001Gota wait till then at least. >> Yep. >> Like mid November. >> Yes. We uh get the show going. >> Tell me when you're at it. Put it in my bag. >> Agenda, right? Have to accept the board agenda. Tell me when you're ready. Ready. >> Good evening. Welcome to the January 27th, 2026 regular session of the board of education. This is Joe Silio, president of the board of education speaking. Thank you for attending in person or through Zoom. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. God, justice for all. >> Do you notice if today's meeting has been reserved to each member of the board of education requirements of law? Tina, will you please take attendance? >> Present. Present. >> Present. present. >> At this time, I have a motion that the board of education
002accepts the agenda for January 27th, 2026, regular session as presented. All in favor? I. This time, Dr. S, I hand it over to talk about uh a key person in the community leaving us. >> Yes. So, um this is a wonderful meeting because it's filled with our students. So, thank you all for being here. But I wanted to first start off by we have Commissioner Jackson here. Um he'll be retiring after almost 45 years of service and uh we just wanted to honor him this evening. This is my eighth year here in Garden City and the work uh commissioner that you and your team have dedicated to our school district is very it's commendable and I don't think like we are strong because of the the collaboration we have between you and the district and
003um you know over the years we continue to strengthen our safety of our children in our in our school in our school district and I know for you um that is central to the work that you do here in the district and we can't thank you enough for um for all your support throughout the year and we do have uh who will be replacing you the acting commissioner um Nasel here as well. Um so we're looking forward to continuing the partnership but you have really set uh a standard for all communities on how we collaborate with our um local police department. So, thank you, uh, Commissioner Jackson for all your service. Who are you? Okay. So, next um you know we have our this time of the year we really honor our athletic teams, our
004fall athletic teams and there is lots to celebrate. We had an amazing fall season. So, we have Mr. Ramirez here who I'd like to introduce Mr. Ramirez to introduce our teams and coaches that we want to honor this evening. >> Good evening. So, um it was another great fall, a lot of uh success individual and team. So, I'd like to acknowledge we're going to start with our uh individual athletes that were state qualifiers in all state. Uh starting with the cross country. If I could have coach Messier and Taylor Maguire. So Taylor uh not only qualified for state, she was uh third amongst all uh at the state qualifier meet which is within classes AAA double A. Uh she then went up to the state championship and finished 47th in the state. Her times for
005the state qualifier were phenomenal. She ran a total of 1851 5K, which is a 6-minute 4se secondond mile split. A tremendous uh accomplishment. Uh represented us with a lot of pride. So, Taylor, congratulations on a successful fall season. Yeah, this is very nice. The best part about uh Taylor's uh season is that she's a junior and gets to come back and uh build on that for next year. So, we're looking for bigger and better. Our next individual athletes are the varsity swim team athletes. Unfortunately, coach Ann Sullivan could not be here today, but Mattie Gart and Charlotte Coner are here. They can come up. So before I go into their individual accomplishments, uh the biggest accomplishment in my eyes, they wake up every morning for a 6 a.m. practice at the Adelfi pool, which in
006itself is incredible. Uh the amount of time and preparation that goes into uh not only competing during the regular season, but leading up to the playoffs. Uh Maddie was a qualifier in the 500 meter freestyle. She swam at the state meet uh with some of the top swimmers in that event across the state. had phenomenal times. Uh it's very hard to qualify for the states. So to Maddie, congratulations and we look for again uh bigger and better. They're both underassman, so we're excited about them coming back. Charlotte Oh, you can absolutely. Charlotte qualified in two events. She swam in the 200 freestyle and the 100 freestyle, placing fifth in the 100, seventh in the 200, making all state honors in both events. Congratulations to both young ladies. >> Congratulations. So, the first team we're going
007to uh call up and honor is our varsity field hockey team. If they can come up, we have uh coach Amanda Lee and coach Janet Rogler if they're here. So, this team had a tremendous fall season. Finished with the record of 16 and one. Uh, won the Nassau County Class B Championship for the 13th 13th consecutive year, defeating Manhasset 1. I'll say it again, we beat Manhasset. I love that. Uh then they went on to win the Long Island Class B championship defeating Eastport South Manor by a score of 21. Went up to the state tournament uh and they faced the eventual uh champions uh and had a one zero loss uh but a tremendous battle. Uh and I'm sure if we were on the other side of the bracket things would have been a
008little different. Phenomenal year, a lot of individual accolades. We had a number of uh athletes that were all county, all state, all region. But tonight, we just want to make it about the team. We're excited about them coming back and building on what was done this year. So, congratulations to our varsity field hockey team and coach Amanda Lee who was selected as the News Day coach of the year. >> For those that are wondering, Coach Lee's right here. shoes. It took me 5 minutes to find out where she was. Congratulations. Our next team was just honored in the gym, so they get to do a uh repeat of ceremonies. our girls varsity volleyball team. If they could please come up and I if you can have coach Pete Dean and coach Taylor McDall come up
009with the team. So the varsity volleyball team had a one-in-a-lifetime season uh setting new standards for Garden City. The team went 23 and one on the year. They were Nassau County Class DoubleA champions which was the first time for Garden City in 20 years. and only the second time a team here has done that. So that's a tremendous accomplishment. Congratulations. Uh they did not stop there. Uh they went on to win the Long Island class champions be beating Smithtown West in a phenomenal uh game out in Suffach in hostile territory. That was the first time a Garden City team has won a Long Island Championship in girls volleyball. They went on to the New York State uh finals, the championship, and in pool play defeated Yorktown, Warwick, and Webster Schroeder, dominating uh and advanced to
010the state finals and unfortunately lost in that final game. Close close battle, tough battle, but it was a phenomenal year uh breaking all uh standards that were here before and raising the bar. Want to congratulate Coach Debon, who was uh selected as the Nassau County Coaches Association Coach of the Year for volleyball. A phenomenal year. We're very excited about the team coming back and the big numbers at the middle school and obviously that's because these young ladies here and coaches have set a standard and an expectation for the sport. Congratulations on a great year. Congratulations, girls. Our next team is uh used to setting standards and that's our boys varsity soccer team, the returning New York State champions. if I could have the soccer team uh and their coaches, Coach Cutter, Coach Connelly, Coach Brady,
