001Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey. Hey. Hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Are you Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. N. Good evening. Do I have a motion to convene the November 19th regular meeting of the Levittown Board of Education? Michael, do I have a second? Phyllis. Uh, please note that Christina is absent tonight. She's excused. All in favor? One, two, three, five, zero. Okay. May I have a
002motion to move into executive session for the purpose of discussing negotiations with CSEA and to seek advice from district legal counsel? A motion. Jen, do I have a second? Maryanne. All in favor? 5. Nothing. Um, any guts? Okay. We will return at 7:30. Please note that we will recite the pledge of allegiance when we return to open the regular meeting. Thank you. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, hey, hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat up here. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey.
003Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. They're always Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. Good evening. As a reminder, anyone planning to speak at our public be heard tonight, you must sign up prior to the start of the me meeting which is about to start. Okay. I would like to welcome you to the November 19th
004meeting of the Levittown Board of Education. May I have a motion to reconvene the meeting? Jen, do I have a second? Jim, all in favor? 4 Z. At this time, please rise for the pledge of >> allegiance >> to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty andice. May we please have a moment of silence to remember all those serving our country at home and abroad. >> Thank you. Please note Christina Lang and Maryanne Adrien is excused from this meeting. Okay. At this time, we are now going to move to the auditorium for our students recognitions. We will return around 8:00 p.m. The recognitions are for National Merit Scholar and Outstanding Fall Athletes. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, hey, hey. Heat. Heat.
005Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat up here. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yes, thank you our students and our faculty at East Broadway Elementary School for their beautiful artwork displayed on the walls of the boardroom and in the hallway. Thank you very much. Okay, I will now turn the meeting over to our superintendent, Mr. Lynch. >> Thank you, Vice President Morangi. >> Very welcome. >> First vice president. Um so at this point uh as you may remember if you were here at the last meeting Dr. Zerianis uh presented
006to the board the state of the district part one which was elementary all things elementary not just data because it isn't just data that defines what we do for students. So tonight we are pleased to have her present part two which is all on the secondary level the middle and the high school. So uh without any further ado Dr. Zerianis. >> Thank you very much Superintendent Winch. I'm very very excited. I was very excited um at the last meeting to present our state of the district elementary and I'm equally excited uh tonight to present our state of the district secondary. A lot to celebrate. It really does give me collective pride in doing both of these presentations. It's hours and hours of work working with our team putting it together, but when you take a
007a zoom out and a step back, you just realize the wonderful things that are happening in the Levittown School District. So without further ado, I will get started. So, good evening members of the board of education, superintendent Winch, district colleagues, and members of the Levittown community. It is a privilege to share part two of the state of the district report with you this evening, focusing on our secondary schools. If the story from our K5 presentation was about building an exceptional foundation, the story that you'll hear tonight is about how we build on that foundation. I am proud to highlight our grade 6 through 12 program, a story of national recognition, meaningful academic progress, and a comprehensive approach to preparing every student for their future. I want to thank all of our principles and directors for
008their work in preparing this presentation and for their leadership in advancing initiatives that benefit our students each and every day. I would also like to extend a special thank you to John Towers and Dr. Dr. Colini for their support in gathering and analyzing the data that you are about to see. Their contributions were essential to putting this presentation together. Thank you all for your continued dedication to our students. It truly takes a collaborative effort to move our district forward. So, we begin with our high schools. I am thrilled to report that for 2025, US News and World Report has once again named both Division Avenue and MacArthur High School as designated best high schools. This isn't just a local honor. This distinction places both of our high schools in the top 10% of all high
009schools in the entire nation and in the top 20% within New York State. This is a testament. Yes, that's a great This is a testament to the rigorous highquality education that our students receive day in and day out from our dedicated staff. And this recognition is borne out by our student outcomes. The class of 2025 achieved a 95% graduation rate. But we aren't just focused on graduation. were focused on highlevel preparation. 66% of those graduates earned an advanced regions diploma demonstrating mastery across a a broad spectrum of subjects and their post-secondary plans reflect this preparation. 73% are attending four-year colleges, 14% two-year colleges, and another 10% moving directly into vocational programs, military service, or the workforce prepared for success. And this high level preparation is reflected not only in our graduation and post-secary plans but
010also in our students performance on regent uh regions exams across subjects. In ELA we are 11 points above the Nassau County average. In algebra 1 and geometry we are 12 points uh 12 points above. In US history, eight points above. And in our STEM focus subjects, the gap is even more pronounced. 13 points above in living environment, 11 points in earth science, and a truly exceptional 16point gap in physics. So that really is a tremendous celebration. Kudos um to all of the departments, but extra special kudos uh to Mr. McDermott and of course um our science teachers. Our students are not just meeting the standard, they are dramatically outpacing their peers across the region. This success is the result of the consistent focused work of our teachers and directors. They continuously review student data, analyze
011test questions, and collaborate to improve mastery rates and instructional practices. A great example of this work is in algebra 2. This year, 40% or I should say this past year, but the year I'm presenting data for, 40% of students demonstrated mastery, which means earning an 85% or higher on the exam. This is the first time in the Common Core SLN NextGeneration era that that level of mastery has been reached on that exam. So, kudos to the math department as well. I think that all deserves a round of applause. We see the same drive for excellence in our advanced placement program. We are actively encouraging more students to take on this challenging college level work and they are rising to the occasion. This past year, our students took 1,974 AP exams, a significant jump from the
012previous year. But more importantly, our success rate went up. An incredible 84% of our students earned a three, four, or five, a score that typically earns them college credit and a and a lot of extra work from our guidance chairs. So, they've been putting a lot of e extra work. They keep saying that the numbers have increased and as you can see, in just one year, they significantly had. So, thank you to our guidance chairs. But I specifically want to highlight our a our AP capstone program as well. The number of students earning that elite AP capstone diploma has nearly doubled this year from 25 to 49 students. And this really is a phenomenal achievement. The academic rigor is also reflected in college entrance exams. Our students mean SAT score was 1,111. I was really
013scared. I was just about to say that wrong. Um, but I think that was right. Uh, outpacing the New York State mean of 145. But the real story is in the details. In Levittown, 35% of our students scored in the 1,200 to 1390 range compared to just 19% of students nation uh, excuse me, statewide. And our percentage of students in the highest, 1400 to,600 bracket is also higher than the state average. Our students are not just ready for college, they are competitive applicants for the most selective institutions. And finally, for our high schools, we celebrate the students who have demonstrated mastery in other ways. This past year, 155 students earned the New York State Seal of Biiteracy, a high honor that recognizes their proficiency in English and at least one other language. And we've had
