##VIDEO ID:DIQV08MoePA## all right e e e e e e e e e e all right we're going to continue uh with our board meeting and uh next on the agenda is our uh superintendent report Dr har y thank you Dro um I would like to share with the board tonight um that we have some really good news about Readington middle school and Mr Charleston and Mrs Mooney are here to share it with the full board um that our middle school has been named uh a school of Distinction from the association of middle level educ s um and just last week was the National Conference down in Nashville and we had uh some Middle School teachers along with Mr Charles and go and present the good work that we're doing here at our middle school so I've asked him to come tonight uh to share with the full board uh some of the great work and highlight some of the great work from the middle school so Mr Charleston I'll turn it over to you Dr Hart um I'll bring up this Moon as well she can present um so um first off it is such an honor um to accept this award on behalf of the Readington Middle School Community uh and the Readington School District um it is truly an honor but just to give a little bit of kind of information a little bit about the award so that you have some context um amla is the association of middle level Educators they are a um they're an organization that focuses solely on middle level education from students age 10 to 15 um and their schools of Distinction is a recognition and continual Improvement program um that is uh looking to celebrate schools that have a commitment to the best practices um outlined by they have a foundational text which is called the successful Middle School this we believe um the the successful Middle School outlines a couple of really key areas um they're looking for schools that are responsive challenging empowering Equitable and engaging this is all centered around what they believe middle schoolers need we do as well and then there's 18 core characteristics they look for they sent around three distinct areas they look at culture and Community curriculum instruction and assessment and then leadership and organization and there's certain components in each one of them um so last year I went to the National Conference along with two uh teachers car and Hendershot and Jen Sabo um and after that conference when we saw schools being recognized as schools of Distinction um we immediately knew that Readington Middle School not only fit that criteria um but could be an Exemplar for for schools not only in New Jersey but around the nation um so we set off on our journey to apply for the program um and they um they and I did a lot of work with this um they did a tremendous amount of work um in compiling a um application which was very ly with a lot of detail it's just probably about like a 50 page application um for the program and just because you submit an application does not mean that you are selected um as a school of Distinction um in fact they have a year-long road map um to guide you through that process so first thing is an application process um then they conduct a uh schoolwide survey over where um they think our St the staff think that we are in in align to those 18 uh core components and then they once they've done that they provide us with a a draft result and then they decide whether or not they're going to move us forward in the process a lot of schools apply for this um not every school gets this award um and those schools who are then moveed forward in the process they have to do a site visit um so we conducted our site visit in late last May um and that was with uh students parents administrative staff teachers a really a wide variety of stakeholders probably about um 35 to 40 people were interviewed in one day um to look at what Readington Middle School is all about um and then we were actually notified um in late June I had to keep it mum that we were a school in distinction for a number of months before um they were allowed to to lift that band and that embargo back in um in late August uh so we are a school of Distinction many of you and and thank you for coming those of you who could to our celebration at our pep rally where we could acknowledge that to our students and our staff in our wider community and there were some press release um but it wasn't until um just the past couple of days uh that myself and six teachers went down to Nashville to present at the National Conference um so myself Miss Sab Miss Hendershot and Miss singer uh led a middle school session on Joy and purpose about how we are meeting the needs of adolescence um and trying to hit those two key components and then myself Mr daily Miss benington uh and Miss Greenberg led a session on Civic engagement how are we our our approach to developing active citizens and really our tapstone project Viking Visionaries and also what we do with our um project citizen projects um that some of your students have actually done in the past um really great sessions the conference had about almost 3,000 people there um and it was really great to to listen to other middle level Educators and then to get honored a little bit so we actually had got to walk the red carpet that evening um we felt like celebrities and in in a world where sometimes education is not celebrated um it was truly something remarkable and um we have a gigantic Banner which is now sitting right in front of the school we also have some of the awards that we were able to bring home um so we were awarded this is our award it's a three-year award and then this money oh sure best administrative camaraderie so each school got a superlative u based off of their interview and we were awarded this award as best administrative camaraderie um it really was a tremendous day and um it was an honor to to um receive this award on behalf of the school and the district to know that we are doing really good things in our middle