001foreign good evening it is my pleasure to call the October 6 2022 regular school board meeting of the school district of Haverford Township to order we'll begin with the Pledge of Allegiance [Music] and I ask that we remain standing last week the life of a former Haverford Middle School student Nicholas Elizalde age 14 was tragically cut short in a violent act after a high school football scrimmage we extend our sympathy and hold his family and friends in our hearts now let us join together to observe a moment of Silent respect for Nicholas's life and memory thank you and now we'll read our District's mission and goals the mission of the school district in Everett Township is to educate and to inspire a community of lifelong Learners who become well-rounded Global Citizens the pillars of our
002educational system honor our school environment is safe in nurturing excellence in education is a shared responsibility in partnership with all district and community members whole Child Development is vital to our educational system supports and conditions exist whereby all students have opportunities to grow and Excel in areas of academic Technical and career and social emotional learning our decision-making process is student-centered and student voice is valued [Music] 20 2025 just your goals are social emotional Wellness produce a community of empathetic and resilient Learners with skills to socially and emotionally flourish prepare contemporary citizens modernize and expand learning experiences to prepare students as critical thinkers problem solvers innovators and designers within a complex Global Society diversity and inclusion establish a culturally diverse and inclusive educational experience that develops social cultural proficiency thank you and now our board secretary
003Ms Martha Q will call the rule here Dr Larson Dr McKay here Mr Schwartz yeah Mrs Snodgrass here here Mr Feinberg is wiederman here um Mr Feinberg is on vacation and Dr Larson is home due to illness the next item the agenda is our official minutes I will accept a motion to approve the official minutes from the September 15 2022 regular public board meeting than under a second moved and seconded any discussions all in favor aye any opposed minutes are approved and now we have our student reports from the Haverford Middle School Liam Pinder will report bye everyone my name is Liam and I'm one of the eighth grade Representatives I do soccer and wrestling for the school and soccer outside of school I also do gold team student council best buddies and chess club
004this is my second year of reporting and I know it'll be even better than last year before we get started I would like to thank the board for allowing me to present we have just started up our fall Sports and our gearing into action for our games while we try to defeat our rivalries we also love to build friendships with new and old teammates one of our newest sports here at HMS is our girls tennis team they are coached by Mr carterelli and as they become a part of HMS sport history in the following weeks we will prepare for student-led conferences these student-led conferences are a crucial part of every child's learning success and if you can believe it the first marking period will be at its halfway point on Tuesday October 11th clubs are
005another important part of HMS that students and staff value at HMS if you can't find a club you are interested in then you can also create your own club you just need to find a staff member who will be willing to sponsor it so far that is about it here at HMS but as the year goes on I know we'll be having some very exciting events finally I would just like to thank the school board again for allowing me to present thanks that sounds like an awful lot going on already thank you and from our high school we have the return of Mia dewald so weird good evening everyone my name is Mia and I am a senior at Haverford high school thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak tonight the month of
006September flew by and it's hard to believe that students have been in school for almost a month teachers and students have fallen into their typical school year routine as homework is dutifully completed and the first tests are handed out I'm having so much fun in all my classes and I can't wait to see what we'll do next Haverford hosted the October sat this past Saturday and will be offering the school day sat and PSAT on the 12th fall Sports athletes have been building the Ford reputation as always as they get ready for their senior nights congratulations to the football tennis soccer track and volleyball teams on their successive wins lately the highlight of the week was certainly the cold rainy double overtime girls soccer win on their senior night the cheerleading team also attended the
007annual Philadelphia chop walk to raise awareness for Pediatric cancer and support some of the Brave individuals in our own community this Friday as in tomorrow will be the act the annual Ford's Fight For Life game a school favorite event that raises awareness for those who are currently battling or have battled cancer in our community we'll be hosting a pep rally during homeroom tomorrow and rumor is that Good Day Philadelphia will be on hand to celebrate with us the annual activity fair was held just this morning giving students an opportunity public Haverford and interact with some of the officers many clubs are beginning to have their first meetings and are so excited to meet the new members as they get ready for their first events unfortunately Haverford Township day was canceled this past Saturday and although
008the abandoned Orchestra were disappointed that they wouldn't get to perform their pieces rehearsals have already shifted to preparation for the upcoming Winter concert now that the school store is once again open and selling the Beloved iced coffee and many other items students have returned to their school routines and can't wait to see what this year and October will bring thank you for allowing me time to speak tonight thank you so much lots of good stuff happening in our schools thank you guys for the reports the next item on the agenda is our superintendent's report Dr rushi thank you Miss sweeterman as Leah mentioned we've got some clubs that are and activities on the agenda tonight uh and it's nice to see the club and activity sponsors on the agenda for approval this evening a little
