To the flag of the United States of America to the stands one indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> The New Jersey Open Public Meetings law is enacted to ensure the right of the
public to have advanced notice and to attend the meetings of public bodies in which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of the act board of education as notice of this meeting to publish on February 16th, 2025 and posted on the district website
at www.flv.com published in the board's designated online media outlet newspapers, the record in Star Ledger, filed with the clerk of the burrow of Fort Lee and mailed to all persons if any have requested said notice. Please be advised that this meeting is being taped and may be broadcasted on local TV and the
district's website at a future date. The open public meeting act allows for remote participation at board meetings and defines meeting as any gathering whether corporal or by means of communication equipment which is attended by or open to all of the members of the public body held with the intent on the part of the members of the
body present to discuss or act as a unit upon the specific public business of that body. Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Buyers K, Miss Mrs. Curry here. Mr. Knight
Mrs. Cot here. Mr. Lopez, Miss Morell here. Mr. Rabino >> here. >> Mrs. Dair >> here. The board will be convening to executive session to discuss legal personnel and other confidential matters. The board will reconvene into
public session at approximately 7:30 p.m. I have a motion to go into executive session. >> Motion. >> Second. >> Motion Curry, second forino. All in favor? I any oppose? >> I pledge algiance 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. The New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice and to attend the meetings of public bodies at
which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of the act board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be published on February 16, 2025 and posted on the district website at www.fle.com lb.com
published in the board's designated online media outlet newspapers the record of the star ledger filed with the clerk of the burough of Fort Lee and mailed to all persons if any who have requested said notice please be advised that this meeting is being taped and may be broadcast on local TV and the district's website at a future date. The
Open Public Meeting Act allows for remote participation at board meetings and defines meeting as any gathering whether corporal or by means of communication equipment which is attended by or open to all of the members of a public body held with the intent on the part of the members of the body present to discuss or act as a unit
upon the specific public business of that body. Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Buyers K. Miss Kobach, Mrs. Curry here, Mr. Knight, Mrs. Pot here, >> Mr. Lopez
>> here, >> Miss Morell >> here, >> Mr. Raino >> here, >> Mrs. Rner >> here. The board convened executive session at 6:30 p.m. to discuss legal personnel and other confidential matters. Miss
Collazo, will you begin by sharing the superintendent report? >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Dctor. Good evening, members of the board, staff, families, and community members attending this meeting in person and remotely. We are unbelievably now just one month away from the opening of school, and our
teams have been working diligently to ensure that we are fully staffed and prepared for a successful start to the school year. From staffing to facility readiness, we are focused on making sure our students and staff are welcomed back to safe, organized, and a wellsupported
learning environment. To our families awaiting information regarding courtesy busing, please be advised that communication will be shared this week. We thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through ensuring that we have a safe and viable viable plan for this school year. In
regard to our harassment, intimidation and bullying or HIV report, we have had one reported case which was found to be unfounded. As for safety compliance, all required safety and security drills for July 2025 have been completed in
accordance with state regulations and requirements. Additionally, I'm required to provide at this time the student safety data system or SSDs report for the second period of the 2425 school year. Across all schools in our district for this second period,
there were 99 incidents reported. 81 incidents led to student removal. Five involved restraint or seclusion. 64 alleged HI cases were investigated. 53 HI training programs were conducted. and we facilitated 115 programs related to
harassment, intimidation, and bullying prevention. Tonight, we are pleased to welcome the TLE group who are here to present updated information regarding the progress of our district's strategic plan. I would like to extend a sincere
thank you to everyone who participated in our community forums and responded to the thought exchange. Your input and partnership are truly appreciated and reflect a strong commitment to the future of our schools. Following the TLE presentation, I will share results from
our spring 2025 New Jersey graduation proficiency assessment and spring 2025 access assessment. Both assessments will provide us with essential data that guide our instructional planning and help us set targeted goals for student learning and achievement. So, at this
time, I'd like to invite Dr. Dr. Michelle Aino, Dr. James McLaclin, and Michael Clinko from the TY Group to the podium to present on the district's strategic planning process. Good evening and thank you to the board
of education for the opportunity to be here again with you tonight. We are honored to support your district in this important strategic planning process. And we know how deeply you care about the success of your students, your staff, and the community. And it's been such a privilege to engage with your
stakeholders and the various forums that we had, as well as your leadership team as we join you in shaping the vision of this work together. Tonight we're really happy and excited to share an overview of the work that we've completed thus far which are really uh the key themes
that have emerged, share some of the key feedback pieces and then of course um the foundational goals and objectives that will guide the next phase of the district's journey which will be developing action steps uh that will annually see the work through. So thank you again for your trust and partnership
in this work. So, J. So, just as a a quick review of this as we are going through um we are going to go through the process of strategic planning. We're going to share with you um some of the feedback from the
different forums that we've had and then really review with you what the uh goals were that were the priority goals as well as the objectives for each of those. So of course just supporting the development of the strategic plan that
not only crystallizes your district's mission. We really look at it uh strategic planning like a four-legged chair. Each of these critical areas really serve as the underpinningings for the plan for the plan to continue to be relevant. So what we wanted to really do
is make sure that through the process your district's mission and vision have been a part of the work through the state of the schools and then of course identifying the stakeholders building consensus around that shared vision. Um identifying clear goals for student
achievement uh operational efficacy and stakeholder engagement and then the the feedback from each stakeholder has really been key and then creating objectives as well. Next slide please. So it's been a multi-phase process as we've come and just as a quick overview
of where we've done we've of course had our initial consultation with stakeholders looking at the state of the schools making sure that the state of the schools was present before any of the analyses of the analysis that we were doing which was really the strengths the opportunities the aspirations and the results are really
important because we will be utilizing that with the leadership team as we are looking at the action steps that will be a part of that comprehensive vision. Um we were able to take all of the stakeholder feedback to really develop the key strategic goals which I believe
um Miss Plazo had brought forward to the committee as well and then drafted objectives for each goal. So this evening we're really proud to be able to present that information and then hopefully as we are continuing the journey we uh give provide some professional development and uh work
with the leadership team on strategizing what those action steps should look like as we are moving forward as a district. Uh the next slide just again a reminder of what the um what the ROI was with the work that we have done and we really uh condensed the process and made sure we
got to it. We wanted to go within the timeline that you had brought forward. So we brought the state of the schools template and worked with the team on the state of the schools. Uh there is a dedicated web page which we have uh linked there which has all of the progress documents. So what we made sure
we did was provide all of the feedback and thoughts shared by any community member and made that very visible for the community to be able to see what others were prioritizing. Um creating the uh draft plan on a page which I know
Mr. FO had distributed which will really be your guiding document and really making it a user friendly document that you can hand it out anywhere that you are hanging in the classroom people can keep it in their hands at all times and then of course going through that with you all this evening. Next slide please.