school and um we've already made a lot of connections with other schools who are actually reaching out to us to ask for some of our advice how to change a schedule how bring a therapy dog in and had to do a lot of other things too so um we ended our session and our site visit with our mission which is something that I drive home each and every day and this was not something that happened overnight this is a reflection of years of work years of program years of support from the board and superintendant and other administrators teachers and parents to get an award like this and just to show you how far we have come on on the right well can't say it on the right some of you are looking to the left but so on the right is a picture of a current valuable Viking can I just like the laser yeah can nice it's this one right here that's our current valuable Viking many students and staff could valuable Vikings for going above and beyond uh last year um as singer was going through some books to to get weeded out of the library outfalls a piece of paper and in it was a valuable Viking from the uh mid to late we've we've uh chronologically dated it to the mid to late 90s of a valuable viiking so just goes to show you we have been on this road for a while and we continue to to try to bring those valuable Vikings forward but I just thought it would be uh interesting to show you all I just want to say thank you and uh appreciate it I think you forgot one thing that's important we're the first school in New Jersey to receive this award yeah we're the first school in New Jersey to receive this award um breast M and we hope to be a Guiding Light for other schools in New Jersey and around the country congratulations a Real Testament to your hard work and the team's hard work over at the middle school and I know that the application was lengthy um and was very involved I know I was involved in interviews from amla I know other supervisors were involved in some interviews just to get some perspective on the district as well so uh job well done to both of you congratulations all right we are now open to the public are limited to action items on the agenda all right uh moving on correspondents we've received an email regarding our cell phone policy and also an email um a thank you as well to the rtea moving on to uh board action approval of administrative reports can we get a motion to adopt 1.01 and 1.02 which was read to us in executive session so move be second Caroline and roll call please M depa yes M Fury yes Mr loes yes M mener yes Mr Peach yes M borski yes M Ryan Yes m w yes Dr Cel yes passes can we get a motion to adopt 2.01 to 2.02 Mo second Caroline roll call please M depento yes M porori yes Mr Lopes yes M mener yes Mr PE yes M borski yes M Ryan Yes M wol yes Dr CIO yes moving on to finance and Facilities can we get a motion to adopt 3.01 to 3.12 so move Beth second Carolyn and we have a committee report we do yes the finance committee met on Friday October 18th uh we discussed capital projects an update on capital projects was provided and all projects remain on track as planned the White House art room and prek playground projects are complete ongoing projects include the RMS main office HVAC nurse suite and Furniture update it switch and access point project and the first responder radio enhancement cafeteria equipment Grant the committee agreed to apply for a grant for Flat Top brittles on the topic of referendum uh stakeholder meetings including discussions with Administration staff HSA rtea and the township of Readington have been held to gather questions and perspectives on the referendum once the final project list is complete and projected expenses are determined the committee will review the estimated costs a discussion was held regarding whether to conduct the referendum during the November election cycle or during a special election after considering many factors including referendum experiences from other districts the committee agreed to consider a special election for the referendum upcoming milestones for the referendum include the November board meeting which will feature a bond attorney referendum presentation I understand that was delayed um and the December Board of Ed meeting will feature an open public form on the same topic electric School Bus update an update on progress made and next steps was provided to the committee the committee agreed a common foundational understanding of electric School Bus utilization in other districts risks and benefits were needed in order to make informed decisions for the district the topic will be further discussed at Future committee meetings Safety and Security security a brief overview of the safety manual and select safety procedures were reviewed the reunification memorandum of understanding and the selection selected location were discussed the finance bill list was reviewed and the next meeting was set for November 20th thank you does anyone have any questions regarding those minutes okay no can we get a roll call please M dep Yes except for uh 3.01 uh abstain from check number 064 645 M Fury yes Mr Lopes yes M benser yes Mr Peach yes M bori yes M Ryan Yes M wol yes yes passes moving on to edtech um can I get a motion to adopt 4.01 to 4.11 that's second car and we do not have a community report on all right we don't can I just say really quick um we had to move we proposed a new date for our meeting uh November 22nd and I haven't heard from everyone about that just to see if committee members are available so check calendars and please um RSVP for that because I need to get Al alternate there that's a we've moved it from additional from another meeting where I had checked in so okay thank you does anyone have any questions regarding what's on the agenda for this okay can we get a roll call please M depa yes M FY yes Mr V yes M mener yes Mr Peach yes M borski yes ran yes yes yes yes moving on to