011Coach Lind, and uh Mr. Heles could not be here tonight, but was also a contributor. So, it's tough to come back a year after winning a state championship, the first in school history, and trying to uh again raise the bar and do things that have never been done. This group of uh young men here and coaches did accomplish that. They went on to win a Nassau County class doubleA championship and eventually win a back-to-back state championship. One of the few times that that's been done by a school in New York. Overall record was 20-2 having played a national schedule which included St. Benedict's uh St. Peters and St. Anony's a lot of the top schools in the country and coming out on top for most of those. In the regular season, they outscored their opponents
01265-15. Uh went on to be ranked 11th overall by the United Soccer Coaches High School uh national ranking and that includes all private prep schools and public schools. Um what what I can say about this team is every time you think they're done reaching a new level, they they figure out how to get it even better and higher. Um, I'm excited for next year's state championship and be the first uh backto back to back. A lot of pressure. Uh, we'll work on that, coach. Uh, congratulations to these young men and coaches. We had a number of individuals who were selected as all county, all state, again, all region. Uh, we had one all-American, but tonight we're just going to keep it in general about the team. Uh, together uh they accomplished this. They had some
013trials and some tribulations and they showed uh character, perseverance and what Garden City athletics is about. Uh we stay focused on the goal and do not things let distract us. Um great job, great season. Congratulations all. Congratulations. >> And our last team that we're recognizing here tonight is our varsity football team, Long Island Champions. Uh if those players and coaches would come up, we have coach Eder, coach Fenel, coach Trapudian, coach Bolson, coach Jackavina, Coach Makovski, and Coach D Feliz. So, very similar to our other programs, uh this group of young men and coaches have set the standard for the sport, not only in the county, on the island, but across the state. uh what most people hope their programs would look like, perform, and be like. The standard is definitely high. They won their
01410th consecutive Nassau County titles. Uh so just to put it in perspective, any 17 year olds here were seven years uh when the last time Garden City did not win a championship. So that in itself is incredible. Their fifth consecutive Long Island Championship uh broke the New York State record for consecutive wins, which is currently at 66. Uh that is also the longest current record uh winning consecutive record for the nation right now. Um they did so in exciting fashion. Again, another team that faced adversity, injuries, uh when everyone was doubting what they could do in the Long Island Championship. Somehow they came together, figured figured it out uh as a team. A lot of credit goes to the players and as well as the coaches for the preparation uh leading up to that. Um
015phenomenal year. Uh we hope that they continue for those that are going on to college uh with football and success and for those coming back. Uh we're looking for number 11 and number six. No pressure. Uh just keep adding to those uh standards. I want to congratulate coach who was also selected as Newsuesday coach of the year uh and was also selected by the New York Giants as the uh high school coach of the year uh for New York. So congratulations. Phenomenal year. Keep it going. I'm going to go fast as it Congratulations. Thank you. All right. So, we do want to acknowledge uh some individual accolades for our coaches that are, you know, need need time and need recognition. The first one is uh coaching and I'm not going to ask him to come
016up. He was up here already. Uh but it is important that we acknowledge last year 2024 season in the spring. Uh New York State contacted us and he was selected as the New York State Coaches Association class a head coach of the year honored at the state conference for the 2024 season again. Comes back this year uh bigger and better. Uh this year he was selected by the New York Giants for the Lou Ratino High School coach of the year. uh was selected by the Giants and Gatorade as the coach of the year for his leadership, program excellence, and success on the field. The Giants then went ahead and nominated him for the Don Schuler NFC High School Coach of the Year award, um which puts him eligible or that award is not announced yet.
017He is in the running for the high school coach of the year by the NFL for the country. Uh, so we haven't gotten word that, but just to be nominated and be considered for that award is phenomenal. Um, as you can see, he got to meet some pretty important people. Eli Manning, um, got to rub elbows with some of the Giants grades and was acknowledged on the field uh, during a game against Minnesota. And as a Giant fan, I could say unfortunately that probably was the highlight of the game. Um, hopefully that changes, but uh, I do want to congratulate not only coach Etinger, but his staff. um he always is very humble and says he gets the the acknowledgement but the credit goes to everybody that you know works with him to prepare these
018young men. So congratulations to coach and the staff. So uh the next uh person we'd like to acknowledge or coach is uh coach Mike Hedles. Unfortunately he could not be here. Hopefully he's listening on the live stream. Hi coach. Um, Coach Hedles, uh, is being inducted into the Nassau County High School Hall of Fame. Um, he will be in there in September, class of 2026. Uh, just to read you some of his, uh, accomplishments over his career here. Uh, he won two, well, I'm going to start from the bottom. He was a 2015 uh, coach of the year, 2016 coach of the year, three time, excuse me, 2013 uh, News Day coach of the year. He had 229 career wins here at Garden City. He was a eight-time finalist in the county, five-time champion, five
019Long Island Championships, and won two New York State Championships with the girls soccer team and came back this year as part of the boy staff and won a championship there. So, we're going to count the third one for his record. Um, great career, great accomplishment, and what I would say about Coach Hedoles that doesn't go into the record books and doesn't go into the stats is his love and passion for Garden City. He loved being here. He loved the kids that he worked with, the community he served. Um, and he always, you know, was passionate about, uh, what he was doing with our athletes, um, in terms of soccer and character. So, Coach Eidos, congratulations. Welldeserved honor. We look forward to, uh, being at the the induction in September, Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame,
020Mr. Mike. And then before I just hand the mic back, just a obviously a tremendous fall, the best one since I've been here, my fourth year. Uh but I do want to point out that these kind of accomplishment season success does not happen by itself. We have phenomenal uh athletes that work hard. We have coaches that again passionate, work hard and prepare our young men and women to uh compete and do better and be better. Uh but it also is the help of all the support of the community, parents, uh our administration and our board of education. And it does not happen alone. People always ask me, "Why is Garden City so good?" And I say it's a secret, but it's really not. It's the support and the work that everybody puts in. So, congratulations
