001test one too. [Music] All right. Uh, good evening everyone and welcome to the monthly meeting of the East Rockway School uh, Board of Education. I'd like to call this meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025. At this time, Mrs. Doyle would like to Good evening. Good evening. Um, Jethro Jakette was supposed to be um giving us the pledge of allegiance, but he was unable to make it. So, I'm going to read a little bit about Jethro and then I will do the pledge of allegiance. Jethro is a standout individual who has excelled both in and outside the classroom. He was recently recognized as a 2025 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards National Winner. This is a tremendous achievement as nearly 110,000 students submitted over 310,000 original works. Jethro's work was selected for
002its for its excellence in originality, skill, and personal artistic vision. He also excels in Italian 4 where he has not only mastered the language but also developed a deep appreciation for Italian art and culture. Beyond academics, Jethro is an active member of both the football and lacrosse teams. Demonstrating teamwork and dedication. Known for his leadership and respectful demeanor, he carries himself as a role model to his peers. Jethro exemplifies the qualities of a well-rounded and driven young man. Okay, so now we're going to stand for the pledge. 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. All right. At this time, I'd like to ask Mr. Present the Hometown Hero. Thank you, Mr. McN. Good evening, everyone.
003Thank you for coming out tonight. Um, I'm here to present our hometown hero award for April, but uh it doesn't feel right to do so unless I'm joined uh by Mrs. Crowley at the podium. Miss K, if you want to come on down. Um, so tonight we'll be tonight we'll be recognizing Miss Crowley's students, but I also would be remiss if I didn't uh acknowledge that several members of Miss Crowley's team are in the audience tonight. So, thank you all for coming on. So, as I said, tonight we're here to recognize our students who exemplify kindness, hard work, and commitment to the East Rockway Junior Senior High School community. This year, Miss Crowley students have successfully taken on a number of responsibilities throughout our school to challenge themselves while experiencing hands-on vocational training. Mentored by
004our own Mr. Jimmy Loris, our students began sorting and delivering mail to both our teacher mailboxes and department offices. Visiting our office daily with mail in hand and smile on their face. These students brighten the day of every staff member that they interact with. In addition to managing our daily mail, our students have also taken on the role of laundering uniforms for the athletic department. This includes collecting, washing, drying, folding, packing, and delivering clean uniforms back to our athletes. And finally, our students host Cafe 217. For anyone who doesn't know, Cafe 217 takes place every Friday. Sometimes other days, but mostly every Friday. Um, and it's a free cafe for our staff um to go and visit um Miss Crowley's classroom. They get a free beverage of their choice, coffee, tea, iced tea, sometimes snacks,
005and they just get a chance to take a break from the day, recharge, interact with our kids. It's a really wonderful program that Miss Crowley has spearheaded since long before I was here. Um, so Cafe 217, both in the classroom and on the go, it's just a great way for our kids to interact with our staff. So, in recognition of their extraordinary character, community involvement, positive contributions to our school, it is my honor to present uh the following students with the East Rockway Board of Education Hometown Hero Award. You want to call them or do you want to Okay. All right. Uh parent [Applause] Lewis, Michaela Okonnell, Sandu, Tyler, Santosis, sayina. We had two additional students who couldn't be here tonight. Zay Shaki and Dave David. [Music] We're turning back to Let's Yeah. Maybe [Music]
006Thank [Applause] you. Three and two. [Music] Um at this time, Mr. Damaso present the um SSD. So, I want to take this opportunity to thank everybody for being here tonight, and I'm so happy to see an auditorium filled uh with excitement and smiling faces. Um, we formed a a student a superintendent student advisory council last year. that we had the opportunity to present to the board of education. And the purpose of our ambassadors here who you hear from shortly is to make improvements to the school. We have representatives from Center Avenue, Gra Avenue, the middle school, and the high school. And I can't tell you how incredibly proud I am of them. I had the opportunity to watch them grow. Uh we've had eight to 10 meetings throughout the year in which I I saw
007a shock of kids coming in and then all of a sudden uh I see them collaborating, brainstorming, coming up with ideas uh really solid solutions on how to improve the school in a number of ways. And I want to tell you straight out that it was unsolicited from me. These ideas came from them. We just help them put the ideas together and they put the their ideas together in a PowerPoint presentation which uh they will be sharing with you in a minute. So at this time it is my extreme pleasure but be actually before I introduce them I wanted to say this. I wanted to say teachers and principles and assistant principles take out your notebooks start taking good notes. I wanted to say Mr. their board. Don't panic. But we, you know, we'll they're
008looking at things that we may need to open up the pocketbook for, but all good all all good things for our students. So, without further ado, I'd like to call up our first student ambassador, [Applause] Hi, my name is McKenzie McKe. I'm in sixth grade in this is my first year being a student ambassador. I had a great time in this group because I got to meet more students from center. My first chart shows that 74% of students in grades four through six and ready feel they were in better deal. In the second chart, it shows how often teachers assign group work. The most popular responses were every day or every week. A few students responded that they never had group work. I think group work is important because it helps students see different perspectives.
