001test test one >> like they just said like sixth grade teacher and I was like Paul would like test And then they had to explain to me what was >> I was like, "Oh, >> so are you at I will now call this meeting to order the December 9th uh 2025 legislative meeting. And Mr. Belle Williams, if you could start us off with the pledge and the acknowledgement. I'll now read the statement of acknowledgement and honor of indigenous and diverse communities. We begin this meeting with acknowledgement of and honor for the many legacies that have impacted our community, particularly those buried over time. Acknowledging truth is critical to building mutual respect and connection across all barriers of heritage and difference. Cheltonham Township stands within the Lape Hoink, the ancestral homeland of the Lenny Lape civilization.
002Their people were and still are caretakers of this land and its rivers and their legacy continues. We pay respect to their elders, past and present. Our community owes its existence and vitality to generations from around the world who contributed their hopes, dreams, and energy to making the history that led to this moment. Some were brought here against their will. Some were drawn to leave their distant homes in hope of a better life. And some have lived on this land for more generations than can be counted. Please take a moment to consider the many legacies of violence, displacement, migration, and settlement that bring us together. As a school district committed to fostering intellectual curiosity and discourse in service of social justice, join us in uncovering such truths. >> Thank you, Mr. Brell Williams. Uh, Miss Hatcher,
003could you take the roll call, please? >> Good evening. Miss Misting, >> present. Mr. >> Belle Williams, >> present. Mr. Miss Lman >> present. >> Miss >> present. >> Miss Murphy >> present. >> Shorts >> present. >> Dr. Watts >> present. >> Dr. White >> present. >> Thank you. That [clears throat] >> Thank you, Miss Hatcher. We will now take public comment on agenda items only. Uh, any Cheltonham resident, taxpayer, school district employee is permitted to comment on agenda items and any non-aggenda items at the time scheduled. Speakers comments are limited to three minutes or less. I do want to just clarify that during legislative board meetings, the first opportunity, which is now, the public comment is reserved for comments on items that are on tonight's agenda. And a second opportunity for public comment will
004occur at the end of the meeting. comments. Thank you. Uh we will move on to recognition recognitions. We have with us Mr. Metaf tonight for Cedarbrook Middle School. explain um our artwork that we have around and just thank you for the opportunity. >> All right. Um good evening everyone and thank you for being here. I'm excited to share a little bit about what our seventh and eighth grade artists have been working on this year. In our art program, we focus not only on creating finished pieces, but on building strong artist habits that students can carry with them far beyond middle school. One of the most important habits we develop is consistent sketchbook use. Um, students practice brainstorming, planning, experimenting, and reflecting in their sketchbooks, helping them think like real artists and designers. Um, they are
005on the back table, which you can pan through to see their um, brainstorming. Throughout the year, students explore a wide range of materials, drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, digital media, and more. As they move from project to project, they learn new techniques and strengthen their skills, gaining confidence in working with different tools and processes. This variety helps students discover what they enjoy, what challenges them, and how different materials can express different ideas. A major focus of our curriculum is personal meaning and choice. Students create artwork that reflect their own interests, experiences, and identities. They're encouraged to make creative decisions, take risks, and develop their own artistic voice. When students feel connected to what they're making, become more become more invested and proud of their work. We also explore how art connects to real world careers. Many
006of our projects are inspired by jobs artists do every day, such as fashion design, mural painting, tattoo design, illustration, animation, and more. Students learn that art is not just something that you hang on a wall. It's a powerful skill set that can lead to a wide range of creative professions. Our examples here include ongoing units in color theory, art history, world culture, observational studies, and upcoming units that focus on social issues, mixed media, personal vision, earth sciences, and the integration of the arts and careers. Overall, our goal is to help students grow as thinkers, makers, and problem solvers. We want them to leave seventh and eighth grade feeling confident in their abilities, proud of their creativity, and aware of the many ways art can shape their futures. Thank you for supporting our young artists and
007the work they do. And I hope you enjoy [clears throat] the art. >> And I believe we do have one other presentation, um, video presentation, I believe. So, >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. N. [music] Heat. Heat. N. [music] Heat. [music] [music] Heat. N. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. N. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> creepy. Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Thank you very much. Who knew it would be that long, right? Um, so, um, I do want to thank our schoolboard members who recently came to work with us during our AFAS. Um, while the video was long, um, I believe if you come, you know, in tidbits, short periods of time, you
008get a chance to really get a feel for what our school is in a day, um, or even five minutes. So, thank you all for coming. It was a pleasure. Our scholars really appreciate it and gained so much just meeting with other adults that have an interest in them. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Metaf. Uh we will now move on to an approval of our minutes. Uh can I have a motion to approve the November 11th minutes? >> So moved. Ross Winning. >> Second. Charles Brell Williams. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. I. >> Any extensions or nays or extensions? Thank you. The motion carries. The minutes are passed. Uh we will now hear from our high school students with our student council report. Miss Subu. All right. Um, good
009evening school board members. My name is Emma Zubiru. Our last meeting was on November 19th. I'll now read out the updates. Charity delivered turkey baskets filled with meal preparation ingredients for Thanksgiving to deliver food to people in need. The student council gave $100 to one of our local clubs, Latinos Unidos, to fund their fundraising events. The Red Cross blood drive was at the high school today. Um, we had 37 people including several teachers and Dr. Hammond. Easter Seals will be on November 19th. CHS purchases toys then delivers them to life skills programs. On December 10th, winter and orchest band and orchestra will have their winter concert. And on Monday, December 15th, the coral concert will be held. That concludes my report. Thank. >> Thank you, Emma. Solicitor's report. >> Yes. Thank you. The board has
