001All right. Good evening everybody. Thank you all for coming. So we are all going to stand and we're going to call the meeting to order. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance, please. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. So great to see so many people here. This is a fun evening. Um, all right. So, item 1.03 3 approval revision of agenda. Um I'd like to make a motion to remove um items 7.02 and 7.03 from the consent agenda and move Thank you, Darl. Uh all in favor? Anybody opposed? Great. We're going to move it after the executive session. Okay. And now we're going to move into some recognitions. all showed up
002because it's really fun and exciting. Um it's been another really great academic year and it's an opportunity. We tried we've tried to do it all throughout the year um to highlight some achievements and accolades from students and teachers and faculty and staff, but this is sort of our last harrah for this academic year. So, we have a few uh different groups that we want to recognize. Um some amazing accomplishments um with some of our students that I just want to mention. They're not here, but we'll give them the shout out that they deserve. Um so, that we have some super regional Battle of the Books champions. Eagle Hill, grades five and six. It was the book Cats team. Um and Wellwood, grades seven and eight. Oh, we got some cheers for the cats back there.
003Uh, meow. And for Wellwood, grades seven and eight, we have the process of elimination team. So, congratulations to both of those groups of students. Um, we also had the FM High School Jazz Ensemble. They brought back multiple awards from the regional jazz festival, including best overall rhythm section, saxophone section, and a gold award for the ensembles performance. And there were also a variety of individual awards for that. So, congratulations to all of them. Thank you. Um, our art students, so we had some national accolades from the New York Times for some photography students from the high school. We had more than a hundred na honores for the scholastic art awards and three students were featured in statewide annual stores all heist show. So congratulations to our artistic winners there in the athletics department. So, we
004recently had 22 members of the rowing team competing in the national championships last month. Um, we had our first ever flag football team. They won the sectionals and they're moving on to state championships. I believe it's this week. Oh, oops. I'm sorry. I guess that was they they won sectionals and they made it to they made it to the finals of state. Um, in addition, we are exceptionally proud of all of our varsity athletes who successfully balance team participation with their academic responsibilities. Overall, our varsity athletes had an average grade of 92.7 with 17 teams who had GPA even higher than that. In addition, nearly 88% of our students earned scholar athlete honors from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. And that's really fantastic. So congratulations. Um and then some additional recent
005academic achievements include we had an award of a national scholarship to study in Germany. Pretty impressive. Uh national civics be state finalist, health industry leadership conference award winners and numerous world language medal winners in all four languages. So, congratulations to all of you that achieved that. Um, additionally, the board is very proud when connections are made between our schools and our community. Recently, our Eagle Hill fifth and sixth grades made a connection with the rescue mission in Syracuse, which resulted in over 150 loaves of bread being made at home by our students and their mothers over Mother's Day weekend. Thank you. Um for the benefit of the rescue mission clients. So special thanks to all of those who contributed to [Applause] that. All right. So now we're going to move on to our in-person awards.
006Um so after we name your names, um you guys can come on up and these lovely ladies will give you a a token of appreciation from the board. Um, so we try to recognize students, staff, parents, and board members who have had a positive impact in our schools and community over the course of the last year. This evening, our awards begin with with those who have given outstanding service and they include three special awards for some outgoing board members. The role of a student board member is very important to our district and the entire board as they help bring student voice to our meetings and our topics. At the close of this year, we'd like to thank our student board member from this year, Isam, for your willingness to serve your student and greater school
007community in this capacity. Thank you very much, Isam. So, as many of you know, um this year we have two members who whose terms are expiring at the end of this month. So, this will be their last meeting with us. uh both Cindy Hefty and Daryl Wheeler. I will say it has been uh personally for me an absolute honor and pleasure to serve and get to know both of these two very kind and caring individuals. The pride that they show for this district, our students, our staff and community members is always valued and always makes a significant difference. So we'll talk start with Miss Cindy. Uh, so Cindy has served on the board for the past three years. Um, and I that's actually how I met Cindy. Um, I didn't realize at the time that
008she actually is one of my neighbors. Um, so we made that connection through this process and I have always appreciated and valued the perspective she brings as a teacher and an advocate for students. It's always been clear that teaching was not just her profession but her passion. She is a terrific listener and frames her thoughts in a constructive and helpful way that invites others in and allows consideration for diverse p points of view. And now we'd like to invite Cindy's daughters to come up and say a few words. Surprise. The tears are starting. Uh, for those of you we don't know, I'm Jenny. This is my sister Kristen. And we're so grateful to be able to be here for our mom's final board meeting. As all of you know that have been able to get
009to know her, to know our mom is to love her. She is truly the best person I know. Watching her be a teacher for so many years, to truly love and care for others, and to see that same compassion come with her during her time on the board has been a special thing to see. When Kristen and I both became teachers, many people commented that teaching must run in the family, which I sure hope it does because the best thing we could ever be is to be like our mom. A little known fact is that when my mom came back to teach at the high school for the second time, it was also my freshman year. We always like to say that my mom and I went to high school together. When it first started,
010my classmates reactions were, "Whoa, that has to be weird to be at high school with your mom." But really, it was such a gift. By the time I was a senior, people were coming up to me and instead of comments of shock were now saying, "Your mom is so great. How lucky are you to have her?" Which was then and still is now so true. I'm so proud of her for the genuine compassion she shows to others, for her work on the board, and most of all, I'm proud to be her daughter. I get compared to my mom a lot. I have her eyes, became an English teacher, and have been known to act just like her. There is no one else I would want to be compared to. Cindy Hefty is the definition of
011kindness. She thinks of others before herself and makes everyone around her feel loved. What people don't know is that she has gone through many tough times. But you would never know it. She doesn't complain or say, "Poor me." Most people don't even know what my mom has been through, but I do. And I can tell you she is about as tough as it gets. FM has always been a special place for my mom. She started working here as an English teacher, started the ILEX or now access program, and eventually became a board member. She loves this community and its people. This is one of the reasons that my husband and I will send our children to Fateville Manlas because this is home. My mom's dedication, kindness, and impact are evident whenever she runs into a
012former student, even from 40 years ago, who still yells with excitement, "Miss Lancing, you were my favorite teacher. Everyone loved you. And that's just it. Everyone loves my mom. And I couldn't be more proud of all that she has accomplished. Stepping down from the board of education has not been an easy decision for her, but her impact on the people in this community and their children will live on. Cindy Hefty is simply the best, and we are blessed to call her our mom. [Applause] This was unexpected. I've loved FM for a long time. I've raised my kids here. I couldn't be more proud of this community, of this school. This is home. It's been my home for a long time. I appreciate all the support. I appreciate all of the kids I ever had, the
013thousands. Um, and they're right. I loved every one of them. So, thank you for your support then and [Applause] now. Oh, isn't this fun? All right. Now, Miss Daryl. So, Daryl has served on the board for nine years, and I think during that period of time, um, reading the notes here, you have served in almost every capacity possible on this board. You have been the president. You've been chair of finance audit. Been on community relations facilities. Um you've been our legislative liaison working with our elected officials. And you've been on the wellness DEI committees. I think pretty much everything. Um and that seems to be what Daryl does. Anytime she's needed, she steps in and supports. Um always willing to give her time and talents. In addition to all this, Daryl was recently awarded the
014highest level of recognition by the New York State School Boards Association for her board professional development work. From the first time I met Daryl, her uncanny ability to know every name and detail about every person she meets makes me in awe of her. her ability to build strong relationships and connections alongside her love of this district. I remember you telling me right up front, I have three loves, your family, your faith, and FM. You are a wonderful role model with a passion for being a lifelong learner, always willing to give your time and talent to support this community, and I am grateful and thankful that our paths have crossed. And now we have a surprise for you. We have some special guests who would like to say a few words on your behalf, Darl. It's
015very necessary. Do you need had many chances to speak the boards of ed. So I'm not nervous about that. But I am nervous about speaking my lovely wife Daryl. So if I get a little over a clump according to Mike Myers from Wayne's world, bear with me. Okay, I think I'm a little close to that. The journey began in 1950 when Daryl's family moved. I think I can't even I can't even look at her. And when her family moved to Faithful, they have been in this community for 75 years. My family moved in 1955. We have been in the community for 70 years, a total of 145 years of FM experience. Back in 1958 when I was in eth grade, I fell in love with this little girl. Not little girl, lovely lady, Daryl. And
01610 years later, we were married. We've been married for 57 years. You took my thunder. Um, the theme tonight is going to be on on three Fs, but I'll get that. Family, faith, and community. Fa FM community. All 10 Fitch and Five Wheeler kids graduated from FM. I graduated in 63, Daryl in ' 64. She was a high school cheerleader, yearbook editor, and student council president. All seven of our children are FM graduates. And athletics, they participated in track, golf, basketball, volleyball, field hockey, and lacrosse. Two swing 16, two student council presidents, one president of the senior class, education chair, a character education chair, all state drummer. They're all our undergrad college degrees and graduate degrees from St. Lawrence, Hamilton, Syracuse, Le Moine, Skidmore, Nazareth, Ohio University, Michigan State. They have gone on to occupations
017that have served the public. One just retired from 33 years at ESM as a special education teacher in the 15 to1 program. Another is your school site and family lea zone counselor at Enders Road. One is the executive director of student support services in the Salem, Massachusetts City School District. Another just escorted me down as language teacher and current assistant principal. Uh, another is a school adjustment counselor in the Cambridge Mass City School System who works with 18 to 20 21 year olds. Another is the east coast manager of National Beverage Company and the baby. John is a doctor of veterinarian medicine in Mesa, Arizona. All thanks to the education of FM. Six grandchildren, six granddaughters. Three are in the college. One graduate from Marramac, one graduated from Villanova, and one is a junior at
018Georgetown. They participated going the other ones. We have three rising graduates coming up and Daryl will be able to give those diplomas to those three as she has the other three. So all granddaughters will have gotten diplomas from Daryl. They participated in uh swing six swing 16 um gota turn this around senior fall plays and spring musicals volleyball soccer all state viola all state French horn improv and captain and crew of women's crew I'm getting you gave him a mic. Gave me a mic. I want to say that I was asked to do this so so I can I can go home and not by you. No. No. Um the three seniors are going to Wesleian Vasser and St. Lawrence University where she where she will become a fifth generation Larry going to back her
019great going back to her great-grandparents 1915. Education, folks. Education and family. Daryl is dedicated to the I lost it. I'm so sorry. Oh, family and education. That's the first one. Okay. With all the kids and everything else, that's the first F in that. faithfully dedicated to her faith as you mentioned um she an IC parishioner for 70 years lectar coffee Sunday choir uh chair parish council co-chair of ICS uh IC's 150th celebration education anniversary long long history there now I have to change Close. Told you I get nervous. Okay. Green and white. Okay. She's dedicated to the FM community and schools. Ironically, of course, FM is green and white. Three of the schools our kids went to Green and White, Ohio University, Skidmore, and Michigan State. Duh. All right. So, at the end of my
020speech, which is coming up very quickly, when I say go green, you have to yell go white. Okay? When I say go green because whenever I wear this in the community and somebody sees it and they're Michigan State grad, they say go green. I've got to say go white. Okay. As was mentioned by Sarah, she participated in the FAL HSA OCO teacher, adjunct professor at Le Moine, senior ball chaperon, English teacher at FM high school and nine years as president and chair of facility. Finally, from the FM alma mater itself, I'm not going to sing this because you would throw me off the stage. If you call us a stage, I would be booed off the stage. Daryl exemplifies in the refrain of the alma mater Fatville Manley's boom boom. Truth shall be thy light.
