--------- Hi. >> Okie dokie. As always, we thank those of you who stayed late. Thank you for your patience. H at this point. Um we will start with finance. Do I have a motion to
just call on the person? >> I move items one through six under finance. >> Second. >> Second. >> Second. >> Okay. Um roll call.
>> Second. Okay. >> Be nice. >> Okay. Roll call. Um, Miss Fest, >> yes. >> Missed. >> Yes.
>> Miss Har. Um, VP Hargrave. >> Yes. >> Miss Horton Given. >> Yes. >> Mr. Okai. >> Yes. >> Miss Parks. >> Yes. This is Shapiro.
>> Just have a question before I vote. Sure. 45. The dates are correct. >> The dates are correct. Yes. >> Yes. >> And board president Dr. Howard. >> Yes. >> We have a motion to move building and
grounds. >> Motion. >> Have a second. >> Second. Oh, okay. All right. >> Sorry, guys. I'll get better at this. I promise. >> All right. Um, roll call. Miss Best.
>> Yes. >> Miss Aguid. >> Yes. >> Missra. >> Yes. >> EB Hargrave. Yes, >> Miss Horton Given. >> Yes, >> Mr. Okai. >> Yes,
>> Miss Parks. >> Yes, >> Mr. Shapiro. >> Yes. >> Board President Dr. >> Yes. >> Given, would you move education, please? >> Yes. I'd like to move items 1 through 21
with the walk on for number 22 as written public comments walking on a resolution to prevent the chart of school. >> Second. Okay. >> All right. Roll call. Uh, Miss Best,
>> yes. >> Miss Auid, >> yes. Mr. Ashra, >> yes. >> DP Harrid, >> yes. >> Miss Horton Given, >> yes. >> Mr. Okai, >> yes. >> Miss Parks, >> yes.
>> Mr. Shapiro, >> yes, sir. >> Board President, Dr. Howard, >> absolutely. >> Miss Best, would you labor, please? I would like to move items 1 through 20.
Um, plus we're having two walk-on items. Um, first I'm going to read them. Motion to approve maternity leave for employee number 2863 effective February 19th, 2026 to June
30th, 2026. And utilizing accumulated days which may be covered under the Family Medical Leave Act and or the New Jersey Family Leave Act if applicable. And also number 22, motion to terminate employee EJ
effective 30 days from January 30th, 2026. >> Second. >> Oh, >> okay. Roll call. Miss Best, >> yes. >> Miss Auedang, >> yes. >> Miss Estra,
>> yes. >> BP Hargra, >> yes. >> Miss Horton Given, >> Mr. Okai, >> yes. >> Miss Parks, >> yes. >> Mr. Shapiro, >> yes. >> And board president, Dr. Howard, >> yes.
>> Um, there is just one more resolution we want to walk on. and um been advised that we can just do this as part of public comments. There's a resolution. >> Yes, so this is a resolution to approve an
out of district uh settlement um for special education student whose initials are AF. The terms are contained in a agreement to be maintained in the office of the business administrator and as discussed with board. >> Someone needs to move it and someone needs to second it.
>> Yes. I move >> second. Okay. Um, roll call for this. Um, >> Miss Best, >> yes. >> Miss Ego, >> yes.
>> Missra, >> yes. >> DP Hargrave. >> Yes. >> Miss Horton Given. >> Yes. >> Mr. Okai. >> Yes. >> Parks. >> Yes. >> Mr. Shapiro. >> Same. >> Okay. and board president Dr. Howard.
>> Yes. >> Okay. Um now there is one more resolution. It is a resolution to recognize board resolution in recognition of January 2026 is human trafficking prevention month. Um
do I have a motion to accept? >> Motion. >> Okay. Yeah, got it. Okay. Um, Miss Best, >> yes. >> Miss um, Miss Aguided. >> Yes.
>> Mrs. Chra, >> yes. >> BP Hargrave, >> yes. >> Miss Horton Given, >> yes. Mr. Okai, >> yes. >> Miss Parks, >> Mr. Shapiro,
>> yes, sir. >> And board president, Dr. Howard, >> yes. >> Thank you one and all. Uh, is there any old business? Any old business? There being none, is there any new business?
>> Well, President, Dr. Howard, can I just interject one quick? >> I got you. >> Oh, you want me to do it? up next. >> Okay. Sorry. Thank you. >> There being no old or new business, um, board trustee given, would you give us
this evening's closing comments and give us a little more information? >> Yes, sure. Um, I wanted to just give a little more information about human trafficking, which is, as you, you know, is dear to my heart. So, I'm not sure if
everyone knows that New Jersey is in the top 15 states for human trafficking. Um, we have exit points and entry points because we're surrounded by the highways. So, it makes it so easy for
our children and adults, right? because they they have no respective person um to be trapped and exit right out of here without us knowing. So education is really the key. Awareness is something
that um we've really been trying to bring forth. Fortunately, thankful for um Mr. Glover and now acting superintendent for continuing this work. We've partnered with the township. So, we're going to have the human
trafficking awareness session this Saturday. Um, and we wanted to recognize the awareness month. So, that's why we're doing it at the end of the month. Um, it was really quick. We partnered with um a representative from the
attorney's office as well. So we want to really bring awareness to our community which includes our children, our parents, our parents and abroad. So we like to invite you guys just again as a reminder on this Saturday. It will be 11
to 12:30 we have our speaker. I don't know if you remember the speaker that came last year. Um Missy Terry Bryant will be coming back. um who was also a partner of the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking as well as she
brought our musical assemblies to the high school and our um middle schools. So, it's so important um the um I think the statistics say that we had I
believe there were 170 reported. So, reported is the key. That means that that's all that's been reported for New Jersey with 200 and some odd um victims. So I think there were over 250 only
reported. So there could be a number of more cases that have not been reported. They're happening in the schools. Not saying that they're happening here, but they do happen in the schools. It's not just a matter of snatching a child and throwing them in the truck anymore. it
has different bases. So we really really really want to educate so that we can identify we know how to identify the signs of human trafficking. So thank you so much to the board um for accepting
this resolution and a partnership. And the fortunate thing is that the township is also going to do a res resolution and they will signing a proclamation as well because we're in this together. We want to keep our community safe. So, with that said, thank you all for coming on
tonight. We appreciate your time and your energy. God bless. >> Thank you, Miss Horton Given. Um, thank you all once again for coming. We have a motion to adjurnn. >> Motion. >> Second.
