America. >> Good evening everyone. Welcome to April CC20 calendar meeting. We are here tonight at PS229 which is overseen by principal William Kirk. Thank you so much for hosting us.
Nin, can you take attendance? >> I'll keep doing it. >> Go ahead. >> Okay. John >> here. Wizard Chen, >> she's here. Wing Chen >> here. Lin >> May fun.
>> Stephen Mahoney, >> he's here. He's downstairs. >> Hi, I'm here. >> Dear Stern, >> here. >> Kelly Clancy, >> he's not diffused. >> Yes. >> Alina Lewis here.
>> And Kevin Zo. Tonight we have interpretation in Arabic, Mandarin, and Spanish. You should see these interpreters names in the participant list. Thank you. And they will post their information in the chat. They will now share directions
for anyone who needs interpretation for the meeting. Could our Arabic interpreter please introduce yourself? >> Good afternoon. My name is Sakura and I will be the Arabic interpreter for this event with my coworker Ad. So this
announcement will be for Arabic. Shukran Jazilan Arabic announcement completed. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. Can our Mandarin interpreter please introduce yourself? >> Good evening everyone. So there will be Mandarin interpretation service tonight.
ID house. Announcement complete. Thank you so much. Spanish interpreter, please introduce yourself. completed. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. Thank you. As a reminder to speakers, please try to speak slower than usual. to allow our
interpreters to keep up. Now, we will share the agenda for tonight's calendar meeting. Kevin, can you please share the agenda? I would like to ask everybody to rise for the pledge of allegiance. >> Pledge of Allegiance.
United States of America and justice for all. >> Thank you so much. >> I would like to call Dr. Alina Lewis. >> Thank you. Um, good council members. Tonight, on behalf of 20 and the entire district 20 community,
I'm really honored to recognize 10 district 20 students for some very impressive accomplishments. In February, these students traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts to compete in the Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament. This is an international
tournament that draws students from all over the country and the world. At this tournament, approximately 200 teams of middle school students participated in multiple rounds of what is called policy forum debate, an intense back andforth
exercise where teams must argue either the pro or the con side of a cutting edge policy question while being assessed by a judge. This group of students demonstrated not just excellent verbal and thinking and communication skills, but also really
important leadership school skills. Through their speaking and engagement with others ideas, they modeled what it means to be civically engaged and an active participant in a deliberative democracy. We hope they go on to further refine these speaking and leadership
skills and continue to serve as leaders in their school communities and beyond. I'm really honored to recognize students and their coaches from two district 20 schools tonight. Christa McAuliff and Brooklyn School of Inquire
group of students is up here and then we'll honor them all equally and together. And also once you come up, please stay up here um because we will do photos both with the individual schools and the whole group when we're finished. So first I'm going to call up
the Mauith students. So please come stand over here when I tell your name and again hold your applause and wait until we have everyone assembled. Tyler Sang and it never fell
and Kate Zang. >> Thank you. And we also wish to acknowledge two other students from McAuliff who competed but can't be with us tonight. So their names are Elaine Dong and Annabelle Hang. So we can give
all four of them a big And we would also like to acknowledge the MALIC debate coach and the school principal both of whom have been instrumental in supporting both these students and this program. So if we can also get debate coach Chen Chin Wu and
principal Sadiki Wilhina if you guys can come up and join the students up here that Awesome. Thank you. And I'm going to have you guys wait and then we'll call up the BSI so we can do all together. So from the
Brooklyn School of Inquiry, can the following students please come up? We have and reminder to hold your applause until we have everyone assembled. We have Zebza P. Marcus Haye. Yeah, you can work way over there.
It's okay. You guys can stay there. That's fine. Carlo Murray, Rosie Nolan, Katherine Zang, and last but not least, Haley Han. Please give them a big round of
applause. And I also want to give a special shout out to Marcus and Zeba who are standing up over here and to Rosie and Carlo who advanced into the elimination rounds of the tournament. Carlo was also honored
with the 20th place speaker award. And it is worth mentioning also that the majority of top finishing teams at this tournament were students from private forprofit programs and not these wonderful students from public schools. So they really really showed New York
City public schools and district 20 really really made us all so proud. So, let's give them another >> Yeah, we'll do them all together in just a second. We also would like to acknowledge the BSI debate coach, Brian Agular, and the school principal, Eric
Havick, both of whom have been instrumental in supporting the students and this program. Coach Agular, if you could join the students. Thank you. And could not be with us tonight. He's sick unfortunately, but he's probably listening in on Zoom. Um, and then last
but not least, I wanted to invite up um Richard Connelly from the American Debate League. Um he has put a lot of effort into bringing this very important enrichment to District 20 and he's going to give the kids their medals. So, Yeah. And we're gonna do one picture
with everyone and the superintendent. Go. Yep. Benito stand up. Every time they come up, you have to get the water. >> No, no, no. Congratulations. >> Benito.
>> Yes. Uh this is Benito. Um I'm reviewing my chat. I have nothing. acknowledgement would be to all of the families here and also the teachers at the schools because we know a lot goes into supporting and sustaining your kids outside of the
gate. So, thank you all so much and thank you for coming to recognize this. >> We will now start the public speaking session. I will now share instructions for our public speaking sessions. If you would like to speak, you can sign up on the Google form on our website and the link has been shared in the chat. If you
are in person, you can sign up using a signin sheet up front. Is there any reps from the elected officials in here? >> Since there's no public speaking session, I would like to introduce several guests
here with us tonight. Superintendent Dr. David Pto, family support coordinator Sylvia Jazinski, family leadership coordinator, Bill Chen, Face Representative Ena Kranic, President's Council President
Josephine Kangliosce. We would like to call up Lieutenant Willie Vadoya for the non-certification CPR training unit. They're up there. >> Okay, you here. Oh, no. I'm sorry.
>> Dr. Garcia, we are all instructors here. We teach all ours and five skills and we're GOING TO BRIEFLY SHOW YOU A SKILL TODAY which is also known as CPR. I'm going to break it down for you.
We're going to show it to you in four simple steps. However, IT IS AN IMPORTANT SKILL that you learn CPR whether you certified or not. If you don't do it every day, guess what? You lose it as soon as you go bounce that door. So, we always encourage that you
practice CPR. Our unit, this is the only unit in the service that goes into communities, schools, churches, businesses, and we teach CPR plans only CPR to the community. It is a free service paid for the foundation. If you ever want us to come to your schools,
you go to fismart.org/cpr. You fill out the application and we will pretty much come and teach the class for a whole hour. We also offer a stop bleed. to show you how to stop the bleeding and how to apply it. That is our job and experience foundation. So if you're interested, please go on to the
website and fill us fill it out. Okay. So CPR, let me break it down for you. Let me tell you first that this is not a certification class. This is a workshop. This is an awareness level. It is not something that the fire department made up. This is coming from the American
Heart Association. They're finding that people do not want to put their mouths on someone especially after we live through co but we need your help because we are training out there and we need you guys to jump into action because there's where most of these emergencies happen. It happens when you're home
>> where you spend the most time, right? So if we have a unit that's 10 minutes away and you have someone that has collapsed and stopped breathing, guess what? Those brain cells start to die off. That's why we do CPR, not because you saw it on TV and you saw it on grazing animal, you
thought it looked cute, right? We want to make sure that you learn how to do this skill because it's very, very important and at least two of you in this room are going to experience it in your lifetime and it's the worst feeling in the world. However, if you don't do it on a regular basis, it is worth,
right? So, we want you to just know that we are here to teach if anybody's interested. So the first thing I always like to stress when you learn CPR is the breakdown of CPR. What does it stand for? C stands for cardio which is your heart. P stands for pulmonary which is
your lung. And R is resuscitation. That is to bring this person back to life. That is the goal. This person has to be on a hard surface. They cannot be on the floor. I mean on the bed. They cannot be on the couch or sitting up in a chair. They have to be on a hard surface. Okay.