009bit later we're going to speak your approval for a list of Club sponsors at the middle school the positions listed for approval are part of the clubs and Student Activities that are organized and initiated quite often by the students we know that student involvement is key to Student Success in school and that involvement can occur in school activities or activities out in the community our students tend to be very involved in both uh we say thank you to the staff members who will be serving as advisors to the many clubs and activities that have for Middle School within our in our technology department are continuing to work on the setup of the new student absence Reporting System uh School pass you may have heard a little bit about that we anticipate communication going to families
010the week next week the week of October 10th this communication will include directions for signing in and also include some training materials so parents will know how to use that our current planned date to start using School pass is the week of October 17th and we will continue to accept written notes and emails as we transition onto School pass for attendance reporting as Nia mentioned tomorrow evening the Fords are going to suit up in honor of an individual and organization or someone who deserves recognition for a life-changing struggle that they have experienced so we hope that members of the community will join our football team tomorrow evening for their Ford's Fight For Life evening and just a reminder that kickoff is six o'clock most of our games begin at seven so if you're planning to
011attend and you've been an attendee before you want to make note of that historic time and finally this evening we remain in need of food service staff if you are interested or you know anyone who may be interested you can visit our website to get more information if that's difficult for you either you don't have access or you can't really find it on the website call our HR office anyone at our HR office would be happy to tell you what positions are available and how you can go about completing an application for those positions in food service thank you foreign on the agenda is a period for public comment related to items on the agenda and we had no one sign up so item five is our board committee reports and we'll begin with Dr
012Laura Crispin with a report on our curriculum and people Services committee thank you our curriculum committee and pupil Services committee met on the 22nd of September we had three different presentations the first was a presentation from our award-winning Dr Nesbitt about elementary science materials that will be on a future agenda for consideration um the presentation was discussing the new standards in Pennsylvania which are called the Next Generation science standards and those will be starting in a few years and that brings the need to go outside of our typical audit review cycle and audit and update our curriculum to prepare for those new standards this proposal is going to be aligned with our district goal of preparing contemporary citizens and the the approval will be or the excuse me the request will be for new science
013kits from the Smithsonian um and those kits um currently we're using some of them in our schools it's very Hands-On and inquiry-based curriculum and spreading the cost out over several years the second item on the agenda was for an eighth grade social studies textbook The Textbook is called my world interactive American history and it's for Middle grades it is inquiry-based lessons in social studies those courses didn't initially require a formal textbook for most classes but the teachers had a need for an updated textbook this was one of three books considered and the request will likely come at our next meeting in October the cost is 472 dollars per book and we'll need approximately 150 books for a class set but we all had a chance to look through that textbook and it is very comprehensive
014um and it looks like a wonderful textbook our final presentation was about curriculum and professional development updates there were a variety of professional development updates or professional development activities going on throughout the district over the summer and into the beginning of the school year um many different activities in stem at the teachers generally at the teachers request the humanities professional development included map growth reading professional development foundations training and workshops 8th grade textbook review and reviewing authors craft for cater 2. there was a summer Retreat for administrators with three days to build leadership skills teamwork and develop and discuss leader administrative goals there was also Workshop Wednesdays that involve training and other curriculum topics and the administrative Summit with the goal of development and training there was new teacher induction we inducted approximately 50 new
015teachers this year which is a lot of new teachers which is exciting there were also opening days activities building based professional development time for IEP and 504 review and learning communities and then there was a discussion about the survey of teacher feedback about professional development and interest in future professional development activities so it was a very very interesting presentation a very in-depth presentation and I encourage anyone who's interested to go to our YouTube site and watch the video thank you thank you the next board committee report is on our psba platform committee attendance and Dr McKay we'll get that report all right so um Mr Schwartz and I were able to attend the committee meeting and to be able to advocate for both of the platforms that we had voted on um and we unfortunately
