April BOE Meeting

001needed to discuss and uh let's get moving. I'm really sorry again for the delay. And can everyone rise for the pledge of allegiance? I pledge 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. [Music] And let's get started with going to pass this over to Eric Sunberg for recognition. Could Teresa Canwell join me up [Music] here? Tonight we celebrate a teacher whose reach extends far beyond any one classroom, far beyond Jericho itself. Teresa Canwell has been named Long Island History Day Teacher of the Year. [Applause] in in her 10th year as our uh middle school uh history research coordinator. An honor bestowed not just by her colleagues here who witness her impact every day, but

002by educators across Long Island who understand what it takes to maintain a rigorous student centered research program. In some ways, Teresa accepts this award on behalf of all of our middle school social studies teachers whose work gives Jericho a a national reputation for excellence. But it's Teresa's leadership that keeps this program exceptional. Through Jericho History Day, Long Island History Day, National History Day, she empowers students to conduct real research to analyze complex topics and gives voice to stories that are too often forgotten or deliberately erased. Her students have created award-winning projects on the Tuskegee airmen, Navajo cold talkers, Japanese American soldiers of the 40 442nd, women in the military, Jackie Robinson's military service. I say this because in recent months, some of these very subjects have disappeared from government websites. But in Jericho, thanks to

003Teresa, they have been studied and remembered not just as academic exercises, but as acts of civic engagement. In some of this year's award-winning projects, students have explored civil rights at Angel Angel Island immigration station. They've examined the infamous interment of Japanese Americans during World War II, celebrated the legacy of the Pullman porters in the Green Book as key milestones and progress towards racial and workforce equality. This year, Jericho Middle School student Daffhne Ren won a first place project called the right to register, the responsibility to vote. A reminder that history is not only about the past, but about the responsibilities we carry forward. Those of you who are being recommended for tenure tonight, take note. Teresa's is the kind of work that makes Jericho extraordinary. While we too often mark time by shrill bells in

004class periods, teachers like Teresa and our debate teacher and the FBLA coaches and our science research teachers, they thrive in the asynchronous world, managing independent projects in multiple formats, arranging travel, meeting deadline, protecting students emotional well-being during high pressure competitions, and trying to do it all without overly disrupting her colleagues classes. And the results speak for themselves. Jericho students don't just compete at history day. They win. They develop confidence, critical thinking, and public speaking speaking skills and develop deeper understanding of their place in the world. They learn that history is not fixed, and that telling it well is a responsibility, and they return year after year to get lost in new passion projects. We've known this about Teresa all along, but it is especially validating when others recognize it, too. So, please congratulate Miss Canwell,

005Long Island Teacher of the [Applause] Year. Congratulations. What a well-deserved honor. And as important or more important, I just want to also thank Teresa for being the coach of the unified basketball team, which is an amazing amazing amazing program. You're doing an amazing job. And the next home game is May May 8th at 5:00. So, if you haven't come to one, come watch Teresa coach this amazing program. Um the next item is probably why most of us are here. Um, this is a night that we award tenure and I'm so happy to be able to get to be up here tonight because one of the most rewarding parts of being on the board is get getting to acknowledge and thank and recognize applaud the dedication and excellence of our teachers and staff and um it's

006a major milestone and I know how rigorous the process is and what you need to go through to get to be to be put up for tenure. It's not an easy feat. It's not just a matter of being here for a certain number of years. you really have to be excellent and work really hard and give give so much to the students in and out of the classroom for the the community the district and it really is a real real real achievement. So congratulations to the tenure recipients and I am handing it over to Hank to and every note that I took for my comments this evening. Thank you Jill for sharing those. Uh earning tenure in Jericho is a challenge. Um, we are a district that demands excellence. We de demand professionalism. We demand

007commitment to kids and to the profession. And and we set a standard that I would argue is probably the highest standard in any district. What we require from our teaching staff and what we require from our probationary teachers to earn tenure is a significant challenge. So those 19 folks who we are applauding and congratulating and celebrating this evening have truly earned earned tenure in the Jericho School District, which is no easy task. So with that, we congratulate and we'll have an opportunity to congratulate all 19 of our tenure recipients one by one this evening. And I'd like to start that by introducing Dr. Dan Salsman, please. Before before Dan, I have an urgent message from Denise not to forget that we have an amazing cake outside for the tenure recipients afterwards. Leonettes. From Leonettes. Good

008evening. Uh, may I ask Nicole Yuen to come down and join me. Don't rush. Everybody wants to take. Uh, so either way. Yeah. So, it's an honor to recognize Nicole Yuen, a dedicated and passionate middle school English teacher. Nicole is not just an educator, but a true storyteller. Whether it's through the novels and poems she brings to life in the classroom, or the characters she helped bring to the stage as the director of the high school drama production. Her enthusiasm for the arts has sparked the same passion in so many of her seventh grade students, many of whom have found their own voices through her guidance. Nicole, we are all so grateful for your passion, your hard work, and the lasting influence you've had on the school community. Thank you and congratulations on this well-deserved

009recognition so much. Congratulations. May I ask Erin Zimmerman to come down and join me? [Applause] How you doing? That's your song, right? Mrs. Zimmerman, I'll keep dancing. Mrs. Zimmerman began her journey here with our eighth graders in middle school, and she quickly became a cornerstone of our high school community, teaching both advanced placement, language, and composition, and the sheltered ENL program for nth graders. Mrs. Zimmerman instills a sense of purpose in her students. She empowers them to write with intent, to analyze with depth, and to speak with confidence. As a result, her students not only succeed academically, but they grow as thinkers and communicators. Thank you, Mrs. Zimmerman, for your unwavering dedication, for inspiring countless students to believe in the power of their own words, and for making Jericho a better place, one student at

010a time. Congratulations. May I invite Dr. Eric Sunberg, the curriculum associate of social studies, business education, and libraries. Up. [Applause] Could Mr. Michael Golden join me? All right. So, All right, I have to keep this moving uh because tonight we celebrate what I can best describe as is the best freshman class of educators I've ever had the privilege to work with. So between business and social studies, we have five teachers uh getting tenure recommendations tonight. And in social studies and business programs, we value teachers uh who bring four essential qualities. intellectual curiosity, authentic connection with students, the ability to collaborate with colleagues, and purposeful relevance. They're committed to making learning meaningful and connect students work in the class to their future in in college, careers, and civic life. So, let's begin with someone whose classroom

011feels like a launchpad um where students don't just learn about business, they live it. Mr. Uh Michael Golden's lessons in business education are rooted in career readiness, real world applications. Michael's instruction bridges academic content and students futures. His simulations like real estate licensing role plays develop applied skills and ethical reasoning which all of our business teachers are committed to. Michael has played a key role in co-developing the groundbreaking science and businesses of agriculture course. Uh testament to his commitment to interdisciplinary learning. Uh he also created our real estate class for seniors who upon graduation become licensed real estate agents. Two new courses by a probationary teacher and they're popular. Beyond the classroom, he is a dedicated adviser for Jericho's FBA chapter. Um so he collaborates with the whole department there. His students are among the

012most successful in New York State. Through his guidance, they excel in competitions. Uh his calm confidence, thoughtful mentoring make him a perfect fit in our highly collaborative business education department. He's a certified business teacher, family consumer science teacher. He's a licensed real estate agent and he dances really well and he and he bakes really well. Congratulations, Mr. Golden. That's all the time I have. Mr. angle [Music] key also dual certified in both social studies and special education. Mr. Mr. Angel exemplifies the social studies department's commitment to hiring teachers who can work with students of all ability levels. His AP economic classes are a model of engaging evidence-based instruction. His simulations and lessons are clear, purposeful, and as I said, connected to real world uh events and the world students live in. His collaboration with Miss

013ISO has led to an explosion of student interest in AP economics. Looks like nine sections next year. We don't have enough teachers to teach this this course anymore because of you. Um he constantly refineses his practice through assessment, student feedback. Um, he also brings school spirit and class. Whether coaching on the football field, taking home the tennis with teachers title. We like, we like alliteration. Uh, or earning the coveted title of best dressed. Congratulations. You make economics come alive and you make us look good. Glad you're here. Miss Sarah Espenol, Mostly Middle School, Little High School. Um, oh, take your time. Take your time. Um, her classroom is as welcoming as it is rigorous. Miss Estanol blends planning, inclusive instruction, what I could best call deep relational care in ways that lift up every student.

014Her lessons are scaffolded, graphic organizers, census, sentence starters, primary sources. She ensures access and success for all students. Sarah is a fierce advocate for English language learners. Build strong classroom communities where everyone feels seen and heard. Her journal prompts, station work, tech integration, all serve the goal of deeper engagement and equity. She extends this connection beyond the classroom through National History Day, interdisciplinary projects, DC trips, schoolwide events, recently selected to a national program run by the L Milin Center, uh shows how far her influence extends. Uh Sarah is well known in the student research community beyond Jericho. So congratulations Sarah. Your work reflects everything we aspire to be. Miss Aliss Miss Alyssa [Applause] Leonetti. It's good to be loved. Okay. Um, she teaches, as you can see, with flare. She fuels critical thinking, choreographs, everything

015from dance numbers to historical narratives. Her lessons in AP psychology and US history, rigorous, creative, integrating state standards with powerful AI tools, um, always managed a way to represent underrepresented voices. She's certified in social studies and special education. In her second year at Jericho, she was awarded the Long Island Council of Social Studies Award for Outstanding Probationary Social Studies Teacher. Alyssa's creativity also doesn't stop at the classroom door. She leads the Jets. She co-directs the spring musical and she big reveal. She showed up at course information night in the I'm just a Bill costume. Um also a great dancer like Mr. Golden. Um, but tonight she stands out uh for how brilliantly she balances creativity, commitment, connection. Congratulations, [Applause] Alyssa. Rounding out this remarkable group, I staying under a minute each um is Dr. Brian

016Dussell. who whose intellectual depth instructional integrity have shaped not only his classroom but our entire high school uh uh history research program in AP US history global one his lessons draw from inquiry primary sources cross-disciplinary connections always aligned with our standards and values his leadership in the national history day uh and in high school history research program uh has more than doubled the number of state qualifiers this year expanded students historical thinking writing presentation skills he's always careful to build in social emotional learning centered routines like journaling structured warm-ups this creates a calm focused learning space he's funny beyond the classroom Brian helps with model UN speech and debate school events supports all of his colleagues through curriculum development and collaboration also reflecting the best of what we do. Congratulations Brian Dr. [Applause] Dussell. It's

017my pleasure to introduce Miss Helen Creekstein for mathematics. Good evening. Thank you. I am delighted. It is my honor, my privilege to congratulate and invite up Miss Daniela Ferrara this evening as she is awarded [Applause] tenure. Miss Ferrara teaches mathematics in both our high school and middle school and she does so with extraordinary care and compassion. She is a teacher who teaches from the heart. She's patient, kind, and endlessly encouraging. She creates an environment where students feel safe to take risks, ask questions, and grow. What sets Miss Ferrara apart is not only her warmth, but her drive to constantly grow in her practice. She is always willing to explore and implement research-based best practices. Whether it is a new instructional strategy or a creative way to assess understanding, she is eager to try it. She

018works with learners of all kinds, including those with a wide range of learning needs. And here's the beautiful thing. No matter a student's entry point, they love her class. They feel seen. They feel capable. and they feel successful. That is the mark of a truly exceptional educator. And last month when I visited her classroom, while the west rest of the country was caught up in March Madness, Miss Ferrara launched her own version, Math Madness, and she crafted basketball hoops and placed them around the room. And students solved math problems to earn two or three point shots. And I think Miss Fur had to learn the rules of basketball before that also. But the room was alive with energy and laughter and learning. And this is the magic of Miss Ferrara's teaching. Every class is different.

