Roll call. Mr. >> Yes. Mr. Vichel Patel >> here. >> Miss Pang >> here. >> Mr. She >> here. Miss White >> here. >> Miss Angina Patel >> here.
>> Mr. Lugo, Mr. Ronac Patel >> here, >> Mr. Ero >> here, >> Mr. Azerella >> here. >> You have a quorum. >> Opening statement. >> Yes. In accordance with the Open Public
Meetings Act, public law 1975 C231 Sunshine Law, the Edison Township Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date, time, and place thereof posted in the Board of Education administrative offices and posted on the district website.
In accordance with NGSA section 10 col4-12, the addition township board of education adjuns to the confidential session for the purpose of discussing the following confidential personal and board matters, student matters, pending litigation,
legal matters, contracts, property acquisitions, HIV report. Do I have a motion to um motion to go into close session? Second roll call. All in favor?
>> I I will come back around 6:30 and meeting will resume around 700 p.m. Thank you. Everyone, please be seated. Please be seated. Okay. Thank you. Can I have a motion to reconvene the session? Motion. Second.
>> All eyes. I >> Thank you. Roll call. Mr. Toad. All in favor. Okay. Thank you. Superintendence report. >> Thank you so much, board president Patel, members of the board of education. Thank you so much. It's one
of the greatest board of education meetings of the year. Anytime we have the opportunity to recognize the fantastic accomplishments of our students um in relationship to all the great things that have gone on here in Edison Township Public Schools. I would be remiss if I did not thank all of the
parents, all of the teachers, as well as the administrators who have made these events and these accolades possible. I thank you so much. If you are a teacher, a parent, or an administrator, please stand up right now. Boys and girls, why don't we give them a round of applause? I mean, they've done an absolutely
fantastic job. There we go. Fantastic. Fantastic. Another round of applause for the individuals that I sit alongside currently right now are members of the board of education who support all of the endeavors here in Edison Township.
Now, now listen, I I have a presentation. I I expect the the same level of of applause periodically through certain points of it, right? Is that is that okay? That's fair enough, don't you think? >> It is. >> Yeah. Perfect. So, with the board president's permission, uh, this
evening, uh, January always marks the, um, you know, maybe the, uh, state of the schools executive summary, a year in review. Um, in my third year as superintendent of schools here in Edison Township. Uh, seems like a whirlwind. We've accomplished so many great things
with an unbelievable support system uh, that I have currently in place. Uh so this is going to be basically a mid-year review of all of the great things that are currently going on, the goals that we've set, how we've measured them, and and a look uh at things to come and and
uh the students here um are going to be the beneficiaries a lot of the great things that you're going to be seeing moving forward. So So the reason why we do this is because we want to celebrate, look back on our successes that we've had, how I measured them in relationship to the
goals that we've set. uh as well as looking at the road ahead. And this is, you know, one of the greatest uh comments that we can actually talk about. We have great schools now, but we're going to have greater schools tomorrow. We focus on top tier education. We have an unbelievably diverse community that has access to
programs to extracurriculars to everything that our um our teachers and our board of education, our administration supports. And we continually try to iterate and innovate to make sure that we are on the cutting edge of effective, highly effective teaching practices.
But we do this with the end in mind. And it's actually going to be my pleasure this evening at the very end to um to to talk a little bit about the portrait of a graduate, right? And that is the the expectation of what we hope that each student who exits the stage at their
high school graduation leaves with. And it's those soft skills. It's the understanding to be emotionally intelligent, to be adaptive and resilient, to possess the necessary skills, to be resourceful and vibrant members of a global society. That is the
goal for all of the educators, for your parents, for the administration, for everybody that sits on this stage. That is what we hope. And we actually have a a really good uh great closing um uh speech in relationship to this.
So, we're going to do some district vital signs currently right now, just kind of the pulse of where everything's currently going. Um, you know, we're we're always looking ahead here in Edison Township. So, in in order to measure the pulse, we focus on a couple things. We focus on student achievement. We focus on enrollment, wellness, uh,
and and obviously fiscal responsibility. We want to make sure that, uh, the tax dollars from the residents here in Edison Township um, are maximized to its fullest potential. And if we measure these stats, we're we're able to see stable growth in in in a population across the district currently right now
with some dips in certain areas. Um we see access to higher level courses and students engaging in those higher level courses as well. Um and and also the opportunity for um growth through uh you know through the portrait of a graduate
to measure those particular soft skills. We also have our preschool expansion which we are extremely proud of and which the board of education supported. This also contributes to the enrollment. We added 17 new classrooms this year, 213 students. We were fortunate enough
to be on the plus size uh plus side of a $ 1.5 million grant that affords the opportunity for our youngest members of this organization, our three and four year olds to engage in the fabulous education that we have here in Edison Township. Another
me another measure which is always a popular one. It's transportation. It's on the hot list in the beginning of September each and every single year. We are pleased to report to the members of the community that we transported this year 9,852
students and of those 3,368 students are for subscription busing. Um we have a robust driver program as well too. We have 52 drivers. We are constantly looking to expand our fleet. This board of education uh granted us uh three new school buses which will be
operational shortly. Um and we are continuing to look for ways to not only maximize uh transportation but also to reduce costs at that time. The more routes that we take in house the more savings that it is to the taxpayer here in Edison.
I am pleased to announce and I think that this group currently right now is representative of this that we have unbelievable access to co-curriculars, sports and clubs. Just just take a look at the number of opportunities that we have at our elementary level. Over 250
opportunities for students to participate outside of the classroom. This is not during this. This is outside of the classroom. Opportunities for our students to participate in elementary. And if you combine middle and high school, 157 and 178, the the the the
student population that um is associated with that is over one half of our entire population. So you're looking at somewhere in the ballpark of uh you know 8,000 students that are that are actively participating in afterchool activities in one way, shape or form.
that is something that everybody in the room should be proud of and we and this board has supported it not only through contractual terms. Um but you know when students have uh a great idea for a club or teachers or administrators um you know the board has always been
supportive of funding those initiatives. So how about a round of applause for for everybody in this room because you are the direct recipients of the hard work from your co-advisors and the clubs. I thank you so much. But that doesn't mean we stop there. You
we're we're always trying to improve. We are constantly looking to iterate. We are constantly looking to improve systems to provide a better experience each and every day for our students. And the way that we do this is by measuring our plan. We have a strategic plan,
which I promise I won't lay it on you this evening, but but it is a measure of what we value here in Edison Township. We value fiscal responsibility. We value infrastructure. We value the opportunities for students to come to school in a modernized space. Take a look at this space that you are
currently in. This is one of the nicest auditoriums that I have ever seen in a public school. And we are continued and committed to providing access to all of our students in this capacity. We are putting together a robust wellness program. Um our programs and pathways
and opportunities for kids to expand in our schools are constantly at the forefront. We have done an excellent job in improving communication and engagement all for the end result of ensuring that our students leave with the exact portrait of what we determine
a graduate should be. So the board of education also sets some pretty lofty goals for themselves. Uh we do this at our board of education retreat that happens over the summer. The board gets together, they prioritize what they value. um they usually come up
anywhere between three and four goals and that's how Mr. Toth and myself ensure that we not only fund the necessarily nec the necessary endeavors in relationship to those goals but we also measure progress towards those. So we're going to highlight a couple of those this evening right now.
