001meeting of the seable board of education has been established by sending a copy of the public meeting notice to the home news and tribune and to the star ledger. In addition, copies of the announcement of this meeting have been sent to the burough clerk and a copy of the notice of the meeting has also been posted on the bulletin board outside the office of the secretary of the board of education. Please rise for the pledge of >> allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Mr. Shott, roll call, please. >> Mrs. Bloom. here. >> Mr. Callahan >> here. >> Mrs. Trowski >> here. >> Mrs. Hernandez >> here. >> Mrs. Maldonado >> here.
002>> Mrs. Npalitano >> here. >> Mr. Mrs. Pabone >> here. >> Mr. Smith >> here. >> Mr. Fernandez >> here. >> Thank you. Can Can you please summarize executive session? >> The board meant in executive session this evening to discuss su student matters and personnel. Thank you. Is there any correspondence of note? >> There is none. >> Thank Thank you, Miss Mr. Shada. I'd like to entertain a motion to approve the board minutes of both the regular and executive session of the December 16th, 2025 meeting as well as the regular and executive session of the January 6th, 2026 meeting. >> So move. Second. >> Great. Roll call. Mrs. Bloom, >> yes. >> Mr. Callahan, >> yes. >> Mrs. Strachowski, >> yes. >> Mrs. Hernandez, >> yes. >> Mrs. Maldonado, >> yes. >> Mrs. Napoleano, >>
003yes. >> Mrs. Pabone, >> yes. >> Mr. Smith, >> yes. >> Mr. Fernandez, >> yes. Now for the absolute best part of the evening, our student council. >> Miss Coun. >> Good evening, Board of Education members and administrators. My name is Morgan Coun, SWMHs student council board of education representative. I would like to begin with clubs and activities. Students in advanced placement art history in art capstone classes visited the Princeton Museum. Since there were so many different art pieces, the students were given assignments ranging from sketching to writing comparisons between the artworks. SWMHs alumni Angela Pastelli gave a virtual presentation to students with an interest in pursuing art in college. Angela spoke about her high school art portfolio, her college experience at Boston University, and her current job designing apparel for Puma Hoops. Congratulations to
004concert band musician Nicholas Addex, who was selected to perform in the Central Jersey Music Educators Association band. This is a very big achievement because he was the only student musician from the high school to be accepted into the program and he's only a sophomore. Members of the Spanish Honor Society wrote over 190 cards to the veterans living at the Menllo Park Veterans Memorial Home in Edison. The Air Force JOTC cadets performed exceptionally during a cadet competition at the Piscataway High School. Students in Mr. Glidden's wood shop classes worked hard while creating a backdrop for the bombcast production that is played every Friday morning. On December 22nd, three of our class of 2025 top 10 students returned to the high school to inspire and guide our current seniors. Lily H Highleberg, Forom University, Quinn Giraa, Northwestern
005University, and Sarah Smith, Northeastern University, shared their experiences from senior year and their first semester in college, offering valuable tips and words of wisdom. This program provided an incredible opportunity for seniors to learn from peers who have successfully transitioned to college, fostering motivation and confidence as they finish high school strong. Last week, students in grade 9 through 11 were presented with the scheduling request process for their 2026 2027 school year. The students are currently able to add their course requests in Encourse. Furthermore, the counseling department curriculum supervisors and the AP teachers presented their annual AP Academy night program. Students and their parents and guardians were pro provided with an overview of our AP course offerings in our careermies. On January 27th, the students in grade 8 will be invited to the high school for the
006freshman tip off. Their parents and guardians are also invited and will have a high school orientation while the students will attend an activities fair and a boys basketball game. The high school counselors will be visiting the grade 8 social studies classes to present to them the course offerings and high school scheduling process. The eighth grade students will then begin adding their course choices in encourse starting February 2nd. Moving on to sports, the boys swim team improved their record to 511 with a win over Monroe High School and a tie with South Planefield High School. The girls swim team earned their second and third wins of the season with victories with over Monroe and South Planefield High Schools. Congratulations to girls swimmer Morgan Coun for being selected as tapping to Raron Bay athlete of the week.
007The girls basketball team improved its record on the season to 83 with wins over Perth Amboy and Matuchen high schools. The boys basketball team defeated Piscataway and Monroe high schools to improve their record on the season to 74. The boys also beat Woodbridge and Jonathan Catholic high schools to improve their record to 95. Congratulations to senior Sam Jones for becoming Saraveville War Memorial High School's all-time leading scorer in boys basketball. The girls bowling team tied JP Stevens High School and beat Middle Sex High School to improve their record to 471. Congratulations to the winter track team for earning 10 medals at GMC Relays. The wrestling team defeated Franklin Payic Valley and Jefferson high schools to even their record at 77. Congratulations to senior girls wrestler Kiana Sherwood for placing fourth in the county at the
008GMC wrestling tournament. Furthermore, we congratulate Casper Treasiaak for being selected as Tap into Ritton Bay athlete of the week. Thank you for your time and support. >> You have a comment? >> I have a few questions and then some comments. Well, I'll start with a comment. Congratulations once again on being the tap into um swim athlete and I just I got to tell everybody. So I I went to senior night and I get there and Morgan's already won three races. >> Great performance, honey. Great job. >> Thank you. >> Um and I actually had the privilege of watching her swim and she just tore apart the competition. Wasn't even close. >> I heard you cheering and I was going to tell you that but then you left. >> Was it a little bit embarrassing my
009cheering? >> No, but I heard it. I was like, "Wait a minute. Is that Dr. Lavy? I heard your voice. >> Who is that? You hear that from the pool, right? Who Who is that? >> Um, are you doing both uh track and um swim together? >> Yes, I'm on a club track team and I'm on the high school swim team. >> That's fantastic. That's great. And and I me you mentioned AP Academy night. Did you happen to attend that? >> No, I'm not that smart. >> Yes, you are. That's not true. And I love the fact that you gave a shout out to the bombcast, which I love and I watch every week. I think um that Mr. Taylor does a great job of scripting that and the all of the participants do a
010magnificent job with that broadcast. I love every part of it. And then you didn't mention it, but I'm going to give a plug out to high school Friday morning live. Um do you do you go to Friday Morning Live? >> I see it when I walk by because I get to school right on time. And for those of you that are not interested, I mean not not that don't know, um every morning on Fridays they have a live band uh where they invite students and other staff members to sing and so forth and um they also go ahead and videotape it and simoc cast it. Right, Mr. Gilleski? In all the classrooms. So again, marvelous job with everything that's going on with the culture and climate of the high school. >> There's always a big
011crowd at Friday Morning Live. >> Yeah, I can imag It's It's almost like Saturday Night Live, right? Friday Morning Live, Saturday Night Live. Um, those are ready for prime time players. I've heard at Friday Morning Live, though. >> Um, but, uh, great job, honey, and congratulations on everything. Congratulations. >> Thank you. >> Um, I just wanted to say, um, when Morgan was talking, she you really represent the school well because you really give us something on every single possible angle, any group doing something. I mean, so the school very good job. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, truly an amazing job. And to echo Dr. Lavy, Mr. Taylor and his team do an amazing job as well. I just got one question for you. How uncomfortable was it reading your own accolade? >> I I said
012that to her right before I was like, it's going to be a little weird saying my own name in the report, but >> you just need to start saying me. >> I know. I was going to say me, but I was like, >> no more third person. I won the award. >> But congratulations to me for >> congratulations to me. >> Well, excellent job. >> Thank you. And now my my favorite Callahan. >> Good evening, Board of Education members and administrators. My name is Samantha Callahan, Sarville Middle School student council board of education representative. Going into the fifth month of the 2025 to 2026 school year, we have many events going on throughout Sarville Middle School. The SMS PTO Tricky Tray tickets went on sale this week. The Tricky Tray will be held January 30th.
013Please visit the SMS PTO website for more details. The PTO will also be hosting a family bingo night on February 27th at SMS. The student council executive board attended the winter conference at CCJ to network and gain ideas to bring to our school community. We celebrated the 100th anniversary of the NJSC. We also gained insight on fundraising ideas and school spirit events. The student council had a general body meeting on Friday with a special guest. The crisis response K9's organization came in to speak on behalf of their mission. Gunner the trained K9 greeted everyone throughout the presentation. We will be raising money for their organization as this year's state charity. Looking forward to their return. The community service club and student council members will attend the pathway to leadership conference in February in Long Branch.
014They're looking forward to collaborating with other middle school students. Students are decorating coffee sleeves for random act of kindness week in February which will be given to Bombers Beyond Cafe. The community service club will be hosting Chipotle and Dave and Busters fundraisers in February and March. Some students from the middle school FBA chapter are currently working on their competitive events for the year and are eager to start working on them in preparation for the state leadership conference in March. Now onto the serville middle school winter athletics. The serville middle school blue boys basketball team is currently undefeated with a record of six to zero. The grade team is currently 3 to 5. Good luck with the rest of your season. The several middle school blue and gray girls basketball teams are well on their way
015into the season. The blue team's record is currently 1 to7 and the gray team is 2 to6. The Bombers wrestling team is working hard. They have their GMT tournament January 25th at St. Joseph High School in Matachin. The cheerleading competition are preparing for their the cheer to the cheerleading competition teams are preparing for their upcoming season. The game day team has performed at the girls and boys basketball games. All music finished their choreography last week. Both teams are looking forward to their first competition on February 1st at E Caucus High School. Any boy or girl interested in trying out for middle school track should join the Google classroom for more information. Any questions, see Coach Joya, Coach Lavic, or Coach Anderson in the gym. The classroom code is TLP5D OZW. The legendary SMS floor hockey
016club is back. Meetings will take place starting on February 9th, 2026, and run through championship day on March 5th when families can attend. Meetings take place until 4:30 on scheduled days and until 5:00 p.m. on championship on championship day. See the sale rec center website for sign up information or see Mr. Cous in C13 for further information. We will meet in room C13 immediately after school on club days. This Thursday the 22nd is the middle school girls lacrosse team interest meeting. If if interested, report to the blue room during home room. Thank you very much for this opportunity to speak on behalf of the students at Caveville Middle School. Dr. Levy, great job as always. Sam, >> did you happen to go to TCJ? >> Uh, yeah. >> What did you think? >> It was
017really nice. It was a like cool experience to see a lot of student council like members. >> Do they do things similar to how we do them in Serville? >> Um, yeah, I would say so. >> Yeah. Okay, good. And then are you going to the Pathways Leadership Conference, too? >> Uh, yeah. What are you looking forward to most about that? >> Um, I'm looking forward to kind of like listen to the speakers and stuff because they mentioned it last year at like a meeting and they said it was and a lot of like past student council members said it was like interesting. >> Okay. And then I just want to bring you back to our last meeting in December. You mentioned something about this turkey trot, this huge turkey. I want you to look
018across the room. Scan the room. Is that turkey here right now? Speaking of creating a great culture and climate, um the middle school is also going through some great culture and uh climate changes there uh led by Mr. Nerburgger um just recently with their turkey trot. So um and then lastly, I don't want to put you on the spot and I really hate to do this, but there's a little controversy about this. As you know, it was your birthday >> and we sang happy birthday to you. Some people think that Mrs. Babone sang better than me. What is your opinion? Um, >> just remember your teachers report to Dr. Lavy. >> Not that don't affect your grade or anything like that. >> She obviously sings better than me. >> Great job, Sam. >> Thank you
019so much. >> Are you sure you guys don't want to stay for the budget presentations? We'll take that as a note. All right. Board President comments. The VFW District 8 Middle Sex County proudly hosted the voice of democracy and the Patriots pen essay contest. This year, programs that inspire students to reflect on patriotism, civic responsibility, and the value of making our country strong. This year, several students truly shined. Their essays were not just words on a page. They were reflections of their hearts, their dedication, and their understanding of what it meant to be thoughtful, engaged citizens. These young individuals were remarkable, bright, compassionate, courageous, and wise beyond their years. The ability to express their love for our country and their commitment to service is nothing short of inspiring. We must also celebrate their parents and
020families of these extraordinary students. Your love, guidance, and encouragement are the foundation that allows these young people to dream boldly, work hard, and achieve greatness. You nurture not only academic success, but character, empathy, and resilience. Qualities that will serve them throughout life. And we cannot forget their teachers, administrators, and staff who pour their hearts into developing these young minds every single day. From the classroom to extracurricular activities, from guidance to mentorship, your dedication helps shape not just scholars, but citizens of integrity and promise. These students achievements are a reflection of your hard work, your belief in them, and your commitment to nurturing the very best in every child. Tonight, I'd like to honor four of Saraveville's students. Voice of Democracy first place winner Dylan Deasario and Sarah Sarah will swept all all three places in