>> All right. Thank you. >> Good night, everyone. Have a get home safe. Stay warm. Part: 2
Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to call our >> The mic is not on. >> Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. At this time, I'd like to call our meeting to order. No, I got to speak. At this time, we'd like to begin with our flag salute. I pledge allegiance
>> to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. Please be seated. >> Pursuing
has been provided as follows. by having the time, date, and place of the meeting on the bulletin board in the administration building January 6, 2026, and sending a copy of the meeting notice to the Star Ledger, newspaper, and a
local source on January 12th, 2026, and by filing a copy with the Township of Hillside, and Hillside Public Library January 6th, 2026. Roll call. All right, roll call. Um, Miss Best >> present.
>> Miss Ego, >> present. >> Estra is not present. Um, VP um Hargrave >> present. >> Given Kai is not present at the moment. Miss
Parks >> present. >> Mr. Shapiro um and and um Dr. Howard. Okay. >> Thank you. Thank you so much, sir. Um
this time we will have any announcements. We have no announcements. There being none, we can move directly into our super. >> Yes, I do have Yes. I just wanted to announce first of all, good evening to everyone. Good evening. Um I just wanted
to announce that we're going to have a um human trafficking awareness session at the rec center on this Saturday. So I wanted to invite every to be able to come out and hear about the topic. Very important topic this Saturday at the art
center from 11 to 12:30. Thank you. That's all. >> Thank you, Miss Horton Given. Um, to piggy back on what Miss Horton Given announcement, this is human trafficking, correct? Uh, is a very, very important
topic, especially with the World Cup coming on and Miss Horton Given has done a very good job, a very forensic job looking into this, providing this service to the community. So, if you have an opportunity to avail yourself of it or to do some research regarding it, um it really is something that's worthwhile looking into, especially with
all that's coming down the pike. Miss Best. >> Oh, no. I was just going to say happy schoolboard appreciation month to all our schoolboard members. >> We rock. >> I did not know it was happy school board appreciation month, but I'll take that where I can get it. Absolutely. Um this
time we'll move into our superintendent report. Dr. Perez, take it away. Good evening everyone. So for this for this evening uh we do have a few presentations but before we get into those presentations I just wanted to share with everyone uh that there are no
uh in reports for this month and I also to uh give a big shout out to our maintenance and custodial department for the snow cleanup. uh they came in here on Sunday, Monday and I think it's important that we always remember the people behind the
scenes who make it possible for us to come to work. Uh so I just wanted to share that and without further ado, a lot of what I would share during my superintendent report is going to go into the presentation that you're going to see. So we're going to start off this evening with uh AP Morris Early
Childhood's presentation by Miss Jessica Rios. Thank you. Good evening everyone. >> Good evening board president Howard Perez and esteemed members of the board of education. Greetings to those who
have joined us whether it be in person or virtually is Jessica Rios the very proud principal of Abram Morris Early Childhood Center. I'd like to thank you all in advance for your time and attention. share a glimpse of the wonderful things that the
students at AP Morris are learning. Abram P. Morris Early Childhood Center proudly serves Hillside's youngest learners with over 35 classrooms in grades preK through first grade and a newly acquired second to third grade self-contained class. We are the second
largest school in the district. Additionally, our school community extends to two preschool classrooms at Little Bear's Daycare. We have approximately 600 scholars. They are the youngest learners at Hillsside public schools and they are among the
brightest. As someone who is new to Hillside, I enjoy discovering some of the history and learning a little bit more about the community. fun fact that I'd like to share. There is actually a plaque in the building that mentions the school's origin as Central Grammar School
established in 1917. And it was really neat to see that Abram P. Morris was the board president at the time that the school was established. It's nice to know that we are named after a board member. Our emphasis is on advancing all facets
of the whole child. We offer a dynamic and engaging curriculum that fosters young children's growth through enriching, enjoyable, and meaningful activities all while promoting critical problem solving skills, leveraging academic strengths, building character,
and developing kind, intelligent, and honorable citizens of the world. Our mascot is the beam. Our students are affectionately referred to as the APM bees. And here's another fun fact for you. Bees represent industriousness,
harmony, hard work, community, persistence, and abundance. They signify personal growth, order, and they inspire human beings to work toward goals with perseverance and focus. They inspire us and remind us of the sweet rewards of
dedication. Couldn't find a more fitting mascot for our little ones. As for the busy bees at AP Morris, we remain mindful and committed to the philosophy that they are buzzing toward brilliance every day. Our school priorities honor the diverse makeup of our school community with an
inclusive and welcoming school environment. High expectations are paired with care and celebrated in the teaching and learning that takes place as we follow traditions and establish new ones. Strong staff and family relationships are a portion of the partnerships that we strengthen and are
we are cognizant of the fact that all stakeholders every single one play a valuable role in student outcomes. I can explain these by one by one but I would much rather show you how they're integrated in the opportunities that we offer and the moments that we hold with our students, our staff, our families
and our partners. How we do it. Our academic programs are all standards aligned. They are offering hands-on experiences. They implement developmentally appropriate practices and support all scholars. Our multilingual learners receive targeted
ESL and bilingual instruction. We provide multiensory approaches to learning and understand that inclusive approaches are crucial to student outcomes because it fosters a sense of belonging directly enhancing academic achievement, social emotional growth, and long-term post-secondary success for
all learners. We provide equitable access, diverse learning methods, and supportive environments to improve motivation, empathy, and collaboration. At least once a month, we hold staff appreciation and professional development events, family engagement