First of all, I want you to also know that your location is very, very important. You'd be surprised how many people don't even know their home address. And we're going through schools. High schoolers only know how to get to school. They don't even know their home address because everybody's too busy in the cell phones in here. No
one's paying attention and aware of their surroundings. Also, what's important is your safety. Do I expect you to go into the middle of the street and start doing chest impressions because I showed you a skill today and your cars are flying around you? No. Now you good to know if you go down with
this person. You have to know that your safety is always first. I'm always stress that. Okay. Once you know this, you're safe. First thing you do is approach someone. Just because they passed out doesn't mean you need to jump on their chest. Okay? Your diabetic
emergencies, they can be unresponsive and not breathing. You have seizures, unresponsive, not breathing. Strokes, unresponsive, not breathing. Someone who is not responsive and not breathing, that is the person that meets the
criteria for chest compressions only. You are not going to put your mouth on this person and you are not going to check for a pulse. All we need you to do is deactivate the 911 system, recognize and act with this person and do those chest compressions until we arrive. That
is it. That's all we need. Okay? Remember what I said about those brain cells? four to six minutes, your brain cells start to die off. We can show up with all the fancy equipment, breathe for you, give you all the medications we have in the world in the emergency room, but if that person is just laying here,
they're going to die. Am I clear? >> Mhm. >> ALL RIGHT. SO, FIRST THING YOU'RE GOING TO DO is you're going to approach the person. You're going to make sure you're safe. Once you know you're safe, you're going to kneel down on either side of the person. Never shadow someone. You don't know if they're faking. You don't want them to push you. You don't want to
put your face to their face. You don't know if they're faking. They sit up and bite you. It's fantastic. Okay. Yes, it can happen. I don't know the world everybody else is living in, but I know I work on the streets for 23 years and we see a lot of stuff that goes on out there. Okay. The world is a different place right now. All right. SO, THE
FIRST THING YOU WOULD DO TO CHECK for responsiveness, you're going to take both your hands and you're going to tap THEM ON YOUR SHOULDERS LIKE THIS. >> Are you okay? Are you okay? >> He is tapping both shoulders. not one side because if this person has stroke or they're paralyzed, we need to get
some type of stimulus, but we need to wake this person up. Okay. Second step he's going to do is he's going to point to someone. He's going to describe what this person has on and he's going to tell them to call 911 like this. >> Hey, you in the blue shirt, do me a favor. Call 911.
>> He's going to tell somebody to call 911. DID HE SAY SOMEONE YELL OUT 911, call 911? No. Cuz you're in a big like this. You know what's going to happen? You're gonna assume that this person you're going to assume that that person or no one call because they're too busy reporting, right?
Tell them to do something. Get them to get into action. Snap them out of it. Okay. Hey, you and call 911. Do your ABC. Right. All right. So, now we're going to go back to the person. Once you have activated 911, if you're by yourself, you take out your cell phone. You dial 911. Put it on speaker. The
dispatch is going to talk back and forth. Okay. Now, we have to expose this person from the waist up because we're looking for signs of life. And what is the biggest signs of life? Anybody? Breathing. Absolutely. And what does your chest do when you're breathing? You're going UP AND DOWN. SO, ALL YOU
GOT TO DO IS LOOK AT THIS person's chest to see if the chest is moving. If that chest is not moving, guess what? This person has made cardiac arrest, meaning their heart has stopped and they stop breathing. Someone who's having a heart attack is a lack of oxygen to the heart and the heart muscle. They're sweating.
They look ashy to you. They're telling you they have chest pain. They're about to throw up. That person is now telling you that they're about to get into some trouble because their heart is about to stop if you don't do anything for them. They start exerting stuff. Okay. So now you just look at the chest. No more than
10 seconds. You don't see any chest rise. I want everybody to do this because um my partner is going to show you. Everybody take the heel of your hand. I don't care which hand you want to use. Give me your hand and I want you to place it right here in the center of your chest. That is your sternum. That is the bone that you're going to press.
And it has your hand placement has to be right in between the nipple line. Whatever part they're showing you. Okay. Now put your hands back out. Take your other hands, get it on top of your wrist, interlock your fingers. That is going to be your position. LOCKING YOUR ELBOWS, BUT your chest is going to be
over the person's chest. You will not be sitting down on your feet. You have to put all your weight on top of this person's chest. Okay. How many compressions are we going to push for? >> 100 to 120. YOU MUST BE CERTIFIED, RIGHT? So 100 to 120 chest compressions
is where we'd like you to be. When you certified, then it's ratio based, but you have to take a full certification course to do that. All right. You're going to push halfway down the person's chest, which is up to two inches. We walk around with measuring tape. Absolutely. Next. So it's halfway down
the person's chest. The bigger the person, the harder you have to push. Now there's a tempo that you have. You're not going to just go and push on your chest like this, right? Or you're not going to just push on your chest like this. Our heart doesn't beat like you're going to sing in your head when you go
on the internet before you even hit the door, right? You're going to sing Alive. That is one of the songs. You can sing Baby Shark. You can sing a lot. I don't care what you say. You can Google the other songs or those are the that you have to sing to keep you in 100 to 120
range. Okay? So, it's going to look like this.h no, right? You're going to do continuous chest progression. And so when three things happen, one, you physically get tired, you're good to know why I'm going
to go down this person. Start feeling dizzy, nauseous, you better throw out, pass out, stop. You're not going to do anymore. You did your best. Try to get yourself together and jump back on the chest. You got two, if the rescue is alive or someone else that now is
willing to help you because now you know where to place your hands, you're going to coach somebody else because you're going to see that you can get inside yourself. It is a very very um motion that can be observed. Okay. Three.
If this person starts showing you start, there is a possibility that if you witness this and you started putting that oxygen strain, guess what? This person will start moving. You're going to stop. You're going to take this person by the shoulder and the hip and you're going to turn them on the side.
Do not leave them on their back. This is called the recovery position. the recovery position. This allows this person to recover. Things build up in their mouth. Fluid, saliva, blood, vomit. We do not need to lay on their back because it's going to aspirate into
your lungs and you don't want them to drown in their own fluid. Let everything drain away from you because pull them towards you, which is always easier. It doesn't matter which side and they go up on you, what are you going to do? Right? So, just try to take them by the shoulder and the hip, which is the
strongest part of the body. or push them away from you. Let that stuff drain out. Okay, your job is not done. If we're not there yet, your job is to keep an eye on yourselves. If they look like they stop breathing again, what do you think you're going to do on it? Put them right back on their back and continue to work
those. That is it. That is all we need you to do. Now, can ribs break? Yes, ribs can break. That is all part of the normal process. However, we say something we're not going to break. We say something called life. Your bones
can heal later. You can increase that in the hospital setting, but your brain cells don't gone. That's it. Done. So remember while you're doing CPR. Remember the proper placement and just do those chest compressions until we buy. We're asking you to do it at least
6 to 8 minutes. You can switch off of somebody. If you notice that you've been down there too long and no one is alive, please don't forget to call 911. Okay? I'm from most public places, schools,
gyms, concert halls. They're very simple to you. All you have to do is just turn on device. It tells you what to do. So even if you're out in the park, but you know the school has a defibrillator, just goes inside the school. SOMEBODY IS GOING TO RUN WITH you with the defibrillator to
go shop that person's car. Okay. When it comes to children, it's the same concept. It's the same placement. It's right between the nipple line, right? If it's for females, for males right down in the collar. Females, it's usually where the cups of the bra meet. That
will be your hand right in between. Right. Adults is two hands. Children, the heel of one hand, and small infants is two fingers. Two fingers. Right in the same. and by the sustained chest
placement. Okay, with children and infants, it's usually their respiratory system that goes first and then they like McDonald's or whatever. Our heart stops first and then we stop.
So the schedule will tell you what. Okay, I hope that you never have to use this. I thank you for your time. Again, if you want to schedule those classes, you can ask John >> John, he will tell you also how to
service paper and we look forward to meeting up with you guys to collaborate to do. Okay, we want to thank you for your time and have a wonderful evening. Do >> we have any members that want to ask any
questions? >> Now it's time for our superintendent, Dr. David Pto report. The floor is yours. >> Thank you. I think everyone's properly prepared to discuss AI. Uh but before we do that, I wanted to
do some introductions of some principles. And uh we've done this differently in the past where we have introduced principles to the CEC uh prior to being appointed uh typically when they take over being the principal uh after a principal takes over and usually that happens in an inter
intermacking basis and uh today uh after some some discussion with uh our partners uh and a long-standing tradition that has happened in district 20 which I want to thank uh former principal of PS69 Jane Capitanakas who's here Jane, we've discussed this many times.
Uh so it's very appropo that we uh launch this uh different way of introducing principles to the council. Uh and I also want to recognize uh former AP at PSIS 229 and currently appointed principal of uh junior high
school 227 uh Shallow. We have Kathleen Muie in the back. So, I want to recognize Kathleen and we introduced Kathleen to the council as an interacting principal. She was appointed. Uh, so Kathleen, sorry. Uh, we're I'll make it up to you.
