We would like to bring call the meeting to order. Will you all please rise for the flag salute? >> 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. Pursuant to the Open Public Meetings Act, adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as follows. By having the time, date, and place of the meeting posted on the bulletin board in the administration building, January 8th, 2025 by sending a copy of the meeting
notice to the Star Ledger newspaper and the local source on January 8th, 2025. and by filing a copy with the township of hillside and public hillside public library January January 8th 2025. Roll call, please. >> Roll call. Miss Eguided
>> present. >> Miss Estraa here. >> Miss Hargrave >> present. >> Um VP Horton Given >> here. >> Dr. Howard is absent. Mr. Okai is absent. Miss Parks is absent. Mr.
Shapiro, >> I'm here. >> Okay, good. But I'm glad. All right. Um, Madam President, best >> present. >> Okay. >> Thank you. Um, as we start our last
meeting of the year, this year has flown by. Um, I want to just take a moment. There's been so many things that have happened um, this year and particularly in December, but I wanted to congratulate the first marking period
honoral students. Um the awards breakfast was last week and it was um I think it was about close to 300 students that were that made the honor roll the superintendence list um high honor roll.
So I just wanted to acknowledge all of those students and the parents of those students who showed up. Also um a shout out to our director of guidance Mr. Boang. Right. That's okay. Yes. Yes.
And the uh Hillside High School principal, acting principal, Manaka, and the vice principal, uh Hartwell. So, um we would like to have our student rep come up. I don't want to forget you.
Please welcome our student rep. That good. Yeah. >> Good evening everyone. Good evening everyone. My name my name is Jennifer. I'm here as Hillside High School student council board of education representative. In the month
of December, the student council hosted their winter spirit week from December 1st through the 5th which ended with our winter prep rally to recognize our winter athletes. The fall drama Radium Girls was performed on December 4th,
5th, and 6th. The students actors were wonderful, and there was positive feedback from the audience after each performance. A highlight was when Dr. Perez stopped backstage to chat with our crew and cast. On December 9th, the
performing arts club attended Artfest at Paper Mill Playhouse in Milburn, New Jersey. as a part of their participation in adopt a school program. The students participated in three workshops with professional teaching
artists. At the conclusion of the day, hillside students got the chance to perform on the paper mill stage with and for their peers from other schools. On December 6th was also the first JRTC competition. They won seven trophies.
They won the following. Third place in open academic. Third place in open color guard. Third place in let one color guard. Third place in let one inspection. First place in open inspection. First place in Iron Man. First place in Iron
Woman. And lastly third place in overall. And on December 11th the winter concert showcased performances from our band orchestra chorus and dance ensemble. The Hillside High School Counseling Department hosted a financial aid night
on December 11th and 18th in effort to help our seniors complete their FA documents. On December 10th, they also hosted an HBCU college fair and alumni mixer. On December 12th, the FBLA and Spanish
Club and DECA hosted Cookies with Santa for our hillside communities. On Tuesday, December 16th, the National Honor Society inducted 20 students who accomplished a rigorous application
process in order to earn a prestigious deduction distinction of being an a national honor society student. The hillside the hillside counseling department is excited to announce that
191 students earned their distinction of honoral, high honoral and superintendence list for the first marking period. These students were recognized with a ceremony in the auditorium followed by a breakfast in the cafeteria. Finally, on behalf of all
the students in Hillside High School, I want to wish you all a healthy and happy holiday season. And I'm I am excited to see you all next year. Thank you. >> My apologies. 291. >> Thank you for the report. And I just
want to say that Jennifer, you are doing a wonderful job. We are so happy to have you and I love that you have your support every every month. Um, so I'm going to turn it over to uh Dr. Perez. She's feeling a little under
the weather, but I'm going to try to help her as much as I can. Let me know if you need me to be your voice. And there's a gnat that's flying disturbing us up here. That's what that was about. So if you see a swatten that's what it is. Okay. Dr. Piff.