So the next uh number of slides we're going to uh look at at the different questions that were posed to the stakeholders. Uh the input that was gathered. Uh it's not an exhaustive view of that. Certainly that can be seen on
the board report that's on the web page that Michelle just alluded to. Uh however, we thought it was good for the purpose of tonight to just revisit uh the highlights of of the input that was received uh through the various phases
of the strategic plan process. Next slide, please. So you can see uh on this page here, we were asking uh what the strengths were. Uh we were asking the community to identify those things that uh that they
held dear uh that are present in the district, things that uh we would assume those stakeholders do not want to see go away that they would like to see uh continue uh and to build on uh because these are strengths uh that and you can
see from the ratings uh that many agreed upon. And uh there's actually two slides. Another one will come up in a little while. Uh diversity came up over and over again uh in various forms as a strength of the district. Whether it be student diversity or the diversity of
the community, the melting pot benefits uh that uh that that provides to the students who attend school here and to the whole flavor of education uh as it exists in Portland. Next slide please. Uh the community itself was also
identified as strengths of the district. The teachers who uh provide instruction to the students and who who support the students. Uh the uh way the community comes together around the students and the appreciation again of diversity that
the whole community holds. That's not always the case uh in communities that that diversity is seen as such a strength but it certainly was emphasized here over and over and over again. Next slide please. So again here uh it talks
about uh the student body, what students bring from their own experiences, how they contribute to one another and how they contribute to the educational uh to the educational picture that exists here at Portland. Next slide please. Uh
continuing with strengths of the district, collaboration among the faculty and relationships with staff. staff was really identified uh I think by just about everyone as as an area of appreciation as an area of strength for the district. Um whether it was
commenting on uh teachers dedication, uh how they support students, uh how students feel they can interact with their uh teachers and other staff who u who are in our schools and uh basically
how staff members here make themselves better and in so doing make our students lives better. Next slide please. So we move from this baseline of what is
valued in the district, what do we want to make sure is maintained and built upon and move to what a strategic plan aims to do which is next steps. And to do that uh challenges were uh put in
front of the community and key challenges uh were highlighted. And so the next slides will uh address those challenges. Here uh you can see uh word themes that came about uh through uh
through this part of the uh process uh where these words came up over and over again in different types of responses. And it's a good one look. You'll see this slide for another area of of the process as well, but it's a good one
look to see uh what some of those key words are that tell us where challenges lie. Next slide, please. Here uh looking again at the uh thoughts that were shared and rated uh by so
many. Uh there are thoughts about the facilities and uh the infrastructure of the district recruiting and retaining talent and teachers. You'll see that in different forms uh turnover in central office and there are thoughts about
administration uh and maintaining a quality administration as well. Next slide please. the um challenges lead naturally to what the aspirations will be. What's what are
our hopes and dreams? What would we like to see happen over these next three years? Uh and what are we asking uh the school district to adopt in terms of next steps. And so here again uh are key
words that came about through this uh part of the process. um preparing um an emphasis on on on academics, uh providing opportunities, uh a commitment to excellence, uh communication. These
words uh again are commonly found in many different separate thoughts that were expressed uh by the stakeholders who participated in the process. Next slide, please. Here uh again we can see some of the uh samples of the thoughts
that were shared and graded upon. Uh important that students have opportunities keeping qualified teachers and being communicative. I think that was actually in our our last uh time with you. One of the themes as well that was emphasized was the the importance of
ongoing communication in all its forms. Next slide please. So identifying challenges, identifying next action steps and what are the priorities because obviously
there can be uh many areas that people want to address. But in order to be effective, the uh school district needs to highlight those specific areas to concentrate on. As we mentioned at the beginning of the whole process, the
whole idea of a strategic plan is to have a workable plan of action. Uh one that can be revisited because there are many distractions that come up in the course of any school district here where we have to revisit and say what are our priorities. So really this priority
piece is that last step before writing uh the objectives and if we could go to the next slide we'll see safety. safety came up as an absolute priority and I I'm I'm sorry I I did there was an item there before when we were talking about
thoughts that dealt with safety as well. Um this is a priority I think loud and clear this came up as as a number one issue uh and one again that you can see from the ratings many people emphasize
staff retaining and recruiting quality staff to work with students. staff was identified as a strength and it's clear that the community wants that to continue to be a strength but that takes effort and it has to be a priority in order for that to happen. Next slide
please. Uh again you'll see redundancy which is good. You want to see redundancy in thoughts uh when you have a process like this because it continues to provide uh basically a reliable process uh the more
we we see repetitive thoughts uh the more that we know that uh there is agreement around these issues. So we again see safety and we see staff being emphasized in these samples of thoughts that were shared. Next slide please.