016were not aware that it was going to end up being a full day event and so neither of us were able to hold on and wait until the late afternoon when our particular proposals were debated um so we weren't able to at least observe the debate um but psba did send us a letter that explains the decision um unfortunately both of our proposals um were not voted on to continue forward um as so they were not recommended to continue forward so the process does end at this point however Dr King Mr Feinberg and I will all be attending the November voting meeting and and we do have the opportunity there one of us as the assigned people who are there for the voting meeting if we would like to reintroduce one or both of those
017proposals so that is something for us to consider if we would like to move forward that is one potential auction sorry yep thank you item six of the agenda pertains to facility and finance matters item a is the bill list I will accept a motion to approve disbursements from the general fund totaling 679 651.61 cents approved and seconded any discussion I just wanted to say that I appreciate the the new form I understand we have a new system or interface with our accounting system that allows the reports to be generated in a way that um is kind of more common sense way to interpret what the expenditures are for and provide some good information for the board and the public foreign of the agenda pertains to Human Resources item a is retirements and resignations I
018will accept a motion to accept the following retirements and resignation as listed for a second moved and seconded any discussion I just wanted to point out it looks like we have two individuals who've been with the district for 17 years so I just want to say thank you for their service as they are now retiring foreign any opposed motion passes Item B is for appointments I accept a motion to approve the following appointments as listed below contingent upon receipt of all necessary clearances including act 168 of 2014. any discussion just want to say thanks again to all the um people who stepped up for the activities and uh it's Department chairs there's a lot of really good appointments here so thank you to everybody I think we're hitting all the Departments um there's a lot
019with the bus assistance and staff all throughout the district all in favor any opposed motion passes item C is for leaves of absence I will accept a motion to approve the following leave request did any discussion oh fever any opposed motion passive ID is for athletics and activities event compensation I will accept a motion to approve the rates of compensation for athletics and activities events for the 2022-23 school year as listed in appendix C second and seconded any discussion all in favor any opposed motion passes item e is for professional employees I welcome the motion to recognize the following temporary professional employees who have fulfilled the three-year probationary period required by law and having received satisfactory ratings during this period have met eligibility to receive their professional employee contract effective August 29 2022. Christmas moves
020for a second moved and seconded any discussion congratulations congratulations many congratulations and again a nice representation of Staff across our school system all in favor aye any opposed motion passes item eight of the agenda is for people Services 8A is Educational Service agreements I will accept a motion to approve the following Educational Service agreements for district students with special needs the agreements cover reimbursement for Educational Services for the school years as listed paired king move seconds okay second any discussion all in favor any opposed motion passes ISB is for Educational Services contracts I'll accept a motion to approve the following educational service contracts for services provided to students and our staff with the district 's moved the daily second moved and seconded any discussions all in favor um any opposed motion is approved under the
021agenda area 9 curriculum and instruction item A is for student educational excursions I'll accept a motion to approve the following student educational excursions as listed below Star Cross moved and seconded any discussion all in favor aye any opposed the motion passes section 10 of the agenda is for policy items item a is policy 901 Communications I will accept a motion to adopt policy 901 Communications moved and seconded any discussion um I'll I'll just add that this um has now been read by the board twice has been reviewed before that in the policy committee um and what today we are reviewing which there hasn't been any changes in the previous version I don't think there was before that either um and so today we're we're approving this policy to replace the old 901 I've talked about
022it a lot at the policy committee and also at other meetings but it is a significant change and I think a really um good step forward in creating the communications plan that's outlined here and just having effective uh communication with with all of our community from you any other comments all in favor aye aye any opposed the motion is approved Item B is for policy 914 relations with the Intermediate Unit I'll accept a motion to adopt policy 914 relations with Intermediate Unit value second moved and seconded any discussion yes but this one again this has been read twice by the board and it was reviewed in policy committee before that one um this one there was a slight change there had been just a leftover sentence from the previous version that we took out that
023was no longer necessary and this again has been talked about in several meetings um but it will replace our old policy and the focus here is um on the liaison to the board which is how we interact with the dciu so it reflects our current um practice um which is part of the policy audit that's ongoing is to make sure our policy reflects reality um and what we're actually doing and if it doesn't how do we do that um and what what do we want it to to actually say to make sure that our community knows what the board is doing and that we're following our own policies so this is just a reflection of that and again this would be voted on tonight um to replace the old policy thank you any other comments