009One example of different ways to learn is project based learning. My teacher had my classmate golf courses without shapes and we had to find an area of the golf course. That me learning area more fun because I got to do with my friends. [Applause] Um hello everyone. I'm Charlotte B. I'm in sixth grade from Center Avenue and this is my first year being a student ambassador for the superintendent student advisory council. From being in this council, I've enjoyed working with my friends and talking with others. From these two surveys, I've learned such a new students work best with two partner groups and learning hands on projects. Hands-on projects helps kids pay attention and actually be interested in the topic they're learning instead of reading about it. Working with two partners allows students to cooperate and
010see things from a different point of view. And McKenzie asked students in both elementary schools how they learned best. Center Avenue learned best with hands on experience. Brain revenue reported they learned best on computer. I learned from the survey all students learn. [Music] Hi, my name is Henry Terrell. I go to Center Avenue School. I'm in fourth grade and this is my second time being a student ambassador. Being a student ambassador has been a lot of fun because I made some new friends. 68% of the people like clubs and 42% of the people also like the school lunch/nack. 82% of people have no problem at recess. And many kids really like the clubs and other kids don't like clubs. We we can also solve this problem by temporarily making it where the clubs are in
011the middle of the school day kind of like bander orchestra and before or after school. to get people to then know what clubs are. We could also put up flyers and say the stuff on the morning announcements for the clubs. Hi, my name is Connie Molina and I am in sixth grade and I go to Shar School. This is my first year being a student ambassador. I really enjoy this process because I get to talk to my friends and communicate my brothers and make new friends. Now, let's talk about the graph. So, first show and what they like when it comes to sport. The first photos that play out. They also told us that we love to play normal weather also to play soccer basketball. The second to play. What we did is we combined
012all the concerns and we saw our kids and play sport. We chose popular. This is a basketball team like a not only fun and they can meet new people. If you like this, we can join the team when leading up to middle school. [Applause] My name is Kaylee and I am in fourth grade. I go to Ring Avenue and I am a student ambassador. It is my second year. My name is Frank Palumbo and I'm in sixth grade. I go to Ram Avenue and I'm a student ambassador. It is my first year. I enjoyed it because I met new people and it was fun to do the project. We asked kids what rewards they would want and we got 152 responses. We asked kids to reward for all our hard work. We asked what most
013kids would want and the top three were number three movie day. Number two was ice cream party and number one was pizza party. As as you can see some of these kids have enough time to eat. However, a lot of kids do not have enough time to eat their lunches. And some of the kids, not just the little ones, 34% or 53 out of 152 of the older grades need more time. The most popular response we got for the new outdoor recess equipment was a gaga pit. The second most popular response we got was a volleyball net. For indoor recess, kids would like more board games and arts and crafts options. The students said I Ready helps them learn the best. Skim Kit was the second most popular respon response we got, which makes games
014out of lessons. The third website that helped students learn the best was Epic, which lets us read on books online. Hello, my name is Georgia. I am in seventh grade and I will be representing the middle school on the topic bully. We asked seventh seventh and eighth graders about their experience with bullying. Only one/4 of students responded. So that hopefully means that most students are not very concerned about bullying. But even the small number of students who indicated they have been bullied is more than we want in Dropway. Most students who answered the survey said they did not know what the school has done to stop bullying. We recommended the school to be more clear and communicate the things that they are doing to stop bullying like Dr. Cops and Mr. Lee's workshops on community
015building. The school should also do something specific to teach students about cyber bullying. Students feel this is a bigger problem in middle school than elementary school because most of us have phones. One thing that could help improve the school's awareness for bullying is an assembly that talks about the importance of being a buddy and not a bully. Thank you. [Music] Good evening. My name is Rory Nichols and I am a student ambassador in the seventh grade. My favorite part about being the student ambassador is working with other with other colleagues was working with other kids and making new friends from school. I put out a survey on the topic of advisory. The seven seventh grade took the survey and the results came in with 37 kids respond. They would like to see some changes to
016to advisory. The most popular response was to have more outdoor activities like the beach ball activity because the students miss a part of their lunch each week for advisory. They want the activities to be more exciting and the teachers to also be excited. [Applause] Hello, my name is Charlotte Webster and I'm a junior at East Rockway. I've been a student ambassador for two years and I've enjoyed being able to advocate for the voices of other students and see those changes implemented. So the first topic that we'd like to talk about for the high school is the availability of extracurricular activities. Many students are interested in other options. Although there is already quite a variety, about 40% of students who completed our survey claim that the reason they are unhappy with the extracurricular activities at our
017school is due to the variety. Often many students overlap in their clubs and the same students are all in the same clubs and many groups are used to seeing the same people doing everything. Increasing the variety of activities would also hopefully increase the participation as it provides a social outlet for students and um could give an outlet for what they feel passionate about. Some examples that students claim to be interested in were a book club, a cooking club, medical and a photography club. In addition to increasing student involvement, it can prepare students for their futures. So, next we'd like to talk about um time management. So, a lot of students in our school push themselves to be involved and challenge themselves academically. However, a lot of students say that when pushing yourself, there comes the
018burden of assignments and little time to breathe. And when students were asked how long it took to complete homework each night, most said anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour in combination with sports, clubs, and of course, rocky, it becomes challenging to find an hour or two to work on extra assignments. So to solve this problem, one student mentioned, "By allocating a certain period of time after school to do work and also doing homework when I'm done in class early, I'm able to manage my time well." Another student said, "I'm organized on what I have to do throughout the day and make sure that I can get everything done on time." These strategies can serve as an example for the students who do struggle and drown their own schoolwork. And the hope is that
019students can develop these skills and influence their peers to manage their time while continue working hard. Um, hi, my name is Timmy Poland and I'm a senior at UHS. Um, I've been a part of the advisory council for two years and I enjoyed brainstorming and coming together with multiple grade levels from the elementary schools to the high school to make real important changes. Um, after asking students what motivates them to learn in school, about 65% of students stated that they were mo they were most likely motivated by their grades and test scores and a close second was competition and games at 29.5%. Um hopefully if students are having fun and gaining from classroom competition, they will be more likely to stay motivated outside the classroom and work hard. While academic performance is important to many
020students, some struggle to enjoy learning when only focused on academics. So it is important to implement fun, beneficial, and interactive activities in the classroom. Thank you. Hello, my name is Claire Harvey and I'm a freshman here at the high school. This is my second year as a student ambassador and I enjoy knowing that the work we do makes a positive impact on improving our schools from a student's perspective. Throughout their high school years, students experience many different types of learning. Some students learn better through visual aids like diagrams and charts while others prefer listening to presentations or participating in hands-on activities. Specifically through our survey, many students felt that visual and auditory learning like pictures, videos, and assemblies work best for them when it comes to understanding and retaining information. Additionally, students felt that hands-on
021learning allowed them to comprehend the information given to them so that they could then apply it to their work. By recognizing it by recognizing different preferred learning styles, whether it's visual, auditory, kinesthetic, or reading and writing, students can more effectively and more and stay more engaged in their classes. Understanding the preferred learning styles of students, specifically in our schools, can help teachers to create lessons that reach all types of learners, which can help make education more inclusive and effective for all students. Thank you. I I am so impressed by that and I want to emphasize that they created the slides. That's got to be the best part of your day. It is the best part of my day. They created the slides. They found the pictures. Uh we helped guide them as you saw in
