##VIDEO ID:KRolwWw7tXs## um and so uh in accordance with the uh I guess open public meetings act uh I'm calling this regular board meeting to order roll call Mrs Brown here Mr Craig here Mrs Divine here Mrs Maya oh she's here I saw her earlier yeah she's in potty Mrs molski here Mrs Seltzer here Mrs Sherman here Mrs Z here Mr McMillan here Mr dilus here Mr Chu here please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance we did have an executive uh session tonight and so I would like to take a motion to I guess to adjourn the the come out of the executive session so is there a motion to come out of the executive session so moved and a second and then yeah all in favor I next section is uh section three presentations so there will be uh two presentations tonight but I think what we'll do is we'll yep we will actually move to uh open up into Committee of a whole before the presentation so they'll make it a little bit easier for board members to ask questions during the presentations and so for now I think I'll take a motion to enter committee the hold and a second it's uh all in favor I great so now that we're in committ the whole we will have our two presentations the first one is the Elementary uh principles will present program highlights good evening uh my name is Mark wilty I'm the principal at Garfield Elementary I'm going to kick things off for the elementary portion of the presentation our first three slides are sort of a high level on toop view of what we discussed during our district level meetings starting with the mission and vision statement where we keep a focus on the inclusivity and the success of each of our students um the second slide is uh talks about our school acceleration plans I believe we are in year four now of our school acceleration plans where this year we're focusing more on the data collection um collecting individualized data through various points using that data to create individualized Student Success plans using the data that's available to us um that's been an interesting conversation for many of us as we've always used data but this is allowing us to really bring it down to the granular granular level for each student and our third slide um key performance indicators so there are seven of them again if you're viewing this from the top uh of all of our elementary schools the 2425 goals are collection at last check we had 804 elementary students uh the column all the way to the right is uh all of our data compiled um I know you can read through each data point but I'll focus on three of them three up from the bottom we are starting with Dibbles training excuse me starting with Dibbles um so we had our beginning of the year Assessments in dibles right now we're all in the process of our middle of the Year assessments we're going to use that data to help Drive instruction once we finish that and the goal for the end of the year when we give our end of the year assessment is to have 75% of our students at that proficiency or on grade level with their phonics instruction and the bottom two when we're talking about about njsla data uh for Math and for ELA when we had our school acceleration plans that I referenced a few minutes ago uh so what we have learned by looking at that data at those data points is we can take an individual student who might be right at the proficiency cut score or just below it and maybe it was only a question or two that'll slide them into the proficiency range so now we have that data and we can take something like a math measurement and data maybe that was a standard where they were struggling we can focus the instruction and the support to help get them over the hump or keep them in that proficiency area so these key performance indicators are going to drive everything that we do at the building level but what you're seeing here is a collection of all of the data that's been compiled for all of the elementary schools all right the next slide so one of my responsibilities is that I am in charge of Elementary counseling which makes up the elementary Wellness Wellness team which is Diane du and Kirsten class they are our uh School social workers and Katie Schuman who is our gened and special ed uh Behavior bcba so as the elementary Wellness team we are in charge of a school-based mental health Grant through Ruckers University a January kicked off year three of a five-year Grant so on the right you can see some of the things that we've been focusing using that money on uh the the purpose of the grant is the Recruitment and the retention of a school uh Social Work intern program we currently have six School Social Work interns through Ruckers um only one is here all five days but they rotate a schedule and they are in each building uh but we are using the money to also purchase programs and uh also help build a stronger intern program the picture that you see on the left is from Miss neg's classroom at Garfield we are very proud and happy over the last uh week we were able to deliver over $1,000 worth of books to the K to 5 Club classrooms um the book that you see there in the front the smallest girl in the smallest grade that's part of the character strong program that I'm going to talk about in a minute um but the in September we have the kindness kickoff and we use that book as part of the read aloud which is part of the scope and sequence of character strong so we now have purchased these books that are K through five they're colorcoded they're in order we so many of the teachers here don't realize that we are also going to buy an additional $110,000 worth of books so we will have every single book in the character strong curriculum and we will be able to use those books to help supplement that program um okay you can go to the next one so speaking specifically of character strong this is a tier one based program that we've used that school-based mental health money uh it focuses on social and emotional learning it's a it's the multi-tiered approach but it supports the whole child like I said in September it's the kindness kickoff we are just wrapping up perseverance now each month there is a character trait that goes along with the program um I'm also happy to report that we are going to be purchasing the tier 2 and tier three portions of character strong and the tier two and tier three portions will go into our elementary Wellness teams uh when they log into the character strong program so they'll be able to use that information to better support teachers if they're facing any kind of issues or concerns that they have in their class with behavior attendance um safety all the things that are included there on the side so that's character strong and then the next slide takes you through the scope and sequence of the program U another thing that I'm also proud to announce is the Diane du designed a t-shirt through the elementary Wellness team the MTO for character strong is be kind be strong and be well the t-shirt is going to have that motto on the back with an elementary logo on the front every Elementary student is going to get one to keep promoting the program because it has been really helpful for all our students so far um so that is my overview and I'm going to turn it over to Mr kolak I assume that round of applause is for Mark he's not feeling well so big ups for Mark for being here and doing that and starting us off thanks Mark um I'm Brian kak I'm the proud principal at Tatum Elementary School uh and I'm going to talk a little bit about um the kpi data that you're not going to see I I really believe in the kpi data that's made me a better leader this year uh I would argue that a lot of this is the reason for a lot of that um so we talk about student voice on the left is uh our student run newspaper the Tatum times uh which was suggested by a group of really excited kids several years ago and then last year really came to fruition with the help of Panther printing some dedicated parents um and some really dedicated students so we are in year two of the Tatum times you can find examples of these kinds of student voice Le activities throughout the district this is just for my building and on the right we see Mr Piper kind of in the foreground there again listening to students he started a sportsmanship club which is for fourth and fifth grade boys and girls uh every day at recess all year both through football and uh baseball it is called the sportsmanship Club not the sports club um because the whole program is about learning how to work together so Mr P has kids who are not playing keeping schooler um making sure the time is right doing all the things that you need to do to be involved without actually being involved this kids who don't really want to be a pass catcher or a baseball swinger a baseball bat swinger still feel uh like they're involved in the action it's a wonderful program I'm really proud of it so again these are all across the district this is just Tatum so thanks to our students for listening to us go ahead um this all lefts uh really important picture just for me personally but I think for the district as well um go ahead just go back one it's okay um thanks to Mr Adams and Mr LaMore who have started a senior Leadership Academy several years ago um what they do is they come over to elementary schools really by request and often and just hang out with our kids might not seem like much but when you're a fourth or fifth grade kid or even down into a Kindergarten kid and you see the big kids it changes your whole day and it shows you what you're going to be so this is Cecilia Clark uh and then Charlotte kroff on the left better known as Charlie Tatum people um in fourth grade they struck up this little friendship um I snapped this picture thinking nothing of it and then got to use it tonight with both their permission just to show you what the relationships in the district uh mean so not only do our kids ask when the big kids are coming back but when you see the big kids come over and run and sweat and play tag for an hour straight K through five and smile the whole time it's just a great program so again we talk about almost wraparound supports we want kids to see and feel good about themselves in their own space but in also the space that they're going to be in in a few years and I've been talking about seal before was popular um I think it is the foundation on which all kids learn and I'll say it one more time you can't ask a kid to come in at 8:40 and start math if he hasn't eaten the bed before the night before um if he hasn't slept if he's experiencing significant trauma so that's what we think about first in cols would and then we figure out how to teach that student so everyday seal is more than just a motto it is what we believe in particularly at Tatum we do use the zones of Regulation so parents probably hear red blue yellow or green all the time students can self identify how they're feeling and then thanks to inside out and inside out too we able to use the emojis for a little bit of an easier way for kids to identify how they're feeling so all those are in play and each has some sort of intervention from the classroom level to the nurse to the ewt who I cannot say enough great things about especially um at the elementary level to classroom teachers and to me U one of the things we try to do as Elementary principles is demystify the principal's office it is not what we grew up experiencing um so we want kids to come to us for a variety of reasons not just because they may have been sent to us soal every day again more than just a motto it's just how we are and I think that's why our elementary program is as strong as it is speaking of that Mrs Floyd and that was also for Mark just to clarify right that was another clap for Mark um so I'm Mrs Floyd um the preschool princi ible in Collingswood and following up um about how the great initiatives in Collingswood is um impacting the kids and their lives I want to talk a little bit about Al our little new friend in preschool um and Al's Pal's our new curriculum that we um received uh doe approval for this year as a Collingswood and Oakland preschool program to incorporate into our creative curriculum lessons throughout the day so Al Pals is specific for our learners three to six so our youngest Little Learners um and it is aligned exactly with the objectives of development and learning that we use every day to assess your students and help your students grow um as you can see the kids are enjoying Al and his friends the teachers are learning the voices um the names how to read lessons as they're learning the lessons for the first time as they are changing their voices it is a very tricky task so if you would like to come and participate please do I'm sure they'll love it um and it just incorporates a lot of what we're already doing with within creative curriculum um but kind of giving that extra little oomph the kids are very excited to see Al when they have their weekly lessons um they have a few songs they have aligs so if you have a preschool student you may see every so often little certificates that come home um not necessarily on a daily basis but they have little celebrations with Al just to um acknowledge their accomplishments so it's a really great thing to do and then of course what do we do in preschool we celebrate our students every day across the board um so whether or not it is a student who is practicing reading their favorite story in front of their class um kids experimenting during the bread study by painting pieces of toast in a classroom really getting into the learning a different way or some of our big Wows which I know is like a board meeting favorite um approving of them we had flare dance um Studio come in to all the preschool locations um across both districts just to give that um additional enhancement of um this school day so we really enjoy looking at what the kids are learning looking at what the kids are interested in and as a staff really thinking about how we can do something a little extra special add that um you know that extra me memory extra learning have the kids asked a few additional questions um and you know really enjoy the preschool day so thank you hi everybody I'm Matt Jen I'm the principal at Zan north um as Mrs Floyd mentioned one of the things we wanted to definitely do tonight was highlight uh some of the different ways we celebrate our kids as everybody knows we have amazing kids um and so um in our different buildings we like to find different ways to celebrate them and their awesome accomplishments and U that they give day in and day out at school and so we wanted to show you some different examples of that tonight so at Garfield um Garfield this December held a uh attendance contest they spelled out the word attendance and every child who attended school during the month got their name and a hat for a drawing and they ended up having over 70 students not miss a day of school in December um and then 10 winners were chosen at random to receive a prize bag it's at Garfield uh next uh newbie um newbie um they nominate students nominate classmates for demonstrating newbie fire so that's friendship Integrity responsibility and Excellence um at assembly students are recognized schoolwide for their outstanding character and classrooms with exemplary attendance are also recognized at their assemblies um and the class with the best record of attendance is announced and awarded the Newbie fire helmet to proudly display outside their classroom door uh next you'll see an example from sharp school um here are some students from sharp being on Ed as proud students uh these are monthly awards given to students who have been nominated by a staff member for making good choices and uh the students are recognized in school as well as in the uh Community next we have some examples from Tatum uh Tatum's caught being kind program remains a crowd pleaser at the school um each week students and staff can nominate each other for the award simply by virtue of seeing someone do something um and another example there um of recognition is students having the opportunity to earn a gaming lunch with uh Mr kolac and at zann North these are Zay north star awards um uh it's a program where we uh recognize students and staff who exemplify uh characteristics that we think are really important to helping our school Thrive so uh safety teamwork accepting and including others and reaching for the Stars by making an extra uh spectal effort on their classroom academics and um at the end of each week we announce our stars of the week and they're selected and recognized at school and also in our Weekly Newsletter that we send home to uh to families at this time I'm gonna pass over to miss Henson thank you good evening everyone I'm Camila Henson the principal at Sharp Elementary School so along with celebrating our students uh we also at sharp have um a variety of Title One Services as um are mentioned here as Mr Jenna uh mentioned the proud student recognition is one of our favorites because our students are able to be recognized for a variety of reasons um by teachers and any staff member in the building um uh when they are recognized I go into the morning meetings and make you know a big announce announcement for the students U Miss Hoffman who um also is our attendance leahan she goes in with me with the sign we take a picture they get to choose a prize and if you write around you may have seen some of the um the uh posters in The Lawns of some of the students so um they're very proud and that's what's called The Proud student recognition award we also have our high impact tutoring happening now um this is happening through our Huntington um Learning Center they're coming into or they come into the classroom um and they have small group instruction and they are offering tutoring to many of our students as well as our after school tutoring is also taking place they both take place on Tuesday Wednesday and Thursdays I'll use the word intentional to describe how we uh choose and select our students um it is a targeted intervention so we are very intentional in selecting the students that um are receiving the tutoring um during the school day and also after uh the school day and also we use um the data collected um both summatively informatively during um throughout the um school year um definitely using um of course our beginning of the year and now our middle of the year uh data which um over this next week will be uh taking place we'll be um having those assessments also so njsla data um their um assessments that they're taking their module assessments that they're taking um throughout the um school year and the weeks so we put that together to take a look at that um and then determine which students will um or the which students will benefit um the most or greatly from the uh tutoring Services um I don't do that alone I have my team um Miss Lisa so remchuk who I believe is here this evening um is has been instrumental in um getting our high impact tutoring um up and running and also our after school tutoring and thanks again to Dr principado for um connecting us with Huntington um I'm very excited that it is the middle of the year so the middle of the Year assessment we'll take a look at that especially with both uh tutoring um sessions because they don't go throughout the entire year so we will stop we will pause and take a look at the middle of the Year data um to see you know how the students are performing and um allowing that to kind of you know Drive what we do next um our summerbridge program is another opportunity that we uh had last year in July it took a month so this was really to help eliminate the summer slide as much as possible um fun um and I'll actually go back to the after school tutoring that's also fun for our kids um we actually have um a video that um Miss rimu U she showed to me that the kids were literally saying wow this is fun they said it you know um it was a group of kindergarten students and I'm like this is what we want to see we want our students to enjoy learning the joy of learning is very very important you know for me so that was great to see um our attendance Ladi on is another uh service that we have through title one uh that is uh Miss Hof she's able to call um you know various parents kind of understand you know the reason for um if they're having an attendance issue and then we have our Google doc that I'm able to follow up uh attendance letters went out recently um so that has been very helpful for helping um some of our parents who need that extra support um we also have attendance plans that we have uh going on so we'll know like well how can we help you know we don't I don't want to just send the letter I want to know how can to help you to get your students here and also um on time we also have Miss Valencia who has um been key and helping connect um our soon as she's our interpreter at uh sharp and she also connects with the um parents and so forth so um again team that is so very important to me because without the team um we would not see the progress of our students and the team teachers staff members Psych colle is interns maintenance of course my um Administrative Assistant but everyone in the building we work so well as a team and then that's how we're able to see the growth of the students and also see the joy I have students who are coming to me and saying oh I got a 100 on a test you know or at the same uh rate I had a teacher to come to tell me that you know student did really well on um an assessment so I love seeing the joy and again with the team you know we plan to just continue to see the progress of our students and I think I have one more slide and then I'll be um I'll be finished our uh Tommy Sharp Elementary School student council um this group here um is a great group full of ideas we meet um on a monthly basis they have their binders um they have an agenda um the meeting when um Mr Chu you did the the roll call okay we do that also so the kids can just kind of you know experience you know um those things but no place for hate is another another initiative that we have at sharp so the students here are also you know involved um with that um they're involved with the character strong um morning announcements this um we've been going over perseverance um but I love their enthusiasm and what I want them to know is that okay they are all fifth graders but your um underclassmen are looking up to you and so we have six positions here four are voted on and two are appointed so that way it can be very inclusive um of all of our uh students you know in the building so we have our you know the normal president vice president secretary treasurer and then the two um appointed offices um a fundraising officer and historian and historian um he did say okay well what do I do I said we're going to document you know through pictures and so forth so um but this is our student council and it's just another way of elevating the student voice and celebrating our students so thank you very much so thank you to the elementary principles are there any questions from board members before we move on to the next presentation I was going to mention one thing which is that looking at that presentation it uh seems like there's a lot of amazing things happening at at each of the schools and also I wanted to shout out uh the principles for for the what seems like incremental but but meaningful uh kpi uh that yall are putting into place and and and and striving to achieve uh this year I think that's that you