024all in favor um any opposed the motion passes item C is policy 916 volunteers I will accept a motion to adopt policy 916 volunteers Vitali second moved and seconded any discussion this is our um third policy that we've read with the board twice that we reviewed in a policy committee before that again there were significant changes to this one I think to make it more clear for the community it really outlines what a volunteer is the different types of volunteers um and I think gives gives the community a good guide for for what it is to to be a volunteer um in the district so it's again I think a really positive change to these policies and this would again go into effect and replace the old one thank you and thank you for marshaling
025the board through the audit and review process and your your attention to the detail in all of these the um the work of the board is largely contained in establishing policy for the district so it's a really important area and one that's kind of overdue for this kind of attention and updating any other comments or discussion just wanted to also say thank you to internet domestic policy committee become very clear through this process that that's not easy or quick and uh as we just had a long overdue so thank you and that's the thing I want to do so all in favor motion passes the next area um of the agenda that has some content is item 12 for public comment um this is for items that are not on tonight's agenda the board values
026public comment is an essential component of school governance that adds information for the deliberation of the important and complex matters that come before the board it is an opportunity for members of the community to address the board regarding topics that may come before the board while we conduct business and open public meetings according to the sunshine act it is neither a meeting with the public nor is it a question and answer session our public comment is divided into two sections there was a theory on the agenda for items pertaining to tonight's agenda you can review the agenda on the district website in the board section under board Docs and this is the public comment period for other school related topics I remind you that together we are engaging in this very local Democratic process while
027the board welcomes comments and critique and should be held accountable for fulfilling our duties as the elected and volunteer governing body for the school district I ask us all to remember that we each of us on the board and who come tonight to observe or speak we are all neighbors that we all have good intent and act with care and concern for our schools and community and that we have this opportunity to model good government for the engaged citizens that we hope our students will become the township May in advance of the meeting sign up to make public comment by emailing public comment at haverfordsd.net in order to give everyone an equal opportunity to speak and per our board policy you will have three minutes to address the board at the three-minute point a timer
028will sound and you will be asked to conclude your remarks please begin your comments by stating your name and confirming your residency in Haverford Township if you have materials to distribute please leave them at the end of the table your name and the topic of your comments will be recorded in the meeting minutes and your presentation is being broadcast and recorded as part of our meeting if appropriate an administrator will follow up with speakers to discuss or respond to issues that they raise we have seven people who have signed up for public comments and the first is Beth Kloss good evening am I not echoing I was gonna make a joke about how I always wanted my comments to be echoed but there goes my joke anyway my name is Beth Klaus I live on
029Woodcrest Avenue in Ardmore um first as a parent of two middle schoolers I want to thank the Middle School administration for being so responsive and supportive with the start of the school year thank you Mr him I appreciate all their work around scheduling and making changes when needed to best support students ability to learn another thing that supports students ability to learn is to ensure that they feel a sense of belonging in their schools I greatly appreciate the board and District making a continued commitment to diversity equity and inclusion training to ensure that all students feel safe seen and welcome in our schools I also appreciate all the wonderful clubs that are being offered at the middle school this year which is another Testament to making all students feel welcome and include there's such a
030diverse I went through the slideshow and was like I want to take all these clubs can I sign up so thank you to the middle school for that I also want to thank the board for the addition to the psva legislative advocacy plan even though it wasn't voted in I hope that they will continue to push forward the addition to the section on safety that highlighted a need for common sense gun safety reforms so schools alone do not have to bear the sole responsibility for gun violence prevention this feels more important than ever to highlight following the tragic death of Nicholas who was a former school district of Haverford Township student finally I very much appreciate our board members in each and every one of yours commitment and dedication to our students and their learning
031My Hope Is that in the future the board Administration will consider interrupting or discontinuing public comments that are directed at individual board members and seem to only service serve the purpose of intimidation also if misinformation is presented in a public comment about our schools it would be helpful if the Border Administration could correct this misinformation I thank you for all that you do Administration and board members and thank you so much for listening speaker is Victoria Brown good evening can you hear me my name is Victoria Brown I live at 720 East Manoa Road and my grandson is a fourth grader at Chestnut world kovid gifted me with the opportunity to observe my grandson's second grade virtual classroom throughout that challenging year so I was able to see how social and emotional learning plays out