022a few of the pictures. We met in my office and they brainstormed and it was their original ideas uh which you know in a lot of ways mirrors some of the things that we're really trying to do to improve the school as adults and as administrators. So I admire them. I'm inspired by them and how about giving them a real immense Yeah, we can Everybody smile. Hang for insurance [Applause] purposes. I see you cringing in your seat. Sorry. Congratulations. [Applause] I don't need a step stool to stand, I don't think. Okay. Before we take a break, I'd like to recognize the distinguished administrator who I will be recommending tenure tonight, and that is our athletic director, Mr. Gary Gregory. [Applause] I told him I told uh Gary I might roast them a little bit today
023but I'm really not I was just kidding. I'm just teasing you. So good evening members of the board of education colleagues and community members. It's my privilege to stand before you tonight to recommend Mr. Gary Gregory for tenure in his role as director of physical education, health, and athletics. Over the past four years, Mr. Gregory demonstrated not only commitment to students, not only commitment uh to stu to student wellness, but also exceptional leadership, vision, and an ability to turn ideas into impactful results, which are many. Mr. Gregory began his tenure by instituting comprehensive K through5 health curriculum and aligning our physical education curriculum across grades K through 12. His efforts have ensured consistent developmentally and appropriate and vertically aligned experiences for our students, creating a strong foundation in health and wellness that extends from early
024years through high school. Working closely with building principles, he has taken an active role in curriculum development, staffing, and scheduling. One of his most strategic moves was securing permanent physical education substitutes in each building. He was proud that this initiative not only preserved the program's consistency but has also elevated the overall quality of instruction, ensuring that no students experience is compromised due to staffing changes. Under his guidance, our elementary schools are consistently meeting the physical education needs of our students, a reflection of his strong commitment to health and the district's vision of supporting the whole child. Beyond the day-to-day operations, Mr. Gregory has been instrumental in creating the Athletic Hall of Fame, a new innovative way to honor and celebrate the achievements of our student athletes past and present. By combining tradition with technology, this
025platform ensures that our athletic legacy is preserved and accessible to the entire community in a modern, engaging format. And truth be told, and Mr. Lores can attest to that, we were running out of room on the walls. So, uh, Mr. Gregory and his team came up with a creative idea which if you go down by the red benches uh actually down that way uh you can see the athletic big television with supporting all our athletes in the hall of fame. His leadership extended beyond uh our school but to Nassau County as president of the section 8 council of administrators. Mr. Gregory has represented East Rockway with distinction. He has also been named physical educator physical education director of the year for two consecutive years. A prestigious honor that reflects the respect he has earned among
026his peers and athletic directors in Nassau County and his innovative strides he continues to make. Mr. Gregory empowers student athletes to lead beyond the field. He has organized athletic leadership conferences that provide students with opportunities to create and implement community service initiatives. team charity events and sportsmanship campaigns. And there are many. And if you've been uh accessing our website, you can see all of our teams, all of our teams have uh been putting in efforts for community service, and it was exemplary due to Mr. Gregory's leadership. Uh some of those events include uh youth toy drives, food drives, literacy program for elementary students in which our student athletes read to students in their classes at Rain Center Avenue, bake sales and walk for breast cancer and numerous other events that give back to the community.
027His ability to develop young leaders and instill core values of character and service is truly commendable. So I thank you for that. Mr. Gregory played a key role in the launch of our new athletic complex and worked with his staff across departments to create efficient, flexible scheduling to minimize and maximize, excuse me, maximize the use of our upgraded facilities. And we have a lot of coaches here and all the coaches want to play on the new field and all the coaches want to practice time on the field and uh deservingly so. Uh that could be a difficult task, but Mr. Mr. Gregory took that on and has created a schedule that really works for everybody. Under his leadership, East Rockway has earned the New York State Public High School Athletic Association School of Excellence Award
028for three consecutive years with the fourth likely on the way. He's expanded opportunities across the board, adding two varsity teams, three middle school teams, three intramural programs, and launching our challenger and the middle school unified intramural basketball program to ensure that all students have a place to belong and that they can compete. And I had the a unique opportunity today to see our unified games. And I was incredibly proud of the community to see a pack stands. We were playing was it Lawrence? Lawrence. We were playing Lawrence today and the fans and students were cheering for both teams and it was just an incredible event. So I I really suggest if you want a feel-good heartwarming story, come to see a challenger unified game. They're the best. They're the best. And if that wasn't enough,
029Mr. Gregory is also a talent talented master of ceremonies. Whether it's the middle school sports night or the pep rally, he commands a microphone with energy and charisma. In fact, we sometimes joke that he missed his calling as a Wrestlemania ring announcer or maybe a leading role in the next Star Wars movie. So, he's just that good and uh he's very entertaining. I will say that uh Mr. Gregory has proven himself to be a leader in the community who is passionate about his position and someone who brings heart dedication to everything he does. It is with enthusiasm that I recommend tenure to the board of education and look forward to his continued growth and impact on our district and our students for many years to come. Please join me in congratulating Mr. Gregory. Sorry, sorry.
030I understand. [Applause] At this time, we will take a a 10-minute inter intermission. Please join us for some coffee, cake, water outside the auditorium to celebrate our student ambassadors and Mr. Gregory's tenure. [Music] I'm scared. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you. [Music] Why are you asking? So guys, I'm staring at You did. Sorry. [Applause] No problem. I was actually I was closer to 36,000 closer. I just use microwave. Yeah. [Music] Hey, how are you? You did. Oh, Stacy. I used to work out some great. Hey, how are you? How's it going? I didn't see you there. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I had I had meat tonight just right. All right. So, it was Yeah. So, my daughter ran tonight. She ran tonight. Yeah. Just Yeah. Because conference four it's like conference three where it's the boys
031go today but conference four girls. Yeah. The boys one day. Went today. Yeah. I went one and three and two and four are the same. How's that? Yeah. Come [Music] on. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. [Music] Yeah. [Music] Yeah. Yeah. Good stuff. Thanks. Yeah. Yeah. All right. See you later. Not in the spring. Not in the spring. I do the fall. I do the winter. And then spring to watch my games. Yeah. Vacation. I'll see you later. Right. [Music] I coached him long time ago. Well, the the ad that hired Tom Howard. Yeah. Yeah. He hired before Jean. Yes. And then I worked for Jean. Yeah. That's what I heard. I worked for Walt. Walt. Walt and Katie Doug. I I coached them before I went to island. Then I was teaching at Island Treats at
032the time, but I was coaching with them. I love I love right [Music] So I'm like taking my friends You know why? for next year for next year. For this year, And then I can use somebody else. Um what you learn everybody Correct. Yes. That's what she's doing. They don't really say I go Yeah. How's everything? You guys are ready for a glorious Next little while. Time counselor. We have one more presentation. This is one of those necessary [Music] [Laughter] Wait, wait, wait. Thank you. Claire, this is our [Music] Feel like podium. She went to Just think about how to Where's my phone? Where's my birthday? Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we are going to start the second half of our board of education meeting. Uh Mr. Shuan Mari, our assistant superintendent for curriculum instruction, has
033been doing a lot of research on the blue ribbon commission and graduation me uh measures. So, he's going to do a a a presentation, an update for the community about what's happening behind the scenes with the board of regents and administrators and superintendants and some things I can say. We're getting information in I guess trickles. Uh but there's a lot of things aren't set in stone. So, we're just kind of giving you a broad overview of what we think is coming. And I am proud to say that a lot of the suggestive state uh updates for this commission we are already on top of in many ways. Um and Mr. Murray been talking about how we're doing that in terms of differentiating instruction uh project based learning. Those are some of the things uh that