019Every lesson is thoughtfully designed. And every student feels like they belong. And while students may not remember every formula or every math term years from now, they will always remember that they had Miss Ferrara as their teacher. [Applause] Congratulations. I would like to invite my colleague, Miss Kim Libertini, to join me up [Applause] here. Would Sarah Orsy, please join us? She's obviously lucky with the two of us. It's our pleasure to speak tonight in recognition of Sarah Orsy as she is awarded tenure. Miss Orsy teaches math and science to our sixth grade students where she brings energy, creativity, and an unwavering commitment to student learning every single day. When teaching science, students don't just learn about science concepts, they experience them. Through thoughtful, thoughtfully designed, hands-on, and minds lessons that focus on real world applications,

020she brings science and engineering practices to life. Her minds approach not only sparks curiosity, but empowers her students to think like scientists and engineers in math. She has embraced our department's building thinking classrooms initiative with both skill and passion. using rich tasks that elevate thinking and promote deep cognitive engagement. Her classroom is a place where students actively construct understanding and where enthusiasm for learning is truly contagious. Beyond her classroom, Ms. Orsy exemplifies what it means to be a team player. She shares generously with her colleagues, supports others without hesitation, and she always prioritizes what's best for every student, not just her own students. She is a valued collaborator, a go-to teammate, and a steadfast partner to our Jericho families. Miss Orso Orsy approaches her work with a growth mindset, constantly reflecting and refining her practice

021to better serve her students. Her influence is felt not only in the success of her students, but in the culture of professionalism and support she fosters among her peers. We are lucky to have her, and tonight we proudly celebrate her well-deserved tenure. Congratulations, [Applause] Thank you so much. Will Jessica Leen Tremble, please join me. This is this Jessica Leen Trembley arrived to Jericho having served as a tenure educator in the New York City DOE. From the moment Jessica joined our school, she made it clear that she was here to make a difference and she did immediately. Her contributions to the science department have been nothing short of transformational. Whether through innovative lesson planning, her technological prowess, or her deep knowledge of content and pedigogy, she has elevated the experience of both her students and her

022colleagues. When Jessica interviewed for the position, one of her goals was to find a school where she could be an active part of the community outside the curricular day. Jessica has found a special way to connect her family with our school community day by offering often attending events like school plays, diversity day, homecoming, and steam day. Not just as a teacher, but as a proud and present member of the larger school family. What truly stands out about Miss Leaden Trembley is not just her deep knowledge and passion for science education, but her genuine love of learning and growth. She doesn't just show up for professional development. She leans in with enthusiasm, curiosity, and a heartfelt commitment to bringing something valuable back to her colleagues. Whether it's curriculum meeting, a new training, or an external workshop,

023Jessica dives in wholeheartedly. She's gone above and beyond by leading several inservice workshops. Is always eager to share what she's learned so that everyone can benefit. That spirit of collaboration and leadership was especially evident as the biology department faced the complex challenge of transitioning to a new curriculum. Jessica rose as a natural leader, guiding, supporting, and working side by side with her colleagues every step of the way. She has embraced emerging tools like AI to enhance instruction and streamline planning. and she does it all with a spirit of generosity, always ready to help others learn and grow right along with her. Today, we're not just celebrating Jessica's tenure. We're celebrating the heart, dedication, and quiet leadership she brings to our school every day. [Applause] Congratulations. Will Sheila Morello please join me? It is both an

024honor and a joy to stand here tonight and speak about a truly exceptional educator. Someone whose dedication, passion, and professionalism have not only shaped the lives of countless students, but also uplifted the colleagues lucky enough to work beside her. Tonight we celebrate Sheila Morello as she earns tenure in our district. An achievement that reflects not only her remarkable work here, but the legacy she's been building over the course of her career. What makes this moment especially inspiring is that this is not her first tenure. She has earned this recognition in multiple districts before arriving here. And yet, despite her many accolades, she brings the same energy, curiosity, and heart to the classroom every single day as if it were her first year of teaching. As a New York State master teacher ameritus, Sheila exemplifies what

025it means to be a lifelong learner. She is deeply committed to professional development, not just for herself, but for others as well. She regularly leads inservice workshops for K12 educators across Long Island with a special focus on creating interdisciplinary experiences that are both meaningful and relevant to students lives. Her work encourages all of us to break down the walls between content areas, connect the outdoor environmental experiences with all content areas, and see the full vibrant picture of learning. In her own classroom, the word stagnant s simply does not exist. Miss Moriello is constantly revising her lessons, incorporating new methods and ideas to keep learning fresh and engaging. She doesn't just teach, she creates experiences. After school, long after the last bell has rung, you'll find her in her room prepping materials, setting up experiments, building

026hands-on activities, all with one goal in mind, to spark joy and curiosity in her students. Her flexibility is second to none. With multiple certifications under her belt, she's an educator who can pivot, adapt, and step in wherever she's needed. And she does so with grace and generosity. Whether mentoring new teachers, collaborating on interdisiplinary projects, or offering her time and expertise to help a colleague, Sheila consistently elevates those around her. Her classroom is a warm, welcoming place, just like her presence in our halls. But what truly sets her apart is her heart. She teaches with a naturally nurturing touch that meets students where they are and helps them grow in their best selves. Her warmth is matched only by her high standards. She believes in her students, pushes them to think deeply, and helps them discover

027the joy of learning. And they love her for it. Tonight, we are not just recognizing a career milestone. We are celebrating a model of excellence, resilience, and passion in education. Sheila, thank you for all you've brought to our district already and for all that is still to come. We are so fortunate to have you as part of our community. [Applause] Will Samantha Seaporza please join me? While accolades are often reserved for those who seek the spotlight, tonight we shine that light on someone who has made a lasting impact, not by speaking the loudest, but by leading quietly, consistently, and wholeheartedly. Over the years, Samantha Sephorza has taught across a broad spectrum of science courses from biology to our award sci award-winning science research and more recently the science and business of agriculture and has done

028so with an unshakable commitment to student growth and curiosity. Whether guiding students through the complex research process or helping them understand the natural world through hands-on agricultural learning, she brings science to life in many ways that spark wonder and genuine excitement. But her influence extends far beyond the classroom walls. She is the teacher you'll see at the school play outdoors at astronomy night, at the steam day, or helping out at weekend events. always there, never seeking recognition, just showing up for her students. She is a pillar of support to her colleagues, a natural collaborator, and more importantly, an unofficial mentor to so many new teachers who have sought her advice as they acclimate to the research program and Jericho culture. Her door is always open, her advice always thoughtful. One of her most remarkable qualities

029is her eagerness to take on whatever is needed. No matter the subject, no matter the challenge, she meets every assignment with grace, adaptability, and an infectious creativity that elevates everything she touches. From crafting engaging lessons to delivering meaningful inservice professional development sessions, she reminds us all that learning never stops. Not for our students and not for us as educators. Samantha Sephorza is deeply passionate about her content, has demonstrated insight, care, and dedication to the science department and the Jericho community. Tonight, we honor not just her years of service, but the way she has served with humility, innovation, and a deep love for teaching. Tenure is not just a recognition of time spent. It is a recognition of impact made. And Samantha, your impact is undeniable. [Applause] I'll now invite Dr. Chan up for the [Applause]

030next. I'd like to ask Samantha Serriani to join me. So Samantha Serriani has taught Italian courses at Samantha Serani has taught Italian courses uh at both Jericho Middle School and Jericho High School. She's taught all levels checkpoints A, B, and C. She serves as faculty adviser to the Italian Honor Society. So in this capacity, Miss Orani has worked tireless tirelessly with club officers to promote Italian at Jericho High School through cultural events such as uh two years in a row now an afterchool cooking lesson where students created their own pizzas in misu designs and uh coordinating with members to wear Italian honor society club t-shirts during National Languages Week. Uh as an instructor, she's a fair grader. She's consistent and kind, always willing to lend a helping hand to any student who needs assistance. Miss

031Oriani creates lessons that are engaging uh allowing students to move around the classroom while learning Italian. You can hear her students regularly using Italian with her because that is a classroom environment that she has sought to build. Uh as a colleague, we appreciate Miss Orani's consistent effort, her cooperiveness, flexibility, and professionalism. And congratulations to Missani on this milestone in her career. [Applause] [Music] Um, Jenz Lee, would you kindly come up? Thank you. So, uh, Jenz Lee has taught Chinese language and culture in our school district at Jericho High School. She um, serves as faculty co-advisor to the Chinese honor society. So, in this capacity, Miss Lee works meticulously with officers to organize cultural events such as the uh Jericho High School annual lion dance at chi at Chinese New Year and the calligraphy, painting, and

032mass decorating activities at our um international night. As an instructor, uh Miss Lee has taught all levels of Chinese uh at checkpoints A, B, and C. She's a fair grader. She's kind and consistent in developing students language skills. She demonstrates uh skills in scaffolding to help students grow and moving them forward from one level of proficiency to the next. And her lessons for all age groups at the elementary, middle, and high school levels are engaging and goal oriented. And as a colleague, we we appreciate Miss Lee's consistency in her lesson planning and assessments, her cooperiveness, flexibility, and professionalism. And congratulations to Miss Lee on this milestone in her career. And now I'd like to uh invite Miss Desire Clemente from PPS. [Applause] Good evening. I'd actually like to invite Mr. David Alfano up here with

033me as well and Carolyn Coper, please. [Applause] [Music] Great, great song choice. It is our absolute honor to stand here today and recognize somebody who embodies dedication, experience, and unwavering support for students and staff alike as Caroline Cobber. As special education facilitator, Kap Carolyn plays a critical role in ensuring that every student receives the support they need to thrive. But her impact doesn't stop there. It is the steady hand behind the learning center, a deep well of knowledge who is always willing to help and step in, whether it's to navigate a complex schedule or step in and support a student with a math work and uh make sure they finish that homework assignment. Till this day, students seek her out not for help, but for advice and simply a snack. Not going to lie, I

034might have taken one or two. Carol is not just a resource in the learning center. She's a pillar. She's her calm, present, thoughtful guidance, and relentless commitment have earned her the highest respect from students, parents, colleagues, and administrations alike. I've heard the stories about Carolyn joining uh doing amazing work while taking on the challenge to support a high level chemistry class as a step teacher. Uh we were told before arriving at Jericho that we would be in good hands because Carolyn Coper is in a learning center. She doesn't just support students, she champions them. She doesn't just collaborate with staff, she uplifts them. Today we celebrate her tenure. We also celebrate the countless lives she has touched along the way. Carolyn, thank you for all uh thank you for being the quiet strength behind the

035learning center. Your work matters deeply and so do you. Congratulations on your tenure. If Dr. Safienza and Shannon Mary would come join me, please. [Applause] If uh Dominic Plante, Dominique Plantain can come up. [Applause] Tonight we have the absolute pleasure and honor of celebrating a milestone that is so welld deserved. The awarding of tenure to someone who embodies everything we aspire to be as educators, colleagues, and human beings. When anyone thinks of Dominique, they immediately smile because of her warmth, kindness, and excellence. She truly is a ray of sunshine in our halls each and every day. Dominique, you are more than just a remarkable speech teacher. You are a brilliant clinician and diagnostician with a gift for for seeing not just the challenge but the whole child. You meet each student with compassion, understanding, and

036an unwavering belief in their potential. And you help them find their voice in every sense of the word. Your dedication is unmatched. Whether it's staying late to fine-tune a therapy plan, jumping in to help a colleague, or simply offering a word of encouragement, you always show up with heart, with purpose, and with grace. What sets you apart is not your skill. And let's be clear, you are excellent at your craft, but the way you make people feel. You make students feel seen. You make colleagues feel valued. And you make all of us feel like we are part of something special because you are someone special. You lead with humility, collaborate with generosity, and lift others up in everything you do. You've made our team stronger, our students more empowered, and our workplace kinder. Tenure is

037a recognition of professional excellence and dedication, but in your case, it is so much more. It is a celebration of your light, your leadership, and the lasting impact you have on every life you touch. So today, we say congratulations, but more than that, we say thank you for being exactly who you are. Here's to many more years of your sunshine. [Applause] So, I had the pleasure of meeting Dominique about five years ago um when she joined the high school as a leave replacement in in the learning center uh as a speech teacher. And immediately she was one of those people that as an administrator you say we have to have we have to we have to find a place for her and a home for her here in the district um wherever that may be

038because she's got that um she's got it. And fortunately the following year um moving into Canio, we were able to bring Dominique over with us. So it's only fitting that tonight being the NFL draft that Dominique was our first round draft pick um four years ago. Dominique is a speech teacher whose energy is as warm and as contagious as her smile. She's always smiling, always joyful. She's always eager, always um always eager to grow, to learn, and to teach. She brings excitement to every lesson. And the biggest accolade that I can give to her is that her students always mirror that same enthusiasm. She is very wise behind beyond her years and has a gift for identifying student needs with incredible precision and developing thoughtful effective strategies. Her passion and intuition make her a true

039asset to our school and to me as well. The biggest compliment that I can give her that I probably never told her is that I've asked her questions about my own kids. My articulations improved certainly over the years. Um she's she is she has it will continue to have it and we're so glad that she's part of our family now. Congratulations Christina Jaganti, can you come up here? It's an absolute honor to stand here today and celebrate someone whose dedication, compassion, and brilliance has touched count lives. our amazing colleague and friend, Christina. Christina, I remember so vividly the day when I accidentally told you that you got the job. I didn't realize that was HR's job. From that day on, your smile and excitement were contagious, and that has never stopped since. Christina is someone

