are we live streaming does anyone want to confirm [Music] thank you Hi Good morning Rosa Good morning Good morning Good morning Ka Congratulations I saw
that you received a wonderful award yesterday Please just let us know Really really wonderful and to see you receive such a very recognized um type of um award pretty much But thank you for um always representing So just wanted to
put that out before everything started Everything started Do we have the live stream yes we're live We're gonna record Thank you Thank you Katie Okay And now I'm going to put my Okay All
right everyone Thank you so much for being here for representing Paris Uh let me just What is this oh yes Yes All right Uh thank you everyone for joining
CPAC April uh 10th meeting This is our general meeting that we hold every single month Uh we wanted to uh first Okay Randy you will be admitting
everyone because it's popping up in my screen Yes I'm admitting and I just dropped the attendance form in the chat Yes thank you so much The attendance guys is very important Um first off again you know starting with a thank you
to everyone for being here Um and also with with a a quote like I like to do every single month A leader takes people where they want to go but a great leader like us like all of us we are we take people where they we don't usually are
there but we need to because of our parents that we represent uh the executive board members for school year 2025 As you know we repeat this every single month Uh I'm the chair Vosad Diaz We have Miss Randy uh Gray
here who is the first vice chair and the second vice chair was not able to come in today I believe she has something uh personal Miss Erica Newsome Rodriguez And then we have the recurring secretary I believe she's in Ashley Morel I'm not
100% sure And then Josephine Canalosi who is the corresponding secretary and we have Miss Rebecca Staley uh who is the treasurer Thank you to every single member And we the first order of
business uh the meeting started at 9:34 a.m and we're going to have roll call by Miss Randy Thank you Rosa Okay Um we're going to start with district one District one Don't see district two
present Thank you District three District 4 District five District 6 President Thank you District 7 District 8
District 9 District 10 District 11 District 12 District 13 District
14 District 15 present District 15 thank you District 16 present District 16 thank you District 17 District 18 District
19 District 20 here Thank you District 21 here Thank you District 22 District 23 District 24 District 24 Present Thank
you District 25 Good morning Present Thank you District 26 District 27 District 28 Good morning Good morning District 29
Good morning Good morning District 30 District 30 District 31 Good morning Good morning District 32 District 75
Yeah Good morning Good morning Brooklyn High School I am here Bronx High School Manhattan High School Rosa is here Thank you Queens High School Eric
Shernett's here Thank you And Staten Island High School Stat Island is here Thank you Did I miss anyone okay I think Ashley sorry I think Ashley was here then popped out So we have more
than half of our members here She'll try again to log in Oh she's back She's back Okay Okay With that being said uh just in case a notice that we put in every single month I believe since January
notice to all districts and notice to to the burrows like myself president's council Um as per CPAC bylaws right the CPAC executive board reserves the right to contact every single district and um the burrows if you guys have not sent in
representation We need representation We need parents voice Please please please encourage empower your parents to come to our meetings to get the information so they can bring it back to your districts and borrows CPAC executive board members may recommend replacement
and that's not cute to do So please help us help you Okay moving on My computer There we go Okay So we are um I hopefully back on
track Okay Uh we're starting with roll call Thank you Randy so much Uh the business meeting we are um past past the meeting No we're not We're right on time There we go I'm meeting people at the same time And uh we wanted to provide a
chance because we have not done so in a couple of months for district updates and borrow updates Um I know I have a couple of things but I want to uh just provide anybody else that would like to say anything that is happening in your
district anything that we as CPAC uh can support any events that might be going on any initiatives that might be going on raise your hand And uh I'm not able to see anyone So if Randy can help me to move people
along please raise your hand and then Randy will call you out so you can speak District 28 Hi good morning everyone Um we are in the works at D28 to um plan a back to
school event Um we still we're still in the planning phase Um but if anyone has any resources any CEOs that would like to table please let me know Um I can put my email in the chat Um if anyone wants
to join in that Thank you Anyone else would like to share this is your chance guys Any Oh I think I see your Okay high school Hi Okay Hi everyone Okay So good morning I just wanted to say thank you cuz I know
um uh CPAC and a lot of the districts supported sending out our college fair that we did last week with uh collaboration with the bar president We had by final count over 500 plus families show up from Bronx Staten
Island and Brooklyn And we had Boston University uh Hartford Syracuse Yukon you know Cooper Union We had schools all along the East Coast show up and we ran out of tables So we're hoping to go big or go home in
the fall and we're going to be following that up with a as requested because we had info sessions about writing essays Um we had HSC sharing out about scholarships and an MIT uh um admissions counselor was there doing presentations
about what works in getting your applications uh move forward So we're going to be doing a workshop I'm going to post it in the chat for links for anyone from grades 9 through 12 that can um that wants to come The these guys
were really good And um at 7:30 7:40 the room was still packed So I'm hoping that uh the year ends with us uh getting elections done We're struggling with um title one schools doing elections and
PTAs electing boards And part of the issues that we're needing support with is they're just electing maybe a president and it stayed that way the whole year And I'm not really sure how we're supposed to manage a PTA board where the schools are not reporting
um that they don't have a full board and they're not actively each month doing expedited elections You know there's like there's no consequences So therefore your SLTs you don't have SLT parents showing up and then therefore but CPS are getting approved You know
how does that work and I I ran out of answers and tried to tell these guys you have to do elections you know and um it's a slight not a slight it's a problem because then what is the point of us existing if no one's following the rules and from the district straight
down to the schools they're not saying holding accountability and it's it's huge Yeah Yeah 28 Thanks Jazelle Yeah So yeah we need help Yeah And I know right now they don't really care because elections are coming up and a lot of
these parents are aging out So it becomes not a their problem becomes a you problem So they're just holding on just to get through May June and then what who cares cuz they've got this far without doing anything We we have to find a better way to support because
then families are checking out you know they are checking out and they don't want to say okay my turn Let me run for treasurer secretary you're not getting full boards anymore You could barely get the three So you know with fundraising not taking place they don't see a need
for or purpose that they serve because the schools are doing most of the things themselves and they're not working with engaging the PTA to engage the parents to have that whole um so-called pillar
of parent engagement It's all word salads these days and we're a lot of us are tired of it is like hitting a wall going nowhere and cutting parents out Yes As as you know they're saying in the chat it's a problem We are not we're not serving the purpose even right up to
COVID that we would say we're serving and we have not recovered and a lot of the parents that were holding up the PTAs were aging out and you don't have anyone the intellectual um information is not being passed on and therefore the
narrative of the function of a PTA is changing and it's being controlled by the teachers and by the schools and the principles because you don't know what you don't know They don't even know about regulations I had a school yesterday didn't even know that they're supposed to do nominations night or do
nominations They didn't even know how to do the elections and I was like "What it's May practically." So yeah that's that's my spiel Thank you Shar And I put the link in the chat for the workshop that's going to come up for us Please please Thank you We're also going to
share it because I like sharing information Thank you every flyer every link every slide that you guys send it will be sent out as it has been for a couple of months now because I like transparency and and I think is uh
empowerment We as uh parent leaders will continue to to do better right hold ourselves accountable because I hold myself accountable uh I educate parents like one-on-one because having a training and then everyone just
listening in is not engaging right um I I agree and I'm there we're here CPAC is here uh let us know how we can also support um the schools directly and we have faith wonderful faith by the way uh does anyone else
want to share out just I can't see my ra function but I can't raise my hand so I I don't know if we should just unmute Yeah let's have Matt first and then I think I saw precaling Thank you Of course No I just want to
piggyback off what um was just discussed It's exactly it's hard to find members Um and it feels as though the DOE is changing the um the temperature of the schools a little bit The principles
have so much to do They're being thrown so much as them that they don't have time to engage with the parents Also there's every day you go in there the principles have more and more and more to do and they don't have time to engage with the parents and it's a long day I
mean my principles are here till 6:00 at night It's a 12-h hour day They're being burnt out with part of me the the red tape of the DOE It's just too much to handle They don't have time to engage with the parents which is sad You know I know as
far as my council we're having a meeting with um just to sit down and have a a roundt conversation and say "Hey when you go to these meetings don't be intimidated by the uft Don't be intimidated by the principal You're the voice regarding
safety meetings If you don't come to consensus send it to the superintendent." Pardon my language I don't give a crap anymore We need to be heard And I'm trying to empower my parents Don't be intimidated by UFT members Just because they're in the
building all day that doesn't mean anything This is our building as parents This is our children's community We are the end consumers here We need answers We need our voice to be heard It is very frustrating I'm sure many of us on this call feel the same way But I'm trying to
empower my parents now to say "Hey have a voice." And guess what if that voice isn't heard I'll be right next to you I will come to your PTA meetings I will be at your PA meetings Parents need a voice and it's just I can't blame principles There just so much red tape that they have to do
now to get through their day They're beat down and it's very difficult That's just my thoughts and my own opinions on it Thank you No I appreciate that Matt And principles have so much I got to give it to all my three kids principles
They have so much work And I I do know that parents do have a voice They just don't know how to express it You know what I mean like I get along with all the uft because we have this communication We talk all the time but a lot of parents may feel intimidated but
they're there to work with us We're partners in the work because those kids are our kids Who knows best we know best So thank you Matt for that Priscilla do you want to share out i do I'm going to
change it to some encouragement So first off we have a student popup event taking place at the end of this month for young student entrepreneurs This is our second year doing it We're showing kids about financial literacy and if they are starting a business how to get that
going how to create a website how to build the brand So that that we're excited about Um the burough president always comes out for them in our local electeds So that we are doing at one of the schools in district 29 We will be doing the same thing for the parents The
parent edition is May 31st We have vendor tables and we are excited So words of encouragement for engagement I'm rebuilding my home school and our district's president's council Many of you may know we've had hurdles um that
involve some financial losses but rebuilding requ just being out in the field It even requires sometimes me personally to have to give advice to some of our parents Um they're going through personal hardships in their lives Remember we just came out of the pandemic They've lost their entire
support system and they're just learning how to be again And I found that to be very helpful in just listening to them in order for them to now let that shield down to understand how valuable they are to be there for
their community And when I tell you we went from having only eight parents engaged to 48 parents engaged including school leadership team rep we make it so that someone from your school has to be present And we utilize our FLC and FSC
We utilize our Queens High School President's Council We have a lateral relationship So our tentacles have extended outside of our own reach And I highly suggest that's our FSC calling me now I didn't spoke him up So that's what I wanted to share with you guys before
our break So it's a little uh post uh pre- retrograde exit energy and that's it Thank you No no no Definitely thank you for that Um everyone has their own different experience right and I can definitely uh
relate to yours because uh I receive everything from you know the uh the prior president Dr Cody left me everything uh on on a what do you call it a golden platter I had minutes to to you know like to review to see you know
what was done before agendas to take from and you know she taught me the way right so when we have parent leaders that leave everything for us is like a pass alone transfer junior records it's easier for us a parent leaders to continue the work um and that's every
day that's what I do every day empowering people empowering parents because we have to we have to work together right we have to work together and this is your forum This is why we always say in executive board we have meetings twice per month Um and this is
what we say we have to continue empowering the voice of our parents We serve you Uh and let's keep it short guys I think there's another hand raised I'm not sure who it is Um do you see who it is district 15 Okay Let's keep it
short please Okay District 15 Liz Grayson Uh the president's council for district 15 last month held a workshop for 5013 501c3 planning um to try to help all of the schools in our district uh get their EIN set up their bank
accounts and if they hadn't already become a 501c3 to try to help them do that So we had the paperwork and Apple Seed helped um us put together a presentation Um so that's something we're really trying to do this year is is help people There's so many different schools on so many different points of
that uh spectrum and so we're just trying to help those that that really are trying to to function like a business Love it Let's do that for CPAC Let's do that for CPAC because I'm sure just like I have those emails from
parent coordinators CPAC needs to have the two here live Is is there any other hand raised if not let me just take one more minute so I can share my thing Any more hands raised uh Randy or no no Yay Okay
So for Mahata High School's President's Council we are doing the candidate forum on April 23 at 6 PM Everyone is welcome to join to to listen in Send in your questions As of now it is on
[Music] um DOE website I think I believe I I will um be downloading the flyers just to send them out Um and I want to also provide the the chance for um Elizabeth
are you here not able to see anything Hi Yes I am She's also here with a little announcement Elizabeth do you want to take it over yes thank you so much I really appreciate you inviting me to join Rosa and thank you everybody for having me
here So my name is Elizabeth Shad I work at the office of energy and sustainability uh for public schools So I have a few slides I will keep it very short Um but let me just share this here
briefly But we have two events coming up um that we would love to encourage parents to um share with their schools and um be a part of as well So um the office of energy and sustainability
covers a lot of different um areas and work streams within our agency We really focus on updating our buildings themselves making sure that we are reducing energy emissions coming from buildings adding clean energy making
them comfortable learning environments too Uh but we also do programming So we engage staff students administrators all um for school-based sustainability initiatives So one that I wanted to