activities, and community partnerships, community partnership events. We started the school year strong, hosting a family day, receiving our newest learners, and opening our new multiensory program. There's purpose and intention behind the choices that we make in the physical
environment. Learning extends beyond the classroom. And research shows that in the early childhood grades, school facilities directly influence student outcomes by affecting their health, their safety, their engagement, and their academic performance. This is a snapshot of what our October
entailed. We had fire safety month in which we partnered with the hillside fire department and red ribbon week to promote school safety and the sense of autonomy. Fun at the farm involved over 225 preschoolers not only picking pumpkins but taking part in apple cider donuts
and being able to explore the nature around them. Our costume parade was hosted outdoors and we had several families able to attend and be a part of the event. and our PTA book fair provided over 800 books for children to
add to their home libraries. Our visit with the Hillside Public Library includes not just the library coming to visit us, but our children coming to visit the library. Hispanic Heritage Month was an opportunity for us to hold our first
schoolwide performance of the year. As you can see, students learned about each of the 21 countries that recognize Spanish as their official language. And most impressive was the fact that this show was run exclusively by students under the guidance of our world language teacher, Mr. Tveras. They put on an
outstanding performance. To show our gratitude and to emphasize overall wellness for our staff, we collaborated with Alliance Health so our staff members could receive a wellness visit during the workday. This was available to all staff because again we understand that each member of our
school community is valued and has an impact on student outcomes. Staff members who are well help children to be well. Our school social worker uses literature to foster reading pioneers strategically planned opportunities to focus on character traits and they empower students to become well-rounded
citizens. At AP Morris, we are involved in the New Jersey Department of Education climate literacy for community resilience grant. This program is in alignment with the work that two of our teachers are conducting. In November, we
established the share table. The share table is coordinated by kindergarten teacher, Miss Modina, and it's a schoolwide initiative to help reduce food waste. It's a really great opportunity for children to have the autonomy to select what they'd like to eat, but also to understand that if you don't want to eat
it, it doesn't mean it needs to be there anyway. Class pets and visiting hours occur in Miss Kather's first grade classroom, just like a mini zoom. That face staring back at us is one of the guinea pigs in Miss Kather's classroom. In the photo on the right, top right,
you see first graders in her classroom. They are presenting on the coding program that was used to create habitats based on the content that they've learned. This is an ongoing project and the children will continue to code and use their research and their findings to
demonstrate what they learned about healthy habitats, not so healthy habitats. What to me was the most admirable in this moment was that that gentleman that is standing there with the children was a visitor from the DOE. And every single one of those preschoolers was able to articulate what
they did and how they did it and why they're doing it by themselves, six and seven year olds. The confidence that it takes to be able to do that is beyond impressive. In December, we were chock full of events, able to announce our teacher of
the year and educational services professional of the year. We held our family engagement night where we had over 100 families visit and take part in the activities that we our winter concert was an absolute delight and our coat giveaway included over 800 thou
$800 of coat donations for our student body. School spirit is demonstrated in various ways and you can see the climate and culture represented. Family visits, small things like cinemas and all sorts of good times.
We welcome 2026 with a performance of Pete the Cat at the at the Morristown Performing Arts Center and a show of gratitude to the Hillside Police Department. This partnership in particular allowed us to change the traffic direction of CO Avenue and establish an overall more efficient traffic pattern for all involved
stakeholders. It was really touching to see the children not only form this heart that they presented to the officers but also have the officers come and visit and just interact with the children during their lunch. Our little ones also took part in the
districtwide Martin Luther King Jr. district celebration. The courage it takes to stand on stage and to perform in front of full strangers once again is admirable. I am just a bag of nerves right now. And they stood up there and smiled and were the cutest things
imaginable. For us, fostering the belief of the whole child means that we go beyond the academics and we provide opportunities for students to show leadership even at the earliest of ages. When you look at these faces, our students of the month, those who are part of attendance
initiatives, our ambassadors who are every morning sharing the schoolwide announcements, the buddy system that we have in place where no child walks alone and feels like they are solo. The Bucks that we use to incentivize students and to promote character development are all
examples of the little leaders that we are fostering. It is of course not all funding games. Our educators are a strong professional community of teachers, staff, and administrators who collaborate to create
a nurturing school environment with rigorous instructional standards and inspire all scholars to succeed academically and socially. Professional development such as the one you see on the screen engages teachers to think like students. In this activity, they
had to use spaghetti, a marshmallow, and whatever skills they brought to the table to create a free standing tower. What they learned was not just how they can emphasize early literacy skill development, conceptual math learning using hands-on materials, but also how
to differentiate for small groups, and how to correctly assess as they're guiding teaching and learning. In closing, AP Morris emphasizes the growth and development of our young students by ensuring a strong early academic foundation that is set upon prior to them transitioning to the
elementary schools. We know that our students will be moving on to become the future leaders and contributors of this community. Therefore, we focus on developing their social emotional skills and abilities in tandem with the core content areas of literacy, math, science, and the arts. I'd like to thank
you for taking the time to get to know more about our school. And in appreciation for schoolboard appreciation month, we have a small to gratitude that will be presented by by our preta president if we may.