>> Good evening everyone. >> Evening. >> I wanted to first begin my presentation with thanking our maintenance crew and our custodial department for the way in which they always show up on snow days, whether
it's 3 4:00 in the morning or on the weekends. Uh, I'm not sure how often you get thanked, but thank you for having our campuses free of any debris. So, apparently, this is a trend that's
going on. Thanks, Miss Harris, for this. Today is the sixth, seventh day of the school year. And, uh, I have more than six, seven things to share with all of you uh, during this presentation, but I thought that was a very interesting and
funny way to start the presentation. Um uh first and foremost from our director of data uh Miss Tmanelli, we'd like to welcome back a total of 12 students who have returned to our school district from both private and charter schools. We hope that that trend continues on the
offer and uh I like her wit and her wordsmithness. uh keep on slaying all schools because you are above 90% on achieving uh high attendance rates especially hia and turt and looker so
other schools just continue to do what you do and continue to make the classroom environments as safe and conducive for our kids so that they can continue to feel welcomed when they come to work when they come to school I come to work but um so ELA department highlights
so our second graders great news are now included in our assessment ment data. This is definitely going to help us as we start to look at ways and how we can support our instructional planning as well as how to prepare them for third grade and the assessments that they will be uh taking once they're there. We also
want to celebrate the fidelity with which our intervention program um amplified MClass intervention program is being implemented particularly for our tier our tier 2 students. Thank you to the teachers and the academic interventionists who are working together to push that forward. And with
regard to our NGTSS team, we'd like to thank um the district for finalizing a comprehensive tier 2 and tier three diagnostic intervention plan. Uh our walkthrough trends continue to show strong engagement, meaningful discussions among our students and
evidence of critical thinking. Uh we're going to continue to work towards uh increasing more modeling. So uh doing instead of telling as well as providing more visible learning uh artifacts and expanding student led discussions with teachers uh becoming more facilitators
in terms of our high school a number of things to speak to and we definitely can't fit everything in this one slide but I definitely want to celebrate the work of Mrs. Bow and Mrs. Opara with our seal of literacy. Our numbers have certainly grown throughout the years. Seal of literacy is a high honor for
students who don't just speak English but speak another native language at least one, two or three. And so we want to definitely celebrate the work that's being done there. And I highlighted in yellow the yearly uh
trend. We started with uh single-digit numbers of our students taking the seal of bi literacy and over the years we have increased and from what I understand we currently have approximately 40 or more students who have passed the seal of bi literacy and we're not done. Uh so we expect this
number to continue to go. So thank you to the staff for continuing to support our students because you're not only honoring their native language but you're helping to strengthen their skills in English. So thank you to all of you who are doing that for us. uh our students. I know that our student
rep spoke to this, but I'm incredibly honored to see so many students on stage, whether they're putting on a performance, whether they're um being inducted into the National Honor Society or having 291 students being honored for um their academic achievement in first
marking period. Again, kudos to the teachers who are providing those opportunities for our kids to reach their potential and surpass whatever expectations um we have of them. So, thank you to the staff at the high school and across the district as well. A special shout out and hopefully we
will have her join us uh at the next January board meeting. Uh Schwessie Solarge, I'm sorry if I mispronounced your name. Uh she was uh her poem was selected to be a part of the anthology entitled American High School Poets and
which you can access u through Amazon.com. And one of the beauties of what she did was um only 2% of the submissions uh of people who submit get selected. So this is an incredible honor not just for her but also for the district. And I
appreciate uh Mrs. Opara identifying the teachers in particular who supported her in pushing this forward as well. So thank you to Miss Gil and Miss Ambrose for continuing to push her and other students like her forward. Um,
excuse me. Another highlight here that I might not speak to is the Hillside Innovation Academy, seventh grade science. They're using the iPads. Um, and they're using different apps like Free Form. They're using
Keynote, Safari just to not only explore what they're learning and how they're learning it, but also how to present it. Uh, so just some shots there of the kids and how what they're doing in the class looks like. Uh Ola Edwards, another school that has a number of events happening during um the month,
especially the year. They had a successful math and literacy parent night where we had parents and students come together in the gym, learn together, be collaborative, and also with the support of the teachers and the administration on hand. There was also an opportunity uh to share what the
students and miss I believe her name is Miss P. No, no, no. Miss Oh, I'm going to mispronounce that name. Miss Hines. >> Miss W. Miss W's class. Uh they practiced multiplication and they uh collaborately worked on their Padlet posting their tink thinking and
discussing strategies with each other on what they were doing and how. And then last but not least was the winter gala uh where both um Miss Davis and I showed a couple of our moves on um the dance floor not realizing we were getting our picture taken. So that was a nice event