021Truth shall be thy light. Pledge us now our loyalty to colors green and white. Truth and light have been your life. Go green. I love you. Good night and good luck. [Applause] My time has been taken. We have we have many you know what we have a lot of students who need to be recognized. If there's time after that, I'll say a a few words. Darl, there is actually another individual in the audience who would like to take a few moments and um express his gratitude for your service. Hello, Darl. My name is Bill Cham. Thank you. My name is Bill Chambers. I'm a 1971 graduate of Faithful Manlas. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a house on Churchill Lane next to Daryl and the Fitch family. Was a wonderful place to grow
022up because there was always plenty of children to play with. Daryl has known me my whole life. I was reminded tonight that she babysat me and my sisters. And I even remember attending David and Daryl's wedding, the first wedding I ever went to, when I saw this beautiful bride walk down the aisle at Immaculate Conception. I'm here tonight to thank you for your career and education and for the nine years you've spent on the board and for all the help and assistance you've given me throughout those many years. And I know that you have always put students first. So, I'm not much at writing things myself, but I found a quote that I think is appropriate. Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education, our requirements for world leadership,
023our hopes for economic growth, and the demands of our citizenship, our citizenship itself. And an error such as this all require the maximum developments of every young American's capacity. The human mind is our fundamental resource. And Darl, you might remember this from President Kennedy speech in 1961. on on behalf of the Chambers family and of all the other families in the Fair School District and [Music] beyond. I thank you. Thank you, Darl. [Applause] Well, that didn't make it easy. Um, as you might guess tonight, I'm just filled with profound gratitude. As I conclude my nine-year journey on the board of education, it's been an honor and a privilege to serve this community, to advocate for our students, and to work alongside the dedicated educators, staff, and fellow board members. Nine years may seem like a
024long time. It feels like it passed in the blink of an eye. When I first assumed this role, I could not have fully anticipated the challenges, the triumphs, and the transformative experiences that would shape my tenure. I joined the board with a commitment to ensuring that every child in our district would have access to a quality education. And I leave today with the deep satisfaction of knowing that together we have made meaningful progress toward that goal. Over these years, we've had we've faced many tests, some expected, others entirely unprecedented. From navigating budget constraints to adapting to the complex demands of a global pandemic, each moment has tested our resolve and our creativity. Yet through it all, we remain steadfast in our mission to serve as stewards of education and champions for our students futures. I'm
025immensely proud of the initiatives we've implemented during my tenure. Together, we expanded access to technology, modernized outdated facilities, and enriched our curriculum to reflect the diverse perspectives of our community. We prioritized mental health resources, recognizing that the well-being of our students is inseparable from their academic success. We've worked together to make our school community a warmer and more welcoming home for every student regardless of race, religious, tradition, ethnicity, ability, or sexual identity. And most importantly, we always put students at the heart of every decision we made. Of course, none of these accomplishments would have been possible without the collective efforts of so many. To the teachers and to the staff who inspire our students daily, thank you. Thank you for your unwavering dedication and passion. To my fellow board members, past and present. Thank you
026for your collaboration, your insight, and your commitment to this shared endeavor. And to the families and to the community members who entrusted us with this responsibility. Thank you for your support, your advocacy, and your belief in the power of education. I must also say that it's been a privilege to work with Dr. Ty, our superintendent. When I served as president of the board, some of my fellow board members know this from their own experience as officers. You come to know and appreciate Dr. Ty uh and the difficult role that is the superintendency of Fedville Manlas. Dr. Ty has steered the district through widewater rapids and shifting tides. It's impossible to be all things to all people. But what I learned from working closely with Dr. Ty is first of all, as my Boston daughters would
027say, he's wicked smart. Secondly, he cares about every student and every staff member. Also, he's very knowledgeable about curriculum and construction, about budgets and bus schedules and about policy as well as pedigogy. And somehow or other, he keeps all the plates in the air. We're very fortunate to have him in the bridge of our ship. As I look back, I've learned that progress requires both bold vision and patient persistence. And I've learned that the strength of a community lies in its willingness to come together, especially in times of challenge, to do what's right for our next generation. While my time on the board is coming to an end, my commitment to education and to this community, remains as strong as ever. I began kindergarten in 1951, the same year that our district centralized. Because our
028district was growing incredibly fast and construction could barely keep up with the postw World War II baby boom, I attended classes in six different, often makeshift buildings and graduated in the new high school that is our current building in ' 64. I'll always be a hornet. To those who will carry the torch forward, I leave you with this. Never lose sight of why we are here. Every decision, every debate, every investment should ultimately serve the students who walk through our doors each day. They are the reason we do this work and they deserve nothing less than our very best. As I bid farewell to this chapter of my life, I want to express my f heartfelt thanks first to my family, to my beloved husband, David, who supports me in everything I do, even when
029he embarrasses me. to our seven adult children, all of whom played a part in my election and have been my privy counsel ever since. To our six granddaughters who surprise and amaze us every day. And to my dear friends who give wise counsel through these terms. The journey has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I'll cherish the memories, the friendships, and the shared achievements forever. Though I step away from this role, I step forward with hope, with Hornet pride, and an enduring belief in the transformative power of education. Thank you. [Applause] That is a tough act to follow. So, I will keep any remarks I was going to say about our board members brief just to say Cindy and Darl, thank you for your extraordinary service to our district, to our
030board. Thank you for showing us how it's done, for keeping the conversation student focused, education focused, and you will be sorely missed. So, moving on, um we have one final uh recognition for a board member tonight. The New York State School Boards Association Board Excellence Recognition Program acknowledges the extensive time and effort required of school board members who continually strive to expand their knowledge and skills for better board governance. NISBA members earn points for participating in NISBA training opportunities, including the annual convention and regional workshops, and for taking on board related roles such as board president and NISBA's advocacy liaison. Tonight, I am pleased to recognize our president, Sarah Fitzgerald, for earning level one recognition, honoring her professional development and leadership. We appreciate you. Wow. Oh, thank you. Well, that was a a very nice
031surprise. This is such a fun day. Uh, okay. Um, now moving on. Uh, we have some extraordinary service awards. We'd like to recognize three groups of staff members. The first is a group of five individuals who worked tirelessly this year to centralize and consolidate one of the district's filing systems. Having organized, collated, and filed more documents into more than 800 folders certainly was a team effort. Now, I will have to say we went to a presentation today from students about the number of paper pieces of paper we use in the district. I think you probably filed a lot of them to over this year. Uh we want to give a a nice thank you to Carrie Letters, Sandy Fanto, Johanna Melie, Tracy Noble, and Molly Lowe for improving our district's administrative operations. You guys can
032come right on [Applause] up. Come on down. Thank you. Great job. Congratulations and thank you for all of your work. Give a round of applause. Our second group is well known to our teachers and students. This trio of elementary staff were key players in the implementation of computer-based state testing. Their attention to detail, efficiency, and dedication were noteworthy. Congratulations to Maria Davis, Allison Addison, and Lorie Woodward. Woodard. Thank you. Thank you. Our third and final extraordinary service awards are for two instructional staff members who have been working in the area of special services. The first is Terry Kitus. Please did I did I I'm sorry. Curitus. Curitus. My apologies. We want to express our sincere gratitude for the exceptional work you've done as our autism and behavior specialist this school year. Your insightful interventions and
033tireless efforts have played a crucial role in helping countless students develop essential social emotional skills and achieve greater success. By providing services in students homes and connecting families with community agencies, you go above and beyond to support the entire family, always seeing the best and the potential in all of your students. You've also worked tirelessly to support our new special education programs, providing embedded professional development for teachers and teaching assistants, contributing to the design of upcoming programs, and always making time to support every school as needed. Thank you for your hard work, compassion, and support. The positive ripple effect of your contributions is truly evident throughout our school community. [Applause] And our final staff recognition, Heather Simpson. We want to express our deepest gratitude and recognition for the outstanding work in the role of the
034on-site homebound class teacher and tutor coordinator this past year. Your unwavering dedication and commitment to our students have made a profound impact. You've consistently gone above and beyond, patiently guiding students through challenging situations, building their confidence, and igniting a renewed love for learning. Your ability to connect with each student, understand their unique needs, and tailor your approach has been truly remarkable. You have created a unique program that has been essential to the success of so many. Thank you for being such an invaluable part of our school community and for empowering so many students to achieve their academic and personal goals. Congratulations. She's pretty good. In addition to our staff, there are several adult volunteers whose exceptional service is appreciated by the board. Each year, our HSA presidents and co-presidents lead their organizations in supporting our
035students and teachers. Your work enriches the student experience through field trips, afterchool and evening activities, and various celebrations throughout the year. You do so much. Without a doubt, your impact on our school communities is immeasurable. Thank you to Enders Road Elementary HSA co-presidents Monica Browning and Rande Paladino Cus. Applause. Fateville Elementary HSA President Angela Schwanki [Applause] M Road Elementary HSA co-presidents Michelle Bealsski and Nicole Halbig [Applause] Eagle Hill co-presidents Angelique Massie and Nadia Sai [Applause] Wellwood HSA President Jen Tom Moore. [Applause] And last but not least, FM High School HSA President Christina [Applause] Moer. It is fitting that we are closing the evening's recognitions as we began with our students. Tonight, we are pleased to recognize three students whose activities have not gone unnoticed. Two of our students have been selected as leaders of the
036New York State Chapter of Health Occupations, Students of America, also known as HOSA. Serita Doss was selected as statewide vice president and Neya Amjad was selected a statewide treasure. Serita Anoya, we know that you will represent Fateville Manley as well. Thank [Applause] you. Our final student recognition tonight is for a student who identified an opportunity to take classroom learning and apply it to help provide a service to a local community farm. Teresa White and the residential structures class at the high school worked to secure foundations from local vendors to build a rabbit habitat for the purpose farm. Teresa, thank you for bringing awareness to this opportunity to connect learning with a real world community service experience for you and your classmates. This brings us to the end of our recognitions this evening. I know that
037our board is inspired by our students, staff, and community members. You help make FM a great place to live, learn, and work. Thank you for being a member of our community. And now, a round of applause for all of our honores this evening. Oh, you guys don't want to stay for the meeting. Thank you all for coming. Sounds like the rain stopped, too, so that's good. Okay. Um, all right, moving along. Um, we Oh, get started. Yeah. Uh, item we're into reports. So, item 2.01 01. We're going to have a presentation on special services and restorative justice practice by principal Trish Fogerty and assistant superintendent. Oh, and assistant superintendent Evans. Pardon me. That's okay. Good afternoon, good evening. Thank you for letting me speak with all of you today. It's a little uncomfortable. This is
038a very hard act to follow. Dr. Ty, I hope next year I can like follow the budget instead of instead of this. So, we're going to take you through this pretty quickly tonight. Feel free to ask questions at any time and then Trish is going to join me at the end to talk about restorative practices. So, tonight I'm going to take you through um special education and 504 numbers as I typically do. We had some surprises in our English as a new language department. We'll talk a little bit about MTSS and where we're going with that. And then, as I said, restorative practices. So I'll take this opportunity to provide a quick overview of special ed services that where we are moving for next year. Um we will be almost closing our gap with the
