##VIDEO ID:99U-xj0Jybk## I'd like to call this meeting to order will the secretary please call the role Anna Braun here Tim Cummings here Jamie Falco here Lis Figaroa here Lori herck here Lee Wu Hong here Lori LAX here Wilber pan and Heather us here we have a quorum please rise to salute the flag I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all good evening the New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the right of the public public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed and acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the East brunic board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date time and place thereof posted as Board of Education offices located at 760 Route 18 East Brunswick written notice was also provided to The Sentinel the Newark Star Ledger the home News Tribune the alternative press of East Brunswick and the municipal clerk of East Brunswick all Board of Education meetings with the exception of executive session discussions are videotaped for later broadcast it is the policy of the Board of Education the videotaped meetings are not edited for any purpose individual who speak at the board's public meeting should be aware of these videotaping rules so good evening and welcome um we do not have our student rep this evening we don't okay we're sad to not have our student rep he's my favorite part of the meeting so we will be moving directly to the good of the cause for the public actually no we um I think we have maybe I have a different one I'm looking at the old one I'm sorry we have a resolution of appreciation uh school board that I'll do that you'll do that one that's for us that's for you it's my honor to offer this you didn't see it this resolution of appreciation for school board recognition month in New Jersey January 2025 whereas the New Jersey school boards Association has declared January 2025 to be school board recognition month a time that all residents might acknowledge the contributions made by our local school board members and whereas the East bronic board of education is one of more than 581 local school boards in New Jersey that sets policies and overseas operations for public school districts and whereas the East Bron Board of Education embrace is for all students the goals reflected in the district motto of excellence in academics Athletics and the Arts and whereas these Brunswick Board of Education helps determine Community goals for the education of approximately 8,400 children in preschool through 12th grade and whereas the East Brunswick Board of Education members receive no compensation for their services yet are committed and active advocates for public school students and as board members collectively work with administrators teachers and parents for the good of the East Brunswick Public School District and public education in general and whereas the East Brunswick Board of Education provides accountability to the public communicates the needs of the school district to the public and conveys to the school administrators the public expectations for the schools and whereas the East Brunswick Board of Education can take pride in its schools which rank among the best in New Jersey and nationally in indicators such as high school graduation rates class size college entrance exam participation and advanced placement offerings and test scores now therefore be it resolved that we join Community Statewide in observing January 2025 as Schoolboard recognition month and express our gratitude and appreciation to Heather guas Lee Wu hum Anna braa Timothy Cummings Jamie Falco Lewis Figaroa Lor Lori herck Lori LAX and Wilbur pan collectively the East brunwick board of education for their unwavering service to the students staff in Greater East Brunswick Community congratulations to all of you is it okay to go backwards a little bit absolutely all right we would like to backtrack a little to what is my favorite part our student Representatives report hello everyone good evening I want to start by congratulating um all the incoming board members and wishing them the best of luck this year and I also want to extend the congratulations to the President and Vice President um it's still good to see all these familiar faces as well of course um as a New Year's kicked into full gear soout the activities in the high school the first major event following our holiday break was the elective Fair Juniors and sophomores roam the hallways in cafeteria exploring presentations videos and posters detailing the exciting opportunity unties each elective offers students who had taken these electives in the past collaborated with teachers to promote their classes and projects Junior pav Sani remarked the electives Fair gave me insight into so many new classes for next year I had no idea I could take an English course focused on Murder Mysteries and detective stories as a senior thanks to these electives Fair thank thanks to the elective fairs Juniors and sophomores will be well prepared to make informed decisions for the for their course requests which are due in March for seniors it was bittersweet to watch our younger peers look forward to their future in the school however we also had the opportunity to engage in valuable presentation during the activi fair electives Fair as we prepared head to college or the workforce next year car share safety is becoming increasingly important a speaker from the what's my name Foundation delivered a presentation on safely safely advising students on how to get into ride share services like uber and lft seniors were advised to ask drivers to State their name check license plates and sit in the back seat when entering a vehicle at first car sh safety didn't seem like a pressing issue but the more I listened the more I realized how essential these safety measures are at the end of the presentation all seniors signed a pledge to follow these guidelines and this and the pledge is now displayed in the senior section of the cafeteria for everyone to see last week the student council attended the 998th New Jersey asso Association of student councils winter convention at TCNJ students heard from keynote speakers engag in discussions with other schools and gathered ideas to bring back to our community one stand idea was implementing a week- long Battle of the classes presented by Shore Regional High School the initiative promotes school spirit participation and compassionate Behavior while building excitement at the end of the year it's something we hope to introduce to East Brunswick this year the highlight of the day however was sophomore Kalin D Rose the njasc liaison who was elected as the State Board of Education student representative she will attend monthly meetings where she'll present on education related Matters from across the state I look forward to hearing kin's reports and of course bragging that I know someone who works at the State State Board of Education last Friday the Asian Club hosted their annual Bubble Tea House the event featured live performances a Ramen eating competition