Thank you very much. And then Veronica, here you go. Thank you so much. Good evening everyone. Happy New Year to all of you. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. It's a pleasure to be here with all of you. This is the President's Council meeting for the month of
January. Today is January 26 and we're starting at 6:35. Let's go over our agenda. Jenny, >> thank you so much. So, we are doing our welcome. We will now move to the approval of the December meeting
minutes. I'll pass it on to our recording secretary, Charlotte. >> Hi, thank you so much, Veronica. Um, so just a really quick overview of our meeting that happened on December 15th of 2025. Um, basically we went over uh there we went over the minutes. Um and
we were lucky to have two students from IS-25 present soap boxes about uh data security and home economics. Um we also had updates from uh Dr. Michael Dantona. Um civics for all updates um and school
events such as the Thanksgiving walk and the math family night. Uh and also academics just reminders about um the diagnostic windows that were for there for K and K through 8. uh council discussion talked about advocating without conflict um and we talked about
strategies and using uh monthly district presentations uh Dr. Danton's monthly district presentations as a bridge for conversation. Um and we also had facilities in capital planning. uh Eden Rubenstein from um
CEC25 came and talked um about school projects, specific school projects and what was included in the SCA 5-year capital plan and specific school um school concerns such as um uh Mirina had brought up uh broken water fountain and
a lack of temperature control in a school dome and Dr. Dantona requested these specific issues be routed through Jenny to follow the facility's manager. Um and that ended uh 7:59 uh and today's a meeting. So that's just the general
overview of the minutes for December. Uh approval for those minutes. >> Do we have any questions at this moment? >> Sorry. Are there any questions? No questions. If there are no questions, do we have a motion to approve the
minutes? I have an approval from Annie from Junior High School 185. Thank you. Can we get a second for that motion? And a second. Thank you, Rosanna from PS 209. Thank you. With that, the minutes for the December meeting are approved. Thank
you so much, Charlotte. We will now move to the next item on our agenda. It's our superintendent report. Dr. Mike. >> Hi everyone. Hi Veronica. Thanks for the
intro. Um, okay. Have a presentation for you guys tonight just to give you some updates. Um, next month we'll we'll do a uh state of the the district type of session. I'll share all of the data. Uh we have about half of our kids completed
so far, a little over half. Um so we have roughly six or 7 thousand kids that are uh have still yet to complete the reading and the math. So um by the time we we come together again for our next meeting, I'll be able to share uh the current state of our goals and where
we're going to uh to next. But let me share my screen and then Oops. Jenny, could you uh could you give me access? I don't know why it didn't log me in under my um my DOE credentials for some reason. >> Okay.
Okay, folks. As you know, we had a a a snow uh snow um scenario that hit us on Sunday night. Um I don't know about all of you, but um I definitely got well over a foot
by me. Um so it was something that was required for us to to go remote. Um our principles, our teachers, their APs did a really really nice job of making sure that we were ready to go. Uh we did some have some glitchy problems uh earlier in
the morning with some Google classroom uh issues and getting error messages. Uh but we did manage to get through that. Myself and the team visited every single school today and popped into as many rooms as we could. Um you know just to to make sure that everything was going
well. Um we had upwards of 90% of our kids close to 90% of our kids were were present which is really great. Um so really really happy that uh you know that our schools were able to get themselves together, organized and ready to go for our kids. Um so big shout out
to to our building leaders, our teachers, um our school aids, you name it. They will all played a meaningful role today. uh as well as our parents. You know, uh we we do know that um it's difficult, you know, if you are someone that's at home and maybe perhaps you
have to do your own work from home scenario and then to try to manage your own kids. It is not easy. Um I'm just thankful that my my two are a little bit older. So, um so I didn't really have to deal too much with them today. Just kind of you guys do what you got to do and
leave me alone. So, uh managed to make it through uh through today as well. Um, but thank you to you guys for for supporting us and making sure that the kids got a good day of learning in. Uh, okay. So, I'm going to talk to to you a little bit about um our new chancellor,
Chancellor Samuels, uh, in just a moment. Uh, we'll do a connection before content. Give you a couple of updates and reminders. I did take out the SLT survey just moments ago. We don't really need to go into that, but I'll talk to you about some planned sessions um for uh
from our parent survey um just a quick update around arts funding and then a few things about safe for college which I know Jenny's going to talk to you guys about as well um just after I am finished. So, really quickly with a
getting to know you space and um for a space of connection before to content and given the fact that we just went through a little snowstorm, are you a fluffy powder person in terms of snow or do you like that good packing snow? Which one do you lean on more? Ones for
the good photos or the ones for the good snowmen? Uh so, just take a moment of reflection and then I'm going to quickly pop you into into little groups if you don't mind. indulge me just for a few minutes. Uh so that we can have a little bit of a quick chat, no longer no longer
than just a couple of minutes if you guys don't mind. Um so be in that space of reflection and I will put you guys into very small groups really quickly. Hop in if you don't mind. Again, question
whether or not you are a fluffy powder snow person or a packing snow person. Uh quick little chat, no longer than just a couple of minutes. Okay. Okay. Set it for 3 minutes and we are good. I'm going to open up those rooms.
What about you, Louis? Fluffy powder or packing snow? >> Do I have to pick one? No. >> You don't like either? >> I Well, I I guess I'm going to say fluffy powder because if I have to shuffle it, I'd rather it be fluffy.
>> Oh my goodness. or bad in here by himself. >> Hi guys, welcome. I think I saw just a couple of you just pop in. Um we're we're just engaging in a quick little connection before content around the snow.
Everyone's going to come back in just a minute. Oh, Lewis, pop in with Miss Win. Okay guys, everyone will be back in about 20 seconds. All right, guys. Welcome back. So, thoughts. Do we like the the the the
powdery snow or we more of a let's pack that snow and make some snowmen? >> I'm moving to Florida. >> Lewis not a fan of either option. >> Lewis, I'll be joining you.