021to everyone. >> Thank you, Mr. Ramirez. And we also want to thank you for your leadership in uh leading our athletic department and for our students and our coaches. Really an incredible season. And uh you know, when I have the opportunity to see you out on the field, I don't know how you guys do it. You run, you play, you have the athleticism and the skill set. And it really does set us apart, Garden City, with just what you do. And I see our fields as an extension of our classroom because you're learning skills there. That's for life that you'll carry with you. So, congratulations. Great season. Thank you. And you guys can go home. >> I'm missing exciting stuff up here. Yeah. >> Student report. >> So yeah, we're good. >> I'm gonna have
022you go next. >> Whatever you need. >> You wanna >> have good. Yeah. We'll go to the student report. >> Yeah. Go ahead, Kayla. >> Okay. Um, I'll be brief today. A long meeting. Um, so I'll start at the high school. So, we had a great snow day. I'm sure everybody loved that. Um, I wanted to point out that the band is leaving for Disney Thursday morning. I've heard them practicing so much and they're really excited about that. And we also have Battle of the Classes coming up which is just a few bake sales and then we have like a pep rally type thing which everyone always looks forward to. We also had a therapy dog come on Friday which was really awesome and there was like a line of people in the library just
023waiting to pet the dog was adorable. Um at the middle school they had a lot of concerts. So did we, but a lot of them took place here and they went phenomenal. I actually went to a few of them and they honestly sound so good. Um winter 2 just started. So the middle school split into four different athletic uh seasons and that's up and running. They had clubs like activities like drone club which is so awesome and speech and delight and they're really doing critical thinking and you know preparing for coming up to the high school. And then they also had the incoming sixth grade orientation which so many kids came to that and they really got to learn a lot about what life's going to be like changing classes and experiences at the middle
024school. um elementary and primary schools. Steuart school has continued with its steps to success program and they're learning about respect and they also did a lot of New Year's resolutions and looking back at what they loved about the past year. They also participated with the primary schools in the e pledge of kindness where they were recognizing all actions of kindness from grades K to 5. Um and then as well they were learning all new things about addition and subtraction math stories. Uh they were learning about forces which I mean I feel like I just learned about forces. So that's really awesome. And the classes the primary schools also took field trips to the Garden City Library and the Cradle of Aviation Museum. That's it for me. >> Thank you, Kayla. And really thank you for
025giving us such nice updates at every single board meeting. You really capture K12 very nicely. So thank you. All right. So next um we want to give the the board and the community an update on our bond project. So we have Mr. Jack Klene here from Triton and we also have Mr. Foley, director of facilities and they will go over um you know the projects that we've engaged in, give you an update up to now and what to expect for the next several months. SL foundations are complete. We're ready for the first part. So, we're going to do a little change we're going to start because I don't need the first floor instruction and then we'll go back and right now warehouse. Here we go. I got in the warehouse right now. So the original
026schedule had us installing the steel in February. So believe it or not, with the changes that we're making, we're still on time. We're doing a little turn around just to alleviate the stuff that we could get done and we still expect the new classrooms, the cafing The air conditioning and the new are start bad but right now fields are all done is installed a new system irrigation system because the old system did not cover the didn't have enough time before Thanksgiving school done waiting for right now together and it's root system. So in order to do that unfortunately I need so when we think it's going to be ready right now based on what we believe is with weather condition they are done everything else the school is complete park complete park garage is complete
027all fin question. What is the length? >> I don't know. >> Um I I really don't know. So I think >> I roughly 10 years depends upon the use of it. We used a heck of out of our field but we maintain to the yearing and maintenance on them. So we keep the main field for 10 years. So that's probably >> Thank you. >> So just everybody know the construction manager works in closeordation with the district. We have weekly meetings. We have status reports and not only do we have the reports, but I also meet with Jack Bley at least two or three other times during the week. So, we do have a good deal construction manager not the project for the home. You know, we do have heads up advance uh builders if there's
028a problem similar to what you just said about the I mean the facade. It may or may not affect baseball, but we we know it at least early enough. So, we have to And the same thing with the finish work too. So we it's been a good relationship so far. Hopefully continues for the >> Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. >> Appreciate it. >> Thank you, Robert. >> Yeah, I'll also add that um One of the things that they've been very creative about is uh the order of which they're doing work because it's it's very important and with this cold weather um you know all of the work that they've done this last five or five months or six months at this point has really been below the ground for this you know what's all going
029on in Geneva and now is when everyone else will start to you know see the the progress because we we've hit ground level again. We've been below ground for months now. So, um it's a very interesting part, but these next few months and the weather are going to play a very big role in this. So, we want to be realistic. So, we do have these indoor projects, these inside the room renovations and things like that that they're planning on, but the actual uh addition itself is is very weather dependent. One of the things that they pivoted on that we spoke about the last time is doing the hallway which will connect the two buildings that became a very big priority for us the way the uh construction was organized. So getting that ahead of time
030was tremendous and you know the fact that it throws us and the way things have worked right back to where we are um to get on schedule is also good. The other thing that we've brought up a few times is that we do have the transformer to deal with. um that is up at the state looking for you know approval because uh our transformer as it sits did not pass uh inspection by PFCG so we're required to replace that and there's you know there's some other things we've had a lot of surprises on this um you know the turf uh went in very well and and uh organized and and right on schedule but the became such an issue for us because of the And then you know the whole was to find the well
031search because um you know no one knew where this was and and what so we we've had a lot of interesting things go on but we've stayed there. Um the coordination of athletics and the idea of what's going to go on the side we really do feel could impact baseball. So, we've been keeping touch with that and um you know trying to keep that as as uh open a dialogue as possible. If we have a warm end of the winter, it'll be a very different result if it stays very cold because the sun went in late. It is not adhered at all yet. And we're just waiting for this next weather. So, They like to have two growing seasons. You know, not and it's really we had one of the coldest December 45 degrees um
