001work session. As a reminder, there is no public comment for this work session with the overwhelming amount of people here to ask questions. Um, roll call. Everybody's here. If we can stand, Mr. Plesky for salute to the flag. We will have two presentations tonight. Mrs. Sabin, director of special services, will discuss the special education services and Dr. Bleis, Mr. Serosce, and Mrs. Healey will present academic initiatives. But first, I'd like to turn it over to Dr. Lynch. >> Thank you, Mrs. Denino. Uh so as has become our custom here uh we use this January uh board session uh to look out towards next year. We're at the height of budget planning right now. We're trying to make expenses and revenue meet. Uh and then we'll be unveiling the proposed uh the the first draft of
002the budget to the board on uh March the 4th. Is it that March the 4th? Uh so the board will be getting it into their hands right before February break. So, we have a pretty good idea of some of the programmatic things that will be going on. So, that's what tonight is all about. And one of the most important programs is is our special education uh because we like people to be fully aware of what the continuum uh is going to be next year and what that plan is. So, with that, I'm going to ask Mrs. Sabin to come up and do the first presentation. Sorry. Um, this is an update um from previous presentations. So, we're just keeping you posted on um a plan that's already been up and running and in place. So,
003just to remind you of the continuum of special education services. We're always trying to provide um education in the least restrictive environment possible. So, that's the general education setting. Um and then these decisions are made at cse meetings. So um when we talk about plans um cse meetings are happening in you know they're starting but they're happening throughout the spring. Um and so we're making these plans based on projection. So everything is as anticipated. Um in Lindbrook public schools on the elementary level our smallest class size is eight students one special education teacher and two aids. Um the next least restrictive again moving towards the general education environment a class of 12 special education students one special education teacher and one aid integrated co-eing is offered um when we have a group of students requiring
004that in different grade levels. So used to be um all grades we have found that um students are requiring different levels of support. Um we look at cohorts of students and the programs are offered on every grade but not in every building. So students have the opportunity to attend those programs. Um it may may or may not be in their home school. Um resource room, consultant teacher and general education with related services. On the secondary level, those small class sizes change a little bit as students are getting older. They might need um a little less support or be able to function in a larger setting. So the students who might be in a class of eight on the elementary level could be in a class as large as up to 12 students. Um and the
005change um for the class of 12, it could potentially go up to 15 students. Um on the secondary level, those classes of 15 are offered um as needed in different subjects and different grade levels. So again, we're looking at cohorts of students, what the needs are, and we're running those programs each year accordingly. um in the 2425 school year. This was one of my first presentations. We were talking about what we were anticipating in order to offer the full continuum of services all in one building in the elementary schools. We added new to West End and I'm just going to go through and point out the highlights. This is where changes happened. Um we added a class of eight. So in 2425 we had a small class of eight in all three elementary buildings. adding
006that new West End with a plan to offer the full continuum at West End Elementary School um with a small class of eight, small class of 12 and all of those opportunities. The reason that we made that plan is because as students are making progress or if they have strengths and weaknesses, we want to give them every opportunity be in a less restrictive environment wherever possible. Um, so by having all of those classes in the same place, students could move accordingly from one classroom to another, different subjects, different times of the day, so that they have as much opportunity to be in that less restrictive environment as possible. Um, on the secondary level, um, we look to put the full continuum in one building. So in the 2425 school year, we started to move that
007class of 15 um that had traditionally only been at South over to North so that students in that smallest class, the 12 would have opportunities for certain subjects wherever appropriate to be moving into that less restrictive environment that it's there in the same building. So those are the changes that were made in the 2425 school year. and moving along with that same plan, we're continuing to grow that continuum all in one place. So for the 2520 school 26 school year now, um we added that class of 12 at West End, giving the opportunity for students in the small class of eight where they're able to make that transition and spend some time in a less restrictive environment. It's there at West End for them to be able to um transition into that classroom. Um and
008then again looking at the secondary continuum um we never moved students out of south we just grew the program into north. So 24 25 sixth grade was there 25 26 7th grade is there um and then we are anticipating um that in 26 27 our eighth graders will move there. So, we'll have that full continuum, all grades um in that small class of 15 having moved to North um by next year. Um on the elementary level, looking back over on the left side, um we're adding a second new class of eight at West End. Um the reason that we're doing that is we have a large group of um kindergarteners coming in this year and again we want to keep that continuum in one place um with a plan to add a second class of
00912. That allows us to have younger students always having the opportunity to move across on their grade level. So if they're in the class of eight in first grade, they'll be a class of 12 in first grade. if they're in the class of eight on second grade, etc. And those students will advance through that program um having that opportunity to be in either program um having that that counterpart um on their grade level. And we anticipate even beyond that adding um a second class of 12 at West End. Again, now we're just serving the upper grades. As those students advance through the grades, um their counterpart class will be there with them. Um and looking at the small class of eight that we had at Waverly Park and at Marian Street, those students are moving
010through and aging out. Um and when we look at our future planning 2728, we know we're going to have um actually an an additional cohort um at at the high school. So um again, our our students are going to age out of the middle school, move up to the high school. And what we know about those high school students is they can remain in school all the way to the age of 22. Um, so even when we look at our future planning beyond that, we know that we're going to need to develop an 18 to 21 year old program, 18 to 22 year old program now we call it. Um, that will be maybe a little bit more of a focus on uh, vocational um, and career prep. Um, and I just put at the
