001Good evening and welcome to the August 25th, 2025 regular meeting of the Traiffan Easttown School Board. We'll begin as always with a salute to the flag. Regular school board meetings are business meetings that are open to the public during which we provide several opportunities for public comment on items before the board. The first comment period is reserved for announced additional agenda items and items on the consent agenda only. Additional public comment will be heard for the actions listed under priority discussion. The final public final comment period near the end of the meeting is reserved for all other matters of concern, official action or deliberation which are or may be before the TESD board of directors and which are not covered by the other comment periods. Each public comment period is reserved for residents and taxpayers.
002Additionally, the board will accept comments from sitting public officials for non- campaigning purposes and by agreement with the tea intendig. The board will accept comments from the union presidents. All comments should be directed to the board as a whole or to the presiding officer. No comments or questions should be directed to individual board members. All public comments and responses should be in the spirit of civil public discourse. Also, please be aware that intentionally disrupting a lawful meeting or the administration of a government function is a criminal offense in Pennsylvania. The school board values the opportunity to hear from the community in person and appreciates your cooperation in advance. So, we move on uh to our next item that we have no stu student representatives this evening. We'll look forward to them for our next meeting.
003We also have no student or staff highlights this evening for our first meeting. Uh we will look forward to those as well for our next meeting. Uh we have no announcement of additional agenda items. The next item on the agenda is public participation from district residents and district taxpayers regarding any items on the consent agenda only. If you would like to make a comment on the consent agenda, please line up here at the microphone. When you come to the microphone, state your name and township of residence. We will end comment with the last person in line. All public comments this evening will be limited to three minutes. Again, this comment period is limited to the consent agenda only. To help with the timing, please make your entire comment and then the board will determine an
004appropriate response. So, you have any comments on the consent agenda, please come up. Seeing none, we'll move on. Uh we have no board action regarding amendments of agenda. So our next item is the consent agenda. Although board action is required, it is generally unnecessary to hold discussion on these items. With the consent of all members, they are therefore grouped and approval is given in one motion. In the event a board member wants to discuss any item, the board president will move it to an appropriate place on the agenda. A board member may vote nay or abstain with respect to a consent agenda item without the need for removing the item from the consent agenda. The action under consideration is that the board of school directors approves the following recommendations on the consent agenda as printed
005on page five on the agenda. Do I have a motion? So moved. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Okay. Have a first and a second. So I'll call for a vote. All those favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any oppose signify by saying nay. >> Eyes have it. Uh now that we've gone through that, I will turn to vice president Titi who will acknowledge uh the gifts that we have received. >> Thank you Mr. Contosk. Uh we as always are so fortunate to have PTO's that are very generous and uh help to support our programs. And this month uh we have three different gifts from Valley Forge Elementary PTO to the Valley Forge School. Uh the first gift is a a set of sensory items to be used by the
006special education department there. uh the total value of which is $6,27347. The second gift is uh outdoor recess equipment for Valley Forge's new playground and its uh value is $899. And then the final gift is an ecoloring printing system valued at $5,325. and we thank them for their gift and um our board secretary will uh follow up with a thank you letter to them. >> Thank you, Miss Deian. I will agree with you. We have the best PTO's here in the district and thank you for them and their generosity. So, now we will move to our accept uh to I'm sorry to our priority discussion, the 2025 2026 district level goals. The action under consideration is that the board of school directors approves the 2025 2026 district level goals as provided in the agenda. Do
007I have a motion? >> Moved. >> Okay. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Okay. Now that we have a first and a second, I will ask Dr. Gusk to provide further information prior to the discussion of the priority action item. Dr. Gusk. Thank you, President Ken Tours. I'm pleased to speak with you this evening about district goals for the 2526 school year. The entire goals document is included in tonight's agenda, beginning on page 44. I'll begin with a brief recap of some key key achievements of the 2425 school year that we just completed and then provide an overview of some points of emphasis for the upcoming year. The goals report and the goals for the 2526 school year do not present an all-encompassing work of all things done in the district. Rather, the
008community and the board receives information on points of emphasis for the coming year as it's aligned with our strategic plan. So looking at some achievements from last year's goal docu like we were flashback a year we had different goals and here are some outcomes of last year's work. We evaluated the first year of the high school schedule that brought lunch and learn to konesoga. Uh we launched the first phase of a middle school pathway for math acceleration that had been missing um prior to that in response to parents saying how challenging it was to advance in math once original decisions were made uh even as early as elementary school. Uh we considered AI implica implications in district classrooms and workplaces. We had several groups meeting to monitor this. some learning about AI and others to