personnel and get a motion to adopt 5.01 to 5.14 so move Jennifer second Caro we have a Comm ah yes the committee met on October 30th and discussed board goals the first being governance and structure uh the Board of Education aims to enhance the effectiveness of its committees and overall board operations by conducting a comprehensive review of existing committee protocols evaluate board onboarding processes and study robber tools of order Dr Hart provided a recap of the discussion in policy committee that is captured in the policy committee minutes um and the commit Personnel committee agreed that the majority of this goool should be tracked and actioned in the policy Committee Action steps discussed for personnel was that the Personnel committee will monitor training opportunities for board members the committee will suggest to the full board the possibility of creating aund County School boards delegate will be responsible for attending a number of County meetings for the year and Reporting back to the full board at public session this will provide the dual purpose of sharing cross count learnings with the full board and also allow new members an opportunity to work towards their new board member certification as part of that delegation the second goal discussed was academic achievement the board is dedicated to creating and implementing systems and Frameworks that prioritize academic success ensuring it remains a central focus in all decision making action steps a board member discussed requirements for dyslexia screenings and having teachers administer versus only computerized testing uh Dr Hart updated that additional teachers are getting Wilson certified and AO member expressed that Dr Hart does a great job of Staffing and the Personnel committee would be supportive of initiatives that support students a board member sest said that Dr Hart keeps the committee well informed on recommended Staffing changes and express support for the district to confirm if there are any updated teacher needs in any areas including ESL 8th grade math enrichment and Etc the committee discussed Staffing updates for 2024 to 2025 and an update on the substitute job fair was provided Dr Hart provided an update on the October 22nd event the job fair was successful 13 candidates to be approved to the substitute list and this will be put forth for board approval at the next board meeting the district will then get their schedule and location availability the district organizational chart was reviewed the NJ educator evaluation report and Personnel matters agenda items are substitutes hires termination out of District transportation agreement and the next meeting is scheduled for December 6th 2024 at 8:45 a.m. thank you you're welcome does anyone have any questions regarding those minutes um I did have a oh I have an additional comment no no down in the minutes I have a comment um just to clarify um in the committee we discussed the hunter County school board's delegate so I wanted to clarify that we do have a delegate for njsba currently and as part of those responsibilities the delegate has been attending County board meetings so the conversation for the full board to consider and make recommendations is one to ensure that the delegate reports back in public session or forwards emails so that the full Board gets that information from the county and second if we should consider separating out one um Delegate for the state meetings I believe it's two annually and one for the county meetings which is roughly four annually um this would be to be proposed at the reorganization meeting in January but wanted to get some insights from the full board for further discussion for the proposal for reorder something you want to discuss so we can discuss now or if you have suggestions you can email to personnel and we can discuss further in committee and then bring it back thoughts okay thank you does anyone have any questions regarding the Personnel minuts at all all right you get a roll call please M depto yes M yes yes Mr V yes M benser yes Mr Peach yes M borski yes M Ryan Yes m v yes yes moving on to communication can we get a motion to adopt 6.01 to 6.02 move back second car and we have a committee report we do two pager this time um the committee met on October 29th uh after the board's adopted its board goals for the year we began our meeting by coming up with action items for the two goals that are relevant to our committee uh one governance and structure and two Communications for governance and governance instructure we discussed as an action item improving our onboarding process for new board members which might include surveying existing board members about their onboarding experience as well as a process for mentoring Dr Hart mentioned that the administration's already added it already added items to the onboarding process that will take place this year we also discussed possibly having the board establish a governance committee which would monitor the work of the Committees though there are many details of this which would have to be addressed in addition we discussed offering training on Robert's Rules of procedure and even Distributing a booklet or guide on Robert's rules to members to enhance Communications we discussed various items uh in addition to carrying out the communications plan created by our consultant members ideas included having our board briefs publicized perhaps through the new local newspaper or via the Township's email blast we also discussed the possibility of having committees conduct focus groups to interact with the public and forer and exchange of ideas uh next um the committee discussed policy 53 350 student suicide prevention U which had been tabled from our last meeting so that Dr har could respond to questions members had about the policy's wording Dr Hart report they discussed the policy with Strauss as well as our board attorney