011bottom there, we know that when these students move up through the grades, we are going to still have kindergarteners coming in and we're still going to need to add back those other classes. Um, West End will be full. Um, so we'll have our facilities sort of dictating where that program lands. We're going to look at it when we're a little bit closer, but we know we're going to want to add two classes, an 812, a 1212, so that we can have the full continuum all in one place. Um, we're not sure that's where we're looking at beyond 2728. Um, when we're looking to add those classes, um, and then, you know, the West End students will eventually be aging out to the program at North. Um any questions? >> Um I just had one and
012thank you for that very clear explanation but I must make sure I'm understanding it correctly where in the past if students needed to move to different levels of support they may have needed to move schools. >> Correct. Now they may not be in their home school, but if things change midy year next year, they're not leaving that school. They're able to slide up and down that continuum, right? Wherever they have been attending. >> Yes. And that's been our goal and why we laid out the plan in the way that we did in the middle schools so that students didn't have to leave their school. Now we're relocating the program. Um the circumstances where something like that might happen. Again, all of these decisions are made at cse meetings. Um, and so if a decision is
013made at a cse meeting and the student is in third grade and we're saying, you know, um, your child needs something that's not here in this building that we have that conversation with the parent. They're part of that discussion. Um, but cse is making a recommendation. This is the continuum of services that you saw on the first page and this is where it is here in Lindbrook. You know, we're a we're a small district. we may only have a few students who need that and so um we you know we need to put them together in one place. So >> I I really appreciate that and I I hope I speak for some of the parents. I know that as a school leader when I had the full continuum, it also let you be a
014lot more flexible with the student. And if they're good at math, they don't need to be in that small class for math. They can be in a class with their general ed peers perhaps, but they need a lot of help in reading and writing. they're in a more restrictive class. So, I I appreciate that. >> And it gives them it it opens up more, you know, peer models, social opportunities by expanding them beyond just these eight students or just these 12 students. We here in Limbrook, I think, do a fantastic job of including our students in every way, shape, and form. And we, you know, we see that in every building and in all different kinds of activities. Um, but this gives them the opportunity to sit in an educational setting alongside other peers. So,
015any other questions? >> Thank you so much. I just one quick question. The students in the eights and the twelves are integrated for the most part throughout in to the other classes as well or is it individual based on IEPs? >> Um, it can be individual based on IEP and we make those decisions at cse meetings, but um, every student has some opportunity for integration. So they might partner with a specific class where they're invited in for birthday parties and celebrations and things like that. So there are all different types of integrated opportunities and it's student specific where they all get the opportunity which is really nice. >> Absolutely. >> Okay. Thank you everyone. >> Thank you Mrs. Sabin. Now I'm gonna introduce Dr. Bleus. >> [snorts] >> Thank you, Dr. Lynch. So, tonight we're
016going to be uh talking about uh several different things. Uh we will start with the elementary schools. I know that we've been talking a lot over the last few years about the cohort that started sounds right and it's scary to me, you know, several years ago. So, they're in fourth grade. So, they've actually made it through five years in the elementary school already. Uh they will be entering fifth grade next year. And because again, they've been instructed differently since uh they started in our program, we need to continue to uh prepare our teachers to instruct them differently. So, one of the uh programs that they were exposed to already, we have something called uh Morphe Magic. Morphe Magic right now, what they've been doing a lot of work with, it's word work, and I'll talk
017a little bit more about that in a minute. And uh also the writing revolution, which I know we've had several conversations about here, but I'm going to actually talk a little bit more about what they're going to specifically see in fifth grade tonight. So, uh let's talk about Morphe magic first. So, this year they're learning how to attack words. How do you attack words? We learn about prefixes and suffixes. That's where we started. So, they did a lot of that work in fourth grade. In fifth grade, where do we go? Well, we're going to be doing a lot of uh work with what I'll call Greek combining forms and Latin roots. So, if you look up there, and I know that some people, especially middle school science teachers, may be excited by especially some of
018those Greek combining forms because where the kids get exposed to that a lot uh would be in those science words. And when we start talking about science later on at the upper level, you know, this may come in handy when you start seeing what the new assessments look like up there, but we do see up, you know, they're very basic words. So, we're not talking about things that are shocking and it actually develops your ability to attack new words that are unfamiliar to you. So, I think that it'll help with spelling. So the encoding will improve based on knowing these roots but also to that idea of reading and reading comprehension because you will have a base even if you haven't seen the word before you'll know a little bit more about what that word
019could possibly mean. So that's the uh word work end. On the other side, when we start talking about uh trying to uh write more effectively and also to prepare for middle school in fourth grade, they were exposed to what we call the SPO, fancy acronym for single paragraph outline. So, they've done a lot more work with trying to write a very good solid paragraph. And if you look up here, the parts that are nice on the exemplar response here. So, in the writing revolution, if you look on the left, those uh solid lines are telling a kid, "Write out the full sentence." So, they're writing out their full topic sentence. They're writing out their full concluding sentence. In the middle, those little dotted lines mean, write some notes for yourself so you know what you
020want to put in between that topic and concluding sentence. If you look on the right hand side, you are seeing some really good symbols that'll help kids with note-taking. So those little uh forward slashes, those tell you that there's a new idea. The uh arrows, they mean results in or cause and effect, things like that. If each one of these kids, they will be using different symbols, so they they don't have to write out every word when they're just doing that little bit of a sketch or an outline of where they're going. So, we do want them to move though from that fourth grade uh single paragraph to a multi paragraph outline. That's a big jump. So, what does the writing revolution do for you? They introduce you to something that's what the in between.