share with you all and we've had some really incredible um family engagement so far are climate action days So these are four days in the school year sort of set for schools to do whatever they want to do to sort of engage in climate
action They're meant to be really simple frameworks for schools to get started Um we just had one recently but these dates are also very flexible So health wellness and green space climate action day was yesterday Many schools participated in that They invited
families to be part of their activities Some schools also will be planning it for post spring break So they'll be kind of combining it with Earth Day events uh which is wonderful and we are really love to see it We really encourage schools to make families a part of this
day It makes it extra meaningful and special and the last climate action day of the year the theme is water Um so last year we had some really great um family engagement So a few examples I
wanted to share are from a school in Queens They did this activity where they had water saving ideas both for students in school and at home So as they filled in these little droplets that had ideas for water saving the class that had the
most got you know a special party um at a high school in Staten Island they did a really fun game where they had water trivia So I think the PTA was posting questions at the start of the day on their school Instagram They also did it as part of their morning announcements
And so they made it kind of a contest and they gave out these um reusable water bottles And then a school in Brooklyn did a community cleanup day which is really wonderful So they cleaned around these catch basins you see So this is where storm water flows and if there is litter blocking them it
can cause flooding So it was a learning opportunity to talk about the water system here in New York City but also a day to beautify their community So this climate action day is set for May 21st but again that day is
very flexible Um and I'm happy to share these links with everyone after the meeting but we have some great links for families in particular to take some of these ideas home So we have a great climate action day sore reading list So we have lots of books in various
languages and all grade levels We have some project ideas for home at the on the morning bell blog Um and we have flyers and translations and another book list as well um on the the school website So I would encourage everybody to reach out to your school to find out
what their plans are for Climate Action Day and see if your uh parent association or if just families in general can be a part of it The final thing I wanted to share with you all as well is we have this great student engagement opportunity So we have our youth climate summit that is
going to be an in-person event hosted on Governor's Island So this is for both middle school students and that's going to be May 21st and high school students on May 22nd So this is a wonderful opportunity for leadership for students
Um they can bring two to five students from their school and then adult chaperon So if you want to be a second chaperone for your school um and you're available that day that would be great But this is something that is actually planned by high school students on our
offic's youth leadership council So it's a wonderful peer-to-peer sharing opportunity They'll get some workshops that are hands-on and doing things outside with their peers from other high schools Um and we're very excited that middle schools can can be a part of it this year as well on May 21st So this is
something we'd love for you to to make sure your schools know about make sure your students know about um and we invite them to join us on these days So for more information and the the registration form is here on our website So that's
oen.nyc.gov/ youthclimatesummit Awesome Awesome Thank you so much Elizabeth Uh this was a very lovely presentation Um also to announce that we are uh collaborating and doing the Earth Day for uh Community Board 11 on uh
April 22nd from 10 to 2:00 p.m Everyone is welcome The flyer was already sent out Um so thank you Thank you Thank you Let me just um Does anyone have any question please put it in the chat because we are a little past
time And okay with that being said uh there was a little amendment um to the agenda just to add um Elizabeth uh announcement and presentation Um does anyone have any um opposition to
adopting the agenda uh otherwise let's move on Thank you so much Elizabeth My computer is acting up Okay So like I mentioned earlier um the
flyers here you can see it We're collaborating with like every single environmental justice and climate uh organization Uh New York City's public schools is is one of them We have a couple of organizations including CPAC
Yay CPAC is also participating Please join It is open to the public Everyone is welcome It's going to be an education for all for children for uh adults for elderly just so we can know how to keep our earth
clean for all of us I mean it's a win-win situation Um this month also just bringing awareness of autism month child uh abuse prevention month um a stress awareness month which have a lot of stress sometimes leaders Um again
Earth Day is April 22nd Join join the event if you're able Uh alcohol awareness month It is a real thing And autism acceptance month sometimes is seen as a negative It is definitely not
Um let me just keep on moving on This is the CPAP procedures and standing rules We're like moving backwards right now but it's okay I know uh Erica is not here uh right now So we are going to I'm
going to have to do this Um I cannot see it right now Gosh Okay So please please please we already passed this Raise your hand Way to be recognized Thank you guys uh for um everything Uh be an active listener We are doing that already Be
respectful kind and professional We're definitely doing that One mic It is happening What we don't want to happen right we don't want you to unmute and speak five times We don't want you to have like side conversations No disrespect to anyone obviously No
follow-up questions Thank you so much for doing excellent And infractions Uh the first infraction we'll let the slide right If the disrespect continues then you will be muted for the rest of the meeting And lastly you will be removed if you keep
on distracting the meeting while it's happening and next apologies Okay so just in case this is our monthly um calendar we also send it in And with that we are going to uh start with the first presentation by
Randy who has been patiently waiting with a big smile Thank you Randy so much Please introduce yourself because who can do it better good morning and So please let me know if the sound is okay If you have trouble
hearing at a little low Oh no Yeah we need to hear you Is this any better no The other one that keeps her real I'm like should I nuke okay I'm gonna call in Sorry about this
I mean we're able to hear you a little bit right i'm just gonna call just one second Sorry And just in case guys please the attendance is in the chat Okay can you hear me now yes
Great Sorry about that Having a sound tech issue today clearly Um was hoping that that was going to work but thank you so much for having me My name is Randy Lavine I'm policy director of Advocates for Children of New York I want to give a big thank you to Rosa for
all you do and for having us here today Thank you Other Randy Um and and thank you truly to all of the parent leaders who are here today I'm here today largely on behalf of the Coalition for Equitable Education Funding We appreciate that you invited
us to speak last month as well And Kaiser from Alliance for Quality Education was here last month So I'm going to give you an update But just before I do that I know last year and this year I was here on behalf of the coalition and just want to make sure quickly that everyone knows uh what
Advocates for Children is as well where where I work So we are an education nonprofit that has been working in New York City for more than 50 years with the goal of providing a highquality education to all of New York students with a focus on students from low-income
backgrounds The main way we do that is by helping individual families navigate the New York City public school system We have a helpline that is open Monday through Thursday 10:00 a.m to 400 p.m where parents as well as professionals
and students but especially parents can call with any questions or concerns they have about the New York City school system from the time their children are born through the time they graduate high school and we will do an in-depth call with families and provide them with information about their rights and their
options and how to get help And then in some cases where there is a particularly serious problem we may be able to assign the parent to an advocate or an attorney on staff who can provide more in-depth advocacy or legal representation if
necessary So want to make sure that everyone knows Randy by any chance uh do you have any slides or you just I'm gonna get Yes I'm gonna get the slides in one second but just wanted to Yes Yes Wanted to give you kind of a very quick introduction to Advocates for Children
and then we'll put up the slides Um we also so want to make sure that you all know that and have that as a resource and we can send information around Um so that is your hearing concerns from families Keep keep please keep our helpline and our organization in mind We
also have know your rights guides on our website on a whole range of education topics and do workshops on again a whole range of education topics And then our policy agenda really comes from the thousands and thousands of individual
calls we get every year from families and the thousands of parents we assist It helps us to identify barriers that are not just about one child but are systemic and apply to lots of children and to try to work with the department of education
city hall um the city council and then on the state level as well to create change And then we do class and lawsuits um when all else fails and when there's a systemic violation of students rights So just wanted to to give that quick plug and make sure that all the
wonderful parent leaders on this call know about us Um but here today to give you an update to kind of pick up where Kaiser left off last month on the education budget And so I am now sharing
slides and we'll okay going to do a couple of slides just to refresh everyone's memory and make sure we're all on the same page and then mainly give you some updates So the Coalition for Equitable Education
Funding is a coalition of more than 120 groups that have come together to fight for the resources our New York City students and schools need And we are working this year on both the state budget as well as the city budget And it is frankly a critical time for both So
really appreciate being here today So starting with the state budget the main fight that we are working on right now is about foundation aid which is the largest source of funding from the state to New York City public schools and other school districts around the state
It's distributed through a per pupil funding formula and currently provides around a quarter of the New York City public schools budget That funding goes both to school budgets as well as to a range of education programs
I know we've talked already about the governor's budget proposal but just before we get to the next step want to remind everyone that we are very concerned that the governor's proposed changes to the foundation aid formula would short change our New York City
schools Governor Hokll proposed limited changes to the foundation aid formula She proposed changes to the weight for students in poverty and for low-income students And unfortunately the way that they're proposing to measure poverty
uses the federal poverty guidelines So it counts poverty the same whether you're living in New York City whether you're living in an upstate community whether you live in Kansas or Iowa it's the same And it is currently $32,000
$32,150 for a family of four We know that it costs a lot more to live in New York City than in many other places around the state And as a result of making this change the impact would be that New York
City schools would get nearly $350 million less than they would if we were to just leave the formula as it is now And so we have been very concerned about this proposal and have been
calling on the state legislature to make changes to ensure that New York City does not get short changed in the final budget We do think that changes should be made to the formula and we had been calling all year for changes but those changes need to better capture student
needs and account for variations in costs in different parts of the state And the bottom line is that changes to the formula should be driving more funding to New York City schools given the tremendous needs that we have and certainly not resulting in loss of
funding for New York City schools So what are the specific changes that we are talking about both the Senate and the Assembly budget proposals would update the formula's regional cost index or rci for New York City What is the rci
the RCI gives a higher bump to places in the state that have higher costs It's supposed to account for differences in salaries in different regions in New York State but it has not been updated since 2006 And unfortunately despite
recommendations to update it the governor's proposal did not update it So we were very glad to see that both the Senate and the Assembly budget proposals would update the regional cost index for New York City And this would help to restore some of that funding that's lost
through the governor's proposal But I want to be clear that updating the RCI alone is not enough to fully restore the funding And just to give you a quick look these are estimates but the Senate's budget proposal increases the
RCI for New York City more than the assembly's proposal The Senate's budget proposal would bring nearly $300 million back to New York City schools The Assembly's budget proposal to increase the RCI would restore nearly $200
million for New York City schools And so our coalition is pushing for the Senate update to the regional cost index But again neither of these numbers get you back to that $350 million that we lose through the governor's proposed changes
So we're also glad to see that the assembly's budget proposal would increase the weight for English language learners and that would bring roughly an $150 million to New York City schools
And so we want to see in the final budget that is being negotiated now between Governor Hokll the state assembly and the state senate both the senate proposal to increase the regional cost index as well as the assembly
budget proposal to increase the weight for English language learners And making these two changes together would restore that $350 million that we would otherwise lose through the governor's proposed changes And also these are two
changes that have been long overdue that should have been made already that are very important especially at a time when we have welcomed thousands of newly arrived immigrant students to our schools But frankly even before we have
needed additional resources for English language learners and so both of these changes are extremely important to be making the timeline So today is after April 1st Um
the state budget was due on April 1st However it is not done and it does not look like it is going to be done this week And so that means we need to keep advocating and our understanding is that as of right now there is no final
decision on foundation aid funding And so these next days and perhaps couple of weeks certainly days are going to be very very important for as many parents as possible to make your voice heard And so we want to give you a few tools for
doing that that you can feel free to use You can feel free to use them as they are You can feel free to modify them We can also email them to everyone who wants them But we want you all to join us in calling on the governor and the New York State legislature not to short
change New York City schools State leaders must ensure that any updates to the foundation aid formula drive more resources to New York City schools and certainly do not result in schools receiving less money than they otherwise would And again the final budget should
include the Senate's proposed increase to the regional cost index and the assembly's increase to the weight for English language learners We are putting on the screen QR codes The one on the left as you're looking at it
takes you to a call script and phone numbers for some key leaders We have three key phone numbers on the screen the most the three most important folks right now who are negotiating the budget Governor Hokll Assembly Speaker Carl Hasty and Senate Majority Leader Adria
Stewart Cousins However the QR code will take you to additional phone numbers And I have to say we did a round of calls where we brought together parents um at this point just a couple weeks ago And when they called when one of the leaders
on the call called the Senate Finance Chair the the person who picked up the phone said it was the first call that they had gotten on this topic And so we need to make sure that all of these offices get lots and lots of phone calls about the importance of this issue And
then on the right we have a very easy e-click where folks can send an email to the governor to our legislative leaders As you'll see more than 20,000 emails have been sent We definitely need thousands more over these coming days
and weeks And also have the link there and again can send this around after And here's a QR code and link to sign up for additional updates So we would love everyone to sign up so that you're getting updates from us We'll let