to be a part of. Herd and Looker, another school that celebrates uh a number of things in their building. A lot of success we see happening with their math and ELA using the iPads. Different classes are using it to engage not just in collaborating with students but also with teachers and the students
and the teachers are actually stepping back and being more facilitators as students take ownership of their learning and don't let the technology drive their learning but actually they're the ones that are the drive that that are the drivers behind it. So kudos to all of you. Um just a tidbit from our department of
student support services. We want to look at the two-pronged approach that uh uh our team has been in uh putting in place. First, we're looking at staff and the type of PD that we're providing for them. Uh the first one being trauma-informed practices and how they
impact our students as well as manifest in the behaviors of many of our kids. This PDA is incredibly important because it allows our staff to understand what um students issues may be and how to best support them during any events that they may be experiencing. And it also
extends into the classroom and how instructional practices can be employed. Um as far as students are concerned, a vaping assembly was provided for each grade level 30 minutes long at the high school. I believe it was last. Oh no, it was this week and it actually spoke to
It was this week, right? yesterday. Um it actually spoke to the impacts and the effects of vaping and opiate use on on mental health. Um the last piece that I want to share and I'm glad that we actually now have this
in place is the district's special education parent advisory uh group. This is definitely going to help us as we begin conversations, candid conversations with regard to how we are do what we're doing and how we're doing it so that any any gaps or lapses that there are with regard to any services
that are being provided to students, we are addressing them headon and we're bringing um the necessary agencies to the district so that we can afford our students with everything that they need uh per their IEP and whatever else has been identified. This particular piece I'm especially
excited to present to you. One of the things that as a school district I think is incredibly critical is how we celebrate staff and not just by way of a teacher of the year or a support staff member of the year. I think it's how do we celebrate all staff even the ones that are behind the scenes. oftentimes
we just focus on the classroom and um not that there's no high regard there absolutely but I think we also have to remember that there are people behind the scenes that make our schools be what they are and so one of the ideas behind this is to really strengthen our sense
of community strengthens our sense of collaboration among each other so that we're not working in silos but we're working together and that we're interwoven in our practices and how we view what we do and how we do it. I definitely also wanted to make sure that every staff member, regardless of what
level, whether you're a custodian, maintenance, uh, security, teacher, director, central office staff member, support staff member, we see you. We value what you do and how you do it, and we thank you for everything you do. So, beginning this month, each school is
going to take the lead on celebrating the number of staff members in their building. And I put a number of pictures there because we can't encompass all of our staff members in one shot, but it just gives you an idea of who the faces are behind our school district and how they keep us moving. Uh this month we
had AP Morris, we had nine staff members celebrated and I put their names up there. I'm not going to be able to say all their names, but if you could just look at their pictures and definitely go to our website and you'll be able to see the videos of them. Thank you to Principal Rios and her team for
identifying and selecting the staff because there are many faces that really go towards what our kids are able to do every day and it's because of them and the support that they get from their leaders. So again, thank you to AP Morris for starting us off. Um next month I believe
it's going to be HIA and uh just one another piece. I think it's what is it called? um hot cocoa and hot tea, which is what I desperately need right now with me sometime in January. The date and time is going to be uh determined. We're still waiting to
see when all that's going to um happen, but I we did want to let you know that there is going to not be going to be an opportunity for uh the community to come and meet with me and speak with me on what questions, suggestions, concerns you may have or just or just get to know me um outside of the role. So, uh, once
we have that information, we will certainly share that with everyone. And that's my last slide. From our family to yours, I have a a merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a very um prosperous new year. Thank you very much.
>> Thank you, Dr. Perez, for your report. Um, now we're going to have principal Emmanaka to come and present to everyone from the high school. Let's all welcome him. Thanks, No.
>> Yes. That's good. >> Okay. >> Good evening. >> Good evening >> and season's greetings. Thank you for the opportunity to share a snapshot. Thank you for the opportunity to share a snapshot of life at Hillsa High School.
In the next few minutes, I would like to show you what learning looks like in our building through students experiences both inside and outside the classroom. Who do we serve? We currently serve approximately 876
students. We are diverse community with over nine languages spoken in the home. To ensure that families are properly communicated with, we send communications home with proper translations. We embrace the community and pride ourselves on service.
We offer a wide range of activities, clubs, and sports with many of our students taking part in at least one activity. A major focus this year has been strengthening our school culture. We've
expanded student clubs, leadership opportunities so many students so more students can find a place to belong. We've also prioritize student wellness, making sure students feel safe, supported, and known.