So the the first goal was to strengthen and support programs, pathways, and our portrait of a graduate to ensure that our students are instructionally uh ready to graduate in what we expect them to leave with those necessary skills. I'm pleased to announce that we have
expanded our CTE pathways moving forward for next year. We're providing um real college and career technical education skills for students. Um, in relationship to uh technical education, we are expanding our academy program. So for students that have an interest in a
particular area, and I'll talk about those in a little bit, they can now follow a pathway, an area of interest along their course throughout high school. And this just doesn't go for a select group of students. This is every student. Every student can walk across the stage during graduation time with a
credential that shows I've completed a course of work. I've completed a course of work in an area of interest and I've developed mastery of that. That is a a success that we can all share in this room. We also have our portrait of a graduate integration in which we've
ensured that our curriculum is aligned to every single skill, those resilient skills that we've just measured before. Our elementary curriculum is does not get excluded from this. They are constantly looking for way for ways to iterate to um engage in curious
activities to foster lifelong learning. They do this through a a current program now that's entitled Wonder Wednesdays. Am I right? My elementary crew in the back right over there. Right. It's based on exploratory education and integration where students begin to engage in the scientific process of answering qu of
asking questions. How are we going to solve those questions? How well do I work on a team with my other classmates at that time frame? how well do I present, right? How how uh self-reflective am I? And we're doing this in our elementary between our K to five schools. Um and there's also a
robust understanding and opportunity for us to engage in AI, not only from a student standpoint, but from a teacher standpoint as well too. We are constantly looking for a you know, one one of the things especially if you if if you're on social media currently right now or or reading any type of journal, right? What what do they tell
you? AI is the is not only the way of the future, but you should study that as much as you possibly can in relationship to the future jobs and the future careers. And and that can't start once you leave the halls of Edison Township Public Schools. It has to start here. And and I can't tell you how happy I am with the way our teachers, with the way
our administrators, and the way our students have embraced this process. And it's going to be a learning curve, right? Especially for guys like me that are just learning how to utilize AI. And it's not just to create, you know, like a shopping list for your wife during uh during the holiday season. I just I just hope she's not watching it
currently right now. But that was funny. You guys will laugh a little bit later on at that one. We've got a couple academy programs that we've rolled out, too. Our current biomed academy is up and running over here at JP Stevens. Hands-on lab
experiences, medical research projects, clinical partnerships, you name it, we have it. which complements the existing STEM academy that we are running over at Edison High School as well. We have two sections of that class going on that focus on engineering design advanced
robotics. If you've ever seen any of the products that have come out of those classrooms, you'd be extremely amazed. And I am pleased to announce two moremies for next year. We have our computer science program and our business academy. Computer science will focus on two pathways and that will be
cyber security as well as programming. Uh we put a lot of effort into this and especially with board support um we are pleased to be offering these moving forward for next year in both of our schools. What I thought was amazing, which was a great stat to share, and we can kind of
roll through these, but the number of students in eighth grade that actually applied for thesemies was, I think, 624 when the entire eighth grade population is 1,399
students. So, so about 45% of our students said, 'You know what? I want to follow a path either in biomed, engineering, cyber security or business. That's unbelievable to know those pathways at that age. And we can't wait to expand
those programs to pre-law, engineering, edtech, um e even automotive pieces, any of those pathways that we can cultivate for for area for students within their uh particular areas of interest. We're we're so happy to perform uh and provide
this uh pathway for them. And this is just a couple, you know, by school and and how they measured uh over a course of those pieces. And another way that we measure um success in relationship to the academy component too was a big survey that we
had handed out and we're we're extremely proud of it and you'll have access to this information on the district website as well too. But innovation never stops in Edison especially from the namesake of this town. We are constantly looking for ways
to improve, to provide opportunities for uh our students, to provide a great environment for our staff where they are free to take risks, to be innovative, to try things, to fail forward, and to um you know, to never stop improving their
practice. We're pleased to announce, and this is kind of what we talked about, we actually have uh artificial intelligence power teams in each and every single one of our schools. These are teams of teachers who exclusively focus on AI, right? And how we can support artificial
intelligence through the art of teaching and learning, not only from the practice standpoint, from an assessment standpoint, as well as getting it in the hands of our students as well. Providing resources for parents as well, so that they have the opportunities to to have that homeschool connection to see what we're working on in school uh and how we
can maybe foster that in the home as well. our current empower Edison projects which is something that we've we really pride ourselves on. Uh about two years ago our administrative team had the opportunity to work with Apple and Apple
has a design process there in which um their slogan is the best idea wins right so we have a group of administrators here that will get together on their own and think about problems that affect the organization right or or ways to improve
access for students. They have a quick six-w weekek time frame to turn around these activities to develop a design sprint and then to pitch it to central office staff and then in turn get board of education approval to fund these initiatives. I'm pleased to announce
that we've had not only multiple successes, but we have current ongoing ones right here. We have student college that's currently going on in our elementary schools. We have Speak Up to Buildup, which talks about tolerance in our high schools. Um, our student recognition program is uh another
iteration of these pieces to make sure that we have a focused time frame to to not only celebrate high school students but elementary and middle also to provide specific opportunities to recognize students because that's what this is. It is student recognition. It
is the opportunity for you to be recognized in front of your peers, in front of your parents, and in front of your teachers as well too. We are so pleased about how we've increased engagement in the community and we we actually just had a committee meeting which um we'll talk a little bit
about how we're we're going to continue to expand on those opportunities but we've launched an aggressive communication platform. Um not only an entire website redesign but um you know we've launched a social media presence. If you are not following it please do
you know we have 281,000 Instagram content views currently right now. We've got a robust Facebook um platform as well. Um our website constantly is getting hits. Uh we have a chatbot that has answered 20,000 questions, right? So
that helps us get better because if if individuals or parents or students are constantly asking the same questions, we know the messaging needs to be changed u in order to provide them with access to the correct information. We also have sages, which I think we
have a couple representatives. Who who's in the sages group right here? It's the superintendent. Yeah, that was fun. Right. Right. Yeah. You you can you can give a round of applause to that. Good. There we go. Yeah. It was a lot of fun. Right. You have the opportunity to meet with the
superintendent to tell me what you like about school areas for improvement at that time and be the representatives of the school. It, you know, it one of the things that you do miss being a superintendent is being involved in the day-to-day with schools. It's such a great opportunity to meet with kids um and have them share their experiences in
relationship to uh the total school experience. We also have one that's called pulse which is the opportunity where parents get together and do the exact same thing thing that's with myself and members of the board of education. Um couple other highlights we have a nationally recognized uh newsletter uh the insider if you haven't