021So, we call it the transition outline. What this does instead of uh trying to jump straight to the multiaragraphs, you see that thesis and concluding statement still there from the single paragraph, instead of writing paragraphs for that while they're transitioning, they still just write those single sentences. they learned to start to build the in between paragraphs where they were giving those details. So again, if you look on the uh right hand side, it looks very similar. The uh new introduction here of symbols though, that backwards P for paragraph to show that there would be a new paragraph. And anybody who's accidentally toggled that switch in Word where it puts all those symbols in, you're pretty much used to seeing that often. So these aren't uh madeup symbols. And again, just the arrows, so the down
022arrow to show declining and little things like that that you see here. So where does it end up? So we go from this transition where we're just leaving those two sentences at the beginning and the end to actually creating an introductory and a concluding paragraph. So that is the uh slow transition here. All of the examples here from the book Wonder. Why I chose wonders is it is something that we've done in the fifth grade and many people that may be watching at home or on the board may have seen the movie if you haven't read the book so you may know what's going on here but what the nice part is it doesn't matter what content we're driving through here in this case everything was done based on the character Jack Will he was
023the best friend of Auggie uh at the end of the book in the beginning he was a child who was a good kid but apprehensive and you see his character development and growth so all of these things are about the uh development of Jack Willow over time. So again, this could be done with science, it could be done with social studies, it could be done with any content and that's the nice part about what we do with the writing revolution. It is just a driver. It is not the content. So this is something that again the kids are going to be exposed to. Uh I'm going to transition to the middle school. So I don't know if anybody wanted to ask any questions about elementary before we move on. >> Quick question. I really like
024how these are laid out and you know there's like a planner that they can use as you said for every subject area. Is this type of and the consistency with students is so important? Sure. Especially for planning their writing or note-taking or anything since the writing revolution is being used in all of the grade levels throughout the district. Is are these type of planners something that can be used consistently throughout the district so that if we have a student in first grade who's writing about a book and they want to plan, they have the same type of organizers so that they're so used to it by the time they become a senior, they're using the same organizers and it's just like a common language. >> And everything you just asked is perfectly on par with
025what we're doing. So what we're looking at here, I have no more real intelligence anymore. Everything is artificial intelligence. So all of these sheets are created by AI. So if you remember back in September, I did a presentation on Judy AI, which was the Judy Hawkman version of the writing revolution. So all these materials can be created by teachers at a couple of clicks. I asked originally for a single paragraph outline looking at the development of the character Jack will for a uh fifth grade student once I give a grade level and the text wonder and said I want a character development and I told them the character I want it generated the first one the second one came from uh putting in the transition outline I put in a third prompt with the multi
026paragraph and all this stuff was generated within minutes and what's been happening throughout the school year the teachers at the elementary level when they had their professional development Velment committee meetings back in the spring last year decided we're going to go all in on TWWR this year. So everything we're going to do professional development wise is the writing revolution. We had the writing revolution folks come in in November and uh work with them on all of these things with the GDAI and getting people comfortable with developing and uh what we call second Monday meetings uh at the elementary level. A lot of them have been using the time to develop materials here so that yes, the kids would get used to all these things from the get-go. The one thing that uh was frightening to
027the writing revolution but was a good problem to have was that our kids were so ready in kindergarten to go beyond what they were expecting, which was a great thing. They're like, "All right, we never thought that people that young would be introduced to certain techniques." So the summary sentences is one of those things they teach you in the 3 through 12 training. our kindergartener teachers didn't have it in the training, but the kids were ready and it was in the book and our teachers are good professionals and they read the book and said, "You know something? Our kids are ready for it. Let's do it." And I've saw the kindergarten center doing those things as early as last year, even when we first started implementing, which is kind of an awesome uh problem to
028have. >> Um, this is work that the district's been doing for years and and really being very purposeful about improving our literacy instruction. My question is like this is great for developing the actual like syntax of writing and and the idea structure and all that. Are we seeing or are teachers seeing the kids putting the sounds right learning so that their spelling and word construction is what we're looking for and now they're turning it into these sentences and paragraphs. Like is that encoding skill transi transferring over to this Do we see that? >> Yeah, we do see that. But the again the encoding piece when we start talking about that word work that's more addressed by the Morphe magic program than the writing revolution. Yes, you would see that as evidenced when you're writing and
029the one thing we did say even kindergarters here when they start writing their sentences they're uh legible to people even though they're not spelled correctly. we are attacking the spelling and such using these pieces because one of the things about the English language unfortunately is it's very complex and when you start talking about uh certain sounds being represented by different letter combinations that is something that the kids are continually working through that's why all of this word work is still important even for a fifth grader because we know that uh as we start going up the chain these words become more and more complex so that is never abandoned but yes that is built in on the morphology side in conjunction with the writing. You're welcome. Other questions about elementary? Sorry, I clicked ahead one
030more slide than I wanted to. All right, I'm going to hand off to Mrs. Healey for a moment. >> Thank you. >> And this one's forward, correct? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Good evening, everyone. Thank you. Good to see everybody. So, I'm just going to highlight a couple of things that are happening in the middle school. So, continuing on from elementary. So, as you know, we brought this to you um previously. We've worked on a curriculum guide. So, part of the curriculum guide now encompasses sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. So we find that doing this leading the parents now when we're in the process of starting to do scheduling for next year this gives parents an opportunity to really look what am I choosing in sixth and seventh grade going into 8th grade going into
