Good evening. Welcome to this public meeting of the Princeton Board of Education. The board is an elected unpaid group of 10 citizens who set policy and make decisions on educational, financial, and personnel matters for the Princeton Public Schools on behalf of all residents. We're always pleased when members of the community
attend our meetings. The board and the school district operate under applicable New Jersey laws and under regulations of the New Jersey State Board of Education. Each meeting includes opportunities for those attending to comment on items on the published agenda or other matters of interest to them. The board reserves the
right to limit the time allotted to public participation. Law limits discussion of individual personnel and confidential matters. We hope our meetings provide useful opportunities for communication between the board and the community. Thank you for attending. As required under the Open Public Meetings Act N.J.S.A. 10:4-6,
adequate notice was given for calling this meeting. It was authorized by the Board of Education and forwarded to the Municipal Clerk, Princeton Packet, and The Times on January 9th, 2025, and distributed to the schools and others on the standard distribution list. The board reserves the right to enter into executive session during all
meetings of the Board of Education. Board Policy 0168 Recording Devices requires that we inform those attending this in-person meeting that proceedings are being recorded. This meeting is being live-streamed. The representative of the sending district is authorized to vote on such matters that affect sending district students or affect the governance of the
Princeton Public Schools as more specifically designated in N.J.S.A. 18A:38 8.1. Sending district votes pertaining to personnel actions refer to high school, central administrative, and district-wide staff only. Votes otherwise are considered abstentions. In
the event that N.J.S.A. 18A:38-8.1 is amended, the law shall take precedent over this bylaw. Thank you, Mr. Harris. Could you please call the roll? Sure. Will Beth Behrend Present. Adam Bierman Mara Franceschi Here. Eleanor Hubbard
Here. Katherine Lary Ari Meisel Chris Santarpio Here. Erica Snyder? Here. Susan Canter? Here. Daphne Kendall? Here. We have quorum. Thank you, Mr. Harris. Can I get a motion for the adoption of the minutes for April 28th, 2026?
Chris, second. Eleanor? Beth Baron? Yes. Adam Bierman? Yes. Mara Franceschi? Yes. Eleanor Hubbard? Yes. Christian Tarpio? Yes. Erica Snyder? Yes. Susan Canter?
Yes. Daphne Kendall? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Harris. All right, welcome everyone to this meeting. We're delighted to see you here. Uh spring has definitely sprung and with that all the graduation signs for celebrating the class of 2026. And uh I'm going to turn
it over to Dr. Lusak. Thank you, Ms. Kendall. Um it was about a month ago. I only have one item on my on my agenda here. Uh it was about a month ago that we accepted the resignation of Mr. Luis Ramirez from uh the principalship at Little Brook
Elementary School. And as I noted at our last meeting, we had a pretty intense and talented uh group of individuals who were interested in applying for that position. Uh we brought seven finalists forward uh shortly after our last board meeting.
And all of them were exceptional. Um many of whom many of them were were sitting principals and assistant principals in other school districts. Uh but at the end of the day, there was one individual who was a little bit more exceptional uh than the rest. And her name was Lisa Cottell. Uh I sent the
note out last week about Ms. Cottell. And um I'm not going to repeat everything in the note, but she is someone with uh a deep level of uh of teaching experience at the elementary level, particularly upper grades of the elementary level. Uh she is someone who
acquired quite a bit of um respect and admiration in Hillsborough Township. Uh and that's been evident to me over the past few days with the number of people who come up to me and say, "Oh, my cousin worked in Hillsborough. So-and-so knows Lisa from Hillsborough. She's an
all-star. She's amazing." Uh so that's pretty much all I've been getting the last few days. And of course, over the past 4 years, Lisa has been at the Orchard Hill Elementary School in Montgomery Township, uh which is a a large pre-K through 2 school where she's working with the littles, 700-plus littles,
uh and has really developed an amazing repertoire of skill skills and knowledge that we think will be terrific for our Little Brook community. So, I'm delighted to um recommend Ms. Lisa Cuddy as the principal of Little Brook Elementary School effective July 1st. Um
Ms. Cuddy is here with us tonight. So, after the board um takes action on this recommendation, we can of course enable her to have a couple of minutes to address the board and introduce herself. Thank you, Dr. LaSusa. Can I get a motion, please, for the appointment of Lisa Cuddy as uh principal of Little
Brook Elementary School? Mara, second Eleanor. Sorry. I'll look over here next time. Beth Baron? >> Yes. Adam Bierman? Yes. Yes. Mara Franceschi? Yes. Eleanor Hubbard? Yes. Christian Harpster? Yes. Erica Snyder?