014many students who have achieved this in three languages. So that is also extremely impressive. And 319 students who have earned the New York State Seal of Civic Readiness, proving they are engaged, knowledgeable, and prepared to be active citizens. This level of high school success is only closely connected to the important work that must begin in our middle schools where students develop the skills and habits that carry them forward. Our middle schools themselves are state and national leaders. I am incredibly proud to share two major honors that have been achieved in 2025. Congratulations to principal John Aena, assistant principal Craig Orllo Shaw, and the entire Wisdom Lane Middle School team. Wisdom Lane is only one of 64 schools in the entire nation to be honored as an Amly School of Distinction, and Levittown is just one
015of four school districts on Long Island to have an Amly designated middle school. Of the 32 schools across the nation that initially entered the national application process this year, only 24 schools qualified, making this achievement even more significant. At the Amly conference two weeks ago, the team was also honored with the superlative most supportive administrative team, highlighting the strength of their leadership. This recognition affirms that Wisdom Lane is a model of responsive, challenging, empowering, equitable, and engaging middle school practices reflecting the district's commitment to success for every student. And I definitely think that deserves a round of applause that puts us >> How about a big hand for Mr. Shore, Mr. Vina as well? >> Yeah. I mean, when you look at those statistics, that puts us in very rare company. If you look at
016the number of middle schools across the country to know that only 64 in total, not this year, in in all of the time that Emily has been um designating middle schools, that only 64 have earned it. But I found what was even more impressive was that 34 uh 32 schools entered the process and only 24 were selected, which means it is a highly selective process. It's not just like you put in the time to fill out the application and you're getting the designation. There were actual schools on Long Island, not just across the nation, that began the process and did not make it all the way through the end. So, um, really, really exciting, but I do not want to, um, oh, and there are some pictures, uh, from their trip. They were just in
017Indianapolis. Uh, they're they're superlative, most supportive administrative team. So, really, really wonderful, great group of educators went, uh, to accept the award. Jonah Esau Middle School was officially designated in 2025 as a state school of character earlier this year by character.org, a national leader in character education. This designation signifies that SOCK has an intentional and comprehensive approach to character education that is woven into the school's culture and curriculum. We are incredibly proud of this achievement as SOCK was one of only six schools in all of New York State or I should say middle well no it was beyond middle schools. It was actually elementary as well in all of New York State to earn this distinction for 2025. Um and only one of two middle schools in the whole entire state to be designated in
0182025. And as a reminder, in 2023, SOCK was redesated as a New York State essential elements school to watch, a recognition that reflects its strong academic program, responsive practices, and a commitment to continuous improvement for all students. So, kudos to Sock as well. >> And if I remember correctly, uh, Mr. Zan Pagleion won an award this year, the Hero Award, right, from Long Island Anti-Bullying Coalition. Yes, he did. Back in October. We did not really recognize him for that, but uh really shows the the commitment to character education at all. So >> we could give him a superlative for most supportive most supportive administrative team part two could be his um his superlative, but two wonderful middle schools as John might say. I mean Sock has a state designation. Wisdom has a national designation. No
019pressure sock um on getting national designation, but we are proud certainly of both accomplishments. I love it. I love it. >> I think Mr. Z and Mr. Grady also deserve a big hand. >> Yes. Yes. Absolutely. >> These accolades for culture and climate are rooted in academic proficiency. Our middle school proficiency rates in both reading and math are 17 percentage points and this is our I Ready data. We looked at that obviously um at the last um presentation K to 5. So we're going to look six and seven tonight. Uh in both reading and math are 17 percentage points above the New York State average. We are building the core skills our students need to succeed before they ever walk into the high school. And we did see the high school regent exam um data
020just a few moments ago. So we do know that we are working toward building that success and proficiency. Okay. Yeah. I know that the board of education has asked me um both, you know, previously about this is great, but we just took a look when we're looking at secondary data. We just took a look at that Nassau County gap. And we know that it is more often that we like to measure ourselves versus the Nassau County gap than a national gap or a state gap. I have said come back to this table year after year. Uh Mr. Towers who's here um knows the struggle we have had with I Ready to provide us a Nassau County comparison gap. There has been a lot of legal hurdles, a lot of us pushing um on them. We
021I did recently meet with them several days ago and I do believe we finally have clearance on all of those legal hurdles and they are telling me that by the time we get data next year, they are much more confident that we will now be able to have a comparison to Nassau County. But there were a lot of legal restrictions on I Ready and Bose's connections etc. So as of now the only data we are able um to assemble is ourself versus the state or versus the nation through the I Ready um you know platform. >> That's great news. >> Yeah, it we've been fighting for it for so long. I I think they're finally understanding um you know why that is relevant especially for downstate districts that really are looking for um the the
022surrounding districts in which to compare how we're doing like we do with our region's data. So we're hoping to see a shift by the time I present next year. >> And I would just say that that that the battle has gone on since before Dr. Z was here. Um when we first moved to I Ready. I remember that Mr. Towers M. Kelly and I uh tried to work to get it brought into the Boseis data warehouse and it has just been nothing but barrier after barrier. Uh I'm sure Dr. Z will make it happen now. So >> yeah, >> I'm very close. I have I have not let up. I even sent them an email tonight saying just so you know I have to present to the board and the first thing they're going to
023say so thank you for putting me in this position again. Um and they said please tell them that hopefully by next year you'll be in a different spot. So I am hoping for progress. line. Can you have any you have any numbers us against the uh other NASA district? >> No. >> Okay. >> That they won't give it to us. >> I had it. That's perfect. Thank you. They won't give it to us. >> The problem The problem with that is that when you throw New York City in the mix, that skews the numbers completely. We really do want to compare ourselves to Long Island. That's >> 100%. Even when you throw upstate, there's there's, you know, the data is different regionally. Um, and it really is even a NASA at a NASA comparison even
024more than a Nassau suffic comparison. So they they think they're finally hearing they they have worked for the last year to try to overcome the legal hurdles and I think there's there's a break in in some of that. So >> just as a as a comment one the issue one of the issues we we got we were dealing with early on was that when Boseies was going to bring it into the data warehouse the all the other districts had to sign off that they would be okay with that. And in the end, what ended up happening is only a tiny handful of districts signed off that they would allow their data to go into that because >> I would assume that many districts aren't interested in having their data, >> you know, kind of compared