and food from local vendors senior and asan Club president Nicholas Juan shared bubble tea house which was a huge hit although it's an annual event each year has something different in store we had over 200 people join us on Friday to enjoy Boba food from e e Chinese and performances from our talented students we hope our Asian night event in April is bigger is an even bigger success the event Was A Perfect Blend of cultural education entertainment offering a meaningful meaningful and fun experience for all speaking of Asian culture International Club is hosting its annual Bollywood night next Friday January 24th in the cafeteria the event will feature food Dano dancing a mang mango lassi drinking competition and much much more senior and Club president shra Luka explained bwood night is an amazing event where you can Embrace South Asian culture culture enjoy great food and have fun with friends while there is a South Asian dress code we want to emphasize that this event is open to everyone we hope people from all backgrounds join us to celebrate South Asian Culture tickets are available on ebhs book disc.com so don't miss it as busy as the as the start of this year has been with finishing college applications and prepare preparing for midterms events like these remind me to take a moment and relax and enjoy senior year knowing we have such an incredible student body driving new initiatives and an Administration in board dedicating to suppor and student voices I'm confident that the rest of this year will be a resounding success thank you thank you I love your reports I to say isn't this the strangest thing to watch the underclassmen start to pick classes for next year and you're not that's kind of when it hits home and you didn't mention I think it's the beginning of prom dress shopping season that's not impacting you personally no not I'm not shopping that's just happened in my house I didn't realized that we were like you know barely on time thank you so much all right now for the good of the call okay uh the public comment the Board of Education recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on school matters of community interest in order to permit the fair and orderly expression of such comment the board shall provide a period for public comment at every meeting of the board residents are welcome to speak up to three minutes and the timing will be kept by the board secretary we just request when you step up to the podium you state your name and address for the record unless you are a student is there anyone this evening wishing to speak to the board Tatiana Jordan 27 North Drive I am speaking today to share my concerns regarding the language arts curriculum currently used at at EB based on both my professional background as a certified enl teacher and my personal experience as a parent of an elementary school student while Early Education is not my specific area of expertise I quickly noticed that something seemed off with my son's reading development raising concerns about the curriculum EB continues to support despite feedback from Educators and parents in the district my concerns began to emerge Midway through kindergarten and became more pronounced in first grade I notice that my son does not phonetically sound out words instead he guesses based on pictures or the first letter of a word for instance if the word is outside he might see the O and guess onto which is a site word he has memorized this Reliance on memorization and guessing rather than using phonics and decoding has impacted his fluency confidence and overall enjoyment of reading despite my effs to encourage him to sound it out when we read together he often reverts to guessing my son is a bright and capable child he is already fluent in another language effortlessly cold switches and excels at critical thinking activities like chess his struggles with reading are not due to a lack of ability but rather a disconnect that seems tied to the curriculum conversations with other parents experiencing similar challenges led me to take a closer look at the language arts curriculum which I now believe is failing our most vulnerable Learners especially strugling readers at the start of first grade I formally requested reading intervention however after an observation I was told that my son was on track however on his report card it indicates he's at level E after the first marking period below the target of for first grade I requested another formal reading screening but I was again told he was too high for intervention even though his teacher acknowledged the validity of my concerns after two formal requests and many conversations my son will potentially get reading interven ition in the near future when and how that looks is still unclear so I decided to help my child at home and invested in a phonic space reading program which we do every night together while I'm grateful to have identified and addressed my son's struggles I worry about many parents who may not recognize these challenges or lack the resources to intervene this is not a critique of his teachers who I believe are dedicated and doing best to implement the curriculum chosen by the administration and improved by the board of education however I urg the district to re-evaluate this curriculum and involve the experts your teachers in the process when I mentioned E's chosen curriculum units of study and FIS and panel to my District's director of curriculum a former Elementary level reading specialist her response was telling quote unquote I cannot believe a district like East Brunswick is continuing to use a program rooted in poor evidence I implore the board to Prior prioritize the needs of all Learners especially the most vulnerable Learners by overhauling this curriculum and adopting one grounded in strong evidence-based practices thank you thank you Tatiana do you want to leave your information with the ladies there thank you Arun AAR Tony Brook Hill Road I just had a question if there has been a deliberation in the past on installing vaping monitors and or sensors in our bathrooms our meeing Public School in East Brunswick I talked to as an educator I talked to a lot of students uh both in East Brunswick and other uh districts as well several students uh three weeks ago told me Mr a which is me Mr a we see puff clouds right puff clouds I'm a pilot and I expect clouds to be seen only in the sky not on ground definitely not carcinogenic clouds so I was wondering if as a district we ever thought about installing vaping sensors uh assuming taking into account all the private areas and things like that but I'm not sure what the answer is but I think if that's not the case I think I strongly urge to install those in the best interest of health of our students uh the um bathrooms and the locker areas I also heard uh in the football stadium in our football stadium a lot of kids kids I get it they're teenagers they they spend a lot of time um vaping there as well I'm assuming that also comes under school property and school premises I think the law