010not met in executive session since last month, so I don't have any announcements this evening. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Diazio. Uh Dr. Scriffin, your report, please. >> Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair, and good evening to board of directors, uh to our community. Uh prior to me uh getting into my official uh superintendent report, I did want to delegate some time to uh Mr. uh Joshua Swigert, our director for business and finance with some updates regarding the construction project at Glenside Elementary. Uh so Mr. Swagert, at this time I'd like to turn it over to you. I should preface by saying that there were some considerations as to whether we were going to um look at putting a hold on uh the development of those six classrooms slated at Glennside. And uh after taking
011a deeper a deeper dive and and and actually doing a walk through at Glennside, uh we do feel that that project should move forward. uh that is something that uh the board will uh be looking at voting on this evening. Uh so subsequently we wanted to give a little more context uh publicly uh to the community. >> Thank you Dr. Scribbin. So, as you mentioned at last Tuesday, December 2nd's finance and facility committee meeting uh this discussion consideration was given whether to put a hold on the uh addition to be constructed at Glenside. a vote that has occurred tonight to approve said project. And that consider consideration was as a result of review of enrollment figures that didn't uh meet the level of the enrollment study that was done by the school district back in
0122022 when the feasibility study was conducted. Um, as part of the feasibility study, walkthroughs were performed at each school building and those additions were as a result of those walkthroughs and the additional programming anticipated and um, and expected enrollment for the for the um, Montgomery County enrollment report. Um, we re reperformed these walkthroughs in advance of tonight in order to uh, reinforce tonight's vote and the necessity of this project. Um, as a result of those walkthroughs, we identified uh numerous facility issues, particularly when it relates to student mental health and special education classroom spaces um and the ability to conduct those programs um to their to their maximum potential. Um so as a result of these walkthroughs, I feel it reinvigorated and reinforced the need for this project to move forward. Um, and in addition
013to that, this project will also allow for uh overflow space from other elementary schools as a result of some additional housing projects that are underway within the township. Um, and it will also allow realign our building space with one of our strategic plan goals and that is to reestablish a prek program, a state funded prek program back within the district um like what we had when we partnered with the MCIU. That's it. >> Thank you, Mr. Swar. Now, if you could uh direct your attention to the uh PowerPoint presentation that is being presented. I wanted to just take an opportunity uh this evening as a district uh we've been uh working through a series of uh situations around uh culture, climate uh and safety uh which has really necessitated uh me really kind of formalizing
014a framework in which we uh will move forward. Uh today at the high school we did have the center uh for safe schools out conducting uh the safety assessment of our uh high school uh which will be one of uh seven assessments that are going to be done because we're actually going to do this administrative building as well as our other five schools. Uh so the title this evening shared leadership our roles in crisis culture and climate uh a unified framework for principles and central office there's a parallel track and I I just want to speak to that if you can go to the next slide please. So our guiding philosophy uh really is centered around the importance of all arrows uh pointing the right direction. And you're going to hear that uh from me
015uh quite a bit uh because it is important uh that we are not operating uh in silos and that uh as a district we have uh systemic approaches where all arrows uh are pointed the right direction. simply meaning that everyone uh is following and implementing the same uh best practices and policies uh across the system. Next slide please. So this is twofold and principal teller principal medaf are here this evening. They they are our site leaders and then I sit here as one of the system leaders but not the only system leaders. We have a a entire central office team where our main role is to support uh the site leader. That site leader is the people leader at the school-based level. They are the ones that have the strongest relationships. They are the ones
016that are driving the day-to-day work. As a central office team, we are making sure that we are giving the support, the resources and the framework uh in which there's a shared understanding of what the implementation and our seven pillars of our strategic plan look like, feel like, and how are they operationalized. Next slide, please. So there's three pillars in which we're working from. There's a crisis management pillar, a cultural management pillar, and a climate management pillar. And I want to backwardly map from the climate management pillar. When we're talking about climate management, we're really talking about how do people feel today. When we reference cultural, it reflects how people behave and what they believe over time. And as we're navigating as a district right now, we've had some uh situations that have arrived, which I'll
017I'll take as opportunities for growth, which would fall under crisis management. and your crisis management can both uh can test both the climate and also the culture as it exists uh in the district. We are diligently and collaboratively uh pushing in to all schools to assess and strengthen both our climate and our culture at this point in time. So that if and when faced with crisis uh there's very uh clear um processes and protocols in which uh to implement regardless of where that would occur. Next slide please. A shared responsibility to pro to protect students and staff. Uh this is important and this is the essence of what uh we do as a district. Just making sure we're on the right slide. I see people double taking. Um our our role is to make sure
018that there's fluid coordination. Um and one of our challenges is making sure that we are uh being transparent from uh a communication standpoint. um that all stakeholders within the district have a clear understanding of what our actual protocols are. Uh that is going to be the work as we move through uh this winter and into uh the spring. Next slide please. So crisis management and action uh there's a direct response and systemwide coordination. I'm simply highlighting the role of the principal uh versus the role of central office. In any situation, we have to make sure that our principal leaders are equipped to be the incident um commanders within their respective buildings. Um they're the ones that will interact directly uh with uh support uh whether that be from township police. Um but they do not