sporting teachers uh student discipline which I think also created was um encompassed within the safety of students not only physical safety but their emotional safety in school and making sure that the environment in
school whether it's through uh school discipline but also as you can see here compassion um that we create learning environments where students want to be in school feel good being in school and are to learn in the process. The
environment as you can see here at at the uh the end of the sample again creating a safe and friendly and comfortable environment for students. Next slide please. And here again the the word uh grid which shows you those again repetitive
words that came out through the various statements uh in this process. Next one. We met last time. We had shared from that what the summary of priorities were and then the sore analysis let us drill
down a little bit more. But this summary of priorities as Jim had just shared certainly reflect the values and the insights of all the participants to provide that foundation for the strategic plan of course with the goal of overall success. So on the next slide, you'll see the priority goals
that were identified. And I think you saw these goals through all of these different um through all the different forums. If you had a chance to look at the website with everybody's feedback and and it's every thought, right? So you're seeing hundreds of thoughts on
each one, you're seeing a lot of overlap. So to Jim's point that's very good because that means that people are really aligned in their in their work as we are kind of scratching the surface on this. So the four goals really fall into four buckets. The first of course
communication enhancing parent staff and community involvement. The second goal security and safety. Loud and clear as an opportunity. Loud and clear as an aspiration and a priority for the district. Ensuring safety and security
in schools. School climate and culture foster a supportive and nurturing environment for students and staff. And then of course teacher recruitment and development again saw as one of the greatest strengths. But then that retention component was definitely a
layer of an aspiration and opportunity and there are there are further layers to peel back in making sure that that work is focused on the next several years. So attract, retain and support high quality educators. Why? To improve student achievement. That's why So everyone's walking through the doors
each day. So on the next slide, what we're doing is, and you'll see this also on your plan on a page, it's the beginnings of the work, is that each goal has that goal, which I've just reviewed, but then of course each objective. So we took the feedback
through all of the forums and crafted three objectives for each goal. And in the first goal of communication, one was improving communication channels. The second is enhancing collaborative opportunities between all stakeholders.
And then the third is strengthening relationships and partnerships. So one may say well what are the next steps because they seem broad. This is where we take the results and the aspirations those two uh thought exchanges and we'll be joining your administrative team
during your administrative retreat where really they're going to brainstorm what the different actions will be to focus on the upcoming year and then we will basically do it in a thematically chunked way to create action steps. So
one example when we were reviewing as just a sample um when we were reviewing this we will give the example of saying well when we were reviewing the data not knowing everyone's you know having that chance to meet with the op admin team we immediately saw you know we had to focus
on establishing streamlined and accessible platforms to provide feedback but then also it seemed like there was a high interest in in a a digital suggestion box or community forums things of that nature see to be a priority and you make it an action step
because the beauty of bringing the whole admin team in everybody has to lean into that action step for the year. Right? So those things aren't just happening at the district level, they are happening at the school levels. Different folks can decide what that's going to look like as they're carrying out their work.
The next slide looks at the the goal of safety and security. And when we looked at that, three objectives prioritized there would be strengthening security protocols and personnel. So there was a lot of talk about possibly increasing
security personnel. There was also a lot of feedback about training in and partnerships. So that felt like a really strong objective for the community to see. The board sees that as a goal optimizing supervision and infrastructure. So certainly that is
building based as well as district based. Um that could take a look you may see things about security cameras uh and programs when we return again or you may see things about um training how people are being placed throughout the building. What does that look like? And
each you know really drilling that down to an action step. And remember these action steps will be rewritten each year in this strategic plan. So you'll write the action steps. presented to the community, but then administration will report back at the close of the year to
talk about how they did to achieve those action steps. And then cultivating a proactive safety culture, right? That's got to be everyone's job and how is administration going to bring that into the staff to make sure that everyone knows their role in that culture of
safety. The next slide talks about of course fostering a supportive and nurturing environment for students and staff. So how how did the feedback look when we were writing that? The first integrating comprehensive social and emotional learning programs enhancing student
achievement and access to opportunities. Also an students feel better when they are achieving and when they have opportunities to be a part of the school or opportunities in the academics. And then of course promoting a culture of wellness and support.
And then the fourth goal is about in the next slide is about teacher recruitment and development. So enhancing professional growth and collaboration that came through everywhere really making sure that people feel like their professional work is being fed through
the school that they're able to collaborate. Fostering a supportive and inclusive work environment to implement a vision for high expectations and high quality instruction. again the reason we walk through the doors every day as educators student learning and then a
big piece of feedback was a development of recognition among staff but then also advancement opportunities and what can that look like what can an action step look like for that. So again, those objectives and these goals were really after looking at all of the the feedback
through all of the stakeholders. Um, and we really appreciated the opportunity to do that, but we also appreciated how aligned people were in in seeing people's feedback and then reading it as a priority. And I think that's really the first step to success in this
journey um that you're on. So in closing from our lens of where we sit today, we want to thank you again for your commitment to this process because making sure that it's something that everyone has with them at all time and knows the direction. It's a great thing
for a board or a staff or anyone to really talk about when there's ideas and say, "But how does that fit on our plan on the page and what the alignment is?" because this should be driving everything you're doing from your hiring to your school budget presentation to
even as far as you know your reports at board meetings um reports to board to talk about how everything you're doing links into that work. So we're excited about the path ahead and look forward to continuing this work with you and at this time we're really happy to open it
up for any questions that you have. Just had a quick question about action steps. You said we revisit them on basis and that would be um administration's uh
on this assessment of the progress on on each action set. Would that include community input as well each year or is it just um assessment? It's a great question and I think that you can certainly have that conversation about the community input
and and how that would be garnered right in the best way possible. Um I think first and foremost uh the assessment of it. So once they're developed, they'll certainly be presented to you by administration to share with you what the the district is committing to in one
year. And then uh probably our recommendation would be to revisit it late winter, early spring, and then again at the close of the year because what it's what's really important is to say midway through the year, this is what we've accomplished, but this is
still what our next steps are. And then talk about that again at the close of the year. And that has to really come from the feedback from administration uh coming together and saying these are the things that we committed to and this is how you see it in action and that's got to be presented. I think the most
appropriate way of course is starting the school year with your strategic plan and action steps but then also um presenting it to the the community likely through board meetings. Um but certainly as a district you'll decide the best path and it could even be hey
from a thought exchange perspective or however you garner your community feedback and the most effective I think it should be two-way. We will always recommend that because it's transparent, right? There's no denying when you look at the forum feedback. There's no mystery behind it. Everyone, as long as
no one's named and there's no inappropriate language, everyone everyone can see each other's thoughts and you know really what the top priorities should be. So that I think is a really um novel idea to be able to bring community. >> I think that some of the uh work that's
in here is also uh integrated. So when we talk about communication uh as being part of goals that the communication that will happen both at the district and at the school level whether it's through newsletters or
through a community forum or through uh other types of events that the school has. They will continue and they being the the school leaders to work with the community in all of its pockets in all
of its uh separate school pieces uh to revisit these goals and to get feedback uh as as this is going. So um that goal of communication uh is embedded in here so that there should be no mystery by the end of the year whether or not
people agree you uh a device such as thought exchange uh can be used as well to garner the assessment of the community which is a data point in itself uh as to whether or not these action steps are being made.