032you know we had a good chance it was well below freezing for you know months. So, um, like they said, so we've had some, um, you know, challenges, but overall the construction's been going well. We've talked about these surprises that have come up, the transformer, the irrigation, some of the other things that have gone on, but, you know, the the bill that they found for the grounds, you know, we we've had a few, but they really have rose through them. >> Yeah. It's just >> very very important for those of you that were um here the we had a project that was delayed 52 weeks. Do you remember when we couldn't get the HVAC equipment when we doing the middle school? So the fact that have all the equipment and the switch gears and all
033of that. Tremendous. >> Ready to go minor. I think we had such a good head start with all of our projects. And I think the best thing we did was that create that um the the hallway because that really kept us on target. If the weather was cooperating, I think we would be, you know, we'd continue the work. But right now with with the way the weather is, it's hard to move the work. >> It was a challenge for our teachers because they had to move >> for a high school. >> Yes. >> Really? They've taken >> Jack, >> but we'll have the um we'll have the full presentation. Jack has 45 pages, probably half of them pictures, which is nice to see. >> We'll put that on the website to host it. And um
034it really shows the whole breath of all the projects. We've just reported on all the other smaller ones already. >> So I have a question. So the turf field you said it was going to be midappril. Is that because itself just the outfield of baseball to practice on it? purpose field is done. >> There's not much grass left really. It's only the outfield of baseball, but the infield is turf. >> Oh, it needs to grow. >> So, that's for the both the softball field and the baseball field, >> but the multi-purpose field, it's not. the side of it which is part of the outfield. >> Yeah. So I just had a question. So but my question is will they be on it >> before April? We don't >> there's no desire to get onto the
035turf infield even if they can't use the outfield and we're going to we're talking about that. It's just that >> there's there's some um you know I mean there's some thoughts of how much they can do on it. We're we're less concerned about damaging the sod as we are just making sure that it's not dangerous. talking about the multi-purpose >> the multi-purpose system >> that's baseball that there's no problem >> no issue they practiced on it In the middle of this, uh, there was some some damage to the electrical poles and we had to do a repair and went over the outfield, but we will stay off the side. They came in What's the fact that the contractor Thank you. >> Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you, Robert. >> Okay. >> Back
036to you. >> Yeah. And um the next item we have, we wanted to um we have uh Lauren Kaufman here, director of literacy. We had a meeting with the uh literacy team review. What was it last week or the week before? >> January 13th. So, um, Lauren's going to give us an update. >> Good evening. Tonight, I'm happy to share a brief update on the work of the literacy review team, where we are in the process, and what comes next. Over the past several months, our teachers and administrators have engaged in a thorough review of the literacy resources. At the December 9th meeting, committee members explored physical copies of each resource and then continued reviewing both print and digital materials through January 13th. During that time, they generated questions that were shared with vendors in
037advance. On January 13th, each focus group met directly with the vendors and we followed up with additional virtual meetings with each vendor the week of January 20th to ensure that all questions were addressed. To ensure a well-rounded review, the literacy review team worked in three focus groups: curriculum, MTSS, and assessments, and professional learning and communication. Each group reviewed every resource through a specific lens to understand both instructional impact and implementation. Through this rotation process, the committee reviewed five literacy resources, allowing for direct comparison and consistent evaluation across all resources. After each vendor presentation, committee members completed detailed rubrics. These rubrics were designed to capture feedback aligned to each focus group's lens and were collected through Google forms. This allowed us to analyze the data clearly and identify strong patterns across the feedback. The pilot resources
038were selected based on multiple multiple data points, rubric feedback from teachers and administrators, ongoing shared notes, vendor information, and follow-up conversations. The consistency of feedback across focus groups gave us strong and clear direction for next steps. As a result, we will pilot three literacy resources. Benchmark Advance, Amplify CKLA, and My View Literacy. The pilot will take place in three windows and will include both general education in ICT classrooms. Literacy units were intentionally selected to align with current instruction so learning is not disrupted. Each pilot window includes a launch meeting with professional learning, an implementation period, and structured teacher feedback. For kindergarten through grade 2, the pilots will occur sequentially in pilots one and two. Grades 3 through 5 will pilot during the final pilot window, so instruction is not disrupted ahead of state assessments. At
039every step, the guiding question has been how well these resources support strong instruction and student learning across classrooms. This work has required thoughtful planning and collaboration and we are excited to move into this piloting phase. We will continue to keep the board and community informed as the process moves forward. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. Um, thank you for breaking down and showing us what the original five were and the process of how you came to three. I was just wondering about piloting um implementation. Um, how does it work exactly? How many classes? What schools are you in? Are you just in one school? Are you in all three schools? What does that look like? Okay. So, in the primary buildings, we have three kindergarten classrooms. That's one kindergarten class in each building. So,
040three total, including an ICT classroom. And then for first grade, another three classrooms. That's one in each building with one ICT classroom. For second grade, we have two classrooms in each building. One in Stuart, one general ed in Stuart and Stratford each, and then one ICT classroom in Stuart, one ICT classroom in Stratford. So that's a total of 10 classrooms and 14 teachers. For three through five, it's a little bit different this piloting phase because we did not want to interrupt instruction before our state assessments. So, what this will look like is um in three through five, we'll have some parallel piloting going on. So, it will be the three resources being piloted at once. So, for third grade, we'll have three classrooms. For fourth grade, three classrooms, for fifth grade, three classrooms. And that's
041in each building, Stewart and Stratford. So, uh, that's 18 classrooms altogether with ICT classrooms on each grade level and 24 teachers >> like one full unit. Is that how it works? >> Yes. So, I am working with the vendors to carefully look at their resources to align with what unit of study we would be teaching at that time. So there are no gaps in learning and instruction. >> The units of study are we picking ones that were I guess underperforming or said another way like how do we pilot to make sure we're not I guess replacing the program with something that we're already strong in. So we're kind of maybe capturing the weaker weaker spots. Really like saying that but >> so what we're doing so what we're doing so for example um in kindergarten