040who may be small in stature, but anyone who knows her or has worked with her knows that she is fierce. Fierce in her passion, fierce in her dedication, and fiercely committed to every single one of her students, Christina's intelligence is undeniable, sharp, thoughtful, innovative. She never settles for good enough. She is always researching, always learning, always asking, "How can I do better for my students?" And in that way, she is not only a forever learner herself, but she inspires us all to keep growing, too. Her students, especially those with the most profound challenges, don't just get a teacher when they walk through her door. They get a champion. Someone who sees them, hears them, and believes in their potential, even when words are hard to find. Christina, your work is not easy. It requires patience,

041empathy, and a deep understanding of the unique voices each child holds within them within them. But day after day, you show up with energy, love, and a belief that communication is a right, not a privilege. You help give voice to those who struggle to find theirs. And in doing so, you have changed so many lives, one word, one gesture, one joyful moment at a time. Your impact stretches far beyond your therapy room and IEP meetings. You've lifted voices that once felt silent. You've opened doors to possibilities. And now, with this well-deserved tenure, you have the foundation to keep changing lives for many years to come. Christina, your colleagues admire you, your students adore you, and the families that you have worked with are forever grateful for the differences you have made. You bring light, laughter,

042and a whole lot of heart into this world. And today, we are so proud to celebrate you. Congratulations on this well-earned accomplishment. May this just be one of the many chapters in the career that continues to inspire, uplift, and transform here at Jericho. [Applause] Not to repeat myself, but five years ago, I met Christina in the learning center of the middle school as a leave replacement for one of our speech therapists there. Five and four years ago were really great for Kanyak because we met um some really amazing um educators, but more importantly amazing people. Um that following year we were fortunate enough to bring Christina over uh to Kanyag to be one of our full-time speech teachers. But she's not just a speech teacher. She really is a creator and she's an expert. Whether

043it's modifying instruction, adapting materials, making things her own or transforming a space to meet any child's needs, she builds an individualized environment where any student can thrive. She's one of the few folks that I've seen in in observing that never presents something the way that it is. She always adds her touch to it or or manipulates it to like I said individualized to the needs of her student. And I've always found that really amazing that it's day in and day out. You don't take a break uh in that in that aspect. Your creativity and dedication ensure that no challenge is too great and every success is celebrated. We're so proud to grant tenure to such a committed and innovative educator. Congratulations, Christina. We'd like to introduce Mrs. Clutter, the principal of Rat Rec. All right,

044I'm going to break from the pattern a little bit and ask uh Christine O'Brien and Chris Aazi to come up together. So, our Ratner Seaman peeps who are getting tenure tonight, if they can come on down together. Alrighty. I've had the honor of speaking on behalf of Kurayanazi and Christine O'Brien. These two outstanding educators rode the pandemic roller coaster. The one that offered them a job today, but no job tomorrow. Probationary positions today, but uh leave replacement tomorrow. It was an emotional roller coaster up and down with the eb and flow of the COVID restrictions, enrollment dips, and population boosts. If they were older, they may have thought they were in the VH1 replay of the clashes. Should I stay or should I go? But thankfully for the students of Jericho, these two women with

045grace and fortitude have stuck it out. And here they are before you. So Christine is kind, intuitive, and unassuming. She'd never share that she chose to go to a student's play over a weekend. Yet there she was in the crowd cheering on her student star. She can pull off a theme with the best of them. On curriculum night, there was a frozen tundra in her classroom, including igloos, snowy owls, and a selfie skiing station. She's not afraid to teach a grade she's never taught before, to work with a new colleague, to be part of a leadership team preparing to present at a faculty meeting. You are kind of a big deal. Carissa is eager, attentive, and caring. She understands the importance of teaching the heart if you're ever going to reach the brain. integrating all

046she's learned from responsive classroom practices and beyond. She responds to all requests for tackling from tackling a new initiative to brainstorming solutions to a problem with a big smile and a can do attitude. I could seriously go to Chrissa and say, "I'm going to launch rockets in your classroom period 7." And she would smile and say, "Okay, how can I help?" And she'd have a plan to make it happen. It's pretty impressive. So that Chris works in a co-e this year and it is a simply a love fest. Every time I go in there, can we please work together next year? Can we please be together next year? We don't care what grade we teach. Can we be together? It's an absolute love fest and Chris always believe in your magic. I am grateful to

047work with these amazing educators. I'm so happy to have the privilege of uh being here for your tenure. I wish you a long and successful career as long as Mrs. Kane's. Congratulations. [Applause] [Music] I'd like to ask all of our tenure recipients this evening to please stand up so that we can recognize all of you. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Um, in one minute I'm just going to invite everyone who wants to go out and enjoy the festivities to go out and have cake. But I just wanted to announce that at our work session on May 8th, it's actually going to be a meet and greet for everyone who wants you to meet our new superintendent who's starting July 1, Dr. Robert Kravitz. He's currently the superintendent in Fort Lee and he'll be here, I believe it's

0487 o'clock, but we'll send out a notice. So, um, if anyone wants to come meet Dr. Kravitz, we encourage you to come to the May 8th meeting. And with that, if every anyone who came just for the tenure, go enjoy some yummy cake. We'll take a break while you're exiting. Hey, wait, wait, wait. We have to do the resolution. I'm so sorry. Um whereas in accordance with the provisions of section 3012 of the education law as last amended by chapter 70 735 as amended by chapter 736 of the laws of 1974 and following and the teachers named on the schedules have been approved for probationary period as provided by said section of law. And whereas said probationary period will have expired on the date indicated. And whereas in accordance with the provisions of said section

0493012 of the education law at the expiration of the probationary period the superintendent of schools shall make a recommendation which he has for appointment on tenure of those persons who have been found competent efficient and satisfactory but I'm adding ad libing way more than that amazing and whereas a superintendent of schools having found the the listed individuals to be competent efficient and satisfactory and amazing now recommends that they be appointed on tenure. Now, now therefore, be it resolved that the listed persons are hereby appointed tenure in the areas and on the dates indicated. Do I have a motion? Divia second, Jen. Any discussion? I think we had a nice discussion of the congratulations. All in favor? Now, Bowie cake. Who's left? One person. For those of you who say if you want to move up,

050please feel free to move up and be closer to us. It's going to get right. Don't know. It's supposed to. It's supposed to. Right. I have a copy of it in case they don't. I'm coming in. Oh, sorry. I'm coming in. Congrats. Congratulations. Huh? That's not the girl. The girl? No, that's not her. Uhuh. I don't think so [Music] either. Congratulations. It's safe. I was just going to I was just going to of the meeting. Approval of minutes. Um, do I have a motion? Be it resolved that the board of education make any necessary correction to the approval of the minutes for the regular meeting dated March 20th, 25, 2025, and the special meeting dated March 31st, 2025. Motion. Jen second. Sam, any discussion? All in favor? Thank you. 4 Z. Middle school student council

051report. Ana Kabi. Yeah. [Applause] Good evening board members, parents, and teachers. It is my pleasure to be here this evening. My name is Ana Kvy and I'm an eighth grade student council representative. The monthly theme for April is hope. Hope is the desire to do something and expect that it will happen or be obtained. This month, the students were busy taking their ELA assessments on April 6th and 7th. The New York State math assessments are scheduled for May 6th and 7th. Thank you to Dr. Salsman, Miss Craig Stein, and the English and math teachers for all their commitment, care, and effort in preparing our students for the exams. The middle school report cards were released on Tuesday, April 22nd. Our middle school and high school spring orchestra concert is on Tuesday, April 29th in the

052auditorium at 700 p.m. We hope to see you all there. Thank you to Miss Brightenbach, Mr. Lee, and Miss Lillianstein for always doing a great job. On Sunday, April 27th, 16 middle school students will be competing at the Sunni Aniana for New York History Day. Good luck to all our contestants. And on that note, we would like to congratulate 8th grade social studies teacher and the NHD coordinator, Miss Canwell, for receiving the Long Island National History Day Teacher of the Year Award. What a wonderful accomplishment. We are so proud of you. Congratulations to all students who participated in the recent mock trial at Suffach Community College. Jericho Middle School had a win in one or both categories in every room. Thank you to Mr. Lerbra, Miss Sachapar, and all the staff that helped prepare our

053students. Another congratulations to the Jericho Middle School who proudly presented their research at the Long Island Math Fair held at Hofra University. Under the guidance of Dr. Tomorrow, our students explored a variety of mathematical topics that inspired their interest. Great job. Our sixth grade community service classes collected 150 items for the town of North Hemstead animal shelter, ranging from treats, toys, bowls, and vets. They will also be collecting books, clothes, non-p perishable foods, and shoes for the Helping Hands Rescue Mission until May 30th. All items can be dropped off in room 217. Thank you to Mr. Riyani. The incoming fifth graders are scheduled to visit the middle school on May 14th, 21st, and 28th as we continue to prepare them to make this an to make this exciting transition. We are looking forward to their

054visit. A big congratulations to Miss Espanol, Miss Ferrara, Miss Mariello, Miss Orysy, and Miss UN on receiving their tenure this evening. We are so lucky to have them in our middle school. And finally, a happy birthday to our wonderful assistant principal, Miss Belvelout. Thank you and have a wonderful evening. Thank you, Ana. Now for high school student council, Caitlyn and Rachel. [Applause] So, um, we just want to start by saying that, um, I actually thought tenure meant that you had already taught here for 10 years. I didn't necessarily know that I meant 10 more, but um, luckily for them, we wanted to shout them out, but they're all outside eating cake. Um, congratulations to our tenure teachers. Unfortunately, it feels like this year is slowly coming to an end as we begin the fourth quarter,

055but we're going to recap just one of many more months for them. Yep. And good evening, everyone. I'm Rachel Lee, student council co-president. I'm Caitlyn Choy, the other co-president of the high school. And thank you so much for having us. And we're here to give you the inside scoop on all the exciting things that have been happening in our school this month. Let's kick it off with spring sports. Athletes are back in action. Some notable mentions. The girls black football team had their first win in program history and unified basketball also had their first game yesterday bagging their first win. It's a great start to the season. Um we're ready for it all. the late night games, the farmers tans, and the playoff games. Many of us are excited for one last sports season, so

056bring it on. Yep. And on April 2nd, we had our high school national honor society induction, and it was a night full of academic excellence, candle lighting, and recognition. Thanks to Miss Dro and Miss Weman for organizing it all. Then on April 3rd, we hosted the Alumni Hall of Fame. We got to hear from graduates who'd gone on to do amazing things, giving students a peek at life outside of high school. Um, shout out to Dr. D Marinas for being the world's best MC. I wanted to like officiate my wedding or something. It was a great night for all who attended. And on April 7th was the middle school and high school um jazz concert and the music was incredible. The solos were bold and it was a great night all around. April 10th was

057multicultural night. It was amazing. There were performers and beautiful displays and artwork. It was a celebration of the many cultures that make up our school community. April 15th was a big day for FBLA. students brought home state awards and we're super proud of all the work that our clubs have put in this year. Coming up on April 29th, that's this Tuesday, is the spring orchestra concert. These students have been rehearsing non-stop, so we hope to see our community here in the auditorium on Tuesday. And elections are also happening soon for next year's co-presidents and board of ed rep. Campaigns are heating up and we have lots of catchy slogans and creative posters around the school. And we can't wait to see who our successors are. We've got a bud drive happening this uh happening on

058May 21st in the Sam Springer gym from 8 to 2. Anyone 16 and older can donate. AP exams are coming up in May. Students are currently in the panic cramp and cry phase of preparation. So, please send snacks, caffeine, and good vibes. Finally, I only dress up twice a year, and by dress up, I mean wear jeans. One for board meetings, and the other occasion for commitment day. May 1st is officially commitment day where seniors will rep their college merch to school celebrating their hard work. Thanks again for letting us share everything that happened in our school. It's a busy exciting time and we wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you. Thank you ladies. Um now for PTA Council report. Um Ailen Gingold. Good evening, Mr. Gishman, board of ed members, central administration, faculty,