Um, but so what I'm really excited to introduce two appointed principles uh today to the council. uh these both of these principles have completed the C30 process which is the process that formally recognizes the support of the
the important stakeholders in the school in the new leadership and the transition from a for principal to a new principal. Uh it's an important moment. It's a big deal. Uh and I'm really excited to recognize these two principles uh who have been appointed uh to the council today. Uh and really excited to see many
folks in the uh crowd, very recognizable faces from the school. So, it's really good to see you all uh who are here in support of their new leadership. I think it's really representative of uh the importance of the C30 process and all of the stakeholders that go into ultimately the recommendation uh to me uh who
should be formally appointed. Parent leaders and uh teacher leaders from all schools weigh in and they take their time. Uh this isn't something that they are necessarily required to do. This is something that we asked them to do as stakeholders. were required to operate the process, but the the parent leaders
and the and the staff leaders, it's something that they do in service of the school community. So, I really appreciate that. Every time we run uh these uh C30 uh interviews and work with uh level one committees, the first thing we always say is thank you. Like, thank you for taking the time to give your input because without the support of the community, the leadership is not going
to be able to do the things that need to be done to have our schools be successful. So, I think it's uh really important that we do that. And I'm going to start by introducing I I'll start with PS69. Uh you know, principal Capita, former principal Capita is here. Uh I have always referred to her as a
very big deal in the district. Uh not just principal uh but also a community board president and community board chair and CSA chair. Like you know, she's been a big deal. So no small shoes to uh replace in uh you know, continuing the the great work at PS69. But uh we
are really excited to uh formally recognize and announce uh Joanne Yenszer as the appointed princip invite you up to say a couple of words. >> Sit here. >> Okay. Thank you. So, first I want to thank the
members of the CEC. Thank you so much for always being there to support our community. I especially want to thank Dr. Pto. I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to lead this beautiful school community. I'm so proud
to be the principal of PS69. I was a founding member of PS69. I started my career there as a read and recovery teacher, then a literacy coach, and then the assistant principal for 21 years. And it is certainly my home. It's
a place that I only see myself. Um, and it came full circle for me. So, I'm so proud to be here and I'm so proud to lead this amazing school community. I'm so thankful that I have my PS69 family
here with me today. I know there are some on Zoom. Some couldn't make it tonight or on Zoom, but I always appreciate them and appreciate their love and support. I'm so blessed to have amazing students and their supported
families working alongside of me always. >> I'm sorry. >> Thank you. All right. >> Thank you. >> I'm also blessed to have a hardworking
and dedicated staff and also my amazing assistant principles, Miss Fernandez and Miss Bino. Thank you so much for being partners in this work with me. PS69 is a very special place and it
shines because of each and every one of us working together. We are committed to the great work that we do and I'd like to continue the great work we do to ensure that our students get a well-rounded education with strong academics
coupled with leadership skills and strong social emotional learning. So, I am blessed. I'm also grateful to have Jean here with me today. Thank you so much for your support, your love, your mentorship.
I'm so grateful for you. And I also have my wonderful family here. My husband Mike, my girls, my parents, my mother-in-law, my sister and her family. Thank you for always being there for me. I couldn't do any of this without a
team. So, I'm proud to be a part of this team and District 20 has always been my home and it will always be in my heart. Thank you. I just got to keep getting them to stand up every time I walk in. Uh so uh congratulations. We're very
happy and excited to have uh Miss Yenzer uh continue on the leadership of PS69. uh very happy with how things are going there and we'll continue and I think it's a testament to your leadership and the confidence the community has in you with everyone here today. So uh I'm I'm we're really happy to have you on.
Congratulations. Uh next is a uh a very similarly uh legacy school in terms of uh big shoes to fill. Uh so the principal of PS1 170 uh Tony Woo principal for many many
years unfortunately couldn't be here tonight. Uh so no small shoes to fill and uh we couldn't be uh happier than to recognize and announce uh the appointment of uh principal Holly Sains as the appointed principal of PS1 170.
Uh so I'm going to Now got it. I have a very hard act to follow now. All right. Good evening everyone. Um, I am truly honored and humbled to stand before you today as the officially
appointed principal of PS1 170. >> Uh, this is a moment I do not take lightly and I am filled with deep gratitude uh to be to be here and to be part of this wonderful community.
There we go. >> I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Pto uh for the opportunity to serve this amazing community that is PS1 170 and the CEC board for their dedication to all the students of
district 20 and of course the PS229 for hosting tonight's uh event. Um I want to start by congratulating Joanne. I am happy to go on this journey with you and I love our texts at 6:00 in the morning when we have questions. So, I hope they
continue. Um, I want to thank my family, especially my husband and my two boys. Thank you for your I'm sorry. Thank you for your unwavering love, patience, and encouragement. I
know I drive you guys nuts sometimes. Um, but you are my foundation and my strength and and I couldn't do this without you. To my mentors, and there are so many that I can't even name them. um from when I was 2 years old till now
uh they've guided me and challenged me and supported me in my journey and it's their wisdom and their belief in me that have shaped the leader who I strive to be every single day. To the incredible teachers,
paraprofessionals, school aids, support staff, custodians, cafeteria staff, the incredible PTA of PS1 170. This community is something that is truly truly special. You make coming to work every day a joy. This building is more
than a school. It's a second home that has and that is because of each and every single one of you. Um I would especially like to recognize my cabinet team. They're my girls. my APS Christy, Maria, Mingchin, my uh
coaches Laura and Ellen. Your dedication, partnership, leadership, but most importantly, your friendship makes my job not only manageable but meaningful. And I am so grateful to work alongside such talented and committed
team every single day. And to our amazing main office staff, to Ada, Mary, Linda, and Abby, thank you for keeping everything run smoothly at PS1 170, for keeping me
informed of all things DOE, and for keeping me wellfed all of the time. Your support does not go unnoticed. But most importantly, I want to thank the students of PS170. They are the
reason we show up every day and everything we do is for them. My wish is that we serve them well in becoming lifelong learners and that they will always hold PS170 close to their hearts and have fond memories of their time
with us. I am proud to be part of this community and I look forward to continuing this journey together. Thank you for your trust, for your partnership, and for all that you do for our students every single day. Thank
you. It's a what am I going to do? >> So, congratulations again to Principal uh Yenzer and Principal Sains. Uh very confident and happy that the school is under their leadership. They're in the right hands and the students uh and families uh and the staff clearly at at
both schools are in really good hands. So congratulations and uh and and keep it up. Yeah. And keep it up. >> Um I think I just want to say one thing as a former principal uh and having you know all these staff members here uh the
principal ship is one of the most difficult jobs that's out there. And uh and I I want to acknowledge actually uh Mr. Kirk, principal of PS229 who's hosting us. I don't know where he's at. Uh but you know
uh you know just seeing uh Mr. Kirk uh just doing what he's doing today in addition to leading the instructional program in the school and hiring all the teachers and making sure everyone's happy. Also getting chairs out for everybody when chairs need to be gotten because as the principal if no one else is going to do it you're the one doing
it. So uh that responsibility is is a it's a heavy burden and uh these uh fine principles have already been wearing it very well and I have all the confidence I'm going to continue to do so. So congratulations. Um I just have a couple of just announcement in the district for the
month prior to uh the rest of my presentation. Uh, so Oh, that's that's not going to do. I don't know why it's not letting me share. Uh, just so again, congratulations to principles uh, Yanzer and Science. We had spring break. Uh the
New York State ELA exams uh launched yesterday actually and this year is being done a little bit differently because of computer-based testing. So now there's a kind of a broad window when tests may be administered over the next 10 days. So uh instead of the past where there was kind of like a 3-day
kind of defined window, uh now we've got this 10day period, but schools are announcing obviously to uh parents uh when their children will be taking the exam. So we want to wish all the kids good luck. We see some, you know, rock the test t-shirts from kids 170 and, you know, and I see, yeah, do your best. I see I see them. So, I I really
appreciate all the educators like not just getting the kids ready, but also, you know, getting them excited for uh for this after all the, you know, all the months of really hard work. Uh, just want to announce uh for one more time, uh, the New York City Schools uh, survey
deadline has been extended to this Friday. I just sort of really want to put one more plug out there and really encourage staff if you haven't completed it at all though you guys probably have. Uh and but definitely families and students to to please complete the survey. Like we refer to the survey a lot uh in the district uh as a progress
monitoring tool. We use it to set goals uh including a couple of goals that are in our DCP this year and we use it to progress monitor to uh formulate our own surveys to check on how we're doing uh in particular topics this year like bullying and uh strong family community ties. So, really want to put one more
plug out there for families. If you haven't yet completed the survey, please, please, please, pretty please uh complete the survey. We really appreciate it. Uh this coming Tuesday at the upcoming principal conference, we'll be uh we're really excited to invite all of our parent leaders uh to the
principal conference. Uh so this upcoming Tuesday we'll have uh PTA presidents, title one chairs, uh the CEC uh joining principles for uh a joint session around looking at uh you know consensus building uh collaborative
leadership in our schools and how we can uh leverage the existing structures uh for stakeholder engagement to ensure that we have the same level of excitement, enthusiasm that uh all of our staff, you know, all the folks here are sharing today for uh these two great schools. want to make sure that the structures that we have in place uh are
able to you know ensure that everyone feels that excited and confident in the work that's happening in our schools. So really excited to have our parent leaders uh come and join us and you know discuss how we can uh come together and you know improve upon this uh upon this great diff uh upon this great district.