you know as there are changes We'll let you know as there are key actions that you can take Um and that way you can get the word out to your communities as well And then just very quickly on the city budget here really nothing has changed
yet from what you heard last month from Kaiser But just a reminder that there are many important education programs that are currently funded with one-year city dollars that expire at the end of
June Some of the programs on this list are 100% entirely funded with those one-year city dollars set to expire in June Others like 3K are partially funded with one-year city dollars expiring in June So um a portion of those dollars
would end if not restored in this year's budget The mayor's preliminary budget in January extended funding for two of these programs for one more year but the rest of these programs are all still today at risk of significant budget cuts
or elimination entirely And so just want to make sure that this is on everyone's radar and we want to call on the mayor to include long-term funding for these important education programs in the executive budget The deadline to release
the executive budget is May 1st So again these next few weeks are very important And it's important to include not just funding for another year but long-term funding so that we don't have to have this fight every year And because it's much easier to run a
program if everyone knows that it's going to continue beyond one year And we also want to make clear just putting this money back in just keeps the status quo And that's not what we're looking for The city should also make additional investments that are needed to support
students with a focus on those who have the greatest needs We know there are a number of important priorities here I'll say for advocates for children preschool special education services is a concern we hear about day after day from families and a place
where we would love to see additional investments um in addition to a number of other important areas So we're advocating now for the mayor to include these programs in the executive budget which has to be released by May 1st And then the city
budget deadline is June 30th So between the time the mayor releases the executive budget and the deadline the city council and the mayor will negotiate the final budget And we also have an e-click where you can email the mayor about the importance of providing long-term
funding for these programs um and can encourage other folks to do so And just here is another link to our sign up form to stay up to date And with that um thank you again for having me and for this time Thank you so much for all the
work you do for your districts and communities every day It is so appreciated and necessary and I'm happy to answer any questions Thank you so much Randy for all the information Please do send us the slides and we have like one minute for
questions Does anyone have one minute question and answer if not put it in the chat We'll send them all to to Randy Lavine and we can move on to the next presentation Okay I guess we can move on
to the next presentation Thank you so much Randy See you next time Thank you Thank you Okay the next presentation is Office of Language Accents Take it away Yes Hi good morning Can you hear me yes we can Excellent
Good morning I'm so happy to be here My name is Clever Palma executive director of the Office of Language Access Happy to share the space with you It is my first time in this space Hopefully not my last Um and I'm here I have a slide deck I'm going to share my screen here in a minute Um I'm here to give you a
very high level and uh view to the work that we do in the office of language access formerly known as the translation and interpretation unit for some of you maybe back in the day um the work that we do what we've accomplished the services and what we want to do and how much more we have to work together to
get this done Uh we live in a city we serve families who represent over 180 different languages where over 40% of households speak a language other than English at home You guys know all the stuff I'm preaching to the choir right add to that the different mechanisms and
avenues and doors that parents come to our lives and to our schools It's walking in the front door It's an email It's social media uh it's a document backpacked home it's a phone call all these different uh mechanisms we need to kind of anticipate plan for and provide as much support and knowledge to our
staff and families so that we can all do the best we can with what we have Um so with that being said I'm going to jump in and and share my screen Give me one second All right thumbs up Is that good yes I see a thumbs up Thank you Thank you Thank you Oh again so here we go again Uh Clever Palm executive director of
Office of Language Access Um a little bit about the Office of Language Access itself So we're here to provide support uh services on multiple fronts um for our New York City public schools offices and schools helping them engage families regardless of their language or
preference um to either communicate be involved um and just uh get to know about the program services and all the initiatives that we have to offer At the same rate we also have to make the effort to to u raise awareness with families and communities as well so that they are aware what what rights they
have to to receive the services and where to go and what's available and all that sort of stuff So that's ultimately what we want to accomplish here and as I mentioned in a system this diverse and this complex Uh we are trying to confront and address this work this important work in so many different fronts Um one of the things that we
really try hard to do is really create an infrastructure within the New New York City public schools a knowledge base if you will and just raising awareness within our staff We have a huge system Many folks uh are public facing or staff or parent facing family facing folks Um so we want to make sure
that we raise the level of awareness in terms of what the obligations are what services are available and where to where to get these services and supports Um several years ago um we launched the language access coordinator initiative uh where we asked principles to
designate one current staff member as a language access coordinator and that enabled us to at least start communicating at least with one person at the school to talk about this work which we didn't have that network before Um these are numbers from last year but we we kind of um uh still kind of in
this area year to year when with regards to how many of our schools have a designated lack Last year we got up to 98% at some point Um and that's just designation The next piece is that knowledge that needs to be passed on And so we're working hard to do that as well Last year we got up to 91% of those language access coordinators receive
training through the office of language access to again be aware of what's available how to access these services etc etc And then in addition to that we did actually you know get up to about 5,000 folks throughout the city who participated in some form or fashion of our trainings that we offer throughout
the year via the Office of Language Access So I think we're on the right pace Still the these numbers could be seen as big at the moment but also small compared to how big our system is But I think we're going in the right direction Again much more work to do Uh in addition and to supplement that knowledge that we want to make sure we
share with folks at at the school level Uh we have support systems in place We have our annual language access kit that's submitted to schools at the beginning of the school year Uh one of those items in that kit is the multilingual multicolored poster you see on your screen here I'm hoping a lot of you have seen that poster in your
schools Yes Okay Good Excellent If you had not feel free to reach out to us and we'll get you one immediately Uh it's just one small visual asset that helps families feel they can connect or that we speak their language and so forth So we need to not only have that knowledge base but also have reminders consistently in our setting in our
schools and in communications to families about the ability to communicate with families in their preferred language Uh we also have a u dispersement of specific translation interpretation earmarked funding for schools in the form of a SAM So schools get a a bucket of money a pocket of money if you will uh to help supplement
what we do at central See the office of language access is simply one lifeline We're not the answer for everything We can't be the system the language count It's it's amazing We have about 60 70 folks uh at the office of language access Um and that's broken down with the full-time translators and our nine
covered languages and people managing requests and interpretation and training and monitoring all sorts of stuff but it's not enough obviously So the SAM with the appropriate guidance and direction and training as well allow schools to actually have these resources to address local needs that perhaps
aren't available directly from the Office of Language Access So we have oversight over those fundings We keep an eye on that and see how it's being used and provide guidance for schools and troubleshoot items on that front as well And then as I previously mentioned with our language access coordinators we now have an entry point to schools along with the principal to make sure that we
can relay information updates So we have a monthly language access newsletter that goes to schools with updates um with new services or um resources available to schools and we share best practices that we actually learn from schools language access coordinators as well I mean we learn a lot from
schoolbased staff who are very creative and inventive and we take those ideas recycle them repackage them and make sure that everybody knows about those great ideas that are happening in our in our schools So these are the kind of supports that we have that knowledge base the things around uh the services themselves that we have for in the
infrastructure to make sure that's that our system is in a good place or getting to a great place when it comes to language access Now the services themselves we all know them as document translation services and interpretation services And interpretation services could be in person it can be virtual like this meeting we're having here
today It can be over the phone as well These are some numbers to give you a sense of what what we saw last year And again this is just in one year uh over 369,000 phone exchanges with families in languages using the over the phone service the ondemand call that really
takes off took off after COVID and continues to increase in demand uh this uh during parent teacher conferences that month it really really peaks as a service that's used widely over 6,000 actual in-person or road events with interpreters present over 2300 uh
communications general communications intended for the school population general parents um in the community uh over 12,000 IEPs that were translated for families with with children in special education all that was funneled to the office of language access for translation support and the last thing
we added to the menu recently was foreign uh language transcript for our our immigrant students who are coming in roll enrolling in the system so that staff can have a better sense in terms of placement purposes and so forth So that's kind of a new thing we're adding there and trying to get a sense of what that volume looks like We have to be very cautious with the office of
language access opening that door piece by piece So we don't want to overcommit because if we do then there's delays and there's frustration So we want to be very transparent with our schools in terms of what's provided uh yesterday what's provided today and what we want to provide in the future But we do keep tabs of the numbers that come our way and the potential numbers that may be
coming our way in the future So that's again a snapshot of the actual language assistance services for school year 2324 In addition to staff uh awareness and the actual provision of these services uh it's also important that our
families know uh what what's in place Uh I'm hoping that uh some of you may have seen our campaigns in the streets in the last couple years and the the the school buses and subway stops and we had what you see here or version of what you see here in multiple languages Uh the intent there was again simply to raise
awareness Uh for far too long the issue of language access has been an afterthought It's been let's get this thing translated uh after if we have time right we're getting to a place where it has to be part of the communications process part of the planning process and we need to do that at every school And we need all the help
that we can get We need your help We need the family's help We need additional uh training and staff awareness And we're we're doing progress on all of those fronts So we did the public awareness campaign In fact I think it's going to launch later this month again So keep an eye out for our for our ads out there on the streets But in addition to that we also wanted to
make sure that we contacted families directly and in as many different avenues as possible We have robocalls going out in language We have emails we have text messages and then the old school postage mail or postcard US post of uh postage being sent to families as well in in language in translation for
families So we want to make sure that we cover all these avenues uh social media as well U so we uh we do that uh annually uh and that's been that's been great for us to do Really excited for us to to launch that As I mentioned our our public awareness campaign is launching later this month So do keep an eye on
that All of these messages all of these uh announcements for families is not only telling them what's available at the school and to be aware and to knock on the door and to ask for these services in addition to what staff should be offering them as well We also direct families to our uh internet internet
site the schools.nyc.gov/hello Um on this site there is a wealth of information and resources including um the ability to request services online uh through the school contacting our offices information about sign language interpreting um and just providing feedback or concerns about how we're
doing on this front We really want to hear from folks So we do encourage um families and and all of you and everybody else to promote this site for families to go and just learn more about what's available uh with regards to language access language access needs to stand on its own In addition to being an
added layer to every single program initiative service that's rolled out to families it needs to stand on its own so that families are aware and staff is aware of what um what the expectation is on this front So um couple of new things I wanted really excited to share that
we're rolling out Um in the previous slide I was boasting about 5,000 people last year Really super excited to know and and again that may sound like a big number or small number uh we're shooting bigger and we want to do more And so what we're rolling out uh what we rolled out this spring was additional training
and awareness with staff but uh in the form of a mandated language access asynchronous training for PR all principles and all parent coordinators this this spring and beginning in the fall of next year uh we're going to go with we're going to go with everybody else who's public facing at the school level Everything's online so people can
take this at their own pace So we've evolved from just having that one point person language access coordinator having the wealth and the knowledge to everybody in the school because that's that having that one person calls out sick that day it doesn't mean the language access stops for the school So we're uh we're expanding the network the
net of folks to uh to uh this knowledge to have awareness to contact us um and your assistance and your support in that effort is highly appreciated as well So with that uh quick quick snapshot of what we are and what we do I'm happy to
answer any questions and I also leave you a few links there One of which is for uh staff facing the internet You got to log in um which is on the infohub and that allows folks for allows folks to access additional resources and translated templates and glosseries and dictionaries and style guides all sorts
of neat stuff that schools can have access to And of course for families a great starting point is our schools.nyc.gov/hello And if you want to contact me directly or need to email me that's my email address I'll also drop it in the chat after uh my presentation today I'm happy to answer and be in contact with you or have any follow-up
conversations after today's session Absolutely Bet I pass it on to the floor Sure Sure Let me let me shut this down Yes Yes Yes Thank you so much Uh please ask your questions We have eight minutes remaining and I already see
Remma take it away Hi Um so I have a question slash need support So um I guess my first question is are there any languages that are particularly more difficult than other
languages to get on a consistent basis wow great question Um so currently the New York City public schools uh regulation and its policy um mandates that we do everything in the top nine languages of the school system So in