021the Patriots pen award. Third place and I apologize for for my pronunciation. Nihadra Shama Vashun second place Angus Ibikatan and first place winner Richard Mishkov. Congratulations. You've you've represented our our our district immen immensely well and thank you. Also want to mention uh the Rotary Club is holding their 21st annual fatherdaughter dance on February 6th at the VFW. Uh I go every year with my I've been going with my daughter since they were three years old. My oldest is 20 years old and she's coming back from college to still go. That's how much they they enjoy it. So, anyone want wants to come out with their daughters? Um, it's a great time, open to everyone. Now, madame vice president or district highlights. >> Sure. Thank you, Mr. President. Um, congratulations. Um, Morgan mentioned it, but
022congratulations to Sarville War Memorial High School concert band musician Nick Addex, who was selected to perform in the Central Jersey Music Educators Association band. We are very proud of you, Nick. Congratulations to Sarville War Memorial High School Air Force Jr. OTC cadetses for their second place finish in the dual exhibition drill at an ROC competition in Piscatoaway last week. And congratulations to Sarville War Memorial High School students Spade Ber, Karina Cardardosa, and Gwen Hunter from Miss Mochi's art workshop. Sorry for mispronouncing your last name. Um, who will have their artwork on display at the Barry Campbell Gallery in New York City from January 23rd to the 25th. And lastly, congrats to McKenzie Abuso from our Serville girls bowling team for being named Tap into Rabbit and Bay's athlete of the week. Thank you. That's it
023for me. >> Thank you, Madam Vice President. >> Now, now I understand we might have a presentation or two. >> We have several this evening. Um, and you know what I love about the first part of our meeting is we always take the time to recognize those very special people in our district, particularly our students. Um, and I think that between Morgan and Mrs. Maldonado, um, and Samantha, we did a great job of recognizing some amazing young people in our district that are doing incredible things. We're going to begin our presentation portion this evening by congratulating another amazing group of young women from Sville War Memorial High School. We wish we would have had the opportunity to do so back in December, but we couldn't, but we're doing it now. Um, it gives me great
024pride to introduce Mrs. Charmelo who is the head coach of the Save War Memorial High School field hockey team and to assist her Mrs. Pabone and Mr. Callahan so that we can recognize our extraordinary white division champions our Sville War Memorial High School field hockey team. Mr. Charmel, >> thank you very much to our board of education administration, Miss Badami and Mr. Law for all your support for this season. Um, we had a record of six and 11 overall for the season. We were 5- one in the GMC white division. Um, clinching the white division title. Uh, we had a few accolades this season. All white division nominees, Gabby Jones, Olivia Charmelo, Lucy Logan, Kaye Schlayine, Savannah Pars, and Sabrina Brown. Also, Gabby Jones placing first team all conference and third team all state. Uh,
025so overall, fantastic season. We have a great group of girls. Um, a lot of them returning for next year and we're going to miss our seniors greatly. So, I'd like to call up the girls now. Uh, first up, Sabrina Brown. Great job, Sabrina. Deanna Cantalupo, Cecilia Caruso, Olivia Charmelo, Avery Heronic, Madison Heronic, Ashley Iskander, Gabrielle Jones, >> Natalie Cryinski, >> Alexandra Kubic, >> Lucy Logan, Katherine O' Conor, Savannah Parse, Kaylee Raldan, Kaylee Schlayine, and Danica Uncle. >> Thank you very much. They did a great job. Great job, girls. Please don't get upset. All right. Another big hand for our lady. And I know you don't want to leave. You want to watch the budget presentations, right? Just want to say congratulations to the team, to the coaches. It's truly a great accomplishment that they'll be
026able to carry with them for for the rest of their lives being champions. >> Absolutely. >> Okay, Miss Fernandez. And now we have a series of budget presentations for you followed by an absolutely thrilling school safety data presentation by Mr. Glock Malloy at the end. But we're saving the best for the end. Uh I brought my pillow. >> All right. So, as we know in Serville for the for the past 13 years, we have um developed a budget development process in which we go ahead and we have all of our incredible administrators who are here tonight. So, please give them a big hand. Our a team is here showing up in force. We begin the process actually back in the fall in September with entering budget data. So they're they started their budgets way back
027in the fall and had to have their budget information in by December. Our central administration met just recently to go ahead and balance the budget that they put in the system with the revenues from last year and we went through the process of unfortunately having to cut things and this year uh we we cut over $8 million. I don't want to steal Mrs. for bone center because she'll mention that later in her committee report. Um and we presented to you and the administration that balanced budget last Friday. So now we go through the process of holding our budget presentations so that we give the board and the community the opportunity to give input particularly on things that are aligned with each budget presentation's goals. So you're going to listen to each presentation. They're going to
028highlight some of the things that they've accomplished. They're also going to then focus your attention on their goals for the 2026 2027 school year and the resources that they're going to need in order to achieve those goals. And some of those resources may have been cut. So, they might be making appeals to you to if we get more money than we got last year in state aid, what are some of the items that we may want to bring back? So, obviously tonight, uh, we have our high school administration here that's going to give their high school budget. They're actually going to go first. Then our middle school administration will go next, followed by our elementary school administration, and then find to cap off our presentations for the budget this evening. Mrs. Gman and Miss uh,
029Mrs. Burns will give their presentation on curriculum and instruction. However, I just want to also let you know that on February 3rd, Mr. Mr. Nester will be giving his special education budget. Miss Burns will be giving the project before budget with Miss Majestro and Miss Orich. Miss Badami, who's here tonight, will be giving her athletics presentation. On February 17th, we'll have our food services presentation, buildings and grounds, capital projects and transportation. And then on March 3rd, that will be our final date for presentations. That will be technology and personnel. And by that time we should know what our state aid figures will be so that we can ask you on March 17th to go ahead and approve the tentative 2026 2027 budget. So that's our calendar. That's the purpose for our presentations. So without any
030further delay high school administration who has to get up early tomorrow morning to get to school, we're going to ask them to go first. U led by Mr. Glusky and of course his brilliant team of administrators. So give them a hand please. >> Thanks buddy. >> Good evening everyone. Thank you for having us. First I'd like to introduce the uh administrative team, Mr. Salem, Mrs. Zarowski, Mrs. Carrie, and Mr. Martuchi. Amazing team that work very hard to support me and our vision every year. For this presentation, you will hear the word continue often as we started a journey a few years ago, specifically in two areas. One, mathematics and our quest to improve student achievement and graduation rates on the NJGPA and grade 11 assessment. And second, which you'll hear a lot about and you
031have already, school culture and school spirit and pride, specifically a sense of belonging and unity among our students. First, the 2024 2025 goal of increasing 11th grade assessment scores on the NJGPA. Uh we were shooting for a 60% to 63% um passing rate. uh we actually achieved a 66% uh passing rate which in its second year of uh looking at that mathematics goal uh is currently 10 points uh up from two years ago which is a testament to uh Dr. Monerana, Mrs. Gman, our team, our teachers and so on. So I'm sorry not used to doing that. So there it is. And I believe you have it in front of you as well. So moving on. Yes. Would you? Moving on to goal two from 2425 was specifically about climate and culture as well as
032our student body and listening to them uh with improvements and anything else uh that we could improve our school spirit and pride. That goal was achieved by numerous um activities, a schoolled spirit committee and so on and so forth. Moving on to this year, um again, we're going to continue uh for the 2526 school year, looking at that NJGPA score, uh increasing that goal to 64% to 69% uh with many uh interventions uh from our staff and support RTI, tier three interventions and so on and so forth. So very similar as I said continued. Now moving on to goal two. Again, we're looking at school pride, but specifically uh looking at empowering the student voice, promoting inclusivity and diversity diversity, enhancing communication through digital platforms, evaluating external partnerships, which is extremely important to us, assessing
033physical space without within the school spirit realm, gathering staff feedback on school pride, and cultivating a positive school culture. again continuing. So with that said, and I'm glad it was brought up before from our board of education members that u they like to hear about what's going on in the school. So I did prepare a nice example or sample list of things that we've done in the last few years to make sure that our school culture and school spirit and pride is thriving. So first again remember empowering our students voice examples of many events and activities as we've all created together over the last few years along with a few points of interest. First Dr. Lavy mentioned it before Friday morning live is one of the greatest things that we've ever seen with a lot
034of individuals that are part of that as well as Friday music choice. Our students actually choose what music they want to listen to in the in the hallways in between periods. We've created the music and recording arts program which is an afterchool program of 20 or more students. This week we're actually traveling and I am going as a chaperon to the Universal Music Group uh Republic Studios in New York City on Thursday in the afternoon where the students will get a tour and QA session with a number of their uh higher level um employees there uh and experience what a major major major record label does in their uh recording studios. And then at the end of February, we're going to be traveling to the SiriusXM headquarters in New York City along with the Bombcast
035crew of about 45 students going and spending a day uh with their DJs, with their upper management. Uh again, uh Q&A session, lunch, and so on and so forth. Very exciting, extremely exciting things that are happening. We've had a wellness Wednesday. We've had our annual activities fair. Our ROC ROC numbers of cadetses is up to 121 where many of us know that it was under 100 for many years. ROC's had their own volleyball tournament. We've re reimagined the bombcast the explosion information as said before the new backdrop provided by the wood shop which included students from Mr. Glennon's wood shop. And I have to hand it to Mr. Salem and his vision for that. the esports lab. Thank you for the board of education, Mr. Glock Malloy and his crew for that. That is just
036about ready to roll in terms of um the club. We have an interest meeting on Monday. The actual technology aspect is is all set and done. I've had to um also congratulate our um guidance department. They put together a new student get together this year. So we had about 30 students that were brand new to Serville Memorial High School in the same room with activities that were provided by our student body. We've had celebration of holidays. If you ever been in our building on a holiday, it's absolutely amazing. So many different diverse groups putting together different holidays for themselves and others. More and more clubs are being created with the support of our staff. Model Congress is one, the Wellness Club is one, and many, many, many more. Freshman Foundations was created a few years
037ago to help our grade nine students get acquainted in our school and spend a semester course with teachers that run through a variety of curriculum. We we have always had the iron cookie challenge, but I had to give a shout out to Mrs. Walsh as her students in cooking and homebeck um are voted on in terms of their um expertise in making holiday cookies and our staff are the ones that actually vote on them. We've had our head mental health fair in May. We bring we brought back the step team is now called the new flight line crew. We've had a creation of a new dance club or dance team called the flight crew. Homecoming dance this year had over 500 students in it, up from 240 last year. We enga have engaged the bomb
038squad at athletic events, more than ever this this school year. Let me say, field trips, field trips, field trips. Giving our students real life experiences outside of our school is absolutely so important to them, creating different experiences for them moving forward. alumni guests which were mentioned earlier uh in this board meeting from our music department, our art department and alumni and engineering and so on and so forth. Having those kids come back to our school to give their experiences was outstanding hosted community night brand new coming up at the end of end of the month and my favorite because I kind of run it the leukemia and lymph lymphoma society dodgeball tournament at the end of February. Last year, we raised almost $3,000 with students and our class councils for staff. The new resource hub
039created by the vice principal standing behind me, which is basically a hub of information to help our teachers throughout the school year with a one shop for everything you can imagine. It's awesome. Plus, we've had an anonymous suggestion box, which gives staff voice on our hub for staff input year round. Yes, we've gotten some um specific suggestions which uh we've done a good job at at putting that together. I think so. And we've also had a central school activities calendar for staff as they requested that. Obviously, Friday morning live includes our teachers, denim days and denim months. We've had two months that we've raised a lot of money for charity where stu staff can actually dress in denim if they pay the certain amount for charity for the entire month. Impact squad staff members of
040the month and the new student get together were created by them. The new sunshine club and activities by staff. They've almost weekly now they have activities for staff throughout the school day and weeks. Holidays were outstanding. We have something now for staff called the Jet Pass, which is where at our faculty meetings every month. Staff, one staff member is allowed to to uh do what they want, I'll say, at the end of their school day on the Friday where the administration will cover their last two periods of the day. And as I said before, the staff has a voice as well. And last year we provided an endofear staff survey which gave us a lot of information um on their realm and what they were looking to improve in our school and specifically school spirit.