Uh on April 27th we will be holding a bilingual fair in district 20. So that will be at John J. Persian Junior High School from uh 3:00 to 6 PM. And this fair is being done in partnership with the Office of Multilingual Learners. And it's really to highlight the many many
uh bilingual programs that we have offering for students in district 20 across uh preK uh to 8th grade. So really excited to have we offer over we offer five languages. We offer a variety of different platforms uh uh including many dual language programs and really
excited to be able to give parents the opportunity to uh see the different offerings for dual language uh in the district from all the schools that that offer it. And then finally, uh, New York City public schools last in, uh, late March, uh, off released the initial
guidance for artificial intelligence. And we're really looking for all stakeholders, educators, principles, teachers, families, students, uh, community members, everybody to to weigh in and give feedback on this, uh, on this new guidance. Uh the the feedback
period is open until May 8th and I'm going to give a short presentation on the guidance itself and I'm then going to point everyone in the direction of what the guidance looks like and hopefully help everyone avoid a feedback pitfall that was pointed out to me due to just the layout of the feedback. So I
just want to point that out so we can make sure that the the feedback is uh as substantive as possible and definitely for the council. uh you know this is a time uh that I'll definitely be taking feedback directly from the council and I'll be relaying that directly uh as superintendent uh to uh central DOE. So
whatever you share I'm going to be sharing directly with uh central DOE into the terms of the feedback but in addition the feedback uh methods that are available uh we're really encouraging everybody to uh you know read the feedback closely and you know weigh in. We want to make sure uh this has been a big topic in the district and
it's a big topic in the world. uh we want to make sure that uh everyone's voices are heard and that this feedback period is you taken advantage of by everybody. So let's talk about AI. Uh and why we're talking about AI, it's an obvious question, but you know AI is
here. Uh and our students are already encountering it beyond the school walls. It's on everyone's phones right now as we see it. You could do a Google search and you know AI is one of the first things that you know kind of generates things for you whether you chose to have it do it for you or not. So it's there. Uh and the question that New York City
public schools is posing is that are students prepared to use it safely to think critically and to make responsible choices or are they figuring it out on their own? New York City public schools is committed to guiding students and partnering with families through this in a thoughtful and responsible way so
every student is supported. So, New York City public schools is taking a fourphase approach uh over the next few months in rolling out uh the AI policy in uh in the city. Phase one is what's happening right now uh and it's to set the foundations and the non-negotiables
for the presence of AI within the New York City public schools ecosystem. Phase two, which is going to happen from uh March to April, which is happening, uh is to build shared understanding and gather feedback. We want to make sure that the policy is out there, that folks know where to get it, to read it, and
to, you know, tear it apart and to share feedback. Uh, I think that that's going to be really important. I think a welldesigned policy, and, uh, the chancellor and New York City public schools really believes that a well-designed policy will be well informed by the community. Uh, April and
May, uh, will be around building capacity and testing tools. and then May and June an anticipated uh publishing of an AI playbook. So these are the our foundational commitments from New York City public schools. First that your child's teacher
and the relationships they build remain at the heart of learning. Literacy and mathematics remain essential and that technology including AI supports learning. It doesn't replace educators or human connection. So, one of the first things that we do
is just examine what AI is and what it isn't. So, AI refers to computer systems that perform tasks usually requiring human thinking, finding patterns, sorting information, making predictions, or creating content. AI is generative
AI, which creates texts, images, and code such as chat GPT. It's also predict there's also predictive AI which analyzes data and makes predictions and it is a tool that can augment human decision-m
is AI is not it is not human thinking reasoning or judgment it is not always accurate it can hallucinate wrong answers it is also not a replacement for educators relationships or learning Oh,
that's better. Okay. So, digging a little bit deeper, AI is a tool that can find patterns and information. So, it can sort and organize large amounts of data. It can help draft and translate text. Uh, supports teachers in planning lessons. It generates images, code, or audio. Uh, it creates new content based on
instructions. and it makes predictions from data surfacing trends for educators to review. It is not something that can replace teachers or school staff. It cannot replace educators judgment. Uh educ educators judgment remains at the center. It does not truly understand
your child. AI processes patterns not meaning. AI does not make decisions about students. Placement grades and IEPs need humans. And it is not always to be trusted or accurate. outputs must be reviewed by adults.
So the de the New York City public schools has developed a traffic light system and I want to shout out the students from uh uh IS-187 Chris Mclliff who prior to the release of this feedback released their own recommendations around AI to their SLT
using a traffic light system for looking at AI. So you know I told them that I told the chancellor that they beat uh beat us to it. But uh this is the traffic light system in its essence. So first the red light which uh represents AI that is not to not be used or do not
proceed. So AI will never do these things in our schools. It will never make placement discipline eligibility or graduation decisions. It will never develop IEPs or special education documents. It will never determine grades or what a student knows. Any AI
data is advisory only. Uh AI will never lock students out of an advanced coursework. Uh any algorithmic pathway can be overridden. Uh it will never replace teachers, counselors, or crisis support staff. It will not monitor, surveil, or track student behavior. It
will not train AI models on student data or sell or monetize student data. And it will not override the professional judgment of educators and leaders. These protections that I'm referring to uh here are all grounded in trans
various chancellor's regulations uh the IDEIDA federal law fura uh New York state ed law 2D uh copa and the student bill of rights yellow proceed with caution. This is where educator judgment uh is essential.
Uh student and school data AI may surface patterns in data. Educators can interpret findings with knowledge of each student. Uh, diverse learners AI may generate translations and trans adaptations of bilingual instructional material as well as accommodations and
scaffolds to support student learning and all outputs must be reviewed by qualified staff including certified bilingual teachers in this translation case. Uh, and then the student use of AI. any student of uh so students may use AI for research exploration and creative
projects. Educator guidance, critical evaluation of outputs and age appropriate context are required. In all cases, AI outputs must be reviewed and validated by educators, never accepted at face value. They must be age appropriate and aligned to
student learning goals. And they must uh be supporting student thinking, not substituting for it. And then the green light uh these are improved, encouraged and supported. So uh brainstor and many of these you're going to see are really
adult-f facing. So brainstorming and planning uh exploring lesson ideas, unit approaches and instructional strategies. Uh operational planning, synthesizing operational data and supporting resource planning. drafting and refining materials for nonsensitive comms or
communications. Uh, educators need to critically review and own the final product of any communication, an email, a newsletter, anything that they send out. Uh, and then professional learning. Uh, AI can support educators own professional development, preparation, and research. And then finally,
translation and accessibility. AI supports translating non-critical school communications for families preferring languages other than English. All AI generated translations must be reviewed, edited and approved by a qualified human before distribution. So
this is just a sampling of the traffic light uh approach that the AIA guidance provides. Student data has been a big topic of conversation in this district and the city and the nation around AI. So the IA policy includes uh specific measures
that New York City public schools takes to protect uh your child's data. So first Irma compliance is required and I'll go over the Irma process in a second. So no AI tool may use student data without completing New York City public schools 10-step enterprise
request management application or Irma review. Data will never be sold. Student data will never be will never train AI models, be sold or monetized ever. And these laws which I referred to
earlier uh are the the laws that lay the foundation for the protection of student data in the AI policy uh from the federal level all the way down to chancellor's regulations in New York City public schools but inclusive also of New York state law uh and New York City law.