042and first grade they're going to be approaching for the February pilot. theirformational unit of study. So we replaced um that primary resource which is benchmark advance with that. It's actually very science-based and aligns with our science units as well. Um so we're replacing thatformational unit with anotherformational unit. What what's important to us is that we don't have students going to the next grade level missing any standards or concepts that would have been taught otherwise. >> What did um the teachers and administrators like about those three that helped those three make the cut? >> What were the standouts for them? Well, the first thing is that they all provide a very comprehensive approach and um when we look through the three lenses, strong solid tier one instruction uh was first and foremost uh so that we
043have strong instruction for all students that are rooted in the New York State learning standards that are grounded in evidence-based reading practices and that are giving every student what they need and deserve. uh when it comes to literacy, a lot of resources uh involved and a lot of different approaches to build background knowledge. The materials, highquality instructional materials. We looked to ensure that through the MTSS process that those resources can support intervention uh with what we already have. Uh assessments uh that was a big piece of it. What types of assessments are involved in these resources? Are they comprehensive enough to ensure that we're hitting all of the big six skills and competencies that we need to address? What does professional learning look like when we launch this resource? How will we have support from
044these vendors so that we can build our own capacity as literacy leaders, our coaches, our administrators, um our teachers. And then another big component was what types of uh resources do they have for hometoschool communication. >> So, oh go ahead Joe. >> Feel free. Um, I was just wondering then, uh, in this idea of piloting whenever, just kind of looking down the road a little bit, just for my own clarification, when you choose a program like this that is comprehensive, building background knowledge, looking at vocabulary, is it then the intent that you kind of phase out foundations um, as a tier one because you have this in you have this brand new curriculum. Um and the same with the other programs, the awards your way, the heerty, things like that. That all gets phased out
045at that point. At this time, we will stick with foundations because our assessment results and our data show that we are very strong in the in the area of funological awareness and we've done a lot of work in that area, okay, to support that. But what I will say is all three resources have strong word study and funological awareness um skills portions within their resources. So if down the line, you know, that's something we would want to consider, we would be comfortable with that. There's certainly also when we were looking through the lens of upper grades right now because right now we have foundations K through three and we're thinking about uh our upper grades who currently use words their way. We were also looking for a very supportive resource in the area of word
046word study, vocabulary, and morphology, >> which all three have. >> Okay. >> After you finish the pilots, how long you pick a program, how long until you start implementing? Is it next school year? Is it you got to do PD? Are we next school year? Are we next school year plus? How are you thinking about that? The plan right now is to have a K to2 implementation for next year with possibly uh we're we're in talks of possibly having some early adopters in grades three through five, but that's continued conversation. I know the math uh did a similar type of approach, but that that will allow us to really focus in on that K2 level, really get to know the resource, do strong professional learning for our teachers, um and make it accessible and manageable
047for all. >> Professional development component is so important and it's hard to be able to do that K5 all at once during the school day. It's tough. So K2 is it's manageable and we do it the right way. >> Yeah. >> So I have a another question. Um and it's okay if you can't answer it. Um I have children who one completely missed Foundations. One who was in kindergarten when foundations was on its second year and I always feel bad for the older one because he just missed that component. Right. So obviously we have these uh phonics programs, we have foundations, we have heard, we have words their way. Um but if your child if you're if you're sitting at home listening and you're like my my child's in third grade, they're going to miss
048they're going to miss this new curriculum or or what have you, right? We have from the layman over here a concern then if you're a parent, my kids's not getting this new curriculum. they're not gonna they're not going to make it in time, right? So, how do you speak to parents who might have that concern? No matter what curriculum is chosen, how do we um ensure parents that these skills are being taught, that the literacy review, we we have our lessons from it. We know what's supposed to come next. And even if your child isn't receiving this specific curriculum, we are addressing the needs and the wants that the literacy review revealed to us. >> I know that's a loaded question. >> No, I thank you for asking it because I have something similar with
049my oldest son who's in high school right now. Um, so this is kind of a layered answer. Sure. And there's not one right answer to it, but what I will say is we look closely at all students um their classwork, their assessments, what they're doing in the classroom. We're always looking at student work and our data. And we're always thinking about ways to close those gaps. So for example, I recently worked with a group of middle school teachers looking at student writing where we noticed that there were some multi-elabic words and suffix endings and some prefixes uh in and other types of phonics principles uh where I was there to support that work. uh I provided some professional learning for those teachers and then we were able to address uh those student gaps um on
050a case-byase basis or if it's a little small group. Uh so I think we're going to I know we'll continue to meet the need. I think the student work and the student learning and and our outcomes will constantly drive what we're doing next. and then equipping the teachers with the right resources and skills they need to help move every learner forward. >> Okay, thank you. >> I just want to add to that. I think you know and also to speak to a question that was brought up before which is what is everyone liking about the different resources and how are you how are you timing the pilot to address some areas of growth? Um, when you look at the data that we are looking at constantly, like Lauren said, there isn't one single program that