034you know we really feel that uh are moving in that direction. So without further ado, I'd like to introduce Mr. Murray. Thank you. So, as Mr. Dumaso said, um all pretty much all of the presentation that I'm about to share with you is tentative officially. Um a lot of these recommendations came out of the blue ribbon commission and New York State Education Department has presented these suggestions to the board of regents um some of them as long as uh nine months ago. and the board of regions has not officially acted on any of that. So, we're preparing for the likelihood of these changes happening. Um, but they haven't officially become uh part of state education regulations yet. So, just a little caveat there. Of course, I always love to start with our mission statement because
035it does drive all that we do. Um, and a lot of these changes are going to ask schools to be more innovative and ensure that we maintain a challenging environment. You're going to hear a few things that might make you think, are we watering down the New York State high school diploma. Um, and the answer is a firm no, but it's putting more onus on local districts to ensure that they are doing um what they need to do to maintain a challenging and rigorous curriculum and set of standards and East Rockway is already doing that. We're very well positioned. Um but that is where I think um we just need to make sure we keep doing the right thing by students even as the state gives more latitude to districts. Um what drives us here
036is just always the kids first at the center of all of our decision- making. Um we also want to make sure that both the students and adults in our educational system here are in a state of continuous learning. um these changes to the graduation measures really put to the forefront those essential or 21st century skills that we've been working on here for years. Um and the state I think is catching up with us in East Rockaway as far as the fact that um students don't need to graduate high school with knowledge because all the knowledge in the world is literally in their pockets on a 3x5 foot electronic device. um what they need to leave with is skills and wisdom and and that's where the education takes over um after the devices uh give up
037what they can keep doing for us. Um critical thinking, communication, collaboration, problem solving, those are the skills that we need to make sure our students are getting in our classrooms. Um so just briefly our agenda and again I will try to be brief even though there's a lot coming down from state ed right now. Um, we're going to just I'll give you a little background of the blue ribbon commission and where it came from and what its job was. Uh, the recommendations of that blue ribbon commission to the board of regents and as I said, the anticipated changes to graduation requirements because none of this is set in stone or legal legalized through a vote yet. Um, and then finally, how we in East Rockaway are already prepared, if not ahead of many of those
038expectations. Um so the blue ribbon commission was established by the board of regents in 2019 um based on a lot of public feedback and just a realization that the graduation measures as set in New York State were decades old. Um, some of the tests have changed. Some of the regent exams and and curriculum have changed, but the actual requirements for graduation are no different today than when anyone in this audience uh was graduating high school as far as the number of credits you have to attain, the different courses that you need to get those credits in, the regent exams and things like that. It's been around a very long time. Um, so we want the the state wanted to come up with a better way to ensure students were going out into the world ready
039for the world and to make sure that the high school diploma recognized and required students to be ready for whether it was college uh, career and more most importantly civic readiness and and to be a member and a participating member of the community. Um so the blue American commission a lot of numbers came out of it and and some of the most important numbers are 42 and four and I'm going to go through each of those separately. So the commission broke its work into these four priority areas. First was consideration of multiple pathways leading to a single diploma. Uh whereas right now there are very few pathways that students can take to earn a high school diploma. And for some of our students, earning a high school diploma is almost, if not impossible because of
040some of their specific learning needs. And the state realized that that's not okay. And we need to make sure that our diplomas are accessible to all of our students. Um, so looking at different pathways, they wanted to also look at assessment flexibility. Um, I have a a junior at home right now and I'm finding out that many many many colleges have also come to realize that standardized testing isn't all it used to be cracked up to be. Um, and many schools are test optional. Now, some are bringing it back. Um, but there are still many, many schools out there which are test optional for college admissions. and the state realized that one regions exam didn't necessarily allow all students to demonstrate what they've learned. Um, and there should be better ways and more flexible ways
041for students to be able to demonstrate what they've learned in a course that they've taken. Um they wanted to also include the idea of meaningful life ready credentials so that students could potentially graduate high school already with a professional credential that says I can do this work now and they can go out at 18 and earn an a appropriate acceptable living with a high school diploma plus those those credentials whether they might be in a computer field they might be in a uh technical field. They might be in the trades, but allowing students to graduate ready to actually work. Um, and then finally, that the curriculum is understanding and aware of all of the different students in our schools throughout New York State and their different backgrounds and making sure that that curriculum isn't designed
042for any one group of students, but it's meant for all of our students. Um, I'm not going to go through these 12 recommendations, but these are the 12 recommendations that the Blue Ribbon Commission came down with and sent on to the board of regents. I'm going to focus on just a few of them. Um, when this is posted up on the website, it'll include a link to the specific page of the I I think 70 odd page uh blue ribbon commission document um that describes each of these recommendations in more detail. And if you uh want to get wonky like I need to do, you can go ahead and do that on your own. But I I will save everyone the trouble here with that. Um but those 12 recommendations lead then to four major
043transformations in how students will graduate from New York State high schools. First was the adoption of the New York State portrait of a graduate. We'll talk about that in a few moments. The second was to redefine how credits and learning experiences acrew. Um again, I'll explain that in a little bit, but um it's looking at changing how students earn those high school credits. Suns setting the diploma requirements for taking assessments. So, there's no indication that the regions are going away. There's no indication that students will not take the regions. Um, but the indications are that passing those regions will not be a requirement to earn your high school diploma. If you're demonstrating your learning in other ways, the regions will be one of the ways that you can demonstrate your learning. And then finally, um,
044moving to a single high school diploma. Right now, there are three different diplomas that a student could potentially get coming out of high school. And they all have a different meaning. They all are looked at differently. And the realization is a high school diploma should be a high school diploma should be a high school diploma and anyone who earns it should be ready for college career civic life and to make sure that that diploma is the same for all people. Um so the demonstration of the portrait of a graduate. So basically instead of those you know I have to learn this much in chemistry and this much in math and this much in uh English in order to earn my high school diploma. Instead, we're going to have to have students demonstrate proficiencies in each
045of these areas where they're going to have to be a critical thinker, an innovative problem solver. Uh they're going to have to be literate across the content areas. They're going to have to have cultural competence, social emotional competence, be an effective communicator and a global citizen. Um we do not have any indication as to how the state expects us to measure these things other than these will be how we measure students um readiness for a high school diploma. As far as redefining credits, I think this is actually very exciting. Right now the way you earn a high school credit is by sitting in a seat for a certain number of hours and taking a test at the end of it if it has a regions and taking a local final if if it does not
046have a regions exam. But your credits are earned by being in the seat in the class for a certain number of hours a year. And you need to earn 22 of those credits in order to get your high school diploma. Well, if I'm a math genius, I my son has a friend who's a junior who is already taking multivariable calculus. Why is he sitting through a year of algebra? No point in that. He already knows it. he can demonstrate that learning so he doesn't have to take that class if he can demonstrate that learning another way. There are other ways for students to earn those credits. Um other ways to earn credits maybe and again this is all conjecture at this point but they may be through workbased learning. They may be through capstone projects.