know when you think about that Improvement year after year after year it's just looking up in terms of uh what we're able to provide to to our students so so thank you very much for all of your work so now the secondary principles and supervisors will present the the secondary education update and I would like to Echo the words of uh our board president shout out to our elementary leaders prek leaders and our Elementary staff at the middle school I have the Good Fortune of inheriting um all of the good work that you folks do and one of the test I always give the kids as I'm walking down the hall and I go what elementary did you come from if they say sharp I go oh so you're you know my good friend Miss Hinson and they always smile or say oh what oh you had so and so in fifth grade and again the reactions from our kids are are always uh great to see so thank you thank you thank you because I say at the middle school that enthusiasm that you and gender uh continues so good evening it it is my honor to have served as the principle at coling of middle school since 2006 and over the course of that time since middle school is that time of change we've sort of walk the walk and talk to talk once upon a time colins with middle school was a seventh and eighth grade building then it became a sixth through eth grade building then we welcomed our sixth seventh and eighth graders from Oakland and it went from a Collingswood only Middle School to a real true Community with our our sending District um Oakland joining us and over these various changes we've really have had the the benefit of being able to navigate them and those Evolutions very smoothly by always staying true to our core beliefs so Mr Al if you want to hit that next slide there one more slide so what are our core beliefs what's our philosophy at the middle school and it's pretty simple boils down to it all happens in the middle by a show of hands we have any Middle School parents here former Middle School parents yes lots of Middle School parents so you know what this means right if you have a middle school or had a middle school you know it all happens in the middle lots of things are going on there and at the middle school we work um directly and consciously to really strike a balance between growing our students academically but also supporting them in their social emotional growth and development we want to give them opportunities to develop a growth mindset to continue to exercise that resiliency that um you've heard mentioned as they come through the elementaries and of course um seeking to empower our students with empathy and really connecting with relationships and Community Building supporting them through academic progress across all of our academic levels we want to infuse rigor and relevance into what we're doing with the learning activities middle school kids are pretty Savvy they'll say do I need what do I what what why do I need to know this that's the relevance piece right and the expectations they want to be held to high expectations they want to thrive they want to buy in and part of that buying in is also the relationship piece wanting to uh work as part of that Community again infused across all of our disciplines we're looking at high impact strategies that we use to reinforce that academic progress things like deliberate practice and summarization um integrating prior knowledge and question and discussion techniques all things that research has shown will strengthen that academic progress throughout lessons across content areas teachers are constantly taking the pulse of the class they're using formative assessment and the feedback that they gather to inform their next steps where do I go with this what am I getting back from the student and that kind of give and take which helps us and then of course as our students grow and mature that opportunity to self-reflect kind of further self-empowerment for them self-reflect self assess where they are in their own learning sort of metacognitively how engaged am I in this and we've introduced them to a continu of engagement which we'll talk about and I'll show you a little example later so they can reflect and see what that looks like and kind of all along with this stressing that we need to grow you we need to move you academically but we're also going to provide you we're going to balance that with the supports that we have to support you in your social emotional growth all of this of course working again with the target behaviors that we have as well as the key performance indicators which we'll take a look at in a little bit there so that next slide Mr aliv so tracking academic progress of course important as we move from recovery to rigor we're continuing to track our academic progress and we're getting more sophisticated as we go with data analysis and kind of diagnosing and prescribing to assist us in these efforts as I say we have some key performance indicators that we are monitoring we're setting goals supported by instructional strategies to assist our students in increasing their skills and academic proficiency and of course one great challenge um not only in Collingswood not only in New Jersey but Across the Nation of course is math proficiency and that is a CMS Focus area as we move forward I do want to emphasize that at CMS we see growth over time with our students in the area of academics and that being said I just wanted to give a little context to we see with our math proficiency uh that 9.1 there um listed for New Jersey SLA grade8 math proficiency just want to point out that doesn't include 54 8th grade students who took the algebra njsla instead of the grade eight because they were in an algebra course if we Factor those students in who passed we're looking at a 40% proficiency R more precisely 4.26 when I look at the same cohort group in 7th grade there was a 30% math proficiency so we see that growth over time but I I have to say all that being said rest assured we're continuing to work collectively and consciously to challenge our students in their academic growth and development in the area of math because all of us at CMS believe in a growth mindset and continuous Improvement and we are as I say communicating that to our students on a regular basis later on the presentation you're going to hear more specifics from Dr principado our district stem supervisor on the efforts we're making in that area so as we take a look at our middle school program I'm studying our core areas our sixth seventh and eighth graders it looks similar as you look across there what they're taking year long we'll have English we'll have writing Workshop we'll have Math Science Social Studies health and PE in sixth grade where you see that stem lab stem lab is more of an extension for our math program as we join our six communities together that feed the Middle School kind of a leveling out and a support to really extend some math and again um get our students in a better place in math instruction the step lab in seventh and eighth grade becomes more targeted support for those students as they move through the middle school so that's our sort of general program and a sixth grader because part of the middle school is about growing your passion discovering your interest if you want to take a look at that next slide Dave um we have in sixth grade there is sort of one Encore spot or one elective spot so our students in six grade will have the opportunity of taking a full year of band chorus or orchestra and we've worked it out where we have splits and they can kind of really get to M multiple areas within our performing arts or those students who are not uh in our Performing Arts are exposed to a cycle marking period cycle class where they will see uh visual art they'll have an art class A World Language Spanish and then they they have uh STEM Science technology engineering uh and Mathematics or a career and tech ed course selection and for our sixth graders that's tech ed and that's I cubed six and you'll see if we go on our next slide to seventh grade this I Cube comes uh up a couple times people go what is I cubed so I cubed very clever right it's imagination innovention in inov vention and invent yeah imagination innovention and invention that's hard to say um because as I say Pro it's um Project based it's problem solving and these courses also encapsulate some mathematics in seventh grade those students who aren't taking targeted support in uh in math in their stem lab will have two spaces in their schedule that they will fill all seventh graders will experience a cycle class more exploratory cycle to kind of to expand their Horizons a little bit develop their passions and for them they'll have a marking period of Music exploration they'll have a marking period of Spanish and then they will be exposed to either Tech design half of our students take Tech design and the other half of our seventh grade would take the I Cube S again those stem and CTE like courses which are also kind of a springboard as they move into high school where they'll have opportunities to kind of go deeper into those areas along with that so they have two spots that's one of their slots their second slot is filled with either a full year course in the Performing Arts so they continue with band course and music or they have an option of taking sem electives there are seven semester electives that are listed here uh those semester electives are courses that are available to students to take in either grade seven or eight so if I take maker space as a seventh grader I don't repeat and take it as an eighth grader we want to sort of expand what their uh possibilities are as they go through many of those semester electives are also reflective of what students can pursue on a little deeper level on our high school level so our Middle School grade seven electives look like that and if we go to our next slide our eighth grade you say it's the same slide nope there's one change there we have a music technology semester class that goes into their um cycle class and again that's a great feeder for our Music Tech program um Mr Ingram's program at the high school so that's what our courses look like like and I want to talk to you a little bit about The credibility Matrix if you take a look at our next slide as I say Middle School it's really important that we strike this balance between growing our kids and letting them know how much we care about them support them want this to build these relationships and build their confidence so very simply we're looking to aim for that top uper up uh upper right quadrant where that's what we call the the sweets spot we're trying to establish credibility with the kids we want you to grow academically but we're going to support you in every way we can social emotionally to to get you there building trust with you uh being responsive to your needs but again insisting if all we did was kind of care about the kids all the time which doesn't sound so bad but never Brew them academically we'd be great that'd be great if I were your uncle or something like that taking you to the circus and things and it would be a great day but I want you to grow as well so we're trying as I say to um push you along with your growth and development but kind of like with training wheels when we taught our kids how to ride their bike right and then slowly moving them to Greater levels of Independence as we continue to support them and underpinning all we do here is this desire to really be developmentally responsive to their social emotional needs while really equitably challenging them to make progress academically and through that process we really hope that we reach their hearts and their minds the continue of Engagement this is always a great thing I throw this in at staff meetings I throw this in at other types of meetings where are you on a continu of engagement Once Upon a Time participating in class was great right participated I'm doing well that is engagement but there are other levels of Engagement we want to talk to the kids about we want them to self-reflect on their their input into their process as a learner and what their output is so if I am participating for example that's fantastic but can I take it to another level can I invest in my learning how do I invest can I begin to ask questions can I begin to plan in that way so we talk to the students and ask them to reflect back on how they are going to engage and where were they in that engagement and what kind of results did they get and not surprisingly when students are investing in driving their engagement and they look at their outcomes and academic progress they start to see that connection what they put into it how they're showing up to learning is actually resulting in positives on the other side there so a good lesson because as I say many of us believe that participating raising your hand is good when we can talk to our students about getting deeper into engagement it's always a good thing and the next slide and speaking of Engagement I know they say a picture is worth a thousand words so in this case I guess multiple pictures must be worth multiple thousands here but i' I'd like to Highlights our efforts at CMS in the area of making connections and building Community because it's really really important to us as a learning community this year so far students have learned about a variety of communities through our monthly Heritage and Community celebrations we've highlighted recognized and acknowledged uh our Latino Community lgbtq plus Native American disabled communities um with these with more celebrations to come um as part of December's disability pride month we celebrate inclusive schools week at the middle school took part in daily activities discussions culminating in our students um signing the inclusive schools pledge to demonstrate their support for all students and each other because we are a community um throughout this year our students have been provided with multiple opportunities to participate in service learning and Community Building um which includes our CMS 911 Day of Service our schoolwide event to honor the victims of the L 911 attack and render service to our community in November we held a CMS Veterans Day concert to which we invited area veterans to enjoy patriotic songs performed by our talented CMS musicians and coral members and yes that's that yes thank you thank you thank you somebody's investing in their engagement there good all right and our staff is actively involved with our students in our Panther Pantry program which is a food bank that absolutely is Grassroots it's been established to assist the families in need throughout our school district and our sending districts and I I just want to give a shout out to CMS teacher ardan nner who spearheads this initiative and and all I do not work for cbs3 news they did a great news story on it it's still archived on their website um and in the news story they highlighted just that the collaborative efforts between students and staff to support this Panther pantry and just as I say support those are in greatest needs uh in our community and just a great way for middle school kids to kind of come out of themselves a little bit more and realize there's a there's a a bigger world out there and another kind of level of Engagement there and if we go to the next slide lots of things we're doing across the board to positively engage and reinforce this ever so important sense of belonging at the middle school this I like to call CMS by the Numbers here um just incredible we have we've seen high levels of participation in our sports program um we see as I say just incredible numbers of students working hard each day to be engaged across the board those percentages for our fall sports are incredible um we have seventh and eighth graders who are eligible to to participate in our Marching Band program they're here after school evenings weekends um working very very very hard at that um it's always amazing when we look at our musical performance uh in December very busy our students uh as they opened the CMS musical Freaky Friday between cast and crew CMS a Middle School Musical 82 students yeah that's 18% of our school just think about that 18 % of the student body just in our musical alone and again the relationships and the community that builds around that is is amazing so our F Arts programs our Sports programs all of those things are really um paying dividends and connecting our kids and giving them a sense of belonging in addition to co-curricular activities we're doing some things this year with uh Target behaviors student recognition programs um or or some of our uh student recognition programs have been around for a long time are panther of the marking period programs um but we have a couple new things here one of our school psychology interns um came to us with the idea of a cop being kind initiative and we are again recognizing those students and the staff members who nominate them on a regular basis but some interesting things with Target behaviors um our first Target Behavior was being on time for every class every class you saw all those classes that you have to take could you do it be on time 84% of our students did during that time that with that six week period that we track were tracked it and monitor it prize drawings just reinforcing those expectations that we we want and need probably the most amazing thing if you look at no cell phone violations that's right that's over 98% of our students no cell phone VI violations can they do it yes they can and again we we reward we rewarded them with that not appearing on this slide is our current Target Behavior which is no office referrals and we've been tracking that since November 25th we were going to wrap up our tracking this Friday and I am very happy to report to date 91% of our students met that challenge which again middle school kids do some fun funny thing sometimes but yes 91% is an awesome awesome number so constantly communicating constantly reinforcing those expectations as they say is a it's a fantastic thing for our kids so I submit that to you as we move forward and as I wrap up my portion of the program I have to say we are very very excited to share with our community that the Collingswood school district has been awarded a three-year Grant from the new jerse for from the New Jersey inclusion project for four Collingswood Middle School New Jersey inclusion project is a partnership between Allin for inclusive education formerly known as the New Jersey Coalition for inclusive education and the department of Ed they are supporting us in their goal of developing more inclusive schools where students with and without disabilities learn contribute and belong and this initiative resonates so well with cms's core belief and the Heart and Soul of CMS so Dave you want to take us that last slide there so we are currently in phase one year one of this and we um have formed a multi-disciplinary team uh comprised of Administrators and staff members uh we are working with a facilitator from Allin for inclusive education we're looking at current inclusive practices policies and the structures to really solidify our future vision and subsequently from that draft an action plan to achieve that Vision as part of this we're getting technical support from all in um they are providing our staff with professional development training uh resources and as I say helping us to continue to build our capacity to support inclusive classroom practices and student belonging and it is all very very exciting for us so yes we should have Round of Applause for the work being done there because it is it is a collective effort from our staff so as I said at the outset it truly all happens in the middle and although some of our days at the middle school might be a little bit stressful um I am just so happy and pleased and and fortunate um to work with a a group of professionals that absolutely love what they do they love our students and and all of us and people sometimes look at me and go you work in a middle school right we absolutely love what we do and we feel so fortunate to be able to join students on their path at this part in their life and help them realize and achieve the best version of themselves academically and social uh socially and emotionally and I sincerely want to thank our Board of Education and our public for supporting in Us in this very important work so thank you and now I'd like to introduce Mr Dave Oliver thank you Dr McMullen you're always a great act to follow thank you um good evening my name is David oliv I'm the supervisor of K12 Ela and social studies and grade 6 to 12 World Language and find and Performing Arts joining me today is Dr principado she is the stem supervisor of K to 12 and CTE okay thank you so again my name is Karen principado I am the district uh stem supervisor and I also supervised to gifted and talented programs within the district uh I would like to begin uh by talking about our instructional support programs um first with our teachers we focus on our classroom observations and walkthroughs we provide frequent actionable feedback as it relates to Student Learning we also support our professional learning communities as they collaborate on how to improve instruction via visible learning strategies uh they also analyze not only the map growth but the jsla data and the um daily classroom data um that they um uh correlate to help for planning and reflection purposes thank you Mr olivieri so in literacy right now our K to8 Ela departments are taking steps to move toward programmatic changes that reflect a more science of reading approach to literacy instruction we have a K8 committee that meets regularly and the committee is currently examining programs that we're seeking to implement this spring possibly with a pilot hoping for at least partial implementation in 2025 26 in summer 2024 we undertook the task of updating our curricular standards to reflect the New Jersey Department of Education uh revisions that went into effect for this past September simultaneously we wrote a curriculum for literacy acceleration 9 a course designed to fill content and knowledge knowled gaps for select incoming freshmen who have demonstrated that they're nearing proficiency levels for njsla additionally our Ela plc's are using data to guide our instruction in real time before I conclude I would like to briefly highlight some of the outstanding work that our elective teachers are carrying on Dr McMullen mentioned the great success of Freaky Friday and Miss incasso will help car some of that performing art momentum on the road for us in April when the CHS chamber choir sings at the famous Carnegie Hall in New York City meanwhile Miss Ludwick has been preparing students for their audition in the all South Jersey band in World languages classes recently conducted a collaboration to celebrate Three King's day and in Fine Arts our classes have done great work throughout the year Miss Slade students are working on a self-identity project and she is preparing for her in school art open house at CMS that just happened this past week the next item on the docket for the art department will be gearing up for projects connected to black history month I will now turn the program back over to Dr Prince poto thank you so this section I would like to focus on mathematics at the secondary campus the secondary campus is implementing an evidence-based curriculum called into maath which includes into maath 6 7 8 into Algebra 