Also, just to just to add to that, if you took a look at the goals, I'm sure you can envision each one of those goals is kind of aligned to a certain committee on the board. And so along the way, what we can also do is meet in committee and share
action steps particularly whether it is pertinent to the curriculum committee, pertinent to the school school security committee. Um so that is how we can have a feedback loop as well. Um, and also as Michelle and Jim mentioned, at certain points in the year, do community
presentations to get feedback. >> Any other board members have questions? >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, T. So you are all open to um now view our presentation.
uh based on our the results for our spring 2025 and JGPA and spring 2025 access results. Um so I'm pleased to present these results to the community. These assessments are meant to provide
valuable insights into our students academic progress and help us identify both our successes and areas where we can continue to grow. Next slide, please, Jason. Thank you. So I will first present student performance
results from our 2025 access administration. Access stands for assessing comprehension and communication in English state-to-state and it is a national assessment tool used to measure how well our multilingual learners are
progressing in their journey toward English proficiency. For us, a multilingual learner is a student who is eligible for English as a second language or ESL and bilingual services. Next slide, please. Access is given annually to multilingual
learners in grades K through 12. It measures langu language proficiency across four critical domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It's important to know that this test is administered to students whether or not parents agree for their child to receive
ESL and bilingual services. Next slide, please. Students are scored on six levels of proficiency. Our goal is to move students through these six levels with levels four, five, and six, expanding,
bridging, and reaching respectively, indicating students are approaching or have achieved English proficiency. To exit our ESL and bilingual program, a student must meet a series of criteria, one being scoring an overall composite
score of 4.5 or higher on the access assessment. Next slide, please. This slide shows the participation rate of the spring 2025 access test. Out of the 605 eligible test takers, we received 580 valid scores, which is a
95.9% participation rate. Next slide, please. um to give um a bit more context the data that I'm going to present. This is an overview of our ML students years in program based on their grade level and
valid access scores. As you can see, the majority of our K through 4 ML students have been in the program for just one year and the numbers are lower at the intermediate school and there's a bit more balanced distribution in grades
seven and 8 and 9 through 12. Next slide, please. And now for our 2025 access results. This visual representation shows the distribution across achievement levels with our strongest performance in the
expanding level across most grade spans. Next slide, please. This slide introduces Fortb's access results from the spring of 2025. The data is presented by grade level band and proficiency level. Fort Lee tested
580 multilingual learners across all grade levels with most MLS being in the elementary grades. I'm pleased to report that across all grade levels, the majority of our students performed in the developing and expanding levels. Grades seven and eight show particularly
strong performance with 47.83% at the expanding level. And we see opportunities to increase performance of students reaching the bridging and reaching levels particularly in grades f excuse me 5 through 12. Next slide please.
This chart shows a comparison of performance trends over the last three years with respect to the percentage of K through six students that score four, five, and six. Kindergarten shows consistent growth, reaching 33%
proficiency in 2025. Grade four demonstrates excellent progress with 66% scoring four through six, which is an 8% increase since 2023. And grades 1, 2, 3, and five are showing that in these particular grade levels, we perhaps need to do some additional um
exploration and intervention. It's important to note that this data is not disagregated by the number of years students have been receiving ESL or by Google services. So that's a data point we'll need to explore further. Next slide, please.
Grades 7 through 12 access data reflects a similar trend of rising proficiency scores in some grade levels. Grade 10 shows um shows a remarkable improvement with a 37% increase from 2024, reaching 60% proficiency. Grades eight, nine, and
11 also show also show strong overall growth since 2023. Next slide, please. This slide represents a breakdown of spring 2025 access performance by subgroup. Students with multiple racial
um um multiple racial identities perform exceptionally well with 67% scoring four through six. And we also see positive representation across many de demographic groups. Next slide, please. This slide shows a comparison of
subgroup performance between the spring of 2024 and the spring of 2025 um access results. Um we do see quite um more than doubling their proficiency rate with our um black and African-American uh students and as we can see there's
some um slight improvement in other subgroups and in other subgroups there is some work to be done. Next slide please. This slide further details subgroup performance, highlighting different subgroups, specifically students with IEPs, economically disadvantaged
students, and students with 504s. Um, however, since the number of students with 504s who receive ESL bilingual services is less than 10, we cannot report on performance of this subgroup. And you will see that asterisk um on additional slides.