039direct consultant teacher program. So we will have K3, we will have 58 and we'll have 912. So in the following year we will add that final fourth grade component for all students. We have added one new special ed teacher for the upcoming school year. Um this year we added a 15 to one special education special class prioritized curriculum at Eagle Hill and we have a need to open a second classroom there next year. Um we added a 1211 at FAL this year for students who have communication disorders or autism or just need specialized instruction in a smaller setting. With the needs of the kids coming in in the upcoming school year, we found ourselves in a position that we needed another classroom. So, Fael has offered to host that one as well. And for the
040first time ever, FM will host an 811 program at Enders. That is for social emotional learning opportunities for students who really require that very small setting to learn those pro-social skills, work on academics, and then spend a good deal of time in the gened classroom practicing those skills. Uh the department focused a lot on professional development this year and we added some K4 and 58 specialed teacher meetings that in a very timely manner. We met with teachers either before or after school and provided updates on things that were pertinent at that time whether it was annual reviews continuum programming and then we offered them opportunities to share with us what they wanted to learn about. Uh Melissa Corbin was instrumental in setting those up for us. Um you just heard the recognition for Terry Curitzus,
041our behavior specialist, who has really provided the Cadillac of professional training for our teachers in their classrooms throughout the school day, helping to formulate instruction to figure out plans for teaching assistance to best work with students and on academics. So that has been instrumental. As we gear up for next year, she'll be heading out into the new classrooms. There was a a big call for teaching assistant professional learning this year, and we were able to offer deescalation training, weekly meetings with their teachers if they were assigned to special classes, and we just had CPR training. We also provided what I call IEP labs for new teachers. It's really just a focus time to dig into IEPs. That's one thing they never teach us in school as special educators. They talk about the IEP, they never
042teach us how to write it. So, we spent time with our new teachers working on that. Um, with Melissa Corbin's help, we offered three parent training sessions through the mid midstate face organization at Syracuse University. A little bit better attendance this year, so I'm hopeful that every year it'll get a little bit better. And as every year I show you the numbers and make a prediction. Um, for the past couple years I've been talking about the the increase in numbers after COVID and we were going to start to see that steady drop and we we are there. We've seen some pretty significant drops. Specifically in preschool, I think there's a couple things that contribute to that lower number for 24 25. we've reached the other side of the pandemic and those little babies that were
043born, they're in, you know, kindergarten now. So, there wasn't as many needs for those services. And we also are seeing a smaller kindergarten class coming in in the fall, which is reflective in those IEP numbers for CPSSE. This is where we've seen our biggest gains consistently year after year. I think when I came to FM we had about 94 um section 504 plans. This is a gened initiative but because of the nature of the work it does fall in our department. As of today we have 302 active 504 plans. Those are different than IEPs because they do offer accommodations around a specific disability, but it's for students who don't require that specially designed instruction from a special education teacher. This year we had a 100 referrals for those plans and there's been a 25% increase
044in the plans from 23 to 24. So we are steadily watching that. I've reached out to um my colleagues in other districts and they're also seeing the same significant increase. So ELLL we are very proud to host so many students here representing 24 languages in 26 countries. When we left school in June we had 50 students who qualified for English language learner supports and by the time December rolled around we had 110 students. So, we have added another full-time teacher for the fall. We struggled a bit this year to um to make sure we were covering all the kids and being compliant. We added a long-term sub towards the end of the year to cover some of those classes. And I'm so impressed with our ELLL teachers who really stepped up and made sure every
045student had what they needed in the absence of predicting that we would have this increase in numbers. So, one of my favorite topics this year has been the multi-tered system of support. And I know I've shared um last year that this year we would be focusing on academics. We had a little bit of a rough start and I learned a lot. However, it was rolled out and was very successful. The teachers were amazing at the work they did with kids. It's very data driven. They dove in. We started looking at the needs of students differently. everything had that datadriven approach and we're starting as we rolled out math and ELA this year. Although the services we're providing aren't much different, the way we're identifying students for those services and looking at data has become much
046richer and I'm really impressed by the work the teachers have done. So MTS focus areas are academics that we rolled out this year and as we go into 2526 we'll be rolling out social emotional supports and mental health supports. We'll be doing this through the use of the Panorama online system that allows us to look at every student's data live. It loads from school tool and any other system we ask it to speak to every 24 hours. So if you pull up a student on the screen, you see their attendance, their Ames Weeb or STAR scores, their New York State test scores, behavior data. We just trained all the teachers, I think on May 20th, right around then. So everybody now has an account and has access. So the first thing we'll focus on next
047year is that tiered support for attendance. As you're aware, the state um does measure chronic absenteeism in schools. So that's a number we're always looking at. And of course, if you're not here, you can't learn. So the schools will, they already are digging into that, but they'll go a little bit deeper. And Panorama provides us with some multi-step interventions to help kids and families who are struggling with attendance. And then looking at behavior, this is a topic we talk about a lot, but oftentimes we don't have the tools to address it. So along with Panorama and our counseling teams and mental health supports, we will be able to look at kids through that lens of looking at behaviors that are impacting their instruction and the instruction of others and put detailed plans in place to
048help support them as learners. And then really our mental health supports. I know you heard through budget time that we are very very rich with these supports, but what MTSS will focus on next year is organizing them by need and really identifying the correct kids for those services. So rather than waiting for the kids to come to the supports, we'll tier those supports and bring them to the kids as necessary. Tier three is really when we get to that point with a student that requires tier three supports, that's really community agencies and formulating those connections for kids and families so that they can be um they can access those services in our community. Which brings us to restorative practices. So, I'll turn it over to Trish. Thank you, Amy. Uh good evening everyone. I'm really
049happy to be here to um talk about restorative practices and the work that we've done so far. Um we would definitely not this wouldn't be possible without the district the district's decision to prioritize this work. So thank you for that support. I've been working closely with Amy because the work that we're doing really ties um really is embedded within the MTSS network that's happening. So we've been working um parallel collaboratively a little bit of both. Um so this year we have representation we've developed a district committee. We have representation of about 20 people and this the representation on our committee uh includes all buildings including the district office and also people in different roles from district office roles to building administration to teachers to teaching assistants. So we really have a diverse representation on our
050committee. I actually invited some people were here. We I don't know if anyone wants to. I see Vanessa back there. She's one of them. And Amy and Katherine and Carrie Letters. They've been a part of this work. And Heather, she was here. It was acknowledged. So those are um some of our uh current members. I appreciate you. I don't know if you're here for that or or not, but I appreciate you for being here. Um, so so far I'm actually going to I'm going to back up in a minute, but I want to share that the the work that the some of the work the committee has done is said is to develop a vision statement and a mission statement for what this work is going to be at FM. And so I'm just going
051to take a minute to read that. At Fateville Manlas, we use restorative practices to intentionally build, maintain, and repair relationships within our community. And our mission is to recognize the inherent worth of every individual, foster trust through meaningful engagement, and address conflict or harm collaboratively. By focusing on accountability, inclusion, and healthy relationships, we support personal growth and a stronger, more connected school culture. So tonight, with that, I want to highlight where we were, where did we start, and where we're going. Um, last summer I was fortunate to attend a three-day uh conference put on by uh New York State Education Department. It was free and it was a leadership training for implementing restorative practices in the district. There was a a group of four of us that went um in this in September, we had
052a follow-up planning meeting with the training facilitator from that uh workshop and then we the district's decision to really prioritize this. So, I took the lead with that and the district, we established a district committee which started in December. We meet monthly and I have to give credit to where credit's due because we meet at the end of a long day from 3:45 to 5:30. So, I this group is coming together and I really appreciate the time that they're giving up to to prioritize and work do this work with me. Um our focus as a group has started with building foundational and common understanding of what restorative practices are. We started that with two p two books um the little book of restorative justice and education and also um which gives more knowledge around what
053restorative practice is. And then we're also using circle forward which um talks about circle practices and gives really step by step how to how to implement those. Um in addition to that we've read several articles or they have had access that we've um shared looking at some of those articles to continue to build an understanding of what it what restorative practices are. There's also a resource um an uh 12 indicators of uh restorative practices. We use that that came from the workshop to identify the priority areas. Where do we begin? So that's helped to guide our vision and mission for this work and we're going to continue to focus on that. That's driving the development of an action plan which is where we are right now. I've emphasized this when we started this. This is
054not something we just drop in people's laps and it's going to happen. This is something that really needs to be intentional and thoughtful. So you see developing a three to five year action plan. Three to five years to really think about how we can slowly grow and build this work. And that's what we're working on now. And alongside that I have to I have to point out there's two really important things that are happening that are parallel with this work. That is one. Our assistant principles have had the wonderful opportunity to work as a collaborative group this year and they're really focused on the code of conduct and they've made some um adjustments to that um to start moving us in the direction of supporting restorative practices and that that work will continue into next
055year. And then the other work is the MTSS work. Um if we go back even to the CRSC framework, restorative practice is really grounded in relationships. welcoming and affirming environment is something we've been focused on as a district and this supports that work and and grows it. So, we think about the social, emotional, and the behavioral supports that we're looking to build. This will um dovetail right into all of that very nicely. And I could look forward to continuing that work with Amy and our committee and our district. I'm going to turn it over. Are there any questions? I guess Amy, um, with your with all of the MTSS, um, assessments that are going to be happening on social emotional, do you feel like that will give you data to know if you have the
056right staffing and the right types of supports available or do you kind of have a sense of that? So, we will be using um, Panorama surveys this year and Heidi may be able to speak a little bit better to the surveys. She's really spearheading that part. The beauty of using Panorama for those surveys is number one, we can custom design them. Um, we can choose from numerous banks of questions on different topics and they're nationally normed. So even if we don't give the whole survey selection on a topic, even if we give five questions that are in their bank, we can look at our kids across kids across the nation and really get the data where we fall. Um, I do I'm sure it will let us know if we need more supports, different supports,
057if we're using the supports we have appropriately, but it will really give us the the pulse on where we need to move with those services. Um, on Friday, our counseling team, the um, all school counselors, K12, the family school leaison and every building, the school psychologists um, spent the day preparing for next year um, for the panorama survey. So, we haven't even shared this with anybody in the district yet. So, this is breaking news and I don't know if it's the right news, but I just thought I would share that we're going our intent is to um ask quarterly in the middle of every marking period. We're going to do a survey with the students and the folks spent time figuring out which of those um categories of questions we were going to survey the
058students and um next year's a baseline. So it's sort of a starting point and we discuss should we be asking as many questions as we can or should we sort of be implementing first quarter third quarter the same questions putting some interventions in place and seeing the growth that we have in between. And so that seems to be sort of the route that we're going to go um for next year. Again, principles haven't even been um exposed to this or ideas yet, but that's something that we're excited to share with them and hopefully put forth next year so that hopefully we'll get some of the feedback that you're asking about. That's great. Thank you. I was just wondering if you could speak a little bit to what is already happening in the district. I know