019step in isolation. There's fluid communication between our school-based principles and our central office team. We are the ones that assist with guiding and directing them to make sure there are no missteps as we navigate whatever the current scenario or situation is uh that we're addressing. And that is something uh that we are truly working on being uh more lock step. Uh as you have seen in past communications, there's certain instances when a communication may come directly from the principal which is a lower level issue or there's an issue which demands or warrants a communication coming from me as superintendent which will normally go districtwide to all of our community stakeholders. uh most communications that come from our principles are just going to that immediate uh school community. We are currently under the direction of uh
020Mr. Kaufman, who's our communications director, working on memorializing uh Sheltonham School District communication playbook, uh which can be public facing uh we're going to do that collaboratively um so that everyone is on the same page with what uh communication should look like and feel like. Next slide, please. Pillar two, when we talk about cultural management, um we're really talking about the values and the norms and it directly aligns to our mission and vision. A lot of the work we're doing right now under portrait of a graduate um is identifying culturally uh what we feel like our students should have as seniors as they've metriculated now K through 12. what are the characteristics uh that they should be walking away with uh upon graduating from uh Sheltonham School District. We ground ourselves in our diversity. Uh
021we have established uh an instructional framework that we are implementing with Fidelity this year. Uh we are in our third year of implementation of our NTSS program which is something that we did not even have three years ago when we're able to address tier one, tier 2 and tier three uh supports and interventions for students. Um so we are definitely uh memorializing and putting protocols uh aligned to research-based best practices uh that all members throughout the district regardless of schoolhouse have a clear understanding of what implementation should look like. Next slide please. building our culture and again uh delineated between what that looks like for a building administrator uh versus what that looks like as a central office. Uh within the building administrator side, you see some of the roles and responsibilities that them and
022their staff directly touch uh MTSS and PBIS. I just and you'll probably see in the agenda consent agenda tonight that there's training that teachers are going to uh again for uh PBIS and what implementation looks like uh as we're trying to strengthen that in each and every one of our schools. uh the importance of celebrating successes are things that our principles do a a great job of our Debbie which for us is uh diversity, equity, belonging and inclus being inclusive uh is something that we pride ourselves on. This happens at the school-based level. You just saw a presentation uh by principal mechaf that really speaks to the culture, the climate um that exists there uh at our middle school level. Uh on the central office side, we support the process. We make sure that the
023necessary PD is in place, that the training is in place, but that it's differentiated. We're making sure that we have something that meets the needs of every staff and faculty member uh within our district. Uh working alongside of Mr. Swagert, we have to make sure that uh we're differentiating resources. Uh right now uh we're dealing with some uh climate anda safety issues at Sheltonham Elementary School uh where we are find ourselves needing to allocate uh a diff uh additional resources based on what the student data uh is telling us just as an example. Next slide please. climate management that's really about shaping the Delhi lived experience. Uh we are a service model uh and that uh really resonates with me in terms of how I model uh and how I carry myself. Uh I will
024acknowledge Sheltonham Elementary once again publicly that I have several emails that I need to respond to. Um, and I want to do that in a way uh which not just gives those individuals that reached out uh the necessary information they're requesting, but the communication as a as uh needs to go out to that community as a whole and then to the broader district. I'll be working with Dr. Catchabone uh with some of that, but that is not just based on programs um at Sheltonham Elementary. There's a larger piece uh that we are looking uh to address. Our center for safe schools, Sheltonham Elementary, will be the the first elementary that actually has the assessment done because we want that done sooner than later so that we can get the recommendations and have another data point
025which informs what are the additional resources, training, uh professional developments that we need to push in. in terms of supporting uh the folks at Shelnham Elementary that are working um so diligently. Next slide, please. So, cultivating a positive climate, monitoring and intervention. Again, this is uh delineated by what it looks like at the building level and then what it looks like at the central office level. uh this Swiss data, these early warning indicators are are things are data points that our principles are using each and every day. Just in the last couple months through Ed affairs, we've heard from both our elementary principles. We've heard from our secondary principles. You can see where they're using perceptual data. You can see where they're using multiple data points to not just address academics, but to make sure
026that they are addressing the whole child and making sure that they are supporting the faculty and staff to build their toolkits to make sure that on a daily basis each and every student is getting what they need. Uh our we have a team right now up in Hershey on our office of ed side which is really working on defining uh what is our identity as a district as it relates to uh academics. How do we operationalize the seven pillars that we have in our strategic plan in terms of going deeper from a data standpoint and being able to really use the data to give a clear explanation of what our current state is and what our future work uh should look like. Uh postco we can't deny that the seal is still something that we
027have to be uh very focused on. Um we do that uh in terms of the additional mental health supports which are available at every school. Uh but we also again uh do that with making sure that we're monitoring the implementation of MTSS with fidelity at each one of our school houses. Next slide, please. I did I guess this really kind of sums up what I I I just spoke to but in a a different graphic. uh when you're talking about the system leader uh versus what the on-site leader uh what that flow looks like and what some of those data points are um that I'm referencing. This just makes it more visual uh visually uh appealing and easier um to consume. Next slide. Systemic supports and practice. Uh this is what we are currently doing.