had the opportunity to look at that it's all of the school happenings. Our schools also have unbelievable newsletters as well too with rich and robust content. Um just an excellent opportunity um to get an insight into what's happening in the public schools in Edison Township. Um if you're bored
on a Friday night and want to find out what's going on and listen to my voice for about 15 to 17 minutes, we have a podcast as well that's currently going on. We've interviewed board of education members, administrators. We are we've admin uh we've interviewed teachers uh teacher of the year. I'm going to have a
great podcast with some of our portrait with our portrait of the graduate um uh winner which we'll talk a little bit about later on. But um just another avenue where we can kind of increase engagement in relationship to that. We have an excellent wellness campaign. Um we have in-house wellness
coordinators. Our our our platform is to ensure that our students are not only physically fit but they're also of sound mind. Right? So we are incorporating mindfulness activities into daily routine through um responsive classroom through breathing techniques um you know
just to regulate those pieces things that you know that that actually need to be explicitly taught in order for them to be performed and perfected. Um we constantly expand upon our counseling programs both inside and out to deal with our um our our students um particular needs especially in
relationship to emotional regulation. If you haven't had the opportunity yet, we have a fitness court at both high schools. If you have not seen them or been on them, I know they're covered in snow currently right now, but once the snow melts in in July, right, which seems like it's going to take a little
bit of time. Um, it's open to the the entire community. That was funny, too. You're laughing at that. That was a good one. Um, yeah. Uh, you the community has access to to utilize these. They are open all day. They are the only two fitness courts in a public school of its
type where they are um station based. There's also a um a large space on the other side um for group work. Um extremely proud of the individuals that made that come to fruition. And last but not least, our finance and
facilities. uh we have inundated the public with not only pictures of of the upgrades that we've gone on, but there there are so many uh to name that we're actually going to be put them putting them out in short little videos to the entire community. But but just to name a few, you're actually sitting in one
right now, the modernization and the expansion of this. We put a 30 classroom edition on this building as well to accommodate the overcrowding needs. Um we've had projects go on from the beginning of uh my tenure over at Lincoln Elementary School. We currently have John Marshall underway uh as well
as JMI um to just to name a few. We have beautiful upgrades that have gone on over at Edison High School. Uh if we Yeah, perfect. And that kind of goes to the road ahead and this is where we're we're we're looking to make a huge impact from
a facility structure. Edison High School is getting a facelift with the orchestra room well overdue. We're going to be expanding that place to uh space to accommodate the robust program that we have over there. We're redoing the softball field at Edison High School as well too. I did hear it's going to be green with a with a nice giant E on
that. Is that correct, Mr. Ross? Yeah, there we go. We got the thumbs up. Perfect. John Marshall Elementary School has a um a major expansion going on. James Madison Intermediate School as well. And and on this agenda this evening with board of education approval, we are beginning the onslaught
of air conditioning upgrades starting with our elementary schools, James Madison Primary, Washington Elementary, as well as JMI. Yeah. Right. Coming to a neighborhood near you, air conditioning, climate control, all of
the amenities that we enjoy in our house, we will make sure that they happen in our schools as well. Um and and and in closing as we kind of wrap these up, we have expanded high school program offerings, expand expanded academy and pathway offerings as well, just like we talked about in relationship to all the different things
uh that we want to make sure that we're providing from K to 12. So a little progress each day adds up to big results. That is the mantra that myself and my team live by. Um we we are constantly measuring the things that we
value here in Edison Township because that is the only way to move forward. And when we think of the end result in mind, what we think about is our portrait of the graduate. And our portrait of the graduate is
representative. If you if you kind of close your eyes, right? And and and if you're not at that point, you can actually probably picture your child walking across the stage at graduation, right? You picture your child of walking across the stage at graduation and all the joy that comes with that and all the hope that comes with that as well that
they have the skills necessary to succeed after high school, right? Whether that's a post-secary degree, whether that's the workforce, whether that's a trade, you're hoping at that moment in time that they can walk across the stage and be ready for the world
ahead. And in order to do that, we wanted to have a visual representation of what we deem as portrait of a graduate. And this evening, we have Miss Selena Luong. Did I say it right? Perfect. Miss Selena Lang, who is an
exceptional student at Edison High School that embodies the very essence of what we identify as a portrait of a graduate and is marked by artistic talent. As you can see the visual representation here this evening without
any further ado I would like to introduce Miss Selena Luang who is going to talk a little bit about the portrait of the graduate her development of the logo which will be embedded on our district website and fully adopted and
for the unveiling of this tonight. How about a round of applause for Selena? >> Good. Good evening everyone and it's nice to see you guys on this side of the board of education meeting. Um, in the spring of 2025, Mr. White and the board of education approached the art
department at Edison High School with a special request to create a visual representation of what a graduate from Edison looks like. They shared a slideshow of adjectives and characteristics that describe the qualities of seniors that um leave in Edison High School. Using that as my foundation, I designed this piece, which
I titled Portrait of a Graduate. After hours and hours of sketching, revising, and drawing this final work you see today, I did not create alone. I h I'm incredibly grateful for the guidance I had from Miss Gavore and every step by step and as well as my very talented
peer Alicia Louise Rodriguez who is a senior at Edison High School who helped me plan and revi and refine the design. I'm also very thankful for the opportunity to create the poster for the board of education and for the Apple iPad you guys gave it to us in um my
sophomore year. Now I'd like to walk you through the piece itself. I began I began with elementary school um shown in the bottom left side of the poster. The child is kneeling as they build the feet of the graduate sculpture. This pose symbolizes that in elementary school we
are just learning how to take our first steps in education. We are not standing on our own yet but we're building the foundation. I chose building blocks for this stage because elementary school gives us the basic building blocks of our education and who we become as students. Around the child, you see the
words effective communicator and problem solver lightly surrounding them. Those are the skills and qualities our teachers begin to shape us from the very start of our education. On the right side of the poster, you'll see a middle school student. These are the years when we learn to be to be we learn to begin to be more engaged in our community. We
develop resilience and adaptability. For this part of the sculpture, I chose papier-mâché. Papier-mâché is flexible and moldable just like how we are in middle school. When our educators help us shape into the young leaders and learners we we we have we are being for before high school. The middle schooler
stands on a stool. That detail represents how at that age we can't stand. We can stand but we need a little extra help a boost to reach where we are going. On the left side of the poster is a high school student. Around her is a sculpture you'll see the adjectives emotionally intelligent, critical
thinker and resourceful lifelong learner. These words capture what our final years in school are meant to cultivate before we step into the real world. She stands tall, proud, holding a paintbrush. The paintbrush symbolizes refinement. The idea that high school builds on our earlier experiences and
also sharpens and defines who we are before graduation. At the top of the at the top stands a graduate, confident, upright, complete. The figure represents the cultation of years of growth, support, and learning at Edison High School.