059there's pockets of some restorative work. Um, just I know it's hard to kind of give a survey of everything, but just can you give like a high level overview and just how's it been going in the district? I would say at the middle school and high school level when we think about community dialogue um we're preparing kids when we think about engaging in um conversations about hard things. That that's something that's been in place. That definitely lends itself to that. As far as I think our administrative team, I think that is probably where we maybe are most consistent with um implementing stuff, thinking about um how we're responding to discipline incidents and what tools we're uh using as far as like re-entry meetings when kids are coming back from long-term suspensions, mediations, conflict resolution, how
060we're building our repertoire with that. Um and our assistant principles have been working on that and sharing that work. So the resources are shared across buildings. I also think it happens in pockets but like in classrooms there are classrooms I think elementary school is naturally lends itself because you have morning meeting and you have that built into their day whereas secondary you maybe don't have that intentionally built in but it is happening in some classrooms just not on a consistent um basis. Um, Trish begins every restorative practice meeting with a circle and it's it's wonderful and it's therapeutic and I think those conversations are changing about kids as the person who sees the discipline come through for homebound. Those conversations are diff definitely changing. So, we should volunteer Trish to run a circle with all
061of us one night. They're wonderful. That's great. I just hope Kelly Furola is listening because she started this conversation how many years ago? It's thrilling to know that it's happening and that you're in charge. I have a silly question. Have you Amy and your most ambosis colleagues or counterparts talked about why the 504 plans are so popular? Suddenly we are getting a most of the notes are coming from physicians handing them to families requesting that parents have um or ask for a 504 accommodation plan. So we always start meetings by going over the regulations for 504 that there has to be a substantial impact on a major life function um and the child requires accommodations above and beyond what's available in gened. FM is very rich with resources in gened. So sometimes those conversations are
062hard because we can provide so much under gened. Um, but I think that's the part of it is postcoid where we see the IEPs decline, the 504s are are going up. Um, Trish, I just had one follow on question about um, you know, all of the work that's been going on so far. Have you guys started to implement or is there a plan to bring different communication materials home for parents so that they can partner more effectively with the schools while we're starting to implement restorative practices. So I think that's a part of our three to five action year or um action plan when we think about it. I think our first step and I this hasn't been shared but when we've Amy and I have talked about it it's really onboarding our administration and
063how do we get everyone on board with a common understanding there um and starting to provide opportunities and professional development for our teachers. When I talk about it in our committee I talk about it by planting seeds. So as we're learning information with each other going out and trying uh a circle on their own or planting seeds of information with their colleagues. So, we're starting to slowly find ways to build that understanding. Um, and communication with families is going to come in that plan, but I don't anticipate um I just think that we need to get our administrative team on board first um so we're all on the same page and moving in the same direction. So, I'm definitely interested in learning more on the the the plans, the action plan piece on the restorative
064practices and and how and you don't may not have this information tonight and that's fine. It's just what the what the rough timeline expectation would be to actually have a concrete action plan and and and how that really intersects into the existing code of conduct and disciplinary provisions in that. So that we have consistency across the district where you know you're doing restorative practices here and code of conduct strict here and and just you know is this a a plan to for a districtwide implementation or do we start it at the the the K4 and implement it as they grow through? I I'm just very curious on the the planning and implementation part of this. So, we've started to de develop the plan and certainly I will plan to share it with you once we
065have it a little more solidified and um certainly I I think Amy and I have talked about one year, two year, three years. So, as we are starting to move through through it, the plan might evolve. Um when we were at the conference, we did I did get to see um two versions of implementation in the district. one that started um you know tier three with their disciplinary and worked their way back to tier one and another district that worked with tier one and and moved it that way. So that's a decision that we're going to have to make. Um and I'm I'm lost your one question you oh code of conduct. Um a part of that is where at what point do we uh look at the code of conduct and make sure the
066code of conduct reflects the practices that we're using. So, we've started to look at it, but we haven't made major shifts. And those major shifts are going to come when we're really at the point of implementation. And I that's a tier one approach, not just tier three. I hope that answers it. Um, but I will share the action plan once we have a little more finalized with the group and with Dr. T. Any other questions? Great. Thank you both very much. Thank you so much. Okay. Item 2.02. Superintendent Ty will present information on the use of artificial intelligence in schools. Oops. Was the other one? I had the privilege as the board knows of attending uh the ASU GSV summit in San Diego. uh it was an expenses paid by the summit uh to try
067to get educators out there because it is a joint effort and trying to have everybody work together. So tonight I was going I'll save you the theatrics and the comedy. I was going to pretend not to have prepared for tonight and then come up here and use chat GPT to ask it to create a slide deck for the presentation kind of at a moment's notice. And you can see here what chat GPT came up with. If you think about it, a search engine is a single dimension. So I could go to uh on the cell phone uh the app that would give me the conference uh agenda, the presenters and so forth. And it's a single dimension. In terms of machine learning, for those of you that aren't familiar, artificial intelligence is really three dimension.
068So as you go through this slide deck, not only does it talk about what Chad GPT came up with the conference, the themes, it talks about the intent for the personalized learning, the partnership with K12 education, ethical and equitable use, and it goes through a lot of the different themes as well as the key presenters that gave the uh keynote presentations. from uh Arizona State University as well as uh global Silicon Valley and then the applications in education. And so I think chat GPT did a very good job in terms of thinking in three dimensions. Not just pulling from a spreadsheet that listed the agendas and the speakers, but really tried to crosscut through everything that the summit had to offer. But what chat GPT cannot do is that interconnectedness, that human element. And so
069you will note in your backup information is I can get it started here is the human portion of the slideshow. And so this is the one the human created on the same material. And I think that's the message as we go forward as we debate policies going forward. The summit was very impressive. You've heard me say before at the board meeting uh with the uh presidential initiative to dismantle the K12 department of education that uh the attack will be on public education, but it's going to come from the larger conglomerates. It's not the charter schools. It's going to be Microsoft. It's going to be Google. It's going to be Apple. And so what I saw as part of the summit was really an attempt to try to connect with the K12 sector. They really do
070want to partner and work together. And what was interesting is the summit is also part of the trade show. So what you see there is the show is actually going vendor to vendor in terms of all the different products that are out there. They actually have light pens where you can pick up any book and it will read the book to you. In the old days, it would have to be a special book. It would have to be special software. Now, everything thanks to artificial intelligence is in the pen and as it reads the book, it will speak out loud for a student who may be ELLL and just learning the English language. So, the part of it was very interesting looking at meeting with the vendors and the trade show, but also it was
071going to the summit as well to hear from some of the keynote presenters. And it really is that partnership between the tech sector and in this case Arizona State University to try to bring everyone together under the same umbrella. Uh Michael Crowe, the president of uh Arizona State was there as was Michael Mo from Global Silicon Valley and they delivered great keynote presentations. Actually, it was the first conference I've ever attended where the keynotes were over the meals. So, the meals were included as part of the package. There was nothing extra, but you were there to listen to the keynote presenters as well. It was also the summit uh you may recall seeing in the media where the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, presented. And for whatever reason, we were all seated at breakfast uh
072for her keynote at the beginning which was moderated and probably for the first five minutes or so she referenced it as AI for artificial intelligence and then for some reason she flipped the script what's that is Chrissy's Chrissy's laughing to A1. So it was H craft hinds that took it upon themselves to capitalize on her comment which said it was important to start them in kindergarten with A1. So Craft Hind sent the ad out. They agree best to start them early. I like this one that went out for almost everything almost. So that's your own personal taste as far as steak sauce. But what was interesting were listening to the presenters and here's Tony Frontier, five levers to improve learning. And I think our lesson here for the policy committee uh is going to be
073very important because he talks about magnitude of change, status quo, transactional change, and transformational change. So what's status quo? Well, as you could expect, trying to keep everything as it is. It could be prohibiting the use of AI. We don't want it here. We're going to keep doing what we're doing and we're not going to change anything here at FM. Transactional change is kind of the opportunity cost. Okay, we'll use artificial intelligence, but it's going to have to be with these parameters or these guidelines or these bumpers. Transformational change is what he talked about is really embracing the tech change. Much like when calculators were introduced, it didn't destroy math education, it changed it. So I think in terms of artificial intelligence, what we're all looking at is a transformational change. He goes on to
074talk about the risks of misalignment. If you try to preserve the status quo during transformational change, it can leave teachers and students preparing for a world that no longer exists. And I'm sure all of us and as we've heard from our about our outgoing board members, it really puts the put the students first in the fact that we're trying to prepare them for their future, not for our past. Similarly, trying to put in transactional type solutions for transformational changes, we're going to get tied up in the opportunity cost. We're going to lose the benefits of what we can actually use artificial intelligence for. So, how should we respond? Well, I think what we're going to have to do is really embrace what artificial intelligence means and learn to change the ways we instruct. I think
075it's going to we think it means little effort, but to try to keep the lid on it from this quote is going to be counterproductive. It's going to be more work if we just try to prohibit it because we know students are going to use it and we don't want to have a case where the halves have access to it and the have nots do not. Using a transactional approach, we will try to regulate things we cannot regulate. What's being used at home versus what's being used in school. We're going to end up chasing our tail and trying to uh you know regulate things that are beyond our locus of control. So in terms of a transformational approach to AI, it means thinking big picture about the ways we work means creating opportunities for the
076content to be accessible to all students. And you heard a little about that tonight. All of us have tried to embrace a welcoming and affirming environment and the work that's been going on with Dr. Madden under Dr. Gun's uh instruction has been very I think transformative and us rethinking and reooking at our curriculum. And it talks about the personalized learning piece of it. Meeting learners where they are and helping them move forward, letting them use AI. And it's not just turning in the assignment. It's not the product. It's having questions on but on what they learned. AI could be used for diagnostic prompts. could uh offer quizzes, address misconceptions, and provide that allimp important informative feedback. We also learn as as I think back to my strategies class in college, we learn by specific exemplars
077and non-exemplars and AI can help regulate that. We see that in the gaming platforms that the students so love to play. It challenges them at their level. So I think the big objective is what Tony Frontier would say is it's got it's going to take some time. It's going to challenge some existing paradigms, but it's really going to let the students use AI as we go forward to help them draw upon their existing strengths, talents, and passions. And as far as the action steps, we have to embrace it. We have to try to target those big transformational questions as opposed to trying to keep a lid on it. and uh not be transactional regulating things beyond our control but provide opportunities as he ends here with low stakes practice and opportunities to play. It's got