047There may be through various career and technical educational programs, industry credentials, other seals and endorsements. But the idea is giving students more flexible ways to show that they've learned and to not have everyone stuck in the same traditional model of sitting in a classroom all year to get that credit. Um, as far as sunsetting the diploma, the assessment requirements, um, again, there is no indication that regent exams are going away, but the indication is that regent exams will be one of many pathways for students to demonstrate their learning at the end of a course. Um, the state has made clear that rigor must be maintained. So, if there are students demonstrating their learning through pathways other than the regent's exams, those pathways should be equally, if not more rigorous than the exam. Um, and what
048that rigor will need to look like. We're we're still awaiting guidance from the state, but a lot of that will be left on local districts to determine. Um, and the idea there is students can demonstrate how they best learn the material. Um, I'll give an example. I like to use personal examples. My daughter's a sophomore and in an English class project, um, she and two groupmates decided they were going to write an original song and perform it for the class to demonstrate their understanding of the novel that they had read. That was one of many choices. It was a lot of work. Believe me, she put a lot more work into writing the song, writing the lyrics, writing the music, learning the guitar, and all of that stuff than she ever would have put into
049studying for a test. Um, and she was definitely able to demonstrate she understood the the the book that was read. Um, and those types of assessments are also more real. um you know anyone outside of education is not being um their their work is not being determined by a test that they take. Their work is being determined by a project that they do for a client. Their work is being determined by a pitch that they sell. It's it's determined by um a project that they complete for their manager. None of us are really taking tests outside of this small world of education. Um and so our students, we need to get them ready for those types of real world assessments. Um and so that those assessments can meet the needs of all learners. Some of
050our students have learning disabilities or learning needs. It has zero to do with their ability to understand. It has zero to do with their ability to learn and think and grow, but it does affect their ability to demonstrate learning in a very specific pencil and paper way. Why are we saying that's the only way that they can learn? that's not right. So, this is these are some of the exciting things for me as a curriculum uh director. It's just really exciting to think that we could really start to get flexible with and for our students. Um the shift to one diploma is uh a little more um I guess just wonky. But the idea is instead of having the local diploma and the region's diploma and the region's diploma with advanced distinction, they will be
051a New York State diploma. But those students who have earned the seal of bi literacy, their diploma will have that seal. Students who have done exceptionally well in multiple regions exams may get a regent seal or endorsement. Students who have earned the AP capstone diploma can have an AP capstone seal on their diploma. So that diploma can have kind of add-ons to it, but there will be a single New York State diploma that all students will earn. And that means that every student graduating high school has a diploma of equal value. Um, and right now our diplomas are not always valued equally. And that's just not right for our students who graduate through different pathways. Um, so these are some anticipated timelines that um I'm going to share with the community and and specifically the
052board. Again, none of these items have been voted on. So none of these timelines are set in stone. This is right now just best guesses, conjecture, and um recommendations that have been made and we have to wait to see what the region. um they do fortunately expect a phased in approach. So last year through the coming summer is really just a planning year and getting this information out to districts around the state. Um and we are not even starting true phase one until next school year. Um it'll take uh two years until we move into phase two which is the initial implementation and the final fullcale implementation of these changes will not begin until the fall of 2029. So it is a long roll out. Um the main reason for this is the state realized
053the fiasco that it created when it rushed the race to the top changes um during the Obama administration and the hasty changes to APR law. They just didn't work. Um and and I can see people in the audience nodding. They they know how badly that rushed implementation went. Um and so the state is looking to avoid that kind of implementation. They want districts to have time to train, to plan, and to be ready for the changes. Also to be ready for the students and get them ready for these changes because schools are going to look different for our students who are in third and fourth grade now than it does for our current high school students. Um so the planning year again um just a couple of changes that are already starting is the state
054has already um created what's called a major life event exemption. So, they recognize that some bad things happen at a bad time for kids and they're going to allow some flexibility for students with that. Um, we still are waiting again, like I said, for the the portrait of a graduate, but the state has said that all districts will need to follow the New York State portrait of a graduate. Um there are some districts out there that have their own portrait of a graduate that they're going to have to somehow roll into the state portrait that's going to be required for all districts. Um as far as the installation goes, uh the um portrait of a graduate, they're going to hopefully um give us some rubrics for what those demonstrations of those skills are going to
055look like um along with those learning expectations. and uh NICE has promised that it will establish support networks for schools to be able to go to. So again, this is starting next fall and um as things go along, we'll continue to update the board and the community um the initial implementation. So starting in the fall of 2027 um there will be the first changes to the assessment requirements for the regent's exams. Again, um the region's exams aren't going away, but the requirement to pass them to graduate high school is likely to go away starting as early as 2027. Um and and we're waiting for more specific um details about that. Um we are already trying to think about how we need to structure our classes to be ready for that. um which might also include
056looking at our grading policy because our grading policy right now does include the regions exams as part of a student's grade. So these are a lot of ripple effects are going to happen to school districts with these changes. Um and then finally um the students who enter grade nine, in other words, this year's fourth grade students will be the first group of students to experience the full changes to the high school graduation requirements um assuming the board of regents adopts them. So, we have plenty of time, it seems like, but fourth grade's not that far away from high school. I hate to tell the parents of fourth graders, it gets there real fast. And so as a district, we need to be ready for that inside of uh inside of four years. We're going to
057be ready for all these changes. Um now um the region the recommendations are to change these requirements a little by little with the cohort. So again, I'm not going to go through this entire map. It'll be up online later on uh tomorrow. But you can see how each set of students entering high school will have a different set of requirements. So when you see that cohort year, um that's the year that they enter 9th grade. So cohort 2023 are the current 10th grade students and older. Um, and the um, current freshmen will be the first ones to have some change, and it's not clear yet, some change in the assessment requirements for graduation. That's about the only major change that the freshmen will see. Other changes will be for students who haven't gotten to high
058school yet. Um, so what's the big picture? As a district, our goal is to create future ready students. It always has been. That's something that Mr. Detomaso and I have been working on since we've worked together on day one. We're not worried about today. We're worried about tomorrow because that's our job as a school system. Um, so this is work we've already been doing even without the state telling us to. More project-based learning will support those essential skills and competencies that are part of the portrait of a graduate and part of what students need to do in order to be ready for college, career, and civic life. better problem solving, application of knowledge, just not wrote memorization of knowledge, retention, deep understanding, communication, and collaboration skills. That's what makes our students ready for lifelong success.