025or anything like that. So, um, >> they are circumventing Boseies now and what it's going to be the legal thing that they finally is that if you purchase the product, you're pretty much signing off that your data can be compared. So any district that will stick with I Ready now it'll sort of be like a caveat of the contract that if you're going to purchase the product your data will be you know compared they've kind of eliminated that Bosey's intermediary step >> but I really don't think we need to have all the individual school districts information posted no >> just by getting New York City out of the mix you'll see how you stand in Nassau County and Suffach County >> without saying this school did better than that school I just want to know
026how our average holds Long Island schools haven't been able to best schools in the world yet >> 100%. Hopefully that's coming, >> but this is what we do have. It is something to celebrate and we will look a little more specifically now at reading and math. This is our I Ready reading data for grades six and seven. in grade six 52. Um, well, the first chart here shows the percentage of students scoring at or above grade level in reading, comparing Levittown's 2025 results to New York State benchmarks and highlighting progress in our district since 2022. In grade six, 52% of our students are performing at or above grade level, well above the state benchmark of 41%. In grade 7, 55% of our students are at or above grade level compared to the states 44%. And
027overall, our proficiency data in grade six and seven has remained relatively consistent, reflecting steady performance. We are no longer using I Ready for um 8th grade in either reading or math. We have moved to um in math. We were already using um in district benchmarks and we are we have done the same thing um in eighth grade as a way to transition students to what they will experience uh in 9th grade with midterms, finals, regent exams. We found the eighth grade data for um I Ready math and reading was not overly reliable and students were experience especially that many of our students in math who are accelerated did not participate in Ireie but also a certain fatigue factor was um uh you know happening for our students where they've been taking this exam all the
028way since kindergarten engaging in I ready by 8th grade uh we didn't see the same level of commitment to uh the the progress that we were hoping to see from the students taking it seriously ly. So we have shifted our model in eighth grade which is why I'm presenting sixth and seventh grade data in the absence of eighth grade. Yes, Jen. >> So you said you're using district assessments. Is that like created within like so some districts use NWA or things like that? >> These are teacher created at the moment. We are looking to pilot we've been um Mr. Towers has been using this year with his eighth grade teachers to see if perhaps that would be a better alternative. We are trying to figure out what might work for eighth grade, but it does
029not seem like I ready is something that they continue to take the students with any level of seriousness in eighth grade, which then makes the data not very reliable for moving instruction forward. >> Okay. So, teacher created, but it's consistent across >> Yes. Every teacher is delivering the same exam. >> Gotcha. Yes. Yes. And every teacher delivers it at the same time, the same day that um so they're all trying to meet the same benchmark, same exam. >> Okay. >> All right. Yes. >> Um C would you be able to get for us the percentage of students receiving AIS uh in middle school and broken down by grade levels and the percentage of improvement in from grade to grade from six uh sixth, seventh and eighth. >> Yes. >> And then I would also like
030to know what programs are using. >> Yes. >> For remediation >> in both reading and math. >> Uh yes. >> Okay. on the chart. Uh on this particular bar, uh it's not a bar graph, it's a line graph. On this particular line graph, the top line in red represents Levittown, while the bottom line in blue represents the national norm. So this is in reading. So through seventh grade, Levittown students consistently outperform national benchmarks. You can see the trend data is very similar across the nation and how students are performing at various grade levels. But what is consistent is that we are consistently outperforming the nation. Uh even if the trend patterns are the same. >> Could you go back to that one second? >> Okay. Good. Yeah. And we remember we had we celebrated um
031our K to5 during our K to 5 presentation when we saw all of our grade levels K to five for reading. We're in the high performance high growth zone. And here we are again for grades six and seven. So as we know I Ready measures school measures students on two key dimensions. Performance or proficiency which reflects how high the students score and growth which reflects how much they improve over time. We are thrilled to see that both our sixth and seventh grade reading data fall squarely into the high performance high growth quadrant. This shows that our students are not only achieving at strong levels but are continuing to make meaningful above average process uh progress. Next, let's look at student performance on I Ready for math in grades six and seventh. Grade six students demonstrate
032strong proficiency compared to state and national averages, which is very encouraging. In grade 7, proficiency is more limited, reflecting a smaller margin compared to earlier grades, a trend that is seen nationally as students encounter more abstract mathematical concepts. To address this, we are continuing to provide support in pre-alggebra readiness with a focus on student engagement and strengthening instruction in critical thinking and problem solving. And you can see Okay. this data as a setback but rather as a diagnostic opportunity. It clearly identifies where our focus needs to be with math and there will be a renewed emphasis on targeted smallroup instruction and prioritizing essential skills within the seventh grade AIS program. That will be a key initiative this year to support stronger growth outcomes for these students as they work uh to move into the high
033performance high growth zone. >> Uh for I'm I'm an elementary school teacher so forgive me. I don't understand what like a small group instruction would look like in an AS AIS model in middle school. So that is like is that like a pull out period? Are there are the kids like at stations? Is there independent work or is it really teacher taught like explicit teaching? >> Would it be okay if I asked Mr. Towers to jump in on that? >> You don't have to know this right now either. I'm just talked about this. Would it be okay, Mr. Towers? >> No, we talked about this. I know he's prepped and ready. Okay. And then from like a data perspective, like you spoke about supplemental uh curriculum from let's say like half the group while the
034other half is with the teacher. Um how are we kind of monitoring if those like what's the metric for monitoring if those supplemental things are actually beneficial, right? Because the children could be like doing it, right? And kind of going through the motions, but like nothing's improving or maybe a certain like um maybe a certain cohort it's not improving. Like is there a reason for that? are these kids that have IEPs, are these uh students that are ENL, are they students that came to a certain elementary school or I don't know or transfers into the district? Like is there a way of monitoring that to make sure that we're kind of capitalizing on what we're using as supplemental and not just kind of doing the same thing and be like I guess it's kind of
035working. Not that that's what we're doing. I'm just like wondering like how you would measure that and then make databased decisions from it. >> Yeah, we're use three of the tools that we're using do provide us with a lot of data. So we're using Magma Bath, we're using EXL and we're using I Ready. Uh Mr. Towers does have individual data meetings with his teachers taking a look just like we talked about for our elementary. So there are individual data meetings happening at the secondary level and he is sitting and reviewing um student performance data several times a year, how students are progressing um things of that nature. So he's very hands-on with really looking at the data that's being collected uh and how the teachers are using that to inform decisions about where students whether
036they're making the appropriate progress or not throughout the year. We're not waiting till like June to figure out did they meet you know have they met the typical growth etc. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Okay. On to new courses. We are constantly evaluating and updating our course catalog to reflect student interest and future career paths. For next year, we are excited to introduce the following new courses. And I will say in advance, I did not Mr. Winch um put the new physics class. Sorry, Mr. McDermott. It is very I'm very excited. Woo! About the new um physics class, but it did not make the presentation. >> I don't know if that was genuine. I >> No, I'm very excited. >> Mr. McDer, wasn't I like really excited? I wanted to take it.