078to be fun again. Couple of the other presenters I wanted to mention before I close uh extraordinary learning for all and doc I'll close with Dr. David Joerger from the University of Texas Austin. In Alon's presentation, the design cycle was his big focus that uh professional learning communities journey as they learn together, they envision together, they build elements together, they try things out, see how they work. If it sounds familiar, you know, we've embraced the Deming cycle for our own strategic plan. We plan, we try it out, we study the results, and then we make changes accordingly. It's been the heart. Whether you believe it's a learning cycle or a learning spiral, it's all important to our work here at FM. And if that sounds familiar, it's because it comes from brain development. That's how
079the brain works. So artificial intelligence and truly our work with it should not be to put up barriers, but to embrace it because as the machine learns, we need to learn with it too. And that's exactly how our brains work in terms of trying things out. Sometimes it's just touching a hot stove and we learn not to do that again. Other times it could be a fatal mistake stepping in front of a locomotive and then we don't get to learn anymore. But the brain actually learns in terms of trying things out, getting that feedback, and then making adjustments. And so I'll end with Dr. Joerger uh from the University of Texas Austin. He presented on as you can see on April 7th at the end of the day. You'll be pleased to know I attend
080conferences from the morning till the last sessions at the end of the day. He was very interesting and what he talks about is finding the mentor mindset. So much in terms of uh either us as parents or as educators, we have an enforcer mindset. rigid expectations, punitive measures, lack of support, focus on authority, we shame, and we blame. Kids 10 to 25 don't learn that way. As the preffrontal cortex is developing, others are protector mindset. We've talked about helicopter parents or snowplow parents, and it's lowered expectations, challenge avoidance, excessive assistance, inflated praise. That doesn't work either. What does work is the mentor mindset. It's where we provide guidance, encourage accountability, and demonstrate empathy. It's in that mindset that artificial intelligence and machine learning works because you're not just asking for the product or the student
081to do something quickly on the side, but you're asking them to think. And just like this presentation differs from what Chad GPT came up with, it forces us to know our topic and to be able to present it. So the one thing I wanted to share with you, if you'll permit me to read about a page and a half here is out of his book, and it's this beginning of a mentor mindset. Just before dusk in late July, a dozen or so teenage boys and girls gathered in the hot neighborhood square. The boys were flexing, pining, showboating, intimidating, punching, fain punching, and flinching. They were jockeying for position on the ziggurat of status like fighter pilots and the right stuff or Top Gun. On the sidelines of that square stood an uncertain, geeky teenage boy
082named Melvin. He was conflicted. He longed to cruise the square with confidence, but he was terrified that he would step on a social landmine. Melvin's concerns were legitimate. He was an easy target for boys on the higher portion of the ziggurat. He was sleek and skinny with fluffy hair. His mom was his best friend. Melvin was at the bottom of the social ladder. He watched the Status Olympics from afar like a kid who couldn't muster the courage to hop into a game of double dutch. This was the problem for Melvin. To most adults, status work among teenagers seems frivolous. And anthropologists like Dr. Rock Naretti who observed the scene sees it differently. She sees the status work as an essential for survival. How else can boys learn who's dangerous, who's an ally, whom to approach,
083and whom to avoid? And how else can they signal that they bring something of value to the group? Status work is as healthy for adolescents as it is play for toddlers. But here's the thing. Status work can be subtle. To understand the nuances, you need to see it up close. There were a million little rules to obey, but none of them knew them. This was from Michael Lewis's book, Liars Poker. They're constantly at risk of being ridiculed or even worse. A few weeks prior, Melvin's friends tried, one of Melvin's friends tried to join the group. He got beat up by a dominant guy. Later, another friend tried to join. He was ignored and soon retreated. For whatever reason, that afternoon, Melvin got lucky. Dexter, a much older guy with nothing to prove and the freedom
084to be benevolent, noticed him. Dexter had the kind of cool confidence that came from being earned in a safe place on the ziggura of status. Dexter allowed Melvin to follow him around to join the fry. Dexter wasn't necessarily affectionate. He tolerated Melvin's presence and subtly guided him away from behaviors that could evoke the eyeire of the older, stronger boys. This provided all the opportunity Melvin needed. Ready explained to me, Dexter took Melvin from the nosebleleed section of the Status Olympics to the bench of the winning team. He saw the social status landmines and learned from Dexter on how to def avoid or diffuse them. With Dexter as a mentor, Melvin became a social learning machine. What did Dexter get out of it? He got an ally, and it cost him next to nothing. Years later,
085Ready checked back on Melvin. She was amazed by his transformation. He was confident, respected, strong, and well adjusted, not too aggressive, not a pushover. He had learned to climb the ziggurat of status. He was doing better than ever. I'm so proud of him, Ready. he told me even though she hardly knew him. What Dexter did for Melvin is mentoring in its most basic, most primal form. I say primal because Melvin and Dexter are chimpanzees. They live in Uganda. The anthropologists Dr. Ready and Dr. Sandal have been making striking discoveries about the evolutionary roots of mentorship and other forms of social relationships. Ready and Sandal, to the surprise of their entire field, discovered that the closest ape to homo sapiens relies on mentors like Dexter for survival during the critical transition from adance adolescence into young
086adulthood. In other words, chimp's mentor. And I think the lesson for us is if they can do it, we can do it. AI isn't something to be scared of. It's something to work with and to mentor and to learn from as we learn with the students. And so ending with the framework of the mindset, high standards, high support as we go into the future of artificial intelligence and try to leave behind more the enforcer mindset and the protector mindset. Questions? Do you have a sense of where we are today in the district in terms of what is being used, what's being allowed to be used, what's being encouraged to be used in terms of that. We're working through it right now. I mean, it started with uh Mary Patrolus working with other library media specialists
087throughout central New York. And so we're taking a look at putting a framework together. So I asked Dr. Dawton for an update with this. This is something we're currently working on. So I I ask that because it's it's an area of deep concern for me. So I mean our company is one of the leaders in AI implementation and and the things that we are doing is at the speed of light and I get I'm concerned about this because we started talking about AI here at the board table two and a half years ago and our normal processes at FM is to be very deliberative. in study and review and PD and pilot. By the time we get to the end of that normal process, we aren't going to be where we are today in terms
088of AI. We're going to be thousand steps further ahead on it. And we come out a thousand steps therefore behind. And so it's it's one of these areas where I'm just very concerned about following our normal processes because what can be done already today is truly transformative. I mean we we generally don't read emails. We generally don't write emails. We edit emails. And that's just one example. And um slide decks are all about what the prompts are that you put in and what generates out and and we're not spending time on on those. And so I'm just genuinely concerned about how do we move our processes, our normal processes to a different type of process at an accelerated time frame because of the nature of the speed with which this is moving. Yeah, I think
089we're literally going to have to change the way we teach. And you've heard me preach on personalized learning since my arrival here. Eventually, those lectures will stop here in a few months. But I just think that we've got to be able to embrace it as a tool, much like the calculator. I mean, it didn't end math education. It really just changed it. It enhanced it. So, I totally agree with you. I mean, I just think we have to get past, and that's what I tried to do tonight, get past the status quo, get past the transactional part, and really, as you said, embrace it for the transformational change that it's going to level the playing field, upset the playing field, depending on how you look at it. And we can't allow, and I think this
090is where you're headed, we can't allow the halves to have access to it and the have nots to be not permitted to use it. We're going to have to embrace it, encourage students to use it, but also to be able to explain their reasoning. It's going to come down to the skills. As I presented, I looked at Darl and Cindy and some of the other educators who know Votssky's work and constructivist theory and it really goes back to that. If the machine can learn, if the computer can learn like in your business, it goes back to Votssky and social constructivism and the meaning comes from not just the content. And I think over time we kind of got away from it. And I know that's what you're worried about us playing catchup from. And it
091was about the social skills, the processing, and the interaction. And that's what humans can do that machines aren't able to do deliberatively. And there's a lot of good cause and reason for why we do that. In most instances, this just isn't one of those instances that that where that time would be in our favor. would be very against and I get very concerned about sending our students out of that whether it's to school or whether it's into the workspace uh where high level proficiency of use of this is not a want a need it's an expectation and we have to be able to be prepared to meet that like today has I imagine since Dr. Bill Daget was here I'm sure there are teachers using it effectively am I right Katherine Dr. Dton and as
092you know that's what Dr. Dag tried to do was show how teachers can use it to save time and yes so I think ever since we created that sort of foundational understanding with faculty last year we've continued to grow so from the tri-state group and their recommendations um on tech to the digital literacy courses um that are being put forth by our curriculum specialists um as well as the work that's being done in the AP uh collaborative um around the um code of conduct. Um we're really wrestling with how is it being used, but it is being used. Um at Friday's staff development day, Dr. Madden led us in a fishbowl conversation around how we're using AI in classrooms. And what's really interesting about that is it's a great cross-section of humanity, right? Where we
093had teachers raise their hands of this is a big deal in my classroom right now. to teachers who say it's not really a part of my classroom right now. And in that fishbowl conversation, we had um teachers all speak to how it's being used. So we had um high school science teachers talking about the incredible ways in which AI has presented opportunities for students to really dig into really complex data sets that they wouldn't be able to use without tech that technology. whereas humanities teachers were worried about making sure that that writing um that was being produced was was done in a way that was ethical um as well as you know um informative um and truthful. And so I think one of the things that's coming out of the code of conduct work right
094now is that AI sits where most districts have it, which is in the um academic honesty portion of the the code of conduct. But Mary Padrulis um presented some of the work that was done um with Syracuse University and her group over the summer. And in working with the assistant principles, I think we have a nice framework for how we might uh think about rolling out um how we use AI in classrooms, which is really just a broad spectrum where teachers can say it was really a color-coded and we can we can share that with you. The teachers can in any any classroom or any um assignment say this is a green assignment. You have the ability to research, you have the ability to use it to edit, you have the ability to help it
095um create a draft all the way down to red. There is no way that AI is to be used on this um in this assignment at all. That is all well and good. The harder part is how do you make sure that that's enforced? And I think one of the things we talked about on Friday, this is something that I've, you know, um talked about in in a couple of different groups as well, is how do you prove it? And if a student is accused of using AI and when they're not, how does a student disprove it? And I think we have examples across college campuses where students have lost scholarships, have failed classes, and they haven't not they haven't been able to prove it. Um, and so I think the first step is again
096we've built that foundational uh learning. We have we are constantly through our our tech curriculum specialists evaluating the types of AI tools that are able to be used by teachers and students. We're developing something that is goes beyond what our current code of conduct says right now. Um, and I think the next big question is how do you there's there's no such thing as like turn it in the way that we used to use it for AI. So the next piece is how do we how do we evaluate it if we think it's happening? That's something that I think Mary can tell you even colleges are are wrestling with right now and don't have an answer to because the technology is moving so quickly, but we're on it. But to go back to the mentorship
097too, the mentorship is the key. It's got to be treated as a tool as opposed to it will be transformative to your point. I'm sorry I interrupted. Does anybody else have any questions, comments? Great. Thank you very much. Let me end with one thing before I because we're going to transition to the next. These were the lanyards. These are some of the best lanyards that I've ever seen at any conference. And as I was registering and checking in, they said that uh don't lose them because it'll be $2,000. And it seemed like an overpay. They seem like nice lanyards, but not $2,000 worth. But I think the message I want to end with too is we're invited to the table. They want educators there with the tech folks. And because I just worry, as Mr.