059Um, so we're going to continue to build on those strengths that we have here in East Rockaway. um we're going to have to address some deficits that we have. That that's something we're aware of and to just remain committed to those four pillars of our strategic plan of innovation, connection, opportunity, and achievement. And those will continue to be our guiding stars. Um and then just some more specific ways that East Rockway is getting ready for these changes. And most of these changes were already in motion before the blue ribbon c commission came down with its um recommendations. Um we're going to the the board of education has agreed to uh allow us to budget for a new workbased learning program beginning in the 2627 school year. So we're very excited at the high school and
060the guidance departments to start putting that program together. Um, we're going to be looking at adding and updating some of our CTE, which is career and technical education offerings. I know that, um, Mr. Howard is very excited about his CNC router, and those are the kinds of materials that students are going to be using in real life jobs. So, we're going to start using them here in high school so they're ready for those real life jobs. Um, we're going to make sure that we add more civics learning to our high school and other classes because students need to be ready for civic life. Um, we're going to continue to reduce our reliance on traditional assessments and increase our use of alternative assessments for students to give them multiple ways to demonstrate their learning. Um, and
061something we've already started doing is collaborating with other local districts to envision that future together. Some of these big ideas will be easier to do as a team with other districts. As a very small district, East Rockway has a wonderful um you know rich close-knit community and that smallalness means everyone is here for everybody else. Everyone knows everybody else. Everyone supports everybody else. But it also means our resources can sometimes be limited. So by partnering with other districts, we get to expand our resources and everyone can take advantage of the strengths of the districts around us. Um so that is the blue ribbon commission in a nutshell. Um and if there are any questions from the board. Yes. Um let's say this doesn't get passed and put through. Are we going to still continue to
062work towards that even if it's not a state plan? So none of the changes that we've put in place have been because of the blue ribbon commission. They have all been because we know that that is putting kids first. So all of those changes, uh, work-based learning, project based learning, CTE offerings, those are all things that we're doing because it puts kids first. So they're happening no matter what. Like I said earlier in the presentation, I think the state's actually catching up with us because we recognize that just passing tests does not make a child ready for the real world. Um, and so that's why we've already started teaching students and assessing students in different ways. Thank you. Yes. Timeline. I know you said you don't have a timeline, but I know it's the state
063and I keep moving things. an idea. You look at six months from now or you're talking a couple months. You mean as far as when they're going to vote? I anticipate just by reading the tea leaves that this is something that they're going to um vote on by the end of this school year. My guess is, you know, you can't separate education from politics from finance. So, my guess is until they know exactly what the New York State budget is and how much um the legislature has provided to NICED, they don't want to commit to something they can't fund. So, that's my guess is when we see a New York state budget that we will um hopefully see the board of regents vote on these recommendations because they're not going to be free. Thank you
064very much. [Applause] Sorry. [Music] Okay, now let's go quick. Next item, new business. I'm gonna try. You know, in new business, I like to thank all the uh donations that come to the school. So, um, with that being said, um, I have a few scholarships, uh, to thank, uh, people for donating their money and time for. So, it's the Cheryl Memorial Scholarship, uh, $150 from Robert and Pat Dudan, and $50 from our senior music scholarship, $870 from the Triumph National Music Honor Society. Our senior scholarship, Luck of the Irish Day, $125. and a senior scholarship art club. $500. Also, there were donations um by Katherine Mullen. I looks like a girls lacrosse stick, which is worth like $170, which I can't believe. Uh Center Avenue PTA, second grade trip, donated $352. Fifth grade class trip,
065500. Sixth grade class trip, 500. Curriculum enhancements 7953. And uh for Leila's happiness books, uh the they donated 300 books. We also have a $3,000 community chest uh Southshore, a financial assistant with activities related to graduation. And last but not least, um Rain Anthony PTA informed me that they generously donated a large number of flowers to the Rain Staff appreciation flower bar. And so we greatly appreciate all those. think of the school, put kids first and give their time and uh finance to the school. So, thank you to all those donors. And that's it for business. All right. Uh next item, uh item E, old business. Just wanted to say, I know it's not in the agenda, but uh yesterday our budget and our um tax levy cap were approved last night, and Mr. Ward
066and I will be the robing um pres presenters at Wayne Avenue uh in a few weeks and at the high school and center avenue uh PTA meeting. So if any community members have any interest, we promise we'll make it brief. We'll do what we did last year at 15 presentation and a review of the school board budget. And that's it for Thank you. Uh next is item 1 F public comments on the agenda items for tonight. So, at this time, are there any comments regarding tonight's agenda items? Okay. Um, item G, approval of minutes. Are there any questions regarding the minutes from the special meeting and work session on March 4th, regular meeting on March 11th, and the special meeting on March 14th? Any questions? Okay. Uh, can I have a motion to approve the
067minutes of agenda items 1 G through I? Motion. Motion by Mrs. Salupo. Second. Second. Second by Mrs. Lonin. All in favor? Post. Stain. Motion approved. Um, item two, acknowledgement of the monthly reports and correspondence. Uh, we did receive five emails this month and um the, uh, we did receive financial reports. Anyone any questions on financial reports? Um, all right. Item three, non-consent agenda 3A. Motion to approve the Bosey's proposed budget for 2025 2026. Whereas the board of cooperative educational services of Nassau County uh Nassau Boseies has proposed and presented its proposed administrative operations budget for the 2025 2026 school year July 1st 2025 through June 30th 2026. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Nassau Bosey's tenative administrative budget for the 2025 2026 school year in the amount of [Music] 27,877,216 be and hereby is
068approved by this board and authorize the district clerk to execute the ballot and clerk's certificate and file same with Nassau. Are there any questions from the board regarding this proposition 3A? All right. Can I have a motion to approve agenda item 3A? Motion. Motion by Mrs. Lon. Second. Second by Mrs. Doyle. All in favor? Opposed? Abstain. Motion approved. All right. Um and sorry 3 A. So 3B annual election of members of the Nassoposi court. Um whereas the trustees or board of education of each component school district by resolution may cast three votes for the vacancies to be filled provided that no more than one vote may be cast for any candidate. Be it hereby resolved that the board of education of the East Rockway Union Pree School District hereby elects by a majority vote of