031seventh grade that can impact our students when they come up to the high school. So the curriculum guide offering it now as a 6 through 12 guide really allows for transparency and for planning really seeing what academic choices are there for them coming in the future. So we have that in addition to that that was one step. The next step that we're taking from that is moving on to creating a scope and sequence tied to each and every curriculum. So all of the uh departments are coming together and really looking at their curriculums and seeing what they have and how they're teaching it and how it fosters in to the programs that we need to have alignment with. So this way we're working towards aligning I I like to look at it we have two
032middle schools but think of it as one campus. So, the two middle schools are really making sure that everything that's being taught at North and South funnels up to the high school. Tying into this with the scope and sequence, we're looking at the profile of the owl. You've heard Dr. Lynch speak about this over the past few years. We're taking all of the feedback that we've received from the students, the teachers, the community, the parents, and we're now aligning it from the scope and se uh from the curriculum guide to the scope and sequence. So now teachers are taking time to dive deep. What are we teaching our students and how does it align to what we want in the profile of the owl? So, we're looking and making sure that embedded in the teaching
033and the learning across the curriculum are our key points that we want. We want our students to be able to question, analyze, and imagine, and really innovate. This is the, you know, we're looking for the 21st uh century learner, and that's what we're trying to create here. We're also tying in not only that real life um application but the global citizenship looking to see where they can add and grow which ties in then with the seal that they become not only that they're self-aware but they also can have strong foundations with other relationships of children and that they have empathy. Then my highlight, North Middle School is now going to also join South and have three I'm looking at you, Mrs. Kelly, three science labs. So, I'm excited that we're going to have this opportunity
034to have it, which then what does this do? This all ties in also. So, now we're talking about students that have the opportunity to innovate and learn and do science inquiry. They're going to have the space to do it. and this will foster our three grades of science at North. So, I'm excited about that. So, overall to sum it all up, basically we are trying to prepare our middle school students and lead them up to the high school through graduation that they are strong and aligned and successful. So, that's where we're at. Any questions? All right. Up to you. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Yes. I just like to thank the board for the science lab as well. I know that the facilities committee spent a lot of time over there walking around and
035looking at different spaces and trying to figure out how we could make that work. And I think that the kids in north are going to be the ultimate beneficiaries of that. And I think with all the changes that are happening in science, it is the right time to make a move there. So >> I think I think we also have to give a little credit to Mr. Seda, our facilities director, because he worked with the facilities committee to find the most costefficient way to make that lab happen in a way so that it was a modern lab. >> Oh, absolutely. I will say the hours that he spent with the architect after that fact too, just drawing, redrawing and trying to make it make sense for the space that was available. It really looks very
036good on paper. So, we we'll uh hope that the finished product looks the same. uh the new science regents are moving in uh solely here in Lindbrook. So there are districts that have taken this already and uh at a certain point sooner than rather than later in this presentation I think Mrs. Kelly we can share a little bit about her own insights. I am going to ask that Mr. Press start handing out my uh presence to the board and we will talk about those on the next slide. But uh what we're seeing here this is why this new science is such a radical change. We are looking at a new biology and a new earth and science regents uh upcoming this year in June. Uh we will be seeing the same coming up in chemistry
037and physics. All of our staff members have been working uh feverishly to get ready for this. There's been a lot of uh release time and collaboration that's happened within the district. We've had folks go unit by unit at Boseies to learn how to tackle this new curriculum and the new assessments that are coming along with it. And you can see what the big difference looks like on this next slide. The board of education was just handed a uh copy to be able to view at their uh table so that they can see it a little bit better. But what you're looking at on the left hand side that is a question about carrying capacity on the old living environment regions. on the right hand side you are looking at a question also about carrying capacity
038on the new uh biology regions. So we are talking about the same concept. Look at it. It's a small multiplechoice question on both sides in theory but the lift obviously on the right hand side is a lot heavier than the uh lift on the left. And uh if anybody would like to attempt an answer I will put it to the floor. If not, we will let Mrs. Kelly explain all. It's too small to read, I guess. I I think that is a very good excuse. >> So, basically, it's become a reading test also. >> It's become a reading test, but also too, you know, when you start talking about the reading test, when I look at that right-hand side, there's a lot of distraction going on, too. So, I have to be able to read
039that paragraph on the top. Try to figure out what it was saying, look at these diagrams that are not necessarily the most clear thing in the world, try to interpret how those diagrams could possibly relate to the graphs next to it, and then read the questions with the answer choices and hope that I can connect all of that information. Now, I will say there is a strategy to tackling this question, which has nothing to do with what the state intended, which is ignore everything above the question and just read the question and the answer choices and hope that you're right. And in this case, I do think that a student who has a firm grasp on science may be able to do that. But again, that is not a uh practice that you want to
040teach the kids of ignore the majority of what's there. So, this is very challenging and uh I will uh let Mrs. Kelly throw her two cents in if she would so choose. >> Surely. Um, so I actually professionally we administered the new exam last year and the state has put out standards and they're modeled after the next generation science standards. Excellent in concept. The problem is you're now looking at 10th grade and above Lexile levels. The tests are formatted. They're clusters. So you might have five clusters with anywhere from four to six questions a piece. This one question was part of a larger cluster that I can't recall if it was five or six questions in it. This was only a portion of what these students faced. They could tell you what a carrying capacity
041was. They could give you an example. by the time they got here, and this was midway through, they'd already run a marathon. So, it's it's not just preparing the students to think scientifically. It's it's really advancing the literacy skills, which ties down into the writing revolution, and sounds right. It all comes together. >> Oh, and it's a bit of torture, by the way. So be kind and I know we are to our students, but it's a struggle. It really is. >> Oh, I actually didn't read it. >> Sorry. >> I think something that we have to really just think about going forward is the study skills and how we're addressing those throughout the grade levels. You know, even starting in elementary school just because this is really about, you know, testing strategies and skills. >>