>> That's it. >> Thank you, Michelle. Snowman. Rather build a snowman. I do vote powdery if I have to shovel it. Yeah, I have to tell you when I was younger it would definitely be for the packing snow. As I'm gotten older and I have to be the one that gets out there and does the shoveling. Uh certainly the
the the lighter, fluffier snow certainly for me for sure. Uh so there was a question also about SLT. I will definitely address that before um before I'm done. Okay. Thank you guys for for indulging me on
that. I appreciate it. Um okay so few things today just uh welcoming our uh our chancellor uh chancellor Kamar Samuels uh really excited for for Kamar to be taking the helm and uh and leading us forward in our work uh to build our
our schools to the to the fullest of potentials. I'd also like to just quickly shout out our um um our exiting uh chancellor, Chancellor Vas Ramos, for all the work that she's done for the city as well. So, um you know, big thanks to her, but also big welcome to
uh to our new chancellor. Uh so, a few things that um our chancellor is really going to be emphasizing. Uh this idea of making sure that we have safe spaces for our kids uh that are academically rigorous. He's going to continue to sustain his focus on New York City reads, uh, New York City
Solves, uh, and real big push towards MTSS, um, making sure that our kids are getting what it is that they need. And this idea of truly integrated, um, responsive to student needs and, uh, being culturally responsive for, uh, for
our kids. So, one of the one of the things that uh the chancellor asked us to to really think about um and talk more about which I'm going to over the coming, you know, weeks and months, um that are ahead of us, was really about why, you know, why are we doing the work
that we do? Um and what what's that space of of uh entry point for for me as a superintendent? And you know, there are a number of reasons why um I push things the way that I push them. And you know, for some of you, you might you you
probably wouldn't recognize this in me, but uh when it came to high school, you know, I don't know that that folks would have said that Mike Dantona was um what you would call star student. You know, I did what I what I could. I did well
enough to to get by. Um but at the same time, you know, could have done more. But what struck me about thinking about my high school experience was the fact that I did have some teachers that were very clear on telling me that I wasn't doing what I could. Uh, and not in the
positive way. Teachers saying things like, "You don't have a serious bone in your body." Uh, those of you who've gotten to know me just a little bit, I think that you would probably say that that man is pretty serious about his work. Um but that was not the notion that some of the teachers gave to
another teacher who said I will and I will not name them although I have them right at the tip of my tongue. Um that tried to have me removed from her class you know just simply because um you know she felt that that my performance in a
previous year wasn't even in her class wasn't up to her standards not necessarily what I was capable of. So those types of things remind me of the importance that of having belief in kids and belief in what it is that they're capable of doing. Uh which is one of my
wise making sure that we see the best in the kids that we have in front of us. Because it wasn't that I wasn't capable of doing more. It's just at that time it was not something that was first on my mind um as a teenage boy. It just was not. Um didn't mean it was right for me
at the time. But nonetheless, I didn't have necessarily all of my teachers serving as um the backdrop of pushing me forward. Um and you know, I thank goodness that I had folks that built a good self-concept in me because it
didn't bother me, but I know that same type of action would bother a lot of our kids and put them in a space of disbelief and not willing to move forward. So, I think about that particular part of my of my background and why I do what I do. But then I also
think about the kids that struggle and some of my relatives who opening up a book in class was the last thing that they wanted to do. Why? Because it was really hard for them. And when things like reading are hard for you, opening a book in front of your classmates and
your peers is really, really difficult. And if you don't have folks around you that are going to push you and and nurture you and support that, what winds up happening is reading becomes the very last thing on your mind. You become discouraged and the likelihood of you
performing well reduces significantly. So, aside from the struggle in the classroom, what struck me about this particular scenario with one of my family members was how quick the adults in the room were looking to have him
moved out of his class, sharing with him, oh, maybe I can bring you on a walk to this new room. Those are not the experiences that we want to have our kids have, which is why you're going to hear me talk a lot about and have heard me talk a lot about what does
the data say? what's the information we have on our kids so that we can make really good strong decisions to make sure that they can see what's what's best for them um and that teachers can think through how am I organizing myself to best suit Mike's needs or a child
like Mike. So when when I think about my why, I just wanted to kind of interject that and I'm going to be talking a lot more about this over time, but I wanted to give you a little bit of a snapshot of, you know, the reasons why I emphasize what I emphasize as a district leader. Uh that I emphasize with our building leaders, with our assistant
principles, and our teachers. Um because we do need to make sure that we are there uh in that space of encouragement for every single kid that we serve here in district 25. Um so I just wanted to live in that space just for a moment uh with you guys. Uh so our newsletter you
guys know about um our newsletter. Uh it is there and available for you guys at any time. Big shout out to our team for the uh all-star game that we had. Coaches from across our district. So proud of this work. We have uh every single one of our schools participates
in the basketball league which is fantastic. Um you see me there in a little in a in a basketball league all-star shirt. Uh, I did participate um against uh against Finel that you see there from PS20. He did beat me. I'm
still recovering from that loss, but it's fine. Um, but that was really really uh really amazing work. And we have our championship games coming up uh really soon. Uh, Queens North spelling be congratulations to all of our students uh who participated in district 25. A
big shout out to our team members uh particularly Melinda Willins for organizing um this is something that she's very passionate about and uh puts forward every single year uh for our district community and we're we're really excited about that. We did have two third place winners who are going to
be moving on to the uh citywide competition. So, good luck to to them as well as our other participants uh that while they didn't place um earned a space in the citywide as well because of their performance during the spelling be. So, big shout out to all of them.
Um happy Martin Luther King uh Junior Day this past uh this past Monday. Uh during our next session, we'll make sure that we have some some images and uh resources that were used across our schools uh to celebrate Dr. King and all that he has meant uh to our
understanding of what true leadership is about. Uh 3K prek as as I always mentioned to you, I'm going to share a little bit about enrollment. Uh application window is open and closes on February 27th. So if you do have families that are looking, please make sure you direct
them to uh to this resource so that they uh they know what their next steps are. District math family night. This was mentioned during our last uh the last uh president's council meeting, but we did have it on uh the 22nd at PS129. It was
really really a great turnout. Um super proud of all of our families and kids for coming together and participating in this event. Uh thank you to uh Principal Hulet for opening her doors along with the volunteers from PS129 and the
volunteers from outside of PS129. We had teachers from other schools that came just to volunteer to part be part of this event. Uh so we thank all of uh all of our community members that were involved um and participated arts funding funding. I did mention this
to you guys last session. I do want you to be aware um that I am in process of organizing family events uh through arts connection. They're going to be doing a series of um of things that are associated with with art itself. uh perhaps dance and music uh more to
follow. I will have a a full listing of dates for you guys during our next uh our next meeting. Uh but I did want to keep it here just so that I didn't forget um to to remind you that this is forthcoming. We have a number of our schools that are already getting re residencies from the dollars that I
received. Uh we will make sure that they share out widely too around their experience. So this is something I I have a question for all of you. I did ask the CEC this question uh and I'm going to ask all of you this question as well and this very
much connects to our chancellor's um expectations around MTSS but also mine as well here in the district. So if I ask you just to take a moment to reflect on and I'm going to come off of share just for a moment uh to reflect on MTSS
and identify what it is that you know what would you say? So just take one minute for in that space of reflection. What do you already know about MTSS? And then we'll just have a quick little share out. uh I would put you into breakout rooms but um I know you have
others on the agenda so we won't do that in this case but if everyone can reflect and either put in the chat uh what that reflection is or if you're willing to come off of of mute and share that would be great too. So, I'm going to come off of share and give another 30 seconds for reflection.
And when you're ready, either in the chat or come off mute, uh, what do we already know about MTSS? And there are no right or wrong answers um here for you to be concerned about. you know, all
responses are um are important. So, what do we already know? And when you're ready, feel free come off a mute. Yep. Thank you so much. Multi-tered systems of support in the classroom
being targeted individual classroom plans. Thank you for that. Anyone else say more? Yeah, I love that. Different levels of support depending on the child. Yep. Small group work is an example of
where that can live and I'll explain that in just a moment. Maybe one more. So for for MTSS here in district there are three tiers. Uh tier one is what every single student in the district
receives and this is core instruction using our core instructional material. So if we are in our elementary school grades we're talking about our foundations our hey um as well as HMH into reading. If we are talking about middle school we're talking about into
literature. Those are our primary programs that we use inside of the classroom. So for students that what we call kind of on in that space of not meeting standards yet, um there are
additional supports that we ask that our schools put into play to make sure that our kids have access to other materials if they need it. So those other materials here in district 25 include a number of intervention programs. So
children that perform in the 20th percentile um in district 25 have an opportunity to get additional supports again dependent on need. Some of our multilingual learners might perform in that 20% range, but it's not because of
a need of intervention as much as it is a need for additional time and access to the curriculum um in the classroom, not necessarily to be pulled out for uh for small groupoup instruction. But for our purposes, children that receive
intervention through tier 2 and tier three will get opportunities in a program that most seats suits their needs. So for children that are in kindergarten, first grade, there is a program called Sound Sensible. Sound sensible is a program around phonetics,
making sure that our kids can hear those words and make sense out of those words. Um to programs like Spire, which is really more of a phonics based program for our children that are having a difficult time decoding. So they're getting foundations, but they're still having a hard time being able to look at
a word and make sense of what that word is. Um, and then phonics for reading, also an elementary school program for children more in grades three and up that are still struggling with phonics, but also leading towards comprehension. In the middle school level, we have
multiple programs as well. We have a program called Rewards, which is more of a middle school-based program. Uh, it helps build our kids towards that space of comprehension. We also use phonics for reading as well as a program called Just Words. primarily for uh our