1 into geometry and into Algebra 2 included all professional development opportunities and coaching sessions for our teachers we also introduced a two-year Math course called integrated math at the conclusion of these two years students will have earned the equivalent of a full year of Algebra 1 and a full year of geometry we continue to offer accelerated math courses at the middle school these courses include accelerated math 6 accelerated math 7 and Algebra 1 honors at the high school we continue to offer honors advanced placement and dual enrollment courses such as algebra 1 honors Algebra 2 honors geometry honors pre-calculus honors advanced placement statistics advanced placement calculus AB advanced placement Calculus BC and college math dual credit next year we will be adding a ninth grade math support course for intentionally selected students an additional support we have conducted at the high school through our Title One is high impact tutoring we have partnered with Huntington Learning Center they are providing high-intensity tutoring sessions during the school day in the classroom for intentionally selected students next slide please thank you in our science Technology and Engineering departments the high school engineering program will be adding its third course called aerospace engineering the engineering pathway also includes an Afterschool technology Student Association called TSA this group engages in stem activities and state competitions we have the addition of the mathly contest for our high school students select classroom teachers work with their students to enter them into local and state math competitions I would also like to add that we offer a number of honors classes in biology chemistry physics anatomy and physiology environmental science computer science engineering digital production and construction technology we offer AP classes in biology chemistry physics environmental science psychology and computer science we offer dual credit courses in anatomy biology chemistry TV production statistics college math digital production and psychology thank you and now I would like to introduce Mr Newman the high school principal good evening everyone so yesterday when I was watching the game I couldn't take it I was in and out of the room in and out of the room um but in the end you know the Eagles did what they needed do and they pulled it off but you know jayen doesn't do this without his team get it you get where I'm going I can't do this without The Supporting Cast that's around us as far as the high school is concerned um every time we huddle up you know we are actually going over information that's crucial that's critical to the way we function and how we move forward um so I do appreciate the team that surrounds me on a regular basis and you know just helping us to be able to you know to be able to move forward uh see would you know last year when we came on board when I came on board one of the things that we discussed was what are the things that students um uh need to have an an enjoyable experience as far as the high school is concerned well we know that um uh being kind caring and supportive matters to students students said that that this is what's important to them uh and so it's a call or response is what it is when I say seawood you know folks say you know or kids say you know kind of backed away you know from doing it as often as I did it last year but it still matters you know and it is something that we you know the meaning behind it is to keep the focus on you know when we're in the hallways how do we treat each other when we're we're in classrooms you know how are we supportive of one another um when we are thinking about collinswood 20 years from now you know what do you remember do you remember the classes or do you remember how you know the the culture that was there the kind culture that was there so see would you know what is it what's behind the meaning are folks being kind caring supportive um is it fun you know are the classrooms engaging uh and also trying to help folks understand that this is your school you know claiming what's yours uh when you claim it when you own it it becomes important to you and so we want that student voice to be you know lifted up we want students to you know enjoy being here and be able to make that statement you know what cons of was a could pretty cool place this was my school uh as far as um our academic progress is concerned you know we are uh going uh hard this year as far as the you know the the rigor and relevance you know we want students to understand that um it's supposed to be challenging but we also want to make those connections to make the you know the work more enjoyable or more understanding but they need to be able to understand why it is that they're learning um what they're learning you know so through high impact visable learning strategies um this is not new to our district this is something that we've been grappling with for a while now but uh this year our focus is on deliberate practice summarizations integration um and questioning discussion and techniques so what that pretty much means is we're trying to make sure that students have different ways of going deeper into the content making sure that when they're done you know dealing with the hard Concepts and and uh collaborating and working with one another that on the other end of that they understand they fully understand what it is that they've been working on um as far as that subject area is concerned uh the formative assessments allow us to do benchmarks allows teachers to do benchmark assessments just throughout the course of the year and then take a a look at okay well I know we taught this but if this isn't working what do we need to do a little differently and that feedback is helpful for being able to make those adjustments um our Renaissance program here at the high school uh since I've been here it's always been one of those things that students are always looking to see every quarter you know did they make that Renaissance uh program and the Renaissance program is to celebrate students we do believe in celebrating our kids and one of the ways that we do that is to remind them through you know the work that you do in the classroom through you know uh attendance being on time not just being here but being here on time uh that positive behavior those are the things that we want to you know lift up and and honor those students that um that are actually being able to do that so the Renaissance program is helpful we have other things that um you know we started this year uh Miss Tatum this was her great idea as far as a popup shot and and it kind of does the same thing this popup shop she has a lot of little um you know I don't know food and get prizes or whatever that that's in this little mobile cart and she'll pop up and say okay you know kids will come down with tickets that they get from teachers for those basic you know uh things that they're doing uh you know Behavior You Know the Way teachers want to honor a student for just being a great kid you know they'll pop up she'll pop up and they'll come down with that ticket and they're able to get something out of there so it's one of those kind of fun things that we're doing this year but um that is happening this year um tracking academic progress once again using our uh kpi or our key performance indicators uh when we do huddle up you know as administrators we're able to look at the information um that's important uh to help uh make collinswood better overall you know and so as far as our attendance absenteeism rates you know those are the things that um you know we spend time um as far as our was it mtss and the different groups that come together uh committees that come together to discuss those things we want to be better at all of our um uh you know categories here um some areas we want to we you know we want to uh meet that goal and you know and raise the percentage level in other areas you know we have to reduce our suspension rate is coming down you know based on the um um the the approach that we took this year um our suspension rate you know I think we're on target um based on the fact that we just have less students doing some of the silly things that were you know uh being charged with suspensions and all of that but we just Haven you know students uh meet that meet that demand of bringing down that particular uh percentage um and then with regards to um our proficiency levels those are areas again that we come back to on a regular basis you know through the uh the map testing or is there growth are we making growth in those areas are making strides toward those uh particular areas of um uh that we know to be important for our nth graders our guidance department they get busy they roll up their sleeves and they get busy as far as our students you know are concerned when they come on board um in ninth grade you know I'm sure there's a lot of um conversation back and forth with regards to what they want to do as they're moving on but we we challenge our students to you know to take that next step uh with regards to uh where they want to go that 12th grade but by the time they graduate those students are uh ready to to you know to move on um counselors on a regular basis you know are asking or are working with students with you know with regards to what they choose to uh to where they want to go I'm sorry as to where they want to go we have students in their 12th grade year know that they're going to be able to do ivy league we know students that um are looking to get get into the military we know that there are students who are looking to do their um I you know if if that's their choice community and work at the same time or what have you but by the by the time they actually graduate our Collegewood students are ready to move forward um but counselors are taking the time to make sure that the planning is happening from that 9th through 12th grade year um and then making sure that the community is well well aware of what needs to be done uh to make sure that students are ready so through uh the PSAT day that they do the college visits and the tours that they're doing with that the financial nights making sure that you know families have the information that's needed um our um guidance department is doing a wonderful job in that area um our high school program of studies our guidance department has been taking time um recently with our supervisors just to make sure that you know all the classes are you know for next year are there when those students come in in ninth grade they get a chance to take a look at you know everything that they're going to be doing right you know through 12th grade year the challenge is to to you know push students to challenge themselves you know take a look at the honors level classes take a look at those AP classes um you know that are going to be afforded to you and you know step up not every student needs to do that but you do have your students that are always looking to push themselves and so you know that gives them you know that gives you a broad picture of what it is that students are taking on a regular basis as far as core um subjects of concern but the advanced work the advanced course work is something that you know we definitely I want to say that we are just as um uh prepared and and and challenging as far as our students are concerned um it's the offerings are there for them right um I would put this up with against any District as far as uh what it is that we offer uh with ap and course offerers and dual credit opportunities uh my daughter when she was here in 2020 decided to do more and I was happy to see this do more of the Dual credit um classes that was great because when she graduated you know um that was less money coming out of my pocket in the end as far as College was concerned this kid was she goes into college as a second semester freshman which was pretty cool you know and students are doing this on a regular basis and we have students that do challenge themselves that do push it uh push the envelope but they are going to work you know these AP courses it's not something that you can just you know willy-nilly go in and take your time no you're going to go in and you're going to work but you're come out on the other end uh better for it but um our school does have that and that's a wonderful opportunity for our kids our high school electives I get excited about because of the opportunity for students to be able to learn some things about themselves that or learn an interest or have an interest um maybe it's something that they hadn't thought about before they go into a class and through uh you know dealing with the um you know the content understand that you know what this may be something that I want to do when I move on um I I love this example I was talking to Mr Ingram he has audio production I was talking to Mr Ingram last year and he said you know um I have kids that come in get just a sample of what it is that they're doing these audio production they're making beats they're making music in class right digital music um so they come in and this partic you know these particular kids said you know what I want to practice this at home so what do they do they get their pennies together they get you know they they communicate with their parents they get the items that they need in order to be able to practice at home the same thing that they were using in class and that's what they did they practiced at home lo and behold it turns out that these kids um you know get so good at it they can actually sell their music and they were selling their music they were making money while they were in high school you know and what did it h you know how does that happen it happens because they're exposed to it in school um my senior leadership program I am so proud of that program you know when I first came on board you know it was what it was but you know the fact that it has evolved to what it is you know it's wonderful they are ambassadors for the district not just the high school but for the district they get out there they get to the um elementary schools the passion projects that they are very interested in in doing the passion projects are awesome you know it's it's a GameChanger and when they get out there as far as the passion project what it is is uh senior leaders um what way can they make a difference as far as their Community or their school community and they come up with an idea and say okay this is what I want to do for my community for my school community and there's a wide array of different ideas that they that they you know um are passionate about but the senior leadership program is an awesome program and they're wonderful uh leaders inside the building another program that I'm extremely you know uh proud of is um uh Miss um arman's uh TV and production class you know they get busy they get busy um I've been there and they are award-winning and they are awardwinning I've been I've been there I've been you know last year when I went in for um announcements you know these kids are working you know they just they're just busy and I'm I'm I'm looking around I'm like this is either intimidating or exciting just watching what it is that they do but I got in front of the camera and the kid is pointing to me and saying you know this camera here you know I'm just like wow I felt like this was this is professional but the bottom line is when these kids go on you know this is what I've been this is what I'm hearing when they go on they go on with I would just imagine the experience that they have they walk onto a campus somewhere or they walk into a um I don't know some type of program somewhere and this is not new to them you know they come in with experience they're not coming in um for an introduction into their program they're coming in to enhance the program or you know you know or help it be better but you know we have this again award-winning program every year she's tell she tells us about the awards that the students one based on the products you know I you know that they put out I think it's awesome um but you know this program they do daily announcements um You Know cover news and things like that but it's a wonderful job and um you know it's exciting to have this in a program once again um when I talk to other administrators in other districts I know what it is that we have and when I'm talking about the different things that we have you know the comment is wow well who was in charge of that and who's doing yeah we have that here in collinswood we have just different things that other folks want and I think I'm I I'm definitely proud you know to be uh able to talk about these things to other administrators when I'm you know when we're having these conversations and meetings um setting high expectations bottom line is this you know I've said this before um to uh you know to to every class the way you present yourself in the building matters people have talked about how the culture you know is nice and calm and we like that and I get that and I understand that but the bottom line is kids are doing the basic expectations with regards to who they are they know they can you know the way they present each other you know uh to each other in the hallways um are we are we are we able to engage with each other on a level that is comfortable when you walk away and you're comfortable with that engagement the answer is yes that's what CW's about these you know our students are doing this and they're very capable of doing this presentation matters presentation always matters it's one of those things that adult you know we've heard this we've been growing up you know watch how you speak in public watch how you talk to people watch how you engage with people that's what we're doing here at the you know in the high school School watch what you say what you say matters you know you can harm someone or you can help someone so what's it going to be you know and our kids choose on a regular basis I I believe our kids choose and we're seeing it you know to just be be that kind Spirit to one another um attendance matters you can't learn if you're not here you know and here on time so those are the things that you know we're constantly we mind and we're putting it out there be here so you can learn just being in that room and picking up the information that you're getting from the teachers matters of course if you study you take it to the next level but just being here matters and so be here uh positivity is the thing I mean you know when you have that positive behavior it is very easy to do um and so just keep it positive um I have this one student on a regular basis I know I know that when I'm done talking to him I am exhausted I'm exhausted because it's you know he's got that well you know bottom line is I'm exhausted but he feels better you know so I want him to understand that's like hey buddy you know you can be positive on a regular basis and so you know we're I'm working on it you know we're gonna get them um set goals and challenge yourself you know have that North Star what are you working towards you know are you just wandering aimlessly or do you know what it is that you're going after some students it's it's very easy for them you know they know that by the time I graduate I'm going ivy league with some money you know with some scholarship money others by the end of the week I just want to be able to not get in trouble you know and so it it depends and it's okay every kid is different but you know what success breeds success and it'll come um and we want our students to challenge themselves we want them to you know take a look at AP and honors level classes we want students to challenge themselves if if you're not that type of person to be socially you know uh you know to to engage socially with other people maybe you want to try that maybe you want to try you know developing those areas that you know that you need to um um you know uh be better at uh get involved when it all comes down to it you know there's a lot of activities um that students can learn some more things about themselves you know so when you get involved that's what you're doing you're you're being you're you're connecting with other people you're learning how to talk to people you are working on that social engagement um you know I feel I feel bad for students that and and it's okay but s some students you know come to school and then they just leave by the end of the day I get it you know and some of them are just working some you know but others you know those students that aren't doing much of anything afterwards I would love to see them be more involved now if they have other things off campus and all that I get that that's wonderful that's great as long as you're doing something to to you know figure out that there's another part of me that needs to be developed that engagement is important my own son at home I keep he's driving me nuts he's a sophomore and I'm like dude you need to be more he doesn't like sports that's fine but what do you like you want to play the piano what do you want to do and so we're constantly coming back to that like buddy you got to be able to do something to figure out what else about you you know that you enjoy what else about you you can be good at what else about you that you enjoy so uh I I definitely put that out there get involved be around get involved um Mr um Jefferson is going to come up and talk about uh this next piece as far as um overall Behavior thanks good evening everyone my name is Mike Jefferson I'm the district director of culture and climate and so I have two uh new program initiatives uh to introduce to you this evening and two updates on student programs initiatives that started prior earlier in the year back in August actually both of them the first one is student conduct and behavioral expectations our updated um code of conduct policy restorative code of conduct guide most of this is going to fall under the umbrella of our restorative code of conduct guide in which we are really excited about the continued progress uh in our restorative practices process restorative coding guide in which we are asking staff members and students to take a look at restorative opportunities to offer continued support as staff members and students respond to conflict and challenging Behavior I think it's important to remember that the restorative practi is approach Ro is not just for staff members but also students we actually have had multiple uh uh situations this year in which students have walked into my office or the assistant principal's office and as we've even introduce this concept to them they are coming in asking for adults to assist them in having a sitdown and having a conversation with other students so that has been very uh positive and beneficial next slide do next slide Dr MCM thank you sir um so one of the new initiatives is um a in a school culture and climate is a program that's called a better you a better you is a strategic approach to Student Success a social and emotional learning program that also educates students on the dangers of THC Lac Edibles if you've ever looked at some of the research where we're being proactive here with a lot of teenagers looking at Edibles and not wanting to put them in the same categories as uh some of the other um substances uh illegal substances and um so this starts off with an engaging assembly um from a guy by the name of Sam Jones um and it is program that