009talk about what that's going to mean for TE and that's going to travel over into uh the goals document for this coming year. Um we began a meeting of the elementary blueprint committee and our full day kindergarten committee which will extend into this year in preparation of uh adding Bear Hill Elementary School. Um we designed and staffed and it's rolling out this year a STEM program um in K in grades K through eight. So elementary and middle school. Um we began meeting uh to discuss the fact that we need to populate Bear Hill Elementary School will require adjustments to our school boundaries and we began that by creating an ad hoc redistricting committee and with a meeting in the spring. We implemented math benchmarks in grades one and two. We expanded dual ro enrollment opportunities
010at the high school. Because I said Bear Hill Elementary School, I couldn't have said that a year ago because we had a public naming campaign that resulted in that outcome uh through the public information committee. Um that website uh includes project updates, visuals, FAQs that will continue to add and subtract information as we receive questions. Our website has a new look and feel. Um our prior provider was going away and we needed to make some uh changes to our website. So we have brand new website um for people's review. Um, in terms of our uh enrollment or hiring process, we adopted some new tools that are also extending into this year. Um, we were we developed a middle school advisory class for mental health support. In fact, um, implementation is this year, but a considerable
011amount of work was done last year on the middle school um, schedule. I'm falling behind on the slide switching. Thank you. Um, we've worked with our emergency agencies to enhance safety protocols and embedded trauma-informed practices. Uh, the construction that you can see right out that door um began in earnest uh this past year that will result in new athletic fields that we hope to have online this fall. and the design plans and we released public construction bids for Bear Hill Elementary School last year. Now, more has happened since, but we only go through June 30 uh for the 2425 school year. So, as I said before, the goals documents designed to align with the advancement of our strategic plan. The mission statement on the screen is followed by strategies the district employs to achieve this
012mission. And then our each strategy has identified annual goals to help advantage the uh advance the strategy. So the thinking is you work on the annual goals that helps achieve the strategy and the strategies collectively will work uh long way toward us achieving our mission for our students. So the agenda materials present the complete list of anticipated results. But tonight in this presentation I will review highlights. So our goal one related to change um we will complete and evaluate what year one of the new middle school schedule already I can assure you we're gathering information on students who and the choices there's simply more choice in the middle school uh schedule uh that and that we haven't really seen for parents and students before. We want to see the decisions that the students are making
013and try to do some analysis of the impact it's having on their lives. Um the when you implement a math acceleration schedule, you know, it takes time because in year one they take this course and then so for the first year you don't have anyone in that second year of the cohort. So that's moving through. We're going to continue to monitor that and uh use student performance data to inform our decisions. And then um a big one that I'd mentioned before is just AI advances so fast and we are at the point where some interesting decisions are going to be made in our district regarding how it's implemented in our classrooms and we expect to develop guidelines and practices for the meaningful use of AI uh as a main goal for this coming year. Oh,
014under curriculum, we're going to develop a framework for an outstanding full day kindergarten program that needs to take place this year. We have two years until Bear Hill opens up, right? So, it seems so far in the distant still, I guess, in some ways is, but um next year at this time, we'll only be a year away. And at that point, we're really going to be doing a lot of more finalizing. So a lot of the leg work and heavy lifting that needs to take place not just in programming but in facilities and a lot of that has to happen this coming year. So you'll see a number of references to it. So part of it is developing the framework for full day kindergarten. STEM at the elementary and middle school levels will be in
015place. We'll evaluate uh that first year. Um we have an ad hoc redistricting committee. that work will take place and we'll be providing the community with more and more information about how that will impact school attendance boundaries. Um, we're looking at a new Firefly assessment, it's called Firefly, developed by PTE as a means to prepare students for PSSA and Keystone exam assessments. There's a change there for the kids and those tests are moving online. uh that was piloted in certain grades last year and when we go over assessment data this year we'll share some information about that. Um we're going to review and enhance the framework and resources for literacy instructions at the elementary level K4 and explore partnership with Delaware County Community College as a next step to expanding dual enrollment opportunities at the
016high school. For community engagement, we're going to expand the awareness campaign for Bear Hill Elementary School to include updates on construction, planning, and redistricting. So, um there will be plenty of opportunity for public discussion and we are now looking at ways that we can push out a lot of that information for those who are following the project can remain informed. So, we're going to expand their school project web page, Bear for Bear Hill, into more of a long-term communications hub. We are going to look at our uh evaluate the launch of the new website and see if uh we need to make any uh adjustments and then also see if there's any tools or things. A lot of times, you know, when you do a launch and you change in into a new program, you