037>> Yeah, it was like woohoo, right? >> That wasn't physics love. That was not physics love. >> It's not It is. It is. I felt intimidated by physics C mechanics or whatever it is. So it did not make the presentation but other courses did but not because we don't love physics. Um we do and these are our new courses that we are super excited plus physics uh c mechanics to introduce into um our course catalog for next year. So you can see um two college new college credit elective courses, college astronomy as well as college introduction to health professions. I'm super excited about both of them. I love about um you know we have our future teachers program here in Levittown and this course is almost like a future health professions and what this will
038allow our students is to experience what everyone kind of thinks nurse and doctor right uh you know when they're go thinking about a future career in medicine but there are so many other um paths that students can take and this course in connection with Long Island University will help to expose students uh to some of those varied health professions. So, we're really really excited about those two particular opportunities, both coming out of the science department. And then on the right hand side of the screen, um our regular new some regular new elective courses we have coming out of our business department, a course called Level Up, Intro to Video Game Design. And that was really born out of the tremendous enthusiasm that we have in all four schools for our esports club. um and looking
039for a course that really might connect to students who are taking esports that perhaps a path for them in the business um realm might be uh a video game pathway. So, intro to video game design. I I believe we'll get good enrollment there. In our world language department, introducing a new elective uh for grades 11 and 12, voices and cultures, a study of less commonly taught languages. So, this does not count for a world language credit, but it will allow students once they finish their world language path to then take an additional course of study where they might learn other languages that uh they might not have had that experience that might serve them in whatever profession that or pathway that they're choosing. And then another course uh health beyond high school that was pitched
040by our health department. they are very excited about this with the addition of our uh financial literacy graduation requirement. One of the sort of I guess not a negative but an unintended consequence of that decision and putting that um course in and making that a requirement is many of our students now choose to take health in ninth grade to get that um course done so that there's time for them to take financial literacy before they graduate. So the health department felt that that's fine that kids are taking it in ninth, but they really wanted an opportunity for 12th graders. This is a senior only course. Another opportunity to have students take a health related course that they can really engage in topics that are going to prepare them for health beyond high school. Exactly like
041it says all of the topics about mental wellness, all the topics about eating right. Um you know, things like that that really are going to be important as kids move on past division or MacArthur High School. I'm just going to ask you to pause there for a minute. Sure. >> Um if our uh exeicio board leaison members just uh you're seniors now at uh at the high school um you could of course stay if you want to take these courses next year uh but you unfortunately will probably miss out on these courses. Any comments? Anything you think these are some things that are might be of interest to your your classmates? Are there other things that you think we should be considering for next year as we develop the course catalog for 2728? I just
042did have one question. Uh like what would the difference between uh a class like App Inventor and Level Up intro to video game design be? Like what what's like kind of the focus in that in that elective um compared to a class like App Inventor? >> I'm going to feel really bad doing this, but Mr. powers, right? Yeah. All right, great. Thank you. Yeah. No, I thought I thought it I thought it was a great uh great idea because, you know, not a lot of kids um a lot of kids take App Inventor thinking they they'd be designing video games, whereas it's more >> coding focused as you said and uh and it's it's great that we're we're focusing on that. So, yeah, I I I did like that. >> Yeah, on in the course
043catalog it is. I probably just didn't do a great job of but that was a great question and I'm sorry Mr. Towers. >> Yeah, I think these are great courses to have. I know Miss Wheeler is very excited about the intro to health professions keeps pitching it to our anatomy class and I've already had some of my friends that are juniors tell me I am definitely taking this next year because there are so many kids interested in going into the medical field. So I think that's definitely a great thing to have. That's that's wonderful to hear and that actually that course actually grew out of um every year we do a senior exit survey and our seniors continue to talk about um that was how we have uh put in college anatomy and physiology to
044begin with that if they wanted to pursue a path in medicine beyond these elevated science courses um what what could they take? So we initially put in anatomy and physiology and then again on the senior exit survey it was like that's great that you have that what else can we do and that's where um intro to health professions came from. So, >> and just to piggyback on that since when you go back to talk to your your fellow classmates, just encourage them when they, >> you know, get that senior exit survey at the end. Um, we literally do look at that and and it has an immediate effect that it may not benefit the seniors, but it benefits those that are going through the high school after them. Um, but literally, I want to say
045for the last couple of years, um, whatever we've gotten from that survey, we've actually been at least one or two courses added based solely upon information from the students. So you can let them know that like it really does happen where what they put in we we work off of. >> I should also say the the Miss Ortiz's class uh the voices and cultures class was also um from that survey because we got a lot of responses from our seniors last year on the exit survey about having us add additional courses um in other languages. And that isn't always easy to do um because it means finding an instructor that's certified in that particular language and that isn't always easy. But then Miss Ortiz kind of took that data from the seniors and said,"Well, what
046can we do with that and get around some of that?" And that was where voices and cultures came from because that would give our students an opportunity in 11th or 12th grade to have some exposure, if not necessarily mastery of some other languages. So, we're hoping um you know, that came out of that survey also. >> And I believe Mr. Myers knows Mandarin, so I think he could teach the Mandarin course, right, if we needed him to. So, >> sorry. >> Add that to the list of jobs. Yes, perfect. >> Right now, our computer classes are basically coding classes. >> No, no, no. G, excuse me. Game design. >> Yeah. So, there's there's uh so I actually I I've taken um all the coding classes that the school offers. So, it's it's computer programming one
047and then there's AP computer science principles and then there's AP computer science A and then there's App Inventor which kind of is an introduc I I'd say it's a little more introductory compared to the AP classes um where you're designing apps but Um, This year we're celebrating several exciting firsts for Levittown. So for the first time it's not working. Um, you might remember last year, you might remember last year, um, and the year before, we began to slowly transition our college fairs into post-secary fairs so that we made sure that we were representing all potential, um, pathways for our students. And, uh, in consultation with our guidance chairs this year and our counseling department, we said a lot of times it would be really nice to have families participate in this event, but it's hard
048to bring families in during the school day from a security perspective. So, we said, why not um try this in the evening? That way, families could come together to the post-secondary fair and it would allow families to have conversations with college reps or, you know, state police reps or trade unions, etc., and that might help our students um figure out if they might be a little more reluctant when they're on their own, figure out what pathways might work. So, we're going to be hosting it here in the gym. Um more details to come, but save the date for this very exciting first. I think it's working now. We have also, so you might have remembered that I had been doing the summer college tours and I did not run one this summer because very wonderfully
049we have reinstituted um they we were doing this pre-COVID but now our high schools are back to doing this. Reinstituted our high school um driven very specific college tours giving students a chance to experience a variety of campuses firsthand and discover what might interest them. So recently over 30 Macarthur students visited Sunni Newalt and Maris and tomorrow ironically as you see on that flyer there we have 47 Division Avenue students uh visiting Sunni Albany um and Maris. So what a wonderful turnout for both of those trips. Uh these trips allow students to see campus life, ask questions and start imagining themselves in college settings. So, thank you to Miss Hammer and to Miss Nasser and the counseling departments of both high schools for their support with these initiatives. Another first for our district was last