those top nine languages and I can go I can go real quickly just to make sure maybe maybe one of these is one you're looking for Uh Arabic Bangla Chinese French Haitian Creole Korean Russian Spanish and Udu those languages Uh we
have capacity within uh the office of language access to translate materials So it's not a matter of difficulty or not It's what we have capacity to do If there's any language needs above and beyond those at least in document translation we do have the ability to work with the outside partners that help us with that And schools also have can
use the funding to do direct business with those vendors that work with us very closely in terms of continuity consistency glossery terms When it comes to interpretation um it's just a matter of planning ahead uh or if it's the over the phone service that's available in over 250 languages So it's it's not
about difficulty it's about ma maybe um uh the available resources at the time that you need it right so planning ahead is always a good thing as well Rosa may I ask for the support now thank you Okay so the support because I needed to understand that and you listed and I
needed that So we have we're all doing the CCEC candidate forms right now and um we had initially requested five languages because we are the only citywide um president's council and we
are in every community and these are languages that we proven to need over time So we had initially requested uh French Spanish Bangla Mandarin and ASL Um and and we've done this because at
various events we've had instances where we have not been fully accessible to members of our community even within the planning for accessibility Um new things we learn new things in every town hall right and so you know even like
particularly about ASL which that's like a whole another offline conversation I need support because we had ASL Mandarin Bangla and Spanish the first time and each firm we've lost a
language And so last night our forum we had Spanish and Mandarin And we had a Bangla candidate and a uh I want to say probably Haitian Creole but French
worked and we had two candidates that ended up requiring support right so one required support one didn't because you could hear their child in the background providing the support that we are legally provided to you legally required to provide as you just mentioned in
those particular languages as you just mentioned and we have already requested it way before this even started in March So to have a language consistently removed from a community that is already disenfranchised is the most frustrating
then when we have to then solve for issues that we already knew about because the request wasn't and I don't know how to finish that statement right like was it not respected was it not understood was it not able to be
facilitated that's why I led with are there certain languages that are more difficult than others because like I I want really understand before I start to feel like like how we were feeling last night when we were you know and I want to big ups to Christian Barrows um that
between learning times John so John Wahber and his list and Christian and we managed to get two French interpreters to come in and we were able to facilitate for the parent so they were able to participate in the forum the Bangalore candidate had his student um
in the background uh translating interpreting rather for him but that shouldn't have happened and if it was another forum that person probably would have been at or like it like we are really intentional about accessibility
because that is everything about district 75 is differentiation and how do we figure it out on the fly but we didn't have to it didn't have to be like that We requested this two months ago like a month ago when we put in the forms So I just need the support that we
have another forum coming up on the 16th that we get what we requested Um and and that also um just that you're aware that that it's a little more difficult to request interpretation and translation
than it sounded like when you when you say it Um because also we had to wait forever for translated flyers and we were at and we didn't get them till less than seven days to the date which is already against our own bylaws that say 10 days And so I just like we're not
being given the tools or the access that we are mandated to receive to provide the access and support for our families that we're elected to represent So please and thank you Thank you Thank you Reema Yes Christian he leads our interpretation team and he's he's
fantastic Um yeah I'd like to have an offline conversation to get you know more of the particulars and and and maybe get um have a conversation with face as well to see what uh you know how we can better support moving forward Thank you Thank you so much
Remma Um I know what it is Before we had ASL in Mahhatan High School and then we didn't Um but it's because you know our our constituent body changes So um
anyone else have any questions uh we have two minutes left And with regards to uh PAPA translation Yes Yes Yes Yes It is um it is possible And I know I supported a
couple of parents getting their IEP translated to the language that they needed So yes everything is possible Ask your questions We're here to uh work together and support each other Okay No more questions Going once
and Okay Oh I see No no no You have another one Don't you go away No I was just going to add before we jump into that that the American Sign Language support is is something that we work very closely with our partners in D75 for that service Um so unfortunately it
is a separate process but we we do work together to make sure that both offices support whatever needs are necessary Thank you Melissa Uh good Well good morning My question is for our our district we have some PAS or well mostly PTAs they're going to be having
in-person um elections and some of our schools are Spanish leading parents So we were wondering what the process can um can the school do to have interpreters available in the school and and um I know virtual is probably easier
but they're prefer inerson elections So would it be possible to request an interpreter for for them to come out to help assist with the spring elections yes Hi Hi Melissa Definitely we can provide guidance on that There is um this this kind of falls into that that realm of the support that's that's
provided through the the the funding that's given to all schools Uh at this time the office of language access uh it doesn't have the capacity to provide interpreters throughout uh all schools Uh but we do provide guidance and work with you to come up with solutions So
what I'm going to do is connect you with the now famous Christian Varos that was mentioned earlier uh to give you some guidance and next steps on what your options are at this point Thank you Sure Thank you so much Please send us the information I believe I already have the
flyers Uh thank you Thank you And look right on time I am learning It's 10:40 and right on time for our next presentation Thank you everyone Thank you so much
Well you are next Thank you Rosa Um thank you everyone for having Sunni here today Uh some of you we have spoken with in the past and Rose has definitely sat in on I would say three or four of these presentations at
this point so she could have gone ahead and done it for us Uh my name is Will Fest I'm the director of downstate recruitment I am joined by my colleague I will let them introduce themselves You're unmuted Barl Yes I just did I was
trying to bring my picture up Um good morning everyone This is Barl Jeffers I am the senior director of the welcome center and it is always a pleasure to be here So today we are going to go over some of
the uh Sunni initiatives and what we have been doing in New York City Uh we are really hoping to gain uh uh conversation out of this and also have you contact us because we want to make sure we're working closely with you and
your schools So I'm going to go ahead and share my PowerPoint One moment Okay Is it full screen just making sure We're good to go Great Okay This is the basic information
Who is Sunni most of you do know this but we are the largest comprehensive school system in the United States Uh we are broken down into four different categories of schools which uh will kind of gear what student goes to which one Not every student is uh a university
center student R1 research like Bingmpington Albany Buffalo Stonybrook Uh we have university colleges Those are our liberal arts colleges uh Onian Jennisio New Pulse Fredonia uh Sunni Old Westberry Then we have our technology colleges Those are the seven hands-on
colleges Maybe you have a student who is uh not the greatest classroom lecture learner uh individual but you know they want to go into construction management or veterinary science architecture nursing Those are going to be great schools to look at And right in the
Bronx you have Sunni Maritime So that one's right in the city And lastly we have our 30 community colleges And why I even mention those even though you have CUNI uh which is phenomenal in New York City is that the community colleges also
some of them have residence halls So some of your students might want to go away but you know they're not ready to commit to that 4-year education I'm a product of a individual who first got their associate degree to moving on getting their bachelor's and then their
masters And I I'm a large advocate and the success rate for if you receive your associates degree to go on and complete your bachelor's is higher than students who go directly into their bachelor's degree programs Now here's an organizational
chart Uh so Barl and I report directly to Bart Gracian He's the associate vice chancellor for enrollment management Also Valerie Dent the associate vice chancellor and deputy deep for uh deputy chief for student success And then we have Donna Linderman who's the senior
vice chancellor for student success who reports directly to Chancellor King Within our team in New York City we have a designated office There's nowhere else in the state outside of Albany where the headquarters is that has a designated
team meant to cater to the community And that's what Barl and I uh really advocate for Um we have four admissions recruitment adviserss or three admissions recruitment advisors one assistant director Uh there's an office assistant along with an associate
director of financial aid So we are not only trying to educate and provide resources to students families uh counselors We are also trying to make sure they're able to complete the FAFSA because as we know the universal FAFSA
is now in effect and we want to make sure that we are competing with the top states like California Texas Tennessee and Louisiana Um last time I checked we dropped down to five or six within uh FAFSA completion Um but at the beginning
of the FAFSA season we were all the way behind around 19 20th in the country for FA completion So we are making progress as a state and that is really uh to show the work that your your schools have been
doing one of the newest programs Uh some of you probably have heard of this the top 10% promise program Um it can get a little confusing Uh but this program is long-term Okay it's not a pilot program
We are looking to see how we can uh definitely refine and improve for the following uh next year There are nine Sunni schools that are involved in the promise program Albany Buffalo ESF Jennisio Oniana Newalts Purchase Sunni
PI and lastly Sunni Stonybrook counselors Uh so students fill out a a form Uh and this is applies to any school within New York City DOE and some also charter schools and other schools within New York City But students would
fill out a form providing very basic information Then the counselor determines the top 10% of students based off GPA and and other criteria within their school The counselor would then once the student submits the form the counselors receives an email they would
click they would log in upload the students information everything that is required I believe approximately 90% of the students who uh went forward with this program were accepted into all nine of the schools and they are the most selective Sunni uh some of the most
selective Sunni schools uh available Let's say there's a a school not on that list Bingmpington um uh Asiggo uh Delhigh a technology college The students also have the option of going down uh an additional list and just
checking what schools they're interested in Now it's not an automatic uh accept to those schools It is an instant pre-application to those schools when they click that and then the schools will reach out let them know what information they need to submit in order
to be uh considered for that program We also have uh the criteria uh listed I'm going to close this So I didn't know everyone could see that Um I have also the criteria listed So to make it easy uh if uh students on track for advanced
region diploma or IB degree they are automatically able uh to be considered for the top 10% student uh 10% Now if they do not have this criteria then we look at these additional factors uh to
make sure they can be considered for top 10% So let's say they're getting a uh regular regions diploma and then they did the SAT and they got a combined score super score of above 1100 maybe they didn't do the SAT then we move on to the ACT and vice versa So we were we
took pretty much the largest um the largest factors that stu uh students have taken within high school to make sure that we're covering as many grounds as possible so that the top 10% within the school will be considered for the
program and we can get make it a seamless uh seamless application even though it's not an application as possible This is more of my wheelhouse Uh recruitment events outside of the welcome
center this year Uh Governor I heard Governor Hokll's name before but Governor Hokll and Chancellor King came together They thought it was uh crucial to implement the FAFSA completion course So uh Sunni wrote a grant Americaore approved that grant and this is funded
by Americanore We have this year 12 campuses participating and over 50 members on our campuses which are students They are current Sunni students throughout New York State Uh these students are going into high schools working with current students on their campus working with EOP uh students on
their campus They're currently doing virtual events throughout New York State So if you have students in your schools who still have not completed the FAFSA if you go on the Sunni website they can sign up and meet with one of our FAFSA core members They are phenomenal students I like to say they're the best
students because I'm the director of the program but you will just get to see uh how well educated our Sunni students are within FAFSA completion who are part of the FAFSA The team this year uh they had a really busy travel year Uh in the fall
they completed 326 visits within New York City uh some on Long Island and then also Barl did some in Westchester In the spring we are projected to have in the high 200s So at the end of the calendar year we're looking around 550
to 600 visits they completed throughout the school year Um and financial aid events we host those continuously even into the summer So if you have any students who like I said need FAFSA completion if you just want a basic financial aid presentation if you need a
specific counselor uh FAFSA event or if you particularly as a group decide we would like a FAFSA presentation please reach out so that we can provide you that general information during a presentation and answer any questions you possibly might
have We had our most recent college fairs who were coming to a conclusion We still have one left in downstate New York which is going to be at the Nike track and field Armory in Harlem on April 27th Uh last week we had boy uh on
April 4th not April 2nd we were at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn And then on Tuesday uh a uh April 1st we were at Queens Gateway Health the Sciences where we saw approximately between the two events um 1300
to,400 students and they were invited the entire school districts were involved with making these events successful Um so we plan to continue these events for next year Uh last year was the first time we've held it at Brooklyn This was the second year at Brooklyn first year at Queens I'm hoping
to expand to the Bronx next year possibly Staten Island but we want to make sure we're working together to make these events as resourceful as possible for your students And we have spring counselor bus trips Uh yesterday was the final
counselor bus trip Uh they depart out of Sunni Optometry the ones leaving New York City right near Bryant Park And we had approximately 25 counselors attend that bus trip They are returning today but they start off they leave uh uh Bryant Park in the morning they go to
New Pulse then they went up to Aderond Community College ate dinner there then they stopped in Platsburg uh slept overnight Next day they go to Platsburg They get a tour and then a uh North Country Community College and Clinton Country Community uh Clinton Community
College go to Platsburg They present information sessions and then they depart down to New York City These are paid for expense-free by uh Sunni system So if you know counselors who are interested in this let them know But we're hoping to have parent coordinators
We're hoping to get administration within the high schools as well involved in the future with these bus trips And that is all I have and I will hand it off to Barl Okay Well I'll do this for you to move the slide because I'm not a host Um