059staff, and community members. I am Ailen Gingled and the president of the joint Jericho PTA council, and it's my pleasure to be here tonight. At this month's joint council meeting, we met with our new incoming curriculum associate for health, physical education, and athletics, Mr. Brett Cornblum. It was great listening to Brett speak about his excitement to work in our district next year. He is very passionate and enthusiastic about all he has to offer to Jericho. Each month, we invite a different Jericho faculty member to our joint PTA council meetings. This format has been proven very successful for both our PTA members as well as administration. We feel very privileged to have this open dialogue with administration at every level in our district. We are excited to welcome Brett Cornblum on board to our district and

060look forward to seeing him on our fields and courts. On Tuesday night, we held our second parent university of the year. This one was done on Zoom with a panel of recent Jericho alumni speaking to our parents and student community about their college experiences. Once again, our alumni continued to amaze us and it was a huge success. We had over 80 people log on to hear about schools from Cornell, the University of Wisconsin, Sophie Davis, Case Western, Stonybrook, and the University of Utah. I would like to thank Mr. Greg Sloan and Denise Nash for putting the successful evening together. College can be a very unnerving experience. Listening to our incredible alumni speak and thrive after leaving Jericho puts a lot of minds at ease, and we look forward to seeing these future leaguers success. Besides

061putting together the officer officer slates for next year, each unit has been planning some very special events. One of the highlights from all the schools this month was the PTA lunch at Christristen Tony's. All three all three schools as well as some middle school and high school parents enjoy very good food, shopping, and an amazing presentation by an van diver from Northwell as she discussed stress and the mental health of our children. She provided strategies and helpful tips to our help our children work through their anxiety. Kanyak hosted author Susie Klein from the har horrible Harry series in the beginning of April. In addition, they ran a super fun spring scholastic book fair with over $2,000 in revenue. The Canyak PTA would like to thank the community for the amazing Hal's Heart Jumpathon which raised

062over 27,000 for the American Heart Association. And finally, the week of May 5th is their staff appreciation week with a lunchon on May 9th. Jackson had a very successful DD dumpling night fundraiser. In addition, their multicultural night was a huge success and self-funded this year from the selling of raffle tickets. They also enjoyed visits from three different authors. Jackson is preparing for their staff lunchon on May 16th where the faculty will enjoy a South of France themed event. Ratner Seaman was excited to celebrate their reflection award winners in conjunction with a fun bingo night which raised over $1,000. They are busy getting things ready for their Mother's Day sale at the end of April and staff launch on May 14th. Ratner Seaman will be having a multicultural picnic this year on May 30th. The middle

063school PTA has had a general meeting on May 8th and announced their slate last month. They will be voting at the meeting in May. We look forward to planning all the fun events for next year. In addition, they will be hosting a Holocaust survivor speaker to come for an assembly in June. Finally, the eighth grade committee has been busy ordering lawn signs for all their graduates at the end of June and helping to plan the eighth grade party. The high school has been super busy making their final preparations for their senior party on June 4th, which will be held from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Sam Springer gym. This event is free and they encourage all seniors to attend. The senior K commitment bake sale will be held on May 1st and all students

064are encouraged to come to school wearing their college swag. Something to mark on the calendar is the elementary reunions on May 27th. Finally, lawn signs will be giving out to all graduating seniors thanks to the generosity of the JTA and senior class PTA fundraising. Congratulations in advance to all of our seniors on their college decisions. What a smart and talented group they are. SEPTA had an amazing robotics night that was sold out. All abilities month is going on as well, and students have been donating to buckets with change. So far, over $1,000 has been raised. Let's keep it going all month. We want to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the tenure recipients tonight. Jericho is a special school district, and we are so lucky to have you as part of our family. Thank

065you to everyone. Have a good night. Good flight attendance report. Okay, sounds good. Uh, our enrollment as as of April the 11th, 3,324 students. That is an increase of three students over our last report. as as we uh all listen to the presentations from Annayiah, Caitlyn, Rachel, and Eileen, uh we see that uh there's so much positive taking place in our district, so many recognitions, uh so many celebrations, and as we come into May and June of our school year, the the number of recognitions only seems to increase. Uh and a very very exciting time of the year. Um, I congratulate uh all uh all of our students and all of our staff uh for earning so many recognitions uh and c so many uh celebrations throughout the school district. There's one additional celebration that

066we didn't didn't mention. Uh this coming Saturday, uh Kevin Bronzky, our wrestling coach and fizzed teacher, uh will be inducted into the Southern Wrestling Hall of Fame. uh at a ceremony at the the Marriott again this Saturday and I look forward to being there to support him. Thank you. Opportunity for the public to be heard. I have questions for the superintendent if that's okay. Um can you just provide an update of what happened two weeks ago with the state testing with the failure of their computer systems? What happened? How do we fix it? How was it resolved? And what was the excuse? um the the company that um supports the technology end of the state testing. Uh there was a glitch in the program. Um and there was although News Day reported um at some

067point 10 or 20% of school districts were impacted. It was literally a 100% of school districts, any school district that uh did their grade three through eight testing uh online was impacted by the glitch uh in the um in the technology. Uh the glitch continued uh into the second day um and again was rectified. Um so that in the following week um the glitches were fixed and all of the students um testing uh was downloaded and registered successfully. So so all our students are done at this point with the ELA. Yes. Math math coming up. Perfect. Um just as you mentioned news day two things. One we talked about or we traded emails that next month we're going to have a discussion of chronic absenteeism. The 11.6% reported by them. the underlying causes and what

068we've hopefully been doing to to bring that down or what we will be looking to bring that down. And then the other thing which you know I I don't particularly think News Day is a great paper but they seem to be putting out all these interesting stories. Double dippers. Do we know Jericho's status on double dippers in terms of uh people who are retired who are taking I believe they talked about the number of teachers or number of administrators in Long on Long Island who were retired but then rehired by their districts to be collecting pensions as well as salaries. Right. I am unaware of anyone in Jericho who is currently a retiree. Got it. Victor, can you double check me? Um I'm not aware but that there could be a sub or two but

069not in the same position. Not not like Okay. No problem. So again I think in News Day um News Day really was zeroing in primarily on superintendents. It wasn't just and in addition to superintendents, administrators and teachers um that retire and and again the way the the law is written, Sam um is u a certified teacher administrator who's over 65 years of age can retire from the system and then um be employed in another municipality without any uh ding to their retirement. No, those people I understand there's nothing a district can really do about those. It's the ones who they they rehire back in the district and just sort of and there are times where an administrator will retire on Friday and be re rehired on Monday. That that that happens occasionally. It doesn't happen

070here currently. It does not happen here. Perfect. Um as you brought Mr. Emanuel into the conversation, um at last month's meeting, Mr. Manuel, Mr. Czecha had talked about talking to Boseies about extending their lease before we went ahead and spent a substantial sum of money. Was there ever a discussion about that or we'll be uh meeting I don't remember the date in May but there's um I'm supposed to meet with the representatives I believe the second week of May. Got it. And again the reaction initially was a very positive reaction to to the conversation. Oh wonderful. Um, in terms of positive reactions, do any of your contacts in New York State have any update on how much additional funding they're going to send to us as part of their budget should they ever determine No,

071nothing. Go ahead. Nothing has been um fully determined as of yet, but both the assembly and the senate, their state aid packages for school were higher than the governor's original proposal. So, we're so we're optimistic we're going to lower our tax levy come August? No, I'm not optimistic of that at all, but um I'm caut cautiously optimistic that the state aid number will be at least what we uh estimated. And again, I'm not sure whether you also implied Sam about um special legislative grants uh over the last several years. We have received special legislative grants as part of the budgeting process uh from our local assemblyman, Chuck Lavine. Always love to plug him. Uh well, he does a great job for us. He deserves he takes good care of us and I am more than

072willing to plug him and continue to thank him and with a wink and a nod, I expect that we will after the budget process, we will hear some good news and I love singing his praises as long as we're not 30 days before election. So that's fabulous. Mr. Lavine, thank you very much. Um, before we get to residency resertification update, I was hoping that I know it's way too early, but by the May meeting, if we could just get a preliminary update on how our new cell phone policy is working out. Not looking for anything now since it's only been nine days, and I'm sure there's a whole bunch of people who don't even really understand it or or deal with it. Um, residency update, Mr. Con. Residency reertification. Um, I continue to get numbers

073that show that uh we're uh working towards 100%. We're not there yet. Um, I don't have the exact percentages in front of me right now, Sam. Um, as the most recent data certainly can follow up and get that to you, but uh it's, you know, we started a little earlier this year, so uh I think that helped the process and helped our numbers be a little ahead of where we were last year. And Sam, to your question, I think one of the uh emails that we received that we're going to ask Victor to read um is rele is aligned with your question. Which one? There's been 10. Well, you don't have to read it now. I would just add would you say that I know it's basically a a question which Victor will will read

074share but in in in some uh it's a person asking I was saying that they were under the impression that there were three families uh living in the district several years ago who were living here illegally. I'm not sure that I remember that fact but the person is asking for an update as of today and I believe in in talking to Mr. cone to Dave. Um, at at this point, we are unaware of anyone who resides illegally within our district uh with without meeting either the board's approval or the legal all the legal requirements. So, kind of answering the email before Victor reads it. Yeah. No, I think that I just want to know where we were staying with our resertification process. Um, just a couple more. Uh, again, I I'm not in the building,

075so this is coming from um I guess student input. Are we getting any closer to the day when we can actually keep our bathroom doors closed in the high school? That's a qu that's a question that we uh would uh check in with high school administration to get an answer for you. Can we work on an answer for that from from May? because I mean I understand the initial motivation behind it. My understanding is um it hasn't really solved the problem. M maybe it's slightly affected it and if it's not fixing the problem then we might as well just close the doors and at least keep give people their privacy in the bathroom and whatever else they're going to do in the bathroom. We will check in with high school administration. Perfect. Um, and then

076finally, given that we have the uh noble Mr. Goodstead here, Mr. Goodstead, do we have any further information about what the district's supposed to do when state ed disagrees with executive orders from the federal government and what administration led by Superintendent Gishman are supposed to do? Not quite yet. There's still court cases on these issues that you're talking about. uh specifically with regards to DEI that's pending in New Hampshire district court and there's another one in Maryland district court and both of them are still pending really it's you know they both disagree and you just you know state controls your funding federal government all their funding flow flows through New York State so it's kind of a we're we're kind of still in a waiting pattern here so our federal money should not be affected

077in the near term for the 2526 school year in the near term no we cannot answer that question right now. We we can't we can't honestly we can't because we still don't know what's happening with the um dismantling of the Department of Education. Um while we're hearing that the funding will still continue, that hasn't been set in stone at this point. So, could I ask that absent me asking about it that should we hear anything, we'll get an update? 100%. I'm anxious to get an update on that as well. Perfect. Um, I'm good. Thank you very much. Opportunity for the public to be heard. If you'd like to make a comment or ask a question, please tell us your name and affiliation. If you're representing a specific group, if you'd like your statement to be

078included in our minutes, please hand a written copy or send your a copy to Victor immediately before speaking. As always, public discussion on matters relating to staff and students at which their reputation, privacy, or right to due process or those of others could in some way be violated is prohibited. If you'd like to speak, come up to the microphone, please. Nobody. Okay. I think we have a couple of statements that were emailed to a few uh emails. Uh the first one is from Cherylyn Weiss uh to the board. In opposition to the email read at last meeting, I would just like to I would like it acknowledged that an anonymous website Facebook page called Jericho Lighthouse was formed last spring. When complained about, it was excused as freedom of speech in an email response by

079the district and by Mr. Gishman himself with district council CCD. Attached is that email and response for your reference. I would also like to note that the JTA president at that time was commenting on and liking posts in addition to Denise Nash Jericho school PR director and even the superintendent's family members and current members of the board including the current president Chris Festo and PTA presidents of all levels. The Facebook page is still active and you can see for yourself the likes and comments that came from staff members and board members putting themselves right in the middle of the the debate. But I have also attached some screenshots for your quick reference. The website was clearly against some board members and a personal smear campaign all anonymously. Yet it was never condemned at a board

080of education meeting or brought up. An email never read even though the board received complaints. So, the email complaint from last month is complete hypocrisy and being chosen to be read aloud when last year's were ignored. If it is so offensive to be anonymous, where were these people a year ago? They were the ones commenting. And as a district, and Hank himself stated at that time, it's freedom of speech. I would assume anything anonymous in 2025 falls under the same district rules. Stay consistent, Jericho, not just when it fits into your nar narrative. Thank you, Cheryl Weiss. Victor, can I ask you a question? Um, you you've been district clerk and been in charge of uh reading. Uh, have you ever received an email that uh to the board of ed to questions at the