042I don't disagree with you. And back to what we were talking about before with these outlines. If you look on the right hand side, those are study skills embedded in the program where you're learning how to note. And I hate to say it, all those note-taking skills, the writing revolution is supposed to be done in content areas. >> Right. And that's what I was saying about using the same form to study so they have a consistent language. So it makes it just easier for them to learn those skills. >> Exactly. I will say that uh some of the people that were trained on the writing revolution which you know people from the outside wouldn't understand why you train your science chairperson and your math chairperson in a literacy initiative. This is exactly why because those
043same skills need to be applied consistently with that same type of language so that when these kids come up with that ability that you're able to tap into it because you don't want to reinvent the wheel and try to retach them how to do something that they've already got a good foundation for. >> Right. And this goes right along, you know, the science of reading and how they've all the studies they've done about how students learn and learn to read. So this just helps them. >> Yes, we try to keep everything very simple and also to tied back to all of our other initiatives. So it's one narrative as opposed to every year trying to spend half the year learning the teachers new system because yes, there are so many different organizers that you can
044use. And that was one of the things that was very loud and clear from our English department. When we met last year, we actually had uh the English department sit down with the folks from the writing revolution before we decided to bring in the program. We let them preview. We asked them questions. We asked them if we thought this could work, you know, K through 12. And the reception was overwhelmingly positive. And they said, "Yes, this is something we can build off of." And that is, you know, very important to folks. when we did the trainings this year on conference day the training you know actually I taught them how to use the AI software and it wasn't just the English department it was English and social studies sitting next to each other with their
045special education friends also involved you know and it was a very uh good day for them to see again how things can push across different content areas and I do think with the new assessments and the science this is going to become even more imperative now that being said another thing I just want to put out there with the science is that you know this is our first time taking the exam. Once we take those assessments we are going to have to dive deep into that data and decide you know is this the right move and this is why this was on the middle school grouping to keep both uh the living sorry the both the biology and the earth and space courses in the middle school or are we better off bringing back the
046science aid and doing just one of those two. We're not there yet. I think those conversations are going to start once we have data, but I did want to put that in people's ears that yes, this is going to be an ongoing conversation over the next few years. >> The cohort of students that have had Sounds Right and um the writing revolution are current fourth graders. >> Correct. So, they'll be going to fifth grade next year. Yes. >> So, I'm just curious if we can track that data of the difference we see in their, you know, eighth grade tests. >> Oh, absolutely. And I think that you know we are going to get some really good data from that group and also obviously any subsequent group because all of them are going to follow uh
047suit behind. So I do think that there's a lot of good what I'll call word attack skills which you know should translate very well for these highlevel [snorts] scientific words that again they're going to be foreign. However, the ology is something that they're going to be exposed to before they leave fifth grade. So there are parts of those words that they should be attacking. The bio again, word for life. They'll know that in fifth grade. So I do think those things should pay dividends in the long run. >> Yeah. I mean to me one of the strength this of this program is that what cuts across all the various subject areas that the kids are exposed to is reading and writing skills, right? I mean you think about the least reading and writing topic there
048could be math, right? That's numbers. It's not reading and writing. But it is because if you look at the way the kids are being assessed these days, whether it's on the regions or in more advanced classes, it's understanding these, you know, lengthy complex problems like you have on the right hand side of that graphic. And that's a reading and writing skill. And I think, you know, getting in early like we're doing now with the kids at the elementary level and then progressing it every year. And it not only includes consistency for the kids, but we're really setting them up with the skills that they need even when they're out of high school, when they're in college and beyond. I mean, I I have a son in college, and I think 90% of the skills that
049he's using in all of his classes is are reading and writing based more than topic based. So, yeah, I think this is I think this is a great program. >> Thank you. >> I just want to do a little editorializing. >> I think Jackson wanted to ask a question if you do mind. Sorry. Um, I have one quick question. Is the way we are testing maybe students in the lower grades different now to reflect the new region style questions so they're exposed to them sooner rather than when they're in eighth grade and they're it's like a totally new like almost language to them. >> So what's happened uh since you know you left elementary school? This is a very good question that actually starts talking about what happened to science in the elementary school. So,
050you sat for a fourth grade assessment, I'm assuming, and that's what we did back in the day. That assessment was moved up to the fifth grade. And it looks like almost a carbon copy of that eighth grade assessment. So, these students now >> and the reading level is just about as high. >> Oh, absolutely. No question. So, all these word attack skills that they're learning in the elementary school are being applied in science ASAP and then again in eighth grade. So, yes, this is a uh movement that's starting very young and they're getting used to it on both the literacy side and the science side. >> And sorry, Dr. Lynch, I just saw Jackson. Okay, >> I I asked a question off the microphone. Sorry. So, but I'll ask you, >> will the current eighth
051graders with the changes need this regent in order to graduate with their regents? >> That is a very good question. Uh we are not 100% uh certain in the answer as we've said before. The state has proposed and this has been sitting there for a while but not formally adopted is that the current 10th graders by the time they reach 12th grade would not have to pass those regions exams in order to receive a diploma from New York State. That has not been passed yet. Everyone anticipates that that will pass because they have passed certain things in pieces, but uh that is something that's been on the table and everything else, you know, nothing has been voted down yet. So, >> they're past their timeline, aren't they? Like they're off from their original timeline. >>
052Everything has been uh like I said, spliced. So, all those things were on an original timeline that we anticipated. And Mr. Sosi could tell you the same thing because I think he actually gave a presentation about this last year. We were thinking that last November the whole package was going to be put in all at once and the beginning of the package was delayed a few months and this piece is just kind of sort of lingering and I'm not so sure they're uh you know eager to put it out until they have to which again it's going to have to come out soon because those kids are getting older. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> You're welcome. Okay, I'm >> gonna hand off to Mr. Serosi for the high school. Good evening everybody and thank you