032in real time and what I saw was a curriculum that teaches the traditional three R's using a pedagogy that guides students whatever the academic subject and how to listen to one another how to work with one another how to help one another that is the admirable goal of Social and emotional learning it does not teach respect for others in some isolated unit focused on Race ethnicity disability or gender respect for others and interest in different points of view is woven into the way students now learn in small group work that requires students to collaborate on an assignment or research project and in the expanded emphasis on class discussion of anything from Charlotte's Web to cloud formation this emphasis on collaboration is our current version of Social and emotional learning and reflects the fact that parents
033and taxpayers expect public schools have always expected public schools to prepare students for the workforce and today's Workforce from the factory floor to the Executive Suite is all about group work teamwork and collaboration if we do not give our students the social and emotional skills to work on teams with individuals whose backgrounds and perspectives are different from their own we are setting up our kids for failure in life individuals who do not know how to work respectfully across difference will not survive in today's work environment they will be replaced by workers who do have the social and emotional skills to put their academic knowledge to good work American schools have engaged in Social and emotional learning since the early 19th century because before Pub compulsory education laws Educators had to convince parents to send their
034kids to school by promising to teach obedience punctuality Thrift and Industry the social and emotional skills valued back them for to be workers and homemakers in the 1890s critics said that the Athletics and school clubs were unnecessary Frills but Educators pointed to the Lessons Learned in leadership and competition skills needed in the modernizing economy defending the value of Social and emotional learning in 1896 one school superintendent declared that the job of public schools was to quote prepare students for life so folks can criticize today's version of Social and emotional learning but they cannot claim that is a crazy new frill in American public schools thank you speaker is Evie fabulous foreign my name is Evie fabella and I'm a resident of Haverford Township good evening tonight I'd like to thank the board for its ongoing
035commitment to the basis program and for its recent vote to fund the contract with dignity Consulting to support that work I'm a parent in the district and I value my child's ability to get to know students and teachers whose experiences and backgrounds differ from his whether in terms of race socioeconomic status gender or sexual orientation religion and ability and public schools have a unique ability to do that to bring students together who might not otherwise interact in their daily lives because our Social Circles and our neighborhoods are often so segregated I'm also a teacher and I know the value of having a diverse group of students in the classroom students with different experiences bring different perspectives that enrich classroom discussions they can push one another and also their teachers to reconsider long-held assumptions giving them
036new ways to see the course content in other words they help one another learn to think critically but diverse classrooms also present pedagogical and Social Challenges for teachers it can be hard to Intuit the needs and learning obstacles of students whose experiences and identities differ from your own training teachers to see beyond their own cultural and social blind spots is necessary if we want to create classroom environments that Empower all students doing so will strengthen our schools not just socially but academically Dei training is not an extraneous expense that competes with the academic mission of the district as it sometimes portrayed rather it's critical to maintaining the district's reputation for academic excellence so thanks for all you do as board members and I hope you'll keep supporting this important work Berg is the next speaker
037good evening my name is Liz Goldberg and I live on Winfield Drive in Havertown as a parent in the district I would like to speak in favor of the board's efforts to promote diversity equity and inclusion in our schools including the allocation of resources for school staff and faculty to receive Dei focus training I know the board hears from residents when they disagree with its decisions and I think it's equally important for residents to speak out and support when the board takes much needed and much appreciated actions thank you for all your continuing work to ensure that every single child who walks into a Haverford Township School building is made to feel welcome that they belong that they can be fully themselves in the context of a diverse and inclusive School community unfortunately some critics
038try to frame Dei initiatives as Zero Sum meaning that for one group to win another group must lose but the board clearly understands that diversity equity and inclusion in practice on the ground in our schools is not zero-sum it is a benefit to the entire School community I want my children to learn how to create space for different points of view respect the common Humanity of every classmate practice skills of flexibility and collaboration and open themselves to knowing the world in all its complexity the next speaker is rich mcglory good evening I am rich mcglory and I live at 1246 Bill Road and I come here to speak to you tonight about something that is dear to my heart about Nicholas elizaldi as many of you know that I spent 34 years as a teacher