081board of ed um that you did not read publicly? No. LA last month's email was from a district resident uh requesting the statement to be read similar to the way I read this one today. Um I've always read non anonymous communications that were sent in requesting that they be read. I know the board receives tons of emails. Uh unless someone says, "Can you please just read this out loud?" Uh we don't read those. I've never read a statement from any anonymous website. I've never read a statement from anyone anonymous in general um of any kind which is in line with the this board of education's current procedure. I'm not sure that was what the superintendent was talking about. He was talking about not necessarily anonymous emails. I think he was just trying to clarify that

082if someone asked you to read an email, as long as there's a name attached to it, 10,000% I read it. That's I I think what the superintendent was asking. It wasn't about reading anonymous emails. It was I think the email that you just read had to do with the fact that there were comments made about an anonymous website. And um I think that was the initial complaint. I think what the superintendent report was sort of the tertiary point they said there that um I guess they received emails but they never read them. But the the the response would be that no one ever asked me to read them. They they they were sent. We noticed them. Board board saw them. You saw them, but they were never asked to be read. And that's the reason

083they weren't read. The only ones that get read that don't say uh that don't say please read are the ones that go to board of ed questions I think is the email. And those are the ones that that someone else or BOE questionsjico.org. Those are I thought those get read. Those are those get read. I just wanted to clarify that they don't say please read because it goes to the order of questions understood completely and but the underlying points in the email are totally separate than than what the superintendent was talking about and that contradicting what was said last month. That's neither here nor there. We're not respond. We're not responding to that part. I think there was a part of the statement that I just read that was insinuating that we've received letters um

084that we didn't read. And I want to clarify just like you just did. I want to clarify the point that if someone said please read, we would read it. If it didn't say that, we would not. Right. No. And as I said, that was the tertiary point of the email. The primary points were that at some point there were emails sent and the response privately done because there was no dis public there was no requests for a public reading was basically I think what the writer was saying was different than the complaint or different than the point that was made last week where oh it's anonymous who cares we're going to we're going to talk about it. That's what I want to make sure. So that's fine. That's great. Thank you. These next two actually

085are two that came to board of questions.org that came this evening. Um this The first one is by Robert Wazniaak. I'm a resident of the Jericho school district and have children enrolled in the middle school. Almost two years ago, this the one Hank was mentioning earlier. Uh two years ago, during the board of education August meeting, the district publicly acknowledged that three non-resident families were sending their children to Jericho schools. Has a district taken steps to recover the tuition owed by families in accordance with New York State education law? Our community expects transparency and accountability. this matter cannot be allowed to quietly fade away. And then there was another uh email sent to the same uh Jericho uh board of ed questions. Um my name is Alexandra Graco, a Jericho resident. I have a question

086about regionalization. Our district is part of the litigation opposing New York State's forced regionalization mandate, a policy that threatens local control and the quality of education in our community. What is the current status of this legal action? Uh, and is the board ensuring that our district remains firmly opposed to any efforts that would undermine undermine our independence or dilute the educational standards we've built. Taxpayers and families deserve full transparency and a firm commitment defending the integrity of our schools. And that was the last uh statement that was received. Again, I think we can uh respond and say that this board unanimously stands behind the statements they made uh protecting the integrity of our school district. number one. Uh and number two, um there while the um legal support is still open-ended, um we're unaware of

087any attempt by the state um to um to move forward and mandate um any form of nonvoluntary regionalization in any part of the state. Okay, moving on. Yes, turn the microphone. The microphone and say your name. You have to turn the microphone. [Music] Hi, good evening. Um, Angela Banks, uh, parent PTA member. Um, did the district rehire Kim Conger. Um over in July the board uh rehired Kim Conger to do some consulting work through the 2425 school year. Yes. Right. Um a lot of parents are concerned because there's a lot of open state uh you know she was in a lot of state complaints and um you know why would why did you rehire her? Not going to discuss matters of personnel on Bobby complaints. Um, okay. And another matter. Um, I'm a long PTA

088member, longtime PTA member. And, uh, there's been a lot of concern by many parents in the Jericho school district for the lack of transparency in our PTAs. I know many families have brought this up to our superintendent, principles, and Dr. Sherman going back years, especially at Seaman Elementary School. Parents want to know why our PTAs are run like a secret to paid members when nonprofits are supposed to be transparent and share public information, especially with members. Isn't the PTA here for the parents and the school community at large? You can't find any information about any of our PTAs except Jackson. Even if you're a paid member or chair like myself, we're just parents who want to volunteer and give back. Our Jericho PTA leaders are a very insulated group and they seem to prefer it

089that way. I recently um asked a simple question I couldn't get the answer to, which is supposed to be public information. Why does the PTA make you jump through hoops? Like to find out who's running our PTAs when they're supposed to follow what every PTA nonprofit follows, as well as our state and national PTA transparency guidelines. We are parents who just want to help. And in many ways, the PTA hurts us from helping all Jericho children. When you ask for simple information, why does it go into a black hole of non-disclosure? and you're denied access to information and in a timely manner. When I went to a board of ed board of education member recently, they urged me to go to the Jericho PTA council president. However, all information about the council has been removed

090from the school website. Why is there nothing listed anywhere for this leader who runs our PTAs and is the go-to person for PTA help? Why is information members and the public have a right to know involving our PTAs a secret? Jericho parents are hopeful with the incoming superintendent. Dr. Kravis will hear all parent and student voices. Thank you. I um have no recollection of receiving a complaint or series of complaints as you allege. Um the PTA is a separate and independent organization. [Music] Um and uh again the school district um has no legal authority over the PTA. The PTA operates uh as a separate organization. They follow the guidelines of the Nassau County PTA, the New York State PTA, and the National PTA. Um, and again, all of those organizations are fully independent organizations of

091the Jericho School District. Can I just I just want to say and just um again without getting involved in in many of the comments that the speaker said, each of the PTAs does have a website or does have a a page or link on our website. And if you go to that, Kantia, Jackson, and SEPTA have sites that have information on there. I believe even Jackson has the officers on there. If you go to the high school, middle school, seaman, or joint counsel, um there there's literally nothing on the page other than join the PTA. I so again I'm not but I'm but you you say it's not us but I I believe that perhaps we should just put that information on the page so that if people again no but if we're going to

092give them space like put if we're going to have a blank page just take the page down. If we're going to have information on the page leave the page I I have I'm not arguing with what you're saying I'm just saying if we're going to have a page we should have a p they should have a page. If we're not going to if they don't want to put information on the page there's no page and and just make it clean. It's understandable and and again that just uh will reiterate in in my 30 years in the school district. Uh our PTA, our parent organizations uh have been an incredible incredible support to our students and to our programs. Uh, and I only have compliments for the the hard work of our PTA and our PTA

093leadership in how they have for 30 years uh supported our school district, supported our students, uh, and as far as I'm concerned have been an organization that invites participation by all parents. Um, Mr. Gishman, Mr. Gishman, I'm a longtime PTA member. I've always been a PTA member, dedicated volunteer in three schools in Jericho since we've been in Jericho. and I'm a committee chair and I don't know who's running our PTAs and bylaws have been violated and I can't get information and I'm a chair. Okay. So, and I went to you and Dr. Sherman years ago and so did minority families from Seaman. Seaman in particular, not Kanti. Kanti egg was great and um this and and you you know very well that you had a seaman PTA president who didn't even live in our district

094who bragged to everybody. I didn't even want to do this. The dis the the uh administration begged me to be the PTA president. She wasn't even living here. Come on. Let's be real. I I mean there's no there's got to be transparency there. They have to follow the nonprofit guidelines, regulations, and laws. And you don't have to wait for a meeting to get information a month away. You they're supposed to give information within 48 hours. It's supposed to be posted somewhere, anywhere, and it's not. That's the truth. Okay. So, I would suggest that you have conversations with PTA leadership. Tell me how to reach Eileen Ging. Could you let me finish, please? Yeah. Tell me how to reach her. Thank you so much. Uh I would suggest that you reach out to our PTA. I

095know that you've reached out to both the New York State PTA and the National PTA. Um and again is from my information, they have not um suggested to the school district that we do anything any different than we currently do. Statement is just that the school district hold on the school district can't do anything different. As I said, the the only well the only nexus that I'm talking about is the websites. Just either put the names on there or or not and and that's sort of it. I I I'm sure that someone's then going to talk about that they meet on our property, but that that's a completely separate issue which um there there's no point in discussing. I'd just like to point out that every principal can give you access the contact information. No,

096I asked my principal in the middle school for the PTA council. He can't give it to me. The the PTAs have always been I I don't even have kids in the district anymore and I get all the information about the PTA's email. We have no letter and on it's on in they have face they have social media. There's plenty of ways to find out about stuff about if if you look it's there. Yes. Thank you. And I agree with everything Hank said that the PTAs have been nothing but supportive and really enriched our you know done so much to give back to our kids and the classrooms and really enriched our kids' lives. So, I'm thankful to the P. I mean, I'm a former PTA, but I wholeheartedly support the PTA. Yeah. And I've never

097given up, but there is no public information. Who's running our PTAs? There's no public information anywhere about the Jericho Middle School PTA, the high school PTA, the Jericho PTA council. The only one that's transparent is Jackson PTA. They listed. They have Okay. Thank you. Hello, Cindy. Hi. Hi. My name is Cindy Presman. Um, I I'm sorry. I am very nervous because I did not want to get up and speak, but I felt that I had to because I have been a PTA member since my son was in kindergarten. And that was at least 10 years ago. I don't remember the exact date. I'm sorry. Um, but PTA I have always found, and I can only speak because I came from Jackson and then middle school and high school. I have been involved in the PTA

098for that entire time and I have always been able to find whether it usually it's in the calendar I have found who okay blinking um I have always been able to find out who is on the board who our presidents are who are I I mean I've I've been able to ask a principal I've been able to ask the school I have always been able to find information every school in around April or so have put in a request to all parents asking them about committees for the following year. I I don't know why why you have been able to fund it. I don't know why anybody has been able to. But I also want everybody to understand PTA is volunteers. We have volunteered to do this. We are not being paid for this. We

099don't get any recognition besides the fact that we try to help out. PTA also does many things for our children. If you want to volunteer, I know you're saying you that you've tried to reach out, but I have never had a problem when I have tried to reach out and said, "I would like to help out with this." I have seen emails, and I know people don't like emails, but I have seen emails that say, "We are having this event coming up. Any parent that wants to volunteer, please send an email to an to It used to be to an actual president or the committee chair. Now I believe it is uh each each PTA has their own email. Thank you. Thanks, Cindy. Thanks, Mrs. Presman. That is fine. I'm just trying. I I got

100no dog in the fight. Where do they find that email address? Most of the I'm sure I'm sure every principal of every building will give it to you, right? Don't you all have it? Besides that, every PTA now actually has an Instagram account. Instagram. Okay. So, Instagram is the best way to get to Instagram is the best way to get information. Yes, because it has it has the information. It I I believe they have the emails for each PTA. There's a count. Yes. Every including PTA council. So the answer is Instagram and we're just assuming people have Instagram and that's or at least the kids will have Instagram. And if you don't go on social media, you could ask the principles of each school. Yes. Yes. Hi. Thank you. I I know nothing about slates.