multilingual learners but it's good for anyone as it supports basic foundational skills. So the difference between a tier two and tier three is the tier three is much more intensive, fewer children that are receiving services. So usually a one to three dependent on the child and the
circumstances in the school. Um, but this I just wanted to give you guys the backdrop because when I ask this question, often I get this space of pause, which tells me we need to offer more training opportunities for our families, which we're going to do. Uh, to make sure that everyone is fully
aware of what it means, what does it mean for me and my kid? Um, so if there is a concern that parents know what angle to go to, you know, if you see a child is struggling with a specific part of their reading capacity, then what what do I do? What can I ask for? is the
school already offering it and I didn't realize. So, those are the things that are really super super important uh when we talk about uh about MTSS here in the district. And I just wanted to spend a few minutes just making sure that I I revisited that with you um here tonight
because you're going to hear me talk about it frequently moving forward uh this school year. So, this is basically what I just called out, the types of programs that we have. Our schools have built-in periods during the week uh to make sure that our kids have access to
small groupoup learning opportunities uh devoted to the areas of need like that I just spoke about. So I have this here for you just for your own resource that if you have folks that have questions about it or someone asks you, oh my, you know, I my child is is having a little bit of a hard time in reading, you can
in you can share with them. have you talk with the building principal or assistant principal about opportunities through MTSS. Um, and it it just creates a nice pathway for you. If someone's looking to you as as a parent leader and saying that to you, please know that you have an opportunity to share information
and as well guide them towards towards the principal uh who will help them with whatever it is the question is whatever questions that they may have. So these are the programs and I gave you a listing here just so that you have them for your own reference and what
they do. It's aligned with grade levels and the area of reading that children would be struggling with that this program supports um how frequently that it could be provided. Now some of the programs just given the scope of time that our schools have do have variations
of approach that it'll make it fit into the school schedule. Um but in general these are the the examples that I do want you guys to have so that there is a space of awareness um for yourselves and certainly if you need anyone asks questions you know where these resources
are right on our president's council page from the district website. So it's here for you as you need. Uh but I do think it's important that you have that space of awareness and if you have recommendations say you know what Mike it would be great if um you did X Y or Z
you know please make sure you share that because we're very open to making sure that our families have what they need including doing additional workshops which I do plan uh to put forward uh in the very near future because again when I ask this question folks get a little bit passive in their response and
usually because of uncertainty. Um, so this is something we're going to continue to grow through as a district. Uh, the upcoming events I already shared, just a a a quick uh reminder for you guys that they're all available and
online. Uh, we did just have a um the the math family night, but we do have another math session that's coming up this week on th on Wednesday, I think. Wednesday >> on Wednesday. So those of you that are interested, I do encourage you to participate um in this uh in this
virtual math session. It will be on multiplication and division, which I know for our kids is really super important. Um getting some perspective from our district math lead. So uh I encourage any of our families to participate in that. Uh we will have a
couple of social emotional learning sessions that are also coming up which is I will share in a future slide. Uh these links that are here are for you as families. Uh they're YouTube links just expressing to our parents what a K to1 acadian assessment looks like, what
a grade two acadians assessment looks like at midyear. So these links will bring you to to uh um learning sessions that were done by our team giving you guidance around what those sessions are about. Uh you can because they are archived you can fast forward them as
much as you want um or listen back as much as you want because they are available to you um in a recording. Uh so survey feedback I just want to make sure that everyone sees this. So we did give our survey as you guys know I mentioned this in a previous session but
these are the two sessions that we've already organized for our parents. uh we will try to have more of them even after this on a on a monthly basis based on what our families have spoken to us about. The first one, interestingly enough, uh one of our CEC student
representatives uh during the meeting was talking about how stressed he was um about a math test that was coming up. And this first session is really about parents helping our kids manage those stresses. um when we are we have this high academic focus uh sometimes it gets
a little bit overwhelming for both parents and kids uh and during this session with the child center of New York you'll be able to have an opportunity to kind of listen in on strategies to help support you uh with that and I think you know at certain times we can all probably benefit from listening to some of those strategies uh
to bring us back from a you know a stressful state you when it comes to our kids and how how they're performing in classrooms. Um so I encourage you to participate in that and also another session with Marble Health uh just around improving family communication
between um uh parents and their children. So there's going to be sample tools and resources that are made available on that evening. So these are the first two that we've organized. I'm really excited about them uh as they were built in response to uh parent feedback. Um so please feel free to
spread the word. We're going to continue to spread the word ourselves. Um but when you have your PTA meetings uh would be great if you make this accessible. There are flyers that we will also share more widely. Uh but this is again just for your information.
Uh CC collaboration. Uh I just wanted to give you know something pitch something to you guys and for us to to think about you know when you have your own uh PTA meetings and we talked about this briefly last week but something I brought up uh this month at our CEC is
kind of that so what now what. So, we we de developed a definition for wellness, kindness, and community. Um, now it's all right, what are we going to do with those definitions in our schools and what I thought about and I encourage you guys to to think about in conversation
at the school level too at SLTS or or with your principal, this idea of taking these civics for all um soapbox speeches and then turning them into communitywide projects. This is kind of a vision, a forwardthinking vision. It's not necessarily that we're
all going to do this right in the moment, but it is a forward-thinking vision for myself to make these these stories that our kids have become uh something that is authentic and come to life. So, I'm going to give you a quick example. So, we had two presenters last month. We had a presenter this month at
our the latest CEC meeting and this young man presented on um the impact of Gateway drugs. And the reason why he spoke about it was because it was a personal account of how he lost his uncle because his uncle started off
using and then beca began using more addictive and more um uh more powerful um drug use was engaged in more powerful drug use and then it wound up claiming his life. So here I have a middle school student talking to me about the
importance of uh making sure that we have this raised awareness not only for kids but for adults. And my thought is how do we capitalize on something like that to make a real authentic experience so those words become something that makes a real big difference in the
community? Even if it was a big public service announcement then went out widely. the impact that can have for that child uh for his parents but also the community at large is what's been making me think a lot lately. would love to get your feedback on that too in terms of that idea of utilizing some of
these really great thoughts by our kids. the passion that they have behind it and then making a a community set of projects uh around them uh is something that I would really like to do and um you know at the nason stages right now but would love to get feedback from you
around around making that a reality because I think it would be a really really great thing for our community as a whole parents students and um schools alike. So I'm wondering what your thoughts on that. I I'll come back to this slide in
just a moment. um give you a space of reflection on it, what you think. Um and then lastly, something that Jenny's going to talk about is safer college. Right now, we're at 41%. My goal was to get to around 50 by the end of the year.
So, we have a lot of work uh to do. Um and the question that I have for you is what could we as a district leadership team do to raise awareness um of New York City Kids Rise? So, I have two questions for you that I'd love for you to linger on. It's kind of this how can
we leverage our civics for all practices whether or not you think that's that makes for a good idea and lastly around save for college. What else can we do that we're not doing um to make sure that we get more awareness out there for our families? And then Jenny's going to
talk a little bit about what she's been doing to help. Uh but I'm going to close right there and hopefully you guys can give me some perspectives on these two things. the the civics for all idea um as well as ways that we can do better getting messages out around safe for
college. So, I'm going to come off of the shared screen and would love to get some of your perspectives on those things. Anyone have any any thoughts about those two um those two ideas? One
certainly around the >> the civics projects, but any thoughts? I mean, um, for myself with the civics project, what I think would be, I mean, to to to follow up on what a child writes, um, would give them would
actually make them feel like they have purpose as to what they're writing, not just an assignment, a paragraph, two pages, just a speech, just just to, you know, to present. So, to practice what we preach, I guess you can say. So, I I
mean, that's a a great idea. As far as ideas with that specific one, I'd have to think about that some more. >> Yeah. >> Um, >> it was a very dense one. I I just gave that as an example because it was like a real life scenario that the child told his story. >> Um,
>> yeah. No, I hear that. That's a meaty one for sure. >> I mean, I the only reason why I I I was able to kind of um reflect on that is because my my son wrote about their um lost and found, how it was like such a disaster. It was literally almost
looking like a land landfill. So he gave ideas on what to do like uh put like hooks on or like hang it make it like a museum or like you know Monday's messy sweatshirt or something like that giving
it a name. So that is something that I know that our principal may not necessarily make like a museum of it but she's actually looking into an idea of what we can do with the lost and found. something like you know like that idea just putting them up so they can see it better or I mean that was just something
simple but as far as I mean it does give them more of a purpose. >> I think all of them have their ability to make make an impact >> um in their in their own way and you know not every project necessarily will be able to be completed. So I think it
would be about kids having a voice and which ones we move forward. Um you know and we all decide on as a collective group. But again this is kind of in the the beginning stages of what I would like to see it become. Um it went from researching writing a speech uh to then
writing the speech and presenting it at at larger meetings to something that I think we can do even more and make it more meaningful for our kids in school. So uh Rosanna, thank you for that feedback. I appreciate it. Anyone else any thoughts? I I would like to say something. I think
for me is and and as I continue to work with through the PTA, I see a lot of kids coming up with ideas is part of the conversation that you and I spoke is like how do we make sure that we help children understand like here's an idea.