028This is our current work. Um I'm remissed because I do need to al also upgrade that not only do we have the sixth grade success academy uh currently at our modules for our standalone uh CBES uh but we also have the ninth grade academy um at the high school. And um that is uh critical because we're really um being intentional about the supports that we know are needed during those transitional years. Next slide, please. This is a unified uh system of leadership. Again, it speaks to the on-site leader. It speaks to the system leader and it speaks to collaboratively um the importance of of us being aligned um and not disconnected. Uh coherence is everything. Uh and if we have a lack of coherence, I I I use this example all the time. There there's
029no reason for families to have different experiences based on the schools that their a child may attend. If you move from our furthest elementary uh at Shelham Elementary and go all the way over to Glennside, when we talk about culture and climate, there should be similarities um that are felt uh in each one of those schoolh houses. It's our job as system leadership to make sure that we're pushing in and giving those supports. We have monthly meetings with our whole administrative team including our principles, our assistant principles and our complete central office uh staff uh where we spend three to four hours uh really unpacking our current practices uh what's working uh and what we need to revisit in terms of doing a better job of. Next slide please. Again, this speaks from isolation, isolated
030acts to collective transformation. Um, I've been talking about that from the LA for the last four years now. Now, uh, we are truly attempting to make this actionable. Um, board is governance. We always say that administration is where you operationalize. uh we are truly using our strategic plan as a daily um north star uh for what our work uh should be each and every day. And then the final slide is just a nice picture uh which uh really culminates what we want the lived experience of each and every one of our students to have each and every day. Uh so uh this will be posted publicly. Um I'm more than welcome at any time uh to unpack this further. I know we have a leadership retreat coming up where I will go into more detail
031around what the data points look like with respect to minimally speaking four of our seven uh strategic pillars. Thank >> you Dr. Scriven. Um we will now move on to the B and thank you Dr. or Mr. Swider as well. Uh and we'll move on to the board president's report. I have a brief uh report this evening. Uh it is the last legislative meeting of 2025. I think it's the 67th day of the school year. So we're about a third or so through the year. I'm getting a nod from Mr. Taylor. I got the day right. Um and it is also my first legislative meeting uh in this seat as president. I am really honored uh to be here and to serve the Cheltonham community in this uh capacity. Um in addition to the work
032our board will uh continue to work on and accomplish to fulfill our district mission. Um I also look forward to strengthening our communication and our collaboration. Uh we talked about that quite a bit last week at our reorganization meeting. Um and the words that we all kept talking about were communication, collaboration, and community. The the three C's. And so those are kind of uh my guiding principles right now. Um some items that I'd like to highlight before we move on. Mr. Mechaf mentioned uh some of us got to go to Cedarbrook Middle School in the last few weeks to be a part of their advocacy for all um meetings and those AFAs which I had heard about as a parent and as a board member, but it was awesome to see them in action to
033meet with students. Um I'm sure the other board members who attended feel the same way. It was just nice to be in a school building and just kind of see a normal day and what was well AFAS aren't normal per se but just you know kids doing what they're supposed to be doing chatting with teachers. Uh it was a great experience and I look forward to being able to do more things like that in the future. Um two items that are on the agenda uh to be voted on tonight that are separate from the consent agenda are items that come from the board as opposed from the administration. And those items are the reappointment of the superintendent and also the appointment of Miss Lman uh to the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit as our board representative.
034Miss Lman has volunteered to continue with that role and we thank her for doing that. Uh and I'm also pleased to present for approval tonight an agreement between the board and our superintendent, Dr. Brian Scriven. Uh this contract is for the 5-year period beginning on July 1st, 2026 and continuing until June 30th, 2031. Uh Dr. Scriven has been with us for just over four years and he's currently in his fifth year of his current contract. Uh under his tenure, we have seen the development and execution of our current strategic plan, a revised mission and vision. Uh we completed a feasibility study and have multiple capital projects that are in process as we've already discussed a little bit this evening including a grade reconfiguration moving us to four K to5 schools, one true middle school and
035one high school. We have a curricular renewal process that's in full swing as well and we have already added high quality instructional material in K to2 science 6 to 12 math with more to come literally underway as we speak. Uh I couldn't list all of the accomplishments that have happened in the last four years, but I did want to highlight a few of those. Uh Dr. Scriven's commitment to Cheltonham uh is evident and to us and we look forward to continuing working together. Um thank you. That concludes my report and we will move on to committee reports. First up, um financial affairs, Mr. Schultz. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. The financial affairs committee met on December 2nd in the administration office and uh with a hybrid Zoom option. Following roll call and approval of minutes,
036the board received uh interim financial statements update which I would encourage folks to look at the numbers in the spreadsheet. I will not try to re reiterate all of them in this report. There's a lot of great data in there and the bottom line is we are moving in the right direction and there aren't any major surprises in our budget so far. We then received an update on the state budget which has been passed. Uh round of applause for that. Uh we uh we Cheltonham is estimated to receive an increase a total increase from the state of $2.6 6 million which is an increase above and beyond what we had anticipated in our budget by around $136 million. So that is great news to hear. And in addition to that, there was a change in