041That alone is an example or call it a sample of many of things that are happening at Saveville High School that is absolutely outstanding for our school not just our students but our staff as well. Moving on to 2026 2027 goals, resources, and school improvement initiatives are going to stay this stay the course. We're going to look to build strengthen collaborations with teachers and students throughout. We're going to organize and impact schoolwide activities as much as we can to make it their second home. We are continuing to improve on all that at all times. We're obviously going to act actively listen. We do that almost daily to our students and staff for all of their feedback and hopefully and we will collaborate and a vibrant school community. Student achievement, we're going to be sticking with
042math again for this coming year. I'm looking to hit the 70% or greater mark for mathematics there as well as uh engage our algebra 1 and geometry teachers and students in improvement as well. I believe in academic support for all students. I'm a remediation guy and I absolutely love helping kids. In the end, we're going to continue to work with learning boot camps, our opportunity rooms, NHS extra help sessions. We actually just talked about doing a Spanish um extra help session during lunch periods in opportunity rooms, which would be fantastic. So, we're going to continue with differentiation and engaging instruction. We are going to provide our MD students with uh unified electives this coming year which I know will be a challenge. However, I have an amazing master scheduleuler standing behind me that um does
043an amazing job in including uh all of our students as much as possible into that master schedule. More importantly, in the end, we have to prepare our kids for life beyond high school. Career readiness and vocational success is extremely important. while telling them constantly that attendance is very very important. Culture and climate. We're going to continue with social and emotional learning and the students well-being. We have found out over the last few years that our kids need more than just academic help. They need that social emotional um help as well and their student well-being and themselves. They they keep a lot in. I'll say that much. Um, we're going to continue to help them with with that through Donna and Cole and her great counselors. We're going to make sure that our kids are taken
044care of. Uh, the student advisory council gives us uh a lot of uh feedback um from the student voice perspective. We're going to continue with school spirit and the bomber identity. I think by everything that we've talked about tonight from all the way back to Morgan Coun and her opening uh highlights um this year and previous years uh we've had some amazing amazing success stories not just in athletics but in theater uh as well as all the different clubs that we have all the different experiences that we give our kids. Staff and student collaboration is obviously extremely important and we're always going to celebrate student success. Today, Sammy Jones got a shout out from the principal, which is part of my uh kind of routine. Becoming the all-time leader in points uh scored for boys
045basketball is outstanding. He's absolutely I think it's 50 points away from Ronald Rampole is all all I'm sorry, the entire school record um of girls and boys basketball. Um, and then another student right behind him is Cheti Chidwara, which is about 60 points behind Sammy. So, this year alone, we're going to probably have two uh leading scorers in school history in the the class of 26. Technology initiatives. We're going to continue use display monitors throughout our school, make them even uh greater uh tools as far as information and keeping our kids involved. uh security enhance enhancements with um Mr. Glock Malloy and Mr. Sprag. Uh we continue to talk about what we can do to improve our school security. Facilities improvements. There's a few things that we're looking to do. Uh classroom instruction is always
046about furniture and the flexibility of giving our teachers the information and items that they need to teach our kids. Uh building and grounds updates. We're looking for a few things. specifically uh the paving or cementing of the outside area near the boys team room. Uh it tends to be um muddy and flooded a lot. Uh looking to upgrade the uh JBJ pack center pit area flooring. Looking to extend the ROC classroom and office in their uh classroom instructional area upstairs in the B-wing L-wing, sorry. Um this has been on my agenda for a number of years, but this is the first time I put it in writing. is power washing the sidewalks, entry steps, and ramps for improvement of safety and appearance. We're doing a lot outside of our school these days. Um, if you
047didn't see the uh amazing uh sign that's out front um thanks to the board of education and everything that um we have going on at Sarville and its identity, the Saveville Memorial High School sign, which is really cool. Uh some painting and aesthetics. child study team could use a makeover uh as well as some of our uh main doors in the building, ESS rooms and so on. That's something I'll work with Mr. Coleman'sburgger on in the gymnasium. Uh in addition to what Miss Padami has is looking to improve in her area, uh we are looking for new wall padding for the gymnasium. Uh something that we've talked about a little bit is a new concession stand. Uh the entrance to the softball and baseball fields on the side of the building uh is a little
048rundown and would love to get that redone. The biggest project that we have on that that gymnasium areas, the trophy cases and the m and a number of the displays are old and I'll call it decrepit, broken, etc. We'd really like to make a nice display on that end of the school for all the the awards given to the kids all these years. um pretty big expense but uh well deserved for all of our kids. And then ultimately something that we started talking about recently is trying to implement a multi-year plan of upgrading lights and equipment uh and then JBJ PAC um for all of our performances and productions there. Moving on, personnel to add to the mathematics goal and uh to support our algebra 1 and geometry student geometry students within the building. Uh
049personnel wise, we're looking for a mathematics intervention teacher which would work with small groups or one-on-one interventions, push in and or pull out instructional models uh to to help uh those lower achieving students uh gain traction in in achievement. We're looking for a physical education and a health teacher to split with the middle school for the expansion of our unified PE uh classes. Um we're also looking for uh the American Sign Language teacher. We have six classes now running through proximity. Um it's something that we've talked about for a little while and we're ultimately looking to put a uh in-person staff member there. And then finally, two stipen positions, esports advisor uh and coach and a dance team advisor stipen. And that concludes the memorial high school budget presentation. Any questions? Thank you, Principal. Um
050I just got a couple comments. Congratulations on the increase in test scores. Truly, truly a great job. Also, I just want to say I've seen firsthand the incredible change in climate and attitude in since since you've been there. You've done an incredible job in the Friday morning live. That's absolutely amazing. Really, really truly amazing to you and your staff. You all >> that was brought to us by the staff uh which included Pete Alvarez, uh Ed Mish, Rob Jerome, uh Sonia Goldstein, and a few others. Uh and they've taken a hold of it. It's been outstanding. >> Trul truly amazing by everyone. and especially you for always taking the time to listen not only to your staff but to your to your students. Not not to put you on the spot, but I know you've
051taken a lot of comments from your students and you've implemented a lot of them. Any that you want to share or that are upcoming? Well, the um the host of community night was very intriguing to me uh to bring in a little bit of the medical field uh which was given to me about a month ago. That was a full-fledged um uh breakdown of what the students wanted to do. and I thought bringing the medical community into the school for kind of like a fair of sorts. Um, and they were they're doing all the work. Uh, they're they're making all the calls, making all the connections. Uh, they did ask me if I had any connections, not necessarily in the medical field, definitely in the music field or sports field, but um, but I thought
052that was very, very cool to see that they wanted to bring the the kids the those groups in. Um, which I said absolutely. ran it by a few of our uh central office personnel and it worked out great. >> Great for our students and and great for you and your staff for actually incorporating those ideas. One last thing, the leukemia event. >> Yeah. >> When when is that and and how do we participate contribute to that? >> 25th, I think it is. Sorry, let me look at my calendar. Um >> February 25th. >> Yeah, it's the 25th. It's six o'clock main gym. Uh what it is is uh students in the in the building sign up for teams of eight um and they pay $20 to the charity to be in the dodgeball tournament. They
053get at least three games and then a single elimination tournament. Last year I think we had 12 or 14 teams and last year we had two alumni teams. Um so uh it's all-encompassing. >> Wow. >> So $3,000 last year. It was amazing. And are you selling tickets to the public to visit or? >> I just walk in at the door and it's it's a dollar or more just to walk in. So you can give $5, you can give $10, you give $20, whatever you want. >> Uh, anything greater than a dollar. >> If you can send me a flyer on that, I'll try to promote that as in whatever other capacities I can. >> Appreciate it. >> Can we create a BOE team? >> Uh, you you might not want to. The kids are pretty
054competitive. I was going to say we're not the most athletic bunch. So, >> it's a lot of fun though. The teachers get involved as well. They they have a team. >> Thank you. >> Any more questions for Mr. Khusky? >> Hearing none. >> Thank you. >> Great job, Mr. >> Excellent. >> Okay, moving along to the middle school. I'd like to invite Mr. Nerburgger and his incredible administrative team to join us up at the front. And as you can see, Mr. Maruchi has the honor to be on both teams. He's our he's our uh our most valuable administrator. He works for both schools. He's very versatile. Um uh good evening everyone. Uh behind me are my esteemed colleagues, vice principles, Mr. Marti, Mrs. Rego, and Mrs. Romero. um couldn't uh do all the accomplishments uh
055that we've achieved over the past few years without them. They're fantastic. Um wanted to go over last year's success. Um a few things that we were super proud of uh as a team. Um first of all, student achievement. Um, we were able to renovate all of our science classrooms uh with new furniture and also provide uh U-shaped tables to our teachers so they could more easily provide small groupoup differentiated instruction which is critical to the next piece of our success from last year implementing our RTI program our response to intervention. Um we had a huge success uh mainly because our teachers bought into the program uh and used it with fidelity. Um we were able to reduce the amount of students failing language arts and mathematics last year by 50% due to and due to
056RTI and the teachers efforts not only with a well ststructured intervention system but also by the teachers reflecting on their best practice in the classroom and how it serves our individual students. Um we really saw uh a tremendous amount of growth uh professionally with our teachers and staff. So that was fantastic. And um more along the lines to our vice principles here, uh they took on the herculean task of revising the master schedule uh to provide an advisory period for our students to allow for uh related services so they wouldn't be inter regular classes wouldn't be interrupted and for um extracurricular activities as well. So we weren't disrupting the school day. also the students have an opportunity to use the advisory time to get some work done as well. Uh we saw a significant um
057growth here and a lot lot of positives that came out of it. Um in addition to these changes we saw in the discipline side our fights our consequence fights from the year prior went down 59%. Our inschool suspensions dropped 49% and our out of school suspensions dropped 15%. Due to these changes uh and super proud of the entire staff for all that. I can also attribute those changes to more parent engagement as well bringing parents in for re-entry meetings and engaging them in the process and and we we saw tremendous growth. Um super proud about that. Uh this year was more of a continuation of last year's goals. Uh we're looking at grades again. We're looking at improving grades through RTI. We're casting a wider net. Uh instead of looking at just mathematics and language
058arts and reducing the amount of failures, we're trying to reduce the amount of fa Fs and D's across the core content, science, social studies, math, and language arts. and we're going to do that the same way we had success last year through the RTI process. Uh so that's uh a continuation of what we're doing. Uh along the same lines, we're continuing with the master schedule. This year we were able to implement um advanced science courses. Uh so we're going to have a lab. It's a period and a half for our advanced science courses that were already in place, but now they're getting a lab period as well. and we use that advisory time to work that in which was exceptional. Uh and then we're going to continue to utilize it advisory time the way we
059did the year prior. Um and we're also looking at climate and culture to leverage RTI to improve our um attendance and our chronic absenteeism. We we've already started that. We started the beginning of the year with engaging parents who had a student had chronic absenteeism. last year we got off on the right foot right away first week of school engaging them reaching out and talking to them about their children's attendance. So um off to a great start there. That's the first phase of of what we're doing is last year and this year looking at grades through RTI. When we looked into next year, our goal is going to shift a little bit and take a look at grades compared to our state test scores and how they correlate and start to have articulation with our
060teachers on the grades that they're assigning the students that the students are earning in the classroom and how that correlates to the NJSLA scores and standardized test scores. So that's our next year is going to be a big jump as far as looking at that and again continuing with the RTI um climate and culture. We're going to continue to leverage uh RTI and work on our chronic absenteeism. Uh and as far as uh you know supporting that vision, what we're looking for similar to the high school is uh like Mr. Huskies talked about a shared PE teacher to help us with uh offering more unified uh PE to our MD students as well as an an additional MD teacher as well. Our MD numbers, as you may know, uh are continuing to grow. uh and
061we would like another MD teacher if possible to uh reduce class sizes uh and along those lines have the shared PE teacher to offer unified PE as well within the program and also to support uh RTI uh and interventions another ASI math teacher. >> Okay, any questions? >> Thank you. It was excellent presentation and really really amazing job with uh especially with reducing the fights and the in school suspensions. 59% 49% absolutely amazing. Um hopefully next year you can step it up a little bit more. You know >> we are you're kind of slacking there but I'm the preliminary numbers this year just took a look at them. We're on track to to be under what we were last year as well. So we're still making progress here. >> Incredible. Incredible. >> Can you elaborate
062a little bit on the grades, the test scores, uh the how you plan on doing that or what kind of impact you think that's going to have >> for next year? >> Correct. >> Uh yeah. So, you know, my first thought here is you show me a child that's getting a D or an F. I'm going to show you a child who doesn't care about a state test score. Okay. Um I want them to have success in the classroom. And and that was why we first started with grades. Okay. and also talking to the teachers about the child's performance in their classroom. That's real everyday stuff. Um, showing some success, getting some some positive uh outcomes and then transitioning over into, okay, we've had success, we've improved our grades. What do our test scores look
063like now that the grades are going up? I'm hoping that the test scores go up with them. But if they don't and there's discrepancies, now we're going to look at that and take a look and say, "Okay, Johnny got a B, but Johnny's test scores may not correlate, and let's see why." And we're going to go a little bit deeper and dive deeper into that data to combine. I'm hoping that they they correlate and go up, but if they don't and there's discrepancies, we're going to have some uh meaningful dialogue with the data. >> Well, excellent. I mean, listen, all these improvements couldn't have happened without the great team you have, your leadership, and also all of our teachers uh and staff and and all the supportive staff that we have to implement that vision.
064It's really really really amazing job. >> And just one one more question. You mentioned our MD population has grown. Do you have any numbers on that that you can share? If you don't, that's okay. But >> projected for next year, I think we're at 35 or 36 possibly. Is that >> that's correct? As of now, we're projected to start the year with 35 students grades six through eight at the middle school. >> And and what were we before just for comparison? >> It's a moving target. It moves around each year. >> Um class sizes are a max of 12 with with a waiver to add a 13 student. >> Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you both. Does anybody else have any questions? >> Mr. Smith had a question. Good. All right. Thank you very much.