Thank you. This way you too can be buzzing towards brilliance. Thank you. Now, I'd like to move to our student representative and her report. Good evening everyone. My name is Jada Fer. I'm I'm here as Hillsa High School
student council board of education representative. On January 7th, the Hillsa High School student council had the opportunity to attend the NJC winter comvention. At the commission, our student student council president
Leona who had served as an executive member officially transferred her role to the next officer elected for the from South D. Our student council also received two major awards. a top 10
award, top 10 project award recognizing our student council election process which utilized real voting groups from the Union County Board of Elections. The honor school
distinction for the fifth year conservative year for fifth year on 25th student council hosted an annual their annual cupcake wars. The event was a huge success and amazing with amazing
student turnout. Congratulations to Mr. Disco who earned first place with his chocolate and dirt cupcakes. On January 17, Elsa High School hosted their district Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. This was a wonderful event
involving all students, all the students and large parent turnout. The celebration featured performances from our dance ensemble, student art from across the district, a band from WK, chorus performance from Heidi Licker
and Deanna Taylor, musical selections from AP Morris and Ola Evans, along with spoken spoken word performance from HIA. A special thanks goes to our S group and D to see our dare to see program for
helping make this event happen. On January 30th marks the end of our second marking period and the half mark of the school year. Students are looking forward to receive their honoral
recognition for their hard work so far. We will like to recognize our winter sports team. 11th grader Wisdom plays third in 190B weight class in
Union County wrestling tournament held on January 17th at the Union High School. Our winter athletes program also includes girls and boys basketball, bowling, and winter track. Those student athletes have been
I've been distinguished dedicated a long hours to practice practice showing steady improvement and performing completely competitively in their games matches and
meets. Looking ahead, our academic triathlon team will be traveling to their to the regional competition this Saturday, January 31st. We wish them the best. Although January has been busy, February
will be just as active. Upcoming events include include student council annual bingo competition, Valentine's Day celebrations, a spoiling workshop, and many other events. Thank you. And I look forward to sharing
February's events next. Thank you so much. So, this is a good segue to our next portion of tonight's meeting. And I would like to bring up Par introduction because I know she worked hard for what we're about to see
and I want to make sure that we do it justice by having her present. the wrong anticipated moment. >> Good evening everyone. Um, I'm so excited for this portion tonight. It's been a long time. Um, so for those of
you who don't know, I am the proud administrator who gets to oversee our Hillside Compass band. A couple of years ago when I was a supervisor of a lot of departments, um visual performing arts being one, one of the tasks was to
rebuild our band. Um it was and is a labor of love. Um I don't know much about band, but I love to see what we do.
Um, I just want to introduce Mr. Moore, our band director, and Mr. Thomas Kelly, who is our assistant band director. Um, in all of this, I have learned to
um take advice and lead alongside um people taught me about an area I didn't know about. I want to thank you guys both because there were a lot of changes that had to happen for this to happen. Both of you stepped up to the
plate and made sure to um not only advise me, but also say this is in the best interest of what we're about to do. And I want to thank you for having that trust in me and my leadership, but I also want to say that like what you're
about to present is gonna knock the sucks out of all of you guys. I also would be remiss if I did not thank our previous superintendent, Mr. Glover, our previous DNI director, Dr. Bever, and all of our board members for that support because this has been a long
time coming. So before Well, you can come up and I'm going to hand out my props. Who wants paint? I'll take That's a good idea. A great idea. Good evening, Superintendent Dr. Perez, Board President Dr. Howard, Board of
Education, and all stakeholders. My name is Corey Moore. This is Thomas Kelly and we are band directors for the Hillside Comet Marching Band. Our journey to rebuild the marching band began with a vision of building pride in our program. We started with teaching students pride
stands for the person responsibility they play in delivering excellence. Through this belief, our band has grown into something even bigger than I imagined. And out of our new success, out of our success, a new mantra has emerged. Loud and proud.
Today, the Comet Marching Band is proudly referred to as the Pride of Hillside. Our goal was to elevate our band to the greatest level we could ever imagine or achieve. Our vision was to create an H.B.CU style marching band that properly
represent our community and our students. Thanks to the tremendous support from our administration and board of education, we were able to secure uniforms made by the same exact company all the HBC schools used. Mr. Kelly and I had a vision for how the
uniforms should look. The Fuhoff company helped us bring our vision to reality. This was of course after many many renderings and sample uniforms that were produced. The journey from inception to production was a long and arduous one. And I'm sure over the past three plus years or time
some of us may have begun to question these uniforms were ever actually going to be completed by a uniform company. Well, they say the best things in life are worth waiting for. And we're pleased to report the waiting time the production process has finally come to a conclusion.