037the funding formula for cyber charter schools which we are expecting to receive approximately $400,000 of lower expenditure. So that's less about receiving. The bottom line is this was very good news for our local budget which is welcome because uh there are a lot of anticipated increased costs coming down the pike. More on that in a minute. We then received an update regarding our food services contract. Our food services food services contracts in Pennsylvania can be renewed for up to five years uh due to material changes in in in our district. For instance, the reconfiguration of fifth and sixth grade into elementary and Cedarbrook schools. Uh we are are opting administration is recommending that we opt to do an RFP process one year earlier than we would normally have to. Uh I want to make sure
038that that's announced clearly here as well because that will involve community input and I would encourage anybody listening to send send notes to our business manager uh Mr. Swagard with any thoughts or opinions. Um, and for folks in the school communities, stay tuned for your opportunity to have taste tests next year in the winter. We then received an update around Eastern's operating budget, which we will be voting on this evening. Sheltonham students have continued to benefit from uh the Eastern Center. uh and we have we have an increased enrollment this year than we have in previous years. And the way the budget is calculated is it depends on how many students are attending. So this evening we will be voting on an operating budget uh for Eastern for our portion which represents approximately 8% increase
039total which is $111,000. Um, we discussed how much our our scholars get out of this program and frankly how worth it it is. The next item, this is a heavy agenda by the way, so I'm sorry for going longer than usual, but the next item was a presentation regarding the act one opt out resolution, which is another item we will be voting on this evening. Uh, for those unfamiliar, act one index is a state law that restricts how much a school district can increase taxes. And by opting out of act one, we are confirming we will not raise taxes above the specified level this in this upcoming budget cycle. So that will be likely approved tonight and discussed. Then we received an update around construction bids which have come in. Uh and this was another
040item of good news. We the bids are around $5 million less than the total estimated cost between CH uh the Cedarbrook expansion and the Glenside Elementary expansion. This translates ultimately to a lower potential need for debt service which would translate to a lower potential need for for tax increases in future years slash the ability to uh dedicate resources in different ways towards our mission and vision. Finally, we received the bad news, which are various budget considerations that we need to as a district be well aware of as we enter the budget cycle for next fall. This includes things like increases in transportation costs, which are contractually driven, as well as salary contractual obligations uh and medical costs, which we have a little bit less control over and is dependent on the need of our uh
041covered employees. That concludes the uh content of my report. We will be meeting uh again January 6th, the first Tuesday of 2026. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Schultz. Uh educational affairs, Miss Murphy. >> Good evening. The educational affairs committee meeting met on November 18th, 2025 here in the administration office and with a hybrid option. The meeting opened with review of the four phases of the continuous school improvement process. We heard previously from Dr. Pyal about that and he reviewed the targets for our Keystone English language arts and math programs. Following that, the middle and high school principles presented their latest data. Principles Craig Metaf and Dr. Benjamin Hammond gave us great information about the data that they have acred at this time. A highlight of the Cedarbrook data is the strength of small group
042instruction. The director of school services, Charlene Collins, gave an overview of the progress made on the district's comprehensive plan and updates on the 2026 27 and 202728 academic calendar years. Our next educational affairs meeting is Tuesday, December 16th at [clears throat] 700 p.m. And that concludes my report. >> Thank you, Miss Murphy. Eastern Center for Arts and Technology, Mr. Berdell Williams. >> Yep. Thank you, Madam Chair. The Eastern Center for Arts and Technology joint operating committee met on November 12th in person. Uh prior to the JOC meeting, uh there was the annual sharing of the Eastern Center for Arts and Technology annual report, which is an opportunity for board members, superintendent uh and other uh select members to be able to uh hear about all of the good things going on at Eastern in a
043very um direct format. Um, in addition to that, we also had a chance to enjoy a meal that was uh fully catered by the culinary students uh at Eastern as well as go home with a really nice colorful program that was uh fully designed, developed, and executed by the students in the digital photography program. Um, as a part of that 2024 2025 annual report, um, there were a few things that I did want to highlight for Eastern. Um, one, uh, through Eastern Student Diversity Recognition Program, they recognized 25 outstanding students, some of which were self-nominated and some nominated by their teachers. Um, at the career expo event, which is always extremely popular and well attended, uh, Eastern welcomed 538 potential students um, into programs to visit and get a better understanding of what Eastern provides.
044In addition to that, one of the uh large points that I've shared here and at least once uh in recent history is um Eastern's efforts to continue to expand their college credit articulation agreements with schools in the area to help provide the dual enrollment opportunities um that legitimately state that the programming that's offered at Eastern in some way is in fact equivalent um in addition to what someone may see at a community college or one of the local universities in our area. Um, in a a big summary, um, the students at Eastern Center for Arts and Technology in the last year, the 2024 2025 school year, earned 987 industry standard for certificates, 857 of which are recognized by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. every student who left Eastern earned at least one certificate. So each
045and every student who walked through the doors at Eastern left um with some industry standard certificate and those vary in complexity um including those for our cosmetology students where the number of hours required to earn this appropriate certificates um require that they are there two of their last summers in high school. So they are investing a significant amount of time and energy into these certificates. They are not just um a thing to do, right? Um 31 students from 11 of Eastern's programs took part in paid internships. Um always one of my favorite highlights about the real world experience that students get at Eastern. Um, through those internships, students are provided an opportunity to apply what they've learned from Eastern's programs and gain skills needed to be successful in the workplace. Absolutely invaluable experience. Love it.