not Edison School, Edison Township Schools. Sorry. Um, as a student who has grown up in Edison in the Edison education system, this piece reflects my own journey and what if I believe it means to be an Edison graduate. To me, it shows how intentional, supportive, and exceptional Edison Township is
truly. I am proud to be a student at Edison and soon a graduate of this community. Thank you. Thank you. Absolutely fantastic, Selena. Thank you so much. But ladies and gentlemen, that will conclude my portion of this
evening's presentation. Hopefully, that was informative enough or good enough to criticize in the parking lot on the way home. The adult, right? The adults in the room. I'm here all night, too, folks. I can I But I do thank you very much. Actually, what I what I do want to do before I close, I want to thank the
board of education first of all for supporting me in all of the endeavors that we've moved forward. We've develop developed a collective partnership in the goals. Um, and uh I do thank you for that and I know my my central office team thanks you to that. To the administrators that are in the room this
evening as well as the ones that are at home watching on TV, thank you so much for your support. It is an absolute pleasure to work alongside of you each and every single day. and the teachers that are here as well as the uh club adviserss, the coaches, you are where the rubber meets the road. Nothing gets
done without you. And last but not least, parents, guardians, thank you so much. Your support here means the world. Um we are continually looking to iterate and make experiences better for your kids each and every single day. We are open for suggestions and comments as
well too um to ensure that uh we're providing the very best experience for your child. Mr. Board President, that concludes my report. >> Thank you. Board President Board President, can I say a few words? >> Yep. Can go for
>> uh I know Dr. Alderelli spoke very highly of his staff, the parents, the students, but I think uh the one person he did miss is himself. Uh he is a great leader. Him and his team do a tremendous job 24/7. A lot of the board members will be
getting phone calls and on Saturdays and Sundays and middle, you know, during dinner time, but he never stops. He works 247 and I think we owe him and his team a big round of applause. >> Thank you, Mr. Eric. Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Adico. Thank you. So, >> good evening everybody. How is everyone doing today? >> Good. I like that noise. So, so today is my first board meeting as a president and I could not have
asked for the better one, right? Tonight is all about students. Congratulations to all the students for being recognized and thank you to all the parents and educators for continually supporting them. Um, thank you. So as as a board we continue
to measure every decision by asking one question right is this decision helping our students grow learn and strive. Um and on that note I want to talk about three initiatives that will complement everything that Dr. Ali talked about. Uh
number one thing is uh real world experiences. We are expanding opportunities to give real world experiences to our students beyond our classroom by building partnership. uh we have a goal to offer 30 high school internship this summer and stretch goal
to offer 50 internship and this initiative will be led by um Miss Pang uh under the curriculum committee. Uh number two is about expanding our preventive mental mental health resources. What I mean by that right so
starting February we are offering breathing and resilience program to three of our elementary school and and our goal is to expand this program to all elementary school by end of this year and to all the middle school and high school by September 2026 and this
initiative will be led by Mr. Ronach Patel under special education committee and and he'll continue to provide more information about this program every month and and number three last but not least to improve the community engagement right we are starting two new
programs one is open office hours which will give resident access to the board members once a month and second one is uh student uh uh engagement where we will select uh four high school students from each high
to provide direct feedback to the board members. Uh Mr. Jishi will, you know, give us more information as as a chair of community relationship committee. Um and then continue to provide more information going forward. Um but once again, you know, congratulations to all
the students. Uh we are proud of you and we are committed to making your experience better and better every day. Thank you. Quick quick board member comments if anybody wants to say something. >> Yes, Jenny, please. >> Okay. Uh I'm going to be very quick
because you all are being very patient. >> Okay. But we're here tonight to celebrate you and all of your amazing accomplishments. I just want to say thank you to all of you students, your teachers, your coaches,
administrators, and your parents for a job well done. I know all this recognition is welld deserved. Thank you. Thank you, >> President.
So, this is one of the few times a year that I feel most rewarding as a board member on top of our, you know, paycheck with a big fat zero on it. So, um I want to thank you because thank everybody uh every student's been recognized today
for making my day today and um you know you work really hard to get here. Your talents, your passion, your persistence in working hard uh is really amazing. We are very very proud of you truly. And I also let's not forget about the coaches
and uh your parents who discovered those talents and developed those talents and uh um inspired the passions and pave the way and uh drive you to the finish line. So let's I think they deserve a round of
applause too tonight. Lastly, as uh Michelle mentioned, as the uh curriculum chair, I wanted to mention that we uh since last year, we brought twommies, biomed academy and computer science academy to the school and we are
going to as promised bring the business academy this year and also last year we had uh 40 plus internship for our student high school students paid and unpaid and we're going to continue expanding that this year. So stay tuned
and on top of that um as a board I want you to know that the board is always here to support you. We are going to have open office hour for parents to share their concerns with the directly with the board member and we're going to have student ambassadors from each school to tell us how we can help. Um
just think of us as your free of charge Uber delivery to deliver whatever you need. So use us. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. I I appreciate the president comments on
supporting student mental fitness. Helping our students manage stress and stay focused is very important and our goal is always to support students over overall well-being so they can succeed in this school.
>> Thank you. >> Mr. C. Mr. C. >> Yes. So, how do you guys like the cookies outside today? You guys did a good job. You finished it up. Every single piece of it, right? All right. Enjoy it because your parents
uh property tax paid for it. Uh I was mentioned a couple times today that u you know about the uh office hours for BOE members. So uh I I know a lot of parents who are you have a lot of concerns um you want to share with uh
the board of ed members uh you have a little bit reservation uh sharing that with administration. So um we heard you clear and loud. Uh so we will have uh office hours in the central office. Uh you can come in and
talk to us about anything that you know you think that we need improve or any concerns or suggestions. And also on top of that um we are also have a program uh right now we call a student ambassadors. These are the
students. We're going to have probably a couple students in each grade uh from middle to high school and um so the students know each other in each grade. So we hope that uh your son and daughter
will share and his or her concerns with these student ambassadors and these student ambassadors will work with the board directly. So we will take the input um you know from these student ambassadors will um look into that and
work with the administration to see what we can improve. So please stay tuned um for the details. uh the um open uh open hours uh and the um uh student ambassador program will start in
February. Thank you very much. Stay tuned. Thank you, >> Mr. Congratulations to all the students tonight receiving awards. Uh it's a great honor to be here and it's my first meeting. So, uh, you're you're looking
at a 1980, uh, Edison High School alumni. So, it's very nice to to see all all of you out here. And, uh, congratulations on on a great achievement and receiving award tonight for your hard work, dedication, and
commitment. Also, let's thank your parents, your families, your friends, your teachers, faculty, coaches, principles, all those that are behind you as well. It t there's there's not there's strength in numbers and uh thank
thank you all uh for your hard work, dedication. I wish you continued success. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Yep. >> Congratulations everyone. To our recognized student, let this moment be a
fuel, not finish line. Use your talent not just to get ahead, but lift others up. Congratulations to all of you and keep making us proud. Thank you everyone. >> Board President, one more thing real quick. Yep. So, I just want to share