It's fantastic. Uh but if they need a little bit more work, if they need to work on developing that idea that we give them the space to not put them down and say okay this is something else but it's like how can we create a process
where we can say we all have great ideas and ideas can be very meaningful at different levels macro mess micro this is a path or like this is a strategy to develop to like these are the steps you go to your student government you talk
to your principal like we engage them in a process that is civically minded where they are learning the different layers across their community across their school. Um so they understand if I have an idea these are the people that I can come and these are the ways that I can
support that idea or like try to get people to think uh that you know to encourage them to participate. It builds socialization skills. It builds a sense of community, especially for the children who are new, but it's also allowing a child to feel part of a
community and part of a process. And I think that's some that's very meaningful, especially as the children go from lower grades to upper grades to middle school. >> Yeah, I love that, Veronica. And and I think um you know
we're maybe like year four or five now with with this and we continue to get get better at you know making sure that kids have access um and you know like like most things we can do better right it's you know it's how do we continue to
think about our kids and giving them access to um you know to make sure that that voice becomes a reality and I think too part of it is that you you know sometimes you know within within the process that they will see that that you know there are there are ideas that
don't necessarily come to fruition you know it's then what do we do then you know as a student and I think that's a part that's important right what do we do when you know and I give you an example of something that our kids actually did with the with the I mentioned to you guys the stop sign scenario it's about that consistency of
how do I persist through this uh here's something that's really important to our school. How do we persist through these types of scenarios? Um, you know, and it's funny, even the local elected officials that were there, they said, "Guys, I want to tell you, you're probably not going to hear back from us right away. So, you're going to have to
you're going to have to make sure that you continue to remind us uh about why this is important." So, I think more to follow on that. I think um you know making sure that we're building in those lessons is important so that kids know that um there is a space of of
persistence that we're going to be able to kind of teach them through um so that they know if I have an idea and it doesn't go through right away what do I do next? I think that part of it is really important. Um so thank you for that. Any other any other thoughts?
So, I know Jenny is going to be talking to you about the safer college program. Um, you know, if there are things that you think that that I can do, um, even at your PTA meetings, if there's something that, you know, uh, I don't I can't guarantee that I would be at at every one of them. I don't think I can
possibly do something like that. Uh but even if it was a message that I can send out to to community um just for a space of awareness. I don't I it's one thing if parents don't sign up for SA College. Uh it's another because they're not they're not signing up because they
don't know. Um I want people to at least make the decision for themselves by knowing that it's available. Um and sometimes even with messages that come out from the district or from the school. um sometimes those things get looked at or not looked at and kind of pushed aside and they don't realize that
it is money that goes right into an account for a family. Um is upwards of $143,000 right now that the district is not taking advantage of. Uh that's the number of families that haven't participated yet. So that's an awful lot
of money to just leave on the table. Um you know as parents and and I get there's reasons why and I don't dispute those reasons why. Any parent doesn't want to do it, they don't want to do it. that's fine. I just want to make sure that they know. That's my biggest thing that everyone knows that that exists and
it's available. Uh so Jenny's going to talk a little bit about what we've been doing. Um just so they give you guys a little bit of a of a heads up and any ideas that you have um to make it more visible. I I'd love to hear because I want I want folks to know that it's there so that they at least know that
it's an option. Uh my feeling is with only 40% doing it that not everyone knows that it's an option for them. Um, I don't think it's that they don't know it's an option because I know many parents like we get these emails and messages and I know our parent coordinator says it in every meeting.
Um, I think it's also I honestly I genuinely feel like the understanding of it. Um, I don't think they I mean it's okay a fund, it's a savings, a college fund. It's um probably the fear of just something new or they just don't get it
or even hearing of a success story or or seeing it is believing it type of thing. They just kind of un see it as just kind another savings or >> I I so as far as hearing about it and knowing about it, I do we get a lot of
information. Um I like I I generally do feel like many of the families don't understand it. you know, I myself I'm not 100% sure. Um, and you can define it and give me information till you're blew in the face, but there are many families that just don't
I mean it's because I've never done it before. It's new. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And listen, if you after Jenny speaks, if there are things that that aren't clear that you say, you know what, this this could be even clearer or make me understand it better, uh please let us know because I I do
want everyone to to make sure that there's a full awareness of how it could support, you know, moving forward. Um again, some will have no interest even after understanding and saying thank you, no thank you. um which is fine but um you know if
there needs to be more educating that we need to do just around what this actually means uh what does it actually do then we'll we'll definitely put that forward so that there's a a space of awareness and Jenny's going to talk a little bit about that now too so I thank you guys for the for the the spaces of
feedback anything that you have please uh amp it forward to me so that uh we can continue to grow and learn uh together so thanks so much and uh please continue to brave that cold. I know it's freezing out and uh the snow is not great and I'm hoping that the the uh the
forecast for next weekend is is not true because it doesn't look good either. Um so let's hope that that snow stays away from us and we don't have to go through this again. Um but anyway, everyone have a great night. Oh, question around virtual. Thank you. Um so, uh state law requires those meetings
to be um in person. uh it is not necessarily a choice for us to be able to do that. I do know that folks have um you know have been you know pushing in terms of legislation. >> Uh but it's not it's not necessarily an
option that I can give to a school to say okay just go virtual >> uh or for the school to go and said that and say that it is part of uh state law. >> So there's no I mean I understand that but we did go virtual today. So if our
SLT meeting was today, would it have been virtual then? >> Yeah. So I you know that is a good question. I will follow up on that if because of the conditions that it could have been switched. Um
>> I just I mean I I understand that that's always the answer. It's just from a parent perspective and all the parents on this call give you know so many hours of our time just in meetings alone. >> I get it. um you know and then to not
have any chance for an accommodation to be made when it's a situation like this that it can make it much easier for everyone to just log on virtually. It just has not come across well to parents that are willing to give their time. And you know, we're constantly talking about
that we struggle with parent involvement and parents wanting to step up and be part of anything, including our, you know, district, um, PTA, you know, any of the positions, anything like that. >> Yeah. And then when we have an opportunity that we can show parents
that okay we're going to make this accommodation especially for all of the parents like every almost every parent on our SLT who are involved in PTA are working parents and you know we're constantly being asked of our time and to participate and interact and give our
opinions and our feedback and our ideas and then when we ask for something back you know there's no accommodation made. So, you know, when >> when you guys are asking us what do we need, this is what we need. We need for opportunities to be made for us to say,
hey, listen, we really need to pivot to virtual because that's what's going to help everybody this week. We don't ask for it all the time. And I understand you're saying it's state law, but I mean, I'm giving my feedback right now. So, >> yeah. No, and I I appreciate your feedback. The only thing I just I just
hope that is is um you know is recognizable from my perspective is I can't just give you it's not something I can just give you permission to do um because it it's it's it's part of what the the law states. I I would love to say, okay, yeah, just go go go remote,
but um I don't have the ability to do that, but I will most definitely follow up. And given these circumstances, could there be an adjustment made um because of that? That I have no problem following up on. >> Okay. I mean, I just Yeah. Go ahead.