it's a program that's really aimed at changing the culture within the school it it is it is awareness it is improved decision making it is strengthening self regulation and this comes with weekly sessions in which you will meet with students uh one of the things I had um our our director of Sac uh Mr Kevin Adams sitting on this um meeting with Sam Jones in a better you so it's interactive components activities it's posters it's t-shirts it's hoodies it's you know it's it's students walking around with with these t-shirts and hoodies that they're they're going to be awarded um it's it's it's gamification so it's a whole program aimed at really changing the culture and social emotional learning next slide Doc and so that's just um some of the things that comes along with it um and we are also including eighth graders we we we didn't think that some of the content appropriate going lower than 8th grade so it is 8th through 12th thank you doc School culture and climate the resilience Center I met a individual by the name of Joseph T I was at a professional develop M uh program at Temple and I sat down next to this individual and he and I started talking and as soon as he told me what it was that he that he did I really got excited the resilience uh Center is a a program out of PA aimed at building resilient skills in the lgbtq student Community by creating a safe space through a curriculum designed to build Community Connection and the skills and courage to navigate through a challenging world and Society so they will be meeting it's a um six week program and they will be meeting on Monday evenings and I'm really excited to see what the resources this is and and and and giving students I always kind of say that that armor that they need to to navigate through a society that we have all seen recently can be rather cruel when it chooses to be next slide okay and next we have our elevating our student voice initiative um in which recently the the student voice has communicated to Dr McDow and myself that they they're looking for and in need of a surveying platform one of the things that they really want to focus on as they have already begin to to set their thesis behind their goals is really look out look at a way a platform and how can they interact and engage with staff members and students and kind of get a um a gauge on what people are thinking and feeling so that they can really begin to um put together some larger presentations and discussion questions aimed at sparking necessary conversations needed to implement change and awareness recently the group has we have set up a monthly schedule now in which they do meet with Dr McDow at least once a month moving forward from now throughout the rest of the year thank you next up Dan Willen assistant principal thanks Mr Jefferson um my name is Dan well and I'm the assistant principal at the high school for nth and 10th grade uh I know you've been watching our presentation for quite a while since I have the mic I do want to thank my administrative team who I've worked with for quite a long time love working with you guys and uh doing this good work um I I my remarks are brief uh but we'll continue from what Mr Newman was speaking about in terms of student involvement that uh of course we're a high school or academic institution but uh it's shown that students are going to succeed and feel more a part of their school when they get involved beyond the classroom so uh one of our groups that is kind of threaded throughout a lot of the climate and culture of our building is our high school student council and student government and that takes part um through grade level um advisors and grade level elected students as well as an executive board that meets during the flex period during our new schedule um and is part of uh the overarching state group the uh njasc the New Jersey Association of student council so um that group actually meets in the fall winter and spring um they get to learn from a lot of other student councils around the state and then every other year um South Jersey um has elected students to the State student council and so we're look we're looking out for a sophomore junior um to run for that State student council next year at some time um there's also a lot of our um traditional events like homecoming this is a picture from our homecoming pep rally and our homecoming Court uh we around the holiday time uh make peanut bur Jil sandwiches for the cathedral kitchen along with some of our other student groups um there's my personal favorite uh event of the year is the staff breakfast we meet right here in the cafeteria very early right before for um that winter break and the students actually serve breakfast to the staff we usually actually have more students here to serve us it was almost a one:1 ratio of personal service this year it was very nice um but it's a great event uh along with our choir coming out to to sing some festive music for us um and a really nice time um at it at that time of year that leads up into the raineer games which is also a favorite event of all uh I saw our seniors practicing here in the gym as I was coming in um it was a very very nice effort but the staff prevailed again um to to take home the trophy um and as we get into the spring uh we're we're prepping for our blood drive which is ALS we are um one of the only schools in New Jersey that hosts two blood drives through our student council and our interact club and then a scholarship goes to a student at the end of the year because we host two of them so we're prepping for that right now we have our senior czen prom down at the uh Community Center in April May and then our last dance for the seniors which is a really nice event if senior parents are out there um keep an eye out for that it's a really nice event that that the students get to pick someone special in their lives come out one last time and then our our extracurricular events this is really just a sampling this is a picture from the fall uh when high school when school starts in session um we have a a activities fair right outside here during the the uh lunch periods students get to go around to table see representatives from all of the different clubs and sports and try to sign up and find that thing um that that extra thing that that's uh you know going to be something that they look forward to beyond the classroom and there's tons of different opportunities um we have a couple things coming up between our our model un club and our mock trial Club are prepping right now for um some competition and and a conference that they're going to um our bike maintenance Club started last year I believe it was five or six Joe brush if you're out there um you can correct me um that they've uh repaired and and handed off a bike to someone in need um really cool opportunity to to learn a skill but also give back to someone and um we're we're trying to play with our new schedule as well for those students that are involved um and and do have jobs that that prohibit them from staying after school we have that flex period we have that time at uh the beginning of the day where we're trying to work in some of those active activities for the students as well um so that's my piece and and this feeds right into our great Athletics program so I'll introduce uh my colleague Miss hard our athletic director thank you um first I'm actually going to touch on some updates for our curriculum for next year and we are actually changing our um physical education program to offer some uh variety for the um upper levels so the 10th through 12th graders so ninth graders will have a traditional PE where they get to see all the different types of activities that we can do and then um throughout the year and then in grades 10 through 12 they will get to actually pick their specific activities that they feel more inclined to which is hoping to engage them a little bit more because they have a choice so if they want to pick group Fitness and Wellness because that's more of their speed where they can do things like Zumba or Just Dance um and different loow impact aerobics and things or they can go and pick strength and conditioning because they like to work out and they want to work out in the offseason or if they're an athlete or they just want to be able to go to the gym and know how to use the equipment so they can pick strength and conditioning um if they like team sports because they'd rather be part of the team and and do something but they don't really feel confident enough to join a team at the school at the high school level so they can go and pick team sport Sports and so um we've changed a couple things to let them have more choice in what they are picking for fizzed um as a senior and a junior um we are incorporating um instead of having adaptive P we are doing the Special Olympics uh unified PE and in that case they will also be able to be unified Partners so 11th and 12th grade will have the opportunity to become unified partners and choose unified PE to um engage with um any of the students who have a dis ility and are in that class and and they can be become um you know partners with that class um and then also the final elective is just for seniors only and that is the lifetime Sports and activities which um has a variety of different things some backyard games and they've worked through so they get a little bit more fun and they get to do things a little more lowkey that are just going to be able to um engage them in in in their life in the future so that's a great change next um athletic so we've had some great things happening with um our teams um and to highlight each of them I will forget one and then that team gets mad when I forget one always happens so I am leaving it as we have done some great things with some teams we've gotten to sectionals it always happens so I've I've cut that one sportsmanship award we um we've been awarded um from officials some sportsmanship Awards um and won some team awards for that um we are going to have we had this last year it was an all Signing Day so any student who is going to college and wants to continue their career playing their sport they can come with their family they set the table up um they get to bring their school their you know decorations whatever they want they put them on the table we have our callings a backdrop and they get to do fun um social media pictures that hey I'm committing to wherever they're going to go next year so we did it last year we had a great turnout um student who wanted to do it it's open to any senior who wants to do it no matter if you're going to Princeton or you're going to go to camon County doesn't matter any choice come on and sign up so if you have a senior and they did a sport and they're going to continue playing that Sport come on down sign up that it'll go out to the seniors um actually shortly because February is next week so they will get a sheet um probably the second week in February to sign up because that will be the second week in March right before spring Sports start so spring Sports on that note also is coming up um so we are having a last spring physical exam day so if your child needs a physical from our school doctor um no problem we can get that done the doctor's coming in on February 20th so all we need is the parent to come into the building to sign up uh we check your ID to make sure you're obviously the parent sign off on the waiver and then you can sign your child up for a physical so it makes it very easy if your child's physical is coming up on expiring we can do that if you can't get into your doctor no problem um the games are all scheduled online and as well as girls and boys basketball are actually all live streamed on huddle TV so if you feel like watching a girls or boys basketball game you can go to huddle TV look up for Collingswood High School and you can watch the game these are all the sports we have for um each winter season um each fall winter and spring Sports so they are all the sports we have we have tons of them um and everything is set up there's only been I think a little bit of a change um but as far as middle school and high school and I think that's it thank you very much any questions or comments from board members I just have one really quick question uh and really great presentations from everyone I great greatly appreciate it uh but Mr Newman there was just I had just have one question on the 2024 2025 goals for uh the NJ LSA Algebra 1 you had is non-available um all the other goals were set up I didn't know if there was a reason why uh the algebra 1 goals were uh marked as na for for the the future we have a new program the integrated math program and that would offset the the overall percentage you know for that particular goal right so we're changing our program and in that in and in being able to do that you know uh the understanding is that the the percentage help me out Karen so we have integrated math which means that uh we have a large group of students who will not be taking Algebra 1 until they finish the second year of integrated math so that that leaves us a gap so um whatever students that we have it would be it wouldn't be comparable to what we're doing now right okay thank you just a a quick comment and thank you again for all the presentations and every all the time that went in to prepare uh I had the opportunity to go to Oakland's board meeting uh last week and to a former board member and current board member took a tour of the high school and had a a lot of really positive things to say about that tour experience and uh I think that this helped to highlight some of the really positive things that are happening up on our secondary campus and across Collingswood but uh she also made that offer out to people to come in big tour so I think uh the more that people can be exposed to the great things that are happening with our kids in our programs uh the better and and I'd also like to thank the uh the secondary administrators and and the content area supervisors for the amazing presentation about all the different options and I will say as a former seventh grade math teacher I do agree with Dr MCM and that it does all happen in the middle so um all right so for the rest the committee of the whole there are a few more uh topics that I'd like to touch on first is to welcome uh our four new board members I think this is a a interesting year in that we have actually have four new board members on the board so I want to welcome uh the four new board members and and uh hand inand with that is that we will be having our board retreat this coming weekend which is basically a annual board retreat which is a long working meeting of the board and this is a time for us to have the chance to review the data uh the budget discuss priorities uh looking at a lot of uh what was what was talked about actually in these presentations you know I'm really excited for the opportunity to look at some of the data from some of the more recent initiatives like the dible screening or or the maps testing that was mentioned inside the presentations I think these are uh it's an amazing opportunity for us as a board to get together see uh the progress that the the district is making and also to discuss how we can help support the district as a as a board um specifically in terms of of strengthening the academics and addressing the academic disparities throughout the the district one of the things that I I've had the opportunity of talking to to many parents and and uh what I've heard a lot is that there's so many parents and and families love the community that that has been so clearly expressed in these presentations of these schools and also that how important academics and academic rigor is um to them and their students and and um to me I I think that that Rings very true because in in the end right one of the focus points for our our schools is that our schools are for for Learning and and that leads to my my next point which is that recently as has been reported heavily in the news there have been some executive uh orders uh and a a focus at the at the federal level uh by the current federal Administration uh on immigration and enforcement activities um you know and and this this is past week this topic of how these executive orders might impact our schools came up in discussions within our commit uh committee meetings and one of the things that I want to say just overarching is is that the theme that stood out is again that our schools are for learning um and so you know knowing that this topic is really important to to our community and and and frankly to some of our students and and our families i' asked Dr McDow if he could speak a littleit a little bit more about how the district and and the schools will be approaching this this issue so good evening everybody thank you uh thank you for attending uh and so just to further reiterate uh what Roger said is that our schools um they are places of learning for all children uh in stop no excuse no apologies needed um we met uh we've been meeting um as District Executives Regional leaders uh throughout the state we've been meeting for several weeks uh we've been meeting with attorneys we've been meeting with advocacy groups trying to get a deeper understanding in terms of not the political context but the legal ramifications and what we can or cannot do how we are or not empowered uh and so let me be very clear um in the state of New Jersey it is against the law to ask inquire uh or infer uh the status of a young person uh in our school district we don't ask we don't care we love all of our children and so moving uh uh forward it was also important to make sure that our school leaders and our staff don't carry uh the weight of not knowing uh and so one of the things that was really important was for us to uh sit down with uh members of the board to make sure that the board understood that we were all uh looking at this and we were looking at this strategically uh that we had already engaged uh legal representation and all of the advocacy groups both at the state the county and the national level uh and we wanted to make sure that we were uh sitting down with our school and District leaders in order to make sure that they were clear in terms of the protocol and so the protocol is very simple uh in the event uh that a federal agency of any kind uh attempts to enter into one of our schools requests information or or the like they are to immediately reach out to my office and we will take it from there uh we do not expect um our schools to have to uh to deal with this um and uh we will be working in Partnership uh with our attorneys uh and our legislative uh advocacy groups in order to figure out what it means for uh for both Collingswood as well as Oakland um and so we sent out uh just a highlevel uh message uh to staff as well as all of our families uh in both communities this is an ongoing um discussion and it's fast moving and we don't have all of the answers in terms of what it will or will not look like um but what we are committing to is making sure that our community is kept in the loop uh and more specifically how can how they can actually support all of the members of our community thank you Dr mcdal uh I appreciate the conversations I've had with you about uh the work that's been being put into ensuring that that again schools remain places for learning uh and that uh the the staff and the students are are supported in uh these efforts so the last uh point that I want to touch on during committee whole is about the uh school funding Reform Act uh hearings that that were held by the Department of Education over the last fall or so uh so the Department of Education held four school funding Reform Act hearings and and uh Dr Seltzer Miss Sherman and I attended the uh last one on January 16th and to give a little bit of context the the school funding uh reform uh act it requires it basically says says how the state will fund local education agencies so so districts like ours and the law requires that there's an educational adequacy report given every three years that is used to update the school funding formula uh which is extremely important to to make sure that the uh the the school funding formula stays up to date and and meets the needs of students and it's actually required uh by the courts to to uh allow the ACT to be deemed constitutional these educational adequacy reports and so the next report is actually expected early this year and so I believe that's one of the reasons why the Department of Education was hosting the School Reform Act a funding Reform Act hearings and there were public hearings to basically solicit feedback from the public about updates that that uh they should look into or apply to the school funding formula um and so uh we went there and I'd actually like to ask Dr keler to to talk about that experience because I think it was very Illuminating for us good evening everyone so um as Roger just said Sarah Sherman Roger and I went to um this hearing uh and we were there with a lot of our neighbors we were there with um Boe members superintendents uh Bas union leaders from uh Haden Township Haden Heights Cherry Hill among many many others and um we were all there really to I think discuss what we saw as the Crux of the problem which is that you know because we're bound to only a 2% increase in property taxes um we only have a few options for closing funding gaps um we have grants we have tuition from sending districts and we have state funds but um unfortunately the formula the state uses to calculate those funds um and we heard District after District saying the same thing about this um just doesn't account for many of the elements of serving students in 2024 um you know we've heard this many times here and in our committee meetings from our own VA from Dr McDow um but to hear it echoed I think from from our neighbors and others across the region was really powerful um we also want to thank we know that there are some community members who either uh came and spoke or submitted statements so we really really appreciate um those folks and and really encourage that advocacy we hope it continues because we really need the help um and overall I think I can speak for for Sarah and Roger when I say that we're glad we went on behalf of the board um and we look forward to to more opportunities to tell Collingswood stories to State officials who seem to be interested in listening so and M Sherman do you do you have anything to to add um I was really glad I went I I mostly talked about just being in two perspectives not just in the classroom but also being here and what this looks like across multiple districts of multiple sies is something I thought was very telling and I was just talking to miss mowy about this like um the Cherry Hill superintendent uh made a really wonderful and compassionate speech I thought and that's a massive District that serves over 10,000 students and that only a few years ago passed a $363 million referendum and they still are concerned about being able to meet the financial burden that they are looking at and so I I don't think this is a small District issue or a large District issue this is a New Jersey State issue um and so it was really um compelling to hear so many districts of different sizes all kind of singing the same tune thank you and you know I want to Echo that it was helpful to see uh and encouraging to hear so many different voices uh advocating to state uh for for this change I think it it