some good news with you and and Dr. uh um already mentioned in his presentation. I don't know if you guys heard of it. Tonight on the agenda, we approving the air conditioning for three schools. JMI,
JMP, and Washington. Okay. The next school is Ben Franklin. So, a little bit over a year ago, we were told it's not possible. It is not only possible. It is happening at a no taxpayers tax increase. No tax increase. We're doing
this and again stay tuned for more good news coming up. Thank you very much. Thank you. Okay. Now, now we'll start with the student council present representative. So, I'll invite Edison High School representative, Miss Lavin with the
report. >> Good evening, members of the board of education, administers, and our guest. Um, my name is Levven Levven and I'm the EHS student council president and I'm honored to sit here today to um, give a recap of the many events and accomplishments from the month of
January here at Edison High School. To begin with extracurriculars activities, January has already been a busy and exciting month. Earlier this month, students participated in the model UN conference where they demonstrated strong leadership skills, collaboration, and global awareness. And the student
council also hosted a Lego building contest which is a huge success and results were our sophomores and juniors tying making it a fun and compet competitive event for everyone involved. In addition, we recently held auditions for the school talent show and we're looking forward to see those
performances later this month. Looking ahead, we have dance day coming up on Saturday, January 24th, and the student council will also be hosting a trivia night on January 22nd. And to wrap up this month, the White House the White Elephant charity fundraiser will also be held in our cafeteria Friday, January
30th. In terms of academic events, we recently hosted Alumni Day, which gave our upper classmen the opportunity to hear from former EHS graduates and gained valuable insight into the college experience. We also had the science honor society um inductions and our
second round of a seal of biiteracy exam, which took place in the cafeteria. Um, speaking of the cafeteria, we today students were also pleasantly surprised by the new updates and improvements made this month. We had new colors and table changes which added a fresh and
different touch to the space. And lastly, in athletics, we had a lot we have a lot to celebrate. Our wrestling team earned a major victory against Zaraveville High School, making the first time Edison has defeated Zerville in over a decade. Congratulations to wrestling athletes Fernando Avalon and
Jeremy Naron, which with achieving their 100th career wins, making this the first time two wrestlers has earned a spot on the 100th win banner. Our cheerleaders are preparing to compete at NAC High School Nationals in Dallas, Texas, and we wish them the best of luck. Our swim team had an amazing senior night this
past Friday and earned a victory against Warlo High School on their senior light. Congratulations as well to our captains Pao Masias and Nan Canara on a successful season. And lastly, we would like to recognize our seniors of the month, Dana Khan and Aon Sahu for their
achievements and possible positive contributions to the Edison High School community. Overall, January has been a strong energetic start to the new year. And good luck to all our AHS athletes competing in GMC's this Friday and Saturday, and we're looking forward for the many months ahead. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Miss Sharma. >> Good evening. Good evening everyone and happy new year. My name is Anuja Sharma and I'm so excited to be here representing JP Stevens High School. As we wrapped up December and enter January, I'd like to take a moment to
reflect on the energy, talent, and school spirit that filled our building before winter break. To kick off, student council hosted a talent show that highlighted the creativity and diversity of our student body. Students took the stage to perform in a variety of ways, including dance, singing, and
piano. And ultimately, a standout performance by Dean Jay Devon, who impressed the audience with his MCOM routine, took home the win. Our music department had an especially busy and exciting month. The choir and band both visited students at John Adams and
Woodra Wilson Middle School, sharing their talents and inspiring younger students by giving them a glimpse of the vibrant art culture here at JP Stevens. In addition, all of our music departments hosted winter concerts showcasing months of hard work, collaboration, and passion. To close out
the month, December also brought our annual pep rally where we came together as a school community to celebrate our athletic teams. The rally highlighted the dedication of our athletes and reinforced the pride we take in supporting one another across activities and seasons with an opportunity to win
battle of the classes points with some fun games. Looking ahead to January, JP Stevens has an exciting month in store. Student council will be hosting family feud, bringing together the community in an interactive way and mirroring a popular game show with questions and
challenges. DECA districts marks a significant moment for our business students as they apply months of preparation, collaboration, and problem solving skills in a competitive setting. For our athletes, January is a critical point in the season with league games and GMC competitions that reflect the
dedication and teamwork built through daily practices. We're so excited to carry the momentum from December into a new year filled with opportunity and school spirit. Thank you. >> Thank you. Now I'd like to invite Mr. Tom White to
recognize our students. Mr. Tom White Good evening everyone. My name is Tom White. I'm supervisor of visual and performing arts. I'd like to welcome all of you to our January high school student recognition night. First, I'd like to thank the board of education, Dr. Alderelli, and our central office
administration for hosting this event. I would also like to thank our principles, Mr. Ross and Dr. Kim, for attending this evening. This evening, we'll be recognizing student achievements from September through December. Tonight we are trying something a little bit different. As your sport and club or
ensemble is called, please walk to the front of the auditorium for a quick photo before returning to your seat. The photo location is going to be in that corner over there by the big screen and we'll try to gather there as as groups. So if if your name is called as an
individual, come down as an individual. If you're part of like a large group or ensemble like the marching band, we'll take a group photo instead of individual photos. Also, make sure that you stay to the end of the program because we'd like to do one big group photo with everyone receiving a recognition tonight. So, to
start us off, first I would like to introduce Mr. Charles Ross, principal of Edison High School. Sorry, the auditorium is so big. I um took me a while to get down here. Uh thanks to everybody for on the board of education, Dr. Alderelli and his staff,
of course. Of course, to all the parents for giving us this opportunity to shout out not only what's great about Edison High, but what's great about Edison Township Secondary Education. Thank you young people for your great discussions about what's going on well in the schools. And without further ado, we're
going to start calling some people down. I'm not sure where the cameras are in this setup, but we'll just keep going through. I'll make do my best. When your name gets called, we'll have a little pause. We'll bring you up if you're here. Again, Edison High never closes. So, I've got a lot of people that are involved in winter sports. I've got a
lot of people uh studying for exams. I've got a lot of people working. One of our people is at their first job working for Edison Pizza. Uh, normally I shout out Loiato, but some of our people are out there doing those types of things, so they may not all be here. Starting it off with this year, we were pleased to
have four National Merit semi finalists. We have Analise Dantes, Ritzik Bannerjee, Elena Shindai, and Ishan Kunoir. And we also have our she was already shouted out today, but it never hurts to remind people. Creating a portrait of
the graduate poster for Edison, Miss Selena Luhan. For our CJ, MEA region Symphonic Band and Filarmonic Orchestra, we have Parth Sha, Sophia Woo, and Irene Cho.
And Irene Cho was also in the region orchestra as well. Getting to our fall sports, while we did not always get all the results we wanted on the fields, we knew that we demonstrated our character and we demonstrated our heart in all of the things that we do. Um, he also got a
big award and I was there to watch him on the field at Giant Stadium this year. Our USA football heart of a giant the finalist was Victor Flores. Football first team all division for the national silver division were Gavin
Boslett, Sha Garland, and Logan Ulosus. All right, I see some of the red and gold in this audience for this group. So, please come on down. For girls soccer, the all-white division certificate, Kimberly Ooa Perez, Emily Pregnol Lotto, Samantha Striker, and
Kate Wade. That's under the direction of Coach Morelli. under the direction of coach Ruben. I know he's here in the building, our all-white division striker, Emmanuel Costas, >> right behind you.
>> For girls tennis, all red division, Nandini Chandra going to Skidmore, by the way. Girls volleyball all-white division. Amy Sed and Yashira Ortiz.
