for breast cancer. Uh and I will like to commend Mr. Gregory because all our teams are involved in community and community service. Um a soccer team held a shootathon for our youth uh clinic, a game day cheer participated in making strides against breast
043cancer and a walk at Jones Beach. So very happy that all our teams participated on giving back to the community. On Monday, November 12th, uh, middle school counselor, Miss Donna Robbins, in collaboration with Mr. Tessorier, led a seventh grade social studies class in a Veterans Day lesson celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps. Students colored and wrote thank you cards to Marines, watch videos on different military branches, and shares family stories. East Rockway is proud to honor our community members and alumni who have served. Following the lesson, Mrs. Robbins delivered the cards personally along with coffee and donuts to local marine recruiters. And if you know Mrs. Robbins, this is what she does. She did an outstanding job on that. On superintendent conference day, the school councils travel to the New York City to
044tour the Institute of the Culinary Education to learn about trade school and develop relationships with faculty administration, demonstrating the commitment to continuous learning of various post-secondary pathways for our students. Mr. Gregory held our district's first family engagement night uh last week. Was it last week or two weeks ago? I think two weeks ago. Uh it was our last week. Last was last week. It was so exciting to see uh we had over 90 people attend. We had a major league baseball agent Mark Lean Weaver speak with parents and students on why character matters. And uh if you didn't get a chance, we put it up on uh the website for you to see. I uh he did a great presentation to the students on how how how character matters in every single aspect of their
045life. And after that, um, Mr. Gregory hosted, um, Kathy Lombardi who provided Narcan training, uh, for anybody who wanted to stay and they received an emergency kit. On October 20th, I heard I hosted the first superintendent student advisory council, like my favorite part of what I do, with 15 students in grade four through 12 participating as my student ambassadors. Joining me in meeting was my central office team. Uh the returning students were extremely excited to be back and the new student ambassadors expressed their gratitude for having been selected to represent their grades. After introductions and a brief presentations, the returning students shared their PowerPoint presentations uh which emphasized leadership, communication, and student input. In case um you were not aware, this March uh our student ambassadors will be making a pitch to the board of
046education and [laughter] some of the resources they would like to see to improve our schools. So, that's a great um meeting to attend. Uh Mr. Pand brought his eighth graders and his senior class to the 911 Memorial and Museum. Students there had the opportunity to explore exhibits and stories that brought to life the events of September 11th, [laughter] 2001. The experience encou encouraged students to reflect on lasting impact on the pivotal moment in our nation's history and the enduring values of compassion, strength, and unity. I'm almost there. Uh the Hall of Fame touchscreen is now up and running thanks to Mr. Gregory and uh the athletic department. If you haven't gotten the chance, where the new red benches are, uh the TV screen is constantly displaying um our Hall of Fame athletes. So, if you
047get a chance, please take a look. Uh, I'd like to thank East Rockway Education Foundation and also uh Mr. Loris for attending the October meeting. As usual, uh, we had three proposals that were approved and, um, it's a little different technique this year. We're approving proposals as they go and I can't thank the implementation enough for the resources that they provide for us. It's a great enhancement to uh, the education of our students. Uh Mr. Madden uh was reorganizing and working with families in our community that may experience added stress and insecurity in light of the changes taking effect to food assistance program affected by the shutdown in the federal government. Uh there's a letter posted on the district website and I want to make note to that any families who are in need. uh
048it was posted via parent square and on that letter there are resources available for families who made uh any assist uh need any assistance and it's titled our snap letter. So if anybody has any questions about that feel free to reach out to me or the guidance office if um any families are in need. In the area of opportunity elementary students expanded their learning beyond the classroom through several field trips. I know Mr. Ronnie likes that. Uh we've had visits to the local firehouse, White Post Farms, Cap Tree, uh to learn about marine life. And in Mr. Crowley's AP environmental science class, they participated in the annual day in the life of the river. Students work with local conservation biologist Michael Fina, as well as a Nassau County Soil and Water Conservation District to collect
049uh data from the Mill River right here in our own backyard. They collected data uh which got submitted to a larger database and they will be monitoring the quality of the river over time. So I'd like to thank Mr. Crowley and our students for investing in our community. Um Mr. Caputo's geometry classes will launch their PBL unit created on superintendent conference day. Students will visit a mini golf course and apply their lesson and knowledge of measurement of angles pagan theorem and to calculate accuracy of putting a golf ball into the hole. That's pretty good. Uh the school counseling department has concluded its uh college visits for this fall. They had the opportunity to connect uh with over 50 representatives from college, trade schools, employers, and military branches. So, thank you to the department and Mr.