So where do school rules apply? So existing student and family rights apply to AI tools just as they apply to any other educational technology. AI does not create new rules. It operates within the ones already in place. So the rights the rights frameworks that apply.
So FURPA and New York State Ed Law 2D govern student data privacy. Chancellor's regulation A820 defines data use and protection. >> New York City public schools parents bill of rights for data privacy and security. the students bill of rights, including
protections against surveillance, copa protections for students under 13, and New York City public schools social media guidelines for students 12 and under versus 13 and over. And then there's the inschool versus out
of school reality. In school, Irma approved tools on a school device during instruction. This is what AI could look like. Out of school, students use a personal AI account at home.
In school, AI generated content could be submitted as schoolwork and an educator reviews it. Out of school, AI use on personal time with personal accounts. So, this is just the kind of the grounding context and reality that we're looking at when
looking at this policy. how AI tools are approved. So the the Irma process or enterprise request management uh application. So the first thing that needs to be done is I I know it's it's it's it's exciting stuff. So uh the the first thing that needs to
happen is to identify a need. Schools need to explain a problem to solve and expected outcomes from the tool. Second, a request is submitted. So authorized leaders submit Irma requests. Principles can submit them. I can submit them. Central office staff can submit
them. Teachers don't submit uh Irma requests. Next needs to be a vendor agreement. So the vendor signs a data processing agreement or a DPA. A security review is then taken under. So encryption, access controls, and a compliance check.
Then a legal and bias review is conducted. So privacy, equity impact, instructional value and a AI transparency are categories that are reviewed during the legal and bias review. And then finally, a decision is made and monitoring takes place. So it a
uh an Irma request can be either be approved, it can be in process or it can be denied uh with ongoing audits. So this is a quote from the uh from the guidance on AI that I will direct everybody to in a second. The question is not whether or not AI belongs in
schools but rather will we collectively create a system that governs AI to serve every student and every stakeholder. So what this looks like in the classroom. So across K to 8 students building critical thinking and digital literacy skills, learning how to question and
make sense of AI with age appropriate guidance. In high school 9 to 12, students preparing for college, careers, and life, developing judgment, creativity, and ethical decision-making in a world shaped by AI. And then across all grades, educators making decisions
based on what's best for students. Technology can support learning, but it does not replace teacher expertise or relationships. Teachers and school leaders may use AI tools for brainstorming and organizing. Educators use AI to explore lesson ideas, approaches, and unit planning
aligned with intellectual property guidel guidance. Teachers and school leaders draft and refine communications. Uh they may use AI to draft or refine materials on any topic. Human review and ownership are required before distribution of both
sensitive and nonsensitive materials and heightened attention to tone, accuracy, and impact. And teachers and school leaders may use AI to simplify and streamline. Educators may use it for scheduling, formatting, or summarizing
non-sensitive information. Your rights as families, you have the right to know what AI tools are used in your child's school. Ask questions. Contact student privacy at schools.nyc.gov. Any questions or concerns around privacy
uh with regard to AI? This email box has been developed and is to be used by everybody, but definitely for families to ask questions related to the privacy any privacy concerns you have around the AI policy. Uh your rights are also data privacy protections under FURPA, uh Ed Law 2D,
and the New York City public schools uh parents bill of rights. And then your right is also to raise concerns through your CEC or SLT and to receive timely responses. So I I'll talk about that a little bit in a second in terms of the work that we've been doing in the district around that exact thing.
And then what you can do, you can visit uh schools.nyc.govi uh for the guidance and I'll direct everybody to that in a second. Uh talk to your child's teacher about AI in the classroom. Talk with your child about AI, what it is, what it isn't, and how
to think critically. attend community sessions and engage through the CEC or the SLT and then please share feedback. Uh so there is a tinyurl.comfeedbacknycps uh which is open through May 8th. We're going to drop it in the chat. Uh and really encourage everybody it's also
linked directly in the uh in the guidance. So I'll direct I'll show everybody that in a second. Really encourage everybody to read the guidance uh and share feedback. I will however uh say that I'm going to encourage everybody to first read the guidance before sharing the feedback. Uh and I'm
going to show you why I say that in a second, but there are three different kind of areas where you can share feedback. Uh definitely for the AI feedback New York City public schools in general on the guidance and then student privacy questions. Those are we're we know that student privacy is a big issue. Uh and it's
something that not just with AI but with you know you know a lot of things. So, if it's a privacy issue, we're really urging families and educators and anybody uh to share those uh privacy specific concerns to the student privacy at schools.nyc.gov uh email address. It it's still going to
get there either way uh if you put in the feedback, but you know, they're really being really attentive to the privacy. I mean, they're really being attentive to the whole thing, but you know, definitely the privacy piece is it's it's a really big deal. We're taking it very seriously. Uh, I want to make sure that uh everybody's able to uh
to weigh in on that. I'm gonna just I'm going to go to the guidance itself really quick. This was something that was brought to my attention by one by uh our president's council president actually about the guidance itself. Uh and so I want to just share with
everybody. This is what the guidance looks like. This is schools.nyc.gov/ai. Uh this is the guidance itself. You're going to notice at the top that there's a button at the top to share your thoughts, suggestions, and insights. What I've learned anecdotally is that many folks have been just
clicking on the button and sharing their thoughts, suggestions, uh, and insights before reading the guidance. So, there's a lot of guidance here. Uh, so I'm just going to urge everybody before they share their thoughts, uh, suggestions, and insights about the AI to please read the guidance. You have to scroll through
and read the guidance. And uh I'll just point out a few features of the guidance that is uh just relevant uh to there's a lot in here and there's a lot of drop downs. So you'll notice that for example you see some little uh I don't know if the folks in the crowd can see this but
on these toolbars you'll see little arrows pointing towards some of these pieces and these are all expandable. So some of these are expandable and they include more information uh on that particular uh area comment or whatnot. And definitely this guidance expands and
goes into more detail uh on the different topics that I discussed uh in the presentation including on the Irma process. Uh the traffic light approach has links to all the uh laws regulations
and something also that it has at the very bottom are questions that we're still working to answer. This is like another really important part of the guidance that I think you know kind of needs to be uh addressed uh and shared because it's at one it's at the bottom uh and two it has a lot of uh kind of acknowledgements by New York City public
schools around things that have not been answered yet. So there are still pieces that uh New York City public schools is working to answer and this is a place where we want to make sure that families, educators, everybody's aware that this is where we're at in terms of developing this policy and the importance of the feedback that we get.
So anything from concerns around biometric and behavioral data, uh bias and equity reviews, the family notification process, the concept of cognitive offloading, which is the I the concern that with AI out there that the
thinking is being done no longer by the child or the adult and the think the the the thinking work is being done by a machine. So this concept of cognitive offloading is a big one out there and that is yet to be you know fully answered in this policy and this something that we really want to kind of
point everyone to in terms of you know thinking about your own experiences with it you know as you know and in the different uh spaces that you operate you know and many of us operate wear multiple hats I wear I'm a parent you know I have two high school students uh and my daughter's about to go off to
college uh I I am also the leader of a district in New York City public schools so there's kind of different lenses of looking at in terms of uh you know how this can look and I I think that you know everyone's different lenses are really important when uh when when think considering this guidance and and sharing your feedback but I really
encourage everybody uh as long as it is to please like scroll through the whole thing and read the whole thing and you know give as uh as substantive as uh feedback as you can uh it's really being looked at closely and so I'm going to stop sharing my screen and just invite the council to you know share any
feedback ask any questions uh and I I just want to make sure that I'm able to to capture them. Uh >> can we we can speak, John? Yeah. I just have a a couple of comments. And for those of you who have been following this conversation in the district, Dr. Kelly Clancy, who is not here tonight,
she's traveling, but she started a um a group called Parents for Caution Against AI. And if any of you are interested in hearing more about the work we've been doing, I'd be happy to share that with you all. I think that I have a couple thoughts about this document. I think
one I will just say and we did let the chancellor know at the town hall it is woefully inadequate. This does really not that much to establish any sort of um coherent policy about AI in general. And what I specifically for the last point that was just mentioned, it says
nothing about the fact that AI does promote cognitive offloading and instead was it what it does do I think is attempts to establish a policy floor so that the larger DOE can deflect any responsibility and then they can put the blame back on teachers when some and the
responsibility on teachers when anything goes wrong. Oh well the teacher should have looked that over. So I think that's really problematic. The other thing I'll say is that student data is absolutely these models are already being trained on student data. So that is patently
false that the part about it can't be used. HMH which is used in this district uses AI to collect data and train models. So our students are already being subjected to this for a comp a for-profit company. And then the only
the other big point that I think is really problematic and I've spoken about this in other contexts is that there are a lot of high um DOE executives including uh Dr. Pate who's one of the chief sort of like the chief chief
academic officer who are actively promoting AI use in public school and who are also receiving money from Google and other edtech corporations and then turning around and promoting these policies. And I really do believe um that our public schools should not have an open door policy to edte companies to
just come in and make money. Um so Kelly, Dr. Clancy and I are also hosting uh a community conversation. I can put the information in the chat. I don't have the date off the top of my head, but it is going to be about AI, edtech, and screen use in general in the
district because that is something that we've been hearing from a lot of different parents about. And so if any of you are interested in attending that um I will look for that date and share it here later and I will also put it in the chat. You have it off the top of your head.