Yes. Susan Cantor? Yes. Beth Baron? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Um welcome to Princeton, Lisa. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Um good evening, Dr. LaSusa, Dr. Susan Stans, Dr. Tu, Dr. Baldeo, Little Brook staff, students, and families, and members of the Board of
Education. I am honored and very excited to be appointed as the next principal of Little Brook Elementary School. School has always been a place where I felt safe. A place where mistakes were welcomed as part of the learning process and where I was encouraged to take risks.
It was where I was challenged to develop my own ideas while learning to consider the perspectives of others. Where I learned to embrace setbacks, fail forward, and view each challenge as an opportunity for growth. School was also a place where I could explore new interests and connect with
experiences beyond my own world fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for our global community. It was a place where my ideas were valued and where I was empowered to recognize my potential. It's no surprise then that I already feel so at home in Princeton. These are
the very same values that you cultivate for your students each and every day. The work of an educator is hard. Through unforeseen challenges and an ever-changing landscape of needs, educators show up each day for their students. They work tirelessly to create
learning environments where children feel seen, heard, and valued. They balance the academic, social, and emotional needs of their students pouring themselves into their work often from cups that feel nearly empty. And they do it selflessly because it is
simply who they are. It is nothing short of extraordinary. I believe deeply in the power of education and have experienced first-hand how schools can change the course of your life. Through some of the most difficult times in my own life, it was my teachers who without reservation
lifted me up and guided me forward. It is powerful and it is real. I have committed my life to education because I understand the importance of the work we do and the profound difference it can make. It is an honor and privilege to support this work and be part of the Princeton
team. To my whole team. My husband Brian who is without a my biggest supporter and loudest cheerleader. Thank you for believing in me with unwavering conviction. And to my boys,
Chase and Gavin, you are my greatest accomplishment yet. Thank you for sharing Mom with all her hundreds of other kids for all these years. Little Brook, here I come. So, the staff, students, and families, I cannot wait to meet you all and start
this next chapter together. To support and celebrate you, to work together to continue to nurture a school community committed to inspiring students to embrace challenges, discover their strengths, and reach their true potential. And boy, are we going to have so much
fun together. To the administrative team and the Board of Education, as Ravioli would say, thank you for sticking your neck out for me. I am truly honored and incredibly grateful for the opportunity to join the Little Brook and Princeton Public Schools community. Now, let's get to
work. >> [applause] [applause] >> Thank you very much, Lisa. Chase, Gavin, thank you, also. And that is it for my report, Ms. Kendall. Thank you, Dr. Lisa. Um we're going to go to public comment. Um
we have a lot of little visitors uh tonight that we're excited uh to hear speak. And then we're going to um adjourn the meeting for about 15 minutes. So, with that, um if anyone would like to come and speak for public comment, please come to the podium. Um
it looks like we have a Girl Scout troop. >> [laughter] >> Just tell me your troop number when you come up. >> Good evening, everyone. My name is Anisha and I'm a junior Girl Scout with the Princeton Girl Scouts. We are troop 72146 and we have been
together since first grade. There are 14 girls in our troop and we represent the different public elementary schools in Princeton. Hello, my name is Fiona and thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak tonight.