um he recommended that we maintain the language of the policy which he noted has been our best practice for 15 years concerns were nonetheless expressed by some members about language which exclude the parents from the school counselors initial screening evaluation of the child or which require the reporting to the division of child protection of any parent who objected to the school counsel's recommendation Dr Hart recommended against changing the wording of the policy but he did rearrange the order of the policy's language to clarify that the requirement of reporting to the um Division of Child Protection would come after the screening process and the requirement that the parent obtain medical clearance for the child to return to school uh the policy as modified is on the agenda for tonight's meeting uh next uh we discuss policy 2530 resources resource materials review and this pertains to how our district how our district curates books and resource materials which one member want to revisit in light of the state's freedom of read act that was recently passed by the legislature it's awaiting the governor's signature another member objected that we should not be revisiting policies without complying with the required protocol for doing so this in turn led to a discussion of um item number four which will discuss uh policy um policy review protocols which sets forth requirements for reviewing policies for example policies can be reviewed if a recommendation is made by the board president and superintendent or with the consensus of the full board it was also noted that any member can always bring up a request to re review a policy at a full board meeting by way of new business here was noted that policy 2530 is properly on our agenda at the request of a member and and the approval of the superintendent board president the committee went on to discuss the freedom to read act in the expectation that our committee will likely have to create a new policy for how we curate resources in our library in response to the law um and then we went on to discuss uh the bylaws for uh to um to review policies and uh the the policy I'm sorry the committee plans to begin a review of policies which are outdated or require revisions or which members wish to have a further discussion on subject to the agreement of the superintendent and the board president Dr Hart recommended that our next policy committee agenda include the first series of policies that we will review with time frames for review and a deadline to bring the revised policy of the committee um next we uh discussed the uh the protocol for maintaining hi records um harassment intimidation and bullying records it was noted that there is no requirement that the district maintain a hip charge on a student's permanent record however Dr Hart recommended that as a matter of protocol the district should maintain a separate file to track hi charges against a student next we discuss steps toward the creation of a cell phone policy Dr Hart shared guidance from the NJ Department of Education which listed factors that board should consider when formulating cell phone policies he also provides sample cell phone policies from other districts Dr R also shared some of the steps already taken by the administration including showing screenagers to parents P purchasing screenager lessons for students and updating student handbooks with rules such as instructing students to play cell phones and backpacks Dr Hart uh recommends Gathering further information before formulating policy including having parent forms so on the agenda tonight is policy 5350 and we schedule our next meeting for December 2nd at 4M thank you does anyone have any questions regarding those minutes at all have a comment a question so for one um I think it's a great idea to provide the booklet on Robert tools I attended that session at the convention I thought it was well worthwhile um a lot of great information so I like that I'm just trying to understand policy 5350 on student suicide prevention so at what point are the parents notified I'm trying to kind of understand what you just read through so the counselor like had just walk me through this the counselor does an initial screening and then at one point the parent involved we call the parent upon doing the initial screening and say we're doing the we use the Columbia screener contact the parent tell them they can come to the school or we can call them as soon as we're done and let them know how everything went um and usually the child's already in with the counselor okay so this contacting dcpm that's when if a parent were to object correct and and if it results in a child needing for further clearance in order to return to school um and if there's an objection somewhere we have we we would call DCP andp to get the child back into school to have the parent comply with whatever that clearance recommendation if there was some sort of Potential Threat or ideation just St you should just say you should know um um you know I'm not happy with the worry of the policy I'm actually gonna vote against adopting this policy I didn't object to it being being put on the agenda because you know we spent we did spend a lot of time on it but that was my thinking on it what what's your what what's your hesitation on it what what what's the wording that you're um I don't like the automatic um I don't like the mandated reporting it apparent to the dcpp they they disagree with the screening process so meaning if they disagree with the screening process they disagree with the outcome of the screening what is that exactly me well the counselor screens the student you call the parents and then what could the parent object to so what we would do is the child would could potentially be out of school until a clearance is provided by a mental health professional for them to return if they're a threat to themselves or others