053for uh the opportunity to speak tonight. Uh we've been hard at work on a couple initiatives at the high school that I'm excited to uh present to you this evening. Um I think both of them reflect our continued commitment uh to provide the students with opportunities and relevant experiences uh as much as possible. Uh so currently right now for our seniors um so uh any student that currently a junior just began their scheduling for next year uh currently uh they have two options for English. They either can take our AP literature class or English 12R. Uh we've taken a close look at that and wanted to see what we could do to try to increase engagement uh and also provide some um new opportunities for the students. So students who met with their counselors over
054the last number of school days uh already have a preview of this. But what we're looking to do uh and in the planning phases is to uh still offer AP literature uh but give students some choice in terms of their uh regent level uh English uh 12 class and that's by partnering with uh Nassau Community College. So again, right now uh or this is the proposal. Students of course uh that are on the AP track can certainly continue to to uh take that. Uh students that are in AP language right now might continue with AP literature, but we did want to take a close look at English 12. And we came up with this idea to offer several semesterl long college literature courses. uh they're a little bit more specific than just the general English
05512R. Uh and taken together, each one would be a half credit. So if you take two of these, these would combine for your fourth and final English credit in order to graduate high school. Uh the shift is designed to expand uh student choice while maintaining rigorous academic standards. And as the graph shows, uh students who would elect for the college literature uh um track could take um two of the following four courses, but they are in pairs. And I I can explain that part a little bit further. But first, uh first we're calling the classes competition and identity, which would be paired with a course called adapted stories or utopian societies and inspirational meaning. The reason that we're coupling them together right now is to get it off the ground in terms of scheduling. Once
056schedules roll out and if a student has space in their schedule and they want to take one semester uh one course but then switch it uh with a semester 2 course and they're able to uh then we would certainly allow that if there's space in the classes. But just uh that would be asking a little bit too much of the master scheduleuler to do off the bat. So, uh, that's been intentional and we're going to take a close look now that we have course requests in and see if we can um move forward with this. So, in terms of the uh college literature course, um, right now this is at the step uh where they have been thoroughly uh outlined by our English department. Um and uh as of late last week, they've been sent
057off to Nassau Community College where their uh faculty is is reviewing it to see if it meets their standards. Um if this is approved, this would be pretty exciting because this would be our first ever uh partnership with Nassau Community. Uh one that we would look to grow in the future. Uh it's a it's a great product. the TRA from what we've our research tells us is that the um credits transfer very uh very easily compared to some of the private schools that we're partnered with. So, it's one that we're we're happy to have a foot in the door and we thought English 12 would be a perfect place uh for it. But like you see up there um just some specifics. What we're aiming for is that uh we could secure six credits with
058Nassau Community for English 101 and 102. Um, and uh, com comparatively it's a very reasonable rate at $50 a credit. So, $150 per course. Uh, and and like I said, um, they do have high transferability rates. Another, uh, caveat that I think the, uh, teachers were very excited about, like any dual enrollment class, you need to maintain a 75 average in order for that to, uh, transfer. So, again, just, uh, all all positive stuff um, in terms of trying to bring this partnership to the building. uh and it's right now in their hands. So, uh we're we're anticipating hearing back soon. It re it passed one hurdle over there which was kind of their gatekeeper. Um and then it'll go uh to the faculty now. So, we're uh we will report back when we have
059news. Uh a second initiative that we are looking uh forward to bringing to the building kind of combines a few different things. Um right now we have a business uh department that's that's booming. Um last year we're very grateful for the support that we were able to bring in a second teacher. Uh that person has been utilized completely. Uh and from what you can tell on this um slide up here now we have uh two partnerships with LIU and Sunni Farmingale uh for our current um business course offerings. And in fact, all of them except one, the senior seminar, uh actually has course uh college credit assigned to it. We're looking um to build on that momentum and offer three new uh additional college level business courses in the building. You see them with the
060asterisks up there. College introduction to real estate uh which would be a full year. And the reason for that is because of the seat time in order to take uh the accompany accompanying real estate exam. uh and then two half-year half credit courses, college marketing and college personal finance uh which would be more in line with uh several of the other uh courses that we have. So once we kind of took a look at the big picture, what we started to really look at is how could we really maximize uh this business department right now it's under our applied math banner. Um and uh we we were just taking a look like I said at not only the trends in the building which are leaning certainly towards uh these business courses being uh so popular
061but also uh what Dr. Bleis just mentioned with New York inspires and that's these uh new graduation measures and initiative by New York State. So, it seemed like all these things were kind of pushing together because a big big part of this New York inspires is to answer your question, Mr. Denino, um the students will have to take the regent exams. The state's been crystal clear on that. It's the you don't have to pass it part that that understandably leaves people with a lot of questions. But everything else that they push out is that while students have to take uh the regent's exams, there will be other um pathways and that's the term they continually use for students to show uh you know that they that they understand the material. So that's where we see
062a really uh important uh opportunity for us to take all of this together and and put it in a nice package and create for the first time a career and technical education department in the building. Um we uh continually look and evaluate at the uh resources that we have and how we can best use them. And when we were doing that this year, we we took a close look uh right now and came to the came to the conclusion that if we did take our current art, technology, family, consumer science classes and we take this growing business uh department and we bring it all together to create a CTE department, it would really serve the students uh best. So, there's a lot of work to do with that though to to um to make this,
063you know, a reality. Um, as part of the process, like I said, we we took a close look at what we uh what we do offer. Um, and we got pretty excited when this all started to click because of uh several of the reasons that are up here, especially what I would highlight as the fourth um, you know, sub bullet, the interdisciplinary opportunities. You know, the classes that Mr. Lentini as the chairperson for art, tech, and family consumer overseas. They have such natural blending with our business programs. We have advertising and marketing classes. We have um technology classes with uh you know um in a more traditional woodworking sense uh with Mr. Dustman. So if we give give a lot of thought to it and we already have started creating our own pathways, uh it