We are here today because our troop is working on our Inside Government badge. As a part of this badge, we are learning what it means to be active citizens in our community and how to get involved in government. My name is Nelly. As a fourth-grade
student in the Princeton Public Schools, we have visited the New Jersey State House this year and learned about how different parts of government, how laws are made, and how local governments work. My name is Sarah and we also learned
that there are many local issues that matter to us citizens and Girl Scouts. One of those issues One of those issues is bike safety. My name is Ekta and May is bike safety month and we want to encourage our classmates and friends to remember the
rules of bike riding. These include wearing a helmet that fits, using hand signals so others know where you are going, making sure you are visible by using reflectors and wearing bright colors, and riding on the right side of the road and the same direction as
traffic. My name is Sawyer. We We will be hanging hanging posters up at the elementary schools to promote bike safety. We think it is especially inspiring to speak tonight to the Board of Education that is led by
women leaders in our community and practice active citizenship. We are proud to learn how young women can respectfully participate in their community and help make a difference. Thank you for listening and for serving our schools and community.
>> [applause] >> Okay, well, thank you. That was very inspiring for us. So, thank you for coming. Okay. Nelly's coming back? Okay. Nelly, what school are you at? Um I'm at Riverside Elementary. Okay. In fourth grade? Yes, yep. Okay.
Um I bike to school nearly every day and I live on a very very busy road. Har- Harrison Street. Um and I know that a lot of other people who go to the Princeton Public Schools ride their bikes a lot, too. And many of them cross Harrison just
like me. And a lot of times it's complicated because there are people who speed and we've seen people um drive red lights. And my mom feels like
I would be safer if there was a crossing guard at the light. Usually she would cross me um around the crosswalk between right in front of my house. But and if I biking, that's what you would
do. She She says that I've I would feel more safe if there was a crossing guard near the light. She doesn't even like me crossing near the light because there isn't a cross guard. And we've seen people run the light. So I even I get stressed going to the
crosswalk because I see people speed and run the light. So I it would help me and my mom feel more safe about me crossing my light by myself if I if there was a crossing guard there. Thank you, Nelly. Wait, Nelly, wait
before you go. Thank you for that. We appreciate it. Now, government, you'll learn doesn't make sense a lot of the time. So even though you would think a school crossing guard would be somehow in the school's purview, control, it is not. It
is actually um part of the town, the police department. So, what I recommend you doing is next Monday, I think it's next Monday, there's a council meeting. Oh, it's Memorial Day. Never mind. Anyway, your one of your moms can go on
the website or you guys can figure out when the next council meeting is. I don't know. They might have it Tuesday or it might be the following Monday. Is it Tuesday? It's Tuesday. They already checked. Go to the council meeting and let them know your concerns because we support you. We would like to see a crossing guard there.
But it's out of our hands and the police and the council can help you. Okay, thank you. You're welcome. >> [applause] >> ALL RIGHT, IS THERE ANYONE ELSE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT RIGHT OH, there's someone left. It's very hard act to follow here. >> [laughter]
>> I I just I I do I do uh some lobbying and And what you just did And I am so moved actually that you all took on an issue, you presented it so beautifully and respectfully.
I have a It just gives me a lot of hope for involvement in the future. And uh Nelly, is that your name? Nelly? Yeah, town council meeting 7:00 on Tuesday. >> [laughter] >> Okay. All right. I'm not nearly as prepared.
>> Uh Wilma Solomon uh live at 41 TR Place here in Princeton. Uh I'm really so sorry that I really not been a regular attendee at the board meetings. Um I am a member of Not in Our Town Princeton, but I'm here
I'm not really a member anymore, but I'm not on the board, but I'm part of the part of the group and it's a racial justice and equity non uh grassroots organization. Been around about um 28 years.
Uh and I just recently, unfortunately again, read uh the equity audit report which was prepared quite a while ago between 2017 and 2018, really looking at our district
and where we fall on equity in many, many, many, many different areas including how people perceive whether they're welcomed into the into into the school system to achievement uh participation
um anyway, I think it was an amazing report that was done and engaged I think over 2,000 people students, faculty, parents, you know, in in this process and then came out with a lot of recommendations. And I'm just I don't know where where
it's at now, but I'm just really encouraging uh the board and the and the administration. I'm sure you're doing this already, but to keep that up front and center and to if you haven't or done some of it that
you find out where are we now in relation to to that report and I think particularly now it's it's always it's always important but particularly now I know that the board is dealing with financial issues and
always always something else but I just really encourage that you keep that front and center. Thank you. >> Thank you, Wilma and I can assure you that we have and if you our meetings are on our YouTube YouTube channel and you'll get to see Dr. Chu's presentations about how
test scores for some of our lower performing students have increased over the past few years. Equity will has and will remain at center of what we do here in the district. So thank you. All right, with that can I get a motion to adjourn for cake?