069its members the three candidates listed below uh Fran Wangner, Douglas Pascarella, and Robert Showing and authorized the district clerk to cast one ballot for each of the said individuals for their election to the board of cooperative educational services. Can I have a motion to approve the nominees on agenda item 3a? Motion. Motion by Mrs. Doyle. Second. Second by Mr. Dores. All in favor? Post abstain. Motion approved. Okay. Item 4A, consent agenda. [Music] Um, can I have a motion to create a consent agenda for the following items? Recommendation of superintendent personnel schedules items 5 A through K. Other items 6 A through T. Approval of CSSE and CPSSE recommendations 7A and budget transfers 8A. Motion. Motion by Mr. Lores. Second. Second. Second by Mrs. Salupo. All in favor? Opposed? Abstain. Motion approved. All right. Now item
0704B. Accepting the consent agenda. Can I have a motion to accept the items on the consent agenda? Motion. Motion by Mrs. Lan. Second. Second by Mrs. Doyle. All in favor? Opposed to abstain. Motion approved. Policy. Okay. Uh policy subcommittee report. The following policies are up for adoption. Um policy 1120, school district records. Policy 2120.2 voting procedures. uh policy 4531 field trips and excursions and policy 8113 extreme heat and conditions. Can I have a motion to adopt the policies on agenda item 98? Motion by Mrs. Saluto, seconded by Mrs. Doyle. All in favor? Stain. Motion approved. Okay. We also have four policies for review. Uh, school safety plans and teams policy 8130. Uh, policy 5695, student and personal electronic devices. Policy 0111-e sexual harassment grievances uh under uh different policy sorry uh policy 4.2245 exeicio student
071member of the board. And at this time, I'd like to turn the meeting over to Mr. D. Thomas. Okay. Um, as usual, I'd like to celebrate the many accomplishments of the four pillars of the strategic plan. I will start with achievement. Uh, students continue to celebrate their I already accomplishments and growth various acknowledgements. Students have all received certificates, extra recess, pizza parties, and no homework passes for the continued perseverance. Teachers from Raven Center Avenue worked with our literacy coach from Miss Danielle Schneider to enhance the curriculum continued focus on vocabulary and comprehension of various texts and as you will hear a common theme through these uh reading what better way you heard from the students. So you'll see a lot of commonalities as I read. Uh Connor O'Hagen was named uh to the News Day
072top 100 baseball players and Rachel Burch was named to the News Day top 50 football players. So congratulations to them. On March 25th in front of the packed room, Erin Lynch and her family was celebrated as she signed her letter of intent to run both cross country and track for Deli University. So congratulations to the Lynch family. Congratulations to uh junior Eva Lamb who was uh named the National Merit Scholar based on performance on this year's PSAT exam. Uh Eva is in the top 4% of 1.3 million students that took the exam. Pretty impressive. Uh congratulations to Jethro Shaket being recognized as a 2025 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards National Winners. Uh Jethro's original uh photograph entitled Stalker has been awarded a gold medal and over uh uh 310,000 works of art was submitted and
073Jeff Rose was selected. Again, another great accomplishment. Congratulations to eighth grade graders uh Thomas Donovan and Adam Kakowski and Edison Gilbert who earned the gold who earned gold for their exploratory of of in exploring excuse me infinity in mathematics at the Long Island Math Fair on March 28th. They earned top honors for their outstanding research and presentation. In the area of opportunity, we have many exciting field trips coming up from high school student leaders who are working with elementary students on strengthening relations with our community and classrooms. This is part of our project based learning initiative. That's another common theme that you hear that our high school students in many ways are working with our elementary students creating projects and uh working with them closely to make sure uh that they're holding. On March 20th,
074East Rockway High School students competed at the physics Olympics. Uh they were hosted by Moana Physics Teachers Association under the direction of Mr. Brian Palmo. They were competing against a number of schools. Uh again, you'll hear problem solving, creativity, and teamwork, all applying to their knowledge of physics and real world scenarios. On April 4th, students in Mrs. Mia's design and drawing for production course visited Miss D class uh to begin their project based learning experience of designing children's toys. Working with first graders, the high school students did research and collect ideas, suggestions from the first grade students about what the ideal fun and dexterity toy would be. Uh the DP class students will bring these ideas back to class, design a toy, build it with the project culminating and bringing a toy back to first
075grade students to play. Those are real. You can't get more real world than that. Those are experiences that our students will be doing. They go through the world. The school counseling department took juniors on a trip on a tour of Bion University students college. Thanks to Matter and the guidance department for giving our students uh these field trip experiences. Members of this year's poetry madness will be reading the two finalists at our next board of education meeting. Uh had the opportunity to view uh I think the day before the vacation students were in the auditorium. Eight students read their poems and they were fantastic. So, uh, we will be privileged to have the next board of education meeting where the top two students will be meeting their homes. Uh, 10 students from Mr. Gerkin seventh
076grade science class proudly presented their research projects at the Long Island Science Congress on April 7th. Uh, they presented during three rounds of judging and were among 700 projects on Long Island. Five senior science research students showcased their projects in the senior division of the Long Island Science Conference with over 900 entries. Their research span diverse fields including behavioral science, biology, and medical technology. In the area of innovation, students in our enterprise program are working together to solidify their presentations and preparing for their enterprise showcase. Thank you uh to Miss Healey for creating and I know she's here tonight for creating a space for innovation and creativity. We can't wait to see the final projects uh products. School counseling department her hosted his first ever therapy dog visit on April 10th. School counseling newsletter has
077future future visitation dates listed in it. And if you want to see excitement, we'll bring a therapy dog into the elementary school and you'll see excitement. Really great really a great program. Uh Mr. Gordon. Uh, I'm sorry, Miss Gordon and a student center at the high school led efforts to bring autism awareness to East Rockway High School. At the beginning of April, staff wore theme shirts and students were given the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about autism. Mr. Gregory met with Mrs. Mia and Miss McClen to begin discussions on creating sportsmanship video uh using the students and coaches. The finished video will be shared with students, parents, and staff. And we'll be promoting that as soon as it's finished on the website. And that's for the entire community. That is for parents, that
078is for teachers, coaches, players, any spectator. So, uh, we're really excited about that, what that's going to look like. Uh, last but not least, in the area of connection, uh, to celebrate literacy month, both elementary schools had students engaged in amazing reading, readalouds, and competitions to celebrate literacy. schools engaged in March Madness for literacy experience that continued to foster the love for reading. At Center Avenue, the author of Leila's Happiness read her book to students and I think I mentioned before she generously donated 300 of those books uh to our elementary students. It's a terrific program. Um the school counseling department hosted the Hollow Future Fair in March connecting our students with college representatives from all over the country. This is an effort in collaboration with uh Mr. Madden and counseling department in several neighborhoods