046Um, love hearing about it as well. Uh, our student leadership organization at Eastern Skills USA had another extremely successful year. um 42 students competing at the state level um with one student winning gold um for the awareness of the community and the board. Eastern Center for Arts and Technology is one of the state of Pennsylvania's smallest career and technical education schools. However, consistently um at the top when it comes to the number of students recognized for their accomplishments through Skills USA. Uh again, a true testament to what happens at Eastern. Uh and then lastly, but very important, uh Eastern welcomed eight new team members last year. Um two employees stepped into new roles and then we also uh you know said a due to uh a few actually three colleagues who actually retired from Eastern
047last year. Uh so following that event, I was at a a table specifically very honored to be with Dr. Triben, our former board president Pam Henry, and a 2020 a 2017 Cheltonham High School graduate, Fred Fox, who is currently the director of facilities at the Eastern Center for Arts and Technology. Fun fact for all of us out here in the community. Um, and thinking through the actual JC meeting, which was very riveting and exciting following the annual report and the dinner. Um there were a number of items that were approved under academic affairs, personnel affairs, facilities, financial affairs, um and policy, but there are a few that I want to highlight. One of which is our November student of the month. Everybody's going to look at me strange and say December. Why are we talking
048about November? Because we approved the students of the month the month prior uh related to the timing of the legislative meeting here in Shelton. So, the November student of the month was Carly Bunkin. Um, she is a Springfield Township High School senior. Uh, as well as an Eastern Center for Arts and Technology student in the culinary arts program. Um, interestingly enough, when Carly visited Eastern, uh, she was torn between culinary collision repair technology and welding repair and technology. One thing that she knew was that she wanted to go to Eastern and do something with her hands. um and also apply some critical thinking skills. Um she was elected by her peers as the skills USA am session president um and was excited about the opportunity. At the most recent awards night which was uh in
049May of 2025 she received the director's award, culinary arts junior award and the straight Award um which again all high honors at the Eastern Center for Arts and Technology. Um, after graduating from Eastern and Springfield Township High, she uh plans to attend the Culinary Institute of America to study food business with the goal of eventually owning her own small business or working in international food export. Uh, other items of importance, I just have a few more here. I know I'm also going long. Thank you, Mr. Schultz, for uh for laying the groundwork for that for me today. Um, the September 30th enrollment for Eastern was at 6 74 students. That is an increase from 660 from last year and is uh it it does not reflect the number of students that were um not able
050to take advantage of Eastern's programs. And so with that, the 2026 2027 program offerings were approved, including uh the new construction management program, which will provide an opportunity for at least 30 students that are on Eastern's weight list to have an opportunity to take advantage of their programs where they had not previously had that opportunity. Um over time, um under Dr. Pleasars and the current Jooccum Eastern has grown their student enrollment capacity by 75 students and with the addition of the construction management program up to 105 um in six years. So, love the work that they're doing there. And last but not least, wanted to recognize three joint operating committee members who were exiting and finishing their terms. first uh Miss Tara Connor Hoff who had been on the joint operating committee with me for
051the last six years um from Hatboro Horscham you know thank her for her work Dr. James Lee who uh was finishing his term in lower Morland and Miss Jennifer Ionetti who was finishing her term um from Upper Dublin. And the next meeting of the Eastern Center for Arts and Technology joint operating committee is tomorrow at 8:00m via Zoom. The link to that meeting can be found on Eastern's website as well as the full 2024 2025 annual report at easc.org. And that concludes my report. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Bell Williams. Uh report from the MCIU from Miss Lman. >> Thank you, Miss Mherern. Can you hear me? >> Yes. >> Thank you. The Montgomery County Intermediate Unit Board met on Wednesday, November 19th, 2025 at 6:45 p.m. in person at the MCIU's main offices
052in Norristown and over Zoom. The board met in executive session prior to the public meeting to discuss a personnel issue. The MCIU board received reports and voted on action items from directors of the IU's 10 offices. Highlights from the meeting include the Office of Business Services presentation and included an update on the passage of the state budget. Woohoo. Which means that the MCIU did not need to sign the $15 million revenue anticipation note as anticipated. RC RBC Capital was thanked significantly for raising its $15,000 fees for preparation of the rant and TD Capital and others were thanked for developing a plan to continue services for children if the budget had not been passed. The legislative report included an update on the many changes to the Pennsylvania school code which accompanied the passage of the budget.