>> [laughter] >> Todd? Mara second Beth. All in favor? All right, we'll be back at 7:35. Thank you. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music]
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>> Mhm. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music]
[music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> A second bath.
All in favor? Okay, thank you. All right, uh we're moving on now to um the rest of our agenda. So, we have harassment, discrimination, bullying, and then we're moving on to our um board committee reports, and Annie is here today with the student board member
report, so take it away, please. Oh, yeah. Okay, good afternoon or good evening. Um there's not much to report on the AI this time as Ash um talked about last time we just got the results of the teacher form that we sent out. And we have a student council meeting tomorrow to speak to our advisor Miss
Lee talk about further steps and what's to take and we're also also going to consult students of course. And then for some arts and culture we have the track and field athletes that are attending states. It's May 29th and May 30th. It includes
students like cultural Cara, Grace Hegedus, Nishka Singh and Ethan Tian. And also a bunch of more students and that's a big accomplishment for them. AP exams are over this week. They were for the past 2 weeks. I mean there are still some makeups but most of them should be done for now.
Prom is May 30th at the Grand Marquis which everyone is really excited for. And the registration for fall sports has officially opened so everyone who's going to be doing a fall sport can now I guess registrate register. All right. Well, thank you so much and
uh enjoy these last few weeks of school. And congratulations on your future plans. Thank you. Moving on now long-term planning. Beth. Thank you. Long-term planning met on May 12th and discussed forward-looking planning topics. With respect to
sustainability goals, the committee talked with our partner Jenny Ludmer from Sustainable Princeton about what the district's next 5 years sustainability goals might be. With community support through referendum funding and grants from the state, the district has successfully tackled most of the projects on the
previous 5 year sustainability plan including installation of more efficient HVAC systems, roof and fascia repairs and upgrades, electric bus bus purchases, education educating students and staff on energy conservation work native planting and retention basins,
the planting of 90 plus new trees around our schools and culminating with the board's recent approval of a solar power purchase bid which will involve the installation of solar panels at all of our six school buildings and decreasing electricity expenses. Um given current budget constraints,
board members supported prioritizing future energy efficiency projects with high return on investment such as lighting upgrades at PMS, ensuring that the newly purchased HVAC control systems are up and running and well understood by the people in our buildings, uh and
other high-impact projects that may be identified by the free state LGEA energy audit uh district facilities that is ongoing. We look forward to continued partnership with Sustainable Princeton in shifting district culture towards sustainability in developing an evolving list of future
sustainability priorities and in helping us seek related grant funding opportunities. Specific goals will be communicated to the full board as they develop. The administration continues to monitor and assess the enrollment impact of recent new multi-family developments and will share data with the committee and
the board in months ahead. The committee will meet with the demographer Mike Zuba at its June meeting as we consider next steps for updating demographic projections. In addition In addition to sustainability, the committee will continue to work with the administration to develop future planning for
technology, facilities, athletics, and the operating budget. Our next meeting will be in person on June 16th at 1:30 p.m. Which is also Tony Diaphouly's birthday. Very important. >> Yes. He told us.