017just need to get the bare bones in place, right? But there are some opportunities that this vendor has for us to expand some uh u some just functionalities of the website that we're going to explore and share with you as well. In terms of equity, uh it's a year we're going to review our own district's foundational equity training for staff. We want to make sure that as we implement Bear Hill Elementary School um that we foster accessibility and belonging uh and that that's baked into the design. And then we need to add resources to our website uh related to the district equity initiative. For faculty support um we are going to develop a plan outlining goals for Bear Hill Elementary School. Nope, I got the wrong page. Sorry. for faculty support. We're going to implement
018year 2 programming. It's a state requirement that our new teachers now don't get just get one year of induction. The state requires two. So this is the first year where we'll have a second year uh cohort of teachers. So those who were hired last year are in year two of induction. So that's implementation and evaluation all in the the name of faculty support. Um we are really looking at opportunities. We we we ran a program last year that was voluntary for teachers uh who are interested potentially in exploring leadership opportunities and we're really overwhelmed by the degree of interest um from our teachers. So, we're going to look at different models of delivery of staff development uh because they see there seems to be an appetite for that sort of thing and we're going to
019be able to um see if that in what ways we can support our faculty by offering type programs like that and possibly in different uh ways. We are going to need a staffing plan for Bear Hill Elementary that will have to come forward this year. And we're also looking at uh a tool called Vidcruder for recruit uh recruitment screening. And uh we plan on moving toward baking that fully into our system. Already this summer we've piloted that program and it shows some upside for us in terms of uh recruiting candidates in mental health and well-being. We're going to evaluate the effectiveness of the middle school well-being advisory support course. We are going to um also identify grant opportunities to support student mental health needs. And uh again a lot of we see a lot of
020uh examples of students in need of different types of supports often for anxiety or other mental health needs. And so it's it's really an ongoing goal, but a point of emphasis here to add to that um set of resources that are available for those students in safety. Continue our partnership with local first responders, including law enforcement and other agencies for safety exercises. Um, we had one this summer, uh, where we we were at Valley Forge Middle School and the simulation was for a reunification effort. And this would be if students need to be evacuated from one school and to another or to an off-site place, there are recommended best practices for unifying those students with their families. And so, we did a walkthrough of that this summer. That's an example of the types of uh
021partnership that we have with our local law enforcement and uh and first responders in general. Um we've got uh we're going to integrate security priorities and protocols into Bayer Hill. So the school, as you know, will need an evacuation procedure, fire exits, the same type of safety exercises, relocation points. Some of this information will be confidential, others public, but we'll have a safety plan that we can really develop as that school starts to take shape. And for sustainability has three prongs: finance, technology, and facilities. So, we need to continue to refine the plan for um a budget that includes uh a ninth school, Bear Hill, a sixth elementary school. Um, we're going to continue to update the board on our progress toward uh being able to have an operating budget that will support the ongoing
022functioning of that school. In technology, uh, we're going to identify the uh, lots of it's an always an evolving landscape. Cyber security is certainly an area that we want to remain as a top priority. Um we've already mentioned opportunities for staff and student with art artificial intelligence that will be prioritized under technology sustainability. We are migrating from PC laptops to Chromebooks in middle school and that will start that starts this year and we're also migrating to away from uh bring your own device at the high school and bringing everyone on board to a common uh platform. Um and then for facilities um some major contribution or significant ones are the ones I already mentioned the athletics fields project Bear Hill Elementary but our ongoing work we have um nine schools uh eight building the ninth
023and they all need attention to remain uh you know the best spaces for kids to learn and to grow. So um our entire infrastructure report will be uh examined again and with that uh and an assessment of the current practices related to energy uses usage and to implement practices that will improve efficiency and environmentally friendly operations. So that in the main is a summary of the document and I turn it back to you. >> Thank you Dr. Gusk and I want to reiterate I think we've mentioned this for the past couple years at this time very much appreciative of these goals being aligned with the uh the mission statement and the strategic plan for the for the district and um having the you know success indicators under each of these uh under each of these
024goals is great. It's an it's a much easier read and organized I think than we've had that I remember from from previously and so very much appreciate the administration's uh efforts in in that regard. >> Thank you. >> So with that I'll turn it back to the board and see if folks have any questions uh for Dr. Gusk. Okay. So seeing none, the board now invites members of the audience to comment on this item. If you have comments or questions, please step up to the microphone and identify yourself. Okay, seeing none from the public, uh I'll turn it back to the board. Any further comments from the board? Okay, seeing no further discussion, I will call for a vote. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed signify by saying nay.