again good morning and uh my responsibilities are really the strategic programming and planning uh for the entire office and so my part of this presentation will be specifically the programming and the discover Sunni
bus trips Next slide So part of what we do at the global center in which we hosted um many different types of programs at the Sunni welcome center for your students is to provide them with information about our campuses And so part of the
understanding is um students need to know which Sunni are you right we'll mention 64 amazing campuses throughout New York State from Long Island to Buffalo And so a part of the education that we do is providing workshops for
students and families We oftent times will have a translator that will do the presentation alongside of alongside us in Spanish as well So we had nine which Sunni are used We have the how to apply
which is a stepbystep process on our Sunni applications Students can apply on our application via the how to apply or the common application They can also check the box yes if they are interested in EOP as well as receive fee waiverss
We also host what's called the uh free application week two weeks in October going into November Um we have not confirmed the dates yet but students have the opportunity again to apply to Sunni without paying a fee
We are excited because go back We are excited that actually next week we have our specialized program pathways to education So for students who are interested in learning more about the fields of education becoming a teacher becoming a school counselor becoming a
physical education teacher a psychologist anything under the realms of education we are having a specialized program via Zoom And so we are happy to send the flyer to Rosa so she can send it out to all of you so you can then send it out to all of your students Um
we want the students to register It will be on Zoom on April 16th and I know it's going to be during the Easter Passover break but it's on Zoom which allows students to log in from wherever they are whether they are fortunate to go
away and go to Florida or they are home in their um apartment or home in Brooklyn Bronx Manhattan Queens And then finally we know that students are very interested in learning more about the health sciences whether they are interested in nursing occupational
therapy physical therapy whether they are interested in radiology whether they would like to become a doctor And so we have the health sciences at Sunni in May on May 14th And that will allow students and families to learn more about the
entire field of health sciences is we will have someone from of course the university centers Stony Brook is very popular the University of Buffalo is very popular and then some of our four-year schools along with the two-year colleges which is the transferability as will mentioned from a
two-year school to a four-year school which is seamless also at the um global center over 150 c over 150 programs by our campuses in fact yesterday Stonybrook was indeed in the office and they met
with over 125 of their students and families came out It was standing room only and many of our campuses have again these are all free programs accepted student programs prospective student programs Learn more about the
educational opportunity program What is EOP it's a it's a it's an admissions program but you must meet both guidelines academically and financially eligible It's a special opportunity program for the right students It's also called seek and college discovery at
CUNI and it's called HOP at the private schools We also have financial aid sessions as well indicated and many of our campuses realize that students may not have the resources to travel up to Cobalt Skill or to Buffalo AGO on so
they come into the global center and they will do their full orientation for accepted students Students will learn about their financial aid award packaging They will also be able to get their ID They will meet with their academic advisor They will also meet
with students So we're excited that our office is as it was stated it's a full community service office and we provide programs and services to students and families throughout the five burrows Also I want to share that our community
colleges will host programs as well those that have onampus housing Will stated 30 community colleges Out of the 30 there are 19 that have housing Those 19 campuses do a lot of recruitment in New York City So if students are
interested in only starting at a community college and then continuing into the four-year school they can go away and live on a college campus such as Duchess Community College Sullivan Community College Anandaga Community College just to name a
few One of the most exciting programs we have is our discover Sunni bus trips And I say that because the research tells us when students are able to visit our college campuses get a sense of the campus culture the sense of the campus
community they are 75% more likely to not only apply to our campuses and then when they get accepted they know that that is their campus choice That's where they want to go for the next four years or two years And so I am pleased that working directly with the chancellor's
office a grant was written and for the past two years I have been um responsible for these programs and these programs are not only thriving but we have exceeded expectations One of the uh what we're so proud of is
last fall 2024 when we started we had 37 trips and we were able to invite over 1,200 students This spring semester we have 60 trips planned and we are projecting over 3,000 students And the one thing that I want to share with all
of you under the sound of my voice we're working directly with the Brooklyn district as well as the Manhattan districts And I have to share that the Manhattan district they've been extremely pleased and excited because each semester they got 20 bus trips So
schools like a Phip Randolph Chelsea High School New York City High School LaGuardia High School environmental um science Manhattan Village Academy High School Advocacy JKO Leadership and Public Service Eleanor Roosevelt Park
East M Hall Gregoria Lupian um Repatory just just to name a few They all participated free as will stated these are free bus trips for students We do not ever charge students to visit our
campuses Not only do we pay for a amazing brand new chartered bus It's not a yellow school bus We provide lunch for every single person Students are so excited when they see this chartered bus pull up to their high school um and then
take them to the campus and again have a full orientation They meet with currently enrolled students They have a presentation They're able to eat lunch in the dining hall They have a campus tour and then they get campus swag So they are really
excited And so in terms of the accepted student we had 44 and 34 students And we have EOP specifically designed bus trips as well And so in closing and we met the timeline of Rosa giving us only 20
minutes we could have talked for at least an hour because we have so much to share with you about the State University of New York But in closing what I will share is that the Sunni Global Center Welcome Center is truly a
partner with all of you and you see our contact information Will is responsible for recruitment I am responsible for strategic programming and planning Certainly the emails can go to both of us or each one of us individually If you
see something you are interested in learning more about but specifically if you want to know more about anything that we have discussed here today we are both very able to discuss them with you as well Thank you for allowing Sunni to
be your partner and I will turn it back over to Rosa Thank you so much And I know that you guys can literally speak for one hour There's so much information Um and please please please we are all
presidents of President's Council of every single district uh and in all the borrows So please grab the information grab the emails bring them to your to your uh president's councils now so you
can have a full-on presentation and more uh discussion about um uh education after high school Uh thank you so much to both and I will provide uh the flyers um that were already sent
out Thank you And now we have our chancellor Yes Should I say Mar should I say Chancellor Melissa Ramos i don't know It's a thing now That's so funny No
Melissa's always fine Hi everyone It's really good to see you all Um apologies My laptop is just not communicate not cooperating with me so I'm on my iPad Um but just wanted to say good morning Looking forward to hearing your questions Thanks so much to um to you
all um who attended our NYCPS Cares announcement Um super excited about the launch of that which is going to further uh family empowerment Um you know thanks to to CPAC right we always credit CPAC with having uh pushed u my leadership to
move back to empowerment over engagement Um and also uh really excited about students owning the work around uh anti-bullying um and anti- vaping So not much to to say outside of thank you and looking forward to hearing your
questions We have the entire team here with us ready to jump in Uh Bi you have the questions I think I saw BB here The questions were already sent out I don't have them in front of me Uh actually Rosa I I have them
Beautiful Love you Jesse No no no no problem Rosa Um so Chanc the the first question was where or who does a parent call or email regarding support for expiring student visas
Uh I believe we have information from Moya Uh deputy chancera Are you on yeah Hey everybody Um uh thanks Rosa So a few things Um first of all I would just say if this is something's coming to one of
you about this please come flag for us directly so we can make sure what we understand what you're hearing We realize there is a lot in the press generally in the higher ed context about student visas and what is happening Um we don't see that as an issue for our students but obviously could be for
others in their families and communities If this does come up reach out to Moya Moya has a legal hotline We're happy We've we've told them this questions come from our community We're happy to make connections as flag but the Moya legal hotline is what you can call and what folks can call and I'll drop a note
in the chat as well Thank you Um next question Chancellor is where can a parent go or call if they feel unsafe sending their child to school due to retaliation from the school teacher wow that's uh it's sad that that question has to be asked but
thank you for asking it Um so if you do not feel that your school is a safe space because ideally what you should do is escalate that to the administration at your school But if the question is intimating that you do not feel safe to uh to to share it with your school
community at all because you fear retaliation uh then the next step would be your family support coordinator at your district superintendent office Um of course you can always reach out to us directly here Um and I know Mark represent you're probably on the phone
so if you could jump in as well Absolutely Please um please advise any parent to uh reach out to us directly We have a RFA email address right available at all of our schools Um I'm going to put it in the chat The RFA right respect
for all not some Um and parents can reach directly out to the RFA line It's every day we have people reading the emails We will directly contact with that parent and ensure that the appropriate steps are followed All right Through the superintendent's office all of the folks that the chancellor just
mentioned but I will send somebody to those schools personally to ensure that the parents are feeded I'm sorry uh treated with the utmost respect Thank you Um and the next question chancellor is what are the top priorities for the department of
education in the next five years and how do you plan to achieve them another great question Uh New York City reads New York City solves New York City public schools cares and our pathways work continue to be our our our priority
initiatives Um one of the ways in which we are going to continue to drive those initiatives is by making sure that there is investment across stakeholder groups So we have investment from our elected officials from private um private
industry um from parents from students We need to make sure that everyone is talking about these amazing initiatives the impact and also addressing any issues that come up with us because great ideas um sometimes the implementation doesn't necessarily reflect the great how great of an idea
it is But when we work really quickly to resolve those issues and make sure that we're working towards greatness in these individual um priorities then we know that the investment continues I also want to say that the partnership with the unions is so important to maintaining and sustaining this work Um
and that's why we've we've had great partnership with the uft and with the CSA So these are initiatives that are not about the leader in the seat They're not about the former chancellor They're not about this chancellor They're not about even the mayor These are initiatives that are about what's good
for kids And so if we are if we have strong implementation of them support from different stakeholder groups who would absolutely make noise if they were ever not in place and we're paying attention to any of the hiccups that arise um as we continue to implement
these ambitious initiatives Um then then we are going to see them continue um and I I I want to lead with that The other thing is that um we need to make sure that the teacher professional when you ask how we are going to be able to accomplish this professional learning
for teachers for families and also for our students making sure our students understand their role in all of this and why these are such important initiatives um further drives sustainability and greater implementation Thank you chancellor And the final
question is um we would like to know how to report a CC member committing fraud by signing another member's child's reimbursement form when the member does not care for a minor Yeah I would definitely suggest raising
that to Sharon Wrencher's office Um K uh Dr Melendez um can you say more about this or Dr Rux if you are on the call yeah Um all of your funds come all of our CC funds come through the SGAA's the
SGAA's office Um and so you all have someone our face liaison or your face leaison could definitely support you in that process and they they help you with your reimbursements And so if there's something there's a concern something you want to raise that's something that you want to communicate to the face
leaison and they will happily support you in sharing that information with with the um grant officer who who's going to support who's been supporting your council So just Ricardo may have some other thoughts there but um that's
that's how we would go about it face doesn't have the money but we want to make sure that we raise the concern and facilitate that support you with that right and the other piece is when we talk about fraud um you know that's also a question of whether to report it to
OSI or SCI Um and so on top of flagging for um the folks that Christina has outlined um you are all entitled to pick up the phone and call Oh Reema's putting the information in right now you you you are entitled to to um make a report with
SCI um for something for something like this Rema thank you so much for putting the information in the chat Madam Chair um that was the final question Yes Thank you so much Does anyone else anyone from uh CPAC members
have any questions we do have a lot of time Chancellor is here Let's take advantage Okay No one else have any questions remma there we go Thank you Um I wanted to follow up on my question from um a previous meeting
about training and guidance for bus staff um regarding ICE Yeah Dr Vera are you on the call as I think we started some of this Yes Um you just promoted me to doctor which I'm
super not but that's Yeah not even really that but sure Um Remma thank you for reing this We have materials We are in the final stages of getting them out As we discussed before we'll be working with the vendors and we've been working with 1181 who put in
this ask on making sure I will make sure you know when that goes out It is in process Thank you Awesome Awesome Thank you so much Reema And thank you so much Chancellor and everyone else because like we are here
advocating for our parents and when we hear things we have to bring it to you and you guys are so respectful giving us that the answers and guiding us where we need to to go and we need you know like this is part of working together I I do
thank you each of you and also CPAC executive board and all the members of CPAC and I think next is actually Jesse if you don't have anything else uh chancellor for us actually I think a couple of things are coming in the chat
um it looks like there was a question in the chat that someone I'm trying to pull it up working on an iPad is not I have a chance yeah I I can read those okay thanks um I I think there was a question My question is about DEI and
the mandate from the administration What are the next steps after refusing to comply that's a really great question Um and which I'm happy that we have um first deputy chancellor Weissberg who oversees our um our legal department and
we also have um deputy chancellor Vera who can return Um I just want to before I pass it over to them I just want to say we don't make big value statements without knowing that um our response is rooted in in in legal in legal action