All right. Thank you, Beth. Uh next up is um I do pay attention. Uh next up is operations and Susan's going to give the report. Um operations committee met on May 14th at 1:00 p.m. over Zoom. I will not to brag,
but it was the most efficient, well-run meeting of any meeting this year, but I digress. Um we began with a discussion of um the summer projects. Um we did not get into detail as they're still mostly in their planning stages and we are
still awaiting uh to be able to begin planning on the PMS uh project. Hopefully, we will hear shortly which contractor we will go forward with. Um, we were then, as um, Beth mentioned, also in long-term planning, but we always discuss in operations
sustainability. So, we discussed the information implementation of the trees for schools grants, um, be continued work on the control systems, the HVAC systems among other projects, um, as and the school competitions to uh encourage students to
save students and staff to save energy. In the finance portion of the meeting, we uh discussed some things that will be on the agenda tonight. Uh the Candlewood Pool Management Contract for next year, which will not exceed $214,500,
as well as a contract with Jag Athletic Training for a contract not to exceed $91,584. Also up for approval uh today is the after-school program by Samara Solutions Group for the term September 1st, 2026
to June 30th, 2027. We are also extending our contract with Pomptonian Food Services for the amount of $1,824,362. And and also on the agenda is to final is a resolution finalizing the prices of
the meals for the 2026 school year. Um, we will also vote to accept three grants on the agenda this evening. Another grant from the Riverside uh PTO for $12,600 as they continue on their courtyard uh
project. A $5,000 grant from J. Hennen Bell for two students, $2,500 each, uh who play soccer, one male, one female. and from Priscilla Russell, who is donating $845
to the Raymond Hunt Scholarship Fund. Our next meeting will be June 11th at 1:00 p.m. Thank you, Susan. Um moving on now to uh what is next? Uh personnel with Mara. Thank you, Mara. The Personnel Committee met on Tuesday,
May 12th, and having attended both operations and personnel, we were so much more efficient. >> [laughter] >> As evidenced by tonight's agenda, the Personnel Department has been very busy. In our last meeting, we discussed a variety of personnel topics, including many appointments on tonight's agenda for Board approval, including, of
course, the distinct pleasure we had of welcoming and approving Lisa Catto as our new Little Book principal. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, June 9th. Okay, thank you, Mara. Um we did not have a policy meet, did we? Oh, we did. And I was there. Yeah, don't leave us out. We uh had a good policy meeting.
And we met at We met on May 5th uh at 1:00, and we talked about the trial of a conflict of management program that's been ongoing, and we are looking forward to the administration's recommendation on what how we might move forward with that if if that's what they recommend.
Um we also talked about how to implement the cell phone ban. Um and we're taking, obviously, input from all the different parties that are impacted, including staff, students, and we hear from the community as well. Um and we look forward to to discussing that further with the administration in
the next month. Um we uh discussed uh the impact of the recent changes to GoGuardian and the way that that's being tightened up and communicated to parents. Um and um we also mentioned that the Department of Education Commissioner Lilly Lucks will
be speaking tomorrow at the Garden State Coalition of Schools [clears throat] meeting in the morning. It's a breakfast meeting if anyone is interested in attending. Um I'll be going and happy to carpool. So Oh, could you slip her a note if I give you a note like you I more money? >> Beth. No. All right. Um and our next
meeting for policy will be on June 8th. I didn't have to tell you what was going to be in the note, of course. All right, thank you. Um can I ask you a question about the cell phone like ban? So, there's a state law that we're going to be following. When do we think we'll
have a communication out to families? So, right in the last week or two and this is ongoing. Todd was here earlier. He's been meeting with members of the high school faculty. Um I believe Miss Burge and Todd are getting together some type of group of students, like a large
group of students to talk about the options and what they've been exploring most recently is a software package that students can download to their phone. They would scan in when they come into school in the morning or they would scan in at every class period. And it enables
a student to keep their cell phone on them, be able to make emergency calls if necessary, but only utilize apps that the school approves ahead of time. Otherwise, every every other type of app including texting on their phone is disabled. So, they're exploring that to determine
if it's appropriate. There's a strong interest among the high school staff about moving in that direction as opposed to the alternative which is the way we operate in our middle school which is you can't have your phone out at any time. And they're trying to
evaluate which one is more manageable and reasonable to actually implement. We should have communication, I would think, I would say August 1st by the latest. Usually in the summer we begin sort of informing parents what the schedules will be like,
any kind of orientation, all of that kind of stuff usually happens in August. So, we're trying to get our ducks in a row June and into July and then we'll communicate as early as we have decisions. That's great. I'm glad that kids are involved and are going to be part of the solution. It's great. Thank you.
Next we have student achievement with Eleanor. Uh yeah, so SAC uh met in an extra meeting um on May 14th at 2:30 to review the renewal of the after school uh program. Uh but our regular meeting this
month is actually on Thursday um the 21st at 1:00. Thank you, Eleanor. Um and Equity did not meet um Look. No. Okay. What to comment on that? All right, moving on. Um Who are the dates?