Boys cross country all-white division. Abraham Johnson, Aaron Johnson, Bryce Hickerson, Sanchez, and Nico Schneider. Also the white division champs this year. For one of the first times in almost 50 years, we've gotten some type
of recognition for cross country. We had Abraham Johnson, Aaron Johnson, Bryce Eddie Schneider, Waqen Sanchez, Nico Schneider, and Vanca Naga Cartik Koo. So give it up for that white division championship for the girls cross country all-white
division. She was also a national merit semi-finalist. Analisa Dantes and Anna Wang for the FCCLA fall leadership conference. You know, we like what's red and we also like what's gold. The gold award winners were first place gold was
Ishan Javari Cavan Mavia Yashavei Compella Arian Anada Nimit Patel Pratul Harry Harpandi also first place gold for child development Rishita Jambula Retika Gonka Karen and first place gold for
membership manners Hassini Vumagi and Shrea Poutell. Thank you all very much for coming out tonight and appreciate again the opportunity to recognize what's great about SNI. >> Good evening everyone. I'm FA Kim. I'm the principal of John P. Stevens High
School and I'm very proud to uh recognize the following students. So we're going to start first with our National Merit semi finalist. Um, Criti Argal, Prrenav, Bolero, Chitra, Donat,
Taneni, Gia, Fletcher, V, Prrenav, John, Amaretti, Aush, Juuthani, Om Lad, Cindy Lei, Arav, Mago, Sara, Nahar, Druhi, Patel, Tria, Padki, Riti, Route, Abanav,
Sentil, Kumar, Aba, Tambbe, Pratius Odupa, Tanya Vish, Pranav Velumali and Berke Yilmaz. Also recognizing our Regeneron Science
Talent Search Scholars for 2026, Ashkat Santana Galapan and Burke Yilmaz. Moving on to our music ensembles like to recognize our ninth graders in the grade nine through six through nine gospel
choir. Rishab Girish Rishth Rishes Manet Via Sinha Grade 9 through 12 SAB choir Anushkabala and Drew Mirch Chandani Grade 9 through 12 ac capella
contemporary fusion Pritha Vedila Sanvish Sha Sharia Bansal and Trisha Hulikari. Now recognizing the CJ MEA regional choirs. First with treble choir Ambika
Kumar, Anuka Sawant, Ana Madihara, Anushka Bala, Rita Vedula, Rachel Lopez, Sanvi Chukakar, Shria Dashna, Sara, Jooshi, Tanishi Ashana, Trisha
Hulikari and Reinda Krishnan. In our mixed choir, Akshana Sharma, Arit Malhotra, Akira Kilson, Arian Tusakani,
Arushi Ven, Venataragan, Duv Mirendani, Amani, Kandikar, Manat, Anand, Marcy, Dangerville, Meu Core,
Nikul Malu, Rishab Girish, Rishth Manet, Sai Alahari, Shah Bansal, Tran Arjie, Sara Jadav, Risha Rajesh, oh sorry, Vara Raj,
Vica, Sinavasan, Victor Ogan, Nami, and Vasha. Moving on to CJMEA regional orchestra, we have Aana Sha, Aditia Ready, Aunt Seth,
Katherine Woo, Jacquellyn B, Joel Onadi, Leilani Gupo, Neil Bosali, Nha Thot, Prrenav Mur, Pritvi Manoj, Schlak Kumar and Yashwant
Balagur Sami. And we are now recognizing the entire marching band, our marching hawks, group 4A state champions. I'm not going to read every name, just going to say the entire marching band. Congratulations to that entire band.
And if you're here, come on down for a picture. Come on down. We want to come down. >> Come on. Come on. >> I don't have names. >> Have the marching band come down. >> Can the marching band please come down
to the pit area for members picture? >> Just the marching band members. >> We're going to try to take a picture. >> Come on. Don't be shy. >> They have an excellent watch. >> Yeah. Yeah. We were at the competition, right? Yeah. It rained.
>> Yeah. >> Oh my god. I got a closeup of Obama. >> Where is Obama? Some little guys here look like >> Yeah. >> Put some >> Look at that. Need to get some on. >> Yeah. Some of them. Can you You want to
sit on the stage? Can you sit on the stage? >> Sit. Yes. Yes. There you go. >> There you go. >> The TV over >> the last row. Just Just sit on the stage. >> Back the TV over. You guys, >> hi Mahi.
>> My coach is so upset. I left early. was short and I still I only >> picture Let's go. Congratulations. I can't. >> You really think they got all those
people in that one shot? I got it. All right. So, as you're taking your seat, we actually still have another section of band students. We have all the students who made region band. So, when I call your name out, you can come back
down for your photo. Um, so we're going to start with Sai Burough for flute, Devon Sha for flute, Vin Bapot for obo, Yuven Amala clarinet, Sajjin Kim
clarinet, Neil Gar clarinet, Rishi Balaji clarinet. Thomas Wang, clarinet, Akshath Nagara, Alto clarinet. Eileen Lou, alto
clarinet. Sahil Kulcarnney, bass clarinet. Dev Zavi, bass clarinet. Tasine Afro, >> bass clarinet. Anudep Gagan Varapu, bass
clarinet. Jonathan Jiang, Alto Saxs. Sarth Kumar, Tener Saxs. Aneru Anir. Yeah. Anerude Sincara, Tener Saxs, Aravkumar, French
horn. Johan Krishian, French horn. Aiden Chow, French horn. Virandrew, French horn. Prrenaf Bolero, trumpet. Prrenav Velumali trombone. Aven Rajakal
trombone. Tania trombone. Raguir Balaji trombone. Bar sheet >> sit on the stage. >> Uh Chulum bass trombone. Vivot puchal pali euphium.
Shray sawal tuba. Ashen Nadpura. Tuba. Neil Konenbomb. Tuba. Manav Chitaretti. Tuba. Avishi Kantan percussion.
Teeth Shaw percussion. Arian Ray percussion. Krishna Babu percussion. Suesh Paluvoy percussion. Adweight Kulcarnney percussion. Rahul badumar
kamar percussion. Aan setupali percussion. Schllock Boru percussion, Agria Ganesh percussion, Mayha Pit Co Core mallets, Chris Yang
mallets, and Brinme Soin Tony. me. All right, we're going to now move over to the athletics and we're going to start with football. All division first team, Jesse Palmer,
Joshua Collins, and Zamar Rafford. We have girls volleyball all red division. Amy Han Glattis Diaz Dear Rosa, boys soccer, all conference, all division.
Josh Sha, boys soccer, all division. Nathan Skar Riddim Chaduri, girls soccer all-white division. Nha th girls soccer all-white division all
conference. Jasine Chen girls soccer all conference. Shinjini Chandra girls crunchy all division. Arya Sinha, Sara Nahar, Sanvi Sha, Sia
Gupta, Tanvi, Anam Maraju, Boyce Cross Country, All Division. Neil Bosali Vanch Singh, boys cross country all division all conference. Adv Advate Jadas.
All right. And our last category is FCCLA fall leadership conference earning first place gold absent education with a perfect score John Ai Singh Lakshana via Sara Manujam
Sai Rishita Kona first place gold say yes to FCS perfect score Kayla Bonnet Kira Gwell First place gold, web connect. Perfect
score, Annayia Ana Raja and Rutha Sarah Van Van. First place gold circle time, Anvita Singhal, Manasvi, Ambawali and Ria Rana.
First place gold community counts Drew Drewi Patel, Jenna Trotman, and Sonia Talwar. First place gold, consumer clout, Arya Ja. First place gold cultural food fusion
Raj Ganesh Sinavasan and Virandra Ratula. First place gold FC CLA chapter spotlight Titana Palasum Rudom and Gia Kohi.
