001board meeting on this lovely Monday, September 15th. This is a voting meeting. Uh we're going to work through this agenda item by item. But first, we are going to start with the pledge of allegiance. All right. Right. I'm Rachel Gyos. I'm the vice president of the school board. I'll be leading this meeting tonight and I'm glad you all are here to join us. Um we will start with we don't have any recognitions yet scheduled. Correct, Dr. Gfredo? Okay. So, moving on. Student council reports. I think we kicked that off tonight. I'm very excited. Come on down. Both reps are here. Wonderful. While you're walking up, just as a reminder to everybody, we do record these meetings. You can view them on our website live or watch them later. And with that, take it away. Good
002evening everyone. I hope you've had a great summer break and an even better start to the school year this year at the high school. We've had a great start to our school year. And Justin and I were both juniors at the high school this year. We're very excited to share what has been going on at the high school so far. So, uh, so far, um, through we've been in school about three weeks. We're slowly getting into things with clubs and with sports and, uh, clubs. So, school-wise, academics, um, classes are slowly ramping up. I know I have my first physics quiz today, so that was um that was something I was stressed about this morning, but uh, clubs wise, um, we we're club we had the club fair today. We'll talk more about that in
003a minute. Um, and then sports. Uh, many sports have been in session now for a while. A lot of them have had games and Anna will talk about that. And then up there you can see, uh, the, uh, student council put on a nice, uh, chalk display to welcome everyone in on the first day. Probably should have led with that, but uh, yeah, it was a, it was a good way to welcome everyone back. You see the sun, very happy, um, happy entrance to school in um, on that first day. And then another thing I wanted to highlight was we just had our um home room rep meeting and we Mr. Yulki uh hope I'm pronouncing that right. He he was the first teacher of the month and he's actually a new teacher. So I
004I thought that was really cool that he's been here a month and he's already making a difference with the ninth graders. They were very enthusiastically voting for him. I think every single ninth grader voted for him. So yeah. Next up, we have Great Valley Sports. Sports have also been up to a really good season so far. I think all of our sports here have been having a great record so far. So, starting with Great Valley Football, we currently have a 1-3 record, but there were some very competitive matches so far, and it was good to watch the football game at home. Um, volleyball also has a 54 winning record and they had a very great win against Kennet High School last Thursday. And up there you can see Great Valley Tennis as well. Our girls
005tennis had an amazing season so far. One of our highlights of the season so far is our win against Unionville High School, which was a firsttime record in Coach BB's career. And we broke a 17year streak record against Enanville, which is really great to see in person. And marching band has also been up to a really good season so far. They have been working hard for their annual competitions each Saturday. and they recently had their March in the Valley competition on the 13th this Saturday. Field hockey also has had a great season. You can see up there the 300 balloons picture is from when field hockey celebrated their 300th save from their goalie which was amazing to see. And girls golf has also been doing really good too. Um they have a 6-1 winning record
006so far. So overall, I think sports at Great Valley have been doing really good so far. So I I said I would highlight the club fair that was today and it's going to happen throughout the rest of the week. So there are some um posters that the club leaders have been making. So there's finance crew, unite for her, positively Picasso and then interact. So those are a few of the clubs and we'll talk more about Anna. We'll talk more about that at the next meeting when it's concluded. But uh today there were 14 clubs and it was I was there uh during my lunch and it it was really cool to see all the uh different clubs. There are so many we have I think over 50 total throughout the week. So that's really cool