065>> Good. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Great job, Mr. Nurburgger. >> Okay, elementary school principles. These are two tough acts to follow. I don't know who's going to be the spokesperson tonight. >> Well, I'm I'm very relieved to hear that, Mr. Burn. Uh, looks like Mr. Preston's stepping up. So, uh, it's my pleasure to introduce and ask all of our elementary school administrators to to join us at the podium. It appears that Mr. Preston is going to be speaking, but joined with Mr. Preston is Mrs. Tuber from Truman, Mrs. Coglin from Samsung. >> I have a slide for that. >> Uh, Mr. Tola from S. Oh, you do have a slideshow for that. Oh, never mind. And Mr. Rabino from Eisenhower, and of course, the one and only, only here on a
066limited time basis, Mr. burn from the Wilson school. >> Can we make sure his time is limited? I >> I don't know. I can't get enough of him. So, you know, >> I'm trying. But last time, uh, if you remember after I gave the presentation, they still let him talk. So, we're trying. I'm trying to do you a favor here. So, we are the elementary group. Um and we're here to talk about our unified budget that we um put together. So everybody does submit individual budgets, but we kind of come up with common themes. Um so this is the team as Dr. Labby um read it out, but we were prepared to have everybody introduce themselves. Um so when we go about developing our budget, we'd look at a couple different key areas. Um first
067being academics looking at the different programs that we have the technology that we need for that and all the instructional supplies to support the teachers with the academics. We also look at professional development, making sure that we're giving our teachers uh ongoing professional development throughout the year for reading, writing, mathematics and also ways to improve our social development for the social emotional development for the students and that's mainly through responsive classroom uh and our playworks program as well. So our achievements um for this year um one of the mandates was to implement a universal screener. So we put in the dibbles and the teachers are loving it so far and including with the dibbles they get a lot of data and they use that data they're provided some uh nice tools and and uh teaching
068modules to bring small groups so they could close those gaps. So so far that's going really well. We implemented my reading academy in grades four and five and up in grade five. They also have their interdisciplinary unit. So it's listed both here in literacy and mathematics for climate change. And we're implementing readers notebooks in grades two and three. So we brought that down a little bit. Um so they're re writing across grades two and three as well. And the district writing assessment we started last year but now it's in full swing in grades three through five. In mathematics, uh we've implemented this year's success maker which is a adaptive program in uh for the envision series in grades four and five. We also brought in the momentum math screener and our ASI teachers are using
069that to screen the students to target their skills that they need to work on. We're also using uh my math academy now in grades K to three. And this year, pretty exciting, teachers are working with this program now, the reveal math program in K gra grades K through five and potential um to to have a new program for next year, but we're piloting it now. And again, the climate change unit in grades five. Special education, we had a couple new programs uh here as well. So, we implemented math 180 for grades four and five. We're continuing with the Sunday system for our PO teachers. Uh that's working nicely for phenemic awareness and and reading uh fundamentals. And we're also continuing with central reach in grades through five. Again, that's a special education program uh giving
070teachers a lot of data to work from uh to build the students skills. Next year, we're looking at to do a lot of the same things. We're going to continue to implement that district writing assessment. is going to be year two of that program. We're going to add more decodables. We're hoping to add more decodables in grades K to two. Just give teachers more resources for their uh for their reading programs. Continue at Heggerty, which is our phmics awareness uh program in K to2. Uh obviously, we're going to continue with that Dibbles assessment, which is our universal screener and get grades K to three um and provide small groupoup instruction. uh really working well so far and continue with the reader notebooks, my math academy, uh fontis and panel classroom. So all those need uh
071more um you know continued support uh financially to keep those programs running. In math we have uh the possible implementation of that new program. Again we're starting to roll that out now. I think it's on the board agenda by some uh materials for that. Um so so far again teachers are are liking it but it's you know it's a nice program uh that we're looking at and continue to support the adaptive math programs my math academy and su success maker math. So those take what the students know and take it to their level. So it's really nice adaptive software program. And in special education we're hoping to roll out math 180 to grade three. So it's up in four five now. We're going to bring it down to grade three. We're going to continue with
072the Sunday system and we were looking to pilot autism helper at Arlith. It works with another program that we already have. So it would be a supplemental program really give the teachers a lot of resources um to develop programs and and you know make uh programs for the students in those classes, the self-contained classes. And then again, a lot of the money that we have in our budget goes for instructional supplies um just to keep the teachers with the supplies they need to teach those classes. Some instructional supplies uh technology supplies such as document cameras, interactive flat panels, headphones, etc. And then training and professional development. We love having Dr. Ken around. So the love of literacy, the chief coaches are wonderful for mathematics. Uh the dibbles training was very very valuable. We got to
073keep that running and the teachertoteer program. Um and then again possible new training if they do pick the new math program. And in RTI um the programs that we currently have again we would like to sustain them. So our math and literacymies and our tier 2 and tier threemies uh really helping work with students onetoone. And then a lot of our social emotional um learning we have our culture and climate committees responsive classroom um we do every summer we try to send a couple teachers uh new teachers get trained uh it's a very nice program and really great for the students to lay the foundation for the day. The character education program everybody runs something a little bit different but it is one of our very valuable programs in each of the elementary schools. Obviously,
074we love having effective school solutions. I think it's just another invaluable resource for those students with tier three needs. So, that's wonderful to have and thank you for the support with that so far. And continue to monitor our attendance. Everybody's working on chronic absenteeism down in the elementary schools as well. And we're working on it to make sure we're really really focusing on on those students getting up 10, 15, 20 absences. And we're working with Dr. lobby um to help with that. This year we started our student advisory groups and so far so good working with Dr. Agulus on that and uh so far they're giving us some really great information and the Silus program again is another valuable program that the guidance counselors find wonderful and working with the children. So that will do
075it. If you have any questions we're here. >> Just don't give the mic to Tim. Excellent presentation. Um, just a quick question. Can you expand what what what exactly is Autism Helper and what that does? >> We were just going over that. It's a very Where's Dan? Dan's got the notes. >> So, I consulted with Alex Deiko, our super supervisor of special education earlier. She mentioned that there's a pre-assessment, a post assessment with a lot of hands-on activities for the MD population and it ties in closely with the central reach program which is uh an online component and they tie together. Um that was about the extent of the notes that she gave me. Um Mr. Nast. >> Excellent. >> Yeah, Mr. Toy. >> So we're currently piloting Central Reach at Olet. board approved that
076last year in last year's budget for this year and that's more of an ABA applied behavior anal analytic program. So we use it to track data collect data track it and then it drives instruction future goals and interactives and future instruction c the autism helper where it was cut from the the current preliminary budget. We'll ask you to bring it back. Should we get sufficient state aid? But that's more of a teacher resource program so that that there's printables, instructional materials, and they're developmentally appropriate for students with with autism. >> Excellent. Great job. Anybody else have any questions? >> Yeah. Can you um explain a little bit more what is the student advisory group? Like how does that operate? >> So, we started uh actually two years. We started at the upper elementary school. Uh
077we selected students at the upper elementary school. We selected students who we see as leaders but don't take leadership roles but we see them you know lead at the recess in that cafeteria time. Um so we meet with them at our school. We meet on early dismissal days and we kind of pose questions to them. You know what would you want to change about the school? What do you like about the school? Is there anything you worry about when you're in school? Um, at our level we talk about cell phones a lot and we challenged them to keep them outside of their rooms. Um, some children do, some children don't. They gave us very honest opinion that they can't they just can't give it up. They just love it. They love to know what's going
078on. But they also shared with the us that it causes a lot of anxiety because of all the alerts all night long. So, um, you know, I did communicate that with their parents. I don't know how many of the parents took their phones away at night. Uh but it really I love it. It is just a way to sit down with the children. We tell them, you know, what we're saying here doesn't go out of this room. You know, you don't mention any names. Um but you know, we've worked with Dr. Ages for the last couple years and then the elementary K3s started it this year. >> Great. >> And just to go a little bit deeper, this is the brainchild of Dr. Aguilles. um he's the one that uh four years ago thought of
079the idea of doing something like that at the high school and it worked so well at the high school um he began giving presentations about what the kids were saying and we used what they were saying through his facilitation to change the culture of the high school. So everything you heard about culture and climate that all began through this process. So then it was brought to the middle school SAM cell the next year and this is the final year where we're now doing it with our elementary school students. >> I really like voices heard. It's very cool. So thank you. Appreciate it. >> Absolutely. >> Any other questions? >> I have one question. Bob, how did you get Tim not to take the microphone? >> We're not going to jinx it. He and you know
080I got a >> metaphorical question. >> I have to make a comment because we joke around all the time but you know all of our administrators are incredible. They're they're all very tight-knit. Um they collaborate extremely well with one another. They have great relationships with one another. And the the camaraderie that you see up there is real. Um these are people that meet every Friday. They call it um what what do you call the live show, the morning show um something that I Mr. Preston and has been coordinating and they truly are a magnificent team. They're the all of them are are great team members and big shout out to our supervisors that are here too. Uh Mrs. Okconor's here. Um of course Mr. Toy, Mrs. Depalo, um Christopher >> Howard, Mr. Howard, sorry, Mr.
081Howard, they're here and Mrs. Malah Dr. Malah Malahandra >> is here. I can't talk tonight. >> So, they're all here tonight, but I I I just I beam with pride when I watch them. Um, particularly this group because they are so close, they are so tight-knit, and they work so well together. So, kudos to you guys. >> Thank you so much. Okay, our final budget presentation for this evening is curriculum and instruction. And uh we're going to ask all of our wonderful supervisors who I just called to join Miss Burns and Miss Gman at the podium so that we can give you our district curriculum and instruction budget. So if I bring you back 10 years ago, there was no curriculum and instruction budget. um all the money was placed in the schools and so
082forth. But several years ago, you know, we we would kind of refine the process because we recognize that obviously when when you're purchasing things, first of all, you want to be uniform in your district, but also when you buy in bulk, you you get it at a less expensive price uh and so forth. So, we we took away some of the resources from the building based budgets, which gave them more money for other things. um and then created the budget lines for district curriculum instruction so that we can go ahead and move forward with different district initiatives. So um without taking any more of your thunder away, Mr. Gman, >> that's okay. I learned something new. That was prior to me coming. Uh so Mrs. Burns and I had the privilege of working with the
083content area and grade level supervisors in creating the curriculum and instruction budget each year. So, some of our supervisory team is with us and they hide in the back. And when I was looking at the elementary presentation, I definitely noticed some signs of um Mr. Paulo and Mr. Toy in the writing. So, I thought it would be nice if we came up as a team. So, we have Mr. Christopher Howard who is the supervisor for social studies and fine and performing arts and history. And that's it. Nothing else to add to that. We'll we'll find something else to add to that. Uh we have Mrs. Okconor who is our supervisor for science, practical arts, ROC and our nursing program. I got it right. We have Dr. Maharana who joined us this evening after working with
084the state today on the assessment committee. So I appreciate that. She is our supervisor for mathematics, computers, business. That's it. She's holding off. Nothing else. Uh, Mr. Depalo works with our K through five population for mathematics and science and Mr. Toy who was math and science is now English language arts and social studies and media center specialists. Uh, Mr. Paulo works with TAG teachers too. So they work with our K through five. So our budget um represents the collaborative efforts from all of these people. I swear it's not me with a clicker. Tom. All right. I'm working off paper. We're good. I was an English teacher. I could do this. Oh, we got it. Thank you. All right. So in 2526 um which is the current year, we thank you so much for the generous
085budget funding monies that we uh use to impact curriculum instruction and everything that goes on in all of our classrooms every day. So some of the ways that we used that funding uh we adopted Dibble's eth edition literacy screener which the elementary principles mentioned it was mandated by the state that we use a tool to measure early foundational literacy skills. So the budget money for 2526 purchased the assessment materials, the professional development and the continued professional development that we used to support them with data analysis. We partnered with Amplify for the online assessment. We also expanded my reading. Some of this might look a little bit familiar from the other presentations. Uh we expanded it for grades four and five. This is a online tool that helps with meeting students at their level for reading
086comprehension and analysis. We adopted new instructional materials at the middle school study sync by McGra Hill. We expanded the Syrville district writing assessment to grades 3 and 11 so that we can assess the writing skills and monitor the progress. In addition, we added a post test to it. So, the students took the pre-EST back in September and they will be preparing for a post- test over the next couple of months where we can mark their progress with the um New Jersey student learning standards related to writing. We partnered with Imagine Learnings Egeneuity and we provided online credit recovery over the summer for identified students at Serville Middle School. Mr. Nerburgger spoke about our efforts to reduce the amount of students that were receiving D's and Fs and this was a very structured online program uh
087where students could recover some credit related to math, science and English over the summer. It was very successful. We adopted Success Maker for Envision and Momentum which you just heard is a math proficiency screener to help with our academic support instruction. We also uh initiated a math program exploration committee that met in December. We had 22 I think I counted 22 teachers from K through 12 that came together and reviewed math materials. We spoke about it a little bit at our last board of ed meeting and they have identified um reveal math in grades K through six and algebra and geometry algebra 2 as well. Yes. Through McGraill that we're going to be piloting. So, we did use some of this year's budget to um cover the costs related to it and that is on
088this evening's um agenda. We also revised over 70 curriculum guides this year uh different content areas K through 12. We partner with curriculum writers who are certified teachers within the district. We do this to keep up with the changes in the Mr. Hernandez is like, "Yes, we read every one of those." um we do that for the um improvement in the New Jersey student learning standards. Sometimes it's because we adopt new materials. Sometimes it's because we look at test results and we decide that we need to fine-tune what we're doing in the classroom. So 70 guides were revised and we um developed and implemented a grant-f funded program for climate change here at the UEES uh while maintaining our middle school initiative. So the curriculum and instruction budget is locally funded. It is also grantf
089funded throughout the year. We expanded opportunities for students here. In addition to making purchases related to curriculum and instruction resources, we provided the extended school year opportunities for students in PK through 12. We have learning acceleration, camp XL, middle school credit recovery, AP boot camp. All of those are um funded locally in combination with grant monies depending on the program. We expanded our dual enrollment course offerings. Um that does involve kind of training our teachers and aligning our curriculum guides. So we expanded that. We are getting closer and closer to students being able to um earn an associates degree while they are enrolled at the high school. We uh had two more required courses that were added this year over at the high school and more coming. Um, we provided local funding for extracurricular activities.