Yeah. Okay. Um Moving on now. Uh we didn't have any policies which is what I was trying to say before. No policies for first or second reading. Um then we have um personnel. We have um resignations. I just want to say uh a
uh special thank you to Laura Carlone who was my daughter's third grade teacher. Um I understand she's um going to spend some more time with her children, so I wish her all the best for uh her. Um Then we have appointments. We have
transfer reassignments. Um reappointment revisions 26 27. We have personnel items. Uh lots of personnel items. Process typing sick leave bank. Uh dispensation student stage technicians retirement payout.
Retirement uh reception hourly work uh summer transportation hourly work. Coordination of Apex uh learning course. Then we have leave of absence. Uh substitute student placements. Um Curriculum and instructions student
services. Uh then we have athletics. Uh then we have job new job descriptions. Um Then we have abolishment of job descriptions. That's actually what this is for that uh last month's uh uh meeting.
Um then we have the MOU for dual enrollment. Um Dr. Too, could you just speak to this really quick? I don't think this is new, right? >> No, it's not new, but [clears throat] per our MOU with TCNJ for accelerate sociology, so that's taught by Miss Taylor. It's a very, very popular course
at our high school. Um and then students receive TCNJ credit that they could use at various colleges and universities. Every year we have to put it on the board for a Thank you. So this is the second This is this this is the first full year I think this happened and then then there'll be a second one. >> Okay, great. Thank you.
Um then we have amendment of the fiscal year ESEA application. Um Burlington County Burlington County Scholastic League membership. Student overnight trips. Uh we talked about this last board meeting. Some of the RLM students are going to Indiana
University for Quest. Um then we have student services. We have some consent. Uh what do we have? We have appointment of a speech language therapist. Then we're moving on to uh financial reports, which is uh action item. Can I get a motion, please?
Beth, second Mara. Beth Baron. Yes. Adam Bierman. Yes. Mara Franceschi. Yes. Eleanor Hubbard. Yes. >> [clears throat] >> Christopher Santarpia. Yes. Erica Snyder. Yes. Susan Kimble. Yes. Daphne Kimmel.
Abstain. Thank you. Motion carries. I appreciate it. Uh next, can I get a motion for um the aftercare uh programming contract? Can I get a motion for that? Uh Mara, second Beth. Beth Baron. Yes.
Adam Bierman. Yes. Mara Franceschi. Yes. Eleanor Hubbard. Yes. Christopher Santarpia. Abstain. Erica Snyder? Yes. Susan Kanter? Yes. Daphne Kendall? Yes. Motion carries. >> Thank you, Mr. Harris. All right, moving
on now, we have the Candlewood and JAG athletic training contracts that Susan mentioned. We have construction payments. Fire evacuation drills. Funds transfer. Food services contracted. Um
Susan mentioned. Can I ask a question about that, Mr. Harris? Do we pay them to serve food here or do they pay us to serve food here? So, for the Aramark contract? >> Yes. So, we pay them to serve food here. They
>> The way the contract works is, you know, we we receive the full amount. Got it. Yep, I just wanted to explain that. Thank you. Then we have the grants donations that Susan mentioned. So, Riverside School PTO. The big unveiling is on Thursday night.
So, can't wait to see that. Um We have the J. Hennen Bell scholarship for a boy and girl soccer player. And Priscilla Russell donated $845 for the Raymond Hunt scholarship. So, we thank all those donors for their generosity.
