Good evening everyone. >> I'd like to call this meeting to order. Good evening Parsons. We're so happy to be here. I'd like to call this meeting to order. This is the North Brunswick Township Board of Education Conference and regular public
meeting. Today is Wednesday, March 25th. Could we all please rise for the pledge of allegiance? >> I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all and justice for all. different. >> Mr. Carter >> here, >> Miss Aeda >> here, >> Miss James >> here, >> Mr. Lori >> here, >> Dr. Patel
>> here, >> Mr. Singh >> here, >> Miss Singha >> here, >> Miss Toast >> here, >> and Mr. Wen >> here. >> We have a quorum. >> Thank you. The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meeting of
public bodies at which any business affecting their interests is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the open public meetings law, the public public notice of this meeting, which included the time, date, and location, was distributed by 3 p.m. on Wednesday,
January 28th, 2026 in the following manner. Posted on the bulletin board reserved for announcements in the board office, 25 Lynwood Place, North Brunswick. Mailed to the Home News Tribune, Starledger, NJ.com, and the clerk of the township of North
Brunswick. delivered to the nine duly elected board members. And beginning on March 1st, 2026, all future board meeting notices shall be public published on the board's official website www.nbtschools.org
and be made available through the New Jersey Secretary of State's official website in lie of publication in a newspaper in accordance with PL 2025 C72. Well, good evening everyone.
>> Good evening students. I see you all the way back there. [laughter] >> Good evening. >> Well, we are so happy to be here. Thank you, Parsons, Mrs. Whan, for hosting us
for our board road show. uh once every month we like to get out to the different schools in town and we love to see the students families and the happenings that are happening in uh your school. So the board is so excited to be
here. Uh and so at this time I will turn it over to our superintendent, Dr. Zakowski, before we begin. >> Thank you, Madam President. Good evening, Parsons. Can I get another hello? All right, Parsons. It's great to be
here. Um, I want to introduce our principal, the current principal of uh Parsons. I take u specific pride because uh our principal has been has been here, Diana, Miss Diana Whan for what's it eight years now? Nine years.
>> Nine years. Uh Diane, Miss Whan was uh the most fabulous nurse we could have in the district many years ago, an LP and led became a supervisor of nursing and and went on to our early childhood center at Our Lady of Lords as a
principal and she came to Parson's u nine years ago and has done a a remarkable job uh creating community, creating a team and also keeping they always say uh the main thing. The main thing and you know what the main thing
is? It's children. It's families. It's staff. And so Diana, does everyone know that you're thinking about leaving us? [laughter] >> Do we vote? Can we >> you know with we we with mixed blessings
that we're so happy for you and sad that you will be going. We got some great news uh tonight about maybe who will step in those big shoes of Phil. But we are all very proud and grateful and thankful and uh we're certainly wishing
you the best. But miles will go before you sleep. So we ask without further ado, Parson's principal, Miss Diana Welling. [applause] >> [clears throat] >> Thank you. And good evening, Dr. Zakowski, members of the board of
education, my dedicated staff, students, families, and members of our school community. It is my honor and privilege to welcome you to Parson School this evening. Tonight is an opportunity to reflect on the collective efforts that define our school, to celebrate the
achievements of our students and staff, and to share our vision for continued growth and excellence. Thank you for being here and for your ongoing partnership, support, and commitment to our school community. So, let's begin with our agenda. As you may see walking
around Parson School, we are out of this world in a space type theme that we have resonated through everything that we do here. So to take a look at our agenda tonight, we will first start with our vision and goals. Then you will hear
from our Soore coordinator and our students on our SOORE program. We'll turn it then over to Parson's Pride. We have a multicultural art presentation, a benchmark literacy presentation where board members get ready because you're going to have to get up and interact a
little bit with our new benchmark curriculum. And then we will close with a year in review. So going on to our vision and goals. Our vision is to be a premier inclusive learning community where data-informed
instruction and a culture of belonging empower every student to exceed expectations and lead with character. Our goals were thoughtfully developed through a collaborative and data-driven process grounded in the insights gathered from our NJ Sky survey results
and the leadership council priority statements. These priorities were carefully aligned to our district pillars of safety, mental health and social emotional learning, student learning and achievement, climate and culture, communications and community
engagement, and budget and finance, ensuring a comprehensive and strategic approach to meeting the needs of our school community. So, at this time, I would like to invite up Mrs. Q, who will discuss goal one with you.
>> [applause] >> Good evening. Good evening, members of the board of education, Dr. Zakowski, and our North Brunswick community. It is a privilege to stand here before you tonight. I am Mrs. Kotraki or Mrs. Q, the director of elementary instruction here at Parsons. And it is my privilege
to be able to share our academic journey here at Parsons for the 2526 school year. I have the honor um of really working on the mission this year that has been clear which is to translate data into actionable growth for every single student and one of our top
priorities is this goal which is goal number one uh where we specifically are committed to increasing our student ELA proficiency across all of our grade levels and currently we measure this mostly through a lot of different assessments but we've been using the MAP growth testing which is the measures of
academic progress also known as MAP which we administer three times times a year in the fall, winter, and spring. But a goal is only as good as the plan we have behind it. And to make this a real reality, we have implemented several tier one strategies that are key
to its success. We use formal assessments to keep a pulse on our classroom progress, and our data teams for ELA and math meet regularly to develop specific instructional plans. We also celebrate our wins through our awards boards to keep our student
motivation high. I I know we have a lot of students in the back. How many of you have ever gotten a map award before? Awesome. Awesome. Give them a round of applause because that's not an easy thing to [applause] do here at Parson's. We are so proud of all of our friends who make the Parson's MAP scoreboard.