090Um, DECA, FBLA, Odyssey of the Mind, Technology Student Associations, ECOS, uh, which is our, uh, uh, >> I'm sorry. >> Oh, there you go. >> There you go. Okay. Environmental club of Serville. Um, we have HOSA. So, all of these opportunities that, um, the other schools were talking about that had such a positive impact on the climate in all of our buildings. We also provided students with tier 2 support in English, language arts, math, and science through our learningmies in grades K through 11. And we fund transportation as well as other costs related to over 200 field trips last year. So we obviously um we have to smile and thank you all for that and plead for a little bit more money, right? Everyone wants a piece of the pie. So, uh, our 2526 current
091appropriations are just over 1.3 million. Um, sounds like a huge number, but keep in mind this is, you know, what we do every day. So, our proposed budget is 1.8 million, which is an increase of 40%. And I know it sounds like a lot of money, but um, we have a lot of big plans, right? There are a lot of things that we've been talking about what we need to do. So let's take a look. Looking ahead to 2627 curriculum and instruction tools. We have three very large projects that it is time for us to look at our math materials. We talked about that last uh board of ed meeting as well. Um that includes the purchase of the program materials. It's digital licensing. It's professional development. and it's going to impact students in grades
092K through 8 plus algebra 1, algebra 2, and geometry. So, it impacts the majority of the students that are enrolled in the Serville public schools. It's an expensive endeavor. So, that is um a large portion of our proposed budget. In addition, we have a growing ESL population and we have pullout programs in all of our schools. We have been adding staffing all along and now it's time to kind of look at our curriculum materials. The materials that we have in the elementary schools were purchased in 2016. So we are at the point where we need to look and see what's out there and how we can best meet the needs. So we are also looking at ESL core instructional materials. And last but not least, our disse, which is our high school Spanish program for
093Spanish 1, 2, 3, and 4. the online components are outdated. The book needs to be updated. Um, so we are looking at materials for the world language department at the high school. In addition to those three big projects, we also ask for the funding to continue all of the things that we purchased this year. Right? So all of the instructional materials, all of the um anchor chart paper, any of the Heggerty materials, the Fontis and Panel materials, the physical copies of the novels that are related to our study sync, um the digital licensing for our online resources, study sync, history, business, science, all of those um programs have digital licensing. We talk about online tools, StMath, my reading, my math, achieve 3000, silus, beluga, discovery ed, amplify he all of those tools um we need
094to continue to fund. We are looking for replacement physical textbooks be it to attrition or to increased enrollment. Um those books don't last forever. So we always put in a little bit of money for different content areas. We are looking to expand um we're going to continue our contract for our American Sign Language in grade three and at the high school, but we're also looking to expand it to um offer American Sign Language three at the request of the students. Currently, we only offer one and two. And a lot of our kids want to take a third year of world language colleges look for that. We are also looking to continue the revising of the uh few guides that we haven't touched over the last couple of years. Um developing new guides. We're going to
095need it for any new series that we bring in. We're also going to need it for New Jersey Department of Ed compliance and to assure effective instruction in all of our content areas. We want to expand opportunities for students. We want to continue to fund transportation for field tips uh field trips. We want to enhance the learning. We want to uh continue to fund our before school, our afterchoolmies, our summer programs, our tier three services. You know, some of our students when they're identified as struggling academically, we have, you know, tier 2, which is themies, but sometimes they need a little bit more than that. They need one-on-one. So, we fund that locally. We want to continue to fund activities related to climate change. Right? We have a grant this year in grades four or
096five. that grant is going to expire. We want to continue providing them uh the students with the rich opportunities that they're experiencing right now in grade 5. We want to continue to fund the AP exam fees. Those are all rolled into construct uh curriculum and instruction. We want to continue to find uh online courses at the high school. We use um Apex through Edenum. We use Imagine Learning. we have online courses for our seniors when we do not have either the staffing or the ability to provide certain courses. Um AP psychology is is one that comes up often. So we fund providing those programs um so that students have those opportunities. We don't want to hold them back as to what we're limited to do within our physical high school. We also want to expand,
097I said ASL to include a third level. We are expanding our unified electives. Um those are electives that specifically support our they partner our general education students and our students with disabilities to provide opportunities for electives. So we're going to be expanding some course offerings there. We would like to continue to provide access to our students in grades 6 through 12 to the ondemand tutoring. You will notice that the bid um we are asking for approval of our uh contract with Imagine Learning to continue that service February through June and we are looking to expand um more exposure to college and career readiness uh through sessions with a PDM counselor. Does anyone have any questions? I tried to keep it short. >> Excellent job, Miss Gman. >> All right. Thank you. >> Um just a
098couple quick questions. Sure. >> Credit the credit recovery amazing job. Do you know how many students or how many courses were able to be recovered? >> Um it was around 90 courses that we funded over the summer >> and the in addition to the students completing um the modules online, we also paid for three facilitators. One that worked with English, one that worked with math, one that worked with science. We're going to expand it to include history. I can't let Mr. Howard down. um but they also had access to an ondemand tutor through um Imagine Learning. So we kind of got a a sense of how they handled it looking at it over the summer as well. So the kids were able to log on and ask for help with any of the online course
099throughout the summer. >> Excellent. That I know that that makes a difference in each and every one of those kids and those families. So thank you for that. Great job. And >> yeah, and the and the online course offerings, that's truly uh imaginative way to to to continue to offer resources that other schools may have just thrown their hands up and said we we can't offer that. So my hats off to Dr. Lavy, to you, and to the the entire team for that amazing work with that. >> I have to give credit to Mrs. Sakola as well because she really does make sure that we offer a lot to our students. >> Absolutely. >> She'd also yell at me tomorrow. >> Yeah. No. And to and to all the others that I didn't mention, thank
100you. And the and the dual enrollment, that one's always been a personal project pet peeve of mine or I don't know what you want to call it, but how close are we? >> Passion project. Yes, that that was one of my very first uh initiatives when I came here and thanks to all all of you for making it a reality. Um and I know we're extremely close on this. H how many more courses away are we? >> It fluctuates. Um so one of the challenges that we've had is um making sure that we continue our staff approval levels. So we are looking to expand like we added another English teacher which allowed us to offer more sections. We are adding more courses. We have theater that's being offered in the spring for the first time.
101Um >> we have Python programming. Uh they were also interested in our new data science course. That might be something that we're looking at. So, we just keep trying to add to the different departments. Um, the departments that we're really looking to build on, history, we have a history teacher that's been approved for the first time. So, it's our AP US 2 um course that is currently um approved for this year. Uh, so we keep tugging along. We're going to revise our English curriculum in grade 11 to offer it to 11th graders so that they can get the six credits that they need. >> Excellent work. >> We're getting there. >> No. And I know that you and your team have done an incredible job of not not only offering dual enrollment but ensuring that
102these courses are going to be accepted at Ruckers. So that's truly amazing because in the past other schools and even our schools in the past I know we've other districts and ourselves in the past we've offered college credits but when you went to actually go to apply them at Ruckers or at other universities they weren't always accepted. So the fact that we're not only offering it, but that it is going to be accepted at Ruckers, which will also mean it'll be accepted at 99% of all colleges through throughout the the country, is truly an amazing job that all all of you have done. Thank you for that. >> And and of course, the goal that, you know, Miss Gman keeps referencing is to eventually have enough courses so our students can graduate with a high
103school diploma and um a diploma, >> associates degree, associates degree from middle school. So the associates degree, yes, once they once they have a conferred degree, that is transferable everywhere, which is wonderful. But we are persistent with our partnership with Middle Sex because of their relationship with Ruckers and other state universities. I'm a Monontlair State alumni, so I have to always shout out. They take Middle Sex credits as well. Um, so we we do keep working with them to expand. >> I know. Thank you. Excellent work. >> Thank you. >> And then I got to tell you, only 70 curriculums. I mean, are you a light year? It was >> Yeah. I'm just, you know, >> the student achievement committee would gratefully disagree. They they would be like, "We did a lot of reading and
104a lot of talking." >> Listen, I know Katy has expressed to me how upset she is that she hasn't had more reading to do. Um, >> some, you know, a lot some of the guides are over aundred pages. It's a lot. Those those history teachers, they really dig in. So, >> no. And I can tell you that Katy has read every single word of them. >> Yeah. But it's it's important because we had, you know, CUAC that was going on last year. We had, you know, study sync. Anytime you bring in, you know, for example, if we bring in the new math program, you know, right there it's I think it's 16 curriculum guides that are going to need to be revised just looking at that. If we bring in ESL, it's like I think
105she's at 14. So it it really does start to add up. >> Wow. No, truly amazing. >> Good. Thank you. >> And I and just like you, I wasn't aware that 10 years ago we we we didn't have this. So, um, that obviously predated most of us on this board with the exception of our, uh, our elder here, uh, Miss Bloom. I meant in terms of experience on the board. Um, >> that might be grounds for >> moving along. Are there any other questions? I know. >> Any other questions for Miss Gman? >> I just wanted to give a comment. uh you started your um presentation in almost apologetically sharing that the a asking amount this year was going to be more you know than last year. And I just wanted to say our number
106one priority is student success academically. We do so many things here in this district. This district shines with all of its programs and the sports. You know, the culture and the climate in the schools and everything that's happening is so incredible. But our number one focus is student achievement. So don't ever apologize for asking for more money in that area. I'm gonna keep you to that, Mrs. Chow. >> If it is ever and obviously, you know, demonstrated success with these different programs, right, as you all know, and you're introducing different programs programs that you're bringing in. When we see demonstrated success with that, that's the win right there. We see something that's not working, we move to something different. But the money's needed for that is always going to be something. I think I speak
107for myself, but I do believe that everyone on the board would agree that that this is a priority and we we are, you know, it's never going to be if it's going to be a school sign outside or the new curricula that's needed or such. It's always going to be the new curricula if it's a choice between that and something else. And I just wanted to say um the amount of work that is required in making all of this happen is does not go unnoticed. you share at the microphone all the work involved. We know how much work is involved and the hours that you have to put in above and beyond the teaching in your regular walls and we really do appreciate that and the families appreciate that. >> Thank you so much. Audrey
108and I are very grateful um to have a team that is so dedicated to that. So that's why normally I don't step up to the mic because right now this is my worst fear is being on camera right on face. Um but they were here and I wanted to make them come up. So, >> yeah, one last comment I forgot to mention. Uh, you know, prior to me serving on this board, I served on a board where, uh, an academic board, we had students that would complete dual credits that were not accepted. We had one tragic case where he was accepted to Ruckers into an excellent program there. Um and he uh was in school for over a month before the school realized, you know, that they did not accept his dual credit and he
109was suddenly without a school and had to quickly, you know, uh put out applications elsewhere and try to get in elsewhere. Wound up going to Ryder. Uh but that was quite a situation that really threw us and broke our hearts that he had to go through that. It was not something we expected. Yeah. So kudos to you guys for keeping your eyes open with that and making sure that those credits translate over to, you know, and and are they accepted at Ruckers? Are we at that point where that's incredible? >> Oh, absolutely. And we do have one course that's through Ryder and we provide those students with the um back, you know, the backup as well, explaining what the rigor of it is. We provide our curriculum. I know Mr. Callahan is instrumental in his
110own district as well. So we tag team sometimes um and and partner on finding it. But yes, I I my own son did not carry over his dual enrollment credits. So I fight for our kids. It's important. We try to keep it to and we also try to keep it to the courses that are accessible for all students, not just our honors and our AP level students. We want it to be fundamentals of algebra, you know, where where average students are able to earn these credits as well. >> Yes. And just a final note on that is as we all know is that it saves money for parents. If their child goes to a 4-year university and they're entering, you know, having already completed all those credits, that saves families money. >> $225 for three
111credits at Middle Sex as opposed to what the colleges charge. >> So, it's it's a huge benefit to the families. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? >> Kim, I have one question for you. >> Sure. Have you considered adding to your team so that they have a little bit less of a burden to carry each individually? >> I I am always cognizant of of what is on their plate and um it it is something that we we talk about and and what we can do. Hopefully they're not making faces behind my back right now. And but yes, that is something to consider. Yeah, because we've always said that, you know, even when I was in the classroom, the supervisors had a heavy load, more than one. >> I'm sensitive to it. I was the
112supervisor of English, ESL, and world language. >> And again, if it's not their expertise, then that that makes it harder for them. So, >> yeah, >> I would always be open to that. I think the board would be open to that, >> especially when Dr. Lavy retires, we'll have a lot more money to spend supervisors. >> Ouch. Any other questions? Get ready. Okay. >> We could always auction off Mrs. Bloom's shoes. Probably >> fund a couple of positions for that. >> I just want to make >> Christmas decorations. >> All right. >> I just want to make one more comment. It's an anecdotal at this. Um, just talking to other parents and other districts, um, I didn't realize that not not all districts fund the AP fees. That's really really amazing. I mean, I can't