007and that number keeps increasing and I was I know Mr. Venaric and Miss Dy and Miss Lutz spent a lot of time putting this together. This is something I don't this is new to be in lunches and it was it started last year in lunches. So, I think it's grown as a program and every pretty much every single person was out there today checking out all the clubs we had to offer. So, I thought that was really cool. And in terms of theater and the musical, our Great Valley Drama Guild has been working really hard in preparation of our annual fall play. They had their auditions for the play on the 11th and they had their callbacks for the auditions on the 13th. And the theme for this year's play is Clue on Stage, which
008will be amazing to see. I really recommend going to the play and the date will be November 7th and 8th. I think it's a great way to just support our Great Valley community and see all of the hard work that our students have been putting into the play. Then one other thing that's been happening is college guest speakers are coming and Ruckers, NYU, University of Delaware, uh, and a few others have come. I think it's nine up there so far and there's more that are scheduled. So, it's a great way for almost like not a one-on-one, but you're a small group with the speaker from that college. You can ask them questions. Uh, it's for juniors and seniors, and it gives them the opportunity to see what life is like at that college. Ann and
009I passed by one on our way to Dr. Cap's office on Friday. you saw it was a very uh the rep I believe from NYU was there and they were talking with their their group was a very engaging session it looked like and yeah I think um that that program it seems like that's working um I I went to one of them uh for Ruckers and I want to thank uh whoever I don't actually know who uh was in charge of that but um I I will find that out and thank them personally but yeah there are more and this is a great way for the students as I get that experience, seeing what college is like, and for juniors and seniors stressed about college, that's a great way to ease that stress. And next
010up, we have some upcoming events so far. So far, student council is pretty busy with like club fairs and getting ready for that. Just the beginning of the school year, but some big events that we have coming up are in October, we have the homecoming pep rally. On October 10th, we have the homecoming football game that day as well. And then the dance will be on the next day, which is Saturday. And student council has been working hard on planning that as well. We do that on our home room rep meetings each month and also in our student council meetings that we hold twice a month as well. And next school board meeting, we Justin and I will also start highlighting some of the new clubs and classes that are happening at Great Valley High
011School this year. I know that one of the clubs, one of the classes is anatomy and physiology. I know a lot of people that take that class and they're they really love the class and they're doing a lot of really interesting things. So, I'll be excited to share a lot more about what's going on in those classes. So, we wanted to thank you for putting up with our little tag team there uh for today and then starting next week, we'll be back to alternating every other meeting. So, thank you guys for paying attention and putting up with us. And have a nice night. Thank you, Anna and Justin. And thank you also for foreshadowing what we have to look forward to. We love to learn about like a wide cross-section of what's happening in the
012high school. Um, and you're already giving us a taste of that. We very much appreciate it. Me especially, I have a seventh grader and a third grader. So, I love hearing about what's happening in the high school since I'm not there. So, thank you so much. All right. Uh, we met in executive session as a board to discuss legal and personnel issues. Um, and then moving on, secretar's correspondence. There is no secretar's correspondence this evening. Thank you. Um, IU report. Yes. So this is the report from um August because this month's meeting is on Wednesday. Um okay, uh the IU is now a third bigger in terms of students and staff than it was in 2019. So they have increased by one-third. And as a fun side note, never in the history of the IU
013have they ever been fully staffed. Um it is such a huge entity with so many needs for aids and support staff, they are never fully staffed. Um, so they always operate um under with with where they would like to be ideally, but they do a great job. Um, part of that expansion comes from the new buildings that are coming. Um, we have right one here in Great Valley that's opening, but the one in Avenrove actually just opened and the ribbon cutting is on Wednesday. And so in Avenrove at the Engle Center, they're going to have 72 new students in their building. Um, and then 173 kids in early head start once they're at full capacity. um they have 2600 kids enrolled in their uh BBA online school. So that has grown exponentially since the pandemic.