101I'm just talking about email sent out by email by the principles. There's plenty of information out there. Okay, moving on. Unfinished business. Um, extreme heat condition days. Recommend a motion. Be it resolved that the board of education adopts policy 5684, extreme heat condition days. Do I have a motion? Jen, thank you. Second, Divia. Any discussion? All in favor? Thank you. do the same thing on this one. Yeah, let's do Okay. Um, we're going to do the first reading of policy 73000, District Code of Character, Conduct, and Support. Be it resolved that the board of education accepts the first reading of the District Code of Character, Conduct, and Support. Do I have a motion, Jen? Thanks. Second, Divia, if before we start any discussion, I just wanted to I don't know if Hank, but I was

102going to pass it over to Dave Con. That's what you were going to do. Okay. Yeah, Dave. Yeah, that's pass it over to Dave maybe to just give us how how this came to be and and what's what's included. Thanks. Um, yes, this is a comprehensive policy. Uh, just to sort of back up to explain what brings us to this point in time. Um, historically, the district has had a series of approximately a dozen different policies that combined could be perceived to make up a district-wide code of conduct. Um, and I know there were some questions asked by the board um at July's reorg meeting um about uh district-wide code of conduct as well as some questions about some of the individual schools. So, uh, we decided that it would make a lot of sense

103to, um, have our district safety committee, uh, look deeper at, uh, our our current policies and how the process unfolded. And through that exploration, it was agreed that it would make sense for us to try to consolidate and create um, a singular version of a policy. Uh our process then became uh reviewing sample codes of conduct from about four or five different districts and uh as we did that uh we realized that a number of those schools seem to have very similar policies. We then followed up with uh Mr. good stat um to get a better sense of that and he was able to share a template of a policy numbered 7300 um which we then used as our baseline to then uh look through. We started with our building administrators. All the building administrators

104were asked to review that extensive policy to figure out if there were things that weren't personalized to our process here in Jericho. Um, a number of important comments and suggestions were raised. Uh, we were able to adopt some of them into our draft. Uh, I then had the opportunity to share it more extensively with the district-wide safety committee uh to follow through on similar process um all throughout keeping in touch with Mr. good stat to see if there were any uh legal needs that uh things either that needed to stay at that policy andor things that we might be able to omit if we felt like it wasn't relevant or pertinent to the way we felt that that we uh did business here in Jericho and ultimately came to uh a personalized version of that

105policy which now sits in front of the board uh for their first reading. Uh the last thing I'll say is that in our uh policy manual, we currently have um policies 3410, 3412, 7310, 7312, 7313, 7314, 7330, 7340, 7350, 7360, and 7361. All of which could potentially be eliminated uh if and when the board uh may decide that this comprehensive policy 7300 uh makes sense. So that was going to be one of my questions. Can you send that in an email all the all the ones that you just listed or if you want all 73 I'll be happy to send that comprehensive list. And so we are replacing them by again I think it's first important to look through this policy and to figure out if there are any revisions or any changes that the

106board uh comes to their conclusions on obviously through a first and then a second reading and then through that there would be a recommendation to potentially eliminate all or up to these 11 other policies that we currently have. And just so everyone understands, we're eliminating 11 policies that are a total of, I think, 29 pages in our policy manual and replacing it with one 55page policy. So we we are not losing any substance and in fact we're gaining 100% additional substance to our policy, which depending upon if you actually read it, it may not be a good thing. Mrs. Citron, how would you like to proceed discussing this policy? I would like to accept the first reading, but if you have any comments, we'll go through p go through it page by page. Well, no.

107I mean, if you don't have anything on a page, you don't have to say I don't have a comment on page one, but the first comment you have a page page you have a comment on. Oh, so we're do we're flipping pages. Okay. Yeah. Um, I guess page four. There's a lot of this which is very comprehensive but there's not a lot of sort of understanding from my point of who's making these decisions. Like at the top of page four we have you know does not consist of speech that is hateful, intolerant or otherwise violates this code. The word intolerant you could say a lot of different things that one person would say is intolerant. Another person will say that's just what I believe. And so I'm trying to How does that unwillingly not allow

108existence of opinions or behaviors that you don't necessarily agree with? I'm asking like who who's making you know in whose opinion is something intolerant? If someone says look I I just um and I'm trying to avoid using examples from current political environments but um then you end up at religion. So you don't want to have that. It's, you know, having a debate or having a discussion. Sometimes someone's going to say, "Well, that that that's an intolerant opinion if if you don't believe that so and so has the right to do something." So So what's the sort of metric there? How how does that get determined and who determines it? I mean ultimately I would say the building principles are the ones that are uh at the center of discipline in each of their buildings and

109are the ones that are interpreting uh anyone's belief that uh there is misconduct or behavior that's inappropriate. It's but let me give you an easy oh not an easy example. It's a tough example. These are not my opinions. I'm simply saying if someone comes to you and says you know what there's an LGBT flag in this classroom. I don't think this flag should be in the classroom. um that person could easily be accused of being intolerant and fall under this policy of of the code of conduct. So So how what's the process in someone's mind in your mind or the principal of how you determine that? Because like that's an easy one. I mean I get that all the time. So I get asked that question all the time. I I mean in some ways

110I would defer it is Steve. The only thing I'll say before I defer it to Steve is whether it's written in a 53page policy that we're now looking at or not, these are still issues that come to schools on a daily basis. So, um, we've already I would say each of our five building principles, our six building principles have already been addressing these kinds of things on a regular basis. Whether or not it's stated here or not doesn't necessarily change that. But again, to your point, I would defer to Steve from a legal standpoint. Yeah. I mean, Mr. Mr. Pman to your comment if someone said that someone would file a DASA complaint regardless and that would be up to the principal or the DASA coordinator to make determination as to whether or not it

111rises to the level of a DASA violation. Whether it's intolerant or not, it's really in the eye of the beholder. But ultimately where you're where you're talking about pages three, pages four, it's a student's rights and responsibilities. It's what students believe that they have a right to be. They have a right to express their own opinion and do it in a way that's not hateful, intolerant, otherwise violates the code. If someone were to say something that you, Mr. the problem believe be would be intolerant. You would go to the principal, whomever, and say, "I believe they're being intolerant." And it'd be up to the principal, the dignity act coordinator to make that determination. This is just the the section that you're reading from is really the goals that students have when they come into the

112school building and what their rights and responsibilities are and what they what they should be expected to when they come into. You're right. People have differing opinions. I of course, you know, that's that's the way of life. People are entitled to their own opinions. And you're right, people may have opinions that may be hateful, intolerant, or whatever. But that's up for the principles and the people who are in charge of enforcing this code to make a determination as to whether it is freedom of speech or whether it's something that would rise to the level of DASA or hateful. Hateful. I understand intolerant always scares me because anything's intolerant. You know, it it becomes that way. I mean, okay, I understand it's a subjective standard, but this entire policy is always going to be a subjective

113standard because it really is who is the person that's going to be enforcing the code. And just as an aside, we talked we you joked about how it's 55 pages. The fact of the matter is previously you had different policies and different different schools and this is a unified code of conduct which even though you're adding a few more pages to your policy book is really a collaboration of all of your other schools now into one cohesive policy. I am done with page four. Okay, I need to just interrupt because I I should have done this earlier, but we have um a bunch of SEPTA grants and I'd like to let these people do that and then we'll come back to this. So, I'm sorry. So, I'm going to move ahead and we'll come back.

114I'm sorry to interrupt Sam. Um I I forgot to do that. Okay. So, we're going to move to page um page four of the agenda. Presentation SPTA grants. Um do you guys want to do the presentation first and then we'll accept it? Okay. Hey, good evening. We thank you for allowing us to present the SEPTA grants and awards in partnership with the district. So, as you know, SEPTA supports all children of all abilities. Um, we are a little bit different from the uh other building PTAs in well, one, we support special education, but also we are districtwide and not specific to one building. That being said, um it is super important um that we focus on our foundation of SEPTA, which is of course supporting families of children with special needs, but not only do

115we support families with special needs, we support all abilities throughout the district. And that, excuse me, that allows us um to sorry I'm like way off. Okay. Um, so that's why it's important that not only that we have our membership dues, but that we um also receive donations because it allows us to offer and fund these grants as well as participate in programs that are specific and suitable for not only special needs but all children throughout the district. and also allows us to offer scholarships to our SEPTA members that are high school graduating seniors. Um, so we do appreciate your ongoing support and we also encourage you to get involved in SEPTA and help us do the passion that we have for all children of all abilities. Thank you. Thank you, Marissa. So, a huge

116thank you to all the ASEPTA exec board. Their commitment and dedication to port to supporting all students and teachers is really inspiring. SEPTA's fundraisers would not be possible, however, without the incredible support and dedication of our administrators, staff, and students. Their hard work and collaboration in planning and executing each event make it possible for us to offer meaningful programs that benefit all students in the district. Some of our favorites include one of our longestrunn and most beloved fundraisers, Cookies and Canvas, organized and hosted by Brian Simonelli, Ruth Bradenbach, and the Jericho High School National Arts Society. Students followed a step-by-step process to create a beautiful framed art piece complete with the signature CNC touch. This year, also, two new fundraisers were able to help support some of these grants, both of which sold out in

117record time. Special thanks to Dr. Alex Rivera, principal of Jackson Elementary, and Dr. D. Marinas from the high school for hosting our chess event, which accommodated 60 participants. Our heartfelt thank you also to Mr. W. Winston Wang for donating all of the chess sets, which Septton now owns and will be able to use at future events. And of course, a huge shout out to the amazing volunteers from the award-winning Jericho Middle and High School chess clubs. We're also grateful to Kim Libertini, Matt Pacleari, Nick Cersio, and Dave Herbert for organizing and running our robotics night. With support from the middle school and high school tech department, they brought an incredible evening of engineering, coding, and robotics to students in grades K through 8. These events are more than just fundraisers. They're opportunities for enrichment, engagement,

118and community building. All proceeds go right back into our district to support our teachers and students. And lastly, a very big shout out to our very own Cool Beans Cafe, our life skills program for catering all of our events with creative themed treats. Whether it's snacks shaped like chess pieces, Lego bricks, or vibrant color palettes, it's the little details like these that everyone looks forward to at each event. Which brings us to why we're here tonight. Our teacher grant program provides funding for new programs and equipment that benefit both special education and general education students. These grants support innovative classroom projects, promote social emotional learning, and integrate cutting edge technology that enhances our educational programs. We're thrilled to announce this year's SEPTA grant recipients, dedicated and forward-thinking educators whose work continues to make a difference.

119These grants recognize their outstanding efforts to foster inclusive, dynamic classrooms that support the success of every student. We are confident that these projects will have a lasting impart and empower both teachers and students to thrive. Our first grant was awarded to Andrea Ganella from Jackson Elementary School. It was a grant to purchase a sound bath instruments for elementary school students. This will fund resonant therapeutic instruments for elementary school students at Jackson. These instruments will be enjoyed and utilized by the approximately 500 students the in the school to aid in the learning of social emotional skills. Listening and playing instruments with high vibrations and overtones help to quickly increase a feeling of calm and relaxation in the body. A second bath is when people listen to the sounds of soothing immersive resonant instruments to achieve relaxation

120and let go of their worries. Students come back weekly to regain a sense of calm at the end of the week and students also love to play the instruments at the end of the session. A Sena grant is awarded to Diana Steel sixth grade middle school. The grant is um for creating an ancient Chinese museum. After studying each AJ civilization the sixth grade social study curriculum, the students handcraft invitations to distribute to Jericho Middle School staff and students. On the day of the museum, the visitors enter the classroom and are transported back in time. One student access a tour guide to explain this the displays while the other students led hands-on stations. At the handon station, sixth grader peers from two general education classes participate in stimulation activities as well as make and take activities.

121Good evening. I will be reading the grant awarded to Jessica Davies at Jackson Elementary. This grant is for $600 to fund the cost of two sixperson family level year-long memberships to the Long Island Children's Museum. The funding of this project will provide students with more unique and novel hands-on learning opportunities that cater to their diverse learning styles, promoting active participation and enhancing student engagement. Congratulations, Miss Davies. Good evening everyone. Oh my god, so many grants, right? Um I'll be reading the fourth grant awarded to Marshu Christophersonen um physical therapy. The grant is 539 um 96 cents um to purchase PTO equipment for room 108. um stationary bicycle, Bosu ball, adult trampoline and a portable treadmill will be added as PTO equipment for room 108 since the treatment room is not large. The requested equipment is

122portable and easily accessible. The main objective is to help our students to achieve their optimal gross motor function and to improve their overall wellness by providing them support and exercise equipment that they need during their therapy session based on their IEPs. Congratulation to Marshall Christopherson. I will also be reading the fifth grant um awarded to Melissa Vasco, middle school enla teacher grant for 649 uh 58 cents to purchase two Oculus Quest 2. These will be used to cultivate a welcoming classroom and foster culturally responsive environment. By having these Oculus devices in class, students will be able to show each other the the countries where they are from and will be able to connect with their history and their roots from hundreds to thousands of miles away. This provides a great social emotional learning opportunity for

123students in the classroom. Using Oculus Quest 2 and the Wander app, students will not only immerse themselves in the setting of their literature, but they will also engage in critical thinking exercises as they analyze the influence of setting on narratives and character development. Thank you. Hi, I am Meline and I'm presenting the last grant. Um, this is going to be awarded to Robin Stern, special education ele teacher at the middle school and also our Best Buddies adviser. The grant is for $14543 to purchase art projects for our Best Buddies Club. The money from this grant would fund art projects for the members of the Jericho Middle School Best Buddies Club. Best Buddies friendship program builds one-to-one friendships between people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. The club provides social interactions and a level of