>> Perfect. April Thursday, April 30th at 6, is it 6? Yes, Kevin. Yeah. And it's going to be at um BSI which is 686 and Touts uh which is over in Bensonhurst. So for any people who are interested, it is something that I care a lot about and
um Dr. Clancy knows a lot more than I do and she would have a lot more to say if she were here tonight. Um, so thank you. Thank you, John. >> Thank you. Anybody else have any questions? >> Oh, I just wanted to say like AI is here today like if it helps much in our
education systems. Our younger kids will not be learning on their own. Like if you make it too easy, what what would what will you learn? Because when as a child you learn by your mistakes and and learning you know
by slow action sometimes. It's like when my uh 10 years ago my sister drove to Canada without um of u an act to find the way. But like now everything she does every direction
she has to watch ways to find herself. And but they said like even if you get lost, it makes your brain like learn more. And they even say research says like I said if you put pen to paper you will actually
you're less likely to become female in the future. Well, this is just my thoughts and just say we should be careful even though it is here to stay because these are our future children's.
I mean our our education authorities. >> Thank you. Anybody else? Any members? >> One thought that I have and I saw that statement they accept monetized. I know when I get these statements from my
credit card company, >> it says that they share information. So these companies that the DOE is bringing in, how are they able to share? So, so they're not getting a quick throat vocal say was they're calling the
information of our children and I would love to think it's out of the magnanimous nature of their art but we've always seen how things you know how then can they share that they can't so so they signed a vendor so part
of the Irma process has the vendor agreement and the vendors sign it's the data process agreement meets strict privacy and security laws and provides a detailed data protection plan. Ultimately, the vendors are signing uh uh signing away their right to collect
or sell or otherwise use any student data. >> There's an app my son's school called Class Dojo and it's a free thing. It's supposed to message with the teacher, but they always be trying to sell me something, >> you know, and sometimes you feel
obligated whether it's a tutor service or whatever the heck it is. you sold me this bill of goods that it's a a way to message with the teacher. >> They want to put their hand in my pocket. So >> and and now in some of the schools
they've come out with parent square district 75 students be qualification students >> and you know class know they're making money on this if I hit the so why is the DOE allowing them to sell me something
if it was just for me to message the teacher just be a straight up back and forth you know messaging but it's in there and a lot of parents may click thought, "Oh, it's a tutor. Let me get some tingling service here." And that's the go that invited this into us.
They're giving it to parents. >> So, as a parent uh in a school that uses Class Dojo, you've received uh like solicitations for different services in addition to the communication directly from the school, >> but allowing
>> No, I'm I'm just I just want to I want to make sure because I want to make sure I capture that in the feedback. Uh and also just want to make sure I understand for myself personally. Yeah, the answer is yes. You can class dojo sending you like ads
ways to communicate without the quicker more efficient. >> Yeah, that Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I agree. >> Don't be selling trying to sell our fantasy because I think that Yeah. Okay. it's coming to the panel. Um, so a lot
of times as far as that offer, I would just prefer I don't I can't opt out saying I don't want any offers constantly sending me these things. I want to support you. >> I'm still just trying to clarify what
you're saying so I capture it correctly. You're saying that your school uses Class Dojo to communicate with you as a parent, but instead in addition to getting communications from the school, you're also receiving ads and other like
requests to like click on services from that from Class Dojo, >> right? >> Okay. >> Something in it like Okay. Any others? No,
>> I've already given my you know my my big thing is um just bias that comes with AI >> um you know as as a a woman of color like you know which are specifically targeted. So like I want to make sure as
as as a parent that has that student who live with an IEP and such education um I want to make sure that you know there's nothing on to what is happening with so that's really my >> yeah and and New York City public
schools acknowledges that it's both part of the Irma process in terms of the um the review process but at the at the same time at the >> we're still conducting in the end >> at the same time at the bottom you know it it talks about the questions are still working to answer and they reference the bias uh and equity review.
So >> there something >> y >> yep that's the end of my uh presentation. >> Thank you so much attendant. >> Now it's time for the CDC president report. >> That's you.
>> So as of right now we have 12 members at CC. You can go on the website cc2020.org. You can check your members. We each have five liaison schools. The district 75 rep has about 15. And um right now I'm going to turn it over to Mara Stern. She's the chair of a special
education committee that we have here in district 20 and she'd like to speak to you about it. >> Oh. Um good night everybody. Um, last night we actually had our um, special education committee meeting and we had a presentation from include NYC that um,
went over um, early intervention um, and and preschool like how the process works, how how it's completely different, how it's completely different from like when my kids 11 billion years ago when my kids were younger and just um,
showing parents how the process works. and making it more accessible and um sharing resources with us. Um one of the a lot well we've had a lot of issues with special education just in general in um in the department of education and
one of the we had a list of goals that we wanted to um really hit and target um this year and one of them was um to target early intervention. So that's one of the things that we did. Um we also will be having uh our next month's
meeting would be May 5th and we're going to be meeting the um the whole team of um dial so of the special education department of um New York public schools so they can introduce themselves to our um parents and our families in our
community because like we do know there have been many many concerns for a number of years when it comes to our special education students and our D75 students. So we want to make sure that they number one they have the resources everything is accessible to them in whatever language they need and they
have the information of the people that they need to escalate any issues that they're having if they feel that their schools are not doing um what's needed for their their students and for them. So those are some of the goals that we're working on. So, um we hope to see
more involvement because this has been a really great push by a number of our families and it's taken us a number of years to um really bring this um committee back to CEC20. So, we would like, you know, to make sure like that all that information goes
out to our schools and our families and we show more involvement when it comes to that because we really want to make sure that we're being the voice for our special education and our D75 families because we do know that we haven't been
properly represented and we want to make sure that we continue to do that and we continue to to help you guys resolve whatever issues and concerns that you have. So May 5th will be our next meeting at 6:00. Okay. So hope to see many of you there and we do have
translations. So >> thank you Tamara Superintendent. >> Not to keep talking about AI but I just like I I meant to to raise something because the council has raised concerns about AI and specifically uh H&MH the revision a
uh components in the writable platform. So uh what we in the district have done since then uh I have asked all SLTs I've asked all the principles to engage their SLTs in a conversation about revision 8 and grammar because it's the one
studentf facing potentially AI tool that you know a student in district 20 could encounter and uh so I asked uh schools to uh engage at the SLT level and it's really important that the SLT is highlighted here it's also highlighted in the policy
as you saw in my presentation, you also re read in the guidance. Uh the place where parents are being directed to as well as educators and anybody else are being directed to, you know, raise questions and concerns are, you know, to the CC or to the SLT. Uh and the part about parents and anybody having a right
to know what AI tools are being use in use in a school is, you know, we're we are as New York City public schools directing to the the school leadership team. So uh I want to just recognize that the district has been already leveraging that structure prior to the guidance coming out uh to to examine
this exact concern. You know revision and grammar are uh a a prime example of an AI tool that you know sits uh potentially on that yellow uh part of the traffic light. Proceed with caution something to really examine. It requires
uh you know it engages AI with the choice of a teacher uh and teachers review it before uh before feedback is ultimately released to a student. So the revisioning grammar uh tool really represents a lot of the different components that the AI guidance speaks to like a practical application of it.