>> Then I have a question. Thank you for bringing that up. Like today our SLT we were supposed to meet and since we went remote our SLT was remote as well. Are we in compliance or we were supposed to schedule the meeting to another time
because you know and it goes back to what we discussed last last month right there is certain guidance that it comes off gets conflicted. We're trying as parents like it was stated, right? We're trying to work but there seems to be a
disconnect and and the accommodation piece is missed. So I'm I'm just trying to understand should we have had the SLT meeting today? >> All all schools were closed uh if the if the if the if the question is so the the
next meeting for 129 was Thursday. Is that right? you know, schools are not >> No, our meeting is supposed to be um tomorrow night. So, >> so it's not on a day where schools So, even if you wanted to go into the building, you would not have been able to do so cuz all of the buildings were
closed today. >> I know. So, I kind of made the joke like we should reschedule a joke, but not a joke like we should reschedule this for when we think we're going to have another snow day because we already now are pushing it. February is a short month. We have the break. Now we're gonna have to have two SLT meetings
scheduled that night and you know it's it's just now and then you know to try to work that out with everyone's schedule including admin including teachers including us with all of our other meetings that we have PTA meetings the district meetings safety meetings
all of these things it's it's like impossible to even fit it in. And then we want to do our own parent involvement and attend you know when we're invited into the school to actually be in our child's classroom. Um, so there's just it's just so much. I understand. I I get it that you're saying it's state law,
but I'm communicating that like we it's >> when you communicate with your, you know, the people that are above you, then tell them. >> I do know that um, >> you know, that there have been some of the CEC's pushing for, you know, resolutions to go to the state to make
some adjustments to, um, to part of that law. it was not necessarily around the virtual space as much as was around um you know like voting capacity um and such but you know I listen I will I will
echo it up for sure um but you know I in general if you know absent the idea of building closure um you know having it a day where there is where there is in-person um space buildings are open
you That's part of of the expectations, but like I said, I'll follow up. >> All right. And I mean, we have a situation where the SLT meeting was moved, you know, because to accommodate everybody's schedule last week because there was other things going on in our building with the district,
>> you know, family math night. We didn't want to overwhelm everyone last week. So, now we're asking for something back, you know, to accommodate us. Everyone had it on their calendars for last week. And then we switched it because Martin Luther King Day was Monday and family math night was at our school on
Thursday. So now, you know, for now it's a burden for parents, but last week nobody, you know, we already had that scheduled and it got moved. So now it's like, you know, from my perspective, okay, so why should I try to accommodate? I mean, I it's just there
has to be a give and take. And that's where I think it falls short sometimes where parents then start to get frustrated like myself because, you know, this is not easy for us to all switch around our schedules. We are >> I I don't disagree. I I don't disagree with what you guys do. I mean, you're
not only on one uh one committee, you're on many. And, you know, you you assume, you know, quite a responsibility when you when you take on these roles as as parents. And you know, I I can't tell you anything that will will make you feel better and knowing that you're
giving up a lot of that time. Um the only thing I can share is a space of appreciation for what you guys do and and you know knowing that you know it's spending time from you know away from your families to do it. So I I do understand and uh while I can't tell you
yes in the in the short term what I will tell you is that I will um I will certainly look into any other options but you know it when it's something that is a a rule that's not written by me I can't just say go ahead and do that uh
in other words. So I I will definitely follow up. >> Okay. All right, guys. Thank you so much for your time. Um, I am going to A Jenny, are you next? I'm not sure who's next. Veronica, I'm not sure who's next. >> Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Mike. You know
what? Before I dive into NYC Kids Rise, Safe for College Poker, I'm going to give the floor to our guest speakers, Christina and John, because they've been here since 6:30, so I don't want to keep them waiting. So, I'll Yeah, I'll go after them. So, >> thank you so much, Johnny. That's okay with Veronica and the rest of the
President's Council. Okay. >> Yes. Christina and John. >> Okay. Okay. Thank you so much. Um again, my name is Christina Sarrento. I am one of the district supervisors for district 25 schools. Um
with me on this call is John Rizzo. He is also a district uh 25 supervisor. I'm going to go over a uh PowerPoint. I'm going to share my screen. Okay. Let me just uh Okay. Can you see my screen?
>> Yes. >> Okay, perfect. Okay, let's go over a few things. Okay, hold on. Just want to Okay, here we go. Okay. So, today I'm going to be speaking about our school meal program
overview. Uh we're going to talk about the USCA National School Lunch Program meal requirements as well as the food and nutrition education and the New York City public schools food quality standards and options. Um and also at the end towards the end we're going to
talk about the orphaness food service uh careers. So, us here at uh the Office of Food and Nutrition Services, our mission is to equitably serve New York City students with healthy and delicious meals that enhance their educational experience as well as reflect their
voices and nourish them into adulthood. Our program uh offers 35 different menus um from breakfast to lunch to snack to supper as well as vegetarian meals and menus. Our menus are posted on our
website um on the Department of Education website. We also have 470 recipes. Um our recipes are standardized recipes that we uh really take pride in and ensure that what you're eating in
Queens at a school in Queens is the same thing that's being eaten at Staten Island or Brooklyn. So, um, our standardized recipes are created by our menu management department, and I'm going to speak a little bit more as we go along. In our 1,800 schools
throughout the city, each day we feed 950,000 students. Um, I'm sorry, n out of 950,000 students citywide, we feed 900,000 meals per day between our breakfast, lunch, snack, and supper. So,
we are one of the largest uh meal service uh providers uh across the nation. Okay. Um our um we have what's called student taste testing. All of our food
items on the menu are chosen by the students. Each uh week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, we have scheduled trips um that we provide uh for students to come up to our lab at Long Island City headquarters and they
will be trying new products that our vendors try to convince us to place on the menu. However, if the students do not choose these items when they come to evaluate these items, they never get placed on the menu. So all of our menus are items are chosen by the men by the
students. Um again we also go through different categories. We go from student from the elementary level as well as the middle school and high school and ensure that each and every division all agree on the particular item. when they do
come to have a taste testing at our lab, it usually takes about a good year um that will incorporate it into our menu because once the approval of the students of the particular item then it goes through the packaging and the
pricing and the availability of the product. So from when a student comes up to our headquarters um they choose an item and then a year later is usually when they see it on the menu. Now when a
school is interested in coming to um to one of these trips, it is like a school trip. Our organization will then provide them with the busing and they will leave their school approximately at 9:30 and then they will return back to school at
1:30. They will have lunch provided to them as well as the tasting of the certain products that the vendor uh gives us for that day to um have the children taste. So if anybody's interested um we were
supposed to uh have PS130 go tomorrow uh but however because of the inclement weather we're going to reschedule their trip. But each month we have different um schools from district 25 go up there. Um yeah and we we anybody that's
interested please you going to contact the principal and the principal contacts the food service manager and then they will allow me or Mr. Rizzo to um nominate the school. Okay. On our next slide we'd like to uh
talk about our breakfast menu features. We offer each and every day seasonal fresh fruits. We try to avoid at all possible canned canned fruit. So, we really try to incorporate whatever seasonal fruit is available to us. Um, all of our dairy items are local. Uh,
our whole grains, lowfat, high fiber, and limited sugar items. Uh, we don't offer any type of fruit juice. And there are various types of breakfast that includes breakfast in the classroom, cafeteria service, and breakfast after the bell. So depending on the principal
and what type of service that they will uh like to offer to the students um we are available for every type of service uh that I just mentioned. Depending on the um size of the cafeteria sometimes they may not allow all the students for
breakfast on the hot service line. So a lot of your schools may have what's called a graband go. So, the child is actually receiving a cold meal and then eating in the classroom. We have lunch menu features. Um, our meatless Mondays, our plantpowered
options on the move. We do not have any uh processed deli meats. We do not provide that to any of the students. All of our products are locally sourced. We have uh seasonal fresh fruits as I mentioned as well as vegetables daily.