053A summary of those changes was provided to the MCAU board and I have passed that on to our board as well. There was discussion of board policies for first read only and those for approval. Clarification will be added to the policy on board meetings to specify that individuals attending a board meeting virtually will be allowed to make public comments because the MCI board does not accept email comments. Human Resources announced that most of the MCIU's member districts would be participating in the fall education fair on Monday, November 24th. The fair is an annual job fair which connects educators and support staff with Montgomery County School Districts. Anou was approved with Gwyn University to offer tuition discount programs for eligible MCIU and member school district employees on select degree programs. Among the many service agreements that
054the board authorized was one with the upper periom school district for the MCIU to provide two half-day sessions on the essentials of code teaching. Just wanted to highlight that the MCIU offers that. The board also also authorized a service agreement with the school district of Springfield Township for the MCIU to provide professional development um on the a framework for inclusive curriculum design [snorts] for the 2025 2026 school year. Um, Klan or Patton, depending how you pronounce it, received approval for the third keynote speaker for the Pennsylvania Department of Education's annual conference, which is on making a difference, educational practices at work, um, which will be held on February 25th to the 27th in 2026 in Hershey. The speaker will pre this third speaker will present on transition assessment, building the foundation for future planning and
055building bridges inter agency collaboration and expanding transition networks. The next MCIU board meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 28th, 2026 at 6:45 p.m. in person at the MCIU's main office and o also over Zoom. There will be no meeting in December 2025. This ends my report. Thank you, Miss Lman. Uh, facilities, Miss Blitzstein. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, the facilities committee meeting was held last week on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025. The following agenda items were discussed. Uh, first was working with FMX getting everyone familiar with the process of preventative maintenance. Then we saw stadium project photos, uh, the end zone of a football field. This past week they were on track to begin the actual field laying the actual field. We saw updated photos of the bleachers visitor and homeside and the press
056box. Uh we got an update on the Windote Elementary basketball court which had been deteriorating and found out that concrete work had been completed to repair the basketball court. We received some financial updates on the bids that were submitted for the Glenside and Cedarbrook construction projects, which you've heard um which both came in below the anticipated numbers. And as you heard earlier, we did discuss holding the Glenside edition construction project and proposed further conversation with the Glenside staff, which again, as you heard, has since taken place. Uh the following items will be on the consent agenda for approval. as you have heard, the Glenside edition construction project, the Cedarbrook edition construction project, and track and field equipment bids. And I know that many of us are looking forward to our incredible track team being able
057to host track and field meets. Uh the full presentation for the December 2nd meeting may be found on the district's website homepage by clicking on the school board, then committees, click on facilities drop-down for the 2526 this year's presentations. Next month's hybrid meeting will be held on January 6th at 700 p.m. here at the administration building and on Zoom. This concludes my report. >> Thank you, Miss Blitzstein. Uh the liaison group has not met since our last meeting and we are planning on meeting uh this Monday, December 15th at 8 a.m. via Zoom. Uh the next report is policy, Miss Lman. >> Thank you, Miss Mher. The policy committee met on November 13th, I got that right, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. After roll call and approval of the minutes of the August 26th policy committee
058meeting, the meeting moved to old business. 12 policies were presented for second reading and those policies are now on the agenda tonight for board approval. They are listed in tonight's agenda. I am not going to repeat them, but they are all there. Um during the new business section of the meeting, two policies were discussed. Um they were policy in AR 217 which is about graduation requirements and policy 102 academic standards. Um and that that relates to graduation requirements as well. Um currently students must earn 28 credits in order to graduate. A minimum of 28 credits to graduate. um which includes n and a half credits um of electives. Uh the proposal was made by administration to reduce the number of credits I believe to 21. I apologize I do not have my notes from this
059meeting. So if I misspeak it's on me. I apologize. Um there was a rich discussion around what should be considered for graduation requirements. um should world language considered should world language continue to be a graduation requirement? Should something else be different about how we go about teaching world language? So, I encourage you if you're interested in graduation requirements, which is obviously a very large and important topic for the district, I would encourage folks to go um watch the video presentation from this um meeting which is available on the district's website. If you can't find it, please just email me at jlomanchildam.org and I'll I'll send it to you. I'll find it for you. Um, the next policy committee meeting will be on Tuesday, January 27th, 2026th at 700 p.m. at the administration building. This ends
060my report. Thank you, Miss Lman. Uh, the next report would be legislative group, which uh is Mr. EPS. Mr. EPS is not with us tonight and also did not have a report to share. Um, we will now move on to the approval of agenda items. Uh, the first item is the consent agenda. Do I have a motion? the consent agend. >> Thank you. Uh the motion has been made. Are there any uh discussion or comments? Miss Bloodstein, Dr. Whiting. So, I just want to acknowledge as a as a former track and field athlete who grew up in central Pennsylvania with a healthy fear and respect of Cheltonham High School's track and field team, the new equipment they are getting. And by the way, that was uh 20 plus years ago that I was there and
061they are still excelling and uh instilling in others a healthy spirit and respect of their abilities. This team deserves nice things because they are constantly excellent and I'm very proud to be uh providing them with some new equipment that will ensure that legacy of success continues. Yes, I just wanted to shout out our 10 new volunteers who were approving on this consent agenda and also remind people if you are not an approved volunteer and you think you might want to chaperon a spring field trip to please get your paperwork in now. Um because it does does take a little bit of time. And because it does take a little bit of time, we appreciate you that much more for getting it done and getting it in. And thank you for for showing up for all