039and a principal an assistant principal in Philadelphia and my most precious responsibility was to keep kids safe and make them feel safe in their schools so when this tragedy occurred I followed it completely I watched every video I could of what happened and this morning when I was reading the article in today's uh Inquirer I couldn't finish it so I just thought how I could help how I could put some thoughtful words to what happened and what I thought of is this it the most important thing we can do as a community is to create a culture of trust and caring about our students in every great school that I worked in there were many people that students were willing to go to in confidence and express their problems their issues whether it be school
040issues home issues or issues in the neighborhood that is what is necessary to keep our kids safe feeling safe and to learn how to deal with tragedies that this is this is an innocent young man who was obviously a wonderful person and I wish that I had gotten to know him and his mother and he was his mother's only child I I have dealt with that situation several times in my career and the importance of a culture of caring and trust between teachers administrators even superintendents Dr Ruchi is what we need to build and maintain and every day I thank the Lord for the neighborhood I live in and our community and that's just what I want to convey to you foreign hi I'm Angela urso I'm a Havertown resident here to express my concern
041over the high school health curriculum in 11th grade specifically during the Eating Disorders unit students are asked to fill out a survey to rate their relationship with food on a numerical scale it's a 12 question survey given by the Renfrew Center which is a very well-known eating disorders clinic in our area after the students fill out the survey they were given a score chart if they scored between four and eight they suggested exploring these issues may be helpful if they export if they scored between 9 and 12 the survey actually tells them that they have an eating disorder there is a disclaimer saying interpretations given her for informational and educational purposes followed by if psychological or medical evaluation and treatment are indicated immediately consult a qualified professional I was really upset to see this classroom
042assignment who's the qualified professional and who's Consulting them they did not need to hand it back to the teacher which I wouldn't have agreed with anyway um so who's seeing this survey other than the child the student who who scored within that range of needing treatment where are they getting help from especially those who might already have an eating disorder or pre or predisposed or have an eating disorder in the family because a 16 year old filling this form out in a classroom with with their peers alone in their head is a dangerous situation to me the percentage of adolescents with the eating disorder continues to rise but roughly 13 of adolescents will develop one by the age of 20. there is a term students now use for being anorexic it's called ano and it's
043all over social media and it's all in the schools and unfortunately we're at the point with our kids now that it's cool to have an eating disorder and it's cool to be anorexic and they're comparing each other and after they took this survey they continue to compare each other and how and who was worse than who um so I'm left to ask like what the purpose of that assignment was what what were the goals what were the objectives I've racked my brain for weeks giving the school the benefit of Doubt but I cannot think of one single positive learning experience to come from this in fact I find it to complete be completely wrong and potentially damaging to to certain students these are questions intended to be asked in a one-on-one in a treatment center
044by a professional there's also a documentary called thin it's on Hulu parents it watch it if you can get through three minutes you're better than me it's it's awful um this is what our ninth graders are watching in health class it um is also from the Renfrew Center and I've spoken with eating disorders specialists in the field in our area and you know they've described it as inappropriate for high school outdated triggering um one said they wouldn't even show it in their graduate class both the survey and the documentary from Renfrew Center are old 21 years again these students are not adults they should not be asked questions um for this sensitive topic I am here tonight to first let parents uh just one more second please I'm here tonight to first let parents know
045that this is what your children are asked to watch and complete and second to ask the board to please review the high school health curriculum specifically the Eating Disorders unit and replace the outdated damaging lessons with current thinking and fitting exercises for class thank you thank you is the next speaker hello um my name is Karina and I'm Karina Aaron and I live in the district on Campbell Avenue we moved to this district from a very Multicultural and diverse Community 13 years ago and I am very glad to see um so many other new families and Outsiders like us coming into the community and settling in Havertown I want to voice my support for the goals the 2025 District goals to prepare contemporary citizens it's a social emotional wellness and diversity and inclusion inclusion as
046guiding principles they shape the curriculum for students to thrive in school and to become good and productive citizens once they graduate my daughter graduated from Hereford High School in 2018 and from pitt this spring my son who has learning to friends this walked with his graduating class in 2021 and is still enrolled in the excellent biomed lab tech honors program at dcts in Aston we have been so fortunate to be in the Haverford School District with all its dedicated teachers and high academic standards the learning and personal growth opportunities that my children have had are amazing I wonder sometimes that families who have only experienced this District always appreciate how good it really is yet we probably have a long way to go to ensure that students of all backgrounds and abilities feel included and