Next slide, please. This continuation further details subgroup performance, highlighting different subgroups of students, specifically students with IEPs, economically disadvantaged students, um, and students with 504s of comparison of
their performance. Next slide, please. So now for notable achievements with regards to the access data, the majority of students in all grade level spans are progressing through developing and expanding levels. And we also see
positive trends across multiple grade levels over three years. And several um subgroups are showing improvement year-over-year. Next slide, please. To support our multilingual learners, we will implement a number of um supports
in the 2025 2026 school year. In September, we will implement a new K through4 ESL curriculum as well as a new K through5 English language arts curriculum. Um we will adopt the Sgage reading program which is specifically designed for ESL and bilingual students.
We are also looking to increase our K through six ESL and bilingual staff to reduce ESL class sizes in the elementary grades. We will continue um to provide supplemental tools and targeted professional development. And as we await federal funding geared towards
supporting our MLS, we will look to continue offering our summer and after school tutoring programs um for additional support. Next slide, please. And now um we will shift to student performance on the spring 25 2025
administration of the NJGPA. NJGPA stands for New Jersey Graduation Proficient Assessment. Next slide, please. The NJGPA is a statemandated test. It is administered to all 11th graders and evaluates their readiness for graduation in English language arts
or ELA and mathematics. ELA is assign is aligned to grade 10 New Jersey student learning standards. Math is aligned to algebra 1 and geometry New Jersey student learning standards. Next slide, please.
Students who don't initially meet the minimum required um score that is set by the state have multiple pathways to meet the state's um assessment requirement um through multiple pathways such as retaking the test, taking alternative
competency assessments or portfolio appeals. Um, it is important to know though that at this time in order to be considered for a portfolio appeal, students must sit for the NJGPA. And as you can see at the bottom, um,
this legislation is pending state board approval in October. This slide reflects Fort Lee's MGTPA participation rate. It shows both the number of students tested as well as the percentage of valid scores. Fort Lee shows excellent participation rates
anywhere from 98 to 100%. um across our um both subjects and grades. Next slide, please. >> This chart shows a comparison between Fort Lee's performance on the NGPA and the state's performance by grade. And as
you can see, Fort Le significantly outperforms the state average um in grade 11. And unfortunately, we can't release the performance of our grade 12 students because the group that was assessed in grade 12 is less than 10.
Next slide, please. These district-wide results reinforce that portly consistently outperform state averages while identifying math as our primary focus area as we move forward. Next slide, please.
And here you will see grade 11 shows strong ELA performance at 89.7% graduation readiness and math at 70.4% 4% readiness. Next slide, please.
This chart shows a comparison in performance in English language arts and math between the 2024 and 2025 NJGPA administrations. And as you can see, ELA performance remains strong in grade 11.
Next slide, please. This is a three-year view showing how student graduation readiness levels have changed over time. It actually allows us to assess whether our instructional strategies are leading to long-term improvement. Over three years, English language arts has maintained excellence
while math shows some variability. Um the overall trend indicates stable high performance in the English language arts and once again as mentioned before the need for sustained improvement in math. This slide focuses on English language arts NJGPA results by subgroup.
Comparing performance between 2024 and 2025, we see positive trends in English language arts performance across most subgroups with over 75% of students achieving graduation readiness in every subgroup. Next slide, please.
This continuation further breaks down our uh performance by subgroup in English language arts. These results show positive trends across all subgroups with particular success in supporting our students um with disabilities who grew remarkably from
46% to 67% which is incredible progress that we would we want to sustain. This slide shifts to map comparing subgroup performance from 2024 to 2025. We see growth um in our black or African-American population and there is
some work to be done in other um subgroups. Next slide please. This slide provides a full picture of how our um other subgroups are performing in math year-over-year. We are happy to see growth in performance
in all subgroups again especially um with our students with disabilities. Next slide please. So looking at this year's NJGPA results, we've identified several key takeaways. 14 students consist consistently and
overwhelmingly continue to outperform the state average. We found that majority of students who took the NJGPA were deemed graduation ready in both ELA and math with especially strong performance in English language arts. We also saw considerable year-over-year
growth in ELA performance across both subgroups. One of the most encouraging areas of progress came from our students with disabilities who show significant improvement. That said, we do recognize that there is some work to be done particularly in mathematics. So, we'll
continue to explore strategies um on how to best assist students to progress in both content areas. Next slide, please. And as part of our ongoing response to our MJGPA performance, we will take
several several steps to support student success. As always, as we do each year, we will continue reviewing NJGPA results during departmental discussions to set clear data driven goals. uh we will ensure that our curriculum instruction and assessment remains aligned with
specific skills tested by the NJPA and because math remains an area for growth, we will implement targeted interventions with a focus on differentiating support to meet um diverse students needs. We will continue to use our benchmark assessment data, specifically STAR 360
to guide our instructional planning. And for students um who need additional help and are eligible, we will continue to offer tutoring beyond the school day to ensure we have ever every opportunity um to succeed. Next slide, please. So once again, thank you for your
partnership and support. Thank you to the administration, the teachers, the community, the parents, support staff um for their commitment to what we do every day and to our students. And that concludes the presentation. And Miss RTOR, that concludes my very long superintendent award.
>> Thank you. >> Yes. >> Okay. Yeah. >> Thank you. All right. Do we have um Thank you for your presentation. Do we have questions or comments from board members on tonight's agenda or any other
topic presentations you saw? Good night. Just have one follow question about talk about target. How quickly does that happen to students that are
not proficient? >> You talk louder. People can't hear you. >> Sure. Sorry. So my my question was um she talked about um targeted interventions and uh so I'm curious how soon how quickly does that start or
happen in the school year uh for those students that are identified. >> Correct. So it depends on um the source of funding that we're using. I know we're still waiting for our ESCA funding uh from the federal government um to to
provide those interventions can take approximately to identify the students and get all the paperwork done. That could take about you know 30 days so up to a month. Um however teachers have data at their fingertips when they walk into the school year. um within the first week of school, we are
administering our STAR 360 benchmark assessment and those results are immediate and so um our staff, our administration, they are able to use those results to begin to determine how to help students. The other thing I will say is that providing targeted intervention is not really new to our
staff. They already have uh I would say tools in their toolbox to pull from. Um so it's a matter of teachers coming in having access to the data and observing their students um for the first you know few weeks of school and starting the
support there within the classroom and then any support that happens outside the classroom is typically within the first four to six weeks of school. How telling is the NJ GPA NJBA compared to NJSLA? Is it is NJ SLA are you specific
specifically for math there the um the achievement rate passing rate was 7 proficiency rate was 75%. Is that what we see in the NJSLA beta as well or is there a misalignment in those two? >> So, it's difficult to tell because on
the NJSLA it's disagregated by math course. >> So, algebra, geometry. Um, so it's difficult to tell that. It would take, you know, a little bit of a look see, but the NJSLA is a more comprehensive assessment than the NJGPA, I will say.