062of our kids. >> Thank you. Any other comments? M Schultz. >> I wanted to acknowledge and thank Lindy Communities for the donation to the district. Um we don't often see acceptance of donation items in our consent agenda but whenever I do it's it's very thankful to um the support for our students in our district. Also in this consent agenda is the affformentioned uh bidding process results for two major construction projects. I wanted to thank our administration for such a robust process and uh one that yielded very positive results for our districts uh and and our district's future debt service. I also wanted to acknowledge uh the presentation that Mr. Schwider provided earlier this evening providing some additional context as to why the Glennside edition is indeed strategically important for our districts to continue. Um so
063thank you for that uh information, that context and that due diligence. Thank you, Mr. Schultz. Any other board comments? And that I will uh ask for a vote then on the consent agenda. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Opposed. Steady absention. Thank you. That motion carries. Um we will move on to our next um agenda item which is the approval of the uh reappointment of the superintendent contract. Do I have a motion to approve? >> So moved. Dan Schultz. >> Second. Ross Whiting. >> Thank you. Dr. Whiting. Any discussion, comments? Mr. Schultz. >> I know I talked a lot, but there's a lot of important things to say tonight. Um, I am very excited to vote positively for this uh for this agenda item. Dr. Scriven, when you joined our district a
064little over four years ago, it was a very different board. However, I was on it. Mr. Redell Williams was on it. Miss Loan was on it. I remember when we were evaluating superintendent uh applications uh fighting for your application to come through, and I'm I'm glad that we did. um the impact you've had on our community in this I'll call it short period of time. We have stability that we didn't have before. We have a suite of amazingly talented hires in central administration that are in our building level principles. Um and I'm just so thankful for the dedication you have brought to this district both bringing your expertise back home uh but also the perspective that you've brought as an alum. and I'm I don't know what we would do without you. So, I'm so
065glad that we uh we have you sticking around for another five years and keeping uh keeping that ball moving forward. >> Thank you, Dr. Whiting. >> Sure. Thank you. I have the honor and privilege of working with dozens of superintendents in my day job. Uh and now as a board member, I have the privilege of working with you. And so I've seen uh I've see a superintendent who is diligent, who is transparent, who is strategic, who is always growthoriented uh in his thinking and in in my experience even more so than many of our colleagues across the the field. And it's a testament to your work and your your diligence uh in the field to do that. You have this unique ability to recognize the strengths and needs of our educational colleagues in ways that
066make them stronger and more effective. and I greatly value that uh as a board member. There are no paths that any district takes that are naturally smooth and instead it takes the constant work and effort of all of us combined to do that and I'm looking forward to working with you to smooth those paths in our future. Thank you. This would I second everything that's been said here um much more eloquently than I could put it, but I also want to say I really appreciate how you center our kids in really everything and uh that you've formed the superintendence council to hear from our kids directly um means a lot to me as both a parent and as a board member and as an educator because they are at the center of all we So
067I appreciate that and look forward to the next five years. Mr. Ballins. Yeah. As a uh as a parent, as a board member, public health advocate, public health professional. Um I do approach my board work with a a little bit of a unique lens, but um Dr. Scriven, I I too appreciate how you like literally take our student opinion, parent opinion, community opinion, and formulate that into actionable steps that we take as a community. Um, I recognize the the huge personal toll that this job has on any individual. Um, I appreciate and respect you for accepting that duty. Um, and as one board member, believe you are the right person for the job. So again, also um thank you for coming to us with a recommendation for a renewal. We're we're we're happy to review
068it [laughter] um for more reasons than what I just shared, but um yeah, there's one board member looking forward to uh to the next five years. Thank you. >> Any other board comments? Whisper. >> Thank you. I definitely appreciate the dedication and the care that you display every single day for not only the community but the children of the school district. And I'm grateful that we have another five years to experience what it is that you do best. M Dr. us. Uh, as someone new to the board, I have not yet had an opportunity to work with you, but part of what drove me to actually run for this position was the quality of leadership I see happening here in the district, having been here for 18 years and both of my sons graduating from
069here. So, I'm very excited to work with you as a and to support your next uh the next stretch of your tenure because I've seen u what's happened so far. So, thank you for staying. Thank you. Uh thank you everyone. And I know uh Mr. EPS was disappointed he could not be here tonight, especially for this vote in particular and uh wishes he could vote via proxy uh a resounding yes, but he he cannot. So I would just offer that in his in his honor. And I'm also going to point out it's not just five years, it's five years after July 1. So we still have about seven and a half months right now this month. >> Yeah. So it's plus five. It's not just [laughter] Yeah. Every every second. Yes. Thank you so much
070everyone. Uh uh all those in favor of the approval of the reappointment of the superintendent say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Any abstensions? Thank you. The motion carries. And our next uh vote is our final vote is the appointment of the McGomery County Intermediate Unit uh representative. Um, again, Miss Lman will once again uh serve in this role and we need to vote to make that official. So, if I could have a motion in favor. >> So, move Charles Belle Williams. >> Second. We have Litstein. Thank you so much. Any comments from the board? Miss Blitzstein. I'm I'm very grateful that Miss Lman is our our representative and uses her time towards this in addition to the board. And um I feel really secure knowing that she's our voice in the MCIU and that
071we're getting information like we just heard about co-eing and um all the things that the MCIU offers. So, I appreciate you, Miss Lman, and I support this wholeheartedly. Thank you, Miss Blessing. Any other comments? Um, all those in favor say, "I." >> I. >> Any opposed? Any abstensions? Thank you. That motion carries as well. Um, we are now at the point in our agenda where we will take public comment on non-aggenda items. Again, any Cheltonham resident, taxpayer, school district employee is permitted to speak on agenda items or non-aggenda items at this time. Speakers comments are limited to three minutes or less. If you speak, you can come to the podium, state your name and where you reside in the district. If you are joining the meeting via Zoom, you are welcome to use the raise
072hand function to participate um by making a public comment that way as well. I see no one in the room making a comment. Mr. Kaufman, any hands raised? Thank you so much. Um, the last item here on our agenda uh are information about following meetings. Um, many of which will be occurring in the new year aside from educational affairs next week. And with that, I will ask for a motion to adjurnn. >> So moved. >> Second. Thank you.