can't come soon enough uh these are really immediate impacts that all all these dists are going to feel soon in February uh and in March when the school state funding uh allocations come out um so you know one of the things that again I want to uh thank the community members uh who have advocated uh to the state and and those who who uh will Advocate to the state because this is a matter of funding our our schools for for all of all of our kids um so to close out commun whole I'd like to take a moment to read out my statement um that I gave uh to the Department of Education that night um Miss Sherman also gave a statement her hers and mines can both be found linked on uh the district website um but I'd like to read it into record here um to close out Community po good evening my name is Roger Chu and I am president of the kwood board of education kwood is a district that typically sees about the same funding from the state every year we aren't one of the districts that typically makes the news because we don't gain or lose millions of dollars in funding yet kwood in many districts like ours still face an untenable financial situation since the pandemic the cost of education has continued to rise far outpacing the 2% property tax increase we are limited to each year our healthcare costs are projected to rise 10% or more for the next school year transportation and special education costs continue to grow at unmanageable rates teacher staff and administrative salaries continue to rise as they should but recent contract settlements in Camden County have resulted in yearly salary increases well above the 2% cap on property tax increases according to our estimates all this means that next year we will see an additional $1.8 million increase in the cost of salaries benefits and health insurance at the same time we will be able to raise only an additional $375,000 in revenue from taxes that's a $1.4 million whole before we even add in the increased cost of supplies transportation and more in the face of this reality we have already whittel down school supply budgets we've limited facilities maintenance budgets and put off purchasing maintenance equipment even as we maintain seven school buildings three of which are over 100 years old we've sustained one of the lowest administrative costs per people in the entire State we've brought in grant funding to maintain services for our children we've asked our community to contribute the maximum 2% or more of additional property taxes for the last decade even still about eight months ago we had to let go of 21 of our valued teachers staff and administrators to maintain a balanced budget so how do we continue to provide the programming extracurriculars and services our children need to flourish and grow without the funds to do so how do we retain our dedicated teachers and staff when we cannot raise enough Revenue to provide the yearly raises that they deserve how do we plan for the future when we have to wait until February or March of every year to know what level of funding the state will provide us I do not exaggerate when I say that these questions keep me up a night and I know they weigh heavily on the minds of many others in this room and across the state kwood is a community that wants the very best for its children passionately supports its teachers and values inclusion Equity if we are to come anywhere close to meeting these expectations the Department of Education must increase the per pupil base funding amounts cap year-over-year increases in Vendor costs and provide guidance around what we can ask our for uh from our community by way of bond question this kind of meaningful action from the state would enable our district to truly serve all of our children and be part of the state's Legacy of excellence and education thank you for your time um so with that I would like to ask for a motion to close out community of the whole so move and is there a second all in favor so moving on to section five future dates and miscellaneous information these are the upcoming future uh dates several PTA uh meetings a few uh days in which the schools are closer staff P I want to specifically though uh point out the Thursday February 6th Board of Education round table from 6:30 pm to 7:45 pm at the kwood Library community room I I think we'll have a chance potentially as a board to discuss maybe a topic uh for that Round Table during our Retreat this upcoming weekend and which will then announce to the uh Community but but that round table is open to the public so so please do come by uh if you would like to to chat um now on to section six routine business so motion to approve the minutes of December 16th 2024 regular board meeting and the January 8th 2025 reorganization board meeting so moved and the second this is all in favor uh all in favor okay thank you uh we now move to uh section seven which is our first opportunity for public comment um so the purpose of this public comment section is to discuss items listed on the agenda additional more General comments may be made later in the meeting uh the public has reminded that attempts to resolve all concerns and complaints should first go through the appropriate staff members and administrators the intent of public comment is to give the community opportunity to provide feedback to the board we'll be actively listening and taking notes so that we can take all that is being said into consideration if appropriate clarifying comments may be made by the board president after a public comment or at the end of public comments for more detailed responses to concerns Comm communication may go out later in the week by the appropriate staff members or administrators or be discussed by the board during future committee meetings members of the public are welcome to speak and expect to do so with the utmost sensitivity for everyone in attendance in F to all who wish to speak there's a strict three minute time limit per person during public comment and Miss Coleman will assist by keeping time uh please remember to state your name and address for the record good evening my name is Mr Goldberg music teacher at the Garfield and Tatum elementary schools here in Collingswood I am here today speaking on behalf of the district music teachers Miss Carlson Mr gross Mr Hartung miss incasso miss lwig and myself it is the mission of the Collingswood Public School District's music department to provide every Collingswood student the opportunity to grow through a highquality ability appropriate universally accessible music education that inspires the continuing study of music tonight my music colleagues and I are heartbroken we are heartbroken every time we hear a family is pulling out of Collingswood public school system in favor of a charter private private or parochial option we are heartbroken when funding is siphoned away from the public schools due to dropping District enrollment we are heartbroken when students are forced to say goodbye to their home and their friends because their family does not believe the district is meeting their needs we are heartbroken when families run out of reasons to stay well I come to you all today with the answer you've been looking for let the music program be your reason to stay here in Collingswood the music Team Works tirelessly to provide programming that students can be proud of programming that says you belong here in Collingswood programming that on field trips in competitions and in performances students can unabashedly announce that they are proudly from the Collingswood public schools with a culture of Pride and belonging it's no wonder that there are far fewer behavioral incidents in the music wing of the student body with pride and belonging it's no wonder state test scores on average benefit from participating in a highquality music program with pride and belonging it's no one Wonder there are active parents and community members who gladly volunteer their time and energy to support their children's music education many of them sitting Among Us here today to those families who T tuned in tonight looking for that one reason to keep your children in the Collingswood public schools here are five music teacher and high school music director the inexhaustible Mr Brian G the middle and high school band director the rentless Miss Lori lwig middle and high school orchestra director the inspiration Miss Liz Carlson middle and high school coral and musical director the Unstoppable Mr CJ Hartung and your very own High School Coral director the unyielding Miss Kristen inazo thank you all for your time okay can you hear yeah this is new okay uh my name is Julie Schneider 819 McGill Avenue in Collingswood New Jersey um first I have two things to say thank you for thank you for your response um regarding ice protocol it is a relief to get a response from leaders to make sure that everyone in the district is on the same page um thank you for testifying at the um state level regarding Fair funding I also want to encourage you to work with our local government as well as much as possible um I do have some suggestions um and one is regarding the presentations tonight it was really clear that admin is so proud of the programs that they are part of um I think as an audience member it would be great to have maybe just one of those presentations per meeting and then we could go into maybe a little more detail and spread them out um is a suggestion um I also we we love to learn like we love to learn about it um also I think it would be cool we've been getting more text reminders lately which is a great use um I think there could be a text reminder for Board of Ed meetings as well just to remind the community that they're happening um and then my final recommendation has to do with the website because I heard a lot about the math program and the science program and things like that that is not available on the website and I unless I'm missing it and I will absolutely you know send me the info um I think it's really important as a parent um there was a lot of changes every year regarding math I care a lot about what my kids are taking there was confusion at the beginning of the year whether there was honor science or not honor science my kid didn't know I didn't know obviously I can and will reach out to guidance but that shouldn't be necessary for the most important part as we heard today which is the curriculum and what's going on in the classrooms I think we need a lot more on the websites regarding that that's up toate and accurate um and then finally um at the middle school I heard that there were 82 students involved in freaki Friday two of those were my own daughters unfortunately um and past years um the Middle School theater program has always participated in the callings with parade unfortunately that didn't happen this year as a result um of not having a teacher contract which is really disappointing for my sixth and eighth grader and myself as a way to connect the community and the great stuff that's happen happening um there was also we are lauding the music program which is absolutely part of the Great Stuff happening no Middle School choir concert which was on my calendar that unfortunately I had to erase um as a result so the teachers need a fair contract it connects to the con the the presentations we had today and that is what I would like to say hi I'm Kimberly ramsburg East culture of Collingswood I have two seniors twins my comment is about item 13 of the agenda I'm asking you to please please give these teachers and staff who have been waiting 213 days a contract when I first moved a calls my kids were starting sixth grade it was supposed to be temporary but we fell in love with this town and the teachers at the middle school like Miss kety Mr McLean Miss Whitman the amazing Dr McMullen Dr McMullen we love you and there's nothing you can do about it they taught of inclusion love and respect so we stayed for the school and these awesome teachers and principal then when the kids got to the high school we met fieldman fieldman has been such a Powerhouse role model for my kids an amazing Mentor with the Social Justice League when I had surgery and had to miss my kids being inducted into the National Honor Society Filman was the first person I thought of to ask to go in my place to be there for my kids and he was there his exact words to me were it would be my honor we have lost so many wonderful teachers that were here for many years like M Lori grat who taught my son Trey computer science the field he is going into after college these teachers and staff deserve a contract I'd also like to mention the pay you are giving the assistant superintendent will cover a few teach your salaries the classes are overcrowded the classes are overcrowded the teachers and counselors are overworked the students are the ones hurting your policies put kids with IEPs in overcrowded classrooms and you overcrowd AP class periods the students are not getting the quality they deserve because the teacher has to make 30 plus kids understand the curriculum I'm watching you slowly destroy the Arts and languages I've watched you push teachers out please help the kids of this town we love so much and give the staff a contract thank you go Birds hi Rebecca SE 10:30 Grant a I've got two kiddos at sharp um I'm also talking about section 13 Personnel another month another staff resignation more midyear hires which I know happens in school districts all over the country what I'm curious about is kind of twofold the first is how is this body looking at the attrition data and what trends are you seeing compared to previous years not just overall numbers of who's leaving but by department and grade and years of service in the profession I'm curious how this year is stacking up previously and how the board's looking at that the second is related to that is culture starts the top I know that contract negotiations are still ongoing hopefully not for that much longer but while that work is happening outside of the contract How are district leaders in the school board really thinking about staff morale and staff retention because I look out and well we heard at length about the great work happening in our schools that's our teachers and our Educators leading that but when we talk to them we know don't take my time we know that morale is low we know that our teachers are feeling the weight of what's happening and they're in front of our kids every day so what while contract negotiations are ongoing is happening to bring that morale up and my last is a request as you have your board retreat coming up this meeting style for the last several of years where we come up and talk and speak and some of our questions get addressed later in the meeting and some don't doesn't work I would encourage you to think about changes to your own policies that allow you to respond to us in real time so community members and Educators can get the answers they need thank you um I'm Dorian Adams I'm I live at 702 Collings Avenue um I would also like to thank the board for their quick response to new questions about our student safety on a national level and their regard for the well-being of all the children in the district um schools are becom even more of a Battle Ground across the country so it is more important than ever that the contract for teachers be settled there are many forces array against quality accessible and inclusive education and we cannot afford a divided institution there is too much at stake to that end I request that the board settle the contract with the CA in a goodfaith manner our teachers provide an incalculable service to the community much of which is unpaid so many of the amazing extracurriculars memorable events and Community involvement initiatives that were discussed tonight and that have made this District Stand Out rely on unpaid labor from teachers to occur they are students primary support for their entire school day with much of their materials coming out of their own Pockets settle a fair contract rebuild trust both in the school community and The Wider Community everyone needs to work together to weather what's coming and that's easier to do when the party with more power demonstrates respect for those with less I'm Emily green Hamilton I live at 432 White Horse Pike our teachers are the heart and soul of our school district if you know a teacher you know that teaching is not a Monday through Friday profession they spend their weekdays away from their own families to take care of our children teachers spend their weekends school breaks and Summers preparing their lessons they cut laminated materials after they put their own children to bed and before they go to school teachers imagine how to bring literature to life for their students while they're cooking dinner they use their own money to buy supplies for the students who cannot afford their own teachers carry their students in their hearts while they're away from school they worry if their students will recall what they learned in class to complete their homework they worry if their students will have dinner on the table and a warm place to sleep teaching is a dedicated art that is performed from the deepest part of a teacher's Soul it has been 213 days since our teachers have been without a contract over the past few years our district has lost more than a 100 teachers teachers typically avoid leaving a district all costs the stakes are high when a teacher leaves you lose your tenure you may not have you may have started the bottom of the pay scale in your new District however above all teachers avoid leading a dis leaving a school district because they do not want to leave the students they teach and love with their whole heart while the reasons for our District's Mass teacher e Exodus are unknown to the public I can surmise that something is a Miss within this District which has caused teachers to flee at this alarming rate adding insult to injury our lack of a teacher contract is a road block to retaining our current teachers as well as a hindrance in attracting new Talent essentially resulting in the district's further descent into the storm contract negotiation years are difficult and affect the entire School environment this not only affects the teachers but the students teacher support is student support our students deserve to have a well staffed district with teachers that are supported by our Administration and board the community is waiting for you to change the course before this ship sinks and that can only with a fair contract please show our community that our students and teachers matter and settle the contract now hi my name is Melissa Helwig and I live at 115 East Browning Road and I am here tonight to urge the board to settle the teachers contract without it the entire School Community is affected as teacher morale continues to diminish current teachers continue leaving for other positions and new teachers avoid our district the community is already missing clubs students enjoy and missing seeing teachers at events outside of contract hours events that our dedicated teachers have consistently attended without compensation because they know that building a relationship with their students creates trust which turns into comfort in the classroom and a stronger ability for them to learn and I support the CA in pulling back from these non-contracted hours to bring attention to the fact that there is still no contract it sadly needs to be done to raise the awareness because the amount of work that a teacher does outside of contract hours goes far beyond what we are even seeing when we miss our teachers at all the extra events within contracted school hours teachers are teaching they are engaging with our children every teacher gets a very small amount of prep time to do the many other jobs that are required of them in order for them to be present and engaged with our kids on a daily basis lessons need to be planned differentiation of these lessons need to be created for the diverse Learners within each class activ and copies need to be made tests need to be graded parents need to be communicated with other teachers and Specialists need to be consulted with none of that can happen when a teacher teaches let's add on that there's new curriculum which we've heard about is happening right now new testing in many of our schools curriculum that needs to be learned by each of these teachers and while they may get professional development time to learn them it is Never Enough the most prepared most efficient teacher will never have time for all that is required of them within a contract day so at the very least teachers should be fairly compensated for the time they're required to be in school because they are going home to work for hours beyond that time I have watched as the incredible newbie teachers those who are and who are not even my child's teacher support us on the challenging days they are checking in with her helping her get into school and start her day off well calling me to know she's okay and has settled in on those rough mornings taking their time when I know they have a million things to do to make sure that not only my child but I am feeling comfortable this is just one small example of how they go out of their way for every child and family and while I know that budget is a true issue showing respect is free the board has publicly placed blame on the union through emails and Community Communications what Communications have been sent to the community showing how much you value these incredible teachers if we wish to stop the mass Exodus of teachers from our district the board must start demonstrating actions that create a district where teachers feel valued where they want to stay where our district is the employer of choice for the best teachers settling the teacher contract would be a start but I also hope you will consider how the actions you take the decisions you make the words you write and what you say in these meetings have an impact on the teachers who hold this District together thank you that was a that was incredible um my name is Johanna Clark I live at 1107 Stokes Avenue in Collingswood and um I'm I've never done this before so I might fumble a little I'm a parent of two children who attended Zay Norris CM CMS and CHS with a daughter who graduated graduated from CHS and is a second year Junior in college thanks to dual credit and I have also have a Junior in CHS who's doing very well I'm a happy customer in some regards in 2011 we moved here as many do from Philadelphia just prior in 2010 our oldest started kindergarten at a public school in Philadelphia and due to budget cuts they had lost the art teacher the music teacher and other resources I'm here specifically to talk about the music program and Mr gross specifically Mr gross started the same time our oldest started in first grade here at Zayn so we arrived here at the same time he has become a fixture in both of our daughter's educations when we got to Zayn North in 2011 we were relieved that the girls would attend music class learn an instrument and play in the school band both have participated back of back of stage or front of stage in the musical Productions which were immensely meaningful experiences for them and so many other students and Mr gross was there for all of it in addition to being a parent I a licensed clinical social worker and my therapist brain wants to acknowledge that Mr gross is teaching a very fancy word that Everyone likes to say these days mindfulness the kids in