After every administration of the MAP test, we recognize students for each grade level who scored the highest in reading and/or math and also those who've demonstrated the most growth since the last administration. And the pride and smiles you see on these kids' faces when the names go up, it you would
think it's Christmas. They just run to the board. They're so excited. Um they get a special award. We send it home with them. Their pictures are all over social media, our websites, and it's really just an exciting time to celebrate their academic success. Um we also put it on our Parsons News
show which airs daily. So, it's really a great opportunity for students to make the board and we love seeing the diversity of students recognized as every student really does have a chance to be up there and also the staff likes looking at it to see whether there's familiar names from their current students or previous students. And also
when the families come into the building, they're always checking it out too. So, we're very proud of that here. As part of this goal, this is a sample of what a student report looks like that goes home. There's a family version that goes home with each student and it is
reviewed with students here at school as well. And we have been giving the MAP test now for three years. So this is an actual piece of data from a current fourth grade student here at Parsons. And of course we see a positive trajectory. That is exactly what we want here. We want their scores to continue
to increase throughout their time. They'll take this through 9th grade. So by the time they get to nth grade, if we stick with MAP, they will have a really nice graph that can show their personal progress. This student was also very impressive in their ability to grow in proficiency color bands. You see the different
colors here on the graph to they started in second grade in the orange and in fourth grade they actually made it to the green which is not an easy feat. This means that they moved from about the 21st percentile um of proficiency up to the 80th percentile. So they really
made some great gains and it usually takes according to MAP and their norm research two years for a child to move up one band. So this child actually went up two bands in three years. So we are very proud of many of our students are having this kind of success. Also the thing that MAP has provided for us is
the nationally normed data. The test is actually given to over 13 million students across the globe and over 4,500 districts in over 35,000 schools. So um and across 146 different countries. So it is a very widely used tool and it's
very powerful for the staff, the students and the families to be able to see their individual progress. This child has worked along with the rest of the children at Parsons to also set individual goal cards and create goals that they keep visible throughout the year. And I wanted to share that work.
It's really been um the really great work of our ELA, math, and ESL bilingual coaches who have been working with our professional learning communities to help the students understand the MAP results and have staff help students set individual goals for academic achievement. So, the two yellow slips of
paper you see here are examples of that. They keep them either on their desk or posted close by in the classroom to remind them of their next set of goals for both reading and math. This allows them to track their progress throughout the school year, keeps learning visible, and reminds them that they're always trying their best as it leads to
success. I'm also proud to share that our mission to growth here at Parson is yielding tangible results from our winter 2026 um administration of MAP and looking at our trajectory, our fourth grade is showing the 53rd percentile of growth, which is
exceeding the national target of 50. We in second grade have shown exceptional growth in achievement moving from the 56th percentile to the 57th. I'm sorry, hold on. Second grade. Where am I? Here we go. 56 to 57th. Yes. And across
grades 1 through 4, all of the medians show that we have been successfully navigating near or above national targets. We are also working to closely monitor specific areas in ELA like vocabulary and literary texts where our scores are trending in the right direction. Our work ahead is not
finished and our goal is to ensure that these gains translate directly to the success of our students on the state assessments coming up this spring. That's it for goal one. I would like to at this time introduce Mrs. UAS who's our instructional dean to review our next set of school goals number two and
three that will deal with our climate culture and behavior. Thank you. [applause] >> Hi. So goal two here shows that our goal that was developed with um related to
climate culture is to reduce negative student interpersonal verbal and uh physical interactions. So we're looking at um some data up here and what we saw is that from last year to this year we actually were able to reduce those. This
year, the elementary deans worked together um as a district and we created a common incident reporting forum. And what that allowed us to do is have consistency across the schools. Um and then we were also able to create it so that we receive that information in real
time. So something happens, a teacher writes it up, I find out right away. We can respond to it, address the situation, work with students, and then follow up with whatever the student needs in that situation. We're also able to see some patterns, and we're able to
see, well, where is this happening? What's going on? Is it at recess? Is it in the cafeteria? Those kinds of things. So, it's a form that gives us both uh immediate data and then things that we can use long term. One of the things that uh students love
the most are our penguin passes. All of our schools have some form of a positive behavior um incentive system and ours are penguin passes. You can also see um if you peek over here in our lunchroom, we have our power uh penguin power at
lunch and we have those posted in each of our key areas. Um and so what we've really tried to do is keep a focus. So we're not saying a lot of different rules. It's just the idea that here's what we do at lunch, here's what we do at recess, in the bathroom, in the
hallway, in specials, so that that way we have common language and we're able to then communicate out clearly what the expectations are. And that is some of the the work that has allowed us to move in that direction. We continue to work to um celebrate positive behavior um
things like turning us into ice cream sundaes. We're on the precipice of our next reaching our next goal of 27,000 passes. Um, and it's really fun. Kids like to earn things and they like to get the plushy penguin in their classroom
and um celebrate one another. Thanks. Thanks, Tracy. Um, with uh related to our social emotional learning, um, we've looked at the two areas of perseverance and resilience. And those are big things. I mean, these are things that we need to work on
throughout our entire lives, but as kids, a lot of times there are things that just can feel overwhelming, whether it's math, whether it's getting along on the playground, whatever it is. So, our behavior data team worked together to build out six weeks of specific,
explicit lessons that helped kids talk about, practice, and um set goals for their own perseverance. And in a lot of the classrooms, there are still things up around the room so that we are able to remember that to remember to stick to it when it gets difficult. Remember that
it's okay to make mistakes and that we're all in that place of growing. Um, our behavior data team, as all of them do throughout the district, we meet three times a year. We use that data from the behavior uh incident form. We use our anecdotal data throughout the
year and we look at the NJ Sky um survey so that we can have an idea of what our kids really need. We're not just picking ideas um you know from our or or wherever we want to, but we're taking a look to see what the data indicates. And
so that's what we were focused on. And what we've seen is that in these five areas uh that we've actually made some good progress. We've used um survey to take a look at that and to see how students are perceiving it um and they're making progress throughout this
year. Currently, we are focused on the skill of empathy and so we've created a series of lessons that we use during our morning meetings so that it's consistent throughout the school and we're focusing on that skill. Two of the things that we find to be most powerful are the I
statement where I let you know how I was feeling about what happened, why I why that was challenging for me, and what I need from you. Um, and the second thing is making a good apology, owning what we've done, apologizing earnestly, and then moving forward. Um, and these are
things that will serve our students both now and as they grow throughout their lives. So, at this point, I would like to turn it back to Mrs. Well to review goal number four. So goal number four dealt with our community engagement and we wanted to
increase our family involvement and attendance at our school events through enhanced communication tools that we've used like parent square and thrillshare. There have been a variety of excuse [clears throat] me engagement events that we have had across um the evenings
here at Parson School. Um, we've started with we had a book swap which was very successful. Our students would bring in gently used books from home that they were no longer using or no longer reading. And for each book they brought into swap, they could pick two new books
that they could choose from our book swap. So students went home with bags and bags of books. We gave them um little tickets for how many um books that they could choose. And one student brought in over 30 books. It probably took me about 10 minutes to count out those 60 tickets so that they could get
um all new books, but the parents were very thankful for that. We also participated with our families in Walk to School Day. That was a community partnership with the Mobile Family Success Center. We had our Martin Luther King night of service. Um we've had multiple food drives. We just finished
one today that was picked up by MC Foods. Um we've also raised money for Toys for Tots in a partnership with the North Brunswick Police Department. We've had parents in as guest readers. We had our someone's special dance and a variety of PTO activities and events. We
had our uh family breakfast for our ESL families. Our read across America week activities. Um our prek celebrations for the end of unit. Our families all came in to see the building units that our preschoolers had made. As you can see up here on this slide, it's a variety of
photos of all of those different events that we've had so far. and I am very proud of the success that we've had in engaging our families and our community and supporting Parson School. So, at this time, I'm going to turn it over to Mrs. Hart. She is our sore coordinator
who will along with some students be sharing what great work they have been doing. Mrs. Hart [applause] Good evening and thank you all for joining us tonight. My name is Ally Hart and I am sore coordinator and teacher for Parson School. Tonight, our third
and fourth grade triples, Shayon, Anthony, Jones, Hon, Alex, and Ally will be sharing what makes Soar special. Sore triples are students who present strengths in comparison to their chronological peers in language arts,
math, and non-verbal reasoning. Hence the name triples. Take it away, Anthony. >> Hi, we're the Sword third and fourth grade triples. Tonight, we'll show you how gifted education helps us learn, grow, and make a difference.