025Right. Eyes have it. 90. Thank you, Dr. Gusk. The next item on our agenda will be the committee and ambassador reports. I recognize a number of these committees have not met since our last meeting. Uh, that being said, it is the first meeting of our year and I can't keep track of who wants to make announcements or who doesn't want to make announcements. So, I'm just going to plow through these and you're going to have to acknowledge that you haven't met and you have another meeting coming up and say anything else that you want to say about the upcoming year. So, first I'll go to policy committee and the chair, Miss Susan Audrain. >> Thank you, President Koursik. Uh the committee has not met but we will be meeting uh September the 2nd. Uh it's
026right after the holiday so don't forget it's back to work. Thank you everybody. >> Thank you Miss Odra. Next we'll go to uh diversity and Dr. Robert Singh. >> Uh yes the committee is now met and we'll be meeting for our first meeting uh October 15th uh 2025 at 7 p.m. of the teao and the agenda will be updated prior to that meeting. Thank you, Dr. Singh. Next, we'll move on to finance. The chair is Dr. Robera Hatinsky. >> Thank you. So, we have not met. Our next meeting will be on uh Monday, September 8th at 7 p.m. But I would like to acknowledge that our financial team has gotten a certificate of excellence from the Association of School Business Officials after turning in our annual comprehensive financial report. And I believe that's the third
027one. Yeah. Is that right? Yes. So, we are doing very well. and I'd like to acknowledge that. Thank you. [Music] [Applause] >> Thank you. Uh now, thank you, Robera, for uh remembering that remembering to acknowledge that it's important to do so. Um now we'll turn back to facilities and back to Dr. Robert Singh. >> Yes. Uh the facilities committee has not met, but uh as was mentioned, uh construction of our athletic fields and uh Bear Hill Elementary School has continued uh throughout the summer, and we'll be happy to update you and look forward to the facilities meeting on September 9th at TAO at 7 p.m. >> Okay. Thank you, Dr. Singh. Next, we'll turn to education committee and the chair, Sue Titi. >> Thank you. Uh the education committee has not met since our last
028meeting. We'll be meeting on uh September 11th at 7 o'clock at TEAO. Uh at that time uh we will be taking a look at the new Bath uh the new math benchmarks that uh Dr. Guy just mentioned and we'll also be taking a first look at our proposed calendar for the next school year. Uh it it usually is a two-month process, but we begin in September so that we can approve this by November and people can make their plans accordingly. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Titi. Next, we'll go to ad hoc legislative and Maryanne Pition. >> Thank you uh for your information. You may be aware that the uh state budget is at an impass uh that is preventing distribution of funds uh for education. Uh the impass lies with the state senate. So,
029please contact our state senator Carolyn Kamida to obtain the best uh legislators on the uh committees to uh advocate that they uh complete the budget process and uh distribute the funds. That uh concludes my report. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Pition. Next, we'll turn to ad hoc public information and Dr. Yolanda Allen. >> Thank you. The ad hoc public information committee has not met but um this year but should we call a meeting the public will be duly notified. Thank you. >> Thank you Dr. Allen. Now we'll turn to our newest ad hoc committee ad hoc committee on school redistricting. It's chair Dr. Robera Hatinsky. >> Thank you. We have not met since the last meeting but I would just remind everybody as uh Dr. Gusk mentioned we have uh we had our first
030meeting in May and so you can find the information there under the quick links. It's the second one. Um we established a timeline for for the redistricting process and a a rough framework and we'll be um meeting this fall to discuss parameters for the redistricting process. So I'd encourage everybody to attend. Um we'll let you know when we have a date for uh our next meeting. Thank you. >> Thank you Dr. Atinsky. And finally, we'll get a report on our intermediate unit technical school from Miss Maryanne Picion. >> The Chester County Intermediate Unit board of directors held its monthly meeting on Wednesday, August the 20th at the Technical College High School in Downing Town. The 2024 2025 annual report was distributed. To review a copy, go to cciu.org/about. The executive director, Dr. George Fiori, reported