When students feel connected, everything else improves. Academically, our focus has been on growth and opportunities for all students. We've continued to expand programs in AP, CTE, and dual enrollment
while also strengthening supports for students who need extra help. This year, we are making we're taking a more intense look at algebra 1 instruction. Algebra 1 has long been referred to as the gatekeeper for all upper level
mathematics. With the support of NTN, we are striving to build students conceptual understanding of the subject. Beyond test scores, our students are achieving meaningful success. This year, students have already earned
scholarships, industry certifications, and acceptance into competitive programs. This is merely a sampling of some of the universities that have already accepted students from Hillside High School. Other accolades of note, 45 students
have attained the seal of biiteracy in Spanish, Portuguese, and or French as of today. I know that Superintendent Perez has already spoken on that, so I want to affirm those numbers. In January, we
will test 31 students in Haitian Creole along with 12 additional students completing work in Spanish, Portuguese, and French. These numbers are far surpassing last year's numbers. So, we're moving in the right direction. We're expanding our programs.
I'm confident that many more students will achieve the seal of bio literacy by the end of the school year. GRTC, as Jada just shared with us, completed ear competed early this month and earned seven awards.
Our award-winning Jets club and academic decathlon teams are getting ready to compete again this school year. They will have a tough act to follow based on last year's teams, but they are ready and up for the challenge. Our
students are doing some exciting things and graduating with real options beyond high school. Athletics and activities continue to be a source of pride for our school and community. Participation remains strong
and we've celebrated success both on and off the field. Just as important as these programs help students develop leadership, p perseverance, and teamwork, skills that carry into the classroom and beyond the classroom.
Slides and data only tell part of the story. The next couple minutes show what Hillside High School really looks and feels like. From classrooms to performances to sporting events, our school has a lot to
offer. Green Heat. Heat. N. Special thanks to Miss Aldo putting that together for us. Um, for the folks who work at the high school, this is what we feel every day. So, this is why I come to work every day. Looking forward, our focus remains
clear. We will continue strengthening academic outcomes, supporting student wellness, and expanding opportunities for all learners. These priorities align closely with district goals. We are excited about the direction we are headed.
In closing, I want to thank you all for your continued support of our students, staff, and community. It is our honor. It is is an honor to lead a school where students are learning, growing, and finding pride in who they are.
I will leave you with this. The high school is all always teeming with activity. Those of you who walk around our building in evenings, a lot happening. Just last night, we inducted 20 of our brightest stars into the National Honor Society.
Even with a full calendar, we still have a fun movie night planned for Friday to close out December. We welcome you to come to come by and partake in the various shows, performances, activities that we host monthly. Come on by in January to see our students showcase
their talents. This concludes my presentation. Thank you for allowing me a few moments to share with you tonight. If we don't cross paths before the winter break, have a happy and safe holiday and thank you. You >> thank you so much for that presentation.
Now I would like to ask for a motion to go into public comments. Motion >> second. >> All in favor? >> I >> I >> residents are requested to state their names, addresses, and subject matter. In the event it appears the public portion
of the meeting may exceed 15 minutes, the presiding officer may limit each statement made by a participant to 3 minutes duration. Issues raised by members of the public may or may not be responded to by the board. All comments will be considered and a response will be forthcoming if and when appropriate.