>> So gives us academic challenges and deeper learning. It supports our social emotional growth and lets us work on real world projects. We're share examples of how sore helps us learn, grow, and make a difference.
In soar, we take ideas from class and dig deeper. Lessons are faster, more complex, and make us think in new ways. Here are some examples from our sore think tanks. In sore language arts, we play verbal reasoning games. Use six thinking hats
in depth and complexity to dig deeper in book studies. We also learned about Greek and Latin roots to help build vocabulary and tape our inocratic seminars to improve our discussion skills. In so math, we use enrich maths from the
University of Cambridge. Take part in the stock market games and play different quantitative reasoning games. In non-verbal reasoning, we learned that struggle is productive to team challenges and puzzles.
>> All these challenges build our confidence and curiosity. Social emotional learning is important. So in our triples group, we learn about habits of a scholar and habits of mind. These remind us to make the most of our gifts not only in school but in our daily
lives and for future success in the real world. That's right. And we also learned about our brains and how they work. >> Yeah. For example, we learned how Franny, our frontal lobe, can help Amy G, our amydala, remain calm when
emotions get the best of her. And how Mr. BG, our basil ganglia, helps us feel confident when we have solid routines in place. What's really special to us is having each other to lean on. We are often
clustered in the same classroom so we could continue to challenge each other and share our interests. So also lets us study real world problems and think about solutions. For example, we recently learned all
about invasive species, specifically the Burmese python in the Florida Everglades, and what can be done to protect other species living there. We then created comic books to spread awareness about this problem and
hopefully call others to action. Now we're studying how mining for cell phone minerals can affect gorillas in their habitats. I can't wait to see how our next action project turns out. >> I love Soar because you meet new people
and friends. >> I love Soore because we can share our interest and work as a team to get challenges done. I love sore because we get to learn about math, ELA, and other subjects. >> I love sore because we get more
challenged than in regular class, and we learn new things. >> I love SOR because we get to dig deeper and work together on our action projects. >> I love SOR because I learn new interesting stuff and made some new
friends. As you can see, SWR gives us deeper academic challenges, social social emotional support, and real world learning experiences. Thank you for listening. For more info,
you can ask Miss Hart, our sore teacher, or visit our district store website. [applause] >> [applause] [applause] >> Thank you, boys and girls. You did a fabulous job. And Mrs. Hart, thank you. [applause]
[applause] >> At this time, I'd like to call up Mr. Ketski and our Parson's Pride students. >> [applause] >> Is she trying? All right. For the last 17 13 years, sorry, a special group of students and staff
have met in the art room after school every day Wednesday. During our meetings, we have engaged in a variety of activities such as team building, activities, community service, and STEM projects. But more importantly, relationships, trust, and a sense of
belonging were formed for both students and teachers involved. The impact Parson's Pride has had on our students and teachers over the years has been invaluable. Some of our students are here tonight and would like to share some of their experiences from this year at Parson's Pride.
One of our favorite activities is called the Happy Place Project. We encourage our students to think of a place at Parsons that makes them the happiest. We then take photos of each student in their happy place. They decorate a frame and it becomes a memory keepsake for
them. We have some students here that would like to share their memory keepsake with you. >> So sweet. Nice gym. >> Oh, the library. >> Nice. >> Nobody's at the lunchroom.
>> And we also have some students here tonight that would like to tell you about their happy place project. >> My happy place at Parson School. Wait. Yeah, >> my name is Javier and my happy place at
Parson School is the gym. I love this place because the gym is where you run, get energetic and talk when you f with your friends. When I here when I am here, I feel safe, relaxed, friendly, positive, and confident.
Good job. >> My name is >> Nice. >> My name is Zion. My happy place at P is the gym. >> I love to run and play.
When I'm here, I feel excited. My name is Lilani. My happy place at Carson School is my classroom. I love this place because sometimes it is hot and quiet. When I am here, I feel
peaceful and quiet. >> My name is Shalik. My happy place at Barson is my classroom. I love this place because it's my classroom. When I am here, I feel all feelings. >> I like that. Nice job.