his class are indeed dropping into the present moment and are connecting and experiencing themselves in a way that can be profoundly therapeutic music has proven to assist in managing stress and boost self-esteem it increases neuroplasticity in the brain and it is a free reliable and non-narcotic mood changer it I feel fortunate to report that since 2011 both of our girls excelled here for the most part they did not complain however over the course of the last few years we were hearing increasing reports from our kids and of their High achieving friends and students how many teachers were leaving and how those who remained were completely disheartened I become increasingly concerned that the limitations and blind spots of our Administration are adversely affecting our Educators and of course our kids when settling the contracts soon I hope it is take I hope it is taken into serious consideration to respect and value the teachers Mr gross and the other music educators here at Collingswood thank you I'm Trey ramsburg I live at 32 East Colt DAV I'm a CHS senior I think I've demonstrated in this room my personal commitment to this District not just as a student but also as a member of the community I even voted in the last Schoolboard election for the three candidates I thought would be least like the old guard of the board I had seen for the entire time in high school I say all this because the legacy of the previous board was one of utter failure even those critical of the board always say we need to congratulate the board on its accomplishments but I remain unconvinced because I can count those on zero hands the previous board spent its biggest efforts on a proposal for an underbaked segregation enforcing vanity project that two-thirds of the voting public voted against I Told You So the remainder of their efforts was spent on layoffs and personally enriching the unpopular superintendent the board failed to sign a contract with our teachers union Dr mcdal I don't want anyone to let you check off boxes anymore I was on your Dei committee I was on your school board and I know people who are in your very School Outreach programs I'm going to report now to the public they are all excuses for you to Pat yourselves On The Backs and say you've done something you like most people with power only listen to us when we make demands of you in public you treat yourselves like real politicians in Washington and you're starting to act like them too you get credit for our administrator's efforts for restorative justice but it's only because we begged you for it instead of hiring a school cop at our taxpayers expense which you did anyway president Chu you've been the stats guy for a pretty pretty long time now you recently talked about how you all needed to make those 20 layoffs last year that's after 50 teachers and staff left so I guess you really need to make 70 cuts that same year you rehired Dr mcdal and gave him a pay raise I know that because I was sitting there next to him that year you did not sign a contract with the ca the message you sent is that Dr McDow did a better job than 70 actually all of your teachers does anyone here believe that here's some real stats out of the 36 discreet districts in Camden County McDow is on the top 10 highest paid student attendance and KS is the bottom 10 for minimum teacher salary what work are you all doing that you need the help of any assistant supers most schools in the area don't have them don't have as many or don't pay them as much when I say you have the money I'll look you in the eye and say you have it in your bank account you somehow retained enough history teachers to let me know that unions are usually in the right side of history and those opposing them are the wrong these are not policies that Inspire confidence the old board and its priorities were unelectable if this superintendent were if the superintendent were elected I would get more votes than McDow Progressive isn't just something you call yourself to get elected in Colwood I'd like the voters to realize that too it's something you have to do it would not be an accomplishment to sign a contract it is the bare minimum for functioning as a school district do the bare minimum hi I'm Katie Des Shan of 11 Maple Lane first thank you to everyone that spoke before me much more eloquently than I'm about to speak you all are amazing um I'm a mom of three kids in the district I have two in our prek program and uh one at Garfield both my husband and I volunteer in the community I am a field hockey coach for our K through2 my husband is the youth wrestling coach um and we know many of the parents across many of the schools in this district from those roles we are both Comm both very dedicated to the success of the young people in this town first and formost I agree with one of the other speaker if you're going to impose a three minute limit on us to speak you need to do a better job of being more efficient in managing your meetings I would also like to thank the teachers who have done so much for my children Mr Goldberg Miss negri Miss Ward miss kresy you all are shaping my children's future and I can not be here without you and be successful in my role without you I see the amazing work of our teachers even at such a young age with the social emotional learning curriculums that are in place I do really appreciate that one thing I would like this board to act on is there's no information on how parents can assist in contract negotiations it's unacceptable that we don't have a contract and there's nothing we can do to help our hands are tied this information needs to be publicly posted for us to act on as a mom I love our elementary school but I have major concerns about how we will be able to grow and scale in this community with our current school board and with our current superintendent we have no followup on next steps for certain things for example the referendum which failed miserably in this town there has been no action taken we do not know what the next steps are we are all in agreement that we need Capital funding in this town to improve our schools and we are are in a position where we can do another referendum but we do not have next steps I am at the point where I will say what everyone is thinking we are losing confidence in you as the superintendent and we are losing confidence in this board we need you to step up we need you to negotiate with our teachers and we need a contract so that my children can continue to thrive in this District thank you my name is dashel ker Fisher I'm a senior at the high school my address is 1017 elridge AV I was initially not going to speak today um I think everything I've wanted to say has been said um and the only really big concern I have is what are you going to do about everyone's bombs everyone's grievances is there any has there been any consideration into what the next step is are you allowed to speak during this okay okay I kind of wanted to hear now but that's fine we we've been you know waiting for an answer for about two years um so I guess the only thing I have to say to all of you is Step Up or step down and contribute to yourselves to Our Success into our benefit um I'll give a quick testimony um over the last two years the school system has failed most people I know to the point that uh I was considering dropping out of high school not even transferring dropping out all I had lost all hope in um how a school system how a community could benefit me um I realize now that a lot of people care and that's what really is the foundation of a community success and I don't know it would be nice if I could hear some enthusiasm from all of you and and some concern for what everyone is going through every teacher every student every parent um but it seems lost upon you to act accordingly so I'm my name is EV I live on 170 Lawnside um uh so I just actually am here as a parent I also work as a instructional Aid at Tatum sorry okay I just brought that up because I feel like it's really important because it gives me like a privileged view just give me a privilege of VI every day teachers and their days and um I know I look like a young person but I've been working for a long time and I've been in a lot of different jobs and never in my life have I been with a group of people who show up to work every day um despite lack of resources and often unsupported and challenging work show up with such positive and uplifting faces every single day and also I've never had a set of co-workers that stands to each other and stops what they're doing and talks to each other and works things out and tries to help them do whatever they can at every moment it's just really makes me feel really happy that they're here as a part of the community and so as a parent I want to say that that's what's special to me that's what matters the teachers that show up every single day for my kids because they like my kids lives are like completely changed by their presence and so I hate speaking in public but I thought it was really important that I made it clear that I'm here as a parent but the joy that I get out of working with them every single day has really been unbelievable for me and I want to make sure that the community understood that they're there doing everything they can in every possible capacity despite losing people and losing resources and losing help um and fighting for your children there for your children and it's they're beautiful people um and so I just wanted to say that uh where I was that I think we we all know the community is held up by the people in it and stability is one of the best things we can give our children's education knowing our teachers are going to be there year after year to support and get know my children is the most valuable part of their education over the years I've seen the teachers have to adapt changing curriculum and fewer resources and support and I'm exhausted by the idea we can't support and secure our teachers a foundation of our community a foundation of our children's invaluable development into strong kind decent adults I think it's a community and as parents it's time to put our foot down and we need to give our children what they deserve thank you hi my name is charl deito I'm at 136 New Jersey Avenue um I am here tonight as a parent um I we I moved to Collingswood four years ago we picked Collingswood and one of the reasons was because of the schools um and we made the right choice um close to the mic sorry uh and we made the right choice moving to Collingswood and we were proven that we were right um I ended up uh also becoming and I at the school at uh Tatum and we fell in love um I've been there I'm sorry let me start it was part time I just started volunteering and everything that Eva just spoke to is exactly why people stay in Collingswood they want to be here they want to be around teachers that actually care we have PR our principal knows every kid by name and they'll be like he'll be like oh you know your son wasn't here yesterday why not uh you know is everything okay and like checking in and getting down to eye level with these kids and not speaking to them but with them and talking about them and caring about them I've seen teachers trying to teach in hallways I've seen teach our art and music teacher exchanging rooms so our kids can just keep moving in and out casually and just trying to make it as seamless as possible so the kids can just focus on learning and growing and becoming better people so I feel like it's it's a it's a slam dunk why they all deserve to have their contract taken care of um you can just keep having these meetings you're just going to keep hearing the same things why they're wonderful um and why we love them and why we care about them um sorry I did have a list too I just got a little distracted okay um the one thing that my kids have brought to my attention is that the school keeps losing internet um it's taking from their learning um it's taking from that they're learning it's taking from my kids losing internet in the middle of their own work um they're losing music during PE um and it's also interrupting their movement and mindful breaks um I don't know how many times they have to lose it to have it taken care of but I feel like it happened a while ago um with significantly fewer half days um how are trainings still being made available to teachers um and um I I just like I I don't know how they can do it in a bunch of half hour increments um I feel like there needs to be more days dedicated to that um and everyone in this room is behind these teachers in town I feel like they're kind of wondering when you guys are going to start showing up for them as well thank you hi I'm Kim Brooks I live at 524 Maple Avenue in Collingswood I have two seniors this year um today my daughter a senior with Down Syndrome sorry received an invitation to attend a shadow day for tc& J's fouryear program for adults with intal intellectual and developmental disabilities last week she was invited to interview for a similar program at the University of Delaware and she's still awaiting a response from villain NOA like my son's waiting for his responses these opportunities have been made possible du the consistent dedicated teachers she's had over the few years the past few years they've tailored their teachers to her needs teaching to her needs and encouraged her to take on challenges however this year has been different the inconsistency in her schedule due to new or absent teachers Reliance on substitutes have disrupted her education I'm thankful this didn't happen during her junior year the Year that's most critical for college applications as this instability would have been more detrimental if it had occurred earlier in her High School career the loss of experienced teachers who understand her individual learning style has caused delays with an and with an IEP it takes even longer for new staff to get up to speed the cuts to electives and staff departures particularly affects students with disabilities have only compounded these challenges it's clear that when teachers feel unsupported and they do they leave which only further disrupts the stability students need for their education I'm urging you to please reach an agreement settle now so our students can all have a consistent year thank you hi there Nina Anastasia 170 for na how you doing um I'm not going to be very eloquent tonight I don't think because um I didn't have time to write stuff down I'm also a teacher in a neighboring District hey my son went to Tatum and um he's now at CMS and um I've been through contract negotiations before in my district as a teacher and it's awful it's really awful and um it was evident how um proud the administrators are of the teachers um through the uh presentations that we saw earlier and I think what happens is everyone expects teachers just to do those things and teachers do do those things but when you have to go through a very long and out contract negotiation I think as a teacher you realize you don't oh I don't have to do all those things and once that Tipping Point tips it's hard to get that back um so just here to urge I know things are difficult there's two sides of course but please I'm just here to urge you and lend my voice to the cause of settling the contract as quickly as possible thank you hi Maran Davis to had an Avenue I have three daughters two in the middle school and one at Garfield Elementary I'm also um the vice president of the Garfield and Middle School PTA boards and I'm an IA at sharp um I've always known that our teachers do amazing things but now that I work in a school and I see it on a daily basis it is shocking to me what these teachers do and what's expected of them to do in the time frames that they have to do it our teachers give their all every single day to the children of Collingswood Oakland and Woodland they deserve and need a contract with Fair pay but they also deserve to be treated as the experts they are they deserve to have access to the materials they need to teach our children they deserve to be supported supported not torn down or have their input not valued if our teachers are facing a hostile environment imagine the effect this is having on our students teachers don't just leave by the dozens without good reason and no it's not because of just low pay there is something deeply deeply wrong within their workplace and the buck stops at the top the buck stops at the top it is the board's job to ensure that our teachers and students are provided with a supportive place to teach and learn it seems like we the public have been saying this over and over and over and over again for a very long time and nothing has changed please listen to this I urge the board to speed up negotiations and reach a fail fail Fair settlement we all know they deserve it give them a contract now hi my name is Andrea haes and I live at 248 East MAV my son's a freshman at um CHS and my daughter's a seventh grader at CMS I also have the privilege of serving as the secretary of the CMS PTA board for the last three years our teachers and support staff are the heart and soul of our district they deserve a fair contract and It's upsetting to hear we're losing even more quality teachers our teachers lack the resources they need to do their job effectively and are constantly tasked with doing more with less the new curriculum programs discussed at recent board meetings are exciting but how will our kids benefit when we have constant internet issues and inferior technology teachers are asked to create two daily lesson plans one lesson plan for working internet and a separate lesson plan in case the internet goes down again the second marking period ends in a few days and students are still unable to access working Chromebooks we have a CMS class with only 11 Chromebooks for 20 students how is that acceptable um I'm sorry these issues aren't new you know many teachers and parents have verbalized similar concerns over the past few months why aren't we moving forward our teachers are hurting and our entire School Community deserves better teacher support is student support and we all benefit from a fair contract thank you for your time hello my name is Amy marselino and I live at 1103 Stokes Avenue um I appreciate the opportunity to speak tonight I wanted to share some very positive things that I've experienced about our teachers um and I also want to say that I appreciate your service on the board I have two children who have benefited greatly from their dedication and hard work I have also seen their commitment to are students in my capacity as a former instructional Aid at Tatum Elementary and as the current customer for our CMS and CHS theater programs during covid my daughter's teachers gave her additional math and reading support one teacher zooming after hours while making dinner for her own children my daughter could not read fluently in fourth grade and is now enrolled in honors English as a freshman at CHS when she had anxiety about returning to school after Co they met her on the sidewalk and talked her into the building when she wanted to join Collingswood Youth Theater the teachers gave her encouragement support and breaks when she needed them that shy introverted kiddo is now performing in musicals choir and her passion for those Arts supported by our teachers are quite literally what bring her into this building every day my son had surgery to restore hearing loss and could not return to school for some time his teacher delivered a care package to our door with drawings of his beloved Roblox Avatar that she had made herself l that year when he lost his hearing aid the staff including the principal took to scouring the grounds at Zayn in an effort to locate it I think he flushed it down the toilet but I'll never know I'm sure many of you have seen Mr gross on his bicycle zooming between schools on his way to this orchestra that rehearsal you may not know that he is also a fierce advocate for providing every every student in our district with an instrument and the adaptive equipment some students may need to learn how to play them my dedication to costuming our school shows was reinforced on a late Sunday evening when a very sick and febrile Mr Hartong was sweating over the board making lighting adjustments for Newsies when I suggested he go home he said I'm just going to do a little bit more our teachers often spend more time with our children than we do they are instructors and caregivers and such a vital part of our community Miss Marcelino that was three minutes thank you very much can I can I get like they are being asked to do more with less less opportunities for our teachers means less opportunities for our students students I left my chosen profession as a social worker because I got burned out I could not serve my patients and families in the way I wanted because I felt unappreciated and hopeless it pains me to know that many of our dedicated staff are feeling that burden now especially the ones who do a little bit more thank you Miss Martin thank you hello I'm Michelle Bennis Kimble and I live at 415 Virginia Avenue I I have a son at Mark newbie who's a fourth grader I'm here to talk about teacher negotiation and negotiations have been going on so long that even my yard sign gave up hope supporting the teachers so please let's start off 2025 right and do something within our control and get the teachers under contract now as these negotiations continue please let's keep it behind closed doors and demonstrate the respect for the professionals who teach our children every day I hope that we can come together in good faith to close the gap and get our district moving together in a positive direction speaking for my family I can say that my son has thrived at Mark newbie and that is all driven by the support he has received from his teachers and support staff if we want to continue to attract high quality Educators we need to support their work with a fully realized contract we're so lucky to have dedicated teachers that are committed to our students even though their contract has not been settled but let's get back to where teachers can put their full focus on our students versus worrying about their benefits and future at the district as this lingers I'm scared that this conversation is going to move towards us having to close the school because we won't have enough teachers to maintain operations thank you hi uh Cara Boer 9 East Summerfield Avenue I have four students in the Collingswood School District all girls um two at the high school in a a senior and a sophomore and two at Mark newbie Elementary a fourth grader and a kindergartener um I want to I guess Echo everything that everybody said tonight um especially the um the care and the passion that our teachers put into making sure that our students have uh educational opportunities that uh are kind of out of the box I have um math teacher at the high school who specially delivers English uh reading material for my daughter uh that she thinks would she would be passionate about just to get her to keep reading uh that daughter who never really liked reading she would scream and hit me in the face as a toddler because she didn't want me to read to her anymore um has uh surpassed the reading level expectations of an AP AP English student for her grade level um and on going down down the line with my younger students I had a uh teacher who at Mark newbie took my now sophomore and instilled in her the value of being a self- Advocate and it's been a