050summer's participation in the Global Navigator Study Abroad program. Four students spent three to four weeks abroad immersed in language, culture, and hands-on learning. Two Division Avenue students traveled to France uh to France. one focusing on French language and culture in Paris and another exploring aerospace engineering in I think you say that too loose. Um but I am not worldly or world traveler so hopefully I said that well. Um and from MacArthur, one student studied Korean language and culture in Seoul while another advanced her in Barcelona. Last week, Miss Ortiz hosted anformational night to offer this opportunity again to our high school students at both MacArthur and Division Avenue. And there was a huge turnout um at the parent informational night and some of the students who attended last year did speak at it. So, uh
051we are hoping that more students will do the study abroad program in the summer of 2026. But what a special opportunity uh for our Levittown students to participate in. And finally, we celebrated another first, our first NCAA informational night. A valuable opportunity for student athletes and their families to learn about the requirements, timelines, and resources available to pursue collegiate athletic opportunities. This event was designed to help families understand how academics, athletics, and planning intersect, supporting students in making informed decisions about the next steps in their education and athletic careers. Thank you to Mr. Kasher and Mr. Ryan for collaborating on this event. A benefit to all who attended and Superintendent Winch and I were in attendance. The turnout, the MacArthur Auditorium was packed. A lot of um family interest for this families coming together. We
052had some excellent speakers and it was just another wonderful first and a celebration of uh ways that we can support our students on whatever post-secondary path they choose. And this wonderful part, our comfort dog, our partnership with therapy dogs of Long Island. So supporting our students well-being, providing support and comfort for our students is a key priority, which is why we are excited about our comfort dog program. Through our partnership with Long Island Therapy Dogs, we recently welcomed a wonderful greyhound named Argus to our district. I love Argus. Um Argus visits all four of our secondary schools, spending time with both our students and staff. Although his visits began only about a month ago, Argus has already brought smiles and joy to our community. Students are more willing to engage in his presence, and he
053provides moments of calm that can help reduce stress and anxiety. We hope that over time, Argus will serve as one more way to support students social and emotional well-being while fostering a warmer, more welcoming school environment. And look how cute he is. And look at him in his beautiful sweater. I bought him that sweater. Red for when he's on the red side of town and then when he's on the other side of town, he wears a silver sweater. So, keep him warm because he's very skinny. But we love Argus. He's skinny. We love him. He's skinny. Yes, he's he's a Somebody help me. Thank you. >> Yes, he was rescued. He was a rescued greyhound. Help me out. We love Argus, right? He's physically fit. Yes. Come on. He's adorable in that sweater. Very, but
054he's adorable. Look at all the smiles. It's not too big on him. Who said that? All right. All right. I'm moving on. I don't want any Argus talk in here. We love him. All right. And lastly, as I mentioned during the K5 presentation, we are currently developing a 6 through8 extension of our career exploration curriculum. Our goal is to create a seamless K to8 continuum across all 14 career clusters, preparing students for the wide range of career related elective options available in grades 9 through 12. We are working closely with the family and consumer science teachers at Salk and Wisdom to develop the sixth and seventh grade curriculum for next year. Thank you to Mr. Burke and Miss Kelly for facilitating this important work. And looking ahead, we are hoping, and we'll talk more about
055this hopefully at our budget presentation in the months ahead, but we're hoping a next step might be to add an eighth grade course for all of our middle school students. This course will reinforce all of the career clusters and provide exposure to the fundamental skills outlined in the New York State digital fluency standards. This course would serve as the culmination of the K to8 career exploration continuum. By completing this K to8 aligned career continuum, students will be wellprepared to make informed choices among the many high school electives focused on a variety of post-secary pathways. And I want to thank Mr. towers for beginning the work on starting to imagine what this course might look like. So from national awards and top tier graduation rates to dominant academic data and forwardthinking programs, the state of our
056secondary education in Levittown is exceptionally strong. I want to thank our building and district leaders, our deeply dedicated teachers and support staff and this board of education for your continued support. And most of all, I want to congratulate our students who continue to raise the bar for success. Thank you. I would be happy to answer any questions the board might have at this time. >> No, we for Argus. >> Have you either have either of you seen Argus? >> Please, please. >> I have not, but I've had a bunch of friends go down and they absolutely love when he comes to Division. So, >> really? >> Okay. Is that the same MacArthur? >> Yeah, same thing for MacArthur. I had probably like maybe two friends cuz like the signups like for seeing him were went
057went out like quick. Like they opened it up um during the lunch periods and I think it was it was open for the week and it was gone. It was fil kind of stuff. That level that level. Okay. All right. Okay. >> Yeah. Yeah. No, for sure. Well, we only have a half a dog right now with Argus, so yes, we we need a few more. Um, but no, he's >> That doesn't sound right. >> I've been there and he's he is a wonderful dog. He's very very um loving. Yeah. And um and so he's Well, Luke's may be deceiving. You know, we're an inclusive school district and you know, if he if he has some dietary, you know, issues, then we'll address those. But, um he's he's very good for the kids and that's
058what it's all about. no matter um how he looks. >> Yeah. >> Okay. I think we're body shaming right now. We need to stop. I feel the dog is going to get insulted. >> Yeah. >> So, questions, Jen? >> Um I actually have a question from Miss Lang that she sent over email. >> She said that we you can get back to her anytime, but I feel like I'm going to ask the question anyway, but I think it's from like one of your first slides or second slides. >> Sure. which is uh of the 5% that are not graduating in the statistics which is 95% which is amazing. Um are they like eventually graduating like in five years or are they part of the program where they're here until they're 22? Um are they kind
059of like outliers that are dropping off? Are they L's? I think just a little more information. She said you don't have to have this information tonight. >> Would it be okay if I collected that data and reported back to the board at the next meeting? >> Yes. Thanks. >> Anybody else? Okay, I just want to I think this is the perfect time to do it. First of all, I'd like to thank Beth and Mr. Winch and the entire central office team for all their the work that they do. But with having been in education for so many years and Jen also and Phyllis and Christina were all in the field of education, nothing no change whatever change is going to take place. We know where the change takes place. It starts with the building administrators,
060the classroom teachers, the lunch monitors, the bus bus aids. When you're talking about social, emotional, and academic holistic approach to education, it will never happen by just it being dictated from the from the central office. And we are very happy um as the board of education here and have been working a lot of years on this uh now that co is way behind us and now we're able to really look and see the work that's being done through data meetings and everything else that's being done that it's successful. We're making incremental progress and that's really thanks to the building administrators, the chair people, the teachers, the teacher assistants. So, this is the perfect time to say thank you and please get this message out from the board with Thanksgiving next week. We really just wanted
061to let you know that we are we recognize what you're doing and we truly appreciate it. Thank you. >> Okay, you can go home now. Beth's done. >> I just want to thank um all the administrators uh that came out tonight uh in regards to uh supporting Dr. your honest presentation. Uh just echoing quickly what uh Mrs. Morangi said. Um I usually use the phrase of uh I just expect us to get a little bit better tomorrow than we are today, which everybody likes to probably throw up when I say it. Um but what I love about the presentations both from elementary as well as now is that um we are we are working on so many things that you know like we have presentations where we're talking about data and we are talking about
062areas where we're finding tremendous success and then areas for opportunity in the future. So we're not we don't shy away from the areas that we still need to do more work in. Um but we also want to celebrate those areas where we've seen great success. But yet at the same time you heard Dr. as he mentioned multiple times, this was a first, this was a first, this was a first. Like, uh, we're doing so many wonderful things for our students in our community that it really does make me proud to be superintendent and to work with such fine people, uh, on the behalf of such wonderful students that we have in our district. So, I just want to say thank you to to all of us. It's a community. It takes everybody to do it.