Um so it just it just depends on taking a look at the individual um course but there are two different assessments right the reason why I'm asking this is that the NJA is taken in junior year and at that point it's really too late to do March
for well in 11th grade to do the one year left can we get in other words can we find out about it sooner earlier duty NJSLA so that these um students need additional support can get
support way before they take the well students take the NJSLA every year starting in grade three. So we do have data on those students for years prior to them if they are you know with us and if they take it um prior to them taking the NJ GPA. It's just that it's a very
different assessment. So it's comparing apples to oranges. >> And how do we ensure that um work with the classroom instructors so that these tests results are um being considered as they deliver their
lesson how? Yes. So I will just give you an example. last year um at the start of the school year there were department meetings um just for math for an example um they the math department took a look at sample
questions um they dissected them and they started to take a look at the types of questions that that they ask in their internal assessments and so to try to balance um out the question types the same was done with the NJSLA
particularly also for science So it's it's a matter of looking at that and and yes the content and the standard but also how is that standard being assessed in each content area can make a difference. >> I'm cautious that we don't look at the
matrix or one test to define our student body. I'm very cautious that we don't do that. Um I think that there's a lot of opportunity also in in math. >> Yeah. So I'm glad you said that because a one test doesn't define a student. Um so we look at multiple measures as well
as what that student does in the classroom every day during independent practice you know participation. So we look at these assessments as one source of data but teachers who consider the child in a more the student in a more comprehensive way. We rely heavily on
our star 360 benchmark assessment as well as our internal assessments that and our common assessments that are given in math. I hope that when students test result that they know, you know, to use that as a way to help them as well um and and not be discouraged by by by
one single number um to take the opportunity. >> Yeah, I understand. I think it's also important to remember that students have been taking standardized assessments by the time they become a junior. Unless they are new um um to our country or new to New Jersey, uh they've been taking
these types of standardized assessments for years. Yeah, just said, you know, 15 points differential math and reading is is excellent. >> Yes. And if you look at that, that's across the state as well. >> Thank you. You're welcome. >> Do any other board members have
questions or comments on anything else besides the presentation? >> Okay. Yeah. Go ahead. >> Question. Um, so there's a position there for today's Um,
um, does that mean that we're going to ultimately fill that nighttime custodian position or be vacating? >> So, it's not going to be vacated the ways. >> Yes. So the way the contract reads is that um the custodians are assigned
based on seniority. Um and so depending on where that custodian falls, they may be entitled to a certain time of day. So that's why there's that change, but it doesn't mean that the evening position is vacated. We just have to we had to do a restructuring of custodians.
>> I want to thank you D. I know it's been a lot on your plate in delivering this full report on top of the new responsibilities that you have acquired. So, thank you very much for taking your time and continue to continue to do everything
that is here. Um, regarding the the agenda 2s, um, I um I don't know much about this security company. I I know that they've met on the board. Um I know in the past parents
have asked that when we switch new companies that um that the security guard that are already um that already have relationship in certain buildings that they retain. Is this also going to be a practice that can be
continued with the new company? >> Yes, we are looking to do that. >> Yes. They want to thank you for also responding on 13 that we are listing usage of facilities. Um we do have a policy in place obviously for various
groups to use proper channel to apply for usage space. Um so thank you for sharing that information right now so we can other know how to do it more transparent about.
No, absolutely. Moving forward, we will be revising the chart to provide um more information. Thank you. You're welcome. Good with comments and questions. Okay. Um before we open the floor to the public, Mr. Taylor is going to read the
walk-in resolution that we talked about in executive session. board members. Thank you, Madam President. The resolution reads as follows. Motion to approve the submission of an application for minor subdivision approval as well as any related documents and filings by the
Burrow of Fort Lee to the planning board of the Burrow of Fort Lee related to the potential subdivision of the property known as the 10th Street baseball field. a portion of the property known as block 2951 block two on the tax map of the burrow
of Fort Lee. The board president, interim acting superintendent and/or board counsel are authorized to take any actions necessary to facilitate the preparation and submission of the application. >> What's the what's the number going to be? >> Oh yeah. What number is that on the agenda?
>> It's four. Four is on board. 4. >> It can be Yeah. 4 B is one. 4 B is a 4 B. >> 4 B is a boy. >> Yes. >> All right. May I have a motion to open the floor to the public? >> Motion Rabino, second Curry. All in
favor? >> Any opposed or abstensions? Okay. We will hear first from any members of the public physically located in the cafeterium tonight. Then we will take questions and comments from those participating remotely. Participants are all limited to three minutes in which to
make their statement. For remote public participants, please select the raise hand button. Mr. Roger will recognize each community member in order of the raised hands. Please unmute your microphone. Everyone, please state your name and address for the record and begin your comments. Again, you are
limited to three minutes. Do we have members of the public present this evening with us who wish to speak? Put it down. Hold on one second. He's going to get a different microphone. >> Hold on, Anastasia. >> Maybe just hold the microphone. Just
hold it really close so everyone can hear you. Yeah. Yeah. Spoke a little louder. I would like to talk about school. Now I say everything but this is very how
I talk about safety. If I do have to walk to school, it's going to be very unsafe. Long ago, I was at my garage and I was cutting. I was just I
actually sound like also talk about there's a bunch of school now about What is the substitute? What's the figure out there? I like to study a lot.