124inclusion for all who choose to attend. The club promotes meaningful connections with peers, fossils fosters self-confidence and self-esteem, and highlights shared interests, experiences, and activities. Congratulations to all of our grant winners. Thank you so much. Hi, at um at Jericho we are celebrating April as all abilities month as PTA council mentioned and April also marks autism awareness month in a broader community. We are honoring all abilities through inclusive activities at a building level and by reading books and encourage conversations that help educate our students about fairness, acceptance, and inclusion. Throughout the month, we are collecting small change donations in a blue box located in the main office of each school to support the Nassau SUFFK Autism Society of America, also known as NSASA. And that NSASA was started by two moms of children with autism,

125and is in a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting individuals with autism and their families here on Long Island. Their events and recreational opportunities give families a chance to participate in the community with support and without fear of judgment. Last year, our school district together with Cool Beans Life Skills Program raised over $3,100 for NSASSA. These funds helped sponsor a special evening at Dave and Busters for NSA families and a night I'll never forget. I remember arriving with my children and seeing a sign right at the entrance thanking the Jericho School District for what a wonderful night. It truly warmed my heart and reminded me of what we can achieve when we all come together. This year, we're once again collecting donations. And if you haven't done so already, please consider sending in some small change

126with your children or have a QR code in the lobby where you can make a donation. Thank you so much. Just want to say one more time, congratulations to all the awardees for their remarkable contributions and unwavering commitment to inclusive education. Thank you. Thank you so much to all of you and it's really appreciated um the work that SEPTA does for all the students not just the special needs students but all the students and everyone really benefits from all of your hard work and we really appreciate it. And in addition uh again the the the work that you've done in terms of these grants for last 10 years plus uh in supporting the work of of our teachers is just incredible. on uh on behalf of of the board and the whole school district. We

127so appreciate the hard work, the generosity, and the support uh that you've shared with our with our school district. Much appreciated. Keep up the good work. Okay. Um bear with me. I'm just making this resolution up. Be it resolved that um the board of education accept the donation listed from the grants from SEPTA and be it further resolved that the district increase the appropriate budget codes in the amount of $2,966.39. Do I have a motion? Jen second. Sam, any discussion? I think we all discussed. Thank you. Thank you so much. All in favor? Thank you. Yeah, hopefully you could go get some cake. Um, while we're here, why don't we just accept do these last these three donations together? There's three more donations. So, um, be it resolved that the board of education accept a

128donation from the LOL Milkin Center on behalf of the Discovery Award competition to be used towards the middle school social studies department in the amount of $1,000 and accept a donation from the Jericho Middle School PTSA for the purchase and installation of fence cups to be installed on one of the fences by the athletic field track and a donation from the New York State Education Department for winning the first in math virtual regional competition on March 20th, 25th and said funds used towards the Jackson Math Olympiad program in the amount of $1,000 and the district increase the appropriate budget codes for those amounts. Do I have a motion? Jen second. Divia. All in favor? Any discussion? Thank you. All in favor? Thank you. 40. Okay, back to the code of conduct. page. We're only up

129to page four. Let's I was done with page four in case anyone has other comments on page four. I'm on page five. Okay, page five. What are essential partners? How are they different than the parents and the employees and then the teachers and then the all district personnel? Like why do we have the same stuff for all essential partners? Then we have the same stuff for parents, persons in parental relation. Then we have the same stuff for all district personnel. We have the same stuff for teachers. We have the same stuff for school counselors. Then for principles, administrators, I'm sorry. Then we have the dignity acts coordinator, the superintendent of schools, and then finally the board of education. Is is there some way to to to combine these so that we're not just sort of

130reading the same things mostly over and over again? I mean I would disagree that you're reading the same things over and over and over again. Obviously the all essential partners or everyone that's listed here and there here and thereafter uh and I I think every single one of them with the exception of the last one for pretty much all of them uh which talks about restorative processes and restorative practices in lie of consequential behavior um are all pretty different throughout. So I mean again if you have a suggestion I have no problem. I mean, here let's let's just go through all essential partners and and I'm not going to run through everything, but like here under all essential partners, number five is encourage students to benefit from curriculum extracurricular from curriculum and extracurricular programs. I

131then look three lines down to number eight, support student participation in appropriate extracurricular activities. I mean, there there's a whole bunch of dupes like this throughout this thing. Even even if you don't combine the groups, there there's dupes within it. If you go to all district personnel, um, number four is, you know, A A12 and C4 are the same. Um, A13 and C5 are the same. A5 and A8 and C8 are all the same. I I understand what you're saying, but I I just feel like anything it I I understand it's a sort of legal trick. The more you throw in here, everything just gets lost. like this is I I I don't believe anyone's ever I understand it's there but I think it's we want our policies to be somewhat workable where people are

132able to read them and say okay this is what I'm supposed to do because we have in here that you know the essential partners under number three have to know school policies and rules but under number six they only have to be familiar with this code of conduct. It it just struck me as we and again I appreciate the effort and I've expressed that to Mr. cone and I'll express it to you. I appreciate the effort because I think we really need this policy, but 55 pages of it just seemed um a a little extreme and it's just killing trees. Well, it's going to be published and published online, so we won't be killing too many trees. But if we again, if there's suggestions, again, we can work through them. It's not, you know, can

133I make I mean if Sam if you have like structural rather than specific substitive comments maybe we can you can you know come up with some suggestions and send them in as opposed to going through them. No no absolutely but that that was a structural one that was like we have we have seven eight sections. It's not really you're not saying like something isn't appropriate to be in here in terms of substance. You're just it's more like the structure of how this is written. We're doing substance. We were just going pages and and this just sub this. No, no. I'm saying but for comments like that, maybe you could send in some suggestions. Oh, okay. So, if Okay, so you want you want to go over now the specific changes. I didn't know you had

134both. So, I have everything, but I'll let someone else go. I I I mean I don't I don't want to do a SAM and just, you know, monopolize the time. So, if Dr. Balachander or Mrs. Citron or Mrs. Vartoff want to do it, but if we're just not getting up to the pages that they're at, I mean, my next thing was sort of um number seven. Page seven. Oh, okay. So, let's go to seven. Um I I again I understand it, but like here number six under on page seven. Number six in a democratic society. What what where did that even come from? Again, if you have comments and changes, please suggest I I'm going to have to do like doing this line by line. I will put together it for the second reading, we

135we'll incorporate it in there. Um, but from a substantive standpoint, I'm trying to understand if I go down to number 15, you know, parents have to be open open to active participation and resolving conflicts through the restorative process. What if a parent just says no? Then they don't have to. Again, this is again this is a lofty this part of the code is a lofty envision of what what's so this is aspirational to use a word that we had a long time ago from something. Okay, this is aspirational. But but what do we do if the if the parent just says sorry what does the district do? No nothing. We do what we have in our ability in accordance with law. You know, again, when it comes to number 15, when people violate the code

136of conduct, you know, education law 3214, the only possible punishment that a student can receive is that a suspension. That is all that's in the law. You can't force a kid to go to counseling. You can't force a kid to go to restorative practices. You can't force a kid to do anything. All you can do is suspend a child. So, the commissioner of education over the past few years has tried to focus more with the exception of changing the law, but has tried to instill on school districts to embrace restorative practices and to try to turn key and have parents buy into that. But you're right, Mr. Proman. If they say, "I don't want to. I don't want to do counseling. I'd rather my kid be suspended for whatever nefarious infraction they do." Well, then

137that's what the school district will have to do. they'll have to go forward with the code of conduct and and enforce it. And it's up to you Dr. Balachandra on page 10. [Music] This was just a a clarification um for G the dignity act coordinator. What is meant by identifying circular resources? I just wasn't clear on how the need for circular reusable resource just clarifying what that meant in terms of supporting um and encouraging civility and character education. Well, one thing with regards to civility and character education in accordance with DASA, one of the requirements as opposed to just having a DASA coordinator is to actually instruct civility and character education. circular resources. Yeah, those are those are nice fancy words that you know we can we can modify it and simple it if that's

138that's fine. No, of course. Of course, it's circular. Yeah, I get it. This is flowery. Okay. I have a suggestion. Are there any substantive comments that we think you know how can we say that students can or can't do this? Like something that's significant like that? If there's anything like that, let's discuss it here. But if there's any comments like that, can we just email comments to Dave and then we can I don't have anything um that I want to like change and discuss. I have more comments. I think there's a lot of repetition, but I guess I could redline this and send it over. Yeah. I I wonder whether there's some wisdom in each of the five board members emailing Dave. Emailing Dave, can you look at this? Look at that. Dave can put

139them all together in one document and then we could actually just review the document of recommended changes. The one thing I have to say to that though is if you have any comments regarding end of 13 through I don't know 18. Um those are very important and yes there are examples and there's a lot of them. It's a non-exhaustive list. However, if you know things I've seen doing student disciplines in other school districts is that people like to come and say, "Well, I didn't know I couldn't steal a car." And you know, it sounds silly, but there was a commissioner's case that came down a few months ago in an upstate district in which a kid took AI im or created AI images of female students that attended school, fake, obviously fake nude, and was

140and they were passed around school. the kid was suspended and they appealed to the commissioner saying, "Well, it wasn't a violation of the code of conduct because it wasn't in the code of conduct." And the commissioner agreed and overturned the suspension. So, some of these things are, yes, it sounds silly. Why are we writing six different things for insubordination? Why are we writing 46 things for or not 46, it's not that much. It's only 23 here for endangering the health, safety, and welfare of others. because unfortunately there are a lot of different things in which people might not believe are violations of the code of conduct but actually are. So that's the reason why So let's copy Steve on the emails we send to Dave. Okay. Can I just ask quick questions just on actual

141where it's not just stuff we've talked about in the past. Can we just talk dress code for one second? Um the first part about students must wear the following and the first thing says and straps of any width. Why do so they don't need straps? Just can't we just say they have their most of their midrift covered and why are we talking about straps if Yeah, they do wear straps. I mean, again, that could be in in our comments back to No, I just I was trying to understand what what we were doing with this in terms of we'll do it and and that'll be fine and we'll discuss it somehow. Dress code is a district decision as to how they want what what they want in the dress code. You can leave all those

142comments to Mr. Cohen. Yeah. And again, I think Dave Dave can digest all of the comments and and put them in a in a summary document that all we need to look at at our next board meeting is the summit of document with with Dave's and Steve's recommendations. Yes. But but Mr. good set just because you're saying there's really it's imprudent to cut this down substantially or even meaningfully because um it's almost as if you need to have every alter every possible offense included in here in some way correct and we can't just say steal anything no I mean you can and again it's only if you it's the challenge and again Jericho primar customarily does not have many okay then then I do have And I apologize. I I understand this. But no, uh

143this is this is sort of according to this, we are now instituting an honor code where students are now punishable for not reporting in fractions by their classmates. And to my understanding, we have not done that before. that you know what you you you see someone cheating, you are not required to tell the teacher or the administrator or whomever that this student was cheating. You are not required if you go into the bathroom and see a kid vaping, you are not required or punishable if you don't report that vaping. Under this policy, we are. And that is a to my understanding a completely different approach than what we've done in the past. And I I just you're right. I want to Okay. I I know that, Mr. Goodstat. Um but I I don't know if

144people un I mean I'm sure everybody understands that, but but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that because it is such a diametrically different approach. And that's a board discussion. Absolutely. And something's happened, but the superintendent has quietly said he agrees with me. So, I purposely said it quietly, Sam. I didn't want anyone out there to hear that. I don't think there's anybody out here anyway. Hello, Mrs. Presman. Um, and so maybe we can have a two-minute conversation about that because that does show up in a lot of places. And I don't know, Dr. Balachand or Mrs. Varter from Mrs. Citron how you feel about that concept. I was I actually also had that question as to whether or not that was something we were doing. Um, but if we could add, and while we're

145I'm only bringing this up because we're already talking about it, but I'm happy to put it in writing as well. Um, that because now in this policy, student reporting is expected. Um, is there wisdom in writing that in this policy that it could be anonymous? um the reporting and then likewise elsewhere in the policy it's mentioned about retaliation and how um it's it would be subject to discipline. If we could add that here as well in ter under the portion of reporting violations that um any retaliation could be subject to any retaliation to the reportee could be subject to discipline as well. That's if you choose to keep it in there at all. I mean, this is the the K is the one thing that if the board does not wish to proceed with this

146one, they don't. I mean, again, there's nothing wrong with what Dr. Balanchar just uh proposed. Um the retaliation portion probably doesn't belong there just because this is regarding code of conduct violations itself. talking about retaliation for people who report probably wouldn't be appropriate in that section, but we can find a section nearby that would relate back to it if that's what the board chooses to do. Is is this K new? Is it different than what we currently do? I don't know. We don't I don't believe we have anything like this where where you're um you know engaging in conduct or stuff like that where you're encouraging someone. I think it's if you do it, you do it. And if you don't, Dave, do you know that if I mean I don't I don't know if