050Man for that. Um our virtual enterprise class, this is a new class. Uh and students will be participating in their first state online trade show on November 20th. I will be sharing details about that. Our virtual enterprises for our business students who are interested uh in in in selling and buying and uh they connect with other school districts and it's a really great competition and it's a really great replica for our students who want to get into the business world. Uh in the area of innovation, fifth grade students created digital constellation brochures using Canva as part of theformational unit. The project integrated science and writing allowing students to apply research skills while learning essential digital design skills. Uh students in Missia's graphic design class are learning the endob Adobe in design to create professional quality
051layouts and print digital media. The skill helps them understand the design process and builds practical experience with the industry standard software. Students in Mr. Howard's class uh are putting finishing touches on oven racks. I'm sorry. The oven rack tool woodworking project just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Right. Uh >> my >> I'm sorry. >> We still have >> you still have yours. That's good to know. >> Don't swallow us. >> Also, >> um also I had the opportunity to pop into Mr. Howard's class. I mentioned the disciplinary PBL projects. Uh Miss Miss Grace's class and kindergarten classes came and visited and we are creating the projects that were approved by the Ed Foundation in which uh they will be measuring snowmen for the holidays and I can't wait to show you the results. I
052know last year they did it with uh one class and it was fantastic and this year we expanded it to all four kindergarten classes. Is that right, Miss Tower? I think we did two or four. Oh, the two the two kindergarten classes at Center Avenue. So, uh be on the lookout for that. That's an outstanding project. Uh and lastly, Mrs. Mlen held a first meeting of the technology AI guidance committee. The goals of the meeting included creating K12 guidelines for teachers and students on how to use AI effectively, responsibly, and safely as well as to finalize the guidance and distribution uh which should be out this time uh sometime in January of 26. And thank you. Um, next is uh good and welfare. Condolences to Donahghue family on the passing of William Rosemary S. Donahue
053on October 25th. Mrs. Donahue retired in after many years of service as a home economics and life science teacher. Condolences to Kalia Kelly and family on the passing of her mother, Searia. and condolences to Wayne Smiley and family on the passing of his father-in-law, Walter. Um, okay. Now, it's uh time for public comments. Um, we have three here. Um, Heather Massa. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Hi. >> Um, I just want to go on public record with my concern for the way this administration is handling its embrace of artificial intelligence. I'm going to sound like a conspiracy theorist here, and I get it, you know, but I have written many questions and received concerning and unimpressive responses. You have purchased a product. Let's not call it a tool, Magic School AI, and you are using
054the same company to train teachers to use it. There's no policy in place at this time. I heard they're working on it, but you've already put it out there. Um, no one seems to be able to tell me how the use of this product follows through with the mission of the district and the long range strategic plan. No one seems to be able to pinpoint places that AI will definitely not reach here in the East Rockway School District. So, it's a yes in kindergarten, in math classes, in art, and music classes. You are welcoming it in places it has no business being. What's the ending? Why do we have it? What is the purpose? And I don't want to hear that other districts are doing it because that's like, you know, our parents always told
055us, you know, if everybody jumped off a bridge, would you? Um, are we a place of performance or a place of learning? I don't think AI has anything to do with learning. I think it has to do with performance. If our goal is to have our students perform tasks, then they can just copy and paste to your heart's content. That's not learning. I have received responses from administrators that the point is to teach kids to use it ethically. And they have reassured me that they have the time and the staffing to support teachers to train and support students in this after all the other work that they have to do. And I don't believe you. You don't even have a policy yet. You don't have any guidelines. I don't have faith in you because you
056have shown me that you didn't think this through. The scope is too big and you barely have enough staff for what you're already doing. You don't even have full-time special education teachers in your inclusion classes. If you integrate this gigantic technology correctly, something everyone is assuring me is happening even though you don't have the policy yet. You need more people and more mandatory classes for students. I have a lot of opinions about AI and I've done a lot of research. I have a degree in information science. [snorts] Um AI is only pro that I'm seeing is about speed. And we don't need speed with learning. We're going to create a student [clears throat] body of helpless non-thinkers. And we just saw this Harvard study that came out, right, that students can't even keep up with
057their reading at Harvard. So there needs to be a shift. and I don't think this is the right way. Um, one administrator told me that kids were already using AI to do their homework, so we might as well give them AI that we can control. I don't think this makes any sense. If someone told me there was a huge problem with bank robberies and the solution was that we should