063Um, educators, parents, and and community members that don't have kids in school. So, just thanks to the Levittown School District community uh for everything they do all the time and uh I do hope that everybody does have a wonderful Thanksgiving. >> Yeah, I think now >> that's up to the board. >> Oh, I knew you were going to Goodbye. Happy Thanksgiving. Good night. Go home. So, um, just to continue in regards to, uh, thank you, Dr. Zeras. That was fantastic. Um, comments and reports. So, you may remember that we did adopt. >> It was a great report. It was, honestly, seriously, August aside, it was great. No, I'm just kidding. August is good. Um the uh we recently approved a new fee structure for building use for uh groups that are either not school groups
064or uh not community groups or community groups that want to use it when the building is not open. You may remember um so I wanted to bring up for the board's discussion is that we did get a request from NASA Boseis to utilize the auditorium here during the school day uh for two of their graduation ceremonies for two of their schools. um not GCTEK um but um it's something that's been done in the past that was done at no charge to Boseis but I did want to bring it up to you to discuss whether or not we would continue to allow NASA Boseis to utilize the auditorium here without charge um or do you want us to impose the charge because they really kind of fall in in another category right they're not community groups
065they're not uh for-profit groups they're um you know but again This includes lots of students that don't necessarily go to our district that are using our facility that we wouldn't be charging a fee for. >> Yeah. I mean, we pay fees to both all the time. So, I do believe both should pay their fee. >> Just it's just business. >> We pay money to have our buildings maintained, right? And this is part of kind of offsetting that cost of our the community and the taxpayers for kind of paying for that. So, I think Boseies can also pay. I think when we got some sort of I think it must have been maybe Mr. Fabiano's report. I think there was a lot of money going to Boseis. Well, >> yes, I agree. >> When we asked
066Boseis if they would like to upgrade the air conditioning and heating in that room because they're in this building, they kind of said began with two letters, N and O. Um, refused to do that and now they want to use that same auditorium. Let's tell them we'll let them use it in August if they like with no air conditioning for free. >> Pull the question. >> Yeah. I just think it's I'm hearing a no to charge the >> that they should be charged. Yes. Okay. Thank you. >> Well, it's from it's from our chart that we have here, right? So, it would be the auditorium, right? Which is $200 flat fee plus it wouldn't really require I guess a $75 per custodian fee because during the day, but we could, you know, we could do
067both. Yeah, >> they're using this auditorium. I'm sorry, I got lost in the sauce. Um, >> so they use actually they use this auditorium and they usually have a little bit of like um a fellowship hour or post whatever you want to celebration afterwards in the bathroom. >> Yeah. >> So, do they need extra like are we going to need extra security or anything in order to like >> We typically have not. They do come in through the front door through regular security, but we don't typically have extra security on for them. >> Now you're Yeah. >> Yeah. But we're not incurring I would say we're not incurring overtime for >> Yeah. But we're displacing our employees here. >> They are definitely doing work that they would not have to do. >> Mhm. >> If
068they were a little more flexible with the air conditioning HVAC system, >> I'm with you, Mike. >> I would agree to say, "Yeah, go ahead." But the hard no they gave us was >> Yeah. So I think you have >> I think I have my answer >> to charge for both. Thank you. >> I also think we should charge for parking in the lot too. $5 an hour, >> a flat fee, of course, >> in charge of parking in the board spots since that seems to be a good common thing these days. >> Okay. Well, thank you on that. So, in regards to uh follow up to public be heard, I do have one response from the last meeting. >> Uh this was to Mr. Mattie Bies. >> Um dear Mr. Bies, thank you for
069taking the time to speak at our October 29th, 2025 board of education meeting and for sharing your thoughts about the development of the district calendar and our cafeteria menu offerings. Regarding calendar development, particularly how we determine in session school days in the event of a major weather emergency, the district makes every effort to avoid holding school on previously scheduled holidays or days off. If additional instructional days are required, we would first consider converting other vacation days such as February break before exploring other options such as holidays, uh, which we did before and during Sandy. Actually, I've also shared your suggestion to include seafood items on the cafeteria menu with our food service committee for review and consideration. Uh I didn't put in the letter, but just as a comment to the board, um we do
070this was I don't believe was Mr. Bucky's suggestion. Uh but we do offer tuna fish at the secondary level. And so I mean that is a seafood offering, but uh I believe he was talking more about cod and I can and real fish as opposed to tuna fish. >> Lobster. Well, well, yeah, it really comes down to um it it pricing obviously is not in our contract currently with Chartwells. Uh but then also about um they have to they have to sell enough of it to make it worthwhile. So um but I think we found that there was one or two school districts that Chartwells has that has seafood on there, right? Is it one or two Scarsdale? Right. So we are continuing to look at it. I I trans I I'm really going off
071topic here. Thank you again for your thoughtful input and for your ongoing commitment to our students and the Levittown community. That was my only response to public be heard there. I think I answered all board questions other than the ones that Dr. Zerianis has to follow up on. That concludes my report for tonight. Mr. W, I was at the food service committee meeting this morning and it was brought up in discussion, Mr. Maddie. Um, so we'll see what happens. Okay. >> Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Maddie. >> Next, we will move on to our student liaison and you can choose who would like to go first. >> Eenie me. >> Okay. Good evening everyone. So, there's been a lot going on at division these past few weeks. So, I'm excited to share some of the
072things that have happened. So, on November 5th, we had a total of 31 students from the Thespian Honor Society, Tri Music Honor Society, and Concert Choir attend a musical field trip to New York City. Students attended a song and dance workshop with cast members from the Broadway show Beetlejuice where they learned a song and dance to jump in the line from the actual show. Later on in the day, they went to go see a matinea performance of Beetlejuice. Everybody had a ton of fun. I heard great things about it. I actually got to go myself. Um, everybody had a great time. So the next day the peer leaders held a blood drive at division where we had a total of 51 donations that day. Um Miss Austerman and the peer leaders are hoping to keep
073that same number or even increase for their March blood drive. Students that were a part of the peer leaders program got to go down during their off periods or even have teachers sign off to volunteer by helping donors sign in, bring them over to the tables, kind of just checking in on them and replenishing some of the snacks that were there for the donors. Um, additionally, last week on Wednesday and Thursday, challenge day was held for the juniors. Challenge day is designed to improve the school climate by teaching students skills such as empathy, compassion, and other social emotional skills. Students participated in interactive group activities such as cross the line to help students build connections with and learn more about one another. I heard great things from the juniors this year. They said at some
074points their little groups did get a little bit quiet, but they definitely did have a great time and they really did learn a lot about each other from that day. And today we had some select members of the National Art Honors Society on an inschool field trip welcoming Wisdom Lane Middle School to take a tour of our art department. They got to take part in a variety of handson lessons such as photography, drawing, graphic design, and ceramics as well. They got to preview some of their options that they could have in their first year of high school. They had a lot of fun today. We The projects were very fun. Photography, they did a different kind of alternative approach to photography. I know drawing was a big success and they were very excited to tour
075the ceramic studio as well. And we are also encouraging them to come to the art show in May because we want to get see them get more involved. But a lot of them definitely seemed interested in joining art. So, as for what's coming up, we have college on-site admissions that have taken place. We've had three out of six colleges that have already visited division and three more that are upcoming, including LIU Post, St. John's, and Hofra. During the on-site admissions, students go to the Flex Lab to have interviews with the admissions counselors from that school and get their decision back right away. It's really been an amazing way for the students to hear more from the admissions counselors, what they're looking for, hear different things about their schools, and kind of get feedback. Also, the