long road for her uh she has an i AP she's worked very hard um but without some of the teachers that had pushed her we would not be where we are except one of those teachers resigned this year uh my next daughter in fourth grade she had she has a very special connection with a teacher uh this teacher actually um came to our house early one morning um because she won an award to um ride in a police car but she was too nervous to do it so this teacher arrived in police car and brought her to school even though later that morning she ended up vomiting and going home so um and then my my youngest who's in kindergarten or in uh yeah she's in kindergarten she spent two years at in prek at sharp she had a a wonderful experience with a teacher who also has four girl uh four kids and that teacher um kind of broke the mold for her made sure that she could be an achieving student when she was kind of she was she's my Loose Cannon she's not the one that's gonna have somebody over her unless her siblings are staying on top of her because I I may have given up at this point but um I just wanted to I guess I wanted to say that our these Educators these teachers that show up at our building they give families the reason to stay we we want to stay here because we love the teachers that are doing these things for our students so our Educators deserve Fair compensation and the respect of a fair contract is not just about the teachers it's about our children and the community's future we must stand with teachers ensuring they have the resources and support they need to do their vital work let's prioritize their needs so they can Inspire educate and teach confidently thank you uh hi my name is Tom Howard I live at H 16 Fraser Avenue I I'll will be pretty brief I'm uh kind of recovering from uh from the plague or something um uh it's it's not bubonic um but um I just wanted to first I I do want to thank the board for uh communicating that schools will be a safe place uh given the very very unfortunate uh con uh situation our country is in due to the recent uh new Administration um because that was the right thing for the district to do and the board to do uh I also want to thank the board members who advocated for uh funding changes because again that's the right thing to do uh but it's also the right thing for the board to settle a fair contract ASAP um because it has been way too long and as many many many many uh people have said tonight our teachers deserve it and it needs to uh happen now thanks hi my name is jod Farah I live at 911 Park Avenue and I have four Sons three of whom are currently in the district and a freshman who is at Paul the 6 because much like a majority of last year's eth grade class we had talked to our teachers and the teachers that I have the most unbelievable stories that moved me to tears about I would say 80% are gone the writing was on the wall for all of the last year that we did not know who would even be here to teach our kids I'm here right now because multiple teachers directly texted me and said hey can you come and actually say what it was that we did for your kids because they do not believe that you guys think that they're making much of an impact to our kids and I cannot tell you enough what they have done for my kids unbelievable what they care and what they do but if we don't have a fair contract and if we don't do something about the moral in the building and if we do not do something about the morale of our students who are lacking so many of the normal and I'm specifically talking about high schoolers because I have a high schooler I have a middle schooler and I have an elementary Schooler in high school they are losing so much of the high school experience because the teachers don't have a contract right now and cannot be doing a majority of the things that they previously did um I I just hope that more people will feel hope enough in this current eighth grade class to stay and I have a seventh right now who I'm advocating desperately to keep in District because I cannot tell you the anguish of pulling my freshman but I did not think that there would be really anybody to teach him here and based upon conversations directly with teachers I had good insight into what they were all thinking so again I am begging that something be done so that my seventh grader has hoped to be here because this is where we want to be and where we have been so actively involved for years so thank you so much I really do appreciate you hi I'm Kelly mcginness I live at 412 catel Avenue I have two students at sharp um I also want to say thank you for your uh statement about um immigration I thought the letter was beautiful one thing that I'm just wondering about um is why we don't see those kinds of communications offered at least in Spanish especially given the topic um there's other Communications from the district that have been great but I'm wondering about families who need something besides English um and the other thing is I'd really like these teachers to get paid so please settle thank you uh Rod Pierce Rod Pierce Collings with Middle School um I just want to say thanks to the community uh it was wonderful to hear the the amazing words that you all said about some of the uh personal teachers and just teachers in general and the support staff and everybody goes into doing the best we can out here and all that kind of stuff you parents who think you weren't that eloquent you're amazing and I thank you very much good evening everybody so uh my name is Mike paluchi and uh not only do I work here but I'm the vice president of the cea and a parent in the district um thank you much like the Hair Club for Men I'm not only the vice president I'm also a member um but I do want to say that um I want to first of all applaud the efforts by some of you in front of me here and also people in the community uh to Lobby the state on behalf of the outdated and insufficient funding formula for taxes um and how our buildings are funded um and our operations here I also though want to point out that that doesn't even nearly begin to tell the story about the dysfunction in this district and I think there's a narrative out there that the shortfall of funds tells the story and there's people that are trying to craft that Nar narrative in town and if you agree with me and you work here and you agree that that does not even begin to tell the story let me get a hell yeah all right so you can see that this is not just coming from me all right I also want to appla the letter that when out as others have about ice I will tell you that ice will have to go through me if they come into my classroom for an undocumented student right Bary also has to go through the people in this room okay think about what that means think about what that is saying about the people that work here okay the truth of the matter is if our contract was a priority it would have been done already it would have been done already okay and that's the truth you know we saw presentations from our administrators earlier and not a single thing that they wanted that people smiled about was done without the labor of the people that work here in some cases Free Labor so if you benefited or if your kid benefited from Mr Ingram's program get Mr Ingram a contract if your student benefited from M aro's TV program get her a contract if your student benefited from any of the people in this room get them a contract and get it done now I will reiterate and I will say it one more time if this was a priority it would have been done thank you my name is Valerie yosway live at 332 catel Avenue I have four children in the district two are in sixth grade and two are seniors in the high school um I have a few things today to say as far as the high school goes um I've been extremely disappointed in uh many things in the high school and unfortunately the it should be a Bittersweet moment that I have two children graduating but I'm actually just so relieved that they're graduating um I shouldn't have to feel like that that and with that comes worry about my sixth graders because before I know it they're going to have to move on to the high school I am looking into other options I have talked to tons of parents in the district some of whom are paying $112,000 for their kids to attend Catholic School which is not possible for me to do I've talked to other parents who are you know sending their kids to other local public schools it's not something that I want to do I want to stay in Collingswood I want my kids to they've all started all four of them have been here since kindergarten all four of them went to Tatum I want them to go through the middle school and the high school I want them to be proud of where they're graduating from but I shouldn't have to feel relieved that oh my God they're graduating high school thank God they're getting out of the high school I shouldn't have to feel like that and like M you know Mr paluchi said if this was um if this was important enough it would have been done like the schools are all like they we're here for the teachers and the students so if we're not supporting them who are we supporting I see Miss tagl here my daughter had a panic attack when she went to Tatum Miss taglang showed up at my door with flowers and a stuffed animal for her that my daughter still sleeps with and the point of sharing that story is Miss taglang is a gem and everybody knows it and there are so many teachers and so many people on The Faculty that you know other parents have shared their stories the teachers are the core they if we don't have our teachers and we don't have people like Miss tag laying like what are we doing and who are we supporting if we're not supporting them I'm going before the tall guy so the mic doesn't have I don't have to readjust the mic because that's is not my thing I am Robin Hogan I am the very proud president of the cea many things that I was going to say tonight I don't have to say because parents have already said it for me um but I do want to talk about the State of the Union right now and that is as we are continuing to show up and taking care of the children but we do not feel like we are priority with this board because we still do not have a contract okay we are the lowest we are in the lowest third and that's being generous in the county okay we are taking a stand because we do not want to be in the lowest third and our teachers deserve more than that we are Tak we are taking a stand because we no longer want our starting salary for new teachers to be ranked 30 in the county and 32nd for teachers who come to us with a master's we are taking a stand for our administrative assistance and instructional assistance so their salaries can be competitive and they can keep up with inflation okay we are taking stand so we can retain our staff we need to be a priority with this board we've seen so many other priorities come and go when will the teachers and the contract be a priority and settling this contract sooner is going to avoid avoid fact finding it's an expensive and timec consuming process not only for are we paying the board attorney $185 an hour but also the fact finding fees which are around $1,800 and I ask why would the board rather pay the attorney and the associated fees and go to fact finding instead of investing that money in a settlement and settling our contract so settle this contract as soon as possible will show the community that you value The Talented staff and you value the work that we do so I urge you to prioritize the staff that is face to face with our students every day making a difference in the Our Lives thank you hi uh Jeff Herman High School um just wanted to point out that it is 9:30 pm which is past the Bedtime of most of the the teachers in this room um so I just want to point out that we show up here because we care we show up here because we care about the students we care about this district and we most of all care about each other so I want to make sure that you guys care about us please settle our contract good evening Eric fieldman I am a 15-year educator here at kinwood high school and a proud member of the cea and just to get the elephant out of the room let's settle the contract let's make its priority please look at yourselves in the mirror and see what you're doing really take take a look hard look at yourselves and and see what you're doing what you're doing to this community also with that um if you look at where we are in the world today uh diversity equity and and in inequality has been a real buzzword obviously on a federal level this is being dismantled at an alarming rate here in colonywood we've always pride of ourselves in doing that work diversity Equity inclusion however under this Administration two Equity committees have been dissolved um well let me let me change that one has been resolved it's just been laid to rest without any word since last June when we were told yes we're starting up again in September we have not heard a single word about when we're meeting again the best PD we've ever had was through a toz equity training Us in this Dei which is so important in today's world yet we never heard what happened to them trans trans parency I don't think so this is the second time I've come up here and addressed and asked people for an answer to that question and so far that's the answer so please again look at yourselves see what you're doing to this community and take stock of yourself and do the right thing thank you hi I'm Mrs taner I'm from the high school I want to thank all the parents who've come and spoken um it is very nice to hear that somebody thinks we're doing a good job because unfortunately it often feels from Administration that we're not doing a good job so it's very nice to know that parents and students think we are I want to address two things in my three minutes one we've talked about a lot tonight and that is money so I have a question and it is a districtwide question because last time after I spoke at the last board meeting I was told I got an email saying that about that that I should communicate via email not ask questions but this is a disc wide question so I'm going to ask it the referendum was voted down why are we still paying for money that we don't have that we could give to teachers salary why are we paying that money for Good Shepherd right that money is being paid every month as we try to buy it why are we still trying to buy it and again maybe you have a plan that you haven't shared with us please sh with us um because the fact that you're that that that we can't come to an agreement for the contract and we're still paying for a building that I'm not really sure what the purpose is for right now is very confusing and the second thing is respect um and this is a little personal um so I got an email from guidance this morning saying it's time to recommend so I pulled out my here's what APD is and I talked to my kids about it today and then during your presentation I for the first time was told that AP it is no longer a senior class it's going to be a junior class and that AP Lang which we don't teach and don't have a teacher for is going to be the senior so I'm really confused now um and I have to go tell students that what I told him today about the sequence is not what was part of the presentation tonight you got to tell us you got to tell us what's going on because now I have to go to a bunch of students and say by the way we are some un important that important decisions are going to affect your senior year we made without anybody knowing thank you so much all right seeing as there are no more public comments uh I would like to address a few of the points that uh came up tonight and also I think Dr McDow has a uh comment about the um about also another piece um so I think that the overarching theme tonight of course has been about negotiations and and I would like to personally than everyone who's spoken and also Echo was said by many folks about how amazing it is to hear about all of the the wonderful work that is being done by by the teachers inside this this District um the board also 100% agrees and has been willing and eager to settle a contract um just to just to be be clear uh uh we have met uh with the ca 10 times since February 2024 uh most recently on December 12th um I'd also like to make clear that uh the board has offered uh uh raises in line with County average since March 2024 and has a offered raises above County average since September of 2024 um we are eager to settle uh unfortunately uh we have not been able to come to an agreement the next steps uh of the negotiations will be a meeting with uh the state appointed third party uh FactFinder that will occur on April 3rd um one of the uh things that that we're really hopeful that this third party uh State appointed fact finder can assist us in coming to an agreement um one of the the pieces of their work is that after they are done they will publish a non-binding public report uh that is released to the public with their recommendations and the rationals for their recommendation for a settlement between the CA and the board um we're very hopeful that uh that process will uh uh help us come to an agreement um and of course we we actually hear you uh we are eager and willing and have been eager and willing to settle uh a contract um and and again have been offering uh raises uh with a consideration that we must be fiscally responsible given our abilities to raise funds and given the the year after year after year uh need to to meet the budget so that we can continue to offer all these amazing programs that have talked about uh uh uh today um uh I think I would like to then to Dr M to discuss this point sure thank you um just two quick things and so first I would like to thank uh all of our um leaders who presented this evening um talking about all of the good things that are taking place in our schools and So speaking to uh the program of study the program of study is a large comprehensive 50 plus page document that talks about the details around program uh offerings and structures uh the presentation was in for illustrative purposes and so um if there was a course out of sequence uh it will be uh corrected and adjusted but I would refer uh to the program of study and the core selection guides that have been designed by our talented uh guidance team um as what we're actually following uh and second uh I think that uh uh Miss mcginness talked about uh the immigration uh letter that was sent out and so uh the letter was sent out in English and Spanish if your primary language of receiving information from the district is in Spanish you received it in Spanish if your primary language of receiving information was in English then you received an English letter uh and so I just wanted to make sure that we provided that clarity thank you Dr pal all right so uh we will now move on to Section 8 the superintendent's uh report so section8 uh the enrollment uh report section 8.01 uh enrollment December 2023 was 2276 uh enrollment as of December 2024 was 2,222 that enrollment report is attached 8.2.3 point4 are the accompanying safety drill suspension and anti-bullying reports uh and just have a few uh quick updates um that was not uh shared uh this evening um and so uh yes we would like to thank again uh all of the uh community members as well as the board members and Advocates who participated in the school funding um Reform Act act hearings uh and we encourage additional partnership within our community um we'd like to make an announcement around preschool and kindergarten Roundup Collingswood preschool and kindergarten registration team is looking forward to the upcoming season Collingswood families with children ages three or four by October 1st and not currently in our program can apply for full day high quality free preschool by completing the preschool Lottery application beginning on February 18th children entering kindergarten and not currently enrolled in our preschool program can start the registration process at any time the registration team encourages families to share this information with Neighbors in our community and to look out for additional information that will be shared in the upcoming weeks contact information can be found on the registration page of our District's website if any questions uh arise um we'd also just like to thank all of the students and staff for participating in school Community check-ins during the month of December and the month of January the focus is to increase opportunities for student influence on school climate culture and overall school life and to also Empower students with voice and choice in their educational Journey we met with groups of students in grades 6 through 12 uh in December uh so December 12th through the uh uh December 10th through the 12th in January we met with diverse students in grades 3 through five at all elementary schools in Collingwood and Oakland January 6th through January 14th with with questions uh being uh designed and aligned to what was developmentally appropriate based on the age of the students that we were talking to aligned with our faculty engagement efforts we hosted informal staff feedback sessions in January at all schools the 13th through the 23rd actively seeking feedback on how the school year is progressing and specifically what can we do to provide additional support to schools we received uh a tremendous amount of valuable feedback from our staff and that will be reviewed uh in detail with the Board of Education this weekend during their board retreat and then a highlevel summary will be released uh publicly to our community uh and that concludes uh my report thank you thank you Dr madal section nine is the student reports uh I see we do not have the uh student board members tonight so we'll move on to section 10 the business administrator board secretary's report M Coleman um item 10.01 is the listing of your December monthly budget transfers 10.02 is your uh board secretary Treasures reports well as well as all the uh Financial backup 10.03 is just Student Activities cash report 10.04 uh neutral serve financial statements for the months of November and December 10.05 is a listing of the purchase orders that were issued during the month of January 10.06 is um a listing of the warrants to be paid tomorrow morning and I know we are um approving the audit tonight but um just to let it'll should be on the website sometime tomorrow I already sent it to the Web Master if anybody wants to read 300 pages of AUD ahead be up there thank you Miss Coleman moving on to section 11 buildings grounds and finance committee uh Mr Craig chairperson will present the uh Finance buildings and grounds committee reviews all financial statements purchase orders and warrants on a monthly basis the committee also reviews and approves all contracts with outside service providers and oversees all maintenance and capital Improvement projects districtwide uh seeking approval on the following 112 through 119 as the board secretaries report as it's been presented 1110 is the 23 24 annual audit that Miss Coleman mentioned will be up on the website that had no findings uh 1111 is a local approval to go out for a local work Grant submission to the state uh this would be uh focused on the varsity baseball field and some Dugout improvements that uh they're fundraising to try to to get done 1112 updating our existing rental for pre space that we use over at Oakland's Elementary School 11113 uh minimum wage updates change for