Moving on student meal prices as Susan mentioned. Then we have the registration consent agenda. Registration travel, sorry. Then we have purchase velocity city supply for public use. Annual school bus evacuation drill. And we're moving on now to our second
public comment. If there's anyone who would like to speak, please come up. Just say your name. Tell us the street you live on and uh have fun. All right. Hello, my name is Eva. I live on 16 Overbrook Drive. I'm a Princeton High School sophomore and I have been in
the Princeton Public Schools since I was in preschool. This is also my first board meeting, so please forgive any um issues with protocol. Please forgive me, too. Okay. [laughter] All right. So, there are a lot of issues I want to talk about, but I guess these
are like some main ones relating to academics in Princeton High School. The first issue that I want to discuss has to do with English courses specific to freshman and sophomore years. For context, there is no advanced English course that is offered. There is just one universal course for all freshman
and sophomores. Now, this may seem like a very good idea, and I'm not trying to um, advocate for more advanced classes, but the problem with these existing courses is that right now there are very few
books that are being read in that. And I can say this as somebody who has been told my entire life that every year my English class next year will become progressively more difficult. This has not been the case with the first few years of high school. In fact, my sophomore year in English class has actually been easier than my freshman
year English class, which should not have been possible. For context, in freshman year we read a grand total of four books. In sophomore year, we have read three books, one of which was a graphic novel, all of which were under 200 pages long. Now, the reason why I'm emphasizing this
is that everyone knows that we all have a difference of opinion on which books really resonate with us as human beings, and which books will inspire us to become the lifelong learners that Princeton public schools advocate to create. The problem is that when we have so few
books being introduced at such a high level English class, we see kids start to draw away from learning. We've seen a brief mention to AI earlier in this conference, right? And so when you have very few paper books that are being read, this further incentivizes students
to not develop their critical thinking skills because they don't have that much time to actually use them. We write only like less than four essays per year in our English classes. And essays aren't one of the ways that philosophers,
mathematicians, every single advanced discipline of intellectual thought learns to articulate their ideas. And what I'm trying to say here is not that our current English classes are bad, but that we need to introduce far more books and writing material into them, and that
that's going to give students a lot more chances to contribute. Now, what are the benefits of this policy? First of all, this is going to allow teachers to better identify students who are struggling because they're going to see how they perform on a greater um breadth of literature and on different writing
formats that are more repeated and more habitual. The other thing is that it's going to give students a greater probability of actually liking the books that they're reading because we have seen that probabilities multiply, and the greater the amount of books, the more students will probably like them. The last thing on this is that this is
also going to drive student um interest and ability in writing up because I've already seen that very few of my classmates are interested in like fully reading a lot of the books that we offer. And the reason behind that is because the
average length of how long we read a book is. And you might think of like the national average, which is like 2 weeks per book on average Oh, sorry, in school. And >> students. Okay. We don't We don't time students. Okay. Well, that's probably good thing.
Sorry, I meant to be under time, but All right. So, the problem with that is that when students um Let's see. What was I talking about? Oh, so the average length of how long we read a book is one book per marking period. Now, this means that basically
every 3 months we start a new book. And the problem with this is that school may be the only opportunity that students are actually forced to read and are actually forced to engage with complex um literature. And when you take that away from students, you're ultimately
harming the like portrait of a Princeton public school graduate. You're harming people's creative thinking, their collaboration ability, etc. And I know I'm very, very overtime. So, it's just one last thing I want to you mention in the same vein. And that is the way the
math system grades students. When we have our current math system, as you probably know, our grades are 85% math test, 15% homework. And while yes, projects are included with tests, not enough teachers give them for it to actually be significant or mad. And the
reason why I'm emphasizing this is that our math system basically only favors students who test very, very well. And they leave any student who works incredibly hard in math, who sees their teachers for for office hours, who puts in all the work, they see practically nothing come out of
it. Whereas students who do no extra work, no classwork, they can get a B+ automatically if they score very well on tests. Now, the reason why I'm mentioning this is that if we genuinely want to address issues like AI and cheating, which is very plentiful amongst PHS math classes, we need to
actually implement a policy that doesn't just reward students for cheating. Because when you put such high emphasis on math testing alone in pretty much single-handedly determining a student's grade, that single-handedly eradicates any incentive to genuinely learn the
material and to have fun in math class. Now, to give additional proof, I will tell you that the number two most frequently asked question in math class is, "When am I ever going to apply this in real life?" And the number one asked question after this new material change has become, "Is this going to be on the
test?" And any of you have children, you'll probably see how stressed they become with exams, etc. And so, my petition here isn't to take away the value of testing. It's to make it more about participation and effort instead of just
how someone performs on one test. And again, the additional problem is that teachers are not given enough tests for this to actually be indicative. In one marking period, you may only have five tests, five opportunities to prove how well you understand the material, which only tests a small subset of the
content. So, I propose a more equitable distribution of like 75% to 25% or even 80% to 20%, which would genuinely reward student effort far more in the current system. And so, thank you for giving me additional time. >> Of course, Ava. Thank you for coming.