Uh multiple menu options are available daily. So just in case the child does not like what is on the menu for the day, the special of the day. Um there's always the daily offerings either peanut butter jelly or sun butter and jelly if
it's a peanutree environment. We also have cheese sandwiches. We have hummus at every school every single day. um our menus. If you um would like to see our menus, we have all
of our menus also posted on our website. And then you can also identify which items are a vegan or a vegetarian item. We have halal and kosher options available. And then we have shared table and food donation programs that I'm
going to speak about. So we also offer salad bars throughout the city. We have over a thousand schools across the city that provide the opportunity to for students to consume an unlimited amount of fresh vegetables and salads. Um this gives the
opportunity for a child to expose themselves to maybe some particular vegetable or salad that they're not accustomed to eating. Um and it also gives that hungry child to um encourage them to have more fruits and vegetables
rather than a second meal. So our plant uh plant forward uh on the move um it is continues the dedication of plantforward menus. are offering vegetarian and vegan items daily. Uh again, serving local seasonal fresh
fruits and vegetables, reducing processed meats, and increasing our plant-based offerings. Our meatbased products will not be offered on these particular days. Um if you might remember last year, they used to offer this on a Friday. It used to be um
plant-based Fridays. However, we moved it across the middle of the week or uh each week on a different day so that the child doesn't go hungry on a you know, if this is their only meal on a Friday, they don't go hungry for the weekend. So, we kind of change that up this year
and that's why it's plant-powered on the move. Um so, we have it kind of different days throughout the week and it's always, you know, they'll always have a vegetarian meal available. On our next slide, uh we have a uh this
is in our second year that we have a nutrition collaborative committee. Um they meet quarterly with each school. Our schools this year that are participating is PS24, PS 200, 214, 499,
and Johnbound High School. What happens is is that they are required to meet quarterly and to com um to participate in tastings and also sampling and also to give feedback of what they like, what
they don't like. And they re the school receives a $6,000 grant, food education grant. Okay? and throughout a fiveyear they will be receiving another $10,000 uh program grant so that the principles
with these grants are able to have like a cooking class or however the principal would like to spend the grant. It has to be towards food and education programs. Okay. Um it is from K prek to 12 across the city and these are the schools that
are enrolled this year. So all of finesse has the following standards in place. So we are a federally funded program which therefore we do have to abide by the USDA um rules and guidelines. We follow the national
school breakfast program as well as the national school lunch program. So they have weekly meal patterns and nutrition standards based on the age and the grade of the students. The meal components are meat and meat alternate. their grains,
vegetables, fruit and milk. That's the my plate. And in this uh five components um it all based on the calories, the sodium, the total fat and saturated for that grade level and age level. All
right. So, uh at the end of the day, each child is to receive uh one meal and that's why we have the salad bar for the additional if that hungry child is still hungry. We do encourage to take
unlimited amount of salad and um on the salad bar and help themselves to there. Recently the New York City food standards have uh changed but we are have been in compliance since the um
standards have been updated. We were already in compliance before that. We have always been monitored uh with the sodium level and the artificial flavors. Um, we do not have any additives or sweeteners or any chemical preservatives. Again, you could check
all this information in the New York City DOE website. If you click under food and then it will tell you menu, you can actually itemize exactly what you would like to see based on what we offer and what products we offer and what
ingredients are in each product. So meal components um from prek to 12th grade uh breakfast must be fruits or must be offered fruits, grains, meat or meat alternate and milk. Out of these
components, the children must take a minimum of three items, three components in order for us to get reimbursed by the federal government. The at lunchtime we offer five required components. We have the fruits, the
grains, the vegetables, meat or meat alternate and the milk. Out of these five components the students must take a minimum of three components. One being the fruit or vegetable and or vegetable. Okay. Um in order for us to be
reimbursed for breakfast, they must take the fruit. Okay. So that's very important. So that's why sometimes you may hear you know they say well why do we have to take the fruit or why do we have to take a vegetable why do we have to take all of the items certain items
it's because we must offer uh the components but they must take a minimum of three and out of the three must be a fruit or a vegetable. Okay. So that's where we get a little bit of a push back sometimes because
they feel you know we a lot uh feel that we are waste but unfortunately in for in order for us to get reimbursed by the federal government it must be required a minimum of three components. One being the fruit or the vegetable. So any items that the students do not
want we we really encourage them and to take the minimum of three. And if even if they say to us, "Oh, well they we don't want it." We encourage them to either give it to a friend or to place it on a shared table. A shared table is a table that is required also part of
the guidelines to be placed in the somewhere in the cafeteria where students are able to go and collect some if they're still hungry. That's where they can go and retrieve something from the shared table. But of course, for food safety reasons, it must be something that has to be sealed. So, for
instance, a banana that has a peel is is peeled, it has a skin rather than a sliced apple or anything that's uh has eaten through a skin cannot be um is not able to be placed on the share table. But anything like a cereal or anything
that's sealed can be um placed on the share table. So, we do have uh what we call menu accommodations for students that have food allergies. Um there must be requirement of a 504 plan with the
nurse's office in order for us to go ahead and make the accommodation. So, if it's something that we can do at the point of service, we have no problem with that. So if a child we offer pasta with sauce with tomato sauce and the child doesn't want the tomato sauce we
can do that at the point of service and give the child just plain pasta. However, if it's something more than that is something um they cannot eat the pasta because of gluten that's another um that's an accommodation that we really have to try to accommodate based
on their 504 plan. Okay. So the first um the first step is if the child does have a menu accommodation, we do need the 504 plan or or the IEP and then we will have uh a registered dietitian that can then
meet with the school food service manager at the school and the the student as well as the parent and discuss what options the child may have. We also have milk options. So if the child is lactose intolerant, we have soy
milk as well as as well as lactose-free milk. Again, they need to contact their school food service manager. So each school has a school food service manager that's usually in the white lab coat. And then we have a cook in charge. So, if you don't see the um school food
service manager, then you really should contact the um cook in charge or I will give you uh the our information or you could share with parents our information, mine and Mr. Rizzo's information and they can more than happy contact us. Um we do have chocolate
flavored milk. So, we are required to offer three different types of milk. So we offer chocolate fat-free, we have 1% lowfat and we have white fat-ree and that's each and every day at every school.
Now if at any point the principal does requires not to serve chocolate milk, we just need a note on file so that when the state and federal government says why you're not offering three types of milk, we have a note from the principal based on the reasoning why not to offer
the chocolate milk. We also have available on our website our menu nutrition information that I mentioned recent uh previously um our items the categories and the total fat saturated fat sodium total carbs fiber
sugar all that information if any of the parents um ever inquire it's on our website as well as this particular PowerPoint presentation I have also shared with parent coordinators so if any parents um ever come up or if you would like our school food service
manager to present themselves at a PTA meeting, we'll be more than happy to present and explain this to parents as well. So, currently we are going through um a couple of changes at our nearby schools. Uh this is called the cafeteria
enhancement experience. We have it already uh at Flushen High School, John Bound, and at Junior High 189. Um we are now in the process actually last week. We just started this at IS-25.
Uh starting tomorrow, we're going to towns at Harris and we are going to begin with this at 194 on February 2nd or 3rd. Um, this is more for middle school and high schools and it's to kind of give a pleasant, welcoming space for
students to enjoy a nutritious meal. Um, they actually go through a renovation of the cafeteria tables. It's more of a social gathering, more round tables, high top tables, booths. Um,
so it also gives the students a student choice. So you have a different display as you could see in the pictures. Children uh they help themselves. It's a self-s serve. It's not anybody serving them. It's a self-s serve and the line moves quicker so that um they can have a
better experience um you know while they're eating and they have more time to eat. Um but it's more of a newly renovated cafeteria style welcoming feeling. Um we're very excited about this and the students are as well. Um, I
was at IS-25 uh last week and they seem to really be enjoying this. So, and and it gives more options on the menu. >> Yeah, Christine, I will echo that. I was at IS-25 also and >> uh the kids were really really excited about the idea of being able to sit in a booth
>> and be able to get their own food. It was a definitely a different lunch experience for sure and and the kids that I spoke to uh did echo that. So, just throwing that there out there. >> Good. Good to hear. I'm happy to hear that. So right now this is the three schools uh in the last week this week
and next week and then hopefully by the end of June uh 237 IS- 237 uh junior high 185 and 250 will also be um incorporating this particular cafeteria enhancement as well.
So we also have um plastic free day lunch um every three weeks the New York City public schools office of energy and sustainability in partnership with the cafeteria culture uh the office of food and nutrition services we uh host a plastic free lunch day which require um
no utensils finger foods and it's uh uh it's to help uh reduce the waste and taking climate action. Um the next available dates that we have on the list here is for March 3rd and March 24th being that February was kind of a short
month. Um we are these are the next available dates that we'll be participating in the plastic free lunch day. So um as I mentioned early about food service careers um this is where I would like to have your help as well as Dr.
Mike if he's on the phone uh on the call as well and spread the word. We just were approved this afternoon. I have the flyers that I just received at 4:30 this afternoon. We are hiring within district 25. So, if you know any parents um that
are interested in working in food service in our cafeteria, kitchens and cafeterias, um please spread the word. We are having a hiring call for district 25 on February Saturday, February 7th at
PS 209 and that will be from 7:30 to 2. But I have the flyer. There is a um uh registration that they need to uh sign up for. Um but please spread the word as you we really would like staff from the
neighborhood because you know right now we are getting uh staff from other area from other districts and it's causing a hardship and the absentees it it really causes a hardship. So it's really important that we hire within our own
district. So if please you spread to parents it would be really greatly appreciated. I will uh and put in the flyer into this chat and I will email Jenny as well the flyer and anywhere you can post it. I know it's kind of short notice, but we did get the uh approval
this afternoon. So, which I'm really excited about and we will be doing the interviews on February 7th between 7:30 and 2. And um also we have uh currently as posted in the principal's digest uh the
winter 2026 um we have what's called tell us what you want to eat. So, we encourage principles to kind of um have the students maybe a class or two as well as parents if they see these cards around the schools to um up, you know,
go into the barcode and also enter the uh survey, complete the questions because we really do appreciate what the students want to eat, what they would like to see. Um and we really appreciate the feedback. We really truly value the feedback. So, if um you hear about this
or you can I'm going to post this link as well for encouraging parents at your PTA meetings to definitely go and apply for the survey. Um it'd be pre appreciated with the feedback. Here is our information. So again, my
name is Christina STO. This is my email. Uh along with me is John Rizzo. Um and please email our phone number. I can give you our phone number. Um for our office it is um uh 929
2675890 and that is our office which is located at PS209 or you can email us with any questions or please unmute yourself if you have any questions. Let me just get that flyer as well. Your phone number and email address is also
on today's PowerPoint. >> Perfect. Yep. Okay. And let me just get that. Is there any questions? Anybody have any questions? Okay. I'm going to put this flyer.