014And an interesting thing about that is the BBA has expanded to add Arabic and ASL as part of their world language. Um and they are doing that in partnership with IU8 in Appalachia. Um, and the other thing I wanted to mention was they have uh the IU also um has a partnership now with the Chester County Sheriff's Department to have three resource officers on campus at the learning center. And this is where our students with their highest needs go. And so they are they're seeing these three positions as a way to both keep the students and staff safe, but also keep um a feeling and a climate in the building that is kind of great for everybody there. Sometimes we have a a little bit of trouble interlopers is often a word they use. They
015have a lot of interlopers at that school. Um that's students who exit the school because of stress or um things like that and then they have to bring them back in. Um, and the other thing which I will not steal Samantha's thunder is we talked a lot about the state budget not being passed and so what that would mean for the IU. Um, some things like technical education funding at a federal level has now been moved to the department of labor. Um, so that will impact some funding at our technical schools if all that happens. A lot of these impacts will feel in the 26 27 school year. Um, so that's where we are. And if you can make it, the ribbon cutting is Wednesday at in in Avenrove. It's supposed to be beautiful. So,
016open invitation. Thank you. Um, moving on. 504 legislative report. Yes. So, you heard the headline, you already knew it. The state budget still not passed. Um, luckily we're not in the position of some schools in the state where they're having to borrow a lot of money and pay interest in order to just run the schools. So, we didn't talk about that in a lot of detail. I mean, there's not much to say until it's passed. Um, there was just a few things. The PSBA came to the last legislative meeting, which is I hadn't seen them there before to sort of present what they do and take questions, which was really interesting. I won't spend a lot of time on that, but if people have questions, please come to me. Um, what we did learn was
017that um, House Bill 1407 on updating teacher certification levels has passed out of the house. So that's not law yet, but it is out of the house. And that would update the grade spans to make teacher certification wider spans. So primary um would be prek through six, secondary 6 through 12, and specialized areas pre-K through 12. And the goal there is to expand employment opportunities and increase teacher placement flexibility, which I'm sure we would all welcome um as it's been, you know, increasingly difficult to find teachers for positions because there are shortages in this state and and beyond. So that again, just out of the house, not not passed yet. Um, another thing of note, passed out of the Senate Education Committee. Um, not such a huge deal for us because it's related to cyber
018schools, but still thought it was of interest. This is student residency verification. It would require cyber charter students to verify residency more regularly, twice a year. So, that prevents financial responsibility for students when um for districts when students move across districts and and or even outside of the state are still using our tax hours to go to school. So, that's just out of committee, not out of the Senate yet. Other legislative updates. Um, this has been introduced before, but here we go again. House Bill 17 on cursive handwriting would require instruction of cursive handwriting and appropriate grade level. So, that's not passed out of the House yet. And then there was um just as I said, a general discussion with PSBA. Um, just a couple things of note there. We talked about what drives their
019advocacy, how do they choose what they're working on, you know, what they're trying to make a difference on. So, I thought it was interesting that their legislative platform, which they're working on right now, which we can they they send surveys out once in a while. We can also just email them with that. That serves as the foundation. That sounds seems obvious, but also that legislators often reach out directly to PSBA regarding specific bills. So, that's good. You know, they're they're the in Harrisburg the the experts for that, right? And then um PSBA members and peer groups often get together. So the other the other P groups, the other PS groups, you know, the the the teachers association, the education association, the the um superintendents, all that also play a role in the advocacy, not just
020the the boards themselves. So then there's, you know, a little bit more about what they do and how they do it, but happy to talk about that if anyone's interested. So not a lot in the House and Senate yet. Um, you know, we first need to get the budget passed, but they they weren't in session to do that, and they weren't in session to do a lot of other things either. That's all. Thank you, Samantha. Um, uh, education foundation report, they meet on Wednesday, so I'll have an update in October for you. Okay, wonderful. And, um, board committee reports, I believe we're hearing from instructional tech today. Okay. Uh, so we met on September 8th. Um, we, uh, touched on a couple of things. First, we have a five-year curriculum planning process where we kind
021of lay out all of our curriculum, including physical education, world language, ELA, math, um, and other. And it just is the process of where we are revising, kind of evaluating, and then implementing things. Um, so we reviewed that really big grid. Um, just for our purposes, things that will be coming down the pike soon to us as a whole board are world language again. Um the curriculum is being updated to align with new proficiency expectation and with the actual ACTFL standards. I don't know how you pronounce that acronym. Um but so we'll be seeing some world language stuff. Um if you remember for the first time last year we did the seal of biiteracy. So we're just kind to um gather some feedback on that and do some updating. The um 12th grade English curriculum