>> My name is Gabriel. My happy place at Parson School is my classroom. I love this place because it's calming. When I am here, I feel fun. >> [applause] >> My name is Justin. My happy place at Parson School is the gym. I love this
place because is because it is my favorite place to play at specials. When I am here, I feel excited, energetic, and playful. [applause] Great job. >> We also had guests from 4 join us and do
some awesome activities with our Parson's Pride students. We have Juan here who would like to tell you a little bit about one of our projects. >> Hi, my name is Juan and I am part of the Parson's Pride Group. I was able to see a moment of kindness from person's pride
group and the magnificant and uh awesome organization for each. This organization made a community service activity with person's pride. The activity was making toys for dogs that live in an animal shelter and do not have many things. We
did the activity by using donate shirts. We cut and work to make the toys. It felt different because we didn't just work because we have to. We did something important for for the shelter. We made a change on we made a change on on the life of those dogs. I am really
proud to see kids from kindergarten to fourth grade help. It was very special for Parson's Pride and 4 age. [applause] [applause] >> Way to go. So along with my fellow mentors, we
would thank we would like to thank our amazing administration for supporting this program for so many years and the board of education um for allowing us to motivate, encourage, mentor, connect with our students outside the classroom. Thank you very much and thank you for
letting us share what we do with you. [applause] Thank you, Parson's Pride. At this time, I would like to call up Mrs. Rigby, and she is going to share with you a wonderful multicultural art project that we did across our grade levels that
hopefully you'll get to see out in our hallways. a piece of it is right behind you on the wall there. And she's got a video that she's going to share with you um explaining all that was done. [applause] Good evening. Thank you for the
opportunity to speak with you today. I am here to share an exciting and meaningful art project. This project is more than just an artistic endeavor. It is a celebration of the diverse cultures, identities, and experiences that make up our student body.
Through this project, students from all grade levels are invited to explore their cultural backgrounds, family traditions, and personal identities through art. Collectively, these works come together to form a powerful visual representation of our community. You can
see some of the culture jars created by second and third grade right here in the cafeteria. The impact of this project extends far beyond the classroom. It encourages empathy, fosters mutual respect, and helps students see both their
differences and shared humanity. Students gain a deeper understanding of one another, building a more inclusive and supportive school environment. The students absolutely loved this art lesson and I am so proud of what they have accomplished. With the help of Mrs.
Guzia, we put together a video for you to hear firsthand from our students about the projects. I drew the picture of Ender in Dominican Republic because my family's from Honduras in Dominican Republic.
I'm Ken and I draw this picture because my mom is from Mexico and my dad is from Honduras. My mom likes to drink coconut also.
Yeah. My my dad likes to eat watermelon. I like turtles. My family like eating pizza. We like looking at the seals animals. >> I go to Japan. We go there on [music]
some summer summer breaks. I'm from the USA and we travel all around. So, we made a our project and I picked mine as Jamaica because my dad's, my grandpa, and my other grandparents,
they're from Jamaica and I went there one time when I was a baby. So, it was really inspiring to me and I was very happy to go there. Hello, my name is Anthony and this is my jar for multiculture night. So for for
holidays for in Argentina I I put the World Cup because since in 2022 they won the World Cup. That's basically a holiday for them. And the crown here is for three kings day for Puerto Rico.
And I added my my flag right here. And empanadas is one of the foods that are eaten in Puerto Rico. My project for multi multicultural night. Um I've added a fourleaf clover
um for good luck in Ireland because my family is from there. And as you can see, I also um put an Ireland flag and an um Irish um cross. And I put spaghetti because spaghetti is my
favorite food. I also put um these because um that's from Cuba and I'm also from Cuba. My name is Ant. Um, I [music] drew is Dominican Republic and my mom is from
Mexican. I think I decided to do this. Um, hi, my name is Yila and I'm from India. [music] So I thought thought of doing mostly the um the national things because um mango is the national food
and lotus is the national flower and also this is an instrument that one of the goddesses play. Also peacock is my favorite bird because when it when it always rains um the feathers [music] are really beautiful and also uh dash mahal is a really um really famous building in
India. >> [music] >> I encourage you to walk down the hallway right outside the cafeteria before you head out for the night to see these beautiful artworks up close. Thank you for your time and continued support of the arts. Have a good night and I hope to see you tomorrow night at the high
school for Artsfest. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Miss Rigby. And I do hope you go out and take a look at the end of the night um of our presentations out in the hallway. It's one of the things that we truly pride ourselves on here at Parson School. At this time, I would like to
turn it over to Mrs. Ballard and Miss Suarez. um they are going to go over some literacy items with you with our benchmark curriculum and how our students use it in the classroom. And this is when we're going to have you come on up and our students are actually going to teach you some of the things
that they've learned and uh ask you some questions. So make sure you have your thinking hats on. Um so I will turn it over to them without any further ado. [applause] Good evening, board of education members, administrators, staff,
families, community members, and most especially our students. My name is Jenna Ballard, and I'm the literacy coach here at Parsons. >> And I am Marie Marues, the ESL bilingual district coach. We're grateful for your time this evening and excited to share the
learning that's happening in the land of literacy here at Parsons. This year we are proudly implementing Benchmark Advance as our K to4 literacy curriculum. Students are benefiting from engaging lessons and meaningful learning experiences. Moreover, students aren't
just learning to read. They are truly reading to learn across grade levels. Students are making connections to the real world, applying new vocabulary, discussing text thoughtfully, and collaborating with their peers. The level of ownership and enthusiasm we
have seen speaks volumes. >> In addition, I'd like to highlight the important role of our bilingual and ESL program and the ways Benchmark Advance along with Benchmark Express support our multilingual learners. Benchmark Express is a curriculum that aligns with Benchmark Advance, the ESL curriculum.
One of the strengths of this curriculum is its intentional design for language development. lessons integrate listening, speaking, reading, and writing in ways that allow students to access grade level content while continuing to build English language proficiency. We've seen our multilingual
learners grow not only in literacy skills, but also in confidence using academic language, sharing their thinking, and making real world connections. The alignment between the classroom instruction and ESL support has strengthened our inclusive practices
and ensured that language is viewed as an asset in our learning community. Tonight, we're excited to showcase this work in action. You'll have the opportunity to see learning come to life through student demonstrations and classroom examples. Our second and
fourth grade students will be sharing their culminating tasks which embody a project-based learning approach. These tasks ask students to synthesize their reading, writing, and thinking into meaningful projects that reflect deep understanding and authentic application.