064really again just all connects and and creates these wonderful opportunities for our students. So with this um really the next step is for uh Mr. Lentini to continue to meet with uh myself, Miss Mohler's been a intricral part of this and to try to come up with our own pathways that take the courses that we have give students a clear direction starting not not at the high school but at the middle school that if I take this in eighth grade, if I take studio art in eighth grade, this is the opportunities that it leads to. And again, just trying to uh create as clear and concise of a picture for our families as we can. So, we're very excited about this one. Uh there's a lot of work to be done. Um but again, uh
065Miss Healey hit on before preparing the 21st century learner. Uh but that aligns directly with the profile of the aisle, especially those real life skills. Uh we have it in the building. It's just now these pieces have to be talking to one another and and that's really the goal of this. Um so with that, uh I would take any questions that anybody had regarding those two initiatives. Um, so I I had a question, a statement, and a challenge, I guess you'd call it. Um, a question with the college English classes. Is that replacing 12R or is that an additional track between AP and 12R? >> Replacing 12R. >> Okay. Um, and the statement that goes along with that is, "My daughter is super excited about um that pathway being opened up." So, she came home
066like all thrilled about being able to take or hoping to take the competition identity and adapted stories class because it kind of lines up with what she's hoping to do with her future. Um, and then the challenge going with the CT department. I think that's really forward thinking and I think Lindbrook is going to be one of those districts that's ahead of the curve with that idea and it's fantastic, but I'd love to see the district try to bring back. I know that there was some really popular classes that kind of went away when a teacher retired, but some of the fashion design and production elements in the fax department, like opening that up and not just on like the kind of traditional business end, but really on the entrepreneurial end of like what I
067can actually create my own business. like my youngest one is really into fashion and nails and things like that, but to be able to turn that into a not just a job, but like an actual business and career, um I think that's I'd love to see the district get there. >> Yeah. No, I I agree. That would be uh you know, something to to work towards. I can give an example that I think would speak to that. uh when we've be begun to throw around some of these pathways I could give an example because like I said right now one of our business course offerings you see it on the top but all the way on the bottom senior seminar it's our one business class that doesn't have a uh you know college um partnership
068but we were we were taking a look at some of the course offerings that we have and we said what if we take the courses that Mr. Reaganado teaches uh she has two amazing foods classes here. Um and we couple that with the senior seminar and and uh require students to take an internship in a restaurant or in a hotel and create a culinary arts and hospitality pathway. So that's a relationship that right now with the resources that we have can happen. It's just the the um coordination of of making sure that those people are are talking to one another. Uh and everybody that we've talked to so far are very excited about the idea. Um and that's just one example of several of these pathways that we hope to create. That just made me
069think of another question. So is it correct to say then that every child who graduates Limbrook High School, they all have to take English 12 to graduate. >> They're all going out of here with college credits if they maintain that 75 average. If Nassau agrees with with this uh arrangement then yes. >> So pretty much every gradu almost every graduate of this high school is going to graduate with college credits in the near future. >> This would be Yes. This would be our first uh step in a required course being >> that's incredible. >> Dual enrollment. >> Thank you. I just want to the changes seem fabulous and just you know as a mom of kids in college and the cost you know walking out with the credits is so beneficial and gives the students
070in the future more time also in college for hands-on learning opportunities you know to not take a class and do an internship. So it's really will help them in the long run as well. >> Yeah, it's it's gotten our attention. We you know the AP track will always be there. Um that serves a purpose and we respect that. But when we look at our dual enrollment numbers from last year alone, it went up in it roughly 13% in terms of number of students taking uh registering for courses. So, you know, it's it's studying the trends in the building and I think, you know, especially if we could uh begin a partnership with Nassau community, that would be a big step in the right direction. >> That's wonderful. And just for the English 12R or the
071new English um classes, our teachers write the curriculum and then it's just approved by the community. It's actually been a very interesting process. Nassau is extraordinarily thorough in their approval process. In fact, more so than anything I've experienced with some of the privates. Um they uh you know they give us an outline of basically what their expectation is and then our teachers get to work. Um so that has all happened already and it's at that point now where it's it's in their hands. Um and then even after that there's some several there's several steps that that are required by Nassau. Um again the transferability from what our research tells us is high for a student going into any Sunni. It's automatic. It's not even a question. Uh which is something that you know you can't
072always say. So um again it's really just a lot of benefits to it including the cost benefit which I I also respect. >> Yeah. Wonderful. Thank you. >> Thank you. Yeah. I mean I think adding the college level classes where you're getting credit as a parent of someone who's in college right now it is such a we we do a lot of it. we do more than a lot of other districts already and it's such an advantage to the kids coming out. Um, from a cost standpoint, they may be able to save a semester or two. That's exorbitantly expensive. But even if a kid's going to take the full four years of college, it allows them so much flexibility to say, "Okay, my junior year I'm taking the MCAT or I'm taking the LSAT. Maybe
073I'll lighten my load my second semester or I'm rushing fraternities first semester, maybe I'll take a lighter load." it it really does give the kids when they get into college such an advantage to come in with 15, 20, 30 credits. I mean, that's a full year of college they're coming in with. So, I think it's a great idea, especially on the 12R. Um, replacing that with a college level class and knock on wood, hopefully it gets approved. Um I also think that the plan of kind of coordinating some of the career the various career related departments into one department is just phenomenal because you look at all the business offerings and I know those are the most popular classes in the school. you can't get into them sometimes, but having those in the same department
074with an art class or a hospitality class and then allowing those classes to have a business element and be more interdisciplinary. Just a great idea because those areas that where you know not the hard sciences but whether it's you know hospitality, art, those are career paths but they're they're currently taught in most schools just as art hospitality integrating them with the business department and showing a kid this is how your passion for art can actually be a career and here's different ways to do it. It it it's just that's how we're going to be teaching kids in the in the coming years. It's an important way. It's a transition we're seeing. So yeah, I think it's a trend. >> I love it. I think it's really creative. >> Well, thank you. I think it's a