022has been revised based on student feedback. So we might see some of that. Um, we also talked about English as a new language support services and there's a lot going on in the background to create targeted instructional groups for students with focuses on language proficiency and science. So, we had a pretty in-depth discussion about the really intentional supports that are happening for our students um and how we're maximizing staff to do that. Um, okay, this is a big one. Change is hard. We are changing the way elementary music concerts are being laid out. So um after some discussions with music teachers many who share responsibility across schools so they had a lot of concerts last year they had to be a lot of places they had to do transportation of students and things during their
023day. It got to be a lot. So this year we are trying to do grade level performances during the school day. It'll be across one or two days um and it'll spread uh just happen over those one or two days. And so we're going to try that this year. See how it works. and uh Teresa Marsden is working to communicate these changes to families. So stay tuned to track that. Um and then we just get regular updates on digital citizenship, how that's happening, how our students are using technology. Um our K through six kids did not use any technology, did not use their iPads for the first six day cycle. Um and now they are starting to get kind of more introduced to it, responsible usage. and students in K1 leave their iPads at school
024and soon they will parents will have the opportunity to opt into having them go home. Um but for the most part students in K1 will be leaving their iPads at school this year. And our next meeting is October 13th. Um one quick question on the music. I'm very glad to see a change there. That was a lot. Um can we record those and just send out a video link? So parents who want to witness that still have the opportunity to do so is or consider it. No one has to agree to anything tonight but it'll be we can live stream it. Great. That is a victory and I know those teachers were putting in a lot of time after hours that wasn't necessar you know that was just a lot added on to. So I'm
025glad to see that. Okay. Okay. Facilities uh committee meeting is scheduled for September 18th but will be rescheduled. Um policy meets on September 24th in the morning and instructional tech is back at it October 13th. So there's actually Oh, I'm sorry. Just a correction on policy. I I think we shifted it to the 29th. Okay. Yes. Thank you. And I did not mean to skip Wendy and the communication team, so we'll circle back to that. No problem. all the great stuff happening in communication. Uh we met on September the 4th. We talked uh first about uh the new communication platform Parent Square launched in late August. Uh the feedback about the platform has been um really positive. I think that users are really happy with how streamlined the communication process is and also how user
026friendly it is. So, um there will be an additional information session for families um I think it's next next week September 25th and then there'll be another one for multilingual families uh in October after we talked about parent square uh we also then talked about um the 2526 annual report. This is going to be a new communications tool for the district. It will have an overview of enrollment numbers, district goal, pro progress, milestones. Uh it's on track to be published digitally in late September. And then the plan is to um have postcards mailed to members of the community with a QR code so they can scan it and get right to the uh annual report and all the information. Lastly, we talked about the communication goals of the district. Um, this included a first edition
027of a staff newsletter that's going to be going out um end of September. I think we're on track to get that done, which will be great for um for the staff members. And then we also made um some updates to the website so that things are easier to find especially on the homepage based on some feedback that we had received. That's a beautiful thing about a website is changes can be made um fairly easily. And looking ahead um for the web, they'll be enhancing homepages for the schools and um the departmental pages. And our next meeting is November 6th. Thank you. Um moving on, superintendent report. Yep. Thank you very much. I I do have one slide that I want to share. Some recent staff transitions have provided us with an opportunity to reassess our
028district needs and optimize our supervisory structure. So after some careful evaluation, we have determined administratively that a K to2 subject area focused approach will better serve our educational community. So effective immediately our four teaching and learning administrative supervisors uh will have some shifting in responsibility and scope. Our previous structure you're familiar with. We had an elementary supervisor, a secondary supervisor, a supervisor of instructional technology, and then a supervisor for English as a new language. And that position was only created two years ago when we had a similar opportunity. Looking at that structure and transitioning from elementary to secondary um you don't quite have that K to2 continuum within one content area. So the structure that we are now shifting to um with the four supervisors allows a K to2 focus. So that supervisor is working