Like we're not going to say we're we're standing up and and not have um and and not have the legal foundation to be able to say that So So please know that Um and everything that we have been doing continues our work with hidden voices
black studies curriculum um working to launch the Latina curriculum We have so many things lined up for May as well So so those things are continuing but I'm going to pass it over to first deputy chancellor and deputy chancellor to um
talk more in the weeds about this Thank you Chancellor and uh thanks for the question Uh for those who um may not have followed the the details of this story it it is a concern we uh received
from the uh US uh Department of Ed uh when I say we really was directed at states um that they sign a certification um that they and all of the school
districts in the state are complying with what essentially is the administration's interpretation of title 6 which is the civil rights law that applies to all of us who get federal funding Um the state has already for those who didn't see it
and um Madame President h happy to get you the information on this um so you can distribute it Um the state did um respond uh quite quickly and said essentially um in a letter from the
general counsel of uh SED that um a as part of the normal process of receiving federal funds Um they already certify the state has already certified that we are in compliance with Title 6 and all federal civil rights laws and that there
is no um basis in the law for the department requiring an uh an additional certification and conditioning our uh federal funds on such a certification Other states uh did similarly I haven't
read but there may have been some states that signed this certification Um but what I I would say this so that's what's happened And it's concerning anytime you hear about the potential for loss of any federal funds um it's it's concerning
Something we follow very closely and coordinate with states and in some cases with other districts Um I would say that this is very very likely to be an issue that's litigated um in the courts and
will take some time to get litigated Um and we will uh continue to communicate uh with our our state department of ed with advocates with others who are involved in this to to do everything possible in our power to
protect the the funds which our kids are entitled to by law This is not a gift Uh this is not discretionary Uh this is the law Our kids are entitled to to this funding as Deputy Chancellor Vader has laid out many times and I'm sure she'd be happy to do now Uh we do receive
about $2 billion in federal funding Not all of which is from the US Department of Ed Some of it's from agriculture for our our school lunch program Um but uh that is obviously um hugely critical funding for our kids uh title one title
two title three funding Um hugely critical So we don't want to lose a dollar of that funding and and we'll be uh aggressive while as the chancellor says we're not going to scream from the rooftops just to uh get publicity but we're going to take whatever steps we
need to take um to protect uh that that funding And happy to answer follow-up questions Can I add two quick things Dan really quickly just because I obviously cannot help myself at this moment in time Um first of all I just don't want two things Dan said to get
lost We believe we are in compliance so does the state with Title Six Title Six is a civil rights law that protects children on the basis of race that you have to comply with to get federal dollars You've always had to That's what it's there for You can't get federal money without it And so that's one of
the regger things the state leaned into like they have a process argument you can't ask us again but we believe we are complying with title six so does the state if we didn't wouldn't be doing our jobs to this point that's point one point two is just as Dan said the administration this will end up in court
like all the other things that's going to be confusing for us and the state and other places we don't know what they'll do with those funds in the interim um it's not only New York who's objecting to all of this and so we will see But I do think it's just important to remember
that uh the feds can't just take money from folks There is a process in place There's an administrative appeals process in place There's a legal appeals process in place There's courts in place We are seeing sort some institutions choose not to utilize that process and
to just go along and give back the money But there are processes in place that we'd expect states and districts to follow um before the money can actually be withheld And that's where as Dan said this will get litigated The last thing I'll just say is one of the most important things from our perspective as the chancellor has said to us many times
is this is all very scary and it's our job to look at everything coming down the pike and protect our schools and communities and the work we want to do It's also our job to make sure our schools and communities know that we're not changing anything at this point in time So we are doing our best to communicate that out to families and
staff and you But I would say I think that's a big part of where we see our role at this moment making sure our staff and families are comfortable that we're not changing our policies or programs We're continuing to pro protect our students and our black studies curriculum So if there's other ways we could be communicating that out please
just make sure you're letting us know that because we do know that's important The press is confusing and that is where we stand under this chancellor Absolutely And I have to just like echo what first deputy chancellor said Uh
title one title two title three Like this is these are monies for our children for parent engagement Like I have so much It's just like it's too much nonsense out there Get the information correctly We're talking
about ci civil rights law here and thank you Dr Emma We're putting it out there right Dr Emma now Um thank you so much and do send me that information about title six please I would love to read it in more detail and you know without having to waste
time over here Um and I do also want to apologize I think we maybe might have skipped or something a question Um Charet do you want to speak your question uh just quickly um okay I had put them in the chat Oh hi
everyone Um once again I don't know why my questions never make it to the to the poll and I sent them in all the time Anyways I had put it in the chat Let me see if I could pull it up to read it Um uh hello Chancellor Sorry Hi
Um so one of my first questions that I'd put in is how can FLC's and FSC's as well as school staff support us as parent leaders and parents with grievances uh push back on uncomfortable situations as they're not equipped uh
with the training to navigate such cases or is it that they you know I don't I don't want to say they all don't care but if you don't know what to do we're stuck in a cycle of you know they wait for it to go away and disappear and nothing gets done And that is how we're
losing parents to be part of our PTAs and PAs because once they see those who are stepping up and fighting not being acknowledged then we're not getting the continuence of parents being engaged Because if the strong ones are being ignored and not supported you the ones
that want to but aren't feeling like hey if she's such a boss or he's such a boss and we see them getting bullied or pushed around and retaliation we have in our schools where parents don't even want to support PTAs because they see how our children are treated and they
were like "Yeah we can't um help you with fundraisers because we see what happens to your kids and therefore we're losing one of your pillars of parent engagement And it affects our kids our children And there's no operating procedures of how to support parents like that It goes
from the district office the superintendent the principles No one wants to talk about it because they even fear retaliation even in this space For me that's not what I'm about Our children are our children And I will always fight for kids And I'm tired of
coming to these meetings and we put up these you know you know word salads and you know everyone says "Yeah we're going to do this thing." But nothing ever gets completed and it's becoming a problem where parents are tired of being tired
and we see you guys but you guys are not hearing us Actions are not being done to make district people accountable principals accountable administrative staff accountable the offices that are supposed to be supporting us they are
not supporting us and they stay and we transition in and out and it's like they wait for us to go grade 9 10 11 12 pass on She's gone he's gone and then cycle continues Charet let uh the chancellor
and her team answer your question Um that's we can go over we can go over this You know everyone has and that's also another problem You know the space it's like you know when do we ever as district people get to speak and to
there's no forum for us all to just speak Chernet I'm listening So please I know you always do me I appreciate you for that But you've always listened and I appreciate that Yes Yes Yes So but you're not on the ground with us you
know So but she is But she is But she is Okay So sorry Go ahead Go ahead No no no I So I think first of all I I totally I part of the reason why we wanted to prioritize parent empowerment is because we know you are tired of of being tired
Um and again my primary role is is mom not chancellor Um and I I can tell you honestly that having navigated the system myself I have experienced my own hardship Um and and that's not okay because again and I've said it plenty of
times before if that's true for me what does that mean for other parents who don't know the system as well as I do that being said there are a lot of things we have to do to tackle the issue that you just raised One is we have to make sure that the family facing folks
on the superintendent team are not being are not being given jobs that aren't theirs to do where there are vacancies for AAS or other things And again this is speaking for for experience Sometimes they pick up extra work leaving them um the impossible task of doing two and
three jobs and not able to really give their all to the job that they were given to do Okay So that's one thing is making sure that we are filling those vacancies very quickly on superintendent teams and supporting them Um and this is something that a number of superintendents have also mentioned to me and that we need to do we need to do
better at Uh we have spoken to city hall um so that way we can and and we proposed um a way to to make sure the superintendent's team hires are prioritized with OM and with city hall so we can try to push those through um faster Again that doesn't completely um
address all of it but that is one part of it The other piece is the training and you know I again the work that uh both Dr Rooks and Dr my lenders are doing and very early on right this work is just starting This work is something that we just launched in the
last couple of months Um and so I I'm going to pass it over to them to talk a little bit about that training as well But you're right there needs to be professional learning for the family facing folks on district team so they truly understand not only what their role is but how to navigate some of these challenges The final piece that I
will say about this is um the reason why I I am starting to meet with SLTS and PAPAS is because we need to hear what are the issues that are happening on the ground in specific places Um I think it's fair to say that there is a
systemic issue right with family empowerment and we know that but we also need to know that there are pockets of excellence across the system and then there are pockets of places that need more work than others Um and so I always ask you all to please escalate specific places where this is happening This is
not necessarily the forum to do this but you do that through Dr Melendez and me um and reach out to us directly and and and we will meet immediately um with that school with that SLT with that PTA or with that family facing um
um support person on the superintendent team I I change takes time and that is not I'm not saying that as a cliche I'm not saying that to to to give our team cover We have started to put the steps in place Step one is listening Step one
is thinking about where the problems are and then how do we um address the systems and structures that aren't necessarily working or create systems and structures for getting these escalations and then activating a team through training and support to make sure that we are we are changing the
situation Um and and and you're right there's so much that needs to be done in this space Um but I do want to ask um our team to to give any additional information specific addition specific information that could be helpful to
respond questions If I may ch um hi this is Dr Marabela Hi everyone Um so I directly work with uh the division of leadership under our deputy chancellor Danica Rucks and um have partnered this
year as a part of reflecting on these meetings and hearing what everyone has been sharing Um Christina Melendez and Dr Christina Melendez and I and her team are um are meeting now monthly with our FLC's
um and where it's necessary um we have already begun to go into specific districts So this is you know really important for us right to know that if this is if you know of a FLC that needs
specific training around grievances um for example we know that in one of our districts we didn't have a CPAC in place right so we had Sharon Wrencher's team from DSL go in and support them with understanding the rules and regulations and the mandates of why they needed to
have that team in place right um so this is something that we are together working on um so that FLC's are now understanding not just the governance piece of their work but also the instructional piece of their work as well Um you know Dr Melinda you want to
add on a little bit more to that yeah I think some of the trainings um look I think what the chancellor is getting at um and thank you Marbel for for adding just some of the action work that we've been doing is this mindset shift and we have to and and mindset shifting takes
time right um and I think that some of the things we're trying to attack or address the issue in multiple ways um the chancellor has asked us to have a CC um superintendent pilot so that at that
level we are able to not only highlight like best practices but also support our fellow superintendent in understanding what that looks like and what does it mean I think that as a system we've spent a lot of time saying family empowerment is important and we should make it happen and and very rarely do we
give people a roadmap of what that looks like and so every school will define that to be a their own thing right so I invite you to the talent show and that's family empowerment um and and that's not enough for um when we're thinking about
our parent leadership structures and how do we make space for what the chancellor defines as family empowerment which is really a true partnership um where people have actual voice um and choice in the conversations that around the
decisions that are being made at their schools at their districts And so that's really the work that we're trying to get to and it's going to and we're working towards it in multiple ways so that we can make sure that we can get there as fast as we can But it is it is the long
game that we're playing here and I want to double down on that Um and the chancellor is modeling a lot of that work as she visits PAs PTAs SLTs right it is very important that when we ask for SLTs to visit that you share them I
want you to understand that just because you share information we are very much aware about what you are saying around retaliation around what happens what's the impact if you divulge our name and and that we told we get that and we are very clear about the sensitivity of the
matter and we address those issues very differently right so I don't have to say that we're here because so and so said that we should come we we show up and we we really say these are what are some supports that you may need How are the ways that you are addressing some of
these concerns and then we provide you with the skills You know one of the trainings that we're providing our FLC's is this conflict resolution idea How do we deescalate how do we really listen to our families how do they f feel heard seen and understood um because sometimes
that's that's the part that really blocks the conversation from even going a step further because no one feels genuinely heard Um and most of the times schools and families are actually on the same side but because they're we're not
able to hear each other clearly we're not able to understand or realize that And so we're doing a lot of work with our family facing staff from our school leaders to our PCs in helping them not only just understand that but then
helping them hear what the concern is and support you through the process So we're we're working at all the levels We're really trying to address all of the um all of the concerns so that we can get moving in the right direction So
just know that you're not it's not a vacuum You're not unheard We hear you Um but but it's going to take us a minute but we're going to get there Thank you And I I do I do appreciate it And I'm like "Oh SLT I'm going to invite
SLT." Like I'm going to come to all my three schools SLT they're all working Cuz I'm like "No we're supposed to do this No we're supposed to do that." So I'm that annoying parents but I'm like "We're supposed to follow a protocol."