In third grade, we'll be highlighting something a bit different. We'll be highlighting student workstation activities focused on vocabulary development. You'll see how students are using poetry as a powerful tool to explore word meanings, nuance language structures, deepening both comprehension
and appreciation for words. In just a moment, board of education members will be invited to visit our grade level stations for the next 10 to 15 minutes. Our students are eager to demonstrate their new knowledge and share the hard work they have poured into their learning. As you do explore, you will
notice that benchmark advanced units, the benchmark advance units are deeply interconnected, helping students build a knowledge bank that grows year after year. You'll also notice that these thematic threads throughout the presentations connect. Each project stems from unit 5 technology and
society. So, in a minute, I'll ask board members to please pair up and head over to one of our grade level tables. We have second grade, third grade, and fourth grade. I'll signal you when it's time to head to the next grade level table. Students, are you ready for your big
moment? >> All right. Uh, Miss Thomas, Miss Jones, and Miss Malik, please uh join your students as well. And uh let's showcase your hard work, boys and girls. All right, come on over.
All right, I invite you to head to the next grade level table. If you want to shift to your left, that'd be great. And our fourth grade table can head on down to second. All right. I'll invite you to head down to the last and final grade level table you have not had a chance to visit so
the students can showcase their work. All right, I know that we could spend much more time with the students. It's the best part. If I could ask you to wrap up your presentation, students, and we'll head back to our spots and we'll keep it moving. Thank you.
Is that you? >> Thank you, boys and girls. Thank you, Miss Ballard and Miss Suarez. At this time, I would ask Miss Q to please join me at the podium. Uh, we'd like to share some exciting news about a national yearbook award that we
received. [clears throat] So, it is my pleasure to share some really awesome news for Parsons. In 2025, our Parsons Elementary yearbook was awarded first place for elementary school photography in the Entourage and yearbook's annual national contest. And
we can't take credit for these this award. I'd like to call up Mrs. Guzio, who is our yearbook um editor and does so many of the technology things you've seen tonight as well, and Mrs. Marilyn Loftess, our retired preschool teacher, who actually took the photo that won the contest. if we could give them a a
little round of applause for their work. [applause] Their vision and hard work and submitting this entry ensured um that their creativity was recognized on a national stage. So, this award is a testament to the dedication of the staff in documenting our experiences here at
Parsons and the incredible Parson's pride that divide that defines our building. So, thank you so much in helping us earn this award. The picture that actually won is that lovely cute picture of our little friend Charlotte. Um, and yes, Charlotte, right? That's Yeah, I thought so. And um, beautiful
bubble time at at recess. It's just such a cute picture that just shows the joy of early childhood education. So, thank you to both of you. This plaque will be hanging outside of our technology lab in our building, and it'll be a reminder of the great work we do here at Parson. So, thank you. [applause]
Okay. Next, uh, we have a short little video montage that we'd like to share with you that was created by Miss Guzio, who you just saw, our technology teacher, along with our fourth grade technology students. Enjoy. You got a friend in me.
[music] You got a friend in me. When the road look rough ahead and your miles and miles from your nice warm bed, you just got a friend in me.
Yeah, you got [music] a friend in me. You got a friend in me. You got a friend in me. You got trouble and I got them too. There isn't anything
for you. We stick together. [music] You got a friend in [music] me. Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am, [music] but none of them will ever love [music]
you. [singing] It's me and you, boy. And as the years go by, a friendship will [singing and music] never die. You're going to see it's our destiny.
[music] You got a friend in me. You got a friend in me. You got a friend in me. You [singing] got a friend. Yeah, you [music]
got a friend in me. You got a friend in me. You got a friend [music] in me. You got trouble and I got them too. We stick together. See it through.
You got a friend in me. Some folks might Everything will ever love you the way I do. It's me and you, boy. And as the years go by,
a friendship will never die. You're going to see it's our friend. You got a friend in me. You got a [singing] friend in me. [applause]
Thank you. I'd like to thank all of our student presenters this evening. You did a fabulous job and all of our staff that helped to support them and all of our families who came out this evening as well. if you'll indulge me for just a moment and hopefully I can make it
through this. As I stand before you tonight at the close of this presentation and at the close of my career, I'm guided by a belief that has shaped my leadership for many years. A great school administrator is not
measured by their constant presence, but by how well their staff is prepared to lead and thrive [snorts] in their absence. If that is true, then any success attributed to me truly belongs to the people who fill our
classrooms, hallways, and offices every single day. I have never believed leadership was about standing at the center. It has always been about stepping back, lifting others up and trusting in the collective strength of a
community committed to children. To our board of education, I offer my deepest gratitude. For 29 years, you have supported, challenged, and believed in me and in the work we do for our students. Your encouragement allowed me
to lead with integrity, compassion, and courage. Even during the hardest moments, you entrusted me with something incredibly precious, the education and well-being of children and the stewardship of a school community. That trust has meant
more to me than I can adequately put into words, and I am profoundly thankful for your partnership and faith over nearly three decades. and to my staff, students and families. My heart belongs to you. Our staff is
extraordinary, dedicated professionals who lead with skill, kindness, and an unwavering belief in every child's potential. Our students have been my greatest teachers, reminding me daily why this
work matters. and our families, whose trust and collaboration have strengthened our school beyond measure, have been true partners in every sense of the word. As I step away, I do so
with peace and pride, knowing this school will continue to thrive, not because of one person, but because of the remarkable people who carry its mission forward. Thank you for the honor of a lifetime.
[applause] [applause] [applause] I I don't know if there's words to measure our thanks and um follow that. That's very difficult. But I will echo uh some of your sentiments, Miss Wellin.