029with all teachers across that content area. I won't read you the slide, but this is a staffneutral change. So, we're still sticking with four areas, four supervisors. Dr. Beck, who's our director of teaching and learning, and they are all direct reports to her. She is still going to retain ELA responsibilities, K to2 and math, along with our our tiered support system. So Trisha is going to continue to to hold that close as a director and then work with her direct team of these four supervisors across those various content areas. The supervisor of teaching and learning for English as a new language that is currently being filled by a teacher on assignment. KDO, one of our ESL teachers, has stepped up and is actually doing a terrific job. So, she's going to hold that position for
030um the remainder of the year and then we'll kind of look forward whether she continues in that role or whether it's posted administratively. But the supervisors, you can see their structure. This really will be, I think, a great enhancement and allow one person to kind of be that steward of that curricular area across all seven schools, all bands. So, we have one person laying eyes on all of it. Um, and this is a structure that you will see is is fairly common uh in some neighboring districts and and districts beyond our immediate boundaries. So, I wanted to alert you to this change. We will communicate this to our community uh in the very near future, but I wanted to make sure you were aware as as a board um and then we'll we'll continue to
031move forward and um give you updates. And I know Dr. Rizzo, the instructional tech committee often hears from these supervisors. So now when there's a report on social studies, we won't need the elementary and the secondary person to report out. It'll be one individual who's kind of guiding that work across the era and knows what's going on at each level. U we're excited about the change and I know the board has often challenged the administration when a staff member leaves um we kind of rethink uh the opportunities and is this now a chance to make some changes. we did years ago when we created the English as a new language supervisor and unfortunately that teaching and learning position um I believe it's the one for social studies world language music and art uh that was
032vacated Dr. Ziggmmont um left in the late spring uh for another endeavor. So that is a position that we'll uh currently be seeking applicants for. But um here's our structure. Wanted to be really clear with you and see if you have any questions. Do you view any of with this restructure any of the supervisors needing any additional supports or resources as they get up to speed um with their new responsibilities or across the grade band responsibilities and and how are you prepared to support them in their new roles? Yep. And and Dr. Beck is working with them directly and offering that support and that guidance also within our teaching and learning team. Remember we have a cadre of instructional coaches and interventions here. So there are additional supports. We have a math coach. We, you
033know, literacy coaches. So we also have other supports that we'll be able to to provide. We have some that are going off to trainings. We are investing in them really quickly here. I have a couple of conference approvals where we got people out to get a handle on some things. So uh we'll continue to monitor. I know Dr. Beck reports to to me pretty regularly on the progress and the support. So we'll continue to invest and frontload that support here as we get people up and and running with the work. So, um, thank you. All right. Thank you. And that concludes my report for this evening. Just one simple update. Thank you. All right. Moving on. Section 701. This is the first of two opportunities for public comment limited to three minutes. This first opportunity
034is comments related to the agenda only. Um, at the end of the meeting, we can take public comment on anything the public wishes to comment on. All right. Um, moving on to consent agenda items. All right. So, do we have a motion to approve consent agenda items 801 through 832? Motion to approve. All right. Is there a second? Second. All right. Sheree, any changes from last week? No changes. All right. Um, fellow board members, any comments, questions, concerns? None. Okay. Um, with that, um, all in favor? None opposed. Motion passes. 8 nothing. All right, moving on to 901. I do not see any items there, but moving on to 10 10.01 personnel items. Um, is there a motion to approve the personnel items listed in the agenda? Are we approving 10.01 and 10? 10 point.
035I'm just going with 10.01. 10.01. Motion to approve 10.01. Okay. Is there a second? Second. All right. Any questions or um comments, concerns, or anything to add about what you all see there? All right. Um all in favor? All right. That motion passes 8 to nothing. And then moving on to 10.02, resolution of abandonment of employment. Dr. Goodfredo. Yep. So this is a resolution. This is something that that happens rarely in education, but the administration is recommending this uh multi-page resolution for your approval. This resolution deals with a professional employee um who has abandoned employment and it also gives authorization to our legal council to institute suit against this particular professional employee. And that resolution is there for your review and consideration this evening. Did I do this already? Is there a motion to approve