075trend, you know, that we're observing and and for the profile, you know, the real life skill pillar. I mean, this is this is it in action. >> Mr. S, could you uh ask the real estate class? So, you said they're going to take an exam at the end. What does that qualify them to do? >> From my understanding is to become a real estate broker. So there's an >> out of Lindbrook High School and go right up the street to one of the real estate. >> So there is an age restriction 18 uh on the real estate part for New York State. Um and what we actually I just had the conversation today. We reached out to find the answer is um how long is that window that they allow? So would we allow this
076for for sophomores? Can they have two years before they're able to sit for the exam? I don't have the answer to that, but it's something that we thought of that we we >> That's a very practical talk about career path. That's literally getting into the into the stream. You don't even need a college diploma at that point. You're selling. That's >> Yeah. And and some alumni that we have um are are, you know, have real estate licenses while they're in college, you know, just as a a you know, side job. >> So, they can't take the test until they're 18. Is that what you're saying? >> Yeah. And that's a state that's a New York state license requirement. We just want to make sure that there's no expiration on when you receive credit in the
077class or a certificate that you can sit for that exam. >> That's a great point. >> Yeah. So, just want to be careful with that. >> Thank you. >> We're talking about you, Mr. Desmond. So, you may just want to wave at the board. [laughter] Look at >> that. Totally intentional. >> And just to echo what everyone said, I love that you're really honing in on that career ready. When we say college and career ready, I think we we very many of us got to a point where you forgot that not every child >> intends to, wants to, or really benefits from going to college. So, I think these pathways will be just tremendous. I did have two questions on in particular the real estate. Will that link to the microcredentiing that was in the
078New York State portrait of a graduate when the state put out their ideas of curriculum requirements and and this goes to what Mrs. Denino said about moving forward? >> Is that is there any dovetail there or are they separate things? >> Our planning has really focused just on on moving forward. A lot of the information's been um frustratingly slow coming from the state in terms of that level of detail. So we uh >> I feel like we're over prepared in that sense. Uh it could it could but again we're we're going to just keep planning and and wait I guess for for that information to come out. >> Winging it beautifully. It's this is not winging this is hours of preparation. I did have one question on the English split with NASA. And I will
079tell you my experience was my son went to Nassau for two years, transferred all of his credits to Stonybrook. Um my daughter went to University of Vermont. She had so many credits coming out of Limbrook. She went in as a second semester sophomore. >> So >> we hear more and more of that. >> It got her a parking pass. She chose to spend four years >> and early registration. >> Yes. And early registration. Um, but my question was on the English class. >> Will students be required to pay that money to get the credit or they could just take it as >> Yeah, like any dual enrollment class we offer, uh, students are not required to pay the fee. >> Okay, that's just what I wanted to check. >> Yep. >> Great. Thank you. >>
080Absolutely. >> Hey, Mr. Rosi. Uh, quick question. in terms of cost to the students, you know, what how these credits at $50 a pop from there. So, what's the cost relationship between that and the credits that they've already been paying for our dual enrollment courses? >> Significantly less. I mean, all the other ones are highly reduced. Um, I could ballpark what some might cost, but a Malloy credit, >> I don't I hope I'm not too off, but it would be closer to maybe 200ish a credit. Uh it's right around there. Yeah, approximately. >> Um they change each year obviously. So um >> but you know what what could potentially maybe be $500 for three credits is 150. >> Okay. And do we anticipate any cost to the district for running these courses? So there's a
081there's a whole other conversation taking place at the state level that I'm have not been uh privy I guess to the latest development, but I know there's an initiative from the governor that hopes to take um this cost away from families and put it on a district. Uh I'm sure details are are waning. Um Mr. Press might be able to speak better not to put you on the spot, but more about that than I. Um but all the more to uh a relationship with Nassau being beneficial in the long run. >> Thank you. >> Absolutely. >> Sorry on that one. So tapping in on that question. Uh right now we are waiting for official guidance from the state. Local uh Boseies are starting to gear up for this because a lot of this probably will
082happen through coasters at some point in the future. This is not something that we would be entertaining in this year's budget. you know, right now it's too late in the game to uh wait for details that are not at anywhere close, it seems to forthcoming. So, I think that right now, yes, the families would still continue to pay for courses. And as Mr. as he said, we're kind of in a wait and see game and see how all of the mechanisms around this would work too because I think that's one of the reasons for the delay is I'm not really sure based on the early conversations we've had that the state has figured out how state aid would be flowing around this and all those uh details that would be very important before we made
083a leap like that. >> Okay. Thank you very much. >> And then I don't want to put Mr. Pleski on the spot, but I'm going to. So I want him to take off his board member hat for a second. And as you know, Mr. Pleski is a volunteer coach in our football program. So he was required to attend a workshop last week. So would you want to talk a little bit about that? >> Sure. Uh so the Limmerch Athletic Department entered into a partnership with the Positive Coaching Alliance for a workshop last Thursday, January 22nd, entitled Developing Competitors and Mental Wellness through Positive Coaching. Uh Mr. Model, our athletic director, scheduled the event on an afternoon where every coach in the district had availability. uh whether that was between [clears throat] seasons or he just
084flat out asked coaches to postpone practices and move practices because he felt important that all the coaches in the district were there. There had to be well over 60 coaches in attendance um through coaches from all seasons. Uh it was run by a veteran coach adviser with over 35 years of experience who's coached multiple sports at multiple levels. She did a very nice job in presenting. It was designed to help coaches understand how to enhance the social emotional well-being of their their players. Um, and also to remind coaches how to better the experience of their players on many different levels. In my opinion, it was a very effective u workshop for young coaches trying to deal with many situations that pop up for the first time. Uh, and even for someone like me who's been
085coaching over 27 years, there were helpful reminders how to be a very effective coach and leader. So, I I think it was a very positive thing for the district. >> And that was a a pilot program we did this year that we'll be looking to expand uh towards next year. So, thanks very much for that. >> Thank you. >> So, on that u Did you Mrs. Aragon, do you want to >> Oh, no. >> No, we were just looking about the cost of the Malloy course. I thought I had it in my phone. I couldn't find it. >> Then, Mrs. >> Thank you. Maybe that sounds about right. About 200. >> I'm pretty sure it was 200 a credit. >> Reminds me I need to pay it. [laughter] >> 300 a credit. >> Oh, 300
086a credit. >> Yeah. >> Okay. So, thank you everybody. Our next regular meeting is February 11th and we will have a budget work session on March 4th. Um I'd like to ask for a motion to adjourn. Mr. Pillesi, second, Mr. Lunar. All in favor? Thank you. Stay warm everybody.