This is our flyer that we um for 25 and 26. They're going to be joining us as well. Um, and then this is the scan here, how to make an appointment. Um, and then these are the hours of our phone number in case anybody has any
questions and to apply for an interview. If there aren't any questions, I thank you for listening and I appreciate um any feedback and be helpful here to answer anybody's questions. Thank you very much. Thank you so much
for this wealth of information. We really appreciate it. Thank you. This is >> comprehensive and my pleasure and and at all and anytime if you want any of our school food service managers or myself or Mr. Riza to attend any of the PTA um meetings, we'd be more than happy to
attend as well. I think our kiddos will definitely enjoy having a trip to the food and nutrition services to taste us. That >> it's a wonderful opportunity for many of them especially because they like to
have a say in what the foods that are being shared across the district and citywide. So, thank you so much Christina for >> joining us today. Everyone has Christine and John's contact information. We will now if there are no further questions we
will thank our guests and we will now move on to the next item on our agenda. Uh Jenny again we do have John and Christina's contact information the phone number and that email addresses. So please reach out to them whenever you feel like having them come into your PAP meeting
or any parent meeting that you feel like they they might be fit in. Um, yep. Thank you so much. Um, we will now move uh to our next slide. So, your executive council me uh executive board members
for this year. It's my Veronica Petra Leon. I am the co-president of the president's council. Rachel is our co-president of the president's council. She is not here tonight. MNA PCO, she's our treasurer. and Charlotte Cha. She's
a recording secretary for the president's council. She was she both of them are here in our meeting today. So, thank you so much for being part of the president's council. We will now have some updates from our community education council. Eden,
thank you. Good evening, everyone. Sorry, I have a little bit of a illness going on so my voice is not so strong. Um, just to give everyone a quick update. Uh we did in fact go over our school construction authority choices at our last meeting. We heard from another
student with our soapbox speeches which we will continue doing throughout the remainder of the year. This coming month we have a meeting coming up in the first week of February. So it is always the Wednesday. You can come in person or virtual. We have a very full agenda for
this February. So just to give everyone a heads up there, we do have a presentation um from Dr. Mike, which is going to be the state of the district. So, that'll be happening along with some other discussions. We have um a vacancy to fill in. So, we will be interviewing
some candidates um at that meeting as well as also filling in one of our executive board positions. We will have an election for that. So, those are some little things that are going to be happening in the February meeting. But we hope that people will be there and Veronica, I'm sure Jenny will be touching base with you in regards to you
coming to that meeting um whether virtual or or in person as we like to have President's Council's input on the candidates. >> Thank you so much for the update, Eden. I look forward to the invitation. >> Perfect. Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Okay, so we're now going to move forward to the next item on our agenda. Thank you so much, Eden. Eden for joining us. Are there any questions for Eden or any comments or any type of inquiries for the community education council? No questions. Going once,
twice, three times. We Thank you so much, Eden, for joining us. Jenny, would you mind? >> I'm gonna go over the K kids rise program. So before we dive in, just curious like to see how many of parents
on this call who have children in K to4 have activated these say for college program from kids rise. Can you guys give me like a hand emoji or anything just so I can see that you have activated it? Got one.
Just one. Okay. So I guess tonight um you know what it's it will be a great option opportunity for me to present. So hopefully parents will be more comfortable activating the account. So let me pull up my slide. Okay.
So save for college program is now eligible in this school year is eligible for all kindergarten, first, second, third and fourth grade students who are participating or attending DOE schools and some charter schools who are participating in this program.
You might hear that some fifth grade students are also um participating in this program but that's only students in uh district 30 because in district 30 this pilot program kicked out started in 2021 to 22 and then it this program
expanded to the rest of the city. So what is the NYC kids rise? NY Kids Rise. It's a nonprofit organization based in New York City who are working um to help parents, schools and communities to a way to help them save
for college and career training together. So every kindergarten, first grade, second, third and fourth grade students who are enrolled in a theory school or some again some charter schools are who are participating or at automatically
enroll in this program unless the parents choose to opt out and they do not look at any family income or any immigration status. Um and what kids rise are um partner up
with all the schools and some charter school and the account they are given to our eligible students starts with $100 and they so NY kids rise they are the one who manage and own this account. So
you do not need to um report it to IRS. And they are also working with local organizations or businesses and neighbors to see if they can raise more funds for our scholarships through uh community scholarships. And research also shows that kids who
knows they have a saving account for their college or have one are most or more likely to graduate or attend high attend colleges. Let me get some water. So, how does it work? So, each child who
attends DOE schools from K to 4 are eligible unless you choose to opt out. Parents have two ways to opt out. If you choose to, you can opt out by using the Nixa account and that's a form that the pupil counting secretary can give you for opting out, but you are always
welcome to opt back in again in case you regret it later. Uh once you once you activate the account you will see this initial uh $100 in the account and again this money is owned and managed by NYC kids rise. So you do not own this
account they manage this account and they make it grow according to the US stock market and they will also be working with you know community local community organizations and business to see if they can contribute more money to this fund. So this money this account is
not owned by the parent or you cannot withdraw the money and you cannot deposit more money into this account. It is it is not owned by you. Um we do know that $100 is not a lot of money but again this is to me I see it
as a free money that they are giving it to us to help our students um for the future. This money can be used to uh such as tuition fees, equipments, textbooks and so on. And this money will be ready to you once activated to your child once they graduate from high
school and is ready for any high educational um um programs including culinary schools, massage therapy. So any vocational training programs will be eligible too. Um I just want to read I just want to
emphasize so you so parents who activate this account you can see this money you can watch the money grow with your child which is great but you cannot make deposit or you cannot withdraw the money so this money again is owned by NYC kids rise they manage the money they make sure they they will make it grow
according to the US stock market and they will working they'll be working with local organizations and businesses to see if anyone will be you able to donate and then make this money um you know grow and then put more money into this scholarship for the students.
So if you are um receiving any financial aid or any um uh financial aid or you this will not impact your um you know your benefits because you do not need to report it again. um when activating it, they would
not ask for any sensitive or personal questions. And regardless your immigration status or your income, none of those needs to be um shared. Uh all they need is your child's date of birth, your um your zip code, and the child's
Osis number to activate this account. Once you activate this account, you can view the money So by activating this account that's the first step and we call that building block one. Once you activate this this account once you complete building block one um they will they will give you a
additional 20 $25 in reward. So with the $100 and the $25 that 125 um last month I was uh able to present this program for some schools and one parent who uh came from who had a child in first grade
was able to log in for the first time and she already saw more than 125. I think that money has already grown to 150 something. So she was very excited and we told her that's you know there's possibilities that this money can grow even more.
Um you can go into NY as NY NYC kids rise or to activate this account or you can scan this QR code and it will give you the uh the link to activate it. So by activating it again they will not be asking for any sensitive or any personal
um informations. All you need to provide is your child's date of birth, your zip code and the child's Osis number and and parent coordinator can support you with the OSIS number if you do not have it. Um again, zip code, date of birth, and
the nine digits OS number, the student's ID number. And once you log in, this is what you see. And then of course you will be uh using your email if you have you know your personal email and then you will create a password to log in so you can
view them you can view the money and if you have more students in your household who are eligible for this program there's a way you can add a sibling to the same account. So you do not need to create a multiple times just one account and you can add all the
siblings. Um there's a way if you if parent would like to save or add more money to a saving account that goes to the child's college uh purposes, there's a way you can do it. You can open your own um
college saving po um account that's managed and owned by you and then you can link your own saving account with this scholarship account from NY Kids Rise. If you link it, they will give you an additional $25. But building blocks
one and two are not are only optional. So we as a DOE we would like to make our parents aware of this you know account because they are working they are our partners and they are working with the DOE to help students save you know for
their college um and any future programs and we don't want you to lose this you know once you graduate once you leave the DOE you still own this program but if you only completed building block one and you graduated and you left DOE for
another states or another country, this program will still be yours. But if you do the building blocks two and three while you are not in the DOE school, you will not be receiving the rewards, the $25 rewards. Building blocks three is when you make a deposit to your saving
accounts that you created and you manage by this deposit of $5, you will be receiving your third reward, which is another $25. So if you complete building block one, two, and three, the total amount that will be in the account is
175. But again, building blocks two, and three are optional. You can do it whenever you're ready or feel comfortable. But right now, we just want parents to be aware of this account and not lose the opportunity to even access building block one. Building block one means once you activated it, it's your
account. It will be ready for your child once they graduate high school and once they apply for any higher educational program that money will be ready for your child. Um you can reach out to me directly for any further you know concerns or questions or you can also reach out your
to your parent coordinator. They will always be your point person but I'm available to answer any questions that you might have or any concerns and then you can also contact NYC kids rice directly. They do have a hotline and they do have provide you know um um
service in in different languages. So if you do not you know if you need more information you can uh feel free to reach out to either me the school parent coordinator or them directly. Does anyone have any questions about this program?
any associates. >> Oh, so to make awareness um one of the CEC parent Stephanie Colado has partnered up with me. We receive age training from NYC kids rise and with this training we have the knowledge to you know feel comfortable enough to go
to visit schools and promote this for you know schools who have parents who might need to you know to become aware. So me and Stephanie are you know traveling to schools to make this promotion. or make awareness. I mean awareness.