047supported so I asked my now big kids about their favorite school experiences my daughter said that it was taking the courses that challenged her thinking and dealt with a global cultural topics like AP World History and AP Human Geography and her favorite course of all was 11th grade U.S history with Mr Smith I don't think it's an 11th grade course anymore but it was when she took it um who was at the time the only black social studies teacher at the high school my son said that it was the many good teachers who supported him and the clubs like somebody else mentioned that he joined at the middle school and a shout out especially to Mr langan's actors Workshop which was fantastic and at the high school so those clubs were diverse they were quirky
048creative and welcoming even for a neurodiverse kid like my son he found real friends and safe places where he fit in which made a really big difference to him both my kids then and now seek out the environments where you have to maybe learn somebody's preferred pronoun where your friends are diverse and your peers are diverse I have never seen proof that increased diversity has a negative effect on academics quite the opposite I do not believe in zero-sum that somebody has to lose for another to win I support the district goals and any and all efforts by the school district to become more diverse Ecuador and inclusive we all have a right to belong and get a fair chance and we will all be better off for it thank you very much for the work
049you do next item on the agenda is board reports I'll start with Mr Schwartz [Music] I remember anyway date myself here right now anyway um Dr McCain here earlier her and I have the ability to attend the or had the opportunity to attend the pspa platform committee meeting a few weeks ago and um I mean I you know obviously I'm the first time it is disappointing that the platform committee would not completely uh indicate or use the term mental health um in in in their you know in their platform especially after what we've been through recently with cobit and the increased uh focus on Mental Health it's it's that that would be a bit surprising and disappointing and the other issue um of Common Sense gun reforms especially in light of what just happened um
050to a former student in our district you know these the platitudes uh you know of that the knowledge is a conference experience by schools and communities I like them to coach Nick's parents and tell them that they acknowledge her concerns because that you know it's it's it's just it's just not enough and um you know this the the refusal to or the the agitation that advocating for policies that are supported by 90 of gun owners are being too divisive it's that's the unique ability of being both shocking and that and at least a bit surprising at the same time and it's you know I I I would encourage us as a board to continue to pursue these um these these advocacy goals even if you know the the pspa will not I have a daughter
051she'll be 14 in four days and she told me before that she has she has dreams about school shootings and she says Dad the strangest thing is that in her dreams they it doesn't feel weird it feels kind of and she'd asked me and I don't have the answer she said why can't you as adults figure something out and uh you know it's it's it's hard I mean every experience it's horrible when your child asks you something that you can't answer and um you know I'm very disappointed by that obviously a hearts are are you know going out to to to Nick's friends and and and and family and I I just I felt that this is not hurting anybody I hope that in some uh helps to martial us because this you know things
052that that we have to keep on trying to change even to feel sometimes like they can hit against fabric wall so anyway my deployment on that but um [Music] sorry so adjusting to the new mics as well um so first off I just wanted to firmly thank Dr McKay and Mr Schwartz for um attending the apspa assembly and I look forward to being able to return to the delegate assembly November defense um I think we as a board share a a common goal as it relates to ensuring that our schools are safe um and valuing the importance of mental health and and awareness and so um it's certainly does not have to be lost will not be lost it's a discussion that I hope that we will continue on a mission that we will continue
053to support our support and I look forward to an opportunity to continue to advocate for those policies with psba okay I have an update from the Delaware County Community College disability Center liaison update a few things to note the enrollment updates from our Township there are currently 306 students currently enrolled in the Delaware County Community College totaling 2 590 credits um dual enrolled students a little lower than previous years but I think it's still on par with a typical year of 13 students are dual enrolled for a total of 70 credits uh it did give a great presentation at a board meeting at our last board meeting or two meetings ago uh about all the different dual enrollment options so I would definitely encourage any interested high schoolers and their families to look into that
054a little bit um it seems like a pretty great opportunity um there is a presidential search that's ongoing they've posted some information about that search on their website for anyone who's interested um there's also some scholarships available for anyone interested you can find more information about their back on their website as well the x10 location it sounds like it's going to be closing and they're going to be focusing on their Downingtown campus instead um and then um the only other thing is that they're hosting a liaison meeting and dinner on October 12th that I will be attending on behalf of our district so I'll be representing us there [Music] go down to Dr McKay yeah so um I just want to follow up with some comments for myself on um in particular on the mental