079neighborhood districts, excuse me. The track team took part in the East Rockway Ed Foundation 5K run, which I heard was a great success. We had coaches and many students uh participate in the run and many of the members volunteered their time for that event. So, I'd like to thank all those volunteers who made that possible. Uh, select 10th and 11th grader students at East Rockway High School took part in a two-day peer leadership training designed to strengthen school unity and foster a culture of belonging. The training conducted in partnership with Dr. Nancy Kaplan guided students through ice breakers, team building exercises, and discussions on how to create more inclusive school environment. Staff from the Gull at East Rockway High School made a visit to Rain Avenue School before spring break, bringing their expertise and enthusiasm
080of journalism to an eager group of fourth graders. Their dynamic presentation onformational and opinion newspaper articles provided an engaging and insightful foundation for exciting PBL projects for fourth graders who will work more. Uh 10th graders had the unique experience of viewing a curriculum live on stage this month when they saw the performance of McBth at the Tilla Center at Mo Island University. Thanks to Miss Mullins for organizing this trip and to the teachers who cheer on. And last but not least, financial algebra hosted a virtual guest speaker. Hope I pronounced this right. Yani Espanol, who is the author of the podcast Instagram influencer and co-creator of the nonprofit financial literacy curriculum Next Generation Personal Finance. He spoke at the global conference and summits about the importance of investing and avoiding debt. Our students asked insightful
081questions and responded in detail with actionable advice. uh her book mind with money was also wrapped with wall to the students and that's all I have superintendent. Thank you Mr. Damaso. Uh next is good and welfare. Um condolences to count Edwards and family on the passing of his grandmother. Condolences to Helen Collins and family on the passing of her sister Roseanne Ziegler. Condolences to Cat Mullen and family on the passing of her grandfather John Hulahan and condolences to the Sodto family on the passing of Antonia Sigundi. Uh next is public comments Chris Chris. Good evening everyone. I just wanted to tell you that uh I came to this meeting tonight coming from the athletic complex out back where I watched the varsity softball team uh defeat their opponent seven to four, but what I really
082wanted to tell you is not just that I watched that game. I was able to see that game. Some of you have been on the board for a couple years heard me complain going back a couple of years about how hard it was for us to ever watch any games because we were so far away in the bleachers. And it was a very delicate balance respecting the new athletic fields, um the parents needs, the the team's needs and all of that. So, I came to this board two or three years ago to see if we could make some changes and and I just wanted to say that almost from the get-go, this board addressed my concerns, started working with me on how we can make that better. I want to uh thank Mr. Gregory for
083all of his work and meetings that we had were members of this board that we had meetings with that they invited all of us to. And uh I just want to thank all of you. I think we're at a really nice balance now. We can see these games, the parents are all happy. I can't speak for everyone of course, but uh I came when I when I came to these meetings a couple years ago, I had said one of the reasons we moved to this town 18 years ago was because it was a small town. We felt like our voice wouldn't be heard. And that's what I said when I asked if we could do something about this. And uh I come back a few years later again saying this is why we moved to
084a small town. I just want to thank the board and thank Mr. Gregory and for all the work that you did to make this happen. Thank you, Chris. That's great. Thank you. Hey, thank you. And Chris, thanks for you waiting through all that to say that. Thank you. Um, okay. Next is board member comments. Who wants tobody? I'll just uh I'll just say um it was awesome to see the hometown heroes students of Cafe 217. I got down there one day. Um, I just want to thank the SSAC for presentation they put on and congratulations to you, Mr. Gregory. Awesome job. And well, congrats. And I'll be quick, too. And uh, congratulations, Mr. Gregory. And I also want to thank Sean for staying on top of all of the uh, the graduation requirements and that
085moving target and then making it equally understandable for the rest of us. And also Mr. Webster, I just wanted to say thank you. Do you leave already? You want to come in quickly and then they react to and then to actually stay and come back and say thank you is is appreciated. Let's not forget she was too clean. You don't hear [Music] I would just like to thank everybody um that did donations and for scholarships uh and for the racket that was great the stick actually there we go. Yeah, of course. Cafe 217. Uh I actually want to go every Friday. Looking forward to it. Yes, the ambassadors were great. I really think that we need to have the kids here if you want, you know, me to smile every time we come to these
086meetings. Um kids are important. Uh that's why we all do what we do. And uh I love that we get honest feedback from them because that is what honestly matters. Um congratulations, Mr. Gregory. Welcome to the family. Um, like a family, we're all going to complain. We're all going to say stuff, but um, you just got to deal with it because that's what family's all about. So, welcome. Um, I'd like to say, uh, Sean, great presentation. That was, uh, very nicely done. Uh, very easy to understand. Um hopefully the state will uh figure out timeline um and get we'll be ahead of the curve here. Um and uh just everybody enjoy the beautiful week ahead. I'm going to piggy back what everybody said and I also um congratulations Mr. Gregor and um Mrs. Crowley and
087her team. Thank you for all your hard work. you know, she spent here, but that's a hard a hard job. And um she really appreciate it. It's really appreciated. And uh the student advisory council, yeah, I love love hearing from them because that's why we're here. We want to do what's best for our students. And um what Mr. Webster said is really appreciated. Um, we all take what we do here very seriously and if we can do something and we will try our best to do something. So, feedback is always appreciated. Now, um, real quick, Mr. Gregory, great job. Congratulations. Um, the SSC is a amazing awesome stuff. That's great stuff. Um, Sean, the thing that I loved about your presentation was um about how not just a region's exam, but I how Annie learned,
088you know, showed how she learned something by making a song up and stuff. That's real world stuff. So, that's that's great stuff. I know in my class, Mr. Howard, kids get to learn by doing. They get to build things all the time and stuff. And that that's real world. we get to uh you know see that and with the project based learning and all that. So I think that's awesome. So that's about it and the hometown here they were they stole the show. So uh that's it. Anyone anything else? All right. Uh this concludes tonight's board of ed meeting. Can I have a motion to adjourn the meeting? Motion. [Applause] 85. Second by Mrs. Doyle. All in favor? Post abstain. Motion approved. Good night everyone. Good night.