113tell you how many parents I speak to that are amazed that that our school district does this. >> Dr. Lavyby brought that several years ago and it um had a wonderfully positive impact on our scores as well. >> Absolutely, Dr. Lavy. Thank you for that. Thank you for for everything you've done for our district, create, you know, changing this from 10 years ago to our IP fees and everything. Um really seriously, thank you. >> Thank you. >> You could thank the board for approving that. He suggested it >> and that's what I was trying to allude to before. Thank thank you to Mr. Callahan and Miss Bloom and the previous boards for supporting Dr. Lavy in this. Thank you. Really really >> thank you everyone. >> Excellent work. >> Thank you Miss Gman and thank
114you for your wonderful team and Dr. Maharana and um Mr. Howard. I'm so sorry for the brain labs. I'm getting old. Great job guys. Thank you very much. And now probably the most riveting presentation you're going to hear tonight. Mr. Clark Malloy is going to share with you the 2025 2026 cycle one or period 1 school safety data report. And with all the presentations that could break tonight, we we could certainly break this one if we need to. But um cycle one data for 2526 runs basically the beginning of our school year through the end of the calendar year 2025. Um we will see this data several times throughout the course of the year. We see it now. We see it at the end of the year where we have reporting period 2 and then
115we will see it again next fall um when the state approves our data um as we submit it in July. Nope. No luck, Tom. So, next slide. >> Yeah, >> he's got it. >> We we plan this one in advance. Um here's our basic categories for our SSDs. Um violence, which has several subcategories, as well as vandalism, which has several subcategories, which we'll see when we move through the charts. substance weapons offenses and our HIVs both confirmed and alleged and then our other incidents that lead to suspension from school. Next slide, Tom. So, looking at our overall numbers across our schools for reporting period one um going from Arth straight down through project before Cheesequake, these are our top level categories with violence and vandalism showing their total categories, not their subsets. um throughout the
116course of September 1 through December 31st. If we roll to our next slide, you'll see our subcategories for violence. Same school breakdown. This is our individual subsets for all the categories that make up violence. Our assaults, fights, we don't have kidnappings, robbery, extortion. Um so, you know, we're pretty much limited to our assaults, fights, and then our threats. Um, the smaller number underneath the larger number indicates our change year-over-year from this time last year to this time this year. And if we move to our next slide, we'll see our vandalism subcategories, which we don't have a whole lot in this category. Um, we have a few things, damage to property, um, some false public alarms, but we don't have a whole lot in this subcategory set. So, if we move on to our next slide,
117you'll see our comparison year-over-year dating back from 1718 up through our current year 2526. And comparative to last year, our numbers are static or down depending on the category we're looking at, we did have a slight increase in violence. Um, but our other categories either remain the same from this point last year or have dropped significantly, including our other incidents leading to suspension from school. um where you can see a fairly substantial drop in our numbers year-over-year. Moving on to the next section of our student safety data. Um this is our trainings and programs predominantly dealing with HIV trainings and programs, although it does span out into several other related areas, conflict resolution, cyber security, um things that may ultimately feed into um harassment, intimidation, and bullying. And it's broken down into two separate areas.
118the trainings we provide to our staff, students, uh parents, and the programs that we run throughout our schools. If we look at our next slide, we will see our totals um throughout the course of our individual schools, trainings, programs, and the total for the overall building. Um each building runs their own set of trainings and programs. So, there are different things that vary particularly between grade spans. um as well as even within our elementary schools, they run several different programs that are unique to their school. And we do have several programs and trainings that run at districtwide uh across the board. And if we look at our next slide, we will see our totals over the course of the last several years. And we had a a a bit of a jump in our total
119number of trainings and programs. Overall, we decreased training slightly, um but we've increased the programs that we're offering in the schools. And if we come down from there, we will take a look at our last category of the evening. Um, this falls uh much more into uh Mr. Nasters's categories than mine, but we report um in fairly recent years our restraints and seclusions for our special education population. We do not engage in seclusions here in Sville School District. So, we do have some restraints um based on specific needs. And if we look at our next slide, you will see our totals for July 1 through December 31st across our buildings. And then on our last slide of the evening, you'll see our comparisons year-over-year um from when we needed to start tracking this as part
120of the SSDs um submissions for the state of New Jersey back to 2223. And with that, I will open up to any questions that we have. Um, on the incident category, it looks like Wilson and Eisenhower, uh, they're only K through three, right? >> Like what are the violence? What could be going on at K to three that's considered violent? >> I'll take that one. Um, unfortunately, we do we've been noticing um a pretty significant increase in behaviors of our kindergarten students when they come in. um not a great percentage of them, but three or four per grade per per that grade in each school. And unfortunately, the behaviors that they are demonstrating are violent, very aggressive behaviors either toward their teachers and or other students. Um, at both of those schools, there are one
121or two students, um, who have punched and kicked teachers. And I'm not talking minimalist. I mean, we're talking Mr. Abino got punched in the face. Um, trying to help a kindergarten student adjust and so forth. So, we've been seeing a pattern of, you know, kindergarten students having a very difficult time transitioning. >> Are these >> to the schools? >> Are these kindergarten students that went through our prek program? >> Uh, I believe most of them were. Yeah. But, and that's something that Miss Burns and I are are talking about. I'm going to talk a little bit more about, it's the transition from the tools of the mind curriculum to the kindergarten curriculum. um one places different demands on the other and um some of our students aren't able to >> deal with some of those
122demands and because they're being demanded to do things they don't want to do. They either flee >> or they fight. >> Yeah. Um and in both circumstances it it creates a danger to the environment obviously if a child's running and we do have at both schools children that just will get up and run. Um and you know I don't want to sound funny but you'd be surprised at how fast a 5-year-old can run. So that in itself is a danger. But then um if the child's unable to run they start fighting and they start kicking and they start punching biting and so forth. and we've had some teachers that have gotten hurt at both of those schools this year. So, unfortunately, we have to label it as an assault, especially when you strike a teacher.
123Um, we are working very closely with the parents of these children. But, um, both of those schools, the reason why those numbers are that high are actually because of kindergarten students who've had a difficult time transition. >> But, do the teachers report these incidents? >> Oh, yes, of course. Yeah. because it it looks like Wilson has the most training out of all the schools and they have the highest reported number. So that could that could be part of it, right? That they have more awareness. >> Not necessarily. They have more awareness. No, I mean um there they they are all aware. First of all, it's not teacher that determines whether it was assault or not. It's the building principal. Um and sometimes in collaboration with Mr. Glacoy, >> teacher has to re somebody has to
124report. they have to report what happened and then it's up to the principal to to make a decision on what that is in terms of our student code of conduct and and of course I mean we do work closely with you know our students and obviously at that level there there is minor hitting and things like that that's not what we're talking about here >> right >> we're talking about you know a student potentially harming a teacher and you might ask well how can a 5-year-old potentially harm they can um you know when you have teacher that's very vulnerable trying to help a child and the child, you know, punches them, they can get harmed. So, unfortunately, we have to take a hard line with that kind of behavior and we have to call it
125what it is and it's assault. >> Sad at such a young age. >> Dr. Lavy, based on your comment um regarding um their difficulty transitioning from tools of the mind to I guess the the curriculum in the in the elementary schools. Is there thoughts of like doing some type of transition like program to help them kind of ease that burden or maybe um changing to a different curriculum other than tools of the mind or >> so we're we're only we're required by the department of education to use one of two curriculum for preschool creative curriculum I believe and tools of the mind we happen to think the tools of mind and far better curriculum however what kids are asked to do in that tools of the mind curriculum is far different than what we're asking
126our kids to do in kindergarten level. >> Um, you know, I I I don't want to say that one's more academic, but that's what it is. One is far more academic than the next. >> Um, Tools of the Mind is working on developing language skills >> um through creative play. >> Um, when the kids get to kindergarten, yes, there's still some creative play, but it's more we're getting down to early literacy development, um, you know, u conservation of numbers and so forth. So, it's a change and there's a lot more work to be done, you know, at the seat and lot, you know, I wouldn't say more carpet time because it's about the same amount of carpet time, but there are far greater demands. Um, because our kindergarten teachers are tasked with the responsibility of
127these kids have to be reading by the end of kindergarten. When I, you know, 10, 15 years ago, they had to be reading by the end of first grade. Now, it's changed. Mhm. >> These kids and and most of them are, by the way, most of them are reading at probably what 101 15 years ago would be mid to end of the year, first grade when they're leaving. So, I would say the vast majority of our students entering kindergarten transition well. And I think it's in great part due to the fact that they go to Project before. You can tell the difference between a child that was not in our project before program um there's a huge difference, >> right? >> But there are pockets of children and obviously our job is to educate all
128of our children >> to the best of our ability. So there are pockets of children that are having a very difficult time transitioning from that. So Miss Burns and I will be meeting to talk about different things. How can we blend better that tools of the mind curriculum with what they're doing? Do we bring a little tools of the mind up to kindergarten >> so that they're starting the year in more of a tools of the mind um atmosphere and then transitioning there toward that kindergarten um you know academic approach. >> Different things that we're going to take a look at, but we believe that's probably the greatest reason for the uptick in some of those significant behaviors that we're seeing um you know for the past couple of years. Um Mr. Burn will tell
129you that this is not the first year. Mr. Rabbina will tell you the same thing. We've been dealing this now for probably a good three to four years. >> We do have a per team at the preschool which is our preschool intervention referral team. So they have worked with the students all year. So when every one of these students all this information is gathered through the year at the preschool and then it's sent to the elementary schools. So like we said um the classrooms are smaller at the preschool. There's also a teacher and a par profofessional in the classroom. But any students that you know we do have any concerns with they're all noted. They're all sent. We meet with all the principles or pick our pers or social worker meet with all the principles
130with a list of every single student. So they're going with a full intensive package to the elementary. But unfortunately, you know, um what we can do at the preschool when they get older, then that's when the behaviors start to escalate where a lot of times we see it and then a lot of our students that may end up going to ele elementary kindergarten, they may start when they're four years old. A lot of them we may not have for the two years or they may come in mid year when they're four and then of course just based on their age, they have to transition. Right? >> So like Dr. Labby said we're we're aware we want to make this transition, you know, successful for all the students. So, we're going to meet and hopefully >>
131and and I give I have to give a shout out to Mr. Burn who's who's still here and Mr. Rabino um and all of our elementary school principles who are working very very well with the parents of each of these students to try to work together to help these students. And you know, normally by this time of the year, things have settled down and kids are in an appropriate program or or have be finally transition to where they should be. Uh but we're beginning to see it become more intensive over the past couple years and lasting a little bit longer than it really should. So, we'll continue to work on it. That's the key is is how do we transition them? But and and obviously we know too that you know people are moving into
132Saraveville because of the fact that we have free preschool for all of our children and we have a full day kindergarten program as well. Um which is is is is a great um you know thing as a parent what you're looking for in a school district. U but some some of our students as we've talked about before some of these meetings have greater needs than other other students. So it it takes time it takes collaboration. Um, it it takes alignment to to fix our programs and to help each one of our students become successful. So, we're going to work on that. I >> appreciate it. Thank you. >> We're we're set up in the elementary school like we are in the upper schools where these kids that are having the acting out issues or the
133stressors that are triggering them, we have guidance, we have social work, we have all that work with them like we would in middle school, high school. We don't have it's like we we have one school counselor at at each of our elementary school which is something by the way we we you know we didn't have 10 years ago. >> Um >> we also have ESS effective school solutions a a therapist that um I don't think there's a therapist in every school at every moment but there's a therapist that's shared at all of our elementary school. >> Correct. There's one therapist for the four elementary schools. Um we have different programming um for kids that are eligible for special education related services. Um you heard um you know it t Mr. Preston talked about it um
134the multiple disabilities program. Um we have far more multiple multiple disabilities classrooms than ever before. You know again one of the byproducts happen great special education programs is everybody sends their kids to those. Um we also have an emotion regulation program for the elementary school students. Um we used to call it our behavioral disabilities program. Um but the code changed so now we call it our emotion regulation impairment program. Um and you know there were times when that that classroom which is at Eisenarrow might have had two or three kids in it. Um now it has close to 12 kids in it. Same thing at SAM cell and so forth. So um you know we do we do have the same programs. We mirror the programs that are in our middle school and our high