We're here once a month. Um we appreciate that you came and shared your thoughts and please come back. Okay. Is there anyone else for public comment? I I do just want to say to Ava, though, you you brought up really like a dozen
distinct issues that educators and teachers spend hours upon hours upon hours deliberating and debating. And every issue you touch, I think, is a legitimate one that I've heard debated and argued in professional circles for
years and years and years. So, um thank you for voicing your concerns. Dr. Too works very, very closely with our supervisors in the departments that you referenced and and as well as the teachers in those departments. And um
we will continue conversations about all kinds of issues that you that you touch upon in those comments. I'm [clears throat] impressed on your wise behind your years and your passion and conviction. Um you're going to be a formidable person.
Yeah. Thank you. >> are. Thanks. Is there Is there anyone else for public comment? Come on up. Just say your name. Yeah. Hi, my name is Waelia Chiquillo Monroy and I was a Bay Court. Hi, my name is Reina Garcia and I'm a
junior at PHS. Hi. Um, I'm a senior at PHS right now and we were just here to bring our concern that we just heard about some news we heard um, yesterday. Um, so that like the news we heard was about um, our
sashes we're allowed we always wear um, like for graduation. And usually um, we're both a part of the Latinos Unidos Club. Um, she's a board member and I'm um, one of the presidents of our club and usually for our club we have sashes that are made with our names
and our flags since it's we're representing our flag and we also have um, other people even um, non-Hispanics that are in our club and um, in past years they've also had the their flag and it's never been a problem even last
year it was um, worn and um, in our recent news um, from yesterday it was made known that they were going to take that away and that they weren't going to be able to make this year and we weren't allowed to wear them. Um, I'm sorry, what could you just cuz we're not aware of this, just tell us
what what they you got direction from the high school that you're not allowed to wear sashes? Yeah, from our principal. From who? Our principal. >> The principal. Okay, we'll look into it. Um, Yeah, and then we are here um, to invite
you guys um, to the board meeting along with our principal Ms. Burge. Um, our concern is due to the fact that we won't be able to represent our hard work and commitment along with our culture demonstrating who we are and where we come from. Um, as an upcoming junior I
am concerned that this will also be an issue for when I become a senior and graduate high school without the chance to honor my country, culture or hard work. Thank you for your time and we hope to see you at our upcoming meeting. Thank you. You want to say something?
Okay. But thank you for coming to the meeting and letting us know about um this uh This is my 10th year on the board. We always welcome uh children celebrating who they are and where they're from and and we'll have to understand what was communicated. Uh and I'm assuming
there's a miscommunication somewhere. I'm not I'm I'm not sure if there's a miscommunication. I know Ms. Berge texted me last night or yesterday about concerns over [clears throat] um the proliferation of cords and different kind of um decorative garments at graduation. And
it is on She was out yesterday and today for um personal reasons for her son's graduation. Um so this was on the list for us to discuss when she returns. So it sounds like there's room for refinement maybe a little bit. All right. >> had the discussion. No.
Uh >> [clears throat] >> neither do we. Um Is there anyone else with public comment? Uh we appreciate especially hearing from students, so thank you uh for coming to the meeting. Now we have a consent vote to vote for, so can I get a motion for the consent agenda? Erica, second Eleanor's thinking about
it. Eleanor. All right. Eleanor. Beth Behrum. Yes. Adam Behrum. Yes. Mark Franceschi. Yes. Eleanor Hubbard. Yes. Christopher Santarpio. Yes. Erica Snyder. Yes. Susan Canter. Yes. Daphna Kendall. Yes.
Motion carries. All right, thank you. Um our next board meeting is um June 16th uh at 7:00 right here. Uh there's going to be a lot of um celebration for the end of the school year. I hope everyone has a chance to enjoy it. And with that, can I get a motion to adjourn?
Uh Beth second. Chris, all in favor? Okay. We're adjourned. Thank you.