So when I get home, if I have to walk and when I get home, it's going to take a while for me to get home, which takes time off. So then I have to wait
to do my homework which I can't ask. I also have one more question. What kind of support will be distributed to the families who don't need help to get school? Thank you for your comment, Anastasia.
I'm very proud of you and I'm happy that you come to our schools. Um, I hear you. Uh, thank you for coming out tonight and sharing your your perspective. Um, you actually make our our schools very proud that you did that. Um, as I stated in the
superintendent's report, information regarding busing will be shared with families this week. Uh we are looking to add to our current buses through leasing. So we are hoping to fill those two buses in addition to additional
seats um that we have available. Anyone else in the room wish to speak? I started the clock already. Good evening. Uh my name is Keith Goslin, 2185 uh Le Moy Avenue. Um just gonna talk about a
few things and then I have one question. Uh I wanted to just invite everybody to the Fort Le night out tomorrow um where we celebrate our first responders and also it's the launch of the quiet house. So we're all very excited. Um
there's been like a million people that made that quiet house happen from the parents that started this advocacy and Fort Lee the friends of diverse learners group Sarah and Priy um Casey and Andrew
and Cynthia and Smeita and Nancy um it's just been like an avalanche and what we found that they did for me and my family was they made us uh feel not alone about McKenzie. So, um, it's pretty cool. Um,
and how good they made us feel is, um, why we continue to do what we do because we don't want any family in this town ever feel alone, no matter what they're up against. Um, so that's what that quiet house is. So, I I don't even have enough time even though I got a minute
53 to thank everybody that touched that. But special thanks to the mayor Mark and Harvey Summer, Brian Gungle, Mike Moresca, Dennis Riano, um, who did all the work in building this thing. It's amazing and I invite you all to come see
it. Uh, it's really going to be awesome and we're super excited. Um, and the only thing I wanted to ask about, I know you might have saw this come one day. Um, when will parents find out about bus tracking and um what they
need to do or download or whatever? >> Um, that will be prior to the start of start of the school year. So, within the next three weeks. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Are there Good evening, please.
Just remind everyone um that on August 29th, it will be at the Fort Le is having the second annual special education parents group meet and greet. It'll be at the middle school on the 29th. It is at 10 a.m. So we
encourage all parents and guardians students that have a 504 or IP to please come meet the child's play team and meet the uh administration. It's very very informal. Um again we're very excited
second hour. So please come on down to support. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Hey the date is August 27th. 27th >> Wednesday. August 27th. >> Okay. Okay. You're welcome. >> Hi Tom, Jersey
on. >> Yes, because sometimes it's really hard to hear when you're online. People don't see the mic. So, I have a few different questions. I don't know if it's easier to answer it. So, we have two out of placement districts on one CUR that are
$186,000 for two students plus 17,000 busing for one. The second says no busing, right? >> I just wanted to make sure. Or is that to be determined >> with the valley program? That's question
one. >> What are you referring to? One CUR? >> Yeah, one CUR. So, two children. Is there any way that we can get better deals or is it just that's what the cost is? >> That's what the cost is. >> Okay. So, the Union Street School and
the Belly um program school. And were these the kids that um we said we were going to try to bring back into districts? We were going to expand our special ed and then have them brought back into districts. I thought we had to
that had been said at another meeting that we were trying to expand that here so that we didn't have such high costs. The other question I have is here on 7F
the non-resident special education students. So are these students that we're bringing into our school but they need special education help. >> If I may just ask all your questions and then >> Well, I want to get answers just specifically on each one. Is that a yes
or a no? I I can't figure it out from what I'm reading. And then the first student says 14 10 Board of Ed grade 10. And then on ADF, it also is a social security or SID or whatever that is
ending in 14. But that says portly school grade 12. I'm just trying to figure out what the difference really is between 7F and 8F and tuition rates to be determined by the business office.
And then the 12 F are these NOS's giving us the money because this is non um public entitled grants. Do we have the name list of who is giving us the money?
>> The state. >> So the state >> okay >> I it's very simple to just the state is giving the money. >> So just disrespectfully the the simple protocol that the board has established is that members of the public I would also like to read just finish what I'm saying.
>> Check that. That's one of my things when there's simple point questions is as a board they could just be answered like simple. >> No, but it's not a back and forth as protocol bring it up to the board to vote on. So the protocol pursuant to the
open public meetings act we'll suspend your time >> but >> uh the the protocol as you are well aware is that the gives the public the opportunity to speak during public comment. You can make your comments
agenda that you wanted all the questions. >> So ma'am respectfully I wasn't cutting you off when you were speaking. I just want to give my response to you and other members may be listening again as you are aware because you are a frequent attendee of meetings whether it be online or in person the board respectfully gives you the
opportunity to ask your questions make your comments at the end of your questions or comments allowed time the administration and their board will respond so that it doesn't devolve into a back and forth and it doesn't quite frankly take up your time because one answer may take all your time and then
you still are asking why you can't have more time to speak. That being said, I would advise Miss Collazo um not to respond to your questions about individual students. Um to the extent you have because you're identifying individual agenda items which relate to
individual students. Those individual students, as you may know, have certain privacy rights under state and federal law. So the administration cannot and is advised not to comment directly on those students. >> Students is my question. So if you have >> that's my question. Are these different
students or is it a typo? >> If there is a general response about special education policy and rights and obligations by all means you can respond. Um but I can share with you that under the IDA individuals with disability education act which is a
federal statute that the state is required to comply with individuals with special needs i.e. students who are identified as in need of special services are entitled to certain um uh services, transportation, education in district, out of district. Those
services are uh triggered by what's called an IEP, an individual education plan. And so to extend that plan and require transportation, the district has an obligation to provide that within the confines of the law. >> So what is our total number for IDA for
our school that we are paying every year? That's one question. trans between transportation and education and out of district placement. I just want the number what our school is paying and what amount of kids are involved in that that actual number. I would like
>> I'm sure I'm sure the business office with the superintendent's direction get that for you and provide their time. That's something they can't answer the top of their head. I can guarantee that. So I would like it made public on a public paper for the stakeholders of our town to know what is the idea amount
that we are paying the amount of students that we have the transportation cost and the bus school cost that I would like. >> Okay. Thank you. Also your time is actually up next. Not you kept talking >> number 12 F the
>> the payments that was the other thing the supervisor of special education this is a new position for >> can you wrap up your questions because before Lester started speaking your time was >> no it was not >> you're well past three minutes even with
his speaking >> these are my questions about what you put to the public question they do not make sense I would like clarification on some of them. I >> if your questions have not been answered, you can email. >> Okay. So, I'm waiting.