055health proposal that we had um I worked on that closely with school board members at both Upper Darby and William Penn and it was a joint effort in a lot of ways to get the wording just right and as a mental health professional myself um and as someone who lives through the world where several of my identities are often assumed incorrectly um I just want to say how important it is that School staff who are working with youth around mental health that they understand and are prepared for the variety of identities that are in the room and those spaces we're asking youth to be vulnerable and we need to meet that vulnerability with knowledge understanding and humility and it's disappointing to me that the psba was unable to recognize the importance of that proposed Point
056um and to me to improve their mental health section um but I do want to say how much I appreciate our District's continued dedication to this and our dedication to diversity equity and inclusion and also the Dignity of belonging [Music] um this week I had the opportunity to go to two events in schools that Linwood home repair meeting which was the first time in two years we were actually able to have a meeting in the wonderful new Lynnwood so it was great to see all the parents get back in there and get ready to plan the parties for the elementary school kids which they very much look forward to and I was also able to attend with Dr bhushi and Bridget the coffee and donuts with the transportation workers and it was wonderful getting to
057meet so many of our bus drivers I was not able to locate my son's two bus drivers but I did meet many other bus drivers and AIDS and what amazed me was how many years of service so many of our bus drivers has um it was staggering how many years so many people have been with the district and also what I talking to so many of them how much they care for our students one woman in particular I talked to her for a while just she drives a special needs for us and just the care and her concern and her she's like my job is to put parents at ease so they have a lot on their plate that no they're safe with me just putting the children all of our students first it was
058so nice to meet all of these people um in our district it was I'm so glad I was able to attend [Music] no apart from me thanks all right um I wanted to add my appreciation to Mr Schwartz and Dr McKay for the psba advocacy I think um it is an important muscle that our board um is exercising to represent uh advocacy for public education it um it's up there as one of the core um characteristics of an effective board and it's um it's exciting to see the ways in which Haverford is stepping into this forum um and also the efforts to coordinate with for leadership um in other districts there's power in numbers um we as a board have opportunities to collaborate with and learn from some of our neighboring districts primarily in Delaware
059County but then to be able to see Statewide the diversity and different approaches to education and kind of give us a chance to to speak out on what you know how we value public education is is a great thing and thank you for spending your time and effort and that sense that you know we will be continuing that the board has had a workshop um on our own poor development and there's another one scheduled for next week we continue to develop um our our best practices our ways of communicating of being effective and um I think the growing advocacy efforts is is a demonstration of that in the ways that we can work together to benefit the district I also had the opportunity to go to the transportation appreciation breakfast and and Echo just it
060is um a group of staff that have such a sense of camaraderie and it's a really great group to to be able to spend time with and their affection for the students and their sense that um you know that they have the role of getting the kids day off to a good start and to getting them where they need to go safely but also to be that friendly phase point of contact UM expense of support um it was really touching and a credit to the staff and especially the long tenured staff that we have um I'm sure we can get a report on the miles driven the um 130 some schools that they run the routes to the number of kids that they transport the accident free days all of that and um you know
061what really matters is that that connection they have with the kids and it was great um and Mia mentioned the uh the rainiest senior night for soccer I was there and it was a great win um three of our senior girls scored and won the game in double overtime on a 45 degree rainy night but the other thing that it really shows is like the amazing support there were student sections there cheering families grandparents neighbors all out to support the kids and um that's really a testament to the way that our schools are so much a part of our community and you know add that um kind of culture and excitement to the school that school spirit so I hope I'm going to the Ford's Fight For Life on Friday night and look forward to
062seeing that community outpouring of support as well um I did want to um from public comment just to ask the administration uh to follow up on the health curriculum commentary and um I know that there are um questions and concerns about public comments in our board meetings and this is not the easiest format or venue to have um real dialogue um but you know I will try to find ways to better explain our our practice and um one of the things that we're working on in our board development is communication and ways to better have uh connections with the community and and things like that so um that's something that I take note of and and will try to find ways to better better convey the purpose of of public comment and to be responsive
063and to have opportunities for more actual dialogue than what the the business meeting of the board affords us foreign on the agenda is our report on Executive session the board meant tonight to review procedures for property transactions and to discuss three confidential student related litigation matters with Council the next regular public board meeting is scheduled to be held on October 20th 2022 at 7 30 PM in the boardroom of the Oakmont Administration Building and without our agenda is complete so I will welcome a motion to adjourn meeting is adjourned thank you everyone