all non-seasonal minimum wage employees 11:14 is an RFP to go out for a new board engineer or board engineer Services uh 1115 is uh acknowledgement of a very generous donation to The interact Club um by by an anonymous member of the community uh we thank them uh for the $1,500 that we'll go towards supporting that club and their their great work 1116 is a joint Transportation agreement for a student uh 1117 through 1124 are the annual shared service agreements that we have with Oakland School District 1125 is our shared service um buildings and grounds agreement with Mount Ephraim along with 1126 similar shared service agreement with clemon school district uh 1127 and 1128 are both use of facility requests for a wrestling Academy training and the Odyssey of the Mind uh so I'm seeking approval for items 112 to 1128 do we have a motion second thank you questions and comments from board members I have a comment um and I did bring this up in um committee but since um I would like to U be transparent with the people that voted me in I'm going to bring it up here as well um I did bring up um um and questioned St Tres of Kolkata the rent um and I am looking forward to hearing the future of that building um at The Retreat um again it's a lot of money and I um do mirror the thoughts of if it's a priority we'll pay for it so um and then again um I thank you bethanne for answering all of my questions um but there is I do have a comment about legal fees um last year we spent 52,000 this year currently at 92,000 um again priorities um so I just want to make sure that we're using our money wisely so thank you you know so uh understand that act actually came up in in public comments the uh the question about the good sheer correct um one of the things I do want to mention is is that uh just because the refer did not pass does not mean that our space issues uh have dissipated um one of I think the the positives that I understand of us having moved uh administrative and other offices into the good sheer building is the immediate opening up of other spaces for example a strings classroom in the secondary campus um and and I think other classroom space I think at Z North and so forth that have uh uh been helpful given how cemp of space we are and so having that administrative space there is still very helpful for opening up classroom space elsewhere uh in our our tight District um I don't know if Dr Mar anyone else wants to chime in there um but that that's kind of one thing I wanted to add I think that yes and so at the end of the day um we as a school district we have been over subscribed at the elementary level for over 10 years we have roughly 300 students over our Uh current uh state level capacity hence the reason for a referendum uh the reason why we have not uh come out with a referendum part two is because we uh took the feedback and it was important for us to um take a step back look at the uh feedback that we received from the community and then reorganize our thoughts um and then start a new process there is a formal Statewide process and so in years past uh the process is 60 days by Statute we knew that given the uh complexity of what we were proposing it would take much longer hence we went out six months in advance uh despite the uh statute saying 60 days and so in terms of the Good Shepherd we have students that are uh were receiving uh uh instruction targeted support and intervention in hallways in stairwells in basements due to our lack of capacity and so we pulled uh staff uh across multiple campuses out of those spaces and we gave those spaces back to the schools to begin to slowly start addressing some of the the Staffing movements that were necessary that still does not address the over subscription of students within each of our schools our schools were built at a time and they were not uh they have exceeded their capacity uh and so the Good Shepherd is still very much part of the discussion uh we just will be having uh a different uh approach to how we go about fulfilling that goal uh and that there will be future discussions uh that will start with the board and then we will need to go back to our Community engage our community before we actually construct a new proposal I appreciate that that is a very long process uh do you have any idea of a of a of a timeline of um when you're maybe planning you know considering that we are paying on a monthly basis you know like what kind of a timeline do you think might be reasonable to assume um before we can have another plan for that building uh while we continue to pay it so uh the new board was just installed January 3rd um there will be a a new ad hoc committee um developed and discussed probably this weekend um those discussions would be reserved for the ad hoc committee uh once it's been organized once some discussions have taken place and then once uh the state requirements in terms of being able to actually organize a plan um we have to go back through the process from the very beginning so I wouldn't be able to speak on on an actual timeline without the ad hoc committee working through the process making formal recommendations to the full board after we've properly engaged a community about what a new proposal might look like and just to reiterate uh you the the it was clearly the the desire of the previous board to uh bring in the good sheeper building and make it into a school building for for the district regardless of that as dral has has stated just now there are current instructional benefits to kids uh for the fact that we have are able to move administrative offices out of our current school buildings into Good Shepard to open up classroom space within our buildings for uh students right now um and so hopefully more can come of that uh but I do appreciate that there is currently instructional positives because of that any other questions or comments for board members okay raw call Mrs Brown yes Mr Craig yes Mrs Maya yes Mrs molski yes Mrs Seltzer yes Mrs Sherman yes Mrs Z yes Mr McMillan yes Mr dilus yes Mr Chu yes moving on to section 12 curriculum committee Miss Sherman will present the curriculum committee oversees and approves the district curriculum and assessment programs as well as field trips home instruction co-curricular programs and school calendar seeking approval for the following items uh 12.02 um there's actually no Elementary uh School field trips planned um 12.03 there's a couple Middle School field trips including U some of the md68 program 12.04 there's actually several High School field trips planned mostly for our 18 to 21 program 12.05 is an overnight field trip uh to Philadelphia next month for our model un 12.06 to 12.08 are some out of District placements mostly for um medical reasons 12.09 through 12.11 um seeking approval for external providers listed there uh to work with students or clients in the school setting um during the school hours uh this is at no cost to the district uh and 12.2 um is approval for the 2025 2026 program of studies as uh Dr mcow stated this is a 58 page document um and you saw um some of the overview of it in the presentation um pending board approval scheduling will likely begin in February through April um and as we discussed in committee this year's um program of studies will be more creative um there are many students in study halls um this year so there's a greater effort to maximize instructural time with the addition of more elective options um I don't know um Miss Hal Turner wanted to to speak to that briefly good evening everyone why don't why don't we take a motion first and which will'll then open up discussion do you do that yeah so we can we have a motion to approve items 12.02 through 12.12 so moved and a second second second Miss alw take two good evening again I I want to just uh touch on a few things regarding the program of study first and foremost thank you to the Collingswood High School guidance Department the building administrators the supervisors as you heard several times ton it is a long and comprehensive document um that kicks off our student course selection process and sets 25 26 school year into motion and so um if you are watching at home or out here tonight thank you to the many individuals who are involved in the careful and thoughtful work that it takes to put something uh together of that nature um I had some time to just uh check on Miss Tan's question regarding AP English 4 it's actually included on page 25 of the uh program of study so I just want to clarify and respond to that question from earlier um lastly um I've I've heard over the last few years regarding the program of study uh feedback from staff and community members this goes back to before I was even an employee here just a a member of the community and a mom um that uh there was a lot of feedback and and a push to include our the full scope of our course selections within the program of study so that um students and families when they're going through the exercise of choosing classes can see the the full list of options and opportunities um and that when uh when options are removed from the course catalog that then inherently means that students can't choose them in their course selection process and it might seem falsely like there's a lack of interest in some classes um and so we made sure this year and we'll proceed in this posture going forward to include the full scope of our offerings in the course catalog so that students and families can see the wide range of a wide range of options um that they have to select from on a given on a yearly basis I would just add a caveat to that which is that of course we Balan that with um the pragmatic actions of balancing um budgetary con constraints that we may face as we receive our state funding model in the coming weeks as well as um number of students who've chosen a class as those that have particularly low low enrollment we may need to make some considerations for how we balance that out with other priorities across the school but I just wanted to say you know feedback heard from from prior years about the process by which we present the class offerings and we have uh implemented that feedback and hope that that um gives families and students a a you know a broader sense of the options ahead for for next year and Beyond so thanks to those who spoke up about that any other questions or comments something I was going to mention is is that uh I appreciated Miss halter that you mentioned that the schedule the secondary schedule there is no plan to change that uh this this upcoming year correct the current 2024 2025 Master bell schedule will be the 2025 2026 Master bell schedule for the 6th through 12th grade campuses um we feel like well of course there's room for tweaks to further improve upon the current model we feel like pleased with the current um uh like the opportunities that it provides from a staff and student perspective and um are are mostly excited that it will by maintaining the current model um it will allow us to accelerate our student um course selection and ensure that by the time staff and students leave in June there will be a clear sense for staff and students of what their uh teaching schedule un load will look like as well as their student schedules for next year maybe not the specific period by period breakdown but a sense of their course selection uh whereas that was pushed further into the summer this year so by maintaining some of that consistency we can expedite some of the exciting things that kids get to find out by the end of the school year right thank you okay roll call Mrs Brown yes Mr Craig yes Mrs Maya yes Mrs molski yes Mrs szer yes Mrs Sherman yes Mrs Z yes Mr McMillan yes Mr dilus Yes except we're required to obain Mr Chu yes moving on to section 13 Personnel committee Miss szer will present the Personnel committee reviews all recommendations for teaching and staff employment co-curricular employment and considers all professional development opportunities for staff members um at 13.02 we have a retirement 13.03 we have a resignation uh 13.04 to 13.07 are leave requests um 13.09 to 13.11 are new hires oh I'm sorry 08 is a revised contract 09 to 11 are new hires for uh Sharp the middle school and the high school um 13.12 is a new hire for the wellness center 13.13 is an extension of a long-term sub and replacement teacher contract 13.14 is the approval of a building substitute at Garfield uh 13.15 is the approval of a new Elementary induction coordinator uh 13.6 is the approval of staff for the after school tutoring program at sharp that's offered through Title One or s funds um 13.17 to 18 um are approvals for curriculum writing stiens uh 13.9 to 20 um are approval of substitute athletic trainers and EDP stiens for athletic coaches um 1321 is an approval of various subs and tutors and finally 13.22 um is approval of travel expenses for two professional development opportunities um so I am seeking approval of items 13 wait 13.02 to 13.22 is there a motion and a second second questions or comments from board members okay roll call please Mrs Brown yes Mr Craig yes Mrs Maya yes Mrs molski yes Mrs Seltzer yes m german yes Mrs Z yes Mr McMillan yes Mr delus Yes except we're required to abstain Mr Chu yes section 14 culture climate and policy committee Miss Maya will present the policy and regulations committee reviews all updates and changes of District policies and regulations so we have four policies up for review this month 5512 the harassment intimidation bullying policy 5533 student smoking policy 7441 electronic surve B in school buildings and on school grounds policy and 9320 cooperation with law enforcement agencies there haven't been really many changes to addressing those policy so we're going to ask for approval for uh 402 please is there a motion and a second questions or comments from board members roll call M Coleman Mrs Brown yes Mr Craig yes Mrs Maya yes Mrs molski yes yes Mr Seltzer yes Mr Sherman yes Mrs Z yes Mr McMillan yes Mr delas yes Mr chair yes section 15 miscellaneous we have the 15.01 is the hi report from the previous month and so we are seeking approval of item 15.01 can I have a motion please and a second questions are comments right roll call please Mrs Brown yes Mr Craig yes Mrs Maya yes Mrs molski yes Mrs Seltzer yes Mrs Sherman yes Mrs Z yes Mr McMillan yes Mr delus yes Mr Chu yes section 16 the second uh opportunity for public comment I'm not going to go through the whole public comment statement uh but this section is for uh General comments uh it doesn't have to be restricted to items on the agenda um just as a reminder in all fairness to those who wish to speak there is a strict three minute time limit per person uh and Miss Coleman will assist by keeping time please remember to state your name and address for the record good evening bethanne Rogers I'm one of the cea vice presidents and I'm speaking in reference to what Mrs Z brought up with her question about good shepher um just for clarification because I'm in the secondary or I'm on the secondary campus I can say that they have not been a huge benefit of opening up student rooms because of the shift over to good sheeper that one strings classroom that used to house the tech department that was actually extremely beneficial to have the actual tech department on the secondary campus to be there to support and service all the students and the teachers so that is definitely a huge loss with them being in the basement of Zayn which also to my knowledge does not free up any space for any students to be having any more space over there um and sadly because of the slashes and the cuts to the music department in the beautiful band room I feel like there's probably room for that one little classro of students to be in the band room over there and if the staff had been asked and considered we probably could have brainstormed some places for that to help with that but first and foremost one of the major huge pain points that we're dealing with in the Middle School is the overworking of the main office because of the child study team administrative assistance being housed at good sheeper they're not there to meet the people to greet the the parents that come in they are not just dealing with their everyday traffic running the office which is a huge 150% job to do on a daily basis on a good day but now they're taking the extra work because the child study team administrative team is not on the secondary campus so just wanted to clear that up but thank you so much for asking hi Robin Hogan CA president so I think I got the answer to my question about fact finding so the answer is yes you'd rather pay attorney fees and you'd rather pay the fee for fact finding than just sitting down and knocking this out ourselves especially given what was mentioned about how high our attorney fees are that's the priority like Good Shepherd is a priority I think it's time to make the teachers and the staff members and Collingswood the priority and not other distractors uh my name is Christina pip cardi I am a um I live at 825 lwood uh this is my son Julian cardi I'm a 97 grad of Collingswood married to another 97 grad uh Julian is in eighth grade um class president and we were at a critical point in our career his academic career in terms of making a decision whether or not to stay here because we're not sure um given everything that's been going on in recent years if this is the right place Julian is uh collinswood wrestler he has grown up with Coach moody in that wonderful program and has dreamed about about being Collingswood wrestler he is an honor student um we recently met with a guidance counselor here who was wonderful from the high school to talk about what his uh academic career here might look like one of the things that are that's really important to him is going into the business track we understand that there's a retirement of uh the business teacher that the other business instructor that was here was let go last year um he reached out to Dr mcdal and thank you Dr mcdal for being so responsive to he's met with him uh on a couple of occasions and we just want to know um if there are plans to carry that program forward that's going to be a critical uh decision for him whether or not he stays here or leaves um so hoping to get answers and I want to let Julian speak as well good evening um as she introduced already I'm the class president at colins Middle School um for eth grade and this year I've really held myself to stand as an advocate for my classmates um I'm the kind of person to really try to like go up and Beyond the standard and kind of help improve things within my school and community so I was very pleased to hear all the different program offerings with the presentation earlier and I am worried about the business program for next year um retirement is inevitable but I just like to have some more clarity um going into next year and kind of like my scheduling options um another recurring issue is definitely the stat of the building building and grounds um I've brought this up with many leaders within uh the school system and not much change has happened I do think that uh they can be relatively Simple Solutions and I think that just by cleaning up the bathrooms hallways stairwells other such issues can really help boost student morale and I think that all these problems start from the top down whether it's just a little bit extra cleaning here and there uh more enforcement in the cafeteras and I think that just by improving the state of the buildings can really help student morale and really enhance the school spirit which uh I think sometimes we we lack another thing I've been trying to do is make uh more videos for the school I think that colins would get sometimes a negative reputation in the media and I think that it would be great to um try to shed more light to the public about uh some of the great things we have to offer at Collingwood that's all for me thank you very much so um just really quickly just wanted to comment um I have been very fortunate to watch Julian um grow as a leader from his time at zann North uh four years ago to the the young man that he's become today uh we have met um he used his voice we met uh in a small group and then he also participated uh in a focus group where the students gave us very uh tangible very realistic and prac practical uh feedback uh that we will be using uh in the future what I shared with Julian um in his advocacy and his response about the business education program is that aligned with what our assistant superintendent talked about was student voice drives the course offerings from year to year and that uh all courses would be uh available for students to select and that um it is uh it is incumbent that we uh promote the programs that we want to men um and if there are students that want to take uh these programs uh we will work to ensure that we have what what the kids are asking for um and so uh look forward to continued discussions uh and then Julian also look forward to you continuing to grow as a leader Dr mcdal one addition to what you shared um Julian thank you so much for uh speaking tonight um uh just on a on a practical level the high school principal is sitting about six six seats down from you and the director of the CTE programming Dr principado is in the black and white sweater in the front row waving at you now and so if you want to chat with them before you leave you might be able to get some clear answers here in the next five minutes and then I'll just also use this as an opportunity to remind Julian and your family and all Rising ninth graders that there is an eighth grade um ninth grade orientation session on Thursday evening at 5:30 principal Newman is that correct at the high school uh where all Rising freshmen and their families will have an opportunity to meet with building administrators and other leaders and tour the facility and get a further sense of um the opportunities and the exciting um pathway ahead for freshman at Collingswood High School next year so Julian I hope to see you there wonderful and so to to close out public comments for today I again want to uh thank everyone who spoke today uh it was again uh just a very amazing experience hearing about all the the the good work uh that is happening within the the district I want to thank the uh the Middle School uh high school elementary and and and prek administrators for their presentations about the amazing programs and the range of options that are being offered uh in our schools right now um and again I want to reiterate the the board's willingness to to settle uh unfortunately we cannot settle on our own um and we have again Met 10 times since February 20124 we've also requested uh four other meetings um unfortunately uh we have not been able to to meet um fact finding we uh while it there is a cost and while it will take time uh we are hopeful that that will help us come to a mutually acceptable agreement uh specifically because it will result in a public report that will uh that will give the recommendations of the public FactFinder um uh about what the settlement should be um and so we are hopeful uh that that process will help us come to a mutually acceptable uh agreement um that both meets the teachers needs and also ensures that we can continue providing the programming that that all of our students clearly uh want as we've heard tonight um with that I'd like to move to section 17 adjournment can I get a motion to adjourn and can I second thank you and uh all in favor thank you