076students get a chance to really show them who they are and what really makes them want to go into that major or career path. Additionally, our music department has a very busy schedule coming up, including auditions for this year's musical, The Olympians, are taking place on Monday and Tuesday. It's the Long Island High School premiere of the musical The Olympians. So, they're very excited for that. And on one final note, um Alyssa Lashinsky has been selected to participate in the 2025 Nisma Allstate Treble Choir. We're all very proud of her. She's going to be performing the first weekend in December, and we're very proud of all her hard work she's put in these past four years. >> Uh yeah. Uh good evening. Oh, sorry. Good job, Sarah. That's what I meant to say. Yeah. Uh
077good evening, everyone. Um I'm happy to report that since our last meeting, there have been a lot of great happenings uh in general nation. First, on October 21st, our dynamic marching band, color guard, and kickline performed in the annual News Day marching band festival at the Mitchell Field Athletic Complex. They performed in front of a packed house. And to say that their performance was outstanding would be an understatement. Uh I we do actually have a member of the of the marching band over there. That's Liam. Um he plays he he's a percussionist if I I got that right. Right, Liam? Percussion. Yep. Uh so yeah. No, their their their perfor from what I've heard their performance was outstanding. Congratulations to band director Mr. Romano, color guard adviser, M Miss Paglesi, kickline coach, Miss Roth, and
078of course to all the student members on their spectacular performance. Uh on October 24th, we hosted our annual pinkout varsity football game to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research. Although we fell short to Long Beach High School in the game, the atmosphere throughout the event was amazing. We raffled off an incredible 42 basket donations from local businesses as well as our art department, theater department, and Macpack, just to name a few. I was actually working that table for uh the baskets and it was it was literally non-stop business, everybody making donations. Um so yeah, no, we uh I'm proud to say that we raised under just under $5,100 on the night. So, between this pinkout event, volleyball's dig pink event, um t-shirt sales, and all the beautiful and delicious pink colored frosted baked
079goods, close to $10,000 was raised and will be donated to Babylon Breast Cancer Foundation. Um, and yeah, the they're going to be donated to the Babylon Breast Cancer Foundation, which supports breast cancer patients in our Levittown community. Um, special thanks to Miss Valente and Miss Savage for their tireless efforts in spearheading this annual campaign and of course to all the members of general nation and the Levittown community. Um, furthermore, special thanks to guidance chairperson Mrs. Hammer along with all the members of our guidance team for accompanying 38, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students on a college tour where they visited Maris University and seniors on November 5th. All students participated in several admission presentations and went on informative campus tours led by student ambassadors from both schools. Upon arrival back to MacArthur, just about every
080student expressed how informative, worthwhile, and positive the experience was. One student commented, quote, "I really didn't know how much I didn't know much about this school, but after everything I saw and learned, I can totally see myself going there." And I actually did have three close friends that went on this trip and they were not excited at all to see these schools. They just like kind of got forced into doing it. But coming back, they're like, I I'm so happy I went to see that. Like they love Maris. Um they love Newalts. They love the the area around it, everything they saw. So it was definitely definitely beneficial for them. Um but yeah, no, we do have some really exciting upcoming events as well, and that's just this week alone. First, Miss McHugh will be
081accompanying her AP government students to what will be a guaranteed phenomenal trip to Boston uh tomorrow and Friday. And taking place on Friday and Saturday, we'll be showcasing the performances of our highly anticipated musical hit, All Shook Up. Friday's show begins at 7:00 while The Curtain opens up at 5:00 for Saturday afternoon's performance. Um tickets are still available. Um so come out and join us. Uh you won't be disappointed. Also on December 5th, all 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students will participate in a virtual elective fair in their social studies classes to learn more about the elective offerings at MacArthur High School for the upcoming 2026 27 school year. And finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and all your families, everybody, happy Thanksgiving. Um, and yeah, and let's just let's
082go Generals. >> Ethan, can I ask you a question? So, without naming anybody's names, are there any students? Because I just found out from Miss Msina that's $60 a person, >> do you know of any students that might not be able to afford that? >> Uh, not that I know of. >> Oh, you've heard of anyone? >> No, I I not that I've heard of. Um, but I I definitely can and I I mean it's it is a personal topic, but I I can like kind of see um >> what how what people thought about the price of the trip. But my my my friends that um did go on the trip, they I didn't hear any problems about the cost of that. >> I'm going to reach out actually to to social works. Maybe
083the Levittown Kuanas Club could do something for students that can't afford to go because this is a really good thing to do. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> And I'm sure the people just say like myself, I I'll take care of a couple of people also. But uh I'm sure a lot of other people in this room would probably say the same exact thing. >> Um you don't want someone to miss out for money, you know. >> For sure. Yeah. You know, definitely what I've heard the the experience seeing these colleges is definitely beneficial. So for for you guys to do that, that'd be really generous. And you know, >> thank you. Thanks for bringing it up, too. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> And just just as a comment that uh when we've had the summer camp,
084uh Kuanas actually has donated money to help send students that and every year they did that. So many thanks to Lovetown Kuanas. If you could bring Well, I'll be there tomorrow. So I guess you're not going to be there. Okay, we now move on to the public be heard part of our our meeting. Um, this is the opportunity for our members of the community to speak. All questions are directed to the board of ed president. Each speaker is limited to three minutes in total. Each speaker is expected to use the microphone and clearly state their name and address. Okay. Our first speaker will be Liam Morris. See if I can cut this down to three minutes. All right. Good evening, Superintendent Witch Winch, board of education and community members. My name is Liam Morris. I
085live at nine peacock lane in Levittown and I am currently a senior at MacArthur. I have lived in Levittown my entire life and have lots of pride in this community. However, with that pride comes a realization that our large and diverse community is lacking a symbol that everyone can feel united under a flag. So why flags, you ask? Why a bunch of designs and colors on a piece of cloth? Well, flags create a sense of pride and unity amongst a community's residents when designed properly. They are much more than just designs and colors on a piece of cloth. A good flag has the power to unite people in any re region from a city to a state or even an entire nation. There are some guidelines to keep in mind which are highlighted in the
086pamphlet good flag bad which I happen to have right here. It was written by Ted K in 2006 and it was recompiled again in 2020 and he is a longtime member of the North American Vexal Vexalological Association otherwise known as NAVA. Vexalology is the study of flags and he has compiled materials from his colleagues Ted K that that is to create a list of five guidelines that are vital to flag design. He includes examples of good and bad designs for each rule as well and he has listed his five main guidelines in this pamphlet. I'm so sorry I just lost my spot. they are. Keep the design simple enough that a kid can draw it from memory. Use relevant symbols. Use only two to three basic colors. Never use any words or seals and be
087unique. I refer to these guidelines as such because that is what they are. There are no strict rules when it comes to flag design. And there are always flags that are exceptions that could break a rule or two. These guidelines are the basis of modern flag design and have helped cities across the world revamp their flags into something their citizens can feel proud of. In fact, cities that have recently redesigned their flags have used its new iteration on many items, including hats and t-shirts. You will often find a well-designed flag all over its respective city and used all the time because the flag evokes a sense of pride from the city's residents. All right, that's great and all, but how does this apply to Levittown? My solution is to propose a flag design contest amongst