First place gold Illustrated talk issues that impact food and nutrition. Krisha Patel, Mayha Sha, first place gold, illustrated talk, personal family finance, Ipsita
Pathna, Monvita Adapala and Prithvi Manoj. Second place gold t-shirt expressions, Issha Patel, Gia Ashar, Sai Lassia Kmenini. Second place gold, absent education,
Aparnaire and Hassini Yed Laali. Second place gold, illustrated talk, personal family finance, Aman Khan, Kira Jat Singh and Prrenav Tokar. Second place gold, membership matters,
Emma Desa and Mara Rajput. Second place gold, what's the buzz? Nandini Aurora Sisha Jooshi and Deb. Third place gold, battle of the budget,
Advia Bade, and Kushi Matani. Third place gold caregiver cariel Shazia Puani. Third place gold financing your future Anuman Masharma and Shredi Gar.
Second place silver food fascination Adenlu Pisha Manmadar and Vivana Satani. First place silver, food fascination, Akshai Santokumar.
And our last category, third place silver, illustrated talk, issues that impact child development and an education. Kisha Shaw want to congratulate all our students being recognized this evening. Thank you
so much. And now Mr. White. How about one more big round of applause for all of our honores? Now, any additional group photos will take place in the front lobby after our ceremony. This officially concludes our recognition night ceremony.
Congratulations to all of our students being recognized this evening. I would like to return the meeting to our board of education president, Mr. Vash Patel, to begin tonight's business. Thank you and have a great night. Drive home safely. >> Okay. >> Okay. We'll reconvene the meeting.
Uh review of the agenda item. Dr. Ali. >> Great. Thank you so much, uh Board President Patel. Um, as uh as with practice, we will uh review the items on the agenda as this is a combined uh caucus and action meeting. Um, as you
can see, we have our personnel agenda in relationship to the appointments, resignations, change of status, leaves of absence, as well as district-wide programs. As we move along, we have a motion for school board recognition month. the very talented volunteers that
sit alongside of me. The words on this page don't capture the um amount of effort that you put in each and every single day to your responsibilities as board of education members. I thank you so much. I know I speak on behalf of all of the administrative team, central
office and teachers and thanking you for the work that you do each and every single day. resolution attached um for your reference as well and I believe you have certificates at your at your desk as well. Um we have our student recognition which is attachment uh as
well for the students that are being acknowledged tonight. We have the approval of the December 25th Hib report as well as to affirm the findings of the uh uh appeal as well as presented. Uh we have our settlement agreement um for the
Edison Township Board of Education as well. Under curriculum instruction, uh we have a few courses here that we are looking to expand for our programs, elective courses, programs that are associated with ourmies as well as well as our monthly professional development
for the staff here in Edison Township. Last but not least, we have our special pupil services section, our out of district placement students um as well as academy tuition for um our students at the uh Edison success. That concludes
my uh report. Uh thank you very much. I will now turn it over to my colleague, Mr. Toth. >> Thank you, Dr. Alderelli. Uh first up on my section is our standard financial reports followed by our contracts of which there are none this month. Uh we have a pretty lean agenda. Um next up
under procurement uh we receive bids for the HVAC project for Washington JMP and JMI uh schools which we're going to be awarding this evening. Uh this is uh pretty exciting. These are three buildings that we are going to fully air conditioning um with the plan of moving
uh on beyond that to other buildings. Uh item four is prek. We're going to be approving contracts for our private providers for our FY26 preK program, followed by a change order that we have on the John Marshall project for some electric, fire alarm, and structural steel work. And then we
move along to our transportation report, uh, for which we have no routes to approve at this time. Thanks very much, Doc. >> Thank you. Uh, public comments for resolution only. >> Seeing none, I close the public portion. Second. Okay. All in favor? >> I
>> I motion to approve personal report. Anyone? >> Motion. >> Second. >> Roll call. Mr. T. >> Mr. Azarello. >> Yes. >> Mr. Erico. >> Yes.
>> Mr. Patel. >> Yes. >> Miss Angina Patel. >> Yes. Miss White, >> yes. >> Mr. Shei, >> yes. >> Miss Pang, >> yes. >> President Patel, >> yes. >> Motion carry.
>> Thank you. Motion to approve your administration, curriculum, and instruction and pupil special services. >> Motion. >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Mr. Azerello. >> Yes. >> Mr. Erico. >> Yes. >> Mr. Ronak Patel.
>> Yes. >> Miss Anja Patel. >> Yes. Miss White, >> yes. >> Mr. She, >> yes. >> Miss Pang, >> yes. >> President Patel, >> yes. >> Motion carries.
>> Motion to approve finances. Motion. >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Mr. Azerella. >> Yes. >> Mr. Erico. >> Yes. >> Mr. Ronac Patel. >> Yes.
>> Miss Anja Patel. >> Yes. Miss White, >> yes. >> Mr. She, >> yes. >> Miss Pang, >> yes. >> Mr. Vishel Patel, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. Now we have committee reports for curriculum and technology committee.
Miss Pang. >> Okay. I thought it's four. Okay. So, the curriculum committee was formed on January 9th and within two businesses we had our first meeting. So we usually didn't waste any time. As chair of the committee, I'm really happy to report that all the initiative introduced last
year are being developed by our administration. So in elementary school, Wonder Wednesday has been launched in all grades, all schools. Our teachers have been using AI tools to design engaging hands-on projects that often extends learning beyond the classroom.
These projects have sparkled creativ creativity, curiosity, and teamwork among students. And from the videos and photos that's shared with our committee, it's clear that our students are having a great deal of fun while learning. And to me,
that's success in education to make our students love learning. Now, for our secondary schools, um, you ready for the exciting news? We are adding 14 new courses. At the middle school level, we are introducing new guitar lessons. At
the high school level, students are seeing new offerings in music, dance, and digital media, photography. We're also introducing new social study courses called power, identity, and society. In the technology and career focus area, we are adding courses in
aviation, engineering, finance, andware awareness, business principles, and robotics 3 at two high schools. I would also like to highlight the new the success of our twommies launched last year, biomed and computer science
academy. More than 600 eighth grader students applied, meaning nearly half of our all eligible students are taking advantage of these opportunities. This strong interest level of interest really is another example of the board
listening to and addressing the needs of our students. The bio medical academy will add a new human body system course for 10th graders. And for computer science academy, we're adding three new courses, web development and design, AP cyber
security and AP networking. And finally, as promised last year, we are launching the new academy, new business academy this year. And to support that, we are adding a new courses, new course AP business and finance. All the courses uh additions
and updates have been incorporated into the 26 27 programs program program studies. And for those who are concerned about the placement criteria, good news is that they remain unchanged. So the entrance criteria for all courses
andmies for 26 27 years are the same as last year. No surprise for students and parents. Another hot topic discussed in is to continue exploring the use of AI across
all subject areas. Focus on how AI can enhance teaching and learning by making instruction more engaging, dynamic, and efficient. As a computer science major myself, I see AI as the next major wave in
education, and we cannot afford to miss. So, I'm really proud to say that our district is in the leading position in this area across all New Jersey school districts. Last but not least, we remain focused on workbased learning. In another word,
jobs. Today's job market is really tough and it will be more challenging with the growth of AI. We need to give our students a head start through the real world experience while they're still in school. So since last year the committee
has worked with our administration and identified for 40 40 plus internships for our students both paid and unpaid and we are determined to expand that work by partner partnering with vendors business companies and and anyone and
this is where I wanted to call out for support. So if you are a business local business owner or have connections with companies, colleges or any organizations interested in hosting or mentoring our talented students, please reach out to
the board or to our administration. This is truly going to be a win-win situation for our students, our schools, and our communities. I know this meeting meeting minutes is really long, but I'm truly excited to share all the developments in our schools and I shouldn't I feel like I
shouldn't leave anything out. In closing, I want to thank all our administrators and supervisors for attending the meeting, giving us great presentations and addressing our questions. I would also like to thank board member Vishel Patel and Ron Patel
for their participation and collaboration. This is this was a truly uh very productive meeting. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Bang. Um, public comments. >> Sorry it took so long to get up here fighting with a big crowd that's here.