It is takes a team and you certainly led that team, cultivated that team and connected that team to the extended community. Parsons is not just a school, it's a community. And you took on that challenge. You embraced it. You led
through it. And I think your words are more than just words because your actions, you lived it for the past, you said nine years. Uh but the past 29 years, that skill set was developed and applied. And one thing remains uh you
know steadfast in your commitment is that it's for the children, it's for the families and it's for your uh staff. So we cannot uh thank you enough. It's with mixed emotions. We're going to miss you, but we know you're going on to another
phase of your life and separate challenges of retirement. It's not that easy. I tell you firsthand. Uh but you certainly always have a home in North Brunswick and Parsons and uh I too want to say thank you to your staff
because your success really is a reflection of their hard work and your leadership. So thank you to all and thank you to Mr. [applause] >> Well, Mrs. And I just want to say as a personal sentiment um I've known you since I was probably some of these
children's age as I went to school with one of your children and um you know to have me be on the opposite side of things now and being on the board of education and seeing you retire. I mean it your words brought tears to my eyes
because this is truly why I personally am up here. Um, as many of you know, I don't have children, but I'm here because I'm a graduate of this town. I went to school all of my years here, and I wanted to give back to a community
that has done so much for me. And it's people like Mrs. Whan that have built a wonderful school community for not only Parsons, but for North Brunswick in general. So, I thank you. Um, we will miss you and it uh it's truly an honor
to to see you go out this way. [applause] >> Good evening everyone. Um, Mrs. Whan, I have known you since you came to Parsons as the principal and it was an amazing feeling then and so it is now. You have
been wonderful, very beautiful journey. you have been um you you guided me when I needed you the most. So you know congratulations to your journey and best wishes for for the next uh you know endeavors in your life and you did a
wonderful thing. Best wishes. [applause] I do want to add one more note and I think Miss Willing would not mind if we kind of add it to her wonderful message. Uh you have someone else that you are taking
with you uh in world of retirement metaphorically speaking. Um but uh Miss Uas, could you just stand up for a minute because you deserve so [applause] much Miss UAS is leaving us retiring. Um and
also deserves a a you know a great amount of gratitude and you have been an exceptional uh player here in many ways. When I say player, you've been on both sides of the team. You've been providing with your husband and family to Parsons
and supporting the mission of Parsons and the families. And then if you Miss UAS was a math teacher in Lynwood and when uh she was able to come to Parsons, she didn't just walk over, she ran over and been a instrumental part of the
success here. a key factor to as we see that the whole child means something here at Parsons and throughout our district and you are a big part of that and and we will miss Miss Whan and equally miss you all your contributions to the team to the school and to the
community. So congratulations and thank you for [applause] Miss Willen if I could. I know we don't know each other very well but I just want to of course thank you for your service. I think that it is beautiful to see someone that is approaching retirement and you meeting it with this
level of emotion. Some people are so eager to see what's on the other side of it. Um the fact that you have this level of passion and feel so strongly about what you're leaving behind speaks volume to the kind of service that you gave to this district for almost 30 years. And I just want to thank you and wish you well
in your in your future endeavors. Thank you. All the best. >> [applause] >> I also just want to say thank you for this wonderful presentation tonight. Um, all of the students that are still here, could you please stand? >> Yes.
>> Let's give them [applause] one more round of applause. [applause] And let's hope this the staff that's still here. Could we have the staff stand as well? [applause] >> Wow. >> [applause] >> Thank you all so much for coming out
especially after school hours um and and bringing uh you know a wonderful presentation to to all of us and to the students. I think that some of you might be up here one day taking our jobs. The the professionalism and the public
speaking out of some of you most all of you amazing. So you have very bright futures ahead. All right. Well, at this time, we do have uh part of our uh agenda here is our regular public meeting to get to.
So, at this time, uh we'll move to item six on our agenda, which is our meeting minutes. Uh Dr. Patel, would you please take item six? >> Yeah. I'd like to make a motion to approve the following board minutes. Conference meeting minutes, February 25th, 2026. Executive minutes, February
25th, 2026. Regular meeting minutes March 4th, 2026 and the executive minutes March 4th, 2026. >> Second. >> Thank you, Miss James. All in favor? >> Is anyone opposed? All the minutes are accepted.
>> Thank you. Uh moving on to page two of our agenda. Uh Dr. Zakowski, are there any communications this evening? >> Not this evening, Madam President. >> Okay. Thank you. we can jump to um item eight which is reports our admin your administrative report Dr.
Good evening again. I just want the students to know they did such a great job tonight. We're going to give you off all next week. [laughter] On a serious note, [laughter] I just want to welcome and and thank everyone again um for welcoming us.
Teachers too. >> Teachers too. >> Yes, absolutely. Um but on that note, uh it's been a very difficult winter, right? a lot of snow and we're so happy that we will not interfere with the spring break. Um we have made some
adjustments to the calendar very minor but spring break is intact and we all wish on behalf of the board a very healthy happy safe welldeserved respit during the spring uh season here which is begins I think half a day Friday um
and then all next week. So we certainly wish you the best. We do want to talk about a few things. Um, some announcements. I think I heard we do have an arts show at the high school. Uh, the vice president and president of the board and myself will be there very
briefly. Not because we don't love it. We also have a a dinner to honor some of our unsung heroes at Serville High School as well tomorrow. But tomorrow 5:30 to 8:30 at the high school. I promise you if you haven't been to one, you will be impressed. wonderful job by
all the staff members collaborating throughout the district. It's a it's a tremendous event. Uh last night, and speaking of tremendous events, we had a National Honor Society at the high school. Our students did a wonderful job and we accepted 73 new members. our
board rep, uh, Mia Montero, is the president and, uh, she certainly led the, uh, ceremony and, and we're so proud of the students for their achievements in leadership, scholarship, uh, and, uh, leadership, scholarship,
service, and character, and the four pillars. And what I heard tonight really re it resonated me with me that that doesn't just happen. It's a buildup. It's longitudinal. It's years and years of wonderful work with staff and uh uh
families that the te students just don't achieve academically. They give back. One thing we know about North Brunswick students, they really respect service. They give back to their community. Um and it means something to pay it forward and we're so proud of that uh of our
students. So, we are very proud of Mia. She's not here tonight, but as our uh board rep, she also just re received an award from New Jersey PSA, which is the principal supervisors association, a
student leadership award. Uh she's one of 25 students statewide uh to receive this award. And she'll receive a $2,500 scholarship check. And if you hear this name, Mia Montero, she'll be receiving a lot more than 2500, but this is an
addition from the state uh principal supervisors association. Um, so we're uh we know that uh we can't celebrate with Mia at at the scholarship lunchon because she has qualified for the DECA National and will be attending that competition that day. So, uh, her
talents are, you know, spread wonderful and certainly, uh, makes her what I call the prototypical success story of North Brunswick. Uh, because we give every student opportunities. You see so many programs, wellthoughtout, well, uh,
array of opportunities for students to show off their talents. And it's no wonder why we have so many students achieving and and certainly doing so well and making us all proud. So, I just wanted to highlight that. Speaking of highlighting, our model UN club actually
hosted the one of the largest conferences of model UN um over 200 attendees from nine different schools across New Jersey, which was a new record creating five committees of competition. Our students worked incredibly hard. It took eight months of
planning to make this conference a reality. It's massive and challenging undertaking to host a conference and it's a testament to our students talents and dedication that the conference continues to grow to attract top tier model UN talent from across the state
and um we're we're so proud of that not only participating competing but hosting is something that we uh really encourage and it's that confidence and experience that they receive from the their elementary schools all the way up
through the high school that we know that makes a difference. Some of the uh great events that are happening, I mentioned the high school National Honor Society. Thursday, April 23rd, we'll have our middle school national [clears throat] honor society, April 23rd at 6:30 at our at the new middle
school. JUD will be hosting their international night. It was changed. Um they rescheduled to Friday, April 10th at 6:30. Um, speaking of the middle school, if you get a chance, um, you'll they have a production of Wizard of
Odds, uh, April 16th and 17th at 6:30. If this is all on it'll be all on our website, but uh, if you get a chance, it's it's well worth it. And, um, I do want to make a a public service announcement. Uh, and I want to thank uh, Mr. Wen for alerting us to that.