The board asks that the members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals when speaking. Specifically, comments regarding students and employees of the board are discouraged and will not be responded to by the board. Students and employees have specific legal rights afforded by the laws of the state of New
Jersey. The board bears no responsibility, nor will it be liable for any comments made by members of the public. Members of the public should consider their comments in light of legal rights of those affected or identified in their comments and be aware that they are legally responsible
and liable for their comments. Do we have anyone from the public? >> Uh, my name is Josea 146. I don't like the microphone. Jill Seika, 146 Fairbank Street. Um, I work as a par profofessional in AP
Morris. I serve as president-elect of our Hillside Association of Power Professionals Union. I have been a resident of Hillside for over 40 years. Yes, I'm telling my age. I've attended Hillside schools myself. Today, my own children attend Ola Edwards and HIA. I'm
an active PTA president. To say I'm invested in this district is an understatement. I stand before you today seeking a final resolution regarding our par profofessional contracts. We need them corrected and finalized so we can finally sign them. We've been waiting for our promised pay for toileting and
sub coverage. As of today, we've had 55 paris pulled from their regular assignments to cover other classes either as a substitute teacher or as prep coverage in AP Morris over the span of all 67 days we've been in school. I know the number is higher, but that's only AP Morris. Our paris play an
important role in this district. Par professionals assist teachers in the classroom by supporting student academics, physical and emotional needs, reinforcing lesson, supervising during activities like lunch and recess, managing behavior, and handling clerical tasks like photocopying and organizing
materials. All under our certified teachers supervision, often focusing on individualized support, especially for special needs students. We work with we we have sorry we provide instructional support, student supervision, behavior management, care
and assistance, classroom management, clerical tasks, communication and collaboration with our teachers, staff and sometimes parents participating in meetings and sharing our observations. These are some of the things we do every single day, all while making the
classroom environment warm, happy, and safe for all of our students. The HIPP union negotiations team began meeting with the previous administration in the start of the 24-25 school year. I joined the team in December of 24. We attended scheduled meetings on March 19th, April
2nd, April 14th, April 28th, and May 8th. The contract was agreed upon and board approved May 29th of 2025. Despite this approval, HIPP has faced broken promises. We negotiated in good faith and yet we have been met with excuses and delays. We're asking for the
items that were promised to us in those meetings and publicly in front of the entirety of convocation. I'm available to answer any questions and we expect a speedy resolution to this matter. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Short people problems. Angela Lawler, 54
Herden Street. Um, I'm sure you all missed me last month. I wasn't here. I know you're probably wondering where I was. You know where my favorite place, Disney, but anyway. >> Yes, the House of the Mouse. It it it
was a welldeserved vacation. I can say that. Um, so I would like to say um as the union president, uh, Hillside Education Association president, welcome to Dr. Perez. I wasn't here last month. Um, as acting superintendent, I look
forward to working with you side by side. I think we've already gotten off on a great start, and I hope we continue um to collaborate together. Um, I also just wanted to wish everyone on the board a happy holiday, happy new year.
Um, I hope everyone stays healthy because I know the cootie bug is going around. So, um, just be careful. That's all. But thank you all and and happy holidays. >> Thank you. >> Same to you. >> Any other comments?
>> If not, um Miss Sika, um I think our um business administrator will reach out to you. >> Thank you. Motion to close public comments. >> Motion to close. >> All in favor?
>> I >> Madame Vice President, will you please do the committee reports? >> Good evening everyone. >> Good evening. >> Good evening. >> Good evening. >> We'd like to do our committee reports and we're going to start with finance and we're going to ask board member
Hargrave Good evening. >> Good evening. >> The finance committee met on Thursday, December 11th, and we discussed items 1 through 10 on the finance agenda. >> Thank you, board member Hargrave. Moving
to buildings and grounds, we'll have have board member Euiti. Good evening. Um on Thursday, December 11th, the building and grounds committee met and
the following items were discussed and they are the discussion with regards to the acceptance of the school bus emergency evacuation drill reports from September 2025 through the November
2025. Also the disposal of two fully depreciated school buses was discussed and finally uh the approval of exercising termination option four.
Okay, that's the removal option under the power purchase agreement and license agreement with the Union County Improvement Authority. Thank you. >> Thank you board member Auhiti. We'll move over to education and we'd like to
ask board him board member Dr. Howard. >> Thank you, Madame Vice President. The ED education committee met also on Thursday, December 11th to discuss items 1 through six, highlighting primarily u a motion to accept the recommendation
for a new program for students to participate in an international exchange and also to confirm the HIB report. >> Thank you, Dr. Howard. And last but not least, labor. We'd like to ask board
member Shapiro if he would. >> Certainly. Thank you. The uh labor committee met on Thursday, December 11th, and discussed agenda and non-aggenda items. >> Thank you. That's all, Madame President.
Thank you, Madam VP. I would like to ask for a motion to go into executive session. Motion >> second. Second. >> All in favor? >> I be resolved pursuant to the open public meetings act that the board of
education meet in closed executive session at this time to discuss matters relating to personnel and the pending litigation or contract negotiations. Um the board will reconvene in public session at the conclusion of the closed session. The matters discussed in close
session will be disclosed to the public as soon as the need for confidentiality no longer exists. Thank you and we shall return. Okay.