031that the migrant education program will be funded by the Trump administration this year. A good portion of education funding uh of the federal funding cuts are scheduled next year after the midterm elections. Presentations and updates included uh the early childhood programs at the Angle Education Center are set to serve 173 learners from birth to kindergarten, offering preschool, special education, Head Start, and early Head Start services. These include classrooms for speech and language, developmental delays, and autism support along with family services and upcoming food and clothing pantries. The Brandy Wine Virtual Academy reported a successful summer program with 711 students, 1,285 course enrollments, and 147 graduations. Uh the expanded offerings for this year are to include live instructions in K through 8, art, PE/halth, world languages, including ASL, and co-taught core courses for students needing academic
032support. Enrollment increased by 20%, reaching 2,600 students. The technical college high school anticipates a total enrollment of 3007 students across its three campuses, Brandy Wine, Pickering, and Penox Bridge. The school continues to enhance career readiness through eight pre-apprentices programs with three more in development, dual enrollment opportunities, and work-based learning experiences such as job shadows and campus tours. The next CCIU board of directors meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 17th at 7:30 at the Engle Education Center in West Grove. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Pichion. Next item on the agenda, other actions under consideration. We have none of those this evening. Our next item is then public participation from district residents and district taxpayers regarding non-aggenda matters of concern, official action or deliberation which are or may be before the board. Residents and taxpayers
033may now address the board on matters not included in the agenda. If you have a comment, please come up to the mic. I hope everyone had a nice summer. Uh, I think we had six heat waves this summer and you still >> Please state your name. >> Oh, sorry. I should >> we know who you are, but >> Cindy Burgold. Turn over. Um, like I said, I want to thank everyone also who worked inside and out this summer. We had six heat waves. I want to remind you that you have two middle schools that do not have total air conditioning. I think it should be a priority. Uh you would start with testing. That's what they did years ago. And put it back on the capital plan to plan for it. We're one of the
034top school districts. I think we need total air in every school. I've also asked about two crossing guards on Old Lancaster and Halville Road that intersection. Elsa, well, we have one person and she can't be in two places at once and she is a veteran crossing guard. We tried it today. Uh, you have the maintenance secretary at Elizabeth Lane. You need more crossing guards. So, I think you need to advertise more. Maybe offer a bonus. Do something. You need it. Today, at the intersections of Old Lancaster and Howville, it was a disaster. So, on a personal note, I had a problem with a contractor's employee and I'm grateful to Marshall Barkman for taking care of it. I hope you all have a good school year. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Foldi. And I hope you
035had a good summer as well. Okay. Do we have any other uh comments from the public? Okay, seeing none, the public comment periods for this evening are now closed. This is the point in the meeting when we make any announcements required by the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act. Our solicitor this evening is Ken Roose and he will make any required announcements. Board met in executive session earlier this evening regarding confidential legal matters and threaten litigation um and as well as receiving legal updates which did not rise to the level of deliberation. Thank you, Mr. Roose. Future meetings, Monday, September 29th, 9, 2025. Regular school board meeting, 7:30 p.m. here at Konesoga High School. Next meeting, Monday, October 27th, 2025. Another regular school board meeting, 7:30 p.m. once again here at Konesoga High School. I will turn to
036the board, see if we got any general announcements. Yes, Miss Picion. Thank you. uh my visiting hour at the Easttown Library will resume on the 3rd Thursday of the month at 4 to 5:00. Uh the next one is September the 18th. Thank you. Any other announcements? Okay. Correspondence received by the board can be found on page page 49 on the agenda. We'll turn to the board and see if we have a motion to adjurnn. >> Moved. >> You have a second. >> Second. >> Okay. first and a second. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> All those opposed, you can stay here. Eyes have it. Meeting is adjourned. Thank you.