147I saw a prior. No, I mean what's like expected conduct even if it's not written. It's we we haven't enforced where we have uh had discipline for students because they were uh knowing of a situation and didn't report. If that I think that answers your question. Say that one more time. We had We have not. We have not. Okay. That's what I thought. I was like I I blacked out when you said not. I was like what? Okay. I think this is a major thing and I really think if we're adopting this and changing it this much. First of all, I think this is something that would need community input because this is a complete gamecher to how we're approaching this and this entails a huge explanation to students and a huge explanation or a

148huge buyin by students and I will tell you as someone who's currently sitting on the academic integrity committee there is, you know, this just raises everything to a whole new level and we can't even decide on simple things. So, so saying this and saying that you go into the bathroom at the wrong time and now there's a vapor there. A, they're not reporting it. And B, the problem with Dr. Bachondo with the anonymous is people report stuff all the time, but 90% of this stuff is like, oh, I saw this kid vaping or I saw this kid cheating. There's no there's no other proof of it other than eyewitnesses. And so anonymous doesn't get you anything. I fully appreciate anonymous like, oh, so and so has a gun in class. Yeah, you go with Frisk,

149he has a gun. He doesn't have a gun. And I think I think part of the what I read in here was that the the identity of the reporter and their history and their you know what you know about them is taken into account when you're you know assessing a violation. Well, it's funny that that Minister Pro mentions public communication because of course as part of when you adopt a code of conduct such as this, you will require code of you will require public participation prior to it being adopted. uh after the first and I guess in this case because we're going to have changes before after the second read before you actually adopt the code of conduct you will have to have a 30-day public comment period in order to allow the public to

150review and make their own comments with regards to this public regard to this policy. No, and that's why this is a great time to do it because we can, you know, do it now, May, June, and then we have the summer and say speak up and then when we hit August, people show up, we have a full roll out with administrators because we haven't talked about that we do need cheat sheets for this because it's promised that we're going to have a summary, but I can't even imagine what that looks like. So, so just from from a clarity standpoint, I think we're on page 18 K. Yes. Is it just four that we're talking about or are there issues about one, two, and three as well? I I think generally there's a general apprehension, not

151I can't apprehension is probably the wrong word, but a general concern regarding one through four and something that probably needs more review from the board. And I think there's stuff under even you go back to 17 under G where we talk about assisting another student in any of the above actions. Um it's just open to interpretation very much. Well, if I mean, I think it's pretty clear if you assist a student in cheating, you're probably cheating. So, I honestly, you know, I I think 17 G or G5 bingo um is a little different than Yeah. No, I had those. I had four and five that I thought were um tough on the parameters. Um no, because like assisting another student in the about we get into very specifics here. The the other thing I didn't

152understand is under I we're using any indirect commun direct communications to convey threat. I mean that could be off-campus and are we that then not um sort of censoring private communications and and what legal authority do we have? Well, DASA gives you that legal authority. You've had it for you've had it for 13 years that a lot of most bullying and bullying type stuff occur off campus. Doesn't occur during the school day. So you've this thing and this really is regarded it's derogatory threats and comments. We've seen a lot of cases and you can search the commissioner's appeals if you would like about students who have made threats on a Saturday night saying I'm going to do something at school and as long as there's a nexus to the to the educational environment then the

153school district has has coverage on this. Yeah. But there's always a nexus. I mean, the the kid could be in in in the south of France and he's on his phone and he's going to be back from Chris's vacation and and that phone is going to be in the school and he's going to see the kid and and there's your nexus. And that's the problem with DASA. There's yes, there's problem with all this stuff. But to answer also Mr. Con your question, not to jump ahead, page 21 is the really also the big problem. There's a whole half a page on reporting violations. I I I think the difference between page 21 and page 18 is that yes, you are expected. I mean, you're expected. If you see something, say something. It's something you hear

154on the subways. It's something you hear at airports. If you see something, say something. But you're not going to be punished if you don't. So, I think 21 is more of the lines, yeah, they're expected to promptly report. Yeah, they they should report this and they sh I know it says shall again, ambition. Your your code of conduct is an ambitious, lofty policy. So 21's not requ 21 21's not punishing you if you don't do it. 21's saying you should do it. You m you must do it but not what happens if you don't do it. As long as those cl as long as those end up clear I'm good. Okay. So does K well come come with punishment? I mean is it but is the level of the punishment different? Of course. So this

155could be also it's a minor punishment to what we've discussed before from Mr. Pman. policy in and of itself is subjective. I'm not it's in the eye of the beholder. It's the principal at Jackson may treat things different than the principal at Seaman. It really is just completely and I I use elementary because that's where you have the difference. That's where you have the same level of buildings. Um but it's each obviously I don't believe you would have any many if any codonic contractions the elementary levels but wow we're really speaking to an empty room. This is great except for you. Who's that mask man? Except for you, Dr. President. And Michelle, you could probably take your mask off. There's no one here. Um, so yeah, this policy subjective. All codonics are. It's You're never

156going to find us. I'm sorry I mentioned this in July. Um, okay, let's keep going. Just w with some big stuff. Just how do we monitor what parents do? Like we're telling them they can't smoke or vape on our property. What are we doing? Are we sending security guards to escort them off the property? Technically, you cannot smoke or vape on school district property. It's Yeah, it happens in every game that I go to that it happens. So, again, aspirational aspiration sees them vaping. They'll Yeah. Who's who's removing someone for vaping? Wait, just can I ask question? Am I under this policy obligated to report someone vaping? It's a serious question because I I I people are always looking to get me on something. So, I just don't want to make sure I'm responsible for

157that. Um, pardon contractors for smoking. Oh, thank you. That's great. I'm huge. If you go to a sporting event, you could have the supervisor do it. They aspirational. Um, and then the same thing with like do not coach or instruct from the stands. We'll have no parents left at our games. Again, this is these you can you can play around with this one. Okay, I'm good. I think it's if they're aspirational, they are fine to stay in. I mean, there's no but I don't understand how it's aspirational. If you if we have expectations, but if we have a like a punishment system set up, but I'm saying like for parents, there are no punishments. It's like, okay, you can't come back. But it it's like seriously you come to some you come to a lacrosse

158game the chatter doesn't stop from the stands. It's like constant. But you know what? If it gets out of hand then there's you can fall back on this. If it's seemingly don't don't worry Sam you'll be fine. Could I just ask a question about process? Um, you know, I know, uh, I tried to get you guys this policy in advance of tonight's meeting because of, uh, the length. So, uh, subsequently, uh, from a timing standpoint, if you could try to provide comments back to Stephen, myself, I don't know, arbitrarily within a two-eek period from tonight, one week would be wonderful. That way I can make sure that I'm prepared to have it for you uh in as consolidated a form as possible for the next meeting. And by consolidated, Dave, really means just getting it

159from 55 maybe to 54. 54. Do you think I don't know. Do you do we have it in a form that we could actually make comments on? Is is it a PDF or like It's a PDF. I if you want I can get you a uh I Why don't you throw it into a Google Drive doc? I said you can Yeah, I can do that. And just turn Yeah. The problem the problem with a red I was gonna I was about to say when you do Google Google just turn off the edit function. So everything's a suggestion as opposed to as opposed to an edit over because if you send me five redline versions of a document, I'm gonna have to look at all five and marry them. And I don't want to marry five

160versions. I will send out one uh Google Doc version and Steve I'll include you on it as well. Just just Dave just lock the editing so it's just automatically a suggestion. So everything that you'll put in will be a comment from you and it will have your suggestions. Yes. Oh and then we could all see what each other does too. That's great. Okay. Um just as an aside, yes, the procedures seem very very long. These are all the punishments and by by law in the code of conduct, you need to have them. Um, if they want if they want to pass as a first degree, they can. If they want to table it, they can as well. One more substantive change in there. It says that if you're if you come to school with a

161gun, you're suspended for a year. That's the law. If you're a special ed student, you come to school with a gun, you're suspended for 45 days. That's correct. What qualifies as a special ed student in this case? Is this a 504? Is this an IEP? Is this a severe IEP? So, when it comes to a student with a disability with a gun, that's only if there is a manifestation of his disabil of his or her disability or 504. So, if there is a manifestation, and again, the likelihood that there's a manifestation of a child bringing a gun to school is very rare. Um, I could think of maybe a negative 45. No. um there's a very small chance if you know a kid took a gun from somebody else and they're impulsive and they has

162the reason why they had the gun. It's very unlikely it's going to happen and ultimately it's going to be a one-year ban regardless. Um so so a 504 where a kid gets 25% extra time because he's a slow reader. He has dyslexia, he he's not going to qualify in most of these cases as a special ed student. Well, he'd still be considered a special ed student. But again, in order for there to be in order for that lane of dis for punishment to kick in, go into effect, there needs to be a nexus between the charge misconduct and the child's disability. So that's where the manifestation line comes in. So if there is no manifestation, then they're treated as a general ed student even though they may have a 504 or an IEP. Perfect. Thank

163you for that clarification. Of course, I'm trying to Again, I'm not trying to add to the policy, but um you were talking about just examples of uh you know, like disciplinary actions, but a lot it's mentioned repeatedly throughout the uh the policy, the use of restorative disciplinary practices, and I don't I don't remember seeing any examples of that. Is it worth adding that? It's thereactic page specific examples. Okay, my my apologies. 32 going to 33. I know I'm not using the mic, but Joe can hear me. Good. If Joe can hear me, it's okay. Uh, just for the camera. 32 to 33 has it. Oh, here. So, are we accepting? Should we accept the first reading or should we table Steve? Should we table it or accept the first reading? I think this thing's going

164to look very different and it's going to be too hard to do it. I I I I I think that's up to you. You have, as Mr. Cohen said before, you do have time. We do need to get this into effect for the next school year. You do need to have a 30-day comment period. So, right. So, if we if we approve first reading tonight, that means second reading's in May, which means maybe in June it could get adopted, but we're not going to do it because we're going to have more changes next time. So, I I think we just table it. we get you the the copies. We hopefully have a clean copy in May that we can only discuss for two hours and and we're good to go. That is so I'm sure

165the superintendent wants to leave this as his lasting legacy here. The code we'll call it the Hank Richmond code of conduct. Are you going to have a problem adopting it in July or August if we have a low turnout though? This will this will how are we going to have a lower turnout than what we have right now for this discussion? I don't know. But that's been used as an excuse in the past. So, I just don't I don't want to delay it. I don't want to not do it if that will come up later. I look forward to this being Dr. Kravitz's first uh first task. Okay. Do I have a motion to table? Second. Same. Okay. T. All in favor? Okay. Authorization to approve NAF and NICLASS participation. Whereas can I just read

166the Can I read the You can tech just Do I have a motion to approve number two? You don't. Do I have a motion to Oh, I like that. I didn't wish I knew that years ago. Do I have a motion to approve the authorization of the NYF and NICLF participation mutual cooperation agreement? Do I have a motion? Sam second. Divia. No. Oh, Jen. Second. Okay. Discussion. Do you mind just explaining what that is? I know this is not new to this, but just to review. So, um, NIAF, New York Liquid Asset Fund, and NICL class are currently two separate and distinct uh, investment pools for school districts, libraries, and municipalities. Uh, we're currently a customer of NIAF. Um the thirdparty administrator that administrates both of those funds currently are two separate and distinct companies.

167Those two companies are merging. So the result is either NILAF needed to get a different third-party administrator or NIAF could merge with NIClass and the decision of both NIClass and NIAF was to merge the two investment pools and in the future will be just Nclass. Um, as we're currently a customer of NIAF, we need to now uh become a customer of Nlass and by June 30th, all of our individual accounts with NILAF will be mirrored in NLASS. Um, and going forward, we'll will now be a customer of just NICLASS. I think that was as concise as possible. All in favor? Thank you. And now I think do I need to go back and check? Did I miss anything? We're good. We're good. Okay. Um approval of schedules. We're going to take out SK. So we're

168going to do schedule 15105 through U377, but we're going to take out Gapa 15151. Do I have a mo Gapa 15151? Do I have a motion? Yes. Jen second. Anyone? Anyone? SM discussion. Wow. Good. All in favor? Thank you. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? Jen second. Sam. All in favor? We are adjourned. We'll see you all. Oh, hopefully we'll see everyone May 8th. Thank you. And there is Leonetti's cake