Tonight, tonight I would like to introduce you to some of the students that have helped elevate us to where we are today. Students who gave up their lunchtime to join drum line back in seventh grade. A
student who now led our marching band on the field for the first time ever using a five foot drum major. Students like sophomore drum major gibbons. Students who brought the highest
standards of discipline and compassion to our program like sophomore drum major Smar St. Louis. Students who stepped up to lead our band through a multitude of instrumental and dance discipline like sophomore drum major Nia Joseph. Students who looked up
to these student leaders and carried the torch for the next generation like drum major Ethan. and students of the next generation that desire to continue our traditions of excellence such as honorary drum major Genesis River Cruz.
Before we welcome in our student drum majors, again, I would like to thank our board of education, our superintendent, all stakeholders, and a special thank you to our supervisor, Evelyn Oper. Of course, none of this would be possible without all of your continued support. Thank you all.
I now Thank you. I now present to you the future of the hillside marching the hillside combat marching band. He looks too fly to talk. >> Thank you very much. It's just to see the smiles on your faces, not just of
yours, but of the band director and Mr. Parake who's gleaming back there. It's such a pleasure and joy to see you guys tonight and coming out here to showcase exactly what you're all about, which is pride of our district. Thank you. >> So, thank you Okay. As we prepare for our next
presentation, I did just want to make uh one uh announcement reminder. Tomorrow is uh Mr. Willard's memorial service. It will be held at the high school at 5:00 pm in the auditorium. If you can wear purple and or gold, that would be great.
But we hope that you can make it to celebrate his life and remember him. So that's it. And Mrs. Tamelli is now here to present our student proficiency NJSLA data. I'm going to need to make this a little taller.
All righty. So, I learned about 60 minutes ago that it's board appreciation month. So, thank you. That is my gift. Just a thank you. Maybe I can z you some money, Miss Rios. They can the pins can be from both of us. Um, so I just have to warn you the last
time I had a microphone in my hand, I was singing karaoke with the microphone that my daughter got for Christmas. So I'll try my best to control myself, not built out into song tonight. Um, thank you for joining us on this cold January 38th.
It's been a very long month, a long colds month. Um, thank you again to board members, to Vice President Hargrave, to Superintendent Dr. Perez, and Dr. Howard. I'm used to saying, "Madame President, I'm not sure if we're going
with your majesty or your royal highness, but thank you and good evening." Um, I invite everyone to join me in a focused look for 2425 NJSLA outcome. I'm not up here because I like to talk in front of people. I'm up here actually,
it's a um, state requirement. Um and we're um evaluated in NJQ based on not my performance but that we do present the information um and I'm I'm grateful for the opportunity because you may not see me
post on the forum and I get frustrated when I things about rankings and test scores and things like that because usually when something is published it's already a year or two old and we have done so many things to improve things by the time that becomes
public information. So, what we're going to see tonight, we've already made several decisions based on and we've improved several different areas based on this information before it was released to the public. Um, and if at any time, like I said, I'm not compensating on Facebook, but if anytime
anybody wants information, you can, you don't even need to know my name. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Christy Tuelli. I'm the director of data information and accountability. Um, you can just Google Hillside data and my name will come up and you can send me an email requesting any of information that
I am I'm not going to violate children's rights to privacy, but any information that you're looking for that's updated compared to the information you see shared publicly. I'll be more than willing to share with anybody who sends me an email. So, our priorities remain our priorities. Even with the new
administration, we have not strayed from them. Today's presentation is an obvious focus on student success. Um I do want to um acknowledge that the data is deeply personal. So we're not sharing anything on a school level. Everything tonight will be district
level information with the exception of WK. I do have to give them a shout out. They had um improvement in math and ELA in both grade six and I'm sorry I keep thinking sixth grade, seventh and eighth grade. So, congratulations to W. Um, so I just want to acknowledge the
fact that we do have hardworking teachers, students, administrators, and support staff that made everything that we're going to do tonight possible. First, we'll take a look at language arts. You can see we've made year-to-year incremental growth districtwide. We'll
see shortly that a couple of grades are kind of narrow in the rest of the district. And just a note on the difference of proficiency. These are not average scores. So it's not that um in 2004 2005 our average score was 46%. Proficiency indicates that 46% of the
students who were tested met or exceeded expectations on the state assessment. So we could take a look at grade proficiency over time. Our strongest growth for ELA, math, and science is grade five. However, grades three, five,
seven, and eight all demonstrated growth from the previous year for the English language arts assessment. And just as a note, the gray is 2122 and the green is the most recent year. That was the 2425 information. And I'll have this on the district website also for
your reference because I know you all want to see this again. It'll be there for you if you want to take a look at it in detail. So, it's important that we look at the data in context. Like I said before, by the time it's released on a state report card, the information is year two old. This is an approximate cohort analysis.
So, we follow the same group of students from one grade to the next. I didn't take out students who may have been new to the district. That's why it's approximate. If you ever see something that I post that's an exact, that's I took out all students who didn't take every single test.
So overall, students who tend to stay um students who stay with us tend to outperform students who are newer to the district who have taken assessments elsewhere. Little middle and high school cohorts. So a decrease over time. So we see the little person repelling from the bar graph. We want to avoid that. We like
the big steps that we see the elementary some of the middle grades where we're making ste um increases from one grade to the next. So eighth grade showed growth overall and I still celebrate you but the outcomes were actually 1% lower than the same seventh graders who took the
seventh grade seventh grade assessment but it still speaks to the achievement of the seven um the mastery of the eighth grade standards. So just by show of hands has anyone seen um district factor groups? They haven't been updated by the state
in quite some time, but I still see them um displayed in certain places. So, we are a district factor group C D. These are all of the um if you see us compared to a district factor group, these are all of the other school districts that we are being compared to when you see that information.