051will address, there's no such thing. There's no silver bullet. If there was, everybody would have bought it already and everything would be fine everywhere. That doesn't exist. What we have been looking for is what's best for us for now, right this minute. And so in tandem with the data analysis that we always do and also um leading out of the CASTA review, we know that we have strong phonics and phonological awareness, right? Especially with our kids coming up. And so what we're looking at is which of these resources provides really strong bridging into comprehension. We also look at knowing that building background knowledge is so important to building reading strength reading skills. Some of the resources are already aligned with the scope and sequence in in science and social studies. And so that's another piece
052of the puzzle because that makes things so much easier when you're trying to build the content knowledge. if it's already built in and the sequencing of it is already the way that you need it to be, that works um in our advantage. In terms of what do we do for the students who are in fourth grade right now or fifth grade or sixth grade, we've constantly been looking at where are those skills gaps and identifying them. Uh we have a meeting tomorrow actually just to review some of the skills some of the areas where we see some skills gaps with some of our um upper elementary grades and what are we shifting around in the scope and sequence to make sure that we catch them up. What can we maybe shrink a little bit? What
053do we need to do to make sure that and in this instance it's about vowel teams to make sure that our kiddos are really where they need to be with their understanding of and ability to use those structures. So all of those things, you know, are at play in the background. However, that being said, you know, you can't you can't roll something out. You know, you have the choice of either going wide or deep. And in a situation like this, you need to go deep. And so you can't do K5 all at once because the rest of the system would suffer. We wouldn't be able to >> we just wouldn't be able to do it well. And so it's, you know, we we are doing everything that we can, but of course having early adopters
054will also likely help make sure that any gaps that are um made more obvious by the resource that we choose are able to be filled in short order. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You want me to finish my report? >> Okay. >> Thank you, Lauren. That's good. Thank you for all that information. Thank you, Alice. Um, so just a couple more items that I had um to share with the board is um we wanted to congratulate uh three of our students, our high school students who participated on the NISMA Allstate Festival. And so congratulations go to Ava Chen, Sarah Finny, and Emily Pulver. Um we probably should have mentioned that earlier when we were recognizing all of our students. Another um item that I wanted to mention was the um the our high school third
055year in a row has earned the platinum recognition on the college board board's AP school honor role. So this means that students participation performance and access to AP courses. uh 90% of the class of 2025 took at least one AP exam and 86% earned a score of three or higher and 39% completed five or more AP exams uh including one or before 11th grade really shows the rigor and uh you know with what our students uh participate in and really speaks to our staff as well in these um in these courses. Um, I also wanted to mention kindergarten registration uh that began last week. We really um you know we want to encourage our families um to contact um definitely check our website but also contact their homeschool to make sure that their um you
056know child has been registered and we're looking forward to welcoming our kindergarteners and I think I mentioned earlier we had the CPSC transition meeting today. We had a good participation at that meeting, a virtual meeting to really help our special education parents understand that about the transition to uh kindergarten. We also had the UPK lottery um that um Dr. Bowman is leading and that one we just opened it up uh this week and we already have how many people have registered so far? Did 161. That's pretty good. very quickly. >> We had a few families call and say, "I I chose the wrong order." >> Yeah. So, they had to read >> me making sure that it works. >> So, but that's actually excellent because it's more than um than our number of students enrolled.
057So, really see you can see that our UPK program um is really benefiting our community. Both kindergarten registration and the UPK lottery, it is on our website right on the front page. So parents can access that information. Okay. And then some items on the agenda. We have the continue education program for the spring 2026. That's on the agenda with some wonderful program offerings. We also have donations on the agenda and we want to thank the Garden City Friends of Music for two cases for our middle school band. Uh we always want to thank our um you know all the different parent groups for their generosity. Um, we also have a board of education policy on the agenda tonight and it is more of a um adjustment to one portion of the essential partners policy to
058make sure then because we had two people that left Miss Odone. Um, and so we wanted to make sure that the names were correct for the DASA coordinators on the So that's there and we're going to adopt it uh tonight. We also have on the agenda um we have total of 14 retirements and um so we will be honoring our teachers and our everyone who's retiring in June. So there you'll see that and I'm sure um there'll be a few more before the end of the school year. But on the agenda we also have Mr. Capua's um retirement um that she'll be retiring at the end of the year. And I just wanted to thank Mr. Capio. I know we'll you'll be here the next couple of months, but I do want to um you
059know this I think you've been here what 13 years? 13 years and you know just the work that you have um know what you do on a daily basis um particularly around the budget and and the district being a sound fiscal position that we're in. Um you know that's a lot of wonderful work that you've done and um you know you'll be a you'll be definitely missed in the in the district for sure. Um and on the agenda you'll see uh for tonight for um Mr. Capia's position, we have also we're going to be um engaging a consultant to assist us with the search. So that's also on the agenda. And um and again, we'll be honoring Dana also in June. Um and some important dates um that we have uh is the high school
060open house for eighth graders on January 30th and that's here at at the high school at 4. We have the Steuart fifth grade musical this week, then Stratford's next week, and then followed by our first budget discussion that's on um February 25th. >> Thank you. I guess um I can give a quick update on the audit committee, which um Dana, you will be um I think was being modest. I'm sure there'll be time for this, but uh has been instrumental in overseeing the uh district's finances for a long period of time. We continue to score really really well um with our auditors. There's never any issues. Um it's kind of boring to go to which I guess most audit committees are probably boring anyway, but it's a good boring and so appreciate all it's a
061good boring. I appreciate you know all the hard work. I think, you know, having worked with you now for almost four years, working through the bond project, there's a lot of work and a lot of people that Dana supervises that I think generally goes unnoticed because she gives a treasures report and it's kind of boring, but it is. Um, but the budget is a real challenge every year and every year you seem to find a way to make it work um and work in a way that really kind of focuses on students. And so I speak for myself, I'm sure I speak for other members of the board and prior members of the board, our appreciation. And so I know you're not leaving us yet, but congratulations. Um, >> water was good in my sight.