098Cyberg said, if we don't mobilize, if we don't pivot and embrace the technology going forward, I just worry that whether it's Apple, Microsoft, or Google, we're going to get left behind. But right now, if it's $2,000 lanyards to get into the events and to participate, they really do want us at the table and they want us to be able to grow a growth mindset with them. So, thank you for indulging me. Thank you. Okay, you can stay right there, I believe. Um, item 2.03, our final pres presentation for tonight. Um, Superintendent Ty, Director of Counseling Heidi Green, and FTM FM FMTA President Mary Petrulus will present an update on the school start time committee and the high school bell schedule. Okay, as you know, this was part of the school start time committee like you
099didn't hear enough from me yet. Uh they will I will do the playbyplay. They'll provide the color commentary. If I forget anything for a second there, I thought they were running from the room, but I know it's good they're coming down here. As you know, this has been a a work that we've uh been on for the entire year. It was an authentic committee. I know some of the board members have asked in terms of timeliness. We didn't come in with any preconceived notions. This was a committee that was open to encourage as much open conversation and creative solutions as we could have. The current bell schedule, as you see, uh, begins at 7:45 and we dismiss at 2:07. It, uh, currently has two wellness breaks at the beginning of fifth period and at the
100end of fifth period, which is an entire hour of instruction for the teachers, the faculty, uh, that has fifth period. The proposed bell schedule for next year will have longer passing times. Overall, we're planning on shortening the passing times from 6 minutes to 5 minutes thanks to the improved uh pedestrian traffic flow layout at the high school and then looking at uh having longer passing times during the three active lunch periods. uh changes overall. We dismiss at 208 as opposed to 207, but it's basically the same real estate that we're operating with right now, just divided up differently. As far as the considerations going forward, we're getting ready to introduce the 30 minute lunch periods in the 26 27 school year. The 10-minute passing periods will be paired with these 30 minute lunches to create
101a 40 minute class period that you've heard me say before will have to be handsched. And I know Heidi will be able to speak to that a little bit more. Increasing instructional time by decreasing travel time. So that's been a key as we try to honor our obligations to state ed. We want to minimize the disruption of the internal scheduling process that began during the winter months. So, we're looking at this as kind of a temporary one-year solution, sort of the middle lily pad across the pond to eventually get to where we want to be. So, students who do wish to modify their schedule requests due to the elimination of the 20-minute wellness break, we will be able to do that with the school counselors as early as tomorrow. forgot the impact on the school
102start time committee. At minimum, the schedules for the high school, middle, and elementary schools will have to slide about 30 minutes later as we uh decide as this committee goes forward, as early as this week, on whether we're looking at flips or flipping slides. as well. The pilot testing for double tripping uh students at the high school uh during the morning hours by the transportation department is to be paused at this time. And then it was something we were exploring but because we were able to recalculate it, I know there was some initial concern in putting all the secondary students on the bus in the morning. Looking ahead down the road over the hood ornament, the anticipated 2627 bell schedule. Again, assuming nothing changes and we don't flip elementary with secondary. If we begin still
103at 7:45, this means dismissal will be at 2:20 at the end of the day. So, it'll increase about 20 25 minutes uh overall in terms of as we pick up. And so what we'll have to wrestle with, does middle school adjust to that extra half hourish? Does elementary, are they okay with students instead of dismissing at 3:30, are they okay with it ending at 4:00 or will they be interested in entertaining flips where elementary starts sooner than secondary? So the considerations going forward, uh, students will have a 30 minute lunch break. Uh the bell schedule will end about a half hour laterish. The later high school dismissal, we know if we just stick with the slide, will impact the other buildings. And as far as the committee, we'll have to consider all the different options
104at our disposal, the impact intercolastic athletics or other afterchool programs, whether we merge the activity period into the middle of the day. And again, uh, needing to provide other options for child care, especially if we have elementary and before secondary. And that means possibly having some on-site options as well. Others, you want to first? No, I mean, I don't know if there are any questions that we can help answer. I'm imagining there are questions that you may have based on that presentation and we're here to try to help answer some of the questions you might have. I think it might be helpful if um you guys could walk us through sort of your thought process for next year's change and why you felt like that was the best intermediary step um until the major 30
105minute lunch shift for the year following. Right. So the most important piece was getting the requisite number of minutes and hours for our students at the high school and that was what drove most of the decision to make a change for next year rather than waiting another year. Um that felt like a critical item that we needed to address right away. Um but in doing so we certainly weren't our start time committee isn't ready to adjust the start and or end time and we were trying to minimize the impact to the elementary and middle schools and so many of the options that we had that to increase the amount of time that was necessary was going to take us till 2:45 in the afternoon and we were talking about elementary going to 4:15 or you
106know the the shift would have been tremendous and we've said right along from the school school start time committee that our goal is to notify families and community a year in advance for an impact that's going to be that significant to child care. We have families, working families who get their kids on the bus and then go to work. We have faculty staff who have working, you know, who have children, they have to get on the bus in their district and and get to school. So, if we're going to change working conditions also, which is more Mary's area than mine, um we wanted to make sure that we gave people adequate time. So this was sort of a solution that we came up with um after many many many meetings and and uh attempts and
107a consultant that was helping us um that met the requisite hours that we really needed to get to next year. We also wanted to give students um an opportunity to eat to get food to have time with friends and so on. So, while we're sort of eliminating the one 20 minute block, we're increasing we're giving them three time slots in order to be able to get food to socialize a bit between classes and so on. Um, they, you know, won't have an opportunity to be using their phones perhaps next year, a whole different topic of conversation, but that's going to change the dynamic of that of that break anyway. We believe I I just I'm having trouble understanding the urgency for next year. I'm having trouble understanding the urgency of the eight minutes for next
108year. So, we were out of compliance for the 2223 school year, the 2324 school year, 2425 school year. We know in two years we'll have the building back and we can do whatever we are doing then based on start times and full schedule. I don't understand. I I'm really having trouble understanding what is the urgency for changing the bell schedule around the eight minutes next year. I'll take that one. Um because I'm the one who put the waiver in back in 20189 and we indicated that our cafeteria was illequipped and that rationale ends this September. I mean, I understand wanting to do one change as opposed to two changes, but we lose that point. And I may be a lot of things, but I'm not a liar. And I told the state that we would
109comply. And now that excuse is lifted this September. So, there's an urgency. In fact, every year I sign off on the ST3. This will be my last sign off this October. there'll be a new superintendent, whoever he or she is, that signs off in October of 2026. And so I'm fixing it forever who that is. I mean, I own the waiver that I put in for this and we've submitted all the data to stateed and so there's an urgency in cleaning it up for my successor. Just one follow up on it then is we have a process that at least by most accounts seems to be working in the bell schedule. It's it was explained to us that we're missing eight minutes. We have a six minute passing period today. You're talking about moving it
110to five. Hopefully that works. It's we know the congestion things but we hope the congestion opens up. We have seven passing periods. So if you move it from six to five and you add one minute to the end of the day, which is what you're proposing anyway, that's the eight minutes. I'm not so so that the other part of this is why the change from the current flow with the 20-minute wellness period to the three 10 minute blocks and splitting all of that up. Why why are we not just going from six to five and adding the minute? It seems simple, but we spent a lot of time with Brad and with Cheryl doing the math and it didn't it didn't work. Dan, I wish I could explain specifically the 20 minutes is not counted
111in instructional time. Um, and so that was a piece of it was how to take that 20 minutes and distribute it a little bit better. um and by taking five minutes off but to give you the specific numbers I don't have that right in front of me or remember but we did it all ways but sideways and we now just go over the requisite number by a little bit and all the other attempts that we tried some of which you're talking about didn't come up right and I can't really say why I don't know if anybody else remembers exactly I mean Brad and Cheryl had they had a they have a spreadsheet that they have from state ed that they sign off on and and they plug in the numbers every day. When they stick
112that 20 minute wellness in, our students are not getting the um required number of minutes. Are we counting the wellness period as instructional time now or not? Because my understanding is we are counting that now. If I could speak to this also. Um, so when when we started wellness break, it was during COVID and um we were trying to figure out I know I'm a shorty, sorry. Um, we were trying to figure out a way that we could give our students a little bit of time to remove their masks and eat something. That was this was the solution. We had to come up with some kind of a compromise. Originally, we were talking about possibly having students take their masks off. every student 20 minutes every single class period and that was really terrifying for
113us at the time. Um so we came up with this it was it was really a mask break and that the the need for that has passed. So now we have this 20 minutes that's not instructional time. So it doesn't count in those minutes but it has become an additional supervision time. So, if a teacher has a a fifth period class, they have an extra 20 minutes where they're responsible for supervising students in addition to another contractual supervision time. So, it's really kind of dicey with the contract right now. We went with it because we were trying to find a way to make things work during COVID. I think we made the mistake of calling it wellness break instead of a mask break, which was what its intent was. And I think now it's become
114something else we kind of think about as a sort of a mental health break. Students during the original um mask break, wellness break were staying with their teachers in a classroom so they were also accounted for. Now students can leave and during that 20 minutes they can go to a snack shack, they can go get something to eat. We've had situations where the the you know the the fire alarm goes off and the teachers don't know where those students are which has become also a safety issue and is a big concern of our members. So that that giving an extra supervision duty and it's only given to people who have a fifth period class. So they end up having students for 20 extra minutes than the stu than the teachers who don't have that fifth
115period class. So it's it's complex. There are a lot of different components of this problem. We sat in the the room uh last Friday for three hours trying to come up with the solution. When we came up with this one, we were like it was that Eureka aha moment. This hits all of the all of the things that we need to to uh to address in next year's schedule. And we know it's just a one-year schedule. I just follow up on that. So, thank you for that. We've gotten a lot of emails and memos and everything about this. This is the first time that I've heard that there was a contractual reason or need that has not been shared with us for whatever reason, better or worse, to to this point. But if the concern
116was, well, we have this 20-minute period where we might not know where people are and somebody's got to be responsible for supervising them. We're switching proposing switching that to having three unsupervised periods, shorter duration, but now we're going from one period, it's one fixed 20-minute period of supervision need to three 10 minute periods of supervision need, who's responsible, where are the kids, who's responsible. Again, I'm I'm not sure how going from one to three helps or addresses that issue. I think if you take a look at the flow of traffic and what's going on during those 20 minutes, if we give the students just 10 minutes, that's going to give them enough time to get to one of the hopefully five snack shacks that we have next year, get food, and then get to class.
117I would say it's that second 10 minutes of that 20 minutes where we're seeing most of our referrals, most of our supervision is supervision issues and so on and so forth. So, we figured if we do this in 10 minutes, students have a purpose, they have a place, and then they get to their next class, and it's going to cut down on a lot of the issues we've had thus far. I just I'll take over. You can jump back. So, um I appreciate this. I know that the scheduling is not in the perview of the board, so I appreciate you letting us kind of poke holes in it and ask questions, but this is a big change and it's a big change that's happening on June 9th. Um, and that that's troublesome. Um, I I
118share the sentiment of this unsupervised time. I can appreciate that going from a 20 minute to maybe 310 minutes will give kids more focus, more purpose. Um, I don't know if that's time to go get food and get back to class. I've never walked the halls of the high school. I tried at open house. It was hard. Wouldn't have made it. But I do know being on the mental health task force and doing the big read and reading and pouring over the data and the RMS surveys that our kids are struggling and they need a break. And they are screaming for it. Their anxiety is through the roof. Their stress is through the roof. And shame on us for getting rid of lunch years ago. That's on us. And it's up to us to fix
119it. And I'm so glad there's a there is a schedule in place for the 26 27th school year that hopefully will put lunch back in the schedule because we owe that to our students. I I don't know if the 20 minute wellness break was really all that great for our kids. I really don't know. I don't have the data on it. I don't know if we ever collected it. I don't know how students feel about it. But looking at this schedule, it's it looks like we are trying to just wedge something in for compliance at the sake of our kids' well-being. And that's really hard for me to just sit with um looking at this. Um so I truly hope and I know that you took that into account. I'm not accusing you of not.