088the public in which entries could be evaluated by a panel of local officials that have all read over Mr. K's pamphlet. I wrote a letter to town of Hempstead Councilman Dennis Dunn who is a fellow Levittonian sorry a few months ago and he supported this idea and would like to serve on the selection panel. Flag design contests are the most effective way to get entire communities in involved in voicing their opinions. The qualifications can be simple. An entrant has to live in Levittown for at least 5 years and can be of any age. Members of the community can vote for which flag they would like to represent Levittown once the panel has narrowed their favorites to 10. The numbers are hypothetical but practical and I'm just using them here as an example of how the
089flag selection process would happen. This process of having a flag design contest has been proven to be successful as residents in Utah and Minnesota have recently voted to change their state flags. As long as an entry conforms to most of the guidelines mentioned in good flag bad flag, it can be considered for the competition and will ensure the winning design will last for future generations. However, there is one important thing I would like to point out here. Out of all the five main rules for flag design, the fourth one, which means that there should be no words or seals on the flag, is by far by far the most important aspect of creating a flag for a small town like ours. Oftentimes, city and local government officials will get lazy and stick their seal onto
090a background and make that the flag. Google them at your own risk. Even though I believe we don't have a seal, I still know America's first suburb deserves much more. Since we are America's first suburb after all, isn't it only right for us to have a flag? In closing, a flag for Levittown could unite its residents more than any other emblem of civic pride could. I hope the board considers my idea to make our wonderful town flag. I'm looking forward to hopefully an exciting partnership with Superintendent Winch, Wynch, the board of ed, Councilman Dunn, and the future members of this selection panel. What has turned from a school project for the New York State Seal of Civic Readiness to an actual possibility has led me here before all of you. If anyone has any questions,
091please come speak with me personally and I will give you my contact information and will try to with the best of my ability to answer any and all questions. There is also a very good TED talk on YouTube about poorly designed city flags if anyone wants more information on that. Thank you once again to the board of ed for all your time and support of the Levittown community and have a great night. >> Thank you, Liam. >> Liam, are you able to leave the uh good flag bad flag show with us or is you only have one? >> I have one more copy. I have one more copy at home. I could mail it to Dun to Councilman Dunn, but I have this here. And >> can you leave that with our district clerk so
092that she can have it for the board? Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Okay, our next speaker is Manny Bies. >> Thank you, Vice Chair Morang. And good evening, everybody. My name is Mattie Buckies and I live at 1297 Shaw Place. I'm also an advocate for people with developmental disabilities. wanted to Beth I do want to first applaud you for a great presentation for the save the district. You know, I hope was hoping that police science would be on there, but that's maybe hopefully for the 2728 school year. But if but you know, when I saw the photo of the dog, I thought people were going to bark like if it's the Arsenio Hall show over again, which they did that. But anyway, I did appreciate the suggestion for the seafood because there
093are child nutrition products um that are CN labelled and they're frozen and pre-made by the manufacturer. But uh what I'm also here to speak about tonight is the need maybe to have vice chairpersons in special education and in guidance to perform the duties at like a teacher to perform in the event the chairperson is absent for the day and that's what my suggestion would be. It's great to have a community and really I would not be thank for here for hiring people with disabilities and really thank you all to all of you for what you do for the community and to hire for your people with developmental disabilities. One of the things we had was and I do want to thank Dawn for that is to have the Winter Center for Autism come in in
094April which I did a presentation and and you know hopefully to have students you know because sadly unfortunately the dis the disability unemployment rate is at over 85 to almost 90%. And that is even with 35 years after George Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act and we are in the 50th anniversary of the Education for All Handicap Children Act known as IDA. So um that's all I'm going to have to say for this month because I have to get going. But please everybody have a great Thanksgiving and I'll see you all in 21 days. But, you know, to be honest with you, you know, thank goodness this is a quiet environment because at UBS right now there's screaming girls at that Jonas 20 concert. So, God bless you all. Thank you. Even though I'm
095seeing the Trans Siberian Orchestra in December, please know that we value the suggestions and comments for from our community and that information helps inform our decision-making process. A response to your statements will be sent to you and read at our next meeting. Thank you. Okay, at this time I would like to switch to our agenda. Do I have a motion to accept item 5.1 on the agenda? Phyllis, do I have a second? Jen, I know you're pulling something. Okay. All in favor? >> Wait, wait. >> I don't want one discussion. >> Uh, thank you. Uh, thank you, Vice Vice Chair Morangi. Um, I would like to uh pull >> I do. Thank you. >> Schedule 10007.2 number 14. >> Miss Giddy's got very nervous that I was going to forget. It's only because I've forgotten
096three times already today. So that's why she was but so um just that one change to the schedule one7.2 number 14. >> Okay. Do I need a motion? >> No, just >> Okay. >> No, no, this is just a schedule. >> Okay. All in favor or nothing? Okay. Action ite. We go to the consent agenda. Do I have a motion to accept 6.2 through 6.19 on the consent agenda? Do I have a motion, Michael? Do I have a second? Phyllis, any discussion? All in favor? >> Mr. Fabiano, I don't want to put you on the spot here. I know there's there's bunch of checks and actually the numbers are into the almost 12,000. So, I'm going to answer your questions on three. If you do not have them off top of your head, I understand
097that. So, I'm not asking for the answer today, but you usually get these things. It's up here in your head there. So, um check number 11597, 11598, and 11601. Well, I want >> to give you there about you need the uh >> Yeah. So, uh that check sequence uh uh is is from our uh capital projects fund. >> Yes. >> Uh these were all projects that were uh completed over the summer. >> Uh so the first one um was for um was paid to Belffor uh restoration. >> Uh that was to complete the uh Seaman's Neck pipe raft project. uh was the last project we engaged in >> before we sold it. >> We hold Yeah, we still own the building, but this was the completion of that project. Um so that that check dispersement
098uh we will be receiving 50% of that back from Boseies uh as we agreed to share that cost 5050. >> Um uh the second one uh was uh to high-tech air conditioning service. Uh they uh installed the HVAC system in the Wisdom Lane locker rooms. Uh so that was a subcontractor for that project. Um and that was check 11598. Uh check 116. >> Do we get aid back on that one also? >> Uh yeah, that that will qualify us for building aid. Uh so we will be we will receive that on once the final cost reports are done. So all the projects that fell under that wisdom umbrella from the athletic fields to the roof uh once we complete the final cost reports uh then in short order building aid will begin to flow on
099that. >> And the other one was Milbborne flooring. >> Uh and the other one is Milbourne flooring and and that's a rather large check but we did do a lot of floor replacement and again that's part of the wisdom uh project. Um, and so that was the the hallways that we walked through uh during visit site visit before school start to >> Mike. Thank you very much. You know, you didn't have to answer those today. Um, I'll have the information the number, but I'll ask that later on. I'll give it to you. Okay. On the fourth. >> Thank you. >> Anyway, unbelievable job again. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay, we all ready? I did. I didn't. All in favor? 4. Okay. Next, we move to action items. Gifts to school. Five chillos to
100be donated to Abby Lane Elementary School from Carlina Towers from Levittown. Do I have a motion, Phyllis? Yeah. Do I have second, Mike? Do I have a discussion? All in favor or nothing? Good. Okay. Upcoming dates. December 10th, we have a regular meeting. And January 7th, we have a regular meeting. May I have a motion to adjourn the regular meeting? Phyllis, do I have a second? Excuse me, you two. I need a second. Mike, >> we just think you're doing really great. >> Yeah. All in favor or nothing. Okay, the meeting is adjourned. Thank you everybody. >> Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Yep.