062>> I know. And and the triple the AAA bond rating. Um, so you know, that's that's great news. And then just one note from the audit committee, as I said, everything went well in our recent audit committee meeting, but we've decided every couple years, I think it's five years or so, plus or minus, we try to dive into one topic specifically that hasn't been reviewed in more detail. Um and we'll be focusing on special education as the next kind of deep dive part of our audit. Um so nothing to do other than this is part of the process of every you know five years looking at parts of the business where parts of the operation sorry not business that um we should focus and just have the the auditors do a deeper dive. So appreciate
063that. >> It's the financial side. >> Yes. And then I think Kristen, your legislative update. >> Um on on Friday, Dr. Senha and I along with our um PTA legislation committee vice president Joy Djangunus met with um Senator Bo and Assemblyman Ra for our first legislative committee meeting. So we just met to discuss several priority issues for our district. The first and most pressing issue facing us as a district right now is um our New York State's uh zero emission bus mandate. So, with some recent legislative changes, including waiverss, they've been helpful, but um there's some significant concerns. Currently, we're required to transition to an entirely electric bus fleet by 2037. So, we discussed advocating for adjusting this 100% requirement to allow more flexibility or instead setting realistic minimum targets with state funding support so
064school districts are not forced to take money away from other essential needs. Our district has conducted a feasibility study and will share its findings with the public. These findings include the projected cost of the mandate for the district, including the expense of the buses as well as the infrastructure required to charge them. Since Garden City School District manages its own fleet of buses, it's particularly significant for a district like ours. Um, and we will be sure to keep the public informed so that we can advocate as a community for our schools. The second legislative matter we discussed was the need um to modernize our civil service system. The way in which the system is functioning right now, it's difficult to hire and retain um good people that do really important work for our district. So,
065Assemblyman Rob plans to coordinate a meeting with um Dr. SHA and some of the other Nassau County superintendent, business officials and civil service representatives to further address these challenges with um Senator Bon also planning to attend. And then lastly, Senator Bon also shared that Unionale hosts a large legislative meeting each February that brings together local officials from all levels of the government along with students. So she had shared that it's a really great opportunity to see how leaders work together to support their communities. She invited members of our legislative committee to attend so we can explore creating a similar event here in um Garden City as well. >> Anything else you wanted to add or No. Okay. >> The only thing I would say on the the buses, I know I've talked about it before,
066but something that just it's really impractical. It's infeasible. it's unfeasible to to execute what they're asking us to do. So, you know, it's a a legisl Kristen was more articulate, but it just doesn't make economic sense and we'd have to redo our garages, our buses. They're more expensive. It's just buses don't run on charges long enough to take our kids to and from school. So, to the extent you feel inspired, uh, let your let your legislators know about the issues that it would cause for you and the district by kind of implementing these rules. And one thing we've talked about, I'll say it bluntly, if we have to spend all the money on buses, we can't spend it on education and teachers and the things we do in the schools. And so I view that
067as a loss for the district. So we should uh to the extent you feel inspired, strongly push back on it. And and and now I'm going to hand it to Dana to do the Treasury report. You have one more comment. We did do a feasibility study with um you know for the zero emission buses and we just recently Dana and I met with them and we reviewed that. We will be inviting them to the board uh one of our board meetings so they can give you an update and also our community. >> Yeah. And then once we have that information and that data, we can also yeah share that with the community so that we can talk about next steps and how we can advocate um and speak up for what a challenge this will
068be for us as a district. Um just an update. Uh Kristen and I were able to attend NISPA's um u conference. It was uh last week on um pathways and partnerships for schools and um was very inspiring. Um they had different districts who have different uh programs that essentially place their students in um it all varies and it's you know based on what the communities kind of want and what the priorities are but creating pathways and partnerships for allowing students to have different experiences maybe world real real world experiences uh work experiences. Um, and it was it was very inspiring and we um got to meet with a couple of different um organizations who are kind of in play in in this field in this area. Uh and it made us uh kind of turn
069to the ideas of you know what are the partnerships here that Garden City prioritizes with our community members. Um and it was uh it was a great meeting and I was I was happy to get to go. Um and then um I was able to um attend a joint POA meeting just to give a board of education update um trying to just spread the good word of the board. Um so we field questions. It was it was a well attended meeting. Um we seem to you know sometimes pack them in. I like to think it's us, but um and people are, you know, I had one particular uh gentleman ask about science in Garden City and um you know, what are our our high school students doing in science and how are we achieving more
070in steam and you know and his concerns. So, it's a really great way to meet with people who maybe otherwise couldn't attend our meetings uh whether virtually or in person here. So, I appreciate the opportunities to uh just get to give these updates uh to the community whatever way we can. >> And Dan, I skipped over your treasures report. So, back to you for a second. >> This is the treasures report for November 2025. We had a cash balance at the beginning of the month of 54,779,531. During November, we had receipts totaling 41,932,489. We had dispersements of 9,483,270, leaving us with a closing balance of 87,228,750. Thank you. >> Thank you. I would just note that one item on the agenda that we didn't mention, but just a call out because it's been a topic
071of conversation is the regionalization opt out is on the agenda today. So, it's just a followup to previous uh discussions and declarations by the board around regionalization. So, I think it's just consistent with pre previous um discussions, but I'm just calling it out because I know people have asked about it in the past. So, at this time, um we have a period designated for the public to address the board. Please, um move forward. State your name, address, um please list all of your questions at once. And we'd like to ask that you complete uh your questions within a 3minut time period. So the floor is open for anybody who has questions. What was the last? Sorry. What was the last one? >> Oh, >> so reply. I think you guys have said I mean first
072of all I do thankfully acknowledge that I did ask many times I administration meetings do you guys implementing I went back to I myself told you last Can you I'm not following that question. Sorry. Can you just >> this is just last year right at the time they gave $2600 each week where teacher came in she sat with the students And then they brought in children that class together. It was very like music therapy that worked a lot on music aspect speech about socialization and so on when you guys clearly need to prove everything and you not just don't want it to be one and done. We wanted this to be there. One of the things that we spoke about children like my daughter don't get to say there is no adaptive there is no
073adaptive instrument. She doesn't get to do that. She doesn't get to Even though they go up Thanksgiving, she does not get that opportunity next year when she's supposed to go up. She's an instrument. She doesn't get anything. I don't expect the teachers and yes you said in your email they give high quality not to her children as you know musical you know tomorrow we do enjoy that we do appreciate they're not specialized there is disconnect and as much as we give them another session to children with such severe disabilities brings so much as I said again sensory gross motor so much joy first of all parts of the brain that it alone the moment you give her the moment you play and the moment you do that changes like that down. She can actually sing.