And I want to thank all the SLTs across the district. We've had uh 37 of 43 uh in the district so far engage in this discussion and we really uh push them to examine at the teacher level, teacher leader level as well as the parent leader level, you know, uh questions and
concerns about this tool and ultimately like work to have uh SLTs land on consensus of whether or not this is a tool that the community, you know, wants to use in the school or doesn't want to use in the school. And uh you know, across the district so far, it's mixed. you know, about 59% of schools, about 22
of them, the SLT said, "No, I don't think we're going to use this tool." Uh 15 of those 15 of those schools said, "Yes, I think we're going to use this tool." Uh after uh you know, educator and parent input. So, I you know, I I don't raise it as a the the the example
is one of, you know, potentially many uh that will that could happen uh in our schools. Uh but I really want to I just want to really heighten the you know and thank uh the as I did before with the C30 process the the the teacher leaders and parent leaders on the SLT for
weighing in and uh being able to provide uh their feedback on this because uh that's the way that the the structure is supposed to work. Uh and that's the place where uh in the AI guidance you know families and other folks are being directed when they have questions about uh the use of AI. So just want to recognize that and just you know
something that we're taking very seriously in the district. This has obviously been a topic that is not just being raised as a concern by the council. Uh but also it's just something that is a a big reality in our lives. Like we're all concerned about it. Uh and I think that it's important that we all know that uh where the concern lies
there's a structure in place to be able to raise those concerns in like a in like a in a organized way so that all stakeholders can weigh in. Uh and that we can make sure that uh you know similar to the city's guidance, we're really encouraging as much feedback as possible. make sure everyone can weigh
in so it's the most informed policies possible but also at the school level with individual tools. So I just wanted to raise that again uh and and thank all the teacher leaders and parent leaders and definitely the principles for organizing those discussions uh because as we've seen here a lot of different thoughts on uh on this topic. So you
know wanted I just wanted to raise that again and uh and and follow up on that after that being raised uh in January. >> Thank you. >> Yep. >> Thank you superintendent. Right now, I'd like to pull up Florencio Flores Palomao. He's going to do a presentation. He is CEO and founder of
Reach Academy. Will you please stop as her? >> Say that again. >> No, no, no slice. >> I'll be brief. I'll be brief. I know it's it's late. Everybody wants to get home. Um, first, thank you, John, for letting me come speak and coming from a
family of a lot of educators, a lot of teachers, um, I'm honored to be around all of you and congratulations to everybody tonight. Um, as John said, I am the founder and CEO of Reach Swim Academy. I founded it 10 years ago after 20 years working in aquatics here in New
York City. I felt that in aquatics, especially in New York City, there wasn't a program for all kids. If they had special needs or if they're a little bit more challenging or if they had extreme fear, they like they're not ready for lessons or don't come here or only come on Saturdays, only come on
Sundays, only come between 3 and 5. And I didn't think it was fair. And I'm from Nebraska. I was born and raised in Nebraska. I moved here 20 years ago. And I nearly drowned when I was two and a half years old. So I didn't learn to swim till I was 26. And the woman who taught me how to swim was a paraplegic.
And through her kindness and through her words, I learned how to swim. Something that nobody else could do for me. And well, also I needed to learn to swim in order to keep my job. So that really was helpful. And um after that day that well actually six months of learning, she
said, "I have something um I want you to do in return." And I went back to the pool and I started volunteering with the Nebraska chapter of Special Olympics. And I loved it. Um, I thought the the kids were making um fun of me because they thought, "How could an adult not how know how to swim?" And yet they're
passing me. And it was a lot of fun. And on that day, um, 30 years ago, she says, "This is your niche. This is your career." And I said, "I don't even know how to swim. This woman is crazy." And 30 years later, here I am, the CEO and founder of a swim academy whose 70% of
our children have special needs. And not only are they thriving, we do not cut our classes or or make them less because they have special needs. I think some of the parents who have talked to me over the years and what they appreciate about it is we push them. We make sure that
they reach beyond their boundaries that people expect out of them. And we always say we don't look at the label, we look at the able. And I want to make sure that every child has the same chance of learning how to be independent in the water and safe around the water as any
other child. Um, as many you may you do or do not know, children with special needs, especially those with autism, have an affinity to the water. >> And I don't know if you remember, but 10 years ago, the story of Avante Aino who drowned. and I was the aquatic director
of a place in the Bronx and I had been teaching a lot of special needs kids and I said I need to do something more. This isn't enough. So I resigned from my job and started reach and my team have resigned with me and for the last 10 years I've been slowly building what we are were doing and we've gotten the respect not only the special needs
community but of media. I'm not big on media. I don't do this for attention but we've had Olympians come to the pool. Even Olympians come to our pool and like how is it that they can swim? They have special needs. And I'm like, you're an Olympian and you have this mentality still and it's still educating people
who are in aquatics that special needs and kids with extreme fear can learn. The way we do it is with small classes. So we only have three kids per class and we have two instructors and this past well last week we celebrated one year in
Brooklyn. We're at um Bath area, the Bath Beach area. We rent out pool space at Block Institute. For those of you who may not know, it is a preschool for special needs kids. And they have a beautiful pool. It's small, which is perfect for our kids. And it's heated,
so it's 90 degrees. And there's a parking lot in front of our program. So, it clicks all the the check marks that parents want. Small pool, heated pool, and small classes and parking. And nobody can get into the building unless we approve. So, it's very safe. And
although the pool is small, 20 ft by 30 feet, I still don't overbook it with a lot of kids. So there's only seven kids in the pool at any given time. So there's plenty of um room to learn and to be safe and to have fun. And in the last year that we've been teaching, we
teaches a we teach ages 2 to 12. We have a program in Manhattan at John J. College for our more um affluent um swimmers who can swim further. probably about 30 of our kids have already graduated to that pool because they they've swam too too well in this pool. Kids who a year ago our parents were
like, "Our kids can't swim. We just want them to have fun." I'm like, "No, they can swim. We just have to learn how they learn." And um they're doing great and um I'm very proud of my program. We have people who speak Cantonese, Russian, and Spanish. So, we have a a variety of
people to help all of our students. And more importantly for the kids who are non-verbal, we use a lot of visual cues. And what I tell my staff all the time is just because they don't use words, they are communicating. We just have to learn how they communicate. Whether it be a sound or whether it be a touch or just
the way they look at you. And um what I find most beautiful is when I'm teaching and I'm when I'm actually mentoring my new staff and they get it and you see them light up and you see the kids light up and they're like, "You're right. They are learning. they are communicating with me and it's really really
beautiful. Um so I'm very proud of it. So passion of teaching swimming is something that was given to me as a it's my blessing. It's my calling. I do want to promote the the need for kids of color and communities of of more at risk
kids learning how to swim because not only is it a safety thing, but these are opportunities that kids can then go on to go get scholarships, go to other schools, and be something that they're proud of. Um over the last year I hear a lot of parents saying well not only are they excelling in swim the way they are
in school now they're they're more focused they enjoy it they're socializing so it's it's just beautiful to watch. Um last week I'll tell you one little quick little story about I think as much as a nutshell of reaches about um at the end of the season I let some kids come for an open swim just a
playtime. We could only had about eight kids in the pool and there was a mix of special needs and typical and I didn't tell the typical kids who were special needs. I didn't I just let them play. One of my little boys who's typical quickly realized that one of the other students was was non-verbal. And so he
started communicating with him with visual cues and with with things and going slower. And that he did on his own. And I thought if we can do this with children at this age, imagine what they can do when they grow up and they take that knowledge and that sensitivity
outside of the pool into the classroom or as they grow up. And if we could only create that little world a little bit more and expand on it, you know, I think um it'd be a much better and safer place for all kids. Um so thank you. I mean I I don't want to take any more of your
time, but our my website is reachswim.org. Um we just started last week, but we are sold out for Saturday and Sundays. We do still have some private lesson slots left. Um I don't do a lot of advertising, but we sell out pretty fast because word gets out. Um I'm not big on social media. I don't
post our kids. I don't take any pictures of our kids what our parents do. So, word spreads pretty quickly. But if you have a child with special needs or a typical child who wants to learn, come visit us. Send me an email, send me a text. I'd love to visit all of you and
um hopefully um spread the word about swim safety to all kids and as well as adults because I hear that there's a lot of adults who don't know how to swim as well. So, that's the next thing. If I learned as an adult and now I own a swim academy, anybody can learn. But but
thank you so much. I appreciate it and congratulations again on everything, too. Thank you. Thank you. >> I I had my I was speaking them all a minute. I'm sorry. I chat. >> How do I do that? Just Now it's time for our second public
speaking session. As said before, if you'd like to speak, you can sign up on the Google form on our website and the link has been shared in the chat. If you are in person, you can sign up using a sign-in sheet. Speakers are limited to three minutes. Kevin, who's our first
person to speak? Okay, >> that concludes our second public speaking session. >> The last item on our calendar meeting agenda is the approval of the minutes from last month's meeting. Kevin, can you please share the minutes?