if there is one applies to the those areas as well so that's about it thank you thanks sirun could you yeah could you leave your contact with Karen please I love thank you algra Sidler 12 South Woodland Avenue um you just heard another story about the literacy curriculum uh these problems persist despite seemingly correct steps forward because structured literacy is not just the frosting on a balanced literacy cake it's a completely different recipe with the purchase of the revised units of study and continued Reliance on Fountain Sentinel key contradictions to structured literacy remain including the workshop model leveled literacy 3 queing which is still prompted in the new units Running Records and more it is essentially one step forward two steps back parents have raised concerns through the proper channels only to be denied or dismissed we hear don't worry it's different now or we focus more on Phonics or we follow the evidence why have so many parents received such similar answers possibly due to practices like this in the spring of 2024 concerns about the literacy curriculum were raised on a public forum and within days staff received a written directive from Administration on what to say in order to deflect questions from parents and avoid stirring the pot one cannot help but wonder what our teachers might have shared about this curriculum had it not been for this directive how do we trust a system that responds to concerns with secrecy why cling to a balanced literacy curriculum a methodology with Decades of documented flaws when there are many other science of reading aligned accessible options options with documented success and where is the district pilot study data for the revised curriculum while I am still waiting to find out how much the revised units of study and reading and writing cost over $120,000 was spent on professional development for this product that's just in the immediate time frame surrounding the purchase there are thousands more spent on PD for the reading and project reading and writing project annually yet there are more effective evidence-based and even primarily open source options available to my understanding no Alternatives like youly or bookworms were piloted this raises serious questions about decision-making and transparency parents deserve to know and understand the choices being made for their children and teachers should feel supported and empowered to voice their professional insights our children deserve an educational approach rooted in evidence not outdated methodologies and I truly urge you to prioritize collaboration ensuring that parents and teachers are included in shaping decisions that impact our students success thank you thank you Leo is there anyone else wishing to address the board all right to follow up on what Miss eer said and in an effort to show that the conversation does not just stop with people speaking at the good of the cause for the public um the district does follow up on the concerns of stakeholders and I would like to offer the public a more transparent view of the district's efforts thus far to respond or create a more task Focus Dialogue on this topic to date the administrative team has offered the following meetings to address the concerns presented uh 10282 24 11194 and 1725 and additionally Dr veski did reach out after the public meeting on 12924 and offered to discuss concerns to date no such meetings have occurred but the conversation does try to continue thank you I'm this not an opportunity to speak back and no Miss ma'am you can't have it back and forth public session is closed that that is correct okay thank you thank you for the clarification all right seeing none I'm going to close the public portion which leads to uh Board of Ed items numbers one and two two can I have a motion for items one and two so moved second M herck Mr Hong discussion right all in favor I I I opposed exstension motion passes can I have a motion for business and support Ops items 1 through 16 still moved Mrs herck second Dr Falco uh disc discussion all right this is a roll call vote Dr Pand still absent an BR yes Timothy Cummings yes jamy Falco yes L Figaroa Lorie herck yes Leu Hong yes Lor LAX yes and Heather gloss yes right motion passes moving on on to curriculum and instruction can I have a motion for items one through three so moved M her Mr Cummings discussion yes more president I do have uh just on number three Dr Wright coming in um I had the Good Fortune of working with him before on several different uh projects he's fantastic and uh I uh applaud uh the uh the district for bringing him in and having him work with our students on uh some uh uh motivation and some character building he's fantastic so good job thank you excellent thank you any other all right all in favor opposed extensions motion carries all right we're going straight to special education all right special education in student services has just one item can I have a motion item one thank you Miss herck Mr Cummings discussion all right this is a roll call vote Anna Brun yes Timothy Cummings yes Jamie Falco yes Lis burgoa Lorie herck yesu Hong yes Lori LAX and have Bloss yes motion carries moving on to the good of the cause for the board board member reports on committees or information items anyone we're a fast moving Bunch this evening all right all right whereas the Board of Education must discuss matters which are not appropriate for the discussion in a public meeting and whereas these subjects are within the exceptions to the open public meetings act and are permitted to be discussed in close session pursuant to njsa 10 412b and whereas the Board of Education intends to discuss matters as follows ebea security and employee matters uh that's whereas the length of closed session is estimated to be 3 hours after which the public meeting of the board shall reconvene and action may be taken will be will be taken thank you have a motion Mr Cummings second Mr Hong uh all in favor I I opposed extensions all right thank you we are enclosed we will be back in three hours all right we are back uh for the board we are on page 20 of the agenda if that helps all right we are in business and support operations can I have a motion for business and support operations items one and two so mov right move by Leu second second by Tim any discussion this is a roll call vote I believe Anna Braun yes Sim Cummings yes Jamie Falco yes Lis Figaroa yes Lorie herck yes Lee Wong yes wber pan yes Heather gu yes okay motion carries all right moving on human resources items one two and three can I have a motion please so moved Lori Harr second and second by Jamie any discussion all right this is also a roll call vote Anna Brun yes Tim Cummings yes Jamie Falco yes L Figaroa yes Lori herck yes Le Wu Hong yes Lori LAX I'm sorry Lori is absent wber pan yes and Heather gu yes motions Carri motions Carri all right can I have a motion to adjourn all right Wilber second second and second by Jamie all right all in favor all right I against abstentions all right thank you have a good evening