120I know all of you and I know how much your staff cares about our kids. Um, I just wish there was a better option um to give our kids those breaks and those and not even just a break to use the bathroom and, you know, to grab food, but to socialize and to talk to each other and just and just take a mental break a little bit. I I do think it it may sound like they don't have the option. Any kid can take a lunch any year. So, I just want to make sure that anyone's listening knows kids can always take a lunch. We just have an unusual um tradition here in FM. And this is my I'm finishing my 22nd year in this district. I was surprised when I first came here that
121students had the option to opt out of lunch. That's an unusual thing and there there are programmatic reasons for that and there are, you know, things that are unique to FM's culture that support that. But lunch is always available to all students who decide they want to take a lunch. I just want to make sure everybody understands that that I know. I'm sorry. I'm talking more about like the I maybe I'm wrong, but it was like in the recent history we got rid of that ninth period. Correct or no? Did I make that up? Misinformation. Okay. I think that I thought the day was longer at some point and we Okay. Thank you for clarifying that. Okay. Don, what you graduated from FM, right? Did you have to have lunch? And was the day longer
122or that was 186 days. That's probably the difference, the days versus the hours. [Laughter] Yeah. Yeah. Is that when the wagons lined up? It was just before AI. Can I ask one question? So with this model, not having experience with a high school schedule yet, but coming into it very soon. So we It's okay for people to eat in class. Every class science class. Good. Probably a good choice. Not science. Usually not music, but I think Okay. Most classes. So kids are just like eaten in class. Neat. They eat in class anyway, even if they have a lunch, just so you know. Yeah, that's been in place. Um, that's been in place for again, I've been here as long as Mary, and it's been in place. Um, that's why I was asking Dan because my
123understanding is I mean, it was long before I got here that um, everybody could go to lunch if they didn't have lunch. We we issue a lunch pass when they're in when they're near the cafeteria and they're able to cut the line so that they can get their lunch and get out quicker. And that's part of the idea of adding a couple minutes in between just the three lunch periods is to provide additional access to the we believe there are going to be five food stations throughout the building at this point. So, it's going to be enough time to get us, you know, get a little more substantial food if they want a hot lunch to have time to do that and still be able to get to class um in time. Can I I'm
124I was lying. I have two questions. So with the food stations, do we do mobile ordering and pickup and things like that so that the things can be ready so the student at the beginning of the day can say, "I know I need a turkey sandwich at 2:00." That's a bad time, 10:30. So that they know they can go to this place at 10:30, pick it up, and walk away like a Panera or something. We've been doing that for since Yeah. since co they've been able to pre-order lunch. So if they wanted a an actual lunch as opposed to snacks, but all of the snack shacks have virtually all of the sandwich offerings and everything, even the hot stuff we Well, Isam could tell us, but when you go by the the snack shack, right,
125there's tater tots and chicken nuggets and all the things in the in the heat um that you can access. So it's really not about food per se. I mean, it might feel that way, but I would argue it's not about food as as such. Um, that they're able they will be able to access all the food items and and a little time to eat as well. Um, number one, I'd like to hear what your thoughts are about this. Um, and then additionally, I'm curious about the communication roll out that you plan for um, parents and students if they want to make changes in light of this or how they're going to know what the what the impact for next year will be. For next year, I feel like that uh gives us um more of
126opportunity for like uh each other to talk more like socialize like they were saying with each other instead of those just 20 minutes and the snack the like get your snack and go back to class. I think these um the lunch periods will be way better than the one breaks that we have right now. I'll send a note to staff tomorrow morning and to the community in the afternoon will go out via parent square. So that will be our communication and we'll put it on the website as well. So I just just the the passing period was increased to six partially because of construction. But partially we also understand that passing in that building is time consuming. It's a long way for those who are going science to English and English back to language or
127whatever the case may be. It's b it's bouncing in that building. Pat, this is going to be more on your lap of really just ensuring that there is consistency across the entire staff of some level of flexibility for some students who are justifiably going to be a minute minute and a half late into class. my understanding today there's there's not full consistency on that, right? That some take a different view of it than others and especially in a year when we're going to shorten that. I I just I want to just really really make sure it's emphasized that that you know if if students are doing their best to get there, give them a little grace and space and being able to do so. I think we're absolutely on the same page. This would be
128communication between me and the teachers, especially in terms of a timeline of flexibility. You know, September and October, you're going to give them a little bit more time. We have an extra period per or an extra minute per class. So, it will be a constant conversation with me and the staff, consistency with time, and yes, the flexibility piece. Absolutely. FAC building. And I think this too and one of the things we really haven't talked about as a governance team that allows the cafeteria to open and not face plant. I mean we can have a shakedown cruise for the year. So, I I know this schedule, the middle lily pad here, is giving some folks trouble, but I think it's embraced by food service to be able to do a shakeddown cruise of the new cafeteria
129before in 2627 the lunch periods become official. I think that's an important note. And as you said, now we're in compliance. We stuck to what the original waiver said. I mean just the other point that you have emphasized over this process and I appreciate all of your hard work and brains on this because it sounds super complicated and you know the building best. So I think all of us can ask the hard questions but you know your students and you know the flow of the school. So this will be some trial and error perhaps and hopefully the schedule works. Um but it also sounded like there's a hand scheduling component to lunch that there's kind of no avoiding and so I don't know Heidi if you'd want to speak to that a little bit. just
130sounds like there's more time needed to do this permanent shift. In addition to giving the lunch, the new cafeteria time, there's also a lot of work that needs to go into the scheduling and just might be helpful for the community to hear a little bit more about that. Yes, sleepless nights. It's I was talking to Dr. today about I fully understand the schedule as we're proposing it with these 10-minute hangers, 30 minute classes, 10-minute hangers. Um, but the technology behind it is um not quite where we need it to be. And so, I've been talking to colleagues in another district that have a very similar schedule to what we are looking to accomplish. And I asked if I could come over and meet with their scheduling folks so that we could have a better understanding
131of how they do it. and she said, "Well, you can come over, but it's all done by hand. The computer can't do it, so we do it by hand." And then we put it into the computer. Um, and as Dan's talking about technology in this age and how f how fast and furiously it's moving ahead, it's shocking to think in 2025, we can't put something like this together. And I actually was talking to Matt Dean to see, is there something that AI can do that school tool can't? Um, but keep in mind we have 200 courses, 125 teachers, 15,000 course requests that all have to come together in an eight period day. Um, and and eliminate as many conflicts as we can so that the most of our students get most of the classes that
132they request each year. Um so it's really um and the other thing to keep in mind is prior to last year um there was one person who created the master schedule for the last 15 years or so. Um and then so this is new for all of us the schedule building even in its most traditional form and then we're changing and changing and changing different options. So it it's um we can do it. We can do it. But it's it's I appreciate your concern about that because I talked to the middle schools. They have different schedules and we will essentially if we offer three lunches, we'll have three different essentially three different schedules that our students will be going through throughout the day. Well, the difference is in the middle school all fifth graders have
133the same schedule. So that's fine to have one schedule for fifth, one for sixth. But it's different in the high school when we have classes that blend 9th through 12th grade, some 9th and 10th, some 10th and 11th, some 11 and 12. We have PE classes that are 9, 10, 11, 12. We have science labs attached. So when you start building these um you know hanger periods and so that some classes are essentially worth two periods and some are worth one period. It gets very complex. It's already very complex which is one of the great things about FM is our rich elective program. And I wouldn't want to change that but it also makes it much more complicated than probably some schools have where they don't offer the variety of electives and and courses that
134we offer. So, um, what our hope is is to get this, we're long, we're pretty far along in the schedule building process this year and that's part of the reason that it was very difficult to imagine doing it for next year as, you know, we're we're already pretty, you know, we started with course selections back in January. So, um, we're pretty far along in the process. Our hope is to get this off our plates in the next couple weeks and then start anticipating for next year. So, there's a school counselor, Kelly Campalita, um, and I along with Pat that are working to create this and we're hoping we already have a test file and we're hoping to do some test runs and so on um, over the course of the next year, excuse me, so
135that by the time January, February rolls around, we will know 100% whether we can get this thing off the ground. Thank you. And I guess uh to wrap up, unless anybody has any additional questions, I'm just wondering um you know, Pat and Heidi, you in particular, are there additional supports and um help and resources that you think you would need to make sure that we can have this go as seamlessly as possible for our students, for our staff, for everybody. Um I just want to throw that out there. You don't have to answer right now, but the gentleman we have been working with continue to work with him going forward in terms of building schedule. Yeah. And he's he's really good at helping see big schedule and big ideas and so on. Um the technology
136piece is my concern is are there people out there that can help us with the technology piece that I just sort of alluded to because I don't know that there are if we have other districts who are struggling with that. But like I said, Matt Dean and I have been in touch. So I'm hoping that that's going to be helpful. And then the only other thing is supervision. And the we've been talking a lot about supervision and it's not the some of the supervision challenges aren't going to go away necessarily. Um but it's it's something our cafeteria is much bigger and expanded in many more areas. So Okay. Well, it sounds like the ends company maybe could help the technology. We have an enormous data science company team will bring in. Um we talked about
137the bell schedule. That's the part we focused on. And I know there'll be a question by parents, will they get the advantage of the three 10-minute things on curriculum night of whether they can get extra time. Um I my other concern is the start time committee and and and this is not the first time that I will say this sitting at this table. So, we we've referenced again a few times that the intent was to be able to let families know a year in advance, which is September, last time I checked, the two groups that are perhaps most affected by this are parents and students. We've not yet added them to this committee. This committee has gone a very long way forward. We don't have students on it. We don't have parents on it. And
138summer is now upon us just about not quite as as our students would like. Um I I I'm not sure how over the summer months we're going to get meaningful participation by students and parents in the way that we would have during the school year. So, I'm I'm still concerned about why we did not bring them in earlier in the process and how we're going to meaningfully bring them in before September unless we make the commitment that we will provide the community the notice of what's going to happen by like October 15th instead of September one so that we can really get the right fair representation from those two groups and meaningful input and and I surely don't want them to come into the process and fe and be told or feel like, well, this
139committee's done all this this work and we're just here for show pieces and and that would really be a disservice to the community. Totally agree. And I think with this change, they'll have something to react to. I mean, as you can tell, this decision was so easy to make. We could have made it months ago. And ideally, we could have added them, but I think you're right. We're looking at canvasing between now through the summer to hit the ground running in September and to make a decision, yeah, maybe October, but also maybe by the end of September. The intent is to bring families and students in at the same time. And maybe some of the ones that push back on this, we want to hear those voices, too. So now, I think once it gets
140underway in September, to your point, even more power to them to be able to react to the intermediate lily pad and what that means going forward. But you're right, their voice needs to be heard. Being that we're not making a commitment to a decision by September 1st. Yes. Okay. But as early in the fall as possible. Okay. Thank you. I just ask one clarifying on the 26 schedule because you said it was going to be 30 minutes longer like dismissal would be 30 minutes later but in the in the schedule you only have 12 minutes later. Is that accurate or is the 30 minutes accurate? Right. But like this says dismissal will be 220 but on the next slide to 220 is 12 minutes here. Okay. Because on the next slide you said that it
141would if you go forward one you said it'd be 30 minutes later. Yeah. Because we did all kinds of calculations with the activity period. We put in extra time for announcements at the end of the day much like for attendance and second period. So we've played with a lot of different So I wasn't I didn't want to put 12 and then aim for 12. It might be a little bit longer. Okay. I'm just saying if we're sharing this with the public the Exactly. saying the elementary would be like 30 minutes later, but if the high school's only 12 minutes later, then potentially the other school, depending what we do with the activity period, we could be looking at four lunches with the three 10-minute hangers. So, we want to look at this going forward. We'll
142understand it another day. Okay. Well, could it but it it right now it's 12 minutes the way it design is set for 2026 27 26 27. Yes. Okay. Got it. But I think I must have been successful in the explanation and all the different scenarios. We really did consider different scenarios because the elementary folks and Mary can attest to this are worried to go from a 3:30 dismissal till around 4:00 what that means. So in many ways this is going to force the conversation whether it's 12 minutes or 30. Do we want the young ones there until 4:00? I think that's a huge conversation to have. I think to know that that parameter was in place this year making the schedule as you see it's only one minute difference at the end of the day.