So, again, not something that's been updated in quite some time by the state, but it's still used in cases. So I do want to emphasize the importance of celebrating our wins and fully acknowledge that there's a lot of work to do in a lot of spaces. But I also
have to acknowledge the fact that we have already done a lot of hard work based on the all the work behind all the charts that are seen here. So this is our language charts findings in the Burgundy. You'll see hillside public schools maroon I'm sorry the gray
is the district factor groups. That's all those districts that I showed you on the previous slide. The county is in black and the state is in green. So grades three, five, six, seven, and eight all outperformed the district factor. So that's districts
with a similar socioeconomic sex. Grade five outperform the district factor group, the county, and the state. And grade six match the state proficiency level. Um, grade nine went down seven, eight points from the previous year, but the
grade nine assessment, everybody went down from the district factor group went down, the county went down, and the state went down about seven to eight points. Um, grade 8 ELA is 13 points away from the state average. It was a 12 point spread two years ago. So, we're
definitely working towards closing that gap. And that's why context is important. And then we also have um a plan in place for the areas. We have a full action plan in place for nth grade ELA um made with building administration and the ELA
supervisor. So overall ELA this is all students who are tested side is all the way on the left. Then we have two students in that next group. Union County is in the center. Then we have the district factor group statewide.
Overall ELA achievement for the um county district factor group and the state have not caught up to precoid letter precoid numbers but compared to hillsides our results have been incremental throughout the time. We didn't have that big drop that we've s we've seen the state postcoid. We're
currently seven points away from the state average versus an 18 point spread that we had in um 2018 2019. No instruments. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So, we did set a goal a while ago to become a blue ribbon school district that is
issued to the top 15% of all school districts. Very difficult goal to achieve. another way to earn a status of blue ribbon. It used to be um used to be issued by the federal government that was um that
finished in the end of 2025, but now the state is taking over. So, it's still a goal of ours and still something that we're working towards. And the other way to get it, if you're not in the top 15%, you can earn it by closing the gaps, which we're definitely seeing in some spaces. So, I definitely see us on that
path to be able to apply a year or two. So what are we doing with our ELA results? We have high impact tutoring which has been extended to um various grade levels. We recognize that a strong foundation, the stronger foundation we create in the elementary space, the
stronger our students will be moving forward. And middle and high school data is reflective of the organization as a whole, not just one particular school or or um person. So that being said, we've expanded supports to the middle and high school students. Professional development, instructional
coaching, high impact tutoring has been extended to expanded to WA. Miss Hartwell at Hillside High School is um rolling out a peer tutoring program through Hillside High School students during study walk. And then that's part of a full action plan that was created
with central office and um high school administration. Just a quick note on high impact tutoring. The research shows that tutoring is most effective when it's multiple exposures over time, not just sporadic. And that's definitely a part of our model. Anyone who gets high
impact tutoring gets at a minimum of two times per week and it's embedded in the school. Transitioning to mathematics, thank you for letting me use your table. Unlike um ELA, we did see a drop after COVID. So that's
that year that the the first test after COVID was that 13% proficiency. We're slowly working our way back up towards precoid levels with an obvious goal on reaching higher levels across every grade level. So these are grade levels over time.
Grades three, five, and six showed growth from the previous year. Again, grade five stands out as a substantial um growth point for us with grade three being only 1% behind them. So, my grade three and grade five teachers, I have a
friendly competition for you. Let's see how it comes out this year. And while grade four went down a little bit, they're so the third highest math score for the district. So, our cohort analysis, this is the same students followed from one grade to
the next. This grade continues to be our standout with 37% proficiency. Still a lot of room for growth, but we're definitely on our way. Um, if you compare the gray towards the right of the chart, those are students who are now in high school. If you see the
incoming proficiency levels compared to what the proficiency levels coming in are going to be, our students are coming in with a much stronger foundation in the next couple years. This is again comparing hillside high school um hillside public schools which is burgundy district factor group in
gray county is in black and the state is in green. Grade five outformed the outperformed the district factor group and again substantial gains. The theme of this presentation is basically substantial gains over the years but still a lot of
work to be done. This is math all grades tested which is more our data here is more along with national trends with that COVID drop but we're working our way back up. You can see across the board there's no one over 45%. So again
looking at those numbers in perspective as we acknowledge that math is a challenge for us but it's also a challenge at the state level. We're currently seven points behind the district factor group. Um, pre-COVID we were 11 points behind and then for the state we were 19 we
were we are currently 19 points behind where we were 20 points behind pre-COVID. So what are we doing here? Again we have peer tutoring. High impact tutoring is for math and ELA. Spark is the afterchool program WK has implemented for NJSLA prep for math and
ELA. Um this year one of our largest investments is NTN. It's job embedded teacher job embedded teacher coaching and professional development. So teachers don't have to go elsewhere to
receive professional development or training. It's in their classroom co-eing PD during the day. Um and job embedded job embedded professional development is always more effective than having to go off site. Um
please got those noise makers. I know my ELA teachers will be excited. We are entertaining the idea of revisiting departmental departmentalization. Um principles have reported that there are very strong patterns of strong math
teachers and strong ELA teachers. I know our teachers will like it because it it lessens the load on what they have to plan, but then it also frees up space for um more effective PD because then you have teachers working in the same content area. teachers get to teach the
areas they're most passionate about. And then it also frees up time for small group instruction and planning for retaching and more targeted professional development. Um this year NTM was expanded just to
backtrack a little bit. I got excited about theization. Um NCM was expanded to the high school grades 2, six, seven, and eight. This year the algebra So transitioning to science, we weren't high to begin with before
COVID and we did have a drop after COVID. We're clearly still working towards proficiency in this area, but we are back to above where we were pre-COVID. Here's a grade level analysis. Again, our fifth grade is standing out. We have