Fireworks fireworks for you principles. >> That's for the principles. Are there any changes to the minutes? Thank you. Any changes? Any changes?
>> There are no changes. The minutes are approved without a vote. >> You guys want to go to the business? >> Want a break or business? break. >> Take a break. >> All right. So, we're going to take a break for five minutes for the business meeting.
>> Thank you so much. >> Thank you so much, everybody. Congratulations. Congratulations. >> Congrats. >> That concludes the calendar meeting. The next moon is May 13th at 6 p.m. at PS96, 270 59th Street.
>> Thank you. This is inspiring. Good evening. Welcome to April CC20 business meeting. >> She's join um she's not doing it. No. >> All right. Kevin, can you please take roll call attendance?
>> Here. >> Liz Chan >> here. That's it. >> Nalin, >> she's here. >> Thank you. >> You here?
>> Thank you. Ste Mahoney is here. >> Fabola. >> I saw her join in recently. >> Yeah, she's here. >> Yeah, she's there. >> Um, Tamar Stern >> here. Alina Lewis
>> and Kevin Da is >> okay. >> Tonight we have interpretation in Arabic, Mandarin and Spanish. You should see these interpreters names in our participant list and they will post their information in the chat. They will
now share directions for anyone who needs interpretation for the meeting. Could our Arabic interpreter please introduce yourself? Okay, please. Okay, good evening. The following announcement is in the Arabic language. Arabic announcement has just concluded.
Thank you to the Arabic interpreter. Can our maner interpreter please introduce yourself? Thank you. Mandarin has complete. >> Thank you so much. Could our Spanish interpreter please introduce yourself? >> Good evening. Thank you.
Thank you. Completed speakers. Please try to speak slower than usual to allow our interpreters to keep up. Now we will share the agenda for tonight's business meeting. Kevin, can you please share the agenda? >> The first item on business meeting
agenda is approval of minutes from last month's meeting. Kevin, can you please share the minutes on the screen? Are there any changes to the minutes? There are no changes in here. >> The minutes are approved without a vote. >> Um Alina, is there any new talks about
the legislative reference? Oh, I think we're all set in May and pretty much everything >> May 8th >> Friday offline at all. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Is there any business uh topics anybody
want to speak about? >> What was the address? >> I know it's one PS1 163. Oh, >> speech. I don't know that. >> So 163 >> PS 163 is going to be the legislative breakfast May 8th. >> What time?
>> 9 a.m. >> Oh, no. I just in case we have policy and it would have been one of their topics was AI which I didn't like because I'm like I
don't know. It would have been great if you know I couldn't share it. What I did share on was with the um student because you're allowed to speak two and a half minutes on the topics and I did we did both support that
>> and then in the general uh discussion I spoke two minutes and basically uh what I see is disparity especially in our newly constructed schools. I brought two examples to their attention. the new school on 13th Avenue that is there.
General education students have music. Our district 75 children do not. Going in when they constructed that school, they knew that they would have both populations in there. But the DOE, they'll provide similar educational opportunity to our district 75 children.
Also on 86 Street Navings, um when I went on my school visit, I saw a teacher in front of a closet which was the art supplies with a push cart. She says, "Well, we have to put the car into the class. Bring the children's art class into
their classroom. Once again, a newly constructed school." I said, "Oh, so gentlemen doesn't have an art move." Oh, no. They got an art room for their own exclusive use. Once again, they are not giving our district 75 children comparable opportunities, educational
opportunity. Now they knew going in they're going to have voting populations of children >> you know in the older buildings where they're colllocated you know there's 50 one bad example that I saw is uh 42
1114th Avenue with district 75 children and the majority of the class was 6 to1 census they're using a space which is about the size of my living room they do not share the gymnasium and This is
something as a parent when you go up to a school as a parent you sit in a kid's class but I'm given an opportunity like say I'm I'm giving a tour and I brought this to the panel's attention but when I talk about general education and I talk about district 75 kids you know there's
a little banter going so I says this is kind of like the last vestigages of pie v Ferguson and we need our brown versus board of education moment and I said well how come the white kids music and the black sheets don't and it was like a
shot of course Irma our district 75 used to be the council president was up here she gave me the thumbs up because this is bringing to because it's the example is yeah that shouldn't be for any type of person if you're going to give an opportunity to one group of children how do you justify not to the other and I
did speak with Dr. Pto and Dr. McCoy after my first school visit to that school on 13th Avenue and they have these buzz words like inclusive and collaboration. I'm still waiting to hear a response and it's it's to me it's shameful because some of our children in
district 75 have they get OT so they can't utilize a pencil or a crayon in art but they can express themselves through music and why aren't they given this opportunity and this is one of the things you know similar to the Omni card but this was something and just to bring
to your attention and it was a because the panel on educational policy they helped rate policy. Don't put your excellent. So that's just something that I brought to their attention and I use that glaring example from American history to say we still have it alive
and well even under New York City educational system. They know about it in the new constructed buildings. How do you justify the building? >> Did you receive an email back when you sent it out? when you sent me the email in regards to everything the visit that
you did. >> Did you receive the email back from the D75 superintendent? >> Um I had sent the email. I CC them um with what I observed on it. And I also point out the positive things that I see. But they if something is broken, it
needs to be fixed. You got to fix it. the things that aren't pro, you know, and and the best example of collaboration, they were here today. School of Inquiry 686 and I think it's 371. They share the gym, they share the lunchroom, they share the schoolyard,
you know, both groups of students at the same time. They may sit with their friends in class, but if they got a cousin or something and not the best example, oh, and they both have music, their own separate music. >> So, that was the best example. I think the best thing is to write a resolution.
>> You could write a resolution about what you think should be included with the music. A simple one and I think that would be fun and it'll keep it'll make them pay attention. >> That's a good idea. >> But just a simple one. You could just
have one resolution, two resolutions. >> I think that would be a great idea. Well, as far as writing a resolution, I'm not so well versed in that, but if I see something and like I'm aware of it, you see that was the whole purpose going the Omni card thing supported and then
also this >> and one difficult as a 75. >> We don't get the Omni card because we get busing, but we get busing. Let's we get busing because that's how the DOE sets it up. all these colllocated schools. We don't have standalone
schools for the most part or enough of them to have these children. So the DOE is the one you're going to be put in here, there and everywhere and then they use it against you to say you can't have it. >> So that's just something you know the
resolution for the Omni card. Um there's the Individuals with Disability and Education Act and I think that uh you know if someone takes takes them to federal court you know assembly woman
and that's her new house and I reached out to her pass I just may have to reach out again. Well, you know what? We have our special education subcommittee May 5th when the whole special education team will be at that meeting presented. Show up to the meeting and bring those
concerns up to those people >> and send it out to everybody. >> What's really interesting in the new schools, you know, in the old school there's space here there and whatnot, but how do you do it in one school children of general ed students and opportunity? And that's like I I only
readfully the uh individual disability education act. I understand she's supposed to give all of our children for equal opportunity educational opportunity. >> And you like how do you justify? I don't get it.
>> Well, we're all ready to um to help you and support you for your resolution if you do one. If you need help doing it, we're here to help you. I don't like obviously like that's >> I use pen and paper and I'm that person. >> We can help you out. That's that's fine. We're all here together for the
children. thing >> I'm not gonna have the citations that it needs like that's not you know because >> you know like you really have to like have you know like I understand you have to have something that's going to do then Yeah.
>> Are we we're good, John? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> This concludes our a >> Oh, no. I was going to say it's only 8 o'clock. >> Great. >> This concludes our APC20 business meeting. Is there a motion to adjurnn? >> Motion. >> Second. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> The meeting is adjourned. Our next
business meeting is April is May 13th PS96 at 6 o'clock. >> Thank you for everyone for attending. Thank you the interpreters. You are dismissed. Enjoy your night. Thank you everyone. >> I do not have it memorized by now.
Interpreter disconnecting.