if parent doesn't comply with the recommendation it could be considered neglect which falls under notification to dcpn okay thank you any questions comments okay I'm sorry sure I sent out the survey to all board members so that because we Jason and I are working on Crafting new board member orientation so if you haven't done it already take the time to do it um to inform our uh adjustments on the new board member orientation you can we get a roll call please Mrs dendo yes Mrs fi yes Mr vs yes Mrs mener yes Mr Beach yes on 6.01 no on 6.02 this is borski yes this is Ryan Yes Mrs wolf yes Dr C yes pass moving on to unfinished business next month the um the gentleman's going to come though to make the report for the referendum yeah yeah unfortunately it's a little bit out of order we wanted them to come tonight to inform the full Board of you know referendum sort of 101 how it's going to work um and then we were going to go to the community Forum which is on December 3D we would still want to keep that date we put an ad in the newspaper uh already so we're going to keep that date so board members are welcome to attend if you want to attend that Community Forum but then he'll be back in December correct Jason to really just talk to the board about preparing for referendum as well so the same gentleman is making the presentation on December 3rd I see yeah what was the date of the community one December 3rd 6:30 here um it'll be out in Genesis this Friday and then in the Wednesday last sence it'll appear in the December 1st issue of the chronicle as well anything else for business all right moving on to new business from the board um well that's actually what you just talked about there it is all right and if you click the link we have we developed a website that we're going to launch as well for the referendum so that's in the link right the link is live I think in the agenda so take a look Dr just real quick for referendum just a suggestion to maybe ask the um schools to put on their calendar for that night like you do superintendent chats so it shows up on parent calendars be yeah anything else regarding that before we get to the workshop else about that okay the other new business is uh the njsba workshop that I know some people attended and um got some good feedback so you guys want to share some of what you need to share at all this or not I mean I sent an email the other day I don't know if everybody read it but I thought there were some really good especially with the referendum um that superintendent was very excited and to share all this ideas I thought there was really great ideas how we got the students the parents and the community involved um I also shared some ideas on committees but you guys can just read through my email great thank you and of course to keep it away from the seniors is that right is that what I read did I read that correctly don't poke the bear I'm sorry I I just had say in the interest of transparency let's take it away from the seniors anyway okay I'm glad it was a good experience anyone else want to come experience yes um the few things that I took away from the workshop I forwarded to Mr B and Dr Hart just um more administrative type things and attended uh similar the uh governance for committees session which I think you were then also so I thought that was a really good session um which I'm sure will kind of play out with however we structure and change committees in the coming year and then um the oh yeah the one that I did send it Dr was on student wellness a very good U presentation and an idea of how to kind of take the next step fromal which is you know sort of the um I don't want to say it's not one-sided but the curriculum based and this is uh you know potential lessons that students can do on their own uh Chromebook like certain target areas in in areas to help with social settings or um feeling connected to the school you know that sort of thing so I forward that information Dr Hart and also the EV buses which reminds me um Mr bow I have a really good booklet that I picked up for you so I'm gonna share that with you on the EV bus that's it thank you thank you and I'll share the information for SEO with you too Anthony thank you anyone else um well I thank you for going for you know taking the time to go to these workshops I know they're informative and I and I commend people who who take time out of your schedu to to attend so thank you for that and sharing that information obviously everything read um if there's nothing else we're moving on to we're now open to the public for anything oh go ahead sorry one more thing new business I just wanted to share for um New Jersey school boards that the hunon county um uh what do they call it committee meeting County school board meeting yeah I forget the exact term the county meeting yes the meeting uh is on December 4th it's from 6:00 to 8:30 at jpk if anyone's interested you can go on and register and Dr Hart will actually be one of the speakers the topic is curriculum alignment and professional development okay thank you you have a busy two nights right December 3rd and December my anniversary is the 5th oh busy three nights all right y I'm sorry oh so we are now open to the public for anything on or off the agenda all right um can we get a motion to adopt the following resolution that we are resolved to adjourn to Executive session in accordance with the Sunshine Law to discuss hibs and legal matters of approximately for approximately 60 Minutes at which time the board expects to return to public session where action may be taken the matters discussed will be made public if and when the circumstances requiring confidentiality no longer exist however it is not presently known when such circum ances will exist so move second Carol can we get a roll call please M defendo yes M Fury yes Mr VES yes M venser yes Mr Peach yes M borski yes M Ryan Yes M yes yes okay