But overall it's about working together Sometimes we forget It's not about us It's not about the parents It's about the children We're working together because of the children right we want them to to to be happy to go to school
to to happy to to learn and to continue going to to try overall to try right um I think uh Randy you want to go next yes Um so I know um Chancellor that you have to leave but I just wanted to end um
before you leave on a positive note So I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate you and your cabinet for their accessibility sorry accessibility and respectful engagement and responsiveness of parent leaders Their openness and willingness to listen has
been both refreshing and encouraging So we look forward to continuing the collaborative spirit as we work together to positively impact our children's education And for parent leaders we've made some recommendations to affect positive change for parent leaders and they were definitely wellreceived So
change is definitely coming I would just also like to shout out the people that have been working so closely with the parent leaders when we've given them the contact information to your staff They've been so on point helping So shout out to DC Melendez DC Rucks DC FOD
Kevin Moran Mark Ramperson Glenn Ryzbrook uh Chris Jakarico Nelson Keelles um face especially Jesse Anthony Lin and BBE You know us as parents we have people and resources to help us make a difference We just have to do it
in a way that's going to make positive change And they're listening This chancellor and her team they're here They're present They hear us They are listening So please just hold on a little bit longer because we're just we're almost there
I really appreciate that so much Randy Um and I certainly want to end on a a positive note as well And so uh we're celebrating a lot of holidays um this month and including Eid Easter and Passover And so to all who celebrate it
um I just wish you uh wonderful times with your families and loved ones Uh it's always it's always an opportunity for us to reset and remember the things that matter the most And of course um happy ArabAmerican Heritage Month as well So thank you for allowing us in
this space Um and I hope that that you all spend time with your families enjoying these upcoming holidays Absolutely Thank you so much I know you guys are available Yes Via email via phone call via text I know that for sure
I know that for a fact Um we truly thank you I want to echo everything was what Randy say because she remembers everyone's name I remember faces I'm a visual person I'm like hi Yes But names I'm so bad with names But I do
appreciate everyone You guys are always always available Look at BB So nice smile I love it But yes Yes Everything that we do is positive because this is constructive
criticism constructive feedback that we parents need in order to support us with our leadership for our children And also thank you so much for that parent leadership institute because I am good with time Look Guang Day and I am so
good with time I do I am I'm extremely happy Extremely happy Thank you Thank you Thank you And Jesse you are next Thank you so much Chancellor Thanks everyone Bye Bye Take it away Jesse
Thank you Madam Chair and thank you council members always a privilege to be here I I just wanted to um uh Madam Chair you you mentioned uh before a couple of um um events that are happening or recognitions that are happening in April And I just wanted to
you know once again uh uh acknowledge that April is autism awareness month Uh a time to recognize the talents contributions and diversity within the autism community and to acknowledge the profound effect that all with autism have on our communities and the lives they touch Of course many of you know
that my oldest son Adam has autism and I could never repay him for all he has taught me He's made me a better man in all ways and I'll be forever grateful to him and all the beautiful souls with autism that I've had the privilege to know and love So I just wanted to just echo your acknowledgement Madam Chair Um
so couple of updates CC elections Um we are currently in week six of our candidate forums We want to thank everyone for your support there have been uh scheduling 60 candidate forms in a fiveweek period you know is quite a challenge But I just wanted to acknowledge all of the members of the
president's council for their support in in all their efforts to making the candidate forms um go on um uh scheduling them and go well Um wanted to uh also preview that the voting phase of the CAC election campaign will begin on
April 25th and will run through May 13th And for more information I'll ask the team to put this information in the chat But for more information on the CC elections or to view candidate profiles attend forums view the scheduling or view forum recordings because the forums
are recorded So if you've missed the forum and would like to u view the forum u uh you can view the forum uh on our website which is on.nyc.govs2025 and we'll put that information in the chat Um also on April
28th similar to how we did with the application phase where we had an information session on how to apply we're also going to have an information session on how to vote Um so uh CC elections voting info session webinar will be held virtually on Monday April
28th uh at 6 PM Uh the session will take place on Zoom and the goal of the session is to ensure that all are wellprepared to vote uh for their district or citywide candidates and know how to access your New York New York City schools uh account your Nixa
account U we'll also have a Q&A uh similar to our application info session in our voting session We're going to have a Q&A session to to uh to uh answer any questions you may have and uh I will ask the team to put the link to confirm your attendance Um there's going to be
an RSVP link and a registration form So we'll put that in the chat as well but we encourage all to attend Uh a few updates on our initiatives Our supporting early math at home counting with kids initiative Our weekly ma uh math webinar series for parents is going
very well Um it's every Tuesday from 6:00 to 7 through May 6th Uh its goal is to equip families with the tools necessary to support early math learning at home And we've had over close to 3,2938 participants so far and
attendance keeps growing So we're very encouraged by that Our science of reading workshops we wrapped up our 7-week science of reading workshop series with Brain Trust tutors on April 2nd And just to to recap these 45 minute virtual sessions gave parents tools to
build reading confidence at home using free local resources And uh the numbers there we reached about one exactly 1,840 parents and caregivers Ringing places total number of families trained in the science of reading to over 5,000 So
we're we're encouraged by that as well Our train the trainer series with our New York City ambassador train the trainer series Um we were we're in week six uh with 211 parents from every district represented Sessions have covered key reading concepts from
phonics to comprehension strategies Parents are emerging as literacy leaders and learning how to train others on the science of reading And I just wanted to include this quote from one of our ambassadors because I thought it was very powerful uh quote was "I want to share what I've learned so our community
can fall in love with reading and bond as a family and community while doing it." Thought that was a really powerful quote from one of our ambassadors Um also uh next week we'll be having our parent coordinator conference at Manhattan Bridges High School Um and the
conference right now um it's for our parent coordinators but we're also encouraging our family facing staff FLC's to attend as well FSC's There are 549 registered attendees so far and as we know parent coordinators are an essential part of our engagement you
know with our families throughout our system So definitely the coordinator conference is a is a very good time for have workshops for our parent coordinators to support them as well as we're also having resources there for the for parent coordinators to bring back to their school
communities And as um madame chair uh shared we are very excited to uh launch our parent council leadership institute um which is a unique professional development opportunity designed to strengthen leadership skills uh and and
impact on council and community Um we've had these in the past before geared toward presidents of councils both presidents of president's council CPAC and CC's Um and the institute is led by David Mensah who many of you know he's
done our past trainings and uh Mr Mensah has you know provided practical skills to address common council challenges and to foster collective leadership and and just you know continue to support leadership in all of our respective structures So David is doing these um
institute this institute again with us We're very happy about this collaboration Uh this week we started session one There'll be seven two-hour training sessions and um we're very happy about the response to these sessions And lastly um our next town
hall will be in district 29 uh on Monday April 21st uh at IS-238 um uh in Queens Um and I will pause there for any questions but I also just wanted to thank everybody always for the opportunity to share our updates and and
uh and be present here at CBAC Absolutely Thank you so much Uh if you guys have any questions please put it on the chat because we are a little bit over time Chancellor just enjoy communicating with us and answering all the questions She stayed here a long
time and I love it Um we are if you are uh do you have any other updates um those were all the updates madam and definitely if there are any additional questions happy to like I'll look at the
chat and definitely respond Beautiful Thank you so much We are going to pass the mic to Anthony because o sorry Anthony I did not do good with it's okay It's okay Jesse I'll share my
screen second Can you see my screen perfect All right So once again we're going to talk about nomination and elections And the reason why we're doing that is because we want to make sure that you are informed of all the process
um and are doing it in your district So our expectation at CPAC is that you are taking what you learn here and bringing it back to your district uh so that you can support them Um so as I said I'm
going to start off with um basically PTA elections of the mandatory officers um should be held by the end of this school year The reason why we say that is because we want you to be autonomous um
and run your own elections right um and take ownership of that process Um and here is I have a little timeline for you explaining what is upcoming So the first thing we should do before even thinking
about election is looking at your bylaws and seeing what your either nomination committee outline looks like um excuse me and your election process So here is a little timeline
that I have So starting in February we should start talking about nomination committee in your general membership meeting right getting that uh ball process um and then um choosing or asking parents to volunteer for that
committee Once that is done in March we should start um getting nominations So sending out notices uh um stating who would like to run for what position in April So April 1st which is
the deadline that just passed every PATA should have notified their principal on their election date So if you haven't done so already please do so Excuse me Sorry uh 14 days before the
election you should be sending uh notice to your principal or your PC Why I said 14 days you may ask is because if we have to translate the material they have time to do so before we distribute it 10
days before So that's why I'm giving you a grace period um so that we can ensure that we have the materials in the language that are spoken within the school community In the middle of June we should try to
hold all elections Why I say the middle of June is because president's council elections happen usually during the end of June And we want to make sure your voice is heard And if you want to run
for that council you can So that's why I say in the middle of June Um then five days after your elections please submit your election certification form and notify your
president's council that you basically are the new representation from your school for PAPA Now forming your nomination committee we spoke about this earlier so I'm not going to dive too much into this but it is a parent committee um
basically ran from three to five people It has to be a parent guardian or a person in parental relation or foster parent Um and um people who cannot serve for
this committee is somebody who is running for a position on the PAPTA So before we get into that so let me go back What happens if I cannot um get anybody to volunteer for my
nomination committee this is where any parent member within the school can host the elections right we can do a uh an expedited election so to speak where nominations are taken from the floor the
day of your elections if you cannot create a nomination committee um and then that person hosts the meeting um and executes everything However what if I can't get that person
then that's a great question Then you go to your president's council ask for support What if my president's council can't support me then you go to your district office and you ask support from your district office I just want to make
sure I'm covering all the bases so that you know the pathway that a PTA should go before going to the district office Now the the nomination is formed What do you do what do they do again
they canvas for eligible voters Um they can help with the eligibility So candidates eligibility um they send out notice and they conduct the elections So drafting your notice So as
we all know um you need to send the notice 10 days before the election on this notification it must state the way you are hosting this um election Can anybody tell me what are
the ways we can host elections anybody just unmute yourself Come on Somebody knows No In person or virtual children Thank you In person or virtual not
hybrid I repeat not hybrid It states that in the regulation Okay Your notice must state the date the time virtual or in person and then any positions
um and the qualifications to run um date um and yeah so reminders for the date of your election
So all um executive board positions are available or any uh positions that are stated in your bylaw So this could be vice president this can be parliamentarian so on and so forth
Whatever your PAP before you have put in place Um no If nobody at your elections can make you run with somebody else that should
be they can suggest it right however they cannot force you You have to agree that yes I want to run with this person If you don't want to you do not have to Um staff cannot vote on your election