143So we had bus schedules at this time imagine the impact of that. So that was another thing we did not want to do. So that keeps you in time. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Okay. Uh, item 2.04, president's report. Um, the only thing that we talked about before was if anybody had any, um, NISBA resolutions that they wanted to propose. So, we have time to make sure we do those. Anybody? We're good. The deadline's July. Yep. That's why we wanted to get them on the queue. Um, and then yeah, if if we had anything to recommend if I think we have one more meeting we could add to if we wanted to slide that in. So, you're thinking about it. Um, and then additionally, uh, I think we're firming up committee, uh, choices for
144next year before we get our new board members to, unless anybody else would like to throw their name in the hat for the audit finance committee. Seems like a hot spot. The intent before this year was originally for there to be an audit. There's always an audit committee. Was for there to be the restarting of a finance committee which was separate from audit in prior years and then we had a issue with number of people per and don't need to revisit that but it we we really didn't end up this year with a finance committee in the sense of what it was intended to be. So that that's more my question of where we're going to land on this for next year. I don't have as just personally speaking I don't have as much interest
145in audit. I somehow ended up on it because they were supposed to be backtoback and we need a quorum on both and Daryl I won't have you speak to my um number of attendances at that. Um, but if we're going to do a straight finance committee, then I would like to be part of that. If it stays is really just essentially just audit, then I don't have as much of a vested interest on that. So, you need to have at least another uh person who wanted to do a finance committee. So, we could Dr. Please help me. In the last nine, 10 years, you've been here 10. Um, how many years was it worth their finance and audit? I only recall when Mark Vloski was on the team. I think it was two years. Yeah.
146Was that because we just didn't have the It was It was We We did it when Mark I thought it was three years with Mark. I could be wrong, but um it really came up again and and I was the one that brought it up of each successive year the budget issue is going to become harder and we have larger and larger unfunded mandates coming from the state where it at least in my view becomes a very prudent thing for us to just take a higher level 30,000 foot view on different approaches. that the district could or could not take. So I I just personally believe that there's a a place for it and a need for it, obviously we would need to have enough people on the committee to have it be made. Yeah.
147Okay. Well, so if other board members also felt strongly um to add an additional committee, you know, we can regroup and see how if we've got enough interest in both audit serving getting folks on audit and getting folks on finance so I can can circulate over email. Um okay, thank you. We'll move on to item 2.05, superintendent report. Under the title, you haven't heard enough from me tonight. Uh, superintendence report. I'll be brief. Backup information is in board docs. Capital project update. The OACM owner architect construction management team are making final preparations for what will be a busy summer construction season at the high school. Uh not only will the project address renovations around the auditorium and throughout house 2, but the new spaces will become available for student use at the start of the
148new school year. In addition, our work on the $15.4 million roofing safety security project uh is going to be getting underway in all of the other buildings. School start time committee. Uh I think we've talked a lot about that. uh it will be meeting again this week and we will be definitely adding parents and students to that as well especially uh to consider whether we're flipping uh the slide looks inevitable whether it's 12 minutes or more depending on what's done with the activity period under Sunni ESF uh dual enrollment class like to thank Sarah Fitzgerald Chrissy Purcell and Darl Wheeler for participating in today's Sunni ESF environmental studies science elective dual enrollment class to learn more about the student led research on composting and recycling waste. Special thanks to FMA High School science teacher Kayla
149Kquit for organizing this most informative project for students and adults alike. And then last but not least, Anadaga County Special Olympics. Like to extend my sincere appreciation to Amy Evans, Melissa Corbin, Susan Sterns, Becky Finity, Jeff Brown, Mike Lewood, Scott Sugar, and their respective departments for all the efforts to prepare and plan for and pause for effect this Wednesday's Anadaga County Olympics. Uh this includes today's postponement of the Olympics from uh Tuesday, tomorrow until Wednesday due to the forecast of inclement weather. I'm most grateful to our high school students who will be coming on their off day because regent exams have started to help chaperon and to members of our local community's fire, EMS, and law enforcement agencies as well as the OCM Boseis team members who generously give of their time and will be
150on site including Dr. Cook. I know that it certainly will be a memorable day for both student athletes and their families alike. That ends my report. Does anybody have any questions for Dr. T? That's always a a joyful event. That's great. Hopefully the weather stays and it was featured I think I mentioned to the board in the OC Bose's highlight video for the past year. the first version. So, they're certainly appreciative of our support and thank you. Uh 2.06 reports from the committees. Uh Darl, did you have any legislative leis? Okay. Um, it reminds me we also would love to have a board member who may have interest in taking over um the reigns. Daryl um legislative le responsibilities if anyone has a interest I'm sure Darl would happily kind of give a little 101
151for that um Isa we have an update no update okay you sure does anybody from any of the committees want one last harrah on that. Okay, that's a no. Um, public comment. I believe we have no one for public comment this evening. Everyone went home to bed. Um, new business item 4.01. Uh, be it resolved that the board of education of the Fagetville Manla School District hereby approve the minutes of the special meeting held on May 20th, 2025 as presented. May I have a motion, please? Thank you, Cindy and Ann. All in favor? Anybody opposed or abstain? Oh, yeah. Daryl's abstaining. Rebecca's abstaining. Dan's Okay. Chrissy's trying motion. Okay. Item 4.02. Be it resolved that the board of education of the Fagetville Manley Central School District hereby approves the bus bond resolution as presented. May
152I have a motion, please? Thank you, Chrissy. Second. Thank you, Rebecca. All in favor? Anybody opposed or abstaining? Okay. Thank you. Item 4.03. Be it resolved that the board of education of the Fagetville Manley Central School District hereby approves the revised capital improvement bond resolution as presented. May I have a motion, please? Cindy and Daryl. All in favor? Anybody opposed or abstaining? Also, of course, if anyone has any conversation they'd like to have, feel free to interject. Thank you. Um item 4.04. Be it resolved that the board of education of the Fateville Manly Central School District hereby authorizes the superintendent to execute an agreement with John Derky for consulting services in amount not to exceed $5,000. May I have a motion, please? Thank you, Chrissy and Rebecca. Any discussion? All in favor? Anybody opposed or
153abstaining? Okay, thank you. Item 4.05. Be it resolved that the board of education of the Fateville Manla Central School District approved policy 2245 replacing policy 1321 in second reading. May I have a motion? Ann and Cindy. Any discussion? All in favor? Anybody a poster of staining? [Laughter] Even it's been a great year. I love it. Love it. Uh item 5.01 um NISBA resolutions. Um so let's see if Manley. So are we just FY? This is the one. Okay. So we'll we'll move that to next means agenda. Sarah, please. Thank you. and board development. Um, you may also be a recipient of a wonderful award if you attend some fantastic events held by NISBA or CNY School Boards Association. So, there they are listed if you'd like to put your name in the hat for that.
154Um, potential considerations for future meetings. Um, we've got that list that is continuing to grow. Um we'll tackle it over the next year. Uh future meetings calendar. So our reorg meeting is July 8th. Um hopefully everybody has that on their calendar. Um and then we have some special meetings and we have the annual convocation on July 30th. Um, this year it's going to be at the lodge in Skinny Atlas. Um, Dr. Ty, if I could ask you to just sort of let the board members know kind of what you're expecting um for this year in terms of kind of the format and what role you'd like us to play. Um, that would be helpful for figuring out, you know, who could attend and and those kinds of things for planning time. Daryl's coming back. And
155then we have our full schedule for next year. Hardy looking ahead. Um all right, dates to remember. Um lots of things happening at the end of the school year um as we wind down concerts and con and celebrations and award ceremonies. And then don't forget graduation June 20th. I believe everybody is going. No, never mind. Um, some of us are attending and it will be great. And I know Daryl will be giving out her diplomas to her grandchildren, so that would be fantastic. Dian, you have your daughter, too. Anybody else have anybody? Oh, Catherine, just remember traffic and getting there. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. I don't think there is a best way honestly. It's Yeah, we for travel advice. Um we'll ask AI to tell us which way to go. Uh, okay. So, let's see. Now,
156we're moving into consent agenda. Um, item 7.01. Be it resolved that the board of education of the Fagetville Manla Central School District hereby approves the consent agenda as presented. May Yes, we took Sorry. Oh, thank you. I didn't refresh, so I didn't I just presume Okay, we have a motion for the consent. Thank you, Darl. Thanks for keeping us on track. Thanks, Rebecca. And all in favor? Anybody opposed or abstaining? Okay. Okie dokie. So, now we're moving into um proposed executive session. So be it resolved that the board of education of the Fagetville Manla School District enter into executive session to discuss the student discipline matter the superintendent's evaluation and the employment history of a particular person. May I have a motion? Thanks Dan and an all in favor. Thank you. Uh yes. So, we
157will be coming back out to do one additional vote, but it's your decision. If you guys would like to stick around, I would suggest you do not. But it's we're open. It's an open meeting. You're welcome to. Thank you all for coming and we'll happy summer. Okay. So, um, may I have a motion to approve the student disciplinary matter? Uphold uphold the student disciplinary matter. I have a motion. Thank you, Ann. And a second, Dan. All in favor? Anybody opposed or abstaining? Okay. And then item I guess it's now 10.01. Okay. 9.01 personnel actions. May I have a motion to approve the personnel actions? Thank you, Cindy. And a second. Thanks, Darl. All in favor? Anybody opposed or standing? Um, and then are we did we separate out the second one? Yeah. Okay. So, u
158may I have a motion to approve personnel actions number two? Thank you, Rebecca and Cindy. All in favor? Anybody opposed or abstaining? Okay. And may I have a motion to adjourn? Darl and Cindy. Anybody? We're all voting. Yes, we all vote.