Matt Revnack, ETA president. Uh, first of all, I'd like to, uh, commend the board. I know it's National Board Recognition Month. So, uh, thank you for all you do, um, for that big Z paycheck. I know was mentioned before and I've said it a number of times up here. Um,
the time and commitment, you know, we don't always see eye to eye with everything, but I do believe we do have a overall good working relationship and no one can ever question the time and commitment that people make volunteering. So, thank you for what you do. I also want there's two um recognitions
coming up. School counselor week is February 2nd to February 6th. So, thank you to our school counselors, especially in the current day when obviously the big topics are and all our counselors are become more and more important in
our students lives. And on February 15th is school resource officer day. So, thank you to our people that again help keep us safe. Um, I also want to just mention two things. Um, as you know, uh, first time in eight years today, we have
a new governor. So, I'm sure she's home since she has nothing better to do and watching the Edison Board of Education meeting. So, I just want to again wish, uh, Governor Cheryl good luck, hopefully lead us in the right direction, make sure we get our school funding and, uh, you know, continue to do good things for
education. And finally, um, and it's actually ends up every year this way, we have our ETA volleyball tournament for three, uh, Edison charities. Unfortunately, as always, it's on a board caucus meeting.
So, I will invite the board and all. Many of you have stopped by before the meeting. It's right here at JP Stevens. The uh, event starts at 6 o'clock, so you can come over, say hello, etc. like usual. And then, you know, unfortunately, you have to head out for
the caucus meeting. I was actually hoping to get like the board and maybe the administration getting a team together, but unfortunately with the conflict, that's not a possibility. Uh, February 19th and snow date in case it does snow is uh February 26th and
that's here at JP Stevens. Thanks. Have a great night. >> Thank you. >> Well, so so Matt, I think your wish is going to come true. We are we are going to form a team and participate. I I was just talking to Dr. Alurelli. We'll move our board meeting. So, we are going to
have district and board team that will participate in the ETA's volleyball tournament. >> Awesome. Just let me know for sure. Text me the names and also this way we'll get you on the um >> you know your roster together and uh put you as part of it. That's great to hear. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you.
>> That's a championship team. >> Anyone else? Yes, please. Mr. Good evening, Mr. Ross, principal, Edison High School. Thank you again for having us up. Um, of course, before I get into the what's great about Edison High things, be remiss if didn't mention
the reason we were all off yesterday, um, the holiday celebrating the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., what we always talk about at Edison High and uh we talked about some of the empowered things. Dr. King was always about action, always about love and what he called that thing was agape love. And
I know a lot of people watch this at home, maybe if we took like maybe five minutes, put a timer on our phone and went and watched instead of scrolling through our Facebook feeds, seeing what the class of 1985 was doing, we could sit there and watch about 5 10 minutes of some of the speeches of Dr. King and
be inspired by him and his love. One of the quotes that always stuck with me was, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that." Dr. King said, "I decided to stick with love because hate is too great a burden to bear." Just as we do
all of these things, recognize that as we help students, we're being of service to other. He also said, "If uh anybody can be great because everybody can serve." So, appreciate all of your service and the service of our staff. Now to get into some of the what's great stuff. First off, want to shout out um
some of the service was our custodians and grounds under uh Mr. Scott Murphy and Mr. Arnold Palmer I mean not Mr. Arnold Palmer, Mr. Will Cold Boss um for getting the schools ready and open for us today even though it was freezing cold. Um you know the the parking lots were clear, the sidewalks were clear,
the kids were able to get there and get in. So thanks to those custodians and grounds people that got up extra early, worked over the weekend and made that happen. Um, thanks to the construction workers that's still going on on the softball field. Even with the cold, they're still working to keeping those projects moving on both the softball
field and the orchestra room. Also want to shout out, we've got a choir bingo night on February 7th and March 6th is the single best tricky tray in Edison. That's for the our fantastic marching band. One of our students was the one who's who's helped set it helping to set
that up why he couldn't come out tonight. And he's also the one working his job. Again, I appreciate everybody's time and I hope everybody takes some minutes to um contemplate some of the great works of Dr. King. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone else?
Okay, I see. >> Motion to close. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I I >> Well, I missed the one curriculum committee report. The meeting just happened today. So, I'm going to have, you know, Mr. She give the committee report for the communic community engagement committee.
>> Thank you. So, uh, this afternoon, right before the, uh, the BOE meeting, we had a, uh, community rel community relations parent advisory committee meeting in the library at 4:30. The attendance is myself, Angela Patel, Shannon Pen, and
Jeannie White. Uh, from the administration side, we have Dr. Alelli, and Heza Daniel. Um the committee met to discuss district engagement initiatives aligned with the committee's 2026 version of vision.
During the meeting, the committee discussed efforts to strengthen communications with all members of the community through additional coordinated digital outreach and periodic district-wide print m uh mailers. These
initiatives are intended to reinforce the value of public education and ensure clear, consistent, and accessible communication in multiple platforms to all Edison Township residents. Mr. Daniel would also provide the committee
with a metrics report of current engagement rates uh engagement rates and trends. The committee also initiated plans to introduce board of education office hours as a new opportunity for community engagement. Dates and details
will be forthcoming uh with the first session anticipated in February. Office hours will be uh offered once a month during both lunch and evening hours. Community members are welcome and engaged encouraged to meet in person
with two BOE members per session with sessions structured to promote in to promote informal conversation and accessibility. Additionally, the committee is initiating a new student board relation
ad hoc committee to further elevate student voice and engagement. Applications for participation will be uh released early next week and students selected to serve will receive service hours in recognition of their
involvement. Thank you. That's my report. >> Thank you. Uh board member comments anyone? Nobody. >> Hey, I'd just like to add my thank you to the to the guys in grounds and
maintenance for doing that. Such a great job. They work so so hard and they make everything so easy to get to and especially this storm was terrible. You know, you cleaned up and then bingo, it was back again. Good job, guys.
>> Thank you. Well, I think I I want to give kudos to all the board members for signing up for additional volunteer time for open office hours. Um it's not something you know anybody has to do but every single board member you know signed up to give additional time
to be present at the open office hours. So thank you for that. And with that motion to adjurnn. >> Motion to close. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Thank you. meeting at J.