036102? Motion to approve 1002. Is there a second? Second. Okay. All in favor? Motion passes. It's nothing. All right. Um, nothing under 11:01 policy approvals. Nothing under program approvals. 1201. Moving on to facilities. 1301. We have a purchase of property. Correct. Then we have two of our uh attorneys from Whistler Pearlstein here. Uh Larry Dods, our solicitor, and Jason Heron, one of the partners with Whistler. And they're going to provide some context regarding the uh agreement that is before the board this evening. Jason, thank you. My pleasure. Good evening, everyone. Again, my name is Jason Herren. I'm an attorney at Whistler Pearlstein. I handle real estate matters. Uh and we're here to discuss the purchase of property. Uh property located at 41 Moors Road. That's in East Whitland Township. It's at the corner of Moors
037Road and Konos Stoa Road. It is of course adjacent to the high school campus. It's uh probably known to some of you as the former uh Tava Pharmaceuticals facility. And the main parcel is uh 21.9 acres. There's also uh two additional parcels that are located right next to it that would be involved in the sale as well. Those are each approximately one acre. So a total of uh three parcels just under 24 acres. There is an office building on the main parcel which is uh approximately 187,000 acres according to the public records or 187,000 square feet, excuse me, not acres. That would be that would be quite a property. Um, so of course, uh, whenever we're dealing with 24 acres, uh, adjacent to the existing school high school campus, uh, that's an interesting opportunity, and
038I've been working with the administration on, uh, attempting to negotiate, uh, an agreement to purchase the property. So, uh, our office has been working on that agreement for the past several days. Um, things obviously moved quickly, but, um, we were able to negotiate an agreement of sale that I believe is in your board materials tonight. And uh I'll give you the the highlights of it. It's uh for $7.5 million. Uh there is a deposit of $100,000 that will be due at the time of execution of the agreement. There would also be an additional $300,000 deposit that would be due at the end of our investigation period. Uh so to provide a little more information on that, there will be a 90-day investigation period for the property uh during which the district can do uh whatever
039type of inspections and investigations that it wishes to determine uh whether the property is suitable for its needs. So uh environmental, title, feasibility, uh zoning, uh all the things that you would typically investigate as you're purchasing real estate. We'll have a 90-day period in which to do that. Um during that period, we can walk away. This the district can walk away. Excuse me. If um uh there's anything that that uh the district determines is, you know, the the property is not appropriate for its needs. Um assuming we clear that investigation period, closing would be within 30 days after that. So, we're talking about a 120day process from start to finish. So, that would put us right in the middle of January if if the board were to approve the the agreement. Um the agreement does
040say that uh if it does get signed, the closing has to happen by January 30th of 2026. But um again, if if the board were to approve, we would be well within that. Um and uh I believe that's it. I'm happy to answer any questions that the board has. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Jason. All right, with that, is there a motion to approve the attached resolution and agreement for sale for the acquisition of real estate property located at 41 Moores Road, East Whitland Township at a cost of $7.5 million and authorize the administration and solicitor to take all reasonable steps to complete the purchase? Motion to approve. And is there a second? Second. And are there any other comments or questions from the board at this time? No. Okay. With that, all in favor?
041Any against? All right. Motion passes 7 to one. We're very excited about this. Dr. Dr. Anything else to add at this time? No. Since the uh I do actually um no. Um so, uh with a purchase of this magnitude, certainly the administration and I know the board understands the need for transparency and information with our community. So, uh in anticipation of a positive or affirmative vote this evening, uh our communications team does have a letter that I'll highlight to our entire community. uh this purchase, what it means for the district. Uh that letter will also reference people to our website for additional information where we'll already start with a preliminary set of FAQs and those FAQs will continue to evolve as questions come in and details. As Mr. Heron explained, uh we do have a
042due diligence period and we'll do extensive testing during that time. Uh it's going to take several months. Uh but certainly we're committed to giving updates to our community and I think for the board certainly by the spring but we'll continue to evolve the the FAQs to provide information and then really expect a much more detailed presentation on the outcome of those assessments during the due diligence period uh probably in the early spring. So that's kind of our trajectory as as we move forward. I think this is a tremendous opportunity for the district uh to have 20 plus contiguous acres to our secondary campus uh for long-term vision needs. Uh I just think it um is it's why I brought the recommendation for you this evening for consideration. So uh I appreciate it and expect more
043uh more details to follow uh both for the board and our community at large. Thank you. Wonderful. Um, with that we are at our second public comment section of the evening, the catchall. If anybody has anything, again, three minutes. All right. Um, with that, I believe we have covered all of our agenda items. Um, our upcoming agendas will always be on the website. Um, any other comments from the board? No. All right. Okay. Is there a motion to adjurnn? Motion to adjurnn. Second. Second. All in favor? All right. Eight to nothing. Have a good evening everybody. Thank you.