135school. They they work straight up through a great continuum that Mr. Nasser has developed and um you know and and and you know expanded and enhanced throughout the years. But um again um every child is unique and you know every child um deserves the full attention that we can give that child. But if there are programmatic changes that we can make to assist assist children too, we'll do that. And again, >> hopefully with the child acting out in kindergarten, we can get them the services they need and the help they need before they're in middle school acting out or high school. >> Yeah. I mean, that's the key. And like I said, normally by this time those things have all settled down, you know, and I and I go back and I told this to
136Mr. Burn, I told this to Mr. Abino because we talk during our I meet with our principles once a month and just to chat and and so forth. Um, when I was an elementary school principal in Edison, I was an elementary school principal for eight years and kindergarten was always the toughest grade. That's where we saw all the behavioral problems, but a little bit different because we didn't have a preschool program. So, that was the first time they were in a in a program, particularly a full day program. So, we saw a lot of that fight or flight when you place a demand on them. Um, we're not seeing it at great levels like I back I did back in the early 2000s, but we're seeing it at a significant level enough for us to
137consider what are things that we can do to help with that transition. >> Any other questions about any of the uh data that Mr. Loy presented? >> One thing I'll note, Dr. with these what you're seeing is the the end result the consequence that results in a statistical value that we submit to the state um whether I'm in the buildings or I have the radio chatter um with Mr. all day long and we hear what's going on in the responses to these buildings, particularly at these elementary levels. When there are these behaviors, the response across the board from guidance, the teachers, the main office staff, the administration for each and every one of these scenarios to support these students and to support the teachers is fast and amazing and you can hear it throughout the
138course of the day. So representative numbers of the outcome doesn't really tell the story of what's going on in those buildings every day to support the students that are having these behavioral problems. >> And that's a good point. And I mean you guys approve on these agendas what's called crisis prevention institute training. I you do it all the time. We have it all the time. And that's when we have a professional come in from NJ care who trains our teachers on deescalation first and foremost and passive restraint strategies when a child is going to harm themselves or someone else where we have to restrain. And they train, you know, people that are our our staff members that are in our programs like our multiple disabilities program as well as our emotion regulation impairment program. However,
139they also train other individuals who are part of what we call our CPI teams, our crisis intervention teams at each school. Um, and to Mr. Glock Malloyy's point, they do a masterful job of dropping everything and going to a classroom where a child is in distress and deescalating the situation uh and resolving the matter so that the child doesn't get hurt um or other children don't get hurt and sometimes they do that at their own expense. Mr. NASA will regularly send us crisis intervention screenings as well as passive restraint um documentation where teachers have have had their noses broken. Um had concussions because their their their head um or or child's head struck their chin. Um, you know, some injuries occur during this and I got to give a lot of credit to our building
140administrators and our teachers for the work they do and the sacrifices they make to keep our children safe. >> Any other questions? >> And if there are no other questions, it was long. It was definitely a lot of fun. Right. That concludes all of my presentations for this evening. >> Thank you, Dr. Bobby, now I don't see it on the agenda. Do we have any committee presentations tonight? >> Yes, we have finance and infrastructure. I think Mrs. Babone's prepared for that. And then I believe Mr. Callahan's prepared for personnel. >> Miss Bone, >> hello. Uh, last Tuesday, um, the, uh, BOE finance and infrastructure committee met. Um, we actually were talking about the budget and, um, what we were going to have to cut. It's about 8.6 six million that we had to cut. So,
141um you know that's been paired for now till we find out what our state right when the state aid comes in the numbers. >> Yeah, that'll come in sometime in March >> and that'll be um revised. This we go through every year. Um we also had to make a hard decision about the high school FBLA students because the competition fees really went up dramatically. So, we're not going to be able to pay for them to go to the national trip. We're going to pay for them to go to the New Jersey, but we won't be able to fund their trip nationally. So, that's something I would assume they're going to be doing some fundraising, right? >> Uh, yes, they will be. And they have in the past. >> Good. Good. Um, Jimmy, Mr. I can't
142say your last name. Sorry, Jimmy. Um, then provided an update on the referendum projects. He informed the committee that the HVAC installation in the locker rooms at the middle school is still progressing according to schedule. In fact, he noted while the rooftop units will not be delivered until March, there is now heat in the locker rooms. In addition, he reported that we are hoping to connect the transformers to the new switch griers at SL sell over during the spring recess at the end of March. Um other projects um not related to the referendum. Um Dr. Labby briefed the committee on the status of litigation with the burrow on the uh transportation complex. Um, and Jimmy also reported that he will be meeting this week with Shorelands to begin planning the solar canopy completion project at
143the high school. I know people are always commenting on the panels there, but that will be um coming to uh completion. Additionally, he noted that the bathroom renovations at Eisenhower will be finished in three weeks. Eric reported that um the fiber connection line for the esports room at the high school had been installed and the room is now fully functional. Very good job. Um, and Jimmy reported that we're now only waiting for the second quote for the installation of the AC unit and system for the room. That is pretty much it. >> Thank you, Mr. Bone, for that great report, >> Mr. Callahan. Earlier tonight, the personnel committee met to review the current staffing needs across the district, including both the certificated and non-certificated positions. Overall staffing levels remain very strong with only two open
144certificated positions that are not related to leaves of absence. Committee also discussed the midyear job fair that was held on January 15th which was highly targeted to specific positions and proved to be very successful. And then lastly we discussed we briefly discussed the upcoming district career fair which will be planned for about the April May time frame. Additional details will and the exact date and time will be shared soon. And that concluded our meeting. >> Thank you, Mr. Callahan, for the comprehensive report and thank you to Dr. Agalles for a great job with uh filling these these positions. Now I open to the public for any comments on agenda items only. Mickey Fischer um from Kier Street in Parland. Um I just had a question um Eileen for the solar canopy completion project. So what
145are they doing? Are they replacing all those solar panels or like what exactly is happening? >> No. Um basically for the last about two years um at these board meetings we have been discussing that there was litigation with the company that was originally done. Right. >> So we have gone out um got a new contract. Right Dr. Labby? >> Yes. >> And um so now we're moving ahead with the project because it was stalled because of the litigation. >> Right. And so >> so they're going to be electrifying everything, setting it all up, connecting it so that we can start generating income. >> Right. Because they haven't been working all these correct all these years they haven't been working. Right. Because we've been in litigation, >> right? And so now that now it will >>
146Yeah. Now it's all going to move forward. Yep. >> Now it's going to work. Okay. Super. And um you said that they have heat in the locker rooms. Have they not had heat all this time? >> Well, with the um again, this was discussed at previous board meetings. Um the when we made the plans, the locker room had not been accounted for. So then everything had to be done for the locker room because don't forget we did all new heating, air conditioning throughout the whole building. So that became a piece of it. So now that has been completed as well because it was left out of the plan, right? >> And we had to do a change order all that um that was approved long time ago. So that's why um you know there was
147no heat or hot water. I mean not hot water, heat or air conditioning because it had been basically left out of the plan. So now it's been included and everything has been done. So just just to clarify a little bit more >> the there was always heat there but we we're changing the entire heating ventilation and air conditioning system. >> So the first step in that is the heat because you obviously need the heat this time of year. >> I guess kids weren't changing >> when the rooftop units come in when the rooftop units come in then the air conditioning will be installed. >> Got it. >> Yes. >> Okay. Got it. Okay. That's reassuring. Yeah, we wouldn't let the kids freeze. >> Okay, >> I would. >> And um what is Dibbles? Is that
148just a program or something? >> Go ahead, Miss President. >> Oh, I'm sorry. I know. I just jumped in. I apologize. Uh Dibbles is a uh early literacy screener um that measures students uh letter sounds, being able to um blend. It is mandated by the state of New Jersey that all students be screened twice a year in K through three. So, it was the um we looked at several tools, but it's the highest recommended from the Department of Education. >> Okay, got it. I was just curious what it was. >> I think it's dynamic. >> All right. I think that was it. >> Yeah, we're trying to come up with it off the top of our heads again. It was uh >> dynamic index. dynamic indicators, >> basic early literacy skills. >> There are It's
149like alphabet soup and I apologize. >> Yeah, that's crazy. Okay. Um, will these budget reports that everyone >> I think that's the time, Mrs. Fisher. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Online. Thank you. Yes. >> Yes. Everything's on on on the website. >> Okay. Super. Thanks. Anyone else? Not seeing it. Anyone else? Closing public session. >> Yeah. Now, the superintendent's report. >> Yep. Okay. So, if I can get everyone's attention, I'll go fast. I promise. Um, finance and infrastructure. Let's go right to page three. Um, Miss Bert has been hard at work with our building administration. Uh, as you remember during our last meeting, we u submitted a series of these um connect safe safely grants. Um, and we just learned that we have been awarded the grants that there are $1,000 each for the Woodrew Wilson
150School and the high school. And the monies are going to be used to celebrate a safer internet day, which is, if you don't know, February 10th. And obviously it's going to be used to empower our students to utilize technology responsibly, respectfully, and critically as well as creativ creatively. Uh that's on page three. It's again it's $1,000 for each school. Number 16, which you can also find in page three. Um we're asking you to approve the annual comprehensive financial report and auditors management report for the 2024 2025 school year. And we're happy to say that there were no recommendations that were made. Um and that obviously was prepared by our auditor supple Clooney and company number 18 which you can find on page four. Um this has been talked about also during um the budget presentation
151made by Miss Gman. We're asking you to uh p approve the purchase of print materials and online access for the reveal math K through8 algebra algebra 2 and geometry through the McGraill company. it's our publisher in the amount of $31,526.17 for the use in piloting in our classrooms the program for the remainder of the 2025 2026 school year. So if you can remember during our last business meeting we asked for your permission to go ahead and pilot. We do need um you know a small amount of money for the materials to go ahead and pilot it. Number 19 which you can find on page four. We're asking you to, and again, this was um spoken or referenced earlier in Miss Gman's presentation, um we have the on demand tutoring for our students in grades six
152through 12. We went out for our request for proposal. Um and based upon the assessment that we use to grade those proposals, we're asking you to award um the contract to Imagine Learning for $25,000. And that'll be from February 1st through June 30th. And that on demand tutoring is it 247 our students in grades 6 through 12 um can go ahead and if they're have struggling with anything contact the tutor and the tutor will help them. Any questions on any of those items or anything else on finance and infrastructure. >> How many math classes are we piloting in in in the high school? Like just one algebra one geometry one algebra 2 or we doing several classes? It >> it's a total of 16. The algebra will be piloted at the middle school and the
153high school. So there's two algebra teachers. I believe it's only one algebra 2 teacher that's looking at the program. And then there's two geometry. >> Okay. >> And the rest are in the K through 8 program. >> So we got a pretty broad spectrum. >> Awesome. >> Anything else? >> Dr. Labia. Number 15. The safer internet day. Is that like they're going to do workshops in the schools to be able to teach them how to be safe on the internet? like what does that entail? >> Yes. But I'm going to let Miss Bert answer that. >> Sure. So, I worked collaboratively with with each school to write a grant proposal and I met with the Wilson team today and they are planning on doing assemblies for second and third grade um and working with the
154fourth and fifth grade um you know to promote those safer internet practices. And then um our high school is um going to be running their event that week, but they're looking to uh really promote the parent involvement. So they're looking to tie it to um one of their athletic events that week. So they were just waiting on the on the schedule so they could hold their connect safely event prior to the athletic event. Um and they can buy um the grant is great because it does allow them to uh purchase refreshments or supplies. Um so they're looking at getting incentives for the children, supplies for the events and things to really promote um utilizing the internet safely. And it has a lot of really great resources for parents which will also be distributed during the
155events um you know uh cautioning parents against things like roadblocks and different technology programs that um you know could use some caution. >> Thank you so much. Really the parental engagement is pivotal there because I mean many times we leave the devices to kids and they don't know what's going on. So parent knowledge is very pivotal there. >> We can attest to that because we get all the goardian alerts. >> Oh boy. >> In fact, Mr. Ner answered a big one today while we were in close session. >> Anything else? Um, so if I can bring your attention now to page 11, that's beginning of student achievement. Unfortunately, we are asking to prove some long-term suspensions. Number one. Number two, uh, this is something we've been doing every year for the past I can't remember
156how many years. I definitely since I've been here in Sville, but probably beyond. Um, we send students to um, what is called the arts high uh, high school program as well as middle school program. Um it's takes place at the um Middle Sex County College and it's about $775 per student in the high school and $765 for students in the middle school. One of the newest things is we actually provide transportation not only to our students but to students from across Middle Sex County. So they actually contract with us to for us to transport students. So um we actually get a revenue out of that too. But we are asking your for your approval for 16 high school students and 22 um middle school students to go at a total cost of $29,230. Um normally