There was some chatter about our preschool lottery. It was moved back for the first time. We just want to remind all families and those who applied that the preschool lottery for 2627, the acceptance notifications will now be
sent on April 10th, 2026 this year at 5:00 p.m. So the lotteryy's intact. We're ready to send out the notifications. It'll be on April 10th, which is the Friday of the first week we get back from spring break. Um, and with
that, Madam President, I just want to thank the Parson staff, the Parsons team. Go Penguins for a wonderful evening tonight, and we really appreciate it. Concludes my report. >> Thank you. Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention um, Parsons. I don't know
if you knew this, but I appreciate you hosting the most epic birthday for the guy to my left here. It is Dr. Zakowsk's birthday today. [applause] SO, thank you for hosting his birthday bash tonight. We really appreciate it.
Celebrating year 29 again, >> an anniversary of year 29. >> Yes. So, thank you all so much and happy birthday, my friend. >> Thank you. >> All right, we'll move on to our committee reports for the evening. We'll start with Mr. Wen. Good evening. We
have education from Mr. Wen. >> All right. Thank you, Madam President. One second. All right, I apologize. I didn't print this out, so it's going to be a little bit difficult to read, but um the education committee met on Wednesday, March 18th. We started off with a
presentation by um Yes or who is the supervisor of ESL and world languages. She highlighted that 72 students had exited from ESL program this year. Um, this can be attributed to factors including consistent curriculum across
grade levels, regular data and regular data check-ins by staff to ensure student progress. She also presented our current state of the ESL program where we have nearly 600 students from preK to 12th grade. About 400 of these students
are Spanish multilingual learners. She discussed the need for more support and staff collaboration for these uh MLS uh with IEPs. Dr. Johnson also provided us with a tech update regarding the strategy regarding the purchase refresh refreshing and
repurposing of equipment with regards to the previously mentioned change in our e- rate which stands at 8020 where 80% of certain costs are funded by the state. We also discussed world language curriculum updates and the new cursive
handwriting mandate which goes into effect for the upcoming 2627 school year. Dr. Johnson also noted that um they were also ready for additional uh curriculum changes that may be announced prior to the start of the next year.
Dr. Harry provided us with an update regarding the current immunization audit. This is a yearly update that is required by the state and the district is working with parents to ensure 100% compliance. Um he also discussed with us the rising
cost of special educa education um not just in our district but everywhere. costs for um out of state uh I'm sorry out of district placements specialists like OT, PT, speech um are all increasing year after year but are required as part of support for our
students with IEPs and that >> thank you Mr. Wen uh Mr. Labori, human resources. >> Thank you, Madam President. The human resources and community relations committee met on Tuesday, March 17th to
discuss various personnel topics. For those on tonight's agenda who are retiring or resigning, the [music] board thanks them for their service and wishes them well. There are new support staff being hired for current schoolyear vacancies along with many new substitute staff on tonight's agenda. We welcome all of them to our district and we look
forward to having you work with us here in North Brunswick. Dr. Dr. Zakowski and Mrs. Kea updated the committee on the progress of the search for the new Parson's principal for the 202627 school year as Mrs. Whan is retiring. This is aged well this report as you can see from last week. Uh and we're happy to
see Mrs. Tracy Quattraki, the Parson's current director of elementary instruction on tonight's agenda for board approval to become the new principal. [applause] The HR committee had a chance to talk with Mrs. Quattroki at our meeting. She survived our test as well. We're at this
[laughter] and we congratulate her and look forward to her continued leadership and success at Parsons. As of our committee meeting, any remaining vacancies continue to be posted and can be found on our district website, social media pages, and posted in each of our buildings. For any open teaching positions, alternate route and
traditional route candidates are both encouraged to apply. We also discussed these vacancies along with current and upcoming leaves of absences and how those positions may be filled. Upcoming job fairs will be facilitated by Mrs. Kea and several members of our administrative team will attend as well.
Lastly, uh the committee had their final reading of three revised policies. They are all on our agenda tonight for second reading uh regarding nepotism, employment of the chief school administrator, and sexual harassment. Uh and that would conclude our report. >> Thank you, Mr. Lori. Uh Mr. Carter,
Business Operations. Good evening. >> Good evening. Thank you, Madam President. Uh, the business operations committee met on Wednesday, March 18th. Uh, we received status updates on the FY27 preliminary budget, uh, bathroom bid preliminary results, which is
finance item 3G on tonight's agenda, referendum updates, uh, Deckron replacement updates, and transformer updates. Uh you'll also find on tonight's agenda finance item 3E related to the purchase of equipment uh kitchen equipment. And uh that concludes my
report. >> Thank you, Mr. Carter. Uh Dr. Patel, negotiations. >> Yeah, thanks Madam President. So the negotiations committee met with the plant managers and the negotiations have started and we're looking forward to the collaboration. >> Thank you. Do we have any updates, Mr.
Lori, for um New Jersey school boards or Middle Sex County School Boards? Not at this time, Madam President. [music] >> Thank you. And uh Mr. Singh, anything from the mayor and township council? >> Uh nothing at the moment, Madam President. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you.
>> All right. I think that wraps up our committee reports. Um so, Mr. Wen, would you please take item nine on our agenda? >> Yes, Madam President. I would like to make a motion to approve the administrative, student, and committee reports. >> Second.