>> So, I think you respond to 12F. I think that was the only one that might want to respond. >> 12F that that's funding that we received from the department from the state. >> That's good. >> For nonpublic entitlement. >> Correct. >> Okay. Excellent. Thank you. Is there
anyone else sitting in the audience that wishes to speak before we go to our remote? >> Okay, Jason, >> there are no no raised hands. >> Thank you. >> What? I'm sorry. We got to raise hands. Mah, you've been promoted to panelist.
>> Please unmute your microphone and feel free to share your video. Please state your name and address for the record. You have three minutes. >> Um, hi. Can you guys hear me? >> Yes. >> Um, okay. So, Mihel Kesco 54 Tom Hunter
Road and I would like to yell my time to Stephanie because I thought she was asking some interesting questions. I didn't get any answers fully. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comment. >> Are there any other raised hands? >> There are no more raised hands.
>> May I have a motion to close the floor? >> Motion Morell, second Rubino. All in favor? >> Any opposed or abstensions? Okay. May I have a motion to approve items 1B through walk-in resolution 4B? >> Motion second.
>> Motion morel second. Poten roll call please. Mrs. Buyers Missback Mrs. Hurry. >> Yes. >> Mr. Knight Mrs. Feng. Yes. Mr. Lopez.
>> Yes. Miss Morell, >> yes. >> Mr. Rabino, >> yes. >> Mrs. Richtor, >> yes. >> I have a motion to approve items 1 BNG through 2 BNG. >> Motion. >> Second. >> Motion. Morell. Second. Rabbino. Roll
call, please. >> Mrs. Buyers, Miss Mrs. Curry, >> yes. >> Mr. Knight, Mrs. Coten, >> yes. >> Mr. Lopez, >> yes. Miss Morell, >> yes. >> Mr. Rabino,
>> yes. >> Mrs. Der, >> yes. May I have a motion to approve items 1 F through 2F? 1 S through 2S. >> Motion. Motion. Curry. Second. Morell. Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Buyers K. Miss. Mrs. Curry.
>> Yes. >> Mr. Knight. Mrs. Coen. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lopez. >> Yes. >> Miss Morell. >> Yes. >> Mr. Yes. >> Mr. Director. >> Yes. I have a motion to approve items 1
c through 3 cur. >> Motion. >> Second. >> Motion. Morell. Second. Cotang. Roll call please. >> Mrs. Buyers. Miss Mrs. Furry. >> Yes. >> Mr. Knight. Mrs. Poteng. >> Yes.
>> Mr. Lopez. >> Yes. >> Miss Moral. >> Yes. >> Mr. Rabino. >> Yes. >> Mrs. R. >> Yes. May I have a motion to approve items 1F through 15F? >> Motion. >> Motion. Rubino. Second. Curry. Roll call, please.
>> Mrs. Bang. Miss Olga. Mrs. Curry. >> Yes. >> Mr. Knight. Mrs. Coten. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lopez. >> Yes. >> Miss Morell? >> Yes. >> Mr. Rabino? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Richtor? >> Yes. I have a motion to provide items 1
P through 25P. >> Motion. >> Second. >> Motion. Morell. Second. Rabbino. Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Bar, Miss Kovac, Mrs. Curry, >> yes. >> Mr. Knight, Mrs. Yes. Mr. Lopez,
>> yes. I have to repeat. >> Miss Moral? >> Yes. >> Mr. Rabino? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Richtor? >> Yes. >> Moving on. Is there any old business? >> Okay. Is there any new business? Just
wanted to comment on we have 25 personnel items. I imagine the HR office has been super busy. I want to thank everyone on boarding people and and please extend a welcome to everyone who's
join us. Um block scheduling is going to start at the high school. Yes. Um prior to school start we can have a reminder to parents you know what that means for their kids. So I think that'll be helpful. chose to refresh everyone's memory what the new schedule look like
and I want to thank the the entire board for working through the busing issue. We know what's legal, what's legal and what's right can sometimes be two different things. So I I thank you all for working so hard in the business office.
>> Thank you. Um, also in the audience tonight, we have our new special education supervisor special education, Mr. Anthony Mosscado. >> Really, really excited to have him. And
also, we have Miss Marott NG who was just um approved to be our new elementary school number one principal. just so that you learn their faces. Um they were gracious enough to appear tonight um at the board meeting. So welcome. Congratulations. Thank you for
coming tonight. Doug, do you have something? >> No. Okay. May I have a motion? Oh, reminder. Go ahead, Mike. >> Sorry. Thank God. >> In case you guys have been in prison or anything, Wednesday starts the 96 uh St.
Roco Festival. It's our 96th year doing it. We're grateful that we have our 11th and 12th graders volunteer help us out plus the adults to help us out. Courtley's oldest tradition and we're going to keep on going with it. >> Thank you.
>> Okay. May I have a motion to adjurnn? Motion second morel. Roll call. Oh, sorry. All in favor? Any oppose? All right.