Does any parents have any questions? >> Sh. >> Yes. Um just a question. Um so when the child reaches the when graduates high school >> um what do they have to do in order to receive those funds and assuming it's going to it should be taxfree correct because it's >> yes
>> being fedally funded in a sense or federally backed >> because it's the college saving account is taxree. Yeah. Well the growth you are making or this account is making is taxfree. So, what's the process though for the child or the adult at the time in order to receive the funds? And are
there are there criteria that's required in order to actually activate those funds or is it just literally graduation of high school, here's your check? >> No, we just need to make sure we activate it. Now, once we activate it, it's this amount, this account is yours, but you do not manage it. You do not own
it. You can view it. You can view it. So, they know by, you know, they have the child's Osis number. Once your child graduate from high school, they also would know which program you will be you're enrolling your child into and that money will be ready to be applied for that program.
>> So our our first step is to make sure we activate it, >> right? But does that so I think I'm thinking like the long-term part of it is that >> so if my child graduates high school but then goes to a different state to go to college, would that still be eligible for them?
>> This Yeah. So any eligible uh programs it will be applied into and NYC kids rights give all parents who activated this account 20 years to claim the money. So at that time your child will probably around 25. If you haven't claimed that money at that time because
your child chooses not to participate in any higher educational programs this money will go back to the poor and be distributed to the rest of the others for the other families and students. >> Okay. But we but but I mean in the foreseeable future we don't know what
that criteria is for what is eligible. >> I agree. I agree. They probably have a whole list of what will be eligible. But to me I see that as a free money that we just need to activate, right? It doesn't belong to us right now. Once we activate it, it will come to you. It will come to
you. It's only this program is only five years old. I'm pretty sure it will expand and next year I assume they will anticipate that this program will expand to fifth grade students or it will be from K to five. Uh district 30 is just one year in advance of their program
will be from K to six but it's keep expanding and we just want parents to be aware of this program and this money even though we don't not own it. We do not, you know, we can't manage it, but we can view it grow. And the purpose is as long as a child knows they have this
account, the research already shows that, you know, they want to to, you know, they want to go to a college or graduate. That's just the research, okay, >> of their data. >> So that's the whole goal of creating this, you know, account. >> Okay. Thank you.
>> Hoping that our students will be, you know, >> Sure. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. makes sense. Mhm. And again, I know it's not a lot of money, but it's a start. It's a starting point. Anyone else have any questions?
So hopefully with this presentation everyone will be comfortable at least to activate the account because they do not ask for any you know a lot of sensitive um informations and you do not report it to um IRS and again uh regardless your immigration status your income they will
not be asking for any of those informations but all you need is your zip code date of birth child date of birth and your child's ois number. >> Thank you so much Jenny. Okay, no problem. I'll be around if any questions. So, just email me. Feel free to email me.
>> Thank you so much. We will now move to the PTA reminders and updates. Um, >> let me share my screen again. Yeah. >> Yes. Thank you. >> So, there are two like there is one very important reminder for all of us PIPAS.
We need to make sure that we submit our 2025 2026 interim financial report before January 31st. The report again covers the period of July 1st, 2025 to January 15, 2026.
You must report all income and expenses from that period. The starting balance and the ending balance must match the bank statements for that time frame. The completed report must be signed by the treasurer and the president and must be submitted to the principal. The report
must then be shared and reviewed with the general membership at the next monthly meeting. So you will be submitting your interim financial report in January. You will need to start sharing that report in the month of February. So the month of February is very important because that's when you
will be sharing with your general membership. Are there any questions related to the interim financial report? Do we have any questions at this time? Would you like to see the form? I know that next slide will show you the form of the report. If you have questions
related to how to complete the report, I know that Jenny is available. I am available to answer questions. Rachel, every member of the president's council executive board is available to answer questions. Again, this is the format. If you don't have access to the form, please reach out and we will be happy to
share that report um the form for you to fill out. Again, it's you have to put your school name, the district, and you start with the beginning balance as well as like membership dues and you list your income sources and then the next page will list expenses. So, you'll need
to fill out the expenses as well and be, you know, you want to be as thorough as possible. And you only need to submit the income and expenses, the two pages of your report to your principal. Again, you have here at the end the fund
balance as of January 15, 2026. You add the income, you subtract the income from the the expenses from the income, and that will give you the fund balance. You will see here on the bottom it says prepared by the president's signature, the treasurer's signature and when it
was distributed to the members as well as when it was distributed to the principal. Are there any questions? So um just want to emphasize the signature and the date is very important because once I get a copy from all the parent coordinator and we do not see a a
signature or date, we will send it back to them. Okay? So please make sure it's signed and dated and we keep a copy at the district level as well. Me and Lewis will refile them in case we get audited which happens last year.
Thank you very much. And if there are no questions um this is for the interim financial report. Another item that I would like to bring up to your attention is if there's anyone who is looking for funding or who is aware that their
principal is submitting a reso a funding application for your schools for this budget cycle for the Queensboro President's Office, his office is require requiring for fiscal year 27 a letter of support from the PAPA to go
along with that resole application. Um, I had the opportunity to have uh Katherine Sapata, the director of education, come to our PTA and she start she shares some information about the resol process and like what that entails and I'll be passing that information to
Jenny so she can pass it along to everyone in case you are, you know, the principal at your school is looking to request funding from the Queensboro President's Office for Resa funding. Again, PAS, PTAs must submit a letter of
support for that application. >> And with that, >> yes. >> Pull up the slide. >> Um, >> you want me to? >> Sure. >> Okay. So, PAPA link um they you know they provide a lot of knowledge to newly
members of PAPA and they do offer a office hour from every Thursday from 10 to 11. This is new because I don't recall seeing this in the past. So, this is new. So, please utilize this office hour if you guys have any questions about PAPA.
I have hard time switching to the next. Okay. So, the next President's Council meeting will be on Monday, February 23rd. So, please mark that in your calendar. As usual, I will send out reminders 10 days before, you know, um
to make sure everyone received the notice 10 days in advance. Um and I will share this fly with all the principles and the parent coordinators and then they will go ahead and send that to you. >> Yes, Jenny, we have a question on the
chat. Is did you want the receipts and reimbursement forms for all the expenses or just the form to allow for the interim financial? >> Just the forms that we showed on the screens the interim financial report the two pages that shows all the year
expenses all the income and then your signature and then date and sign and then we'll keep a copy. Make sure you give the parent coordinator a copy. They must also submit all the information into SVLCI which is a system that goes to central
Thank you very much. Um, are there any other questions? I know that we are a little bit past our time. Are there any other questions uh related to today's presentations or any of the announcements that you heard from today meeting? If
going once, going twice, uh, going three times. Do we have a motion to adjourn the meeting? Ajourn. >> Do we have a second?
Okay. Thank you so much to all of you for giving us 30 more minutes of your time. We truly appreciate you. And I'll be sharing the information about Res to Jenny so she can disseminate it to all of you. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Take care. Have a great night. >> Have a great night. And
>> everyone, >> you say tomorrow. >> Bye. >> We go back to Inerson learning again. >> Thank you so much. Take care. Thank you, Jenny, for everything. >> Thank you, Veronica. And thank you to President's Council team members.
>> Thank you. Take care, Jenny. Bye. Bye. >> Bye.