074She can copy on guitar and there's so many students I know there's a big ask that we have to be done. So go back came $2600 at the time that he asked that this money be accepted as that meeting you guys. Afterwards, the only reason that we found out when I think June, um, we found somebody that was actually cheaper and that did it a little bit nicer. They actually worked a little bit more sensory. And then we found out, oh, we're not bringing this back. So, had it for million for you know for everything that we have not to allow two classes $1800 for them to have music where they cannot participate in the rest of the year it's not okay and it should have been fundrais Whatever it is not there's no transparency
075to it and there's no real answer you need an has shared earlier be discussing it for during the budget time for student >> I mean was is it >> I mean is there just so I understand completely the request you're asking for two classrooms is it fulltime was it like I don't know the extent of the program >> is that just in the A12 though sorry I just want Is that just in the 812 class. I know you mentioned other things as well. >> 812 in our district from a little bit more. So it's probably not necessary for them to especially once you alternatively assess I think that that's important. I do see a huge benefit that we have right now. There's children, first of all, that class is fully my daughter's class. Um, there's
076children with more handicaps and disabilities that can benefit from I, you know, again, I understand people. I just want to say I'm so disappointed that it gets answer $72,000 you know photos like that matters these little things every single day you know I can't even I didn't go to you know I'm supposed to be there right now that's not because I can't even My daughter to be here today is I cannot have during the problems that we have so big for children who are not speaking the class that level level that was during the summer as I right now asked about it times. So to explain sorry >> so it's at Straford at Straford that class does their extended school year for summer program um at Straford um the class was moved during the summer
077to third grade level um it was moved there to give children time to transition and you know being a new class fantastic idea um we were there visit the first time it was great having some effect. He came second time to visit. All of a sudden, the class back downstairs was an old resource class and there's a tech or something there and every time they put in the AC unit and we couldn't, you know, just put an extension or whatever. We tried to do something else just wasn't happen. Um, this is an issue of grounds never supposed to do this. The classroom then stay downstairs. So now the children of the 812 all integrated to third grade do not integrate anyone. So they're downstairs with second graders who have nothing to do with them and
078all their friends and class they go to upstairs all the way home. So they have to go about six times in a times a day. They have to go up and down five to six times. So again is going up the stairs more from the rest of them. I know this happened with my son at school. They still have this situation again. But special walking down the You're missing regret. My daughter was in second grade for two years. That was the best part when she walked down all she just sle for it to be implemented with so much. We're asking for the opportunity for a child speaks like this throughout the day, not to cutunication off during the time that they are here. It's not fair. grow and it actually us and go from there
079give us again transparency why not why yes what can we do after we move >> we're happy to look into it I just I would cave I would >> no we're not allowed to bring it to school we're not show >> I mean the Only thing I would say just if everybody wants to bring their own things in, it can create a little bit of chaos in a room. Just I'm not educated. >> I I understand that. I I assume teachers probably have a view on that. I won't speak for them and how they administer their class. >> Yeah. So just in >> I mean you could I'm not trying to debate you. I just I know you're frustrated frustrated but we can't just we just I >> Yeah. I I just wanted to say
080that in response to >> Why are you asking me a question? >> The information that you shared with us about that legislation, we do appreciate you bringing that to our attention and actually we did speak with our attorneys who then provided us all the information about that legislation so that we are better informed about it too. So I just want to let you know that >> for that that's what I'm saying. All I ask is to show it so we can decide what that information because that won't help anybody including myself at least. >> Thank you. We appreciate you bringing that to our attention and we have seen the legislation. And this is a life changers. Once that child is heard as you know fully equipped person so I just spend Saturday and the school
081is so big. >> So what is the ask for us? Is it to support the legislation? Is it is there something action? >> Same thing as Mr. Chapman was just holding up. >> Did you have video? Did you have videos? I think you did. >> Yeah. >> Can you can you resent them? >> There's some controversy. >> I doubt it's helpful. I'm just I just wanted >> to consider to consider I think maybe to consider it be in advance of the legislation potentially going through in the next 12 months. even in advance of that I think right I just want to make sure >> there'll be they would you know I think I think what what is saying is for us to know as much as we can about this this >> legisology It's instead
082of like instead of tech >> using a computer or something. Yeah. >> Or are we just all waiting for the legislation? I think I mean right now there's some controversy and our speech actually the I'm sorry. I'm sorry. No, I'm sorry to interrupt. I was just going to jump in here. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to start this and we will absolutely read up on it and you know we will follow up. I understand our remit now and I will go back and understand that. But I think it's something that is you know maybe best to be discussed. Well, we don't know that it's in the but I just just so you know the problem is that for years I wouldn't be here without showing this to us and she gave my daughter biggest
083in the last year. Um I think the problem was that years before that she fought so hard and she tried so hard. So that's what we're trying to just like let's have a conversation let's do this eventually we'll need to have but I'm like let's start now it's okay to do and we hear you >> appreciate and thank you Ma for right we'll be back >> at this time to make more efficient use of the meeting time the board of education authorizes use of the consent agenda this allows One motion to approve multiple items uh on the agenda. The president of the board will ask for a motion to approve the consent agenda. Board members wish to have an item pulled out and voted on separately or clarified. If none at this time, may I
084have a motion to approve the consent agenda, which includes business of the board items H1 through H6, personnel matters I1 through I4, business office matters J1 through J17, special education matters items K1 through K5, and continuing education matters L1 through L2. All in favor? I. Any new business? No. No. Future Board of Education meetings, Tuesday, February 3rd, work session 7:30 at the Garden City High School. And then February 24th, 2026, regular session, 7:30 at the Garden City High School. May I have a motion that no further business to come before the board, the meeting be adjourned? All in favor? I