157it's a little bit more. We have a little bit more high school students. We have less high school students this year. U but again it's something that our students look forward to. Um we have wonderful art, visual arts and um uh dramatic arts and um you know performing arts teachers but this brings it up to another level uh when they go to arts high. So in fact the theater program I that program is actually very competitive I believe Miss Gman um a lot of kids actually apply to go to the theater program and they only take a certain number of kids. So, um, we're proud of the students that are participating and asking for your approval, um, to to send them there. Any questions on those items? >> Just a question about that program. Do
158uh, the students earn any kind of kind of a dual credit because they are taking the class that the college offers at that college level? >> No, that's not a dual enrollment program. Yeah, we wish it was. But there is, if you caught what Miss Gman said earlier, theater is one of our new dual enrollment classes for next year. Correct. So, but this No, this is more of an enrichment program for our students. >> Does it run? >> I think this is a six-eek program. Not positive. I can get back to you on that, but I believe it's a six-eek program. We actually pick the kids up at the high school, um, take them there, and then they they come back. Kids love it. >> It's January to May, right? Yeah. So, I think that's
159Yep. Um, okay. So, there are no further questions. On page 13 is where governance is. Um, number two, I'll bring your attention to that. We're asking you to uh approve new and revised policies and regulations for a second reading. Those are the same obviously policies and regulations that we asked you to approve for uh first reading back in December. and those are related to uh library and media um resources. Any questions on that? >> So, finally in personnel. >> Sorry, Dr. Lavyby, I did have a question on the >> on the regulation 2535 on page two. Um it states that uh request for removal form is located in the principal's office. Is that something that can be made available online for the parents to be able to access, not having to go physically pick it
160up and then drop it off? Right. >> Yes, absolutely. The policy calls for it. It must be available in the office, but we are able to provide it >> and we will. >> Okay. Perfect. Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Good question. Anything else? >> All right. So then I'll bring your attention now to conclude on personnel and be before we get to items number one and 22. Um I'm just going to skip down. Um numbers eight and nine, which you can find on page 16 and 17. As we always do, we're asking you to approve the appointment of new certificated non-distated staff for this school year. Number 11, which you can find on page 18, we're asking you to approve paid coaches with their stipens as well as some volunteer coaches for the this school
161year. And number 24, which you can find in the addendum, we are asking you to approve the transfer of a non-ert certificated staff member for this school year. So, jumping back up to numbers 1 through 22, we do have that bittersweet time. This is the time when some of our staff members who are beloved and been with us for a long time decide um that they're gonna they're going to retire um and um and move on to bigger and better things in their life. Um so um we're going to begin um I'm going out of order but we're going to begin with um our friend Mr. Sidowski who's here with us tonight. Um Kenny is retiring um after many many years in Serville. We can't thank him enough for the incredible service that he's provided
162for our district. After nearly three decades of dedicated service, we proudly celebrate the retirement of Ken Sidowski, whose career with the board of education began in 1998 and has left a lasting impact on our school staff and community. Ken started his journey as part of our maintenance team, quickly earning a reputation for being dependable, hardworking, and someone you could always count on. and I mean always count on to get the job done right. Whether it was responding to an unexpected repair, ensuring buildings were safe and functional, or quietly handling issues before they became problems, Ken's approached every task with professionalism and pride. His strong work ethic and knowledge of the facilities made an inv made him an invaluable member of the department and our school district. Over the years, Ken's leadership and experience naturally led
163him into the role of our facilities and security night supervisor where he continued to excel. He not only kept our buildings running smoothly after hours, but also mentored and supported countless co-workers. He was always willing to step in, lend a hand, or offer guidance when needed. Behind the scenes, Ken played a vital role in creating a safe, clean, and welcoming environment for students and staff every day at each of our schools. As he enters this welldeserved retirement, we thank him for the years of loyalty, long, long, long nights like tonight, problem solving, and unwavering dedication. His contribution will not be forgotten and his absence will certainly be felt by all, especially me who had the privilege of working alongside him. We wish Ken nothing but happiness, good health and enjoyment in this next chapter. Congratulations,
164Ken, and thank you for everything, buddy. And and on a personal note, um you know, I I I think that if I had to sum up Ken, um it's this quiet dedication, um and unwavering commitment to this school district. Um, from the moment I stepped into the district, um, I, you know, I I I just I couldn't get enough of Ken Saddowski. Um, and you know, some of you may not know this. Ken is in a rock band, too. Um, you never know that because he's so quiet, but when he's up on stage, it's it's a different person. Um, and it's truly amazing what he's done. And you know, I'm going to go all the way back to the pandemic when um a few of us um you know, didn't didn't care about the the
165risks and we were out there delivering food and supplies to the people in Seville when everybody was in lockdown. And when I made the call for volunteers, Ken Saddowski came to my office and said, "Where do you need me and what time do I show?" Um and he was with us every single day ensuring that we had all of the supplies that we needed while also making sure that all the schools were were functioning because again all the schools were closed. So he was going into every school just to make sure the heat was on, the pipes didn't burst um and and so forth. And I'll never forget that and I'll always be in in your debt for that, Kenny. Thank you very much, buddy. Kenny, I'm voting no. You cannot retire. >> Yeah, I
166think several of us might. That makes it too >> another another big blow here. >> Yes, >> Barry Anderson. After nearly 20 years of dedicated service, we are honored to celebrate the retirement of Barry Anderson, a true cornerstone of Serville Transportation. If you didn't know, Barry is our is our head bus mechanic. Barry's skill, dependability, and unwavering commitment to keeping our fleet safe and reliable have left an indelible mark on our drivers, our students, and the entire school community. His hard work, deep knowledge, and willingness to lend a helping hand have made him not just a valued colleague, but a trusted friend to many, including me. Barry, thank you for the loyalty, pride, and excellence you have brought to your role every single day. You will be greatly missed, but your legacy will continue to
167roll on, pardon the pun, with every safe mile traveled. As the saying goes, retirement is not the end of the road. It is the beginning of the open highway. Wish we wish you a well-deserved retirement filled with good health, happiness, and exciting new adventures. And on a personal note, too, um I I've known Barry since the day I walked into this district. Um, and he walked into my office and and said, "Hey, I'm Barry Anderson. I just wanted to meet the new superintendent." Um, and I'll tell you what, at that moment, I had never met someone so fiercely dedicated to the students in our district and making it his personal mission to make sure that every single one of those buses that he put out on the on that road were safe for the students
168and the drivers. Um, and you know, poor Barry when we went ahead and purchased all those new buses and now realized that um, his responsibility had grown three-fold with all the new buses, but he approached it like a pro. Never complained. Never. I've never heard Barry complain. The only time I heard Barry complain was when he couldn't get an order. um when the business administrator wouldn't purchase um give put out the purchase order soon enough so he could get the bus fixed. That's the only time that he ever said, "Dr. Libby, can you do anything about this? I need to get that bus fixed. I cannot put students on that bus unless that bus has this." So, um just a remarkable man, great sense of humor, um and you know, a love and adoration for
169the job that he had and he did it very very well. So, we're going to miss Barry very, very much. Terresa Bakovski. >> I'm voting no on Barry, too. >> Teresa Bakovski. Um, is it Teresa or I think we had Megan on there? Is it Megan on the agenda or Teresa? Teresa. Okay. Again, it's late. I'm getting old. Um, Terresa Mcpicovski, a bus aid u that has been with us for many, many years. After more than 15 years of dedicated service, we proudly celebrate the retirement of a valued bus aid from Saveville Transportation. That's Miss Teresa Pakovski. Teresa's kindness, patience, and unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of our students has made a meaningful difference in so many lives. She has been a comforting presence and a steady support for children and drivers alike,
170always going above and beyond with a caring heart and a positive attitude. Does anybody hear the common denominators in all this? Um, Teresa's dedication and compassion will be deeply missed and we thank her for the many years of service and for her lasting impact that she's made. We wish Teresa a joyful, healthy, and well-deserved retirement. Eleanor Dugo, a paraprofessional at Saveville War Memorial High School. After 25 years of dedicated service to the students of Saraveville, longtime resident and staff member who is beloved Eleanor Ducco has decided to retire. Throughout her tenure, Miss Ellie has been a cherished and familiar presence in our community, bringing warmth, patience, and an unwavering commitment to her role. As an iconic paraprofessional in the preschool program, she helped shape the earliest educational experiences of countless children, guiding them through first
171school routines, supporting their emerging language and social skills, and offering a gentle encouragement that helped them grow with her confidence. And I apologize. Um I I mentioned early high school, but I'm sorry. Um it was um actually pre preschool. She's at Cheesequake right now. So I am so sorry, Eleanor. Her ability to reconnect to connect with her young learners um calm nervous first day preschoolers and celebrate even the smallest milestones made in her made her an irreplaceable part of the program. Her kindness, professionalism, and joyful spirit have left a lasting impact on her colleagues, obviously our preschool students and their families alike. While Miss Ellie is retiring, she looks forward to spending more time with her beloved grandchildren, ensuring she will be surrounded by laughter, energy, and curiosity of those little ones. We expend We
172extend our heartfelt gratitude to Miss Ellie for her years of service. We will miss her festive getups for every occasion, willingness to try just about anything, and her contagious spirit. We wish her all the best as she embarks on this well-deserved new chapter of life, but hope that she finds time to come back every once in a while to visit with us um and bring pastries from Staten Island in Brooklyn. So, we wish Eleanor the absolute best in her retirement, too. And then finally, this is where I got my confusion. Um Rosemary Roberts, who is a full-time PAR professional from the high school, um we congratulate her as well on her retirement. Rosemary Roberts has been a dedicated par profofessional who served the Savville school district with exceptional dedication for the past 26 years. Throughout
173her career, Miss Roberts supported students across multiple levels, beginning and again uh probably part of the confusion in our preschool program, continuing through our elementary schools and ultimately concluding her incredibly impactful work at Sable War Memorial High School. across all settings. She brought warmth, patience, and again, an unwavering commitment to student success, another common denominator with all the people that we're recognizing tonight. Much of Miss Robert's work focused on supporting students with significant needs. She served as a one-to-one pair professional for students with mobility challenges, ensuring that they had the access, support, and encouragement needed to navigate their school day with both confidence and um safety. In addition, she spent many years in our multiple disability program, becoming a cornerstone of that community as well. Her colleagues often describe her as someone who could be
174counted on for anything as she is helpful, positive, and of course, deeply caring. Her warm presence and steadf steadfast dedication enrich the lives of countless students and staff members through the 25 years she served this district. In fact, she leaves behind a legacy of compassion, professionalism, and genuine human connection. One that will continue to shape our schools long after her retirement. So we thank Rosemary as well as Kenny, Eleanor, Barry, and Teresa for their amazing service to our students, this district, the greater school community, and we wish them the absolute very best in their retirements. And that concludes my highlights. I need a nap. >> Thank you, Dr. Lobby. Congratulations to everyone retiring. I And I'll now take a motion for to approve our agenda. >> Second. >> Roll call. Mr. Pashada. >> Mrs. Bloom.
175>> Yes. >> Mr. Callahan. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Chkowski. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Hernandez. >> Mrs. Maldonado. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Napoleano. >> Yes. Mrs. Pabone, >> yes. >> Mr. Smith, >> yes. >> Mr. Fernandez, >> yes. >> Now, I'll open the floor to the public for any comments. >> Seeing none, I close public session. Does any of our board have any additional comments or questions? >> Yes. I would just like to mention something that did not come up at all tonight, but uh two weeks ago I attended a gala presented by the Lions Club of New Jersey where our Leos uh excelled. They served in bus tables. But I also wanted to mention that this was called 100 Years of Broadway and our chorus students performed for almost three hours. It was fabulous. Our
176theater teacher and our chorus director were also there. Um, Mr. Sanford did not sing solo, but the theater teacher did and she was awesome. This was a fundraiser so that they could um, the Lions are looking to purchase vision screening equipment that can be uh, used by the district or the town. It's like a machine where they just put it by your eye and they can tell your vision. >> They've actually been doing it for a number of years here. Yes. >> Helps our nurses. >> They This whole thing was to raise money for these machines, but our kids were just Giana was oh my god, they're just fabulous and it was the Leos were the uh the service that night and one of the young men came up to me and said, "Are you
177Mr. Bloom's mother?" And I said, "Yes. Is he your teacher?" He said yes. So then later they were dancing and so he danced with me and I said now you can tell Mr. Bloom danced with his mother. >> I'm sure that was the highlight of his evening. >> But the kids were just wonderful. They were. So again kudos to our Leos which is an offshoot of the uh international alliance club. So they did a great job. >> Mrs. Rivera Woo uh did a great job I heard on her solo performance. >> They it wasn't just our kids. I I thank you. Who performed, but it was members of the Lions Club from, you know, around Middle Sex County, I guess. And some of these people were just beautiful. I mean, you know, oporetic voices and
178it was just really nice. All kinds of Broadway stuff. So, it was very cool. Very cool night. >> Thank you, Miss Bloom. And thank you to the Lions and the Leos for that incredible service to our community. >> A good night. >> Anyone else have any comments? >> All right. Um, our next meetings are February 3rd, 2026 and February 17th, 2026. >> And that concludes our meeting. >> Motion to close. >> Motion motion to close the meeting. >> So move. >> Second. >> All in favor? I >> still don't know. All right.