Parent coordinators are there uh to verify voters if they were designated by the or selected by the principal However they are not the principal's designate meaning they cannot sign the election certification
form They can just verify votes not sign that form at the end Just want to make sure I'm getting that out there Um and uh make sure you have a copy of your bylaws and chancellor's regulation
just in case somebody asks a question and you have to refer to those documents Actually those should be at all your meetings but that's just a reminder So for voting everybody gets one vote as we all
know Um for polls um everybody's name must be uh stated on the poll or the ballots depending on which form you're using Um for uncontested elections there are no need for a poll or ballot
Um remember you can place a vote by making a nomination I mean sorry uh making a motion to accept on behalf of the whole PTA Um once once slates are
closed they're closed We're not reopening them for any circumstances They're closed We're going to continue with the elections Um host teacher or unverified parents
cannot vote So we need to ensitate that host teachers if it's a PA cannot vote Okay PTA they can Um just making
that clear There's a difference between a PA and a PTA Um this is the election certification form that I was telling you about earlier Um this must be completed within
5 days of your election Make sure if you're handwriting it that it is um legible Um this should be sent over to your district office and your president's council as well Before starting the elections like
I said earlier um sorry I didn't say this earlier Before you start the SLT elections make sure you are picking if there's a co-president make sure you are pricking who's going to be the designate for your SLT your president's council
Um yeah Um make sure all seats are filled if you can Um like I said 10 days notice Um and then you can start your SLT uh meeting Make sure you have the seats um how many people candidates you
need for the SLT Um and um only parents can vote for the SLT seats I know I said a lot Um so now I'll leave this portion for Q&A
Yes Thank you Thank you Thank you Can I just clarify something because I saw something in the chat So I am going to be uh in the nominating committee uh for one of my kids school So when we are voting like when everyone
is voting I am able to vote too Can you like elaborate a little bit more so the person who is hosting the meeting uh should be somebody who is not running for any seats right um also Zoom does
not give the host the ability to vote essentially Uh so if you are hosting the meeting you can't vote or anybody who is co-host doesn't allow you to as well Um so make sure when you're selecting your
co-host and host um you are aware of this right but we're able to add on to that Um yeah So that's that's what it meant um just in case for um the person that wrote it in the chat Thank you so
much Chara you have a question Oh I was going to say but Randy typed it in saying what we do normally is the you give up your co-host you vote and then you swap back and the other person votes And you had in there and I think you touched on saying that the host um
cannot vote In person you just take your ballot and you vote Mhm You turn it in But you had in your document that the host cannot vote Yeah It was more so for Zoom because it doesn't allow you to vote Yeah Right And
able to vote but you're able to vote Correct Yes Yes Yes Yeah Okay Rachel do you have a question thank you Thank you Yes I don't know if you saw my question in the chat Um last night we had our nomination meeting and one of our
nominating committees members name you know read through all of the positions that are available for election and one of our PTA board members said that the person that reads off the uh positions also has to chair the election But can it just be anyone
from the nominating committee yes So it doesn't have to be the same person Okay That's what I thought I couldn't find anything specific in the chancellor's rags but I just wanted to confirm Thank you So they're a team essentially as well Um
so they're there to support one another as so if one person can't do something you have your other members to support So one should be verify I mean looking at the um like letting people in another person should be hosting the meeting So
that's why we have three to five members to support in every way possible And I think we're going to add a timekeeper because I am so u does anyone have any more question before we go to the next item on the
agenda and oh my god I love you slice Just glad to see I did it just for you I feel special I love slides I love colors I'm a visual person Otherwise I will be like "What is he talking
about?" But thank you I'm sure everyone else uh in the meeting even on YouTube live they're taking screenshots I'm okay They You know what I This is empowerment You know what I mean when you're able to show um uh the presentations I'm just I
love it Does anyone else have any question before we go to our minutes is that my hand oh my gosh I didn't raise my hand Okay thank you so much Anthony Everyone understood Everyone is prepped
to hold elections and we also did uh u training back in uh February So please let us know how we can best support you And now we're going to our minutes Let me share
Okay Ashley Yes Yes Beautiful Take it away with the minutes A real u just a quick review of of everything like real quick like real quick because everyone has the minutes Everyone review the minutes This is just
January minutes Ashley take it away Okay Um so January uh we started off with the roll call Um Rosa gave our uh usual updates Um then we had Erica read
off for the summary of the rules Um as we usually do uh begin our meetings Um the first presentation was uh oh youthful savings That one was very interesting I definitely say um utilize
that information to implement into your schools to the families Um review it It's really helpful Um a lot of details there Um yes uplifting the um uplifting power and uh engage and
what is it the sorry power uplifting parent empowerment and voice by assembly member Khaled uh Anderson and then we had yes a third presentation go Ashley
Sorry trying to I'm doing this from my phone right now because my tablet wasn't working Um unleash the knowledge We def we had an FLC uh share with us
um about PTA and PA elections Um so that was definitely helpful especially around this time um office of school enrollment Um there's a lot of details there I like a
lot a lot Um you'll be able to see a breakdown of everything that was shared literally from each slide Um and it gives a breakdown of the grades Um yeah me go pass to all the information Thank you so much Ashley
These are very detailed Um and then that was it It was uh we ended with um the chancellor sharing some updates with us um things that she just wanted to share with us let us know that she was working on at the time Um
Faith gave their updates Then we ended with Rosa sharing some uh updates and details on the regulations the resolutions we went over um as well as the PT um the uh minutes from around January that were given out
um and the chances reg um and then we were given the reminder for February's meeting That was it Yes Yes Yes And we're going to go to the next one and just bundle them
up Okay Let me again just a quick review guys cuz you guys already have this um in your emails So February minutes
uh the same as we always start with the updates the you know everything we go over it was done by Rosa and um Erica Um Randy did the roll call Um more updates that Rosa has shared
with us Um as go and going over the agenda Um then we uh first presentation First presentation Um a lot of details
Definitely definitely review it guys It's definitely helpful um everything that was shared from the uh office of the chancellor um and uh general counsel um it was definitely helpful Um even reviewing it
again was was helpful for me Project open arms That was another presentation Yeah sorry I can't see it Can you read sorry I can't see it Yeah it's okay Um and then we also have
federal transition supports all the information that they had Um key reminders please just review uh the YouTube live right the recording is is right there also to support all the all the uh presentations that we
had Um and then the testing we also had testing so they can let us know about the ELA and the math and the science And then um and what are the exceptions of course you know if you don't feel comfortable your child
doesn't feel comfortable what can you do um you know and what are the benefits also and then we had Jesse we had Jesse from uh Faith letting us know about the town halls that are coming and then we
had hot topics by Anthony Clya and then we had our uh chancellor Melissa Belis Ramos providing us with updates And then the minutes um for October uh we're done Thank you so much
And that's it Let me go to the third one I'm sorry we're moving so fast Please feel free to stop me Please Okay Want to do this Ashley or you want me to continue let me know Go ahead You
continue You'll have better view of it Yes I'm sorry I wanted you to read it but it's okay Thank you so much for the work These are great Uh March minutes Uh we started with uh the executable roll call by Randy and then again
updates Um and then we had a first presentation by New York State uh office for new Americans Uh please review the slides were already sent out a presentation on intellectual and developmental
disabilities Again all of this information was already sent out If you by any chance do not have it let us know Um let me see We had uh you know legal services that they provide uh new
Americans hotline that they provide The phone number is there Look at that Thank you so much the operating hours Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m to 8:00 p.m the uh the languages that they're able to assist you with Um and then the remedious June
initiative that that was wonderful for sure Um let me see there's a lot of information provided Thank you so much mentioned that we had a presentation by uh the office of student transportation providing us you know with the omni what
is the difference between the regular metro car and the omni cars how our children are are able to get new cars and um let me see then we had a couple of changes that they've made and we also
raised our point of hopefully not being uh paper uh rather than just you know putting it in like plastic form or something that is better We also had a presentation by uh Nancy Peda from district 4 She is my family leadership
coordinator She is amazing Uh she provided information about the nominating committee rules and responsibilities um and a couple of other information And unfortunately we didn't have our chancellor but she she sent her
regards and we had uh of course uh uft president uh Michael Mulgrove come and present uh about um more support and in wages on the par professionals I was
able to support that too And fifth presentation my goodness fifth presentation we had the CS elections uh overview by uh Constance and Lin Sanchez and provided us with timelines
and the dates and uh we also had Niska Niska account is very important If you don't have it if you don't know how to login forgot the password please let us know face is here to support And we also had Yes Yes Yes Yes
We had the coalition for equity education by AQE Uh Kaiser was the uh presenter Thank you so much And last yes this is it Thank you so much everyone Thank you for bearing with us Does
anyone have any questions on the three minutes if not please we're going to bundle them up Sorry And can we have a motion to adopt all three together uh does anyone
have any questions if not let's just adopt first and second Anyone sorry Motion to approve Thank you This is Rachel District 25 I second the motion Okay Who said it first i'm sorry
Charette Charetta Thank you Welcome And second Okay Beautiful The order of the update Yay Thank you so much And we are past time
Unbelievable I need I need to learn Okay One second Please please mute yourself if you're not speaking Okay technical difficulties Okay let me go to Okay last mention for a couple of
months now uh we want everyone's voice to be heard and I know some of these committees uh are not uh meeting and there's only um one chair for all of these committees and I think opening it
up to all of us CPAC members um to chair to have the opportunity to chair and have your voice be heard is it's wonderful uh the CPA standing committees their um their meeting schedules are on
the website and they meet either monthly or quarterly Uh I know that um the C CPAC members like they're all welcome to attend uh these meetings and uh each committee does select their own chair
person but uh we have inactive uh uh uh standing committee So we have uh open it for everyone We have one person that did provide interest uh as executive board uh member We are going to review that
and please please please join send in your interest Let us know because we need to hear from um everyone at CPAC And I do want to uh thank the high school committee is doing wonderful and the title one committee is
doing wonderful too Okay And never mind this already Okay But these are already by uh Anthony Hot's topic He already covered all of
that What are we um we are the chancellor's parent advisory council and again again again again again every single month I say this we are comprised of presidents of all presidents uh council in all the district covering all burrows and we
represent 1.1 million New York City public schools students and their families and we work together as a team to identifying concerns and and and policy issues and to advocate you know we advocate all the time chancellor
Parent Advisory Council ensures that every single parent's voice is heard We collaborate with every single stakeholder and we work together to provide high quality and useful information And as always we are um
striving for excellence equity and opportunity for all With that being said um and it has already been said we may not be able to prepare the future right we cannot mold the future for our
children but we can at least prepare our children for the future ahead Um and we need everyone's voice We need you to to be present We need you to engage We need you to collaborate We need you And um
your voice is really important and it does matter And I hope that every single month that we have our meeting you feel empowered uh to come continue show up continue to represent your district and let us know how we can you know work
together And with that being said anyone have any questions otherwise motion to adjurnn I make a motion to adjurnn Thank you Walter Thank you Thank you Anyone wants to second the motion
district 31 second District 31 seconds Thank you so much guys Uh have a great afternoon Have fun Self-care is real please Thank you Enjoy your holiday everyone
You too Thank you so much