>> All in favor? Is anyone opposed? All the reports are accepted. >> Thank you. At this time, we will uh review our agenda for tonight, March 25th, 2026. The board has received a copy of the
agenda prior to tonight's meeting. At this time, we will just go page by page uh and quickly review as we've already had time to review this agenda. So, we'll start on page two and [music] three. pages four and five.
Pages six and seven where we wrap up personnel and begin curriculum and instruction. Pages eight and nine. pages 10 and 11 where we move on to miscellaneous and finance items.
Pages 12 and 13 and wrapping up on page 14. Does anyone from the board have any comment? Hearing none, we'll move to a public session on agenda items only. If anyone from the public would like to address
the board, this is now the time to speak on agenda items only, we ask that you just come up to the podium, state your name, and you'll be given three minutes. >> Okay. Seeing none, can we please have a motion to close the public portion of the meeting?
>> So moved. >> Second. All in favor? I. >> Is anyone opposed? This session is closed. >> Thank you. >> Uh Mr. Singh, would you please take item 13, consent agenda? >> I'd like to make a motion to approve the
following consent agenda items, personnel 1 and two, curriculum, miscellaneous finance items 1 to 4, policy and transportation. >> Mr. Carter, can we just need a second? Oh, sorry. >> Sorry. >> I'm sorry. Who was it? James,
>> thank you. I apologize. No, it's okay. Uh, Mr. Carter, >> yes. >> Miss Sepa, >> yes. >> Miss James, yes. >> Mr. Lori, >> yes. >> Dr. Patel, >> yes. >> Mr. Singh, >> yes. >> Miss SHA, >> yes. >> Miss Toth, >> yes. >> And Mr. Wen, >> yes. >> All the motions and resolutions are.
>> Congratulations, Mrs. [applause] Q. [applause] >> [applause] >> Mrs. Q, we're going to ask you to come up and we say a few words. >> I want to say something. >> So, you mean to tell me you knew this was coming, Mrs. Q? [laughter]
>> I had an inkling. I feel like I just won a pageant. Thank you for my beautiful flowers. And I don't know how I um sitting between these two fabulous women who are retiring. Um I am not the reason they're retiring, though. I hope if they told you so, they are definitely lying.
And Dr. Z, I wanted to bring you a birthday cake, but Rosa Hawk told me we could not have candles in the building, so I was not allowed to do so. But um again, thank you um so much to the staff, students, families, the board of education for entrusting me with this,
Dr. Zakowski for believing in me. Um I I know there's so many staff here tonight who who took time of their personal schedules to stick around for this and it it really means a lot to me um to be entrusted with this as of July one. So I've spent my career focused on the growth of our youngest learners and I
know that Parsons it's not just a school. We are much more than that and what we have here is very special. So my primary focus between now and July will be to ensure unwavering stability as we work together to build our new leadership team. My door will remain
always as it is open. There will be candy and snacks and I will ensure that the momentum we've built these past years does not skip a beat. Um it is a bittersweet crossroads to lose Mrs. Whinen and Mrs. UAS and thank you for your many many years of service. You
have set us up for incredible continued success and the legacy of excellence you have built is the foundation on which I hope to continue to work with the staff to build upon. Um, I just wish you all nothing but the best in your retirement and the commitment to Parsons remains
the same as it's always been to support our instructional goals, the sense of community and even just the simple good mornings to the staff and the students as they come in and I try to learn every single one of their names. Um, it our mission is the same. So, we'll we'll continue to shoot for the stars together. So, thank you so much for this
opportunity. I hope that at the end of my career I can stand here and have as powerful an impact. Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> Congratulations again. A true testament to how much they love you and how much this continued [music] success will
continue. All right. At this time, we will have a public session on any matter. If anyone from the public would like to come up and address the board, this is now the time to speak on any matter. We just ask that you state your name and [music] you'll be given three
minutes. Seeing and hearing none, can we please have a motion to close the public portion of the meeting? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> Is anyone opposed? This session is closed. >> Thank you. At this time, we will uh move
to go into closed session. Whereas section 8 of the Open Public Meetings Act, chapter 231 PL1975 permits the exclusion of the public from a meeting in certain circumstances, and whereas this public body is of the opinion that such circumstances
presented exist. Now therefore, be it resolved by the North Brunswick Township Board of Education that the public shall be excluded from discussion of and action upon the herein specified subject matters. The general nature of the subject matter to be discussed is as
follows: personnel matters and attorney client privilege. It is anticipated at this time that the above stated subject matter shall be made public at such time as the need for non-disclosure no longer exists. This resolution shall take effect immediately. Can we please have
someone make the motion? >> So move. Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Is anyone opposed? We can go to close session. Thank you. >> Good night, guys. Okay. Welcome back everyone. Thank you. Could we please have a motion to return
to open session? >> Second. >> All in favor? I. >> Is anyone opposed? We're back in session. >> Thank you. Uh, Vice President James, I'll call on you for our first motion. >> Sure. I would like to make a motion to
approve that due to the number of inclement weather days as well as a malfunction of the transformers at the high school, the following updates are needed to the 2526 school calendar. Graduation will remain on Monday, June 22nd at 4 p.m. The last day of school
for grades preK through 8 and seniors is Monday, June 22nd. and seniors have exams on Saturday, June 20th. The last day of school for grades 9 through 11 will be Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026. Can I have a second?
>> Second. >> All in favor? >> Is anyone opposed? >> This motion is passed. >> Thank you. And Mr. Carter, can I please call on you for our second motion out of closed? >> Uh, yes, Madame President. I'd like to make a motion to approve change order
number one for bid number 26-01 to Magic Touch Construction Company uh for the Jud Elementary School faculty toilet room renovation in the amount of $82,952. >> Second. >> Okay, I'm going to do roll call on this,
please. Mr. Carter, >> yes. >> Mr. Seda, >> absent. >> Yep. Miss James, >> yes. >> Mr. Lori, yes. >> Dr. Patel, >> yes. >> Mr. Singh. >> Yes. >> Miss SHA. >> Yes. >> Miss Toast. >> Yes. >> And Mr. W. >> Yes.
>> This is also approved. Thank you. Thank you all for a wonderful evening. Can we please have a motion to adjurnn? >> So move. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> Is anyone opposed? >> We are journed. Thank you.