consistent incremental growth in grades five and 11. Grade eight continues to be a concern. But we also had a teacher shortage in grade eight science last year. So that contributes to a lot of the outcomes. So we can't really do a cohort analysis for science and follow the same students because there are so
many variables that go into their outcomes over a three-year period. We only test in five grades five, eight, and 11. So what we did here was look at the proficiency levels and we can see that in fifth grade in particular the green is going in the right direction and with the exception of 23 24 the red
is going in the right direction. So overall we're working on shrinking the red and growing the green. We have a couple dips here and there but last year in particular everyone was above where we were previous. This is the district factor group county
and state chart. Again, you can see we're underperform underperforming compared to district factor group county and state. But also their proficiency levels are not very high. The highest is 31% for grade um 11. Again, more context is important. The
other subgroups are not above 27%. I'm not saying that 11% is something that we're happy with. I'm just saying that it's aligned with the trends statewide and obviously identified as an area of focus. So, one of the main things that we did this year was all
principles had to add a science goal to the annual school plan, which was new. It was always a math goal. It was always an ELA goal. This year, we added a a science goal. The um science department would also be affected by revisiting departmentalization for elementary
school students. We also have students to science where students are actually going to labs and doing real science experiments with scientists as well as virtual labs which are available through the Smartboard in their classrooms. And then we also have science clubs at
the elementary level. How we doing? You awake? >> All right. We are also required to pre present by sub and you're going to want to cheer for some of these. We're gonna start with race.
I'll give you a second to take a look at it. Our black and African-American and brown students in grades three through eight outperform the district factor group, the county, and the state. I told you you were going to want those
noise makers. Um, the same is also true if we look at all ELA results, right? They outperformed all three categories. We take a look at math performance by race. Grades three through five and algebra. Our black and African-American
students are outperforming all three categories, the district track group, the county, and the state. Our Hispanic students are outperforming the district factor group.
I didn't hear any noise. Thank you. Thank you. Our black and African-American um students outperformed all categories, all tested grades. Well, this speaks to a larger issue that we even need to look at a chart to show us discrepancies by race, but it also speaks to our goal of
being a beat the odds district. We've had a lot of supports for a lot of years and it was only a matter of time before the student outcome start showing the supports that we have and the amazing teachers that we have. So congratulations. This is me and my husband's favorite
conversation. Gender. So for English language arts, there's a 12% gap between the proficiency levels of our male and female students with our female students outperforming. The statewide trend is that females are outperforming in every subgroup. Um both
genders at Hillside public schools outperform their gender district factor group. Thank you. Thank you. Um for math males and females are most equal here um performing district almost equal 23% and
22%. So there's no gender gap for us in math. However, the large larger issue here is that both are below the district factor group the county and the state and we've already identified math as a targeted area of support and we're working towards improving that.
And then for science, hillside females are outperforming males by 4% which is contradictory to the district factor group county and state trends where the typically outperforming in science.
Next is English language arts by program. Our students who received free lunch outperformed every subgroup. Other students who receive free and reduced lunch, the county, the district factor group, and the state. Multilingual multilingual learners
outperformed the district factor group and the state. I was waiting to hear from Ma. Thank you. And our students with IE outperformed the district factor group. So this is math all tests. Our our free
and reduced students matched the district factor group for math. For science, this is all tests. Our free and reduced lunch students who receive free and reduced lunch were 1% higher than other students receiving free and reduced lunch. Our MLS matched other MLS
in the state, but also surpassed the district factor group and the county by 1%. And students with IEPs again outperformed the district factor group. So with the exception of this these two little asterisks a I can never say that word but you know that little thing
right um this was taken directly from link which is our data warehouse. So this is not my interpretation of everything these are cold hard facts if you would like to review them once this is posted on the website. Um, overall ELA grew 1% to 46%, math grew 3% to 22%, and science
grew 1% to 11%. And you'll see variations due to rounding, but um, proficiency compared to the district factor group, ELA, outperformed by 12%. We went from um, 36% compared to the district factor group of 34. Math, math,
math, and science both performed similarly. And then grade five ELA grew by 14%. Thank you. Grade five math grew by 16%. And five science grew by 6%. I'm sorry,
5%. So, I have homework for you all. Somebody ripped my paper and took my notes. So, it's a good thing. I remember this is very simple. I'm going to ask you to find a fifth grade teacher and give them a high five because they are clearly a
standout group. I'm going to ask you to high five the sixth grade student because those are all the students that really produce in grade. And also please give a high five to a an administrator in a fifth grade building. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Miss Tumelli. Thank you for that information. We know how truly how hard you lot into that a lot of thankless nights. So again, thank you very much for your hard work. At this time, I entertain a motion to go
into public comments. >> Motion. >> It has been properly moved and seconded. Uh, residents are required to state their names, addresses, and subject. The event appears that the public comment portion of the meeting may exceed 15
minutes. The presiding officer may limit by participant to three 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 the response will be forthcoming if and when appropriate. The
board asks that members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals 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 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 this time. Do we have any public comments? Please step to the microphone. >> Question. 63. >> Can you hear me now? >> Sharina Del Ros 63 Clark Street. I just
want to stand here and say before January goes out, thank you to the board and to the community and to all the students and everybody that participated Salvation Army toy drive because when I stood up here and I told you I had to
write this down, too. I told you that in 2024 we service 963 families and I wanted us to service at least a thousand. So when the guy called me back from the Salvation Army the captain he
gave me the numbers and I had to take a minute and pause because because of all of you and our students that gave from their hearts. We service 1,826 families.
That's a handcraft. Thank you so much. Everybody came with their bags of toys, their clothes, all kinds of things. And we gave it to them. It took them almost a half an hour to load their truck and then they came back with a car. So, I just thank you so much for that because
it means a lot to those who do not have and it I I'm happy that you found it not robbery to donate to that cause. Thank you so much. >> Short people problems. Angela Lawler, 54 Herden Street. Um,
I'm here this evening because there is discussion again in regard to a charter school coming to Hillside. This is the third year in a row that as the Hillside Education Association president, I've had to stand before the board to uh put
forth a resolution opposing the charter school coming to Hillside. I did email it ahead of time um to Dr. Perez, Dr. Howard. Um, but I'm going to read it tonight and I would ask that the board discuss it in executive session. Um, and
hopefully you will uh sign off on it. And I will be presenting um the same resolution to the town council so that the township understands that we don't need a charter school here in Hillside.
Have you as everyone has seen tonight from the scores from the data that uh Mr. has presented. We are going in the right direction. Having a charter school come to Hillside, we won't be able to go in the right direction because the funding comes from Hillside Board of Education
to fund that charter school. That would be equivalent to us opening up an entire new school and adding it to our district. And funding for that is go you would have to take from someone else to create that. and that wouldn't be fair to the students and staff and residents
of Hillside. So, just bear with me. Sorry. Um, resolution opposing the establishment of the Hillside Charter School. um resolved by the Hillside Board of Education, County of Union, State of New Jersey, that whereas on or about January 2026,
unknown parties advertising for the Hillside Charter School, which has not yet been approved by the state of New Jersey, and whereas opening a charter school could divert resources and students from our existing public schools and potentially leading to a decline in their quality and services.
And whereas the Hillside public schools are already excellent. And whereas our town prides itself on a strong sense of community unity and introducing a charter school might create divisions amongst residents, particularly those vested interest,
those with vested interest in our public school system. Whereas the hillside community at large has repeatedly revisited the issue of establishing a charter school over the past three years, there is a there is widespread fatigue and frustration with
continue with continuing to debate a proposal that has not demonstrated clear benefits for our students or our district. And whereas we have not seen compelling evidence or data indicating a pressing need for an additional school
in our town and our public schools while not perfect have consistently shown commitment to addressing the diverse needs of our students. And whereas charter schools operate with a with a degree of autonomy which raises concerns
about transparency, accountability, adherence to educational standards and regulations. And whereas the overall evidence regarding charter school academic performance is mixed. There is no guarantee that a new charter school in Hillside would offer superior
educational outcomes compared to the existing public schools. And whereas resources should be directed towards strengthening and supporting our existing public schools rather than establishing a new charter school. Be it resolved that the Hillside Board of
Education urges all parties to consider the broader implications and potential consequences of introducing a charter school and hereby stands in opposition to the proposed hillside charter school. So that's what I'm asking um for the board to discuss in executive session
and hopefully sign off tonight. Um, and I would hope that you all agree with the same sentiment that we are headed in the right direction and based on that data, which is really last year's data, I'm sure the up data was going to be much better.
Good evening everyone. Aruna Muro, 133 Silver Avenue, also teacher. Um, so in March, and I wanted to say this now before I forget, next month, um, in March, we will be hosting at WK
um, a female empowerment lunch. We are hoping to have a female speaker who I can't say anything about that yet because it's not confirmed. Um, but it's open to all our young ladies from grade prek all the way to high school. um and
their moms or mother figures whether it be an aunt, a grandma, a neighbor who steps in. Um so that will be female empowerment lunchon on March 14th. So hope you can join us. Thank you.
>> Do we have any do we have any more public? motion. >> Okay. At this time, we will have our committee reports. Mr. Ego, could you get the report on finance committee?
>> Good evening. On Tuesday, January 27th, the finest committee met and uh discussed the routine items would have already mentioned was the motion was a
discussion of the motion to approve the acceptance and appropriation of 500,000 in district specific additional state aid which is meant for capital improvements as authorized by the new GSC Department of Education
later dated July the 24th, 2025. Thank you. >> Thank you, M. Good evening, Mr. Okai. Could you give the report on buildings and grounds? >> Absolutely. >> Ground committee met on Tuesday, February 27th to discuss Lana.
>> Thank you, Mr. Kai. Mr. Given, could you give the report on education? Good evening everyone. >> The education committee met on Tuesday, January 27th, and we review items 1
through 21. >> 1 through 21. Thank you. >> And Miss Best, could you get the report on labor relations? >> Good evening, everyone. The labor committee met on Tuesday, January 27th to discuss personnel items listed. Thank
you. >> Thank you, Miss Best. Thank you, everyone. Um, there being nothing else, like to have a motion to go into executive session. Motion >> I >> be it resolved pursuant to the open
public meetings act that the board of education meet and close executive at this time to discuss matters related to personnel pending or anticipated litigation labor negotiations contract negotiations a particular student or students attorney client privilege the
purchase lease or acquisition of real property tactics and techniques used in protecting the safety and property of the public. In other words, um the board will reconvene in public session at the conclusion of the close
with close session. The matters discussed in close session will be disclosed to the